So long summer!

While Shakespeare may have said, "And summer's lease hath all too short a date." I'm just going to have to disagree with the impassioned bard. And here's why I'm looking forward to cooler weather...

Banana Spider
These grow GINORMOUS in size.

But, I will miss seeing more of these guys out my kitchen window. This one posed perfectly for me on our gardenia bush.

Dragonfly

Still, I say, bring on the cooler weather!

A Huge Change...well, at least a very big one

Greetings, once again! It's been a considerable amount of time since I last posted anything here. And trust me...the pictures have been PILING up! It's a daunting prospect to weed through them all, but I'm attempting the nearly impossible.

Since I last posted here, my family has up-and-left the Bluegrass State, and headed for the South Carolina Lowcountry—my DH's job being the reason. Now, we find ourselves in the city formerly known as Charles Towne, steeped in culture, history, and OODLES of photographic inspiration. I'm itching to take off one evening during the golden hour to capture some of the beautiful sites.

But, it was definitely a sad goodbye to our friends (who really are family now) in Lexington. They are a part of us. One of my dear friends posted a quote from C.S. Lewis on her Facebook page, and it got me all choked up. For those of you who know and follow Christ, this will be very meaningful to you:

“In friendship, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.'― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

As we cleaned up our home in Lexington, making it ready for the new owners, I kept hoping our poppies would pop open. I just wanted to see them bloom before we left. And sure enough...our last couple of days there, they opened up to display their magnificent, trademark "poppy red" beauty.

Crazy

My husband and I can be a bit crazy sometimes. Usually, when one of us is crazy, the other is rational, but there are rare moments when we are both out of our minds crazy. My husband was the crazy one, the Thursday before Labor Day. He convinced me that it would be fun to take a spontaneous, 10-hour drive camping trip to Virginia Beach for the weekend with our two children, both under 3. It sounded fun, but I really thought he was a bit nuts. Not only was it a long drive, but we couldn't afford a huge vacation. His solution...take any food we had in the fridge/freezer/pantry with us. We had an air mattress, and a lot of our own camping gear. We didn't have a tent that would accommodate our family (we had a 2-3 man tent from our pre-children days). He said we could borrow one! My reasons for not doing it were dwindling. Besides, I like that he keeps me young by wanting to do such playful things! I looked online for available campsites at the area state parks. Nothing was available...no wait! There's one! Oops...it's taken. No wait...it's available again! I grabbed it. We were committed. Yikes! So, we threw our stuff together, found a willing friend who let us borrow their family's tent, loaded up the kiddos, and took off for Virginia Beach for Labor Day weekend.

It was absolutely gorgeous, and we made some wonderful memories as a family. Was it a little crazy? Sure! But what is life without a little crazy to keep us sane?

We planted!

I hate to say it, but I think the green thumb in my family skipped me. My grandmother is a phenomenal gardener, my mom is a phenomenal gardener, but me . . . not so much. It's so sad! I really want to be a green thumb, but I'm not. I'm stuck following instructions and advice from others. I have no gardening instinct.

But, when we (my husband and I) bought our first house last year (I won't tell you that I almost spelled "house" like "h-o-w-s-e"—thank you, Winnie the Pooh), the landscaping was/is in dire need of help. We've been caught up in a kitchen remodel, so the landscaping has taken a back seat. But, with the kitchen almost completely done, we decided to put a little bit of time into the yard recently. So, we headed up to good ol' Home Depot (our home away from home), and another local garden center, and stocked up on potting soil, mulch, a sprinkler, some various plants (including a gorgeous hydrangea), and our first tree for the front yard—a Kentucky Black Gum. Our front yard is sadly lacking for trees. And while the projects are NEVER done, here's a little preview of some of the flowers we planted. I will post more when the grass gets cut, after the mower gets fixed, and my husband has a chance to take on the jungle in our yard. :) Let's just pray that everything stays alive, despite what I may throw at them.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

My daughter's favorite animal use to be a rooster. She did the cutest little crow, whenever she saw one. Of course her favorite animal changes almost daily, now. I think it might be a buffalo, now.

This pretty rooster just strutted around showing off at the apple orchard we visited recently. While his "friends" came over to the fence to greet us, he remained aloof. I decided to snap his portrait anyway.

My friend the goat

As you can see, I made a new friend when we recently visited the apple orchard. This goat was extremely friendly. He kept wanting to give me a kiss . . . or eat my camera. I can't tell. Anyway, he was an eager little guy.

Eagle Falls

Eagle Falls

Cumberland Falls State Park

I know I've quoted this little "song" before, but I always think of it when I post a picture of a waterfall. Since reading that book, waterfalls always "sing" this song to me, when I sit near them.

"From the heights we leap and flow

To the valleys down below,

Sweetest urge and sweetest will,

To go lower, lower still."

—the water's song

from Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Cumberland Falls

I finally made it to the woods! This summer has been so hot and buggy, that it's made it nearly impossible to want to be outside. So, I haven't wanted to venture out on the trail, even though I've desperately wanted to!

Well, a couple of weekends ago, I got my chance. The weather was perfect—highs in the mid-70's, 0% humidity, and breezy. Now, that's my kind of weather! So, we made it a goal to get out in the woods, and traveled about an hour and a half to Cumberland Falls State Park. We packed our lunches in the daypack, grabbed our trekking poles, and hit the Eagle Falls Trail. Since we had our daughter with us (21-months, today), we didn't want to take on more than we could handle, so we thought the 1.5 mile trail would be perfect. It would give us the chance to see both Cumberland and Eagle Falls, and allow us to be in the woods.

The trail was gorgeous, mostly shaded, and all-around wonderful! But, don't let that meager 1.5 miles fool you. This isn't just a piece-of-cake hike. Parts of this trail are described as "very rugged." But, it's so worth it! It offers an up-close look at Eagle Falls, and some of the best views of Cumberland Falls (see above). It's truly a beautiful trail. And, it satisfied my craving to be "in the woods." We were exhausted by the time we were done, but so happy, too. Now, I'm just hankering for the next trip . . .

The last bit of summer

I'm finding it difficult to believe that the summer is coming to an end. It blows my mind to think that we're already half-way through September. My daughter is getting closer and closer to her 2nd birthday. We just bought a house. We're in the midst of a kitchen remodel. Vacation is coming!! There's a lot going on!

I love the Fall, so I'm honestly not that sad to see summer go. Maybe that will change when we have a child in school, but for now, I really enjoy Fall. It's one of my favorite seasons . . . well, as long as it's not too hot. That makes me grumpy. But, I do love Fall. We've already been to the apple orchard once, and I'm sure we'll visit a few more times before Winter. Can you say, "cider doughnuts?!"

Moth Movers

During our recent move, as you might expect, we had a lot of boxes laying around. As I was unpacking some outside, I noticed this beautiful (albeit beat-up) moth that was hanging around. It must have been something about the cardboard that attracted it, but it posed so perfectly for me that I had to snap some shots. While it may have been difficult to find some of our belongings in the boxes, I kept my camera within eye-shot at all times, so I always knew where it was! :o)

The end

Liriope spicata

(commonly called "monkey grass")

This is one of the last pictures I snapped around our apartment, before we moved. These grasses were planted in a little courtyard plot, right near our front door. They were just green for quite some time, and then they bloomed. I love the simple purple blooms. These poor plants suffered much abuse from cigarette hurling neighbors and dogs that left their "mark" on them. But, I always thought they were pretty, just the same. 

Now, we're homeowners! And we're loving it! While our house is old and has its quirks, it's all ours, and we were so ready! No more loud neighbors, or dog poo to deal with. Ahhhh. We couldn't be happier about it. Now, I just have to get the rest of our stuff unpacked and catch up on my photos. :o)

Happy flowers

I'm in a floral period, right now—can you tell? I haven't had a chance to get out on the trail lately, and it's killing me. It's so hot here, too, that it makes being outside just way too oppressive. And don't get me started on the bugs! I know—I'm a wuss.

I've also been terribly busy with work, taking care of a toddler, and getting ready for a move. That's why I haven't been posting a lot of pictures lately. I did happen to snap this one just recently on a walk through our apartment complex. There's this one secluded little courtyard, and someone has planted these in a large area in the front of their townhome. They just make me happy!

Crossing the Bar

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.

—Alfred Lord Tennyson

I graduated from a small Bible college in Birmingham, AL. My major was Pre-Seminary. I loved my education there, even though I didn't think I would. I kicked against the goads to avoid going to that school, but my heart was turned in the end. And, I've never regretted it! I learned so much—both in and out of the classroom. That was many years ago, now.

So, I'm grieving today (along with many, many others) over the death of our beloved English professor, who passed away suddenly last week. Our hearts are broken! But, we also know that he is rejoicing today—rejoicing to be in the arms of the Savior he so dearly loved. So, we have mixed emotions. We are so happy to know that he is no longer a part of this broken world, but we are sad to have to give him up for ourselves.

Dr. Greene was one of the kindest people I've known (he would laugh to know that I debated over saying "most kind," "kindest," or "most kindest"). He was truly kind . . . to everyone. He loved fun, music, literature, Jesus, and his students.

When I heard about his passing, I was shocked, emotional, and very sad. But, then I started celebrating his life and the fact that he was able to leave this world so peacefully, and wake up in the next. I also went through my Facebook profile, looking for anything he might have said to me in the prior months. There were a few things he said, but one that really means the most: "I'm very proud of you. . . ."

Dr. Greene, I've no doubt you are reveling at seeing your "Pilot face-to-face." We'll all miss you terribly, but can't wait to see you again once we have also "crost the bar."

Please keep the Greene family in your prayers as they grieve the loss of their husband and father.

Anyways . . .

A walk

I was recently at the Arboretum, snapping some family photos for some friends of mine, on a beautiful Lexington evening. It was humid, but the lighting was great, and we had fun. But, I have to be honest . . . I had to REALLY reign myself in from snapping photos of every botanical object we passed. Everything was gorgeous! I didn't realize that so much was still blooming there—guess I figured that since our garden was ravaged that nothing was blooming anywhere else. :o) But, I did quickly snap a picture of this beautiful succulent (not sure of the name), because it just inspired me. Then, on with snapping more family pictures. So, now the thought of all those beautiful plants and scenes are plaguing me, haunting my dreams, and I have to get back there really soon.

It bloomed!

We've had this guacamole hosta for about a year and a half. It was part of my birthday present way back when. And, it looked like none of our hostas were going to bloom this year. We expected that they wouldn't last year, just because they were brand new. But, we had hoped they would this year, and had given up hope that they would, until . . .

I glanced out of our slider the other day, just looking outside, and voila! There it was . . . blooming! Since just about everything else in our garden got eaten, it was exciting to see these guys thriving, but even better to see one pop into bloom!

Impatiens

Impatien (impatiēns)

Did you know that these cute garden flowers got their name because the blooms would burst open when touched? 

Daisy, Daisy . . .

I love old-fashioned songs, and this picture put one in my head. Now, I can't get rid of it! Every time I look at this picture, I start singing the song.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do,

I'm half crazy all for the love of you.

It won't be a stylish marriage -

I can't afford a carriage,

But you'd look sweet upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two.

I'm being featured on I Heart Faces!

I couldn't believe it! I had to do a double-take! My photo (below) is being featured today on . . .

Hop on over to IHeartFaces.com to view this week's challenge: "Week 28 • I Heart My Country." Enter your own photos, and view the other participants' photos. There's so much talent in this vibrant community!

I took this photo several years ago on either the Pentwater Beach (Pentwater, MI), or the beach at Ludington State Park (Ludington, MI). The gulls were all lined up so perfectly, and although the day was overcast, the sky had a fun dull-blue hue. I love the red of the roof against the sky, too.

Fern

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

—Aristotle