Summer Time & The Living Is Busy !

Ella & Fella my Sebastapol geese enjoy the long hours of summer by eating grass , swimming in our pond, and following me around as I tend my flocks and weed the gardens. When I sit on the porch and spin my wool into yarn they sit under the bleeding hearts plants nearby and watch me , sometimes poking their bills through the porch rails just to make sure I am still there.

Hawk, our Viszla is afraid of Ella & Fella. I'm not sure when they taught him to run away from them , but they did a very good job of it. He sits on the porch with me, but when he spies the geese he runs to the opposite side of the porch. The geese are not allowed on the porch and at least Hawk can count on it being safe , but he makes sure he is as far away as he can get from them. We seem to have our own little comedy show here on our front porch , but Hawk probably thinks it is not so funny.

My Jacob sheep lambs are growing up quickly and some are already stretching their necks for the trees and bushes growing overhead.

I have four hens raising chicks they've hatched out and two batches of chicks brooding in the garage. They are my future laying flock , plus some bantam chicks I am adding to my Silkie and Cochin breeding program. ( Yes, I have a plan and a program ! ) The chicks shown here with their mama are Porcelain D'Uccles my grandson gave me. The father of these  chicks did very well in an open poultry show recently and we have high hopes for the chicks.

Here Ella & Fella are walking their babies around the gardens. Their babies are actually ducklings Ella hatched out. The ducklings have been well tended by their adoptive parents but bit by bit they are becoming ducks . Waddling, quacking, and eating like ducks ...not geese. Poor Ella & Fella try and try to keep the ducklings with them but the ducklings are spending more and more time with my other ducks, leaving the geese to forlornly follow me without them. I hope next year Ella & Fella are able to successfully hatch out their own goslings , they're good and devoted parents.

We had the last Thursday Ladies Bible Study of the season last week. We won't meet again until the fall . This Bible study has had a tremendous impact on me and I am so thankful for the ladies God has brought into my life. It was an eventful year for all of us and all the ladies involved have had life altering events . One of the ladies became a widow, another happily remarried. One of our members has moved to the east coast to live happily ( yes ! ) with her daughter and daughter's family & to spend much time with 4 of her beloved grandchildren. There are other big events not to be shared publicly, but all the more a blessing we have been able to meet, study the Bible, pray with and for each other and always bring it back to the One who knows and loves us perfectly.

This must seem a long post, but the days are long and the hours I need to be working outdoors in the summer seem to stretch from very early to very late and when I come indoors there is little time for me to spend on my computer, so I am summing up my thus-far summer days in one post . Weeding, tending my herd & flocks, spinning wool when I have time , training my dog, playing with the old dogs, keeping my home neat & clean, and as I get older, I am working on taking the time to sit and appreciate the bounty of my blessings. The best part of all is sitting on the porch with my husband, sipping coffee as we watch the birds at the feeders and enjoying each others' company. Summer time and the living is busy, but not too busy to enjoy !

Not Only For The Birds !

Bird nests I have collected or been given over the years served as the table centerpiece for our Thursday Ladies Luncheon & Bible Study.  

The nests are resting on beds of moss I placed in goblets and covered with a small glass dome. The eggs in the nests are from my doves.

Since I used birds and their nests as the table-scape theme I had to buy some of my favorite candy, those robin egg malted chocolates . They're so pretty, and tasty too.

I put another bird's nest in an old Mason jar with it's original canning lid.

Bird nests and bird coffee cups, naturally they go together !

The napkins match the table-runner. I bought them together at a store called Tuesday Morning.

The birds' nests I have were used then abandoned by the birds only to be found and used by me . ( recycled ? ) Yes, the birds' nests are not only for the birds.

Mint chocolate brownies I baked using a recipe I found in an issue of Tea Time magazine.

One of the ladies in our Bible study just turned 80 years old . I told one of my granddaughters I want to be like this lady when I grow up,but my granddaughter told me I was already grown up . This lady is lively, funny, a true artist ( the painting kind ) who has her works exhibited locally, teaches art, and just brightens our time together.

We had a surprise guest at the luncheon. One of my sheep decided she did not want to raise her ram lamb so the little guy needs to be bottle fed. He is what we call a "bummer lamb ",a lamb without a mama . I named my little bummer 'Stormy' because of course it was raining and storming when I was outdoors trying to get his mama to nurse him. I ended up milking the mama ( you shoulda seen that ! ) to give this little guy the colostrum he needed to get him off to a good start. Here Stormy is being held by another luncheon guest , Robbie, who helped me feed the lamb his bottle.

  I treasure this time to gather with family & friends, share a meal, a cup of tea or coffee, and gather around God's word to learn about Him , pray for one another, laugh, and enjoy God's blessings, sometimes reminding each other that YES, we truly are blessed, even if at the moment we don't feel it. "Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Thy lovingkindness in the morning , for Thou hast been my stronghold , and a refuge in the day of my distress , O my strength , I will sing praises to Thee ; For God is my stronghold , the God who shows lovingkindness." Psalm 59: 16,17

Inconvenient Truth

 This past Thursday the Thursday Ladies met once again to study I Samuel using 'After God's Heart ' by Myrna Alexander as a guide . As I studied and read I just wasn't "feeling" the study. Usually I get very excited studying the Bible, especially the Old Testament. I knew at least one of the ladies would have something to share that would be insightful and thought that would have to do this week.

 I thought about this as I set the table the night before the luncheon, and I prayed yet again that God would bring just the right ladies to the table and they would be uplifted & encouraged , as I know I am when we gather round His word.

It was not until I went to bed the thought came to me ( of course, why didn't I go to bed before 3:00 a.m. ? ) the key to King Saul's rage and repeated attempts to kill David, and also his own son, was that Saul was consumed by jealousy & rebellion. The two go hand in hand . I thought about the many instances in my half-century plus lifetime that jealousy & rebellion reared their ugly heads and wreaked havoc and ruin in not only the lives of those under the merciless tyranny of these sins, but also the path of destruction they left in the lives of their families and friends. Jealousy and rebellion ... Satan's downfall, Cain's downfall ,Saul's downfall, and on & on. I know I have succumbed to their lies with woeful consequences. "jealousy : Unpleasant fear ,suspicion, resentment, arising from mistrust of another, grudging envy " Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

We ladies began to discuss this as we continued on in the study , and I thank God and praise Him for how He reveals Himself to us in simple stories of long ago tragedies , knowing if we read them, think about them, ask for His wisdom & discernment regarding them, He will honor us with His truth. Unfortunately, His truth is often uncomfortable, convicting, and if we accept His word as truth, we are obligated to act upon it. God's word is an inconvenient truth. This causes many to turn away. Please God, may I never turn away from Your ways and Your wisdom when You've revealed it to me through Your word.

If you've never read the stories in the Old testament about the kings and prophets, you've been missing out. If you prefer plain American English ( is this an oxymoron ? ) then read a paraphrase. It is so worth it. There really is nothing new under the sun and if you enjoy ongoing dramas on t.v. with murder, intrigue, romance, heroism, valor, war, scandal...well, you ain't read or seen nothing yet until you read the Old Testament !

Anyway... we had one of the best studies ever, and these ladies are so encouraging & uplifting I am thanking God all the more for them and for His word ! "A godly perspective transfers to present circumstances what God has taught us in the past ."  & " For a problem to be met correctly , the challenge of Scripture is to confront the difficulty with a divine perspective in the strength of the Lord." Myrna Alexander

"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart , do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth... for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist there is disorder and every evil thing." James 3 : 14, 16

Herbal Favors for the Table ~ Thursday Ladies' Luncheon

 A very simple & practical table adornment you can give your guests to take home with them. A herbal gift that offers guests something pretty, practical, and useful .

 This Thursday Ladies' Bible Study I am featuring in my Tea-Cup Tuesday post was very special. The lesson was one I have taken to heart and impressed me with truths from God's word ( the Bible ) that has impacted me in many ways I may relate later. ~Anyway, I cut herbs from my herb garden to adorn each place setting the night before the study / luncheon and formed them into 8 bundles, each containing rosemary, thyme, and sage wrapped with burlap and tied with raffia.. I put each bundle in a bowl of water to make sure the sage did not wilt, then decided the individual bundles grouped together looked pretty good. I didn't need a fancy centerpiece, I'd keep the short herbal bouquet that way until my guests were leaving. They were each able to take away their bundle of herbs to possibly be used for their upcoming Thanksgiving dinner.This tiny bundle can be stuffed into a chicken or turkey as is ! If my guests are not roasting poultry, the herb bundle can be hung in the kitchen, dried, and used for any other recipe calling for such herbs. Practical too.

 We also celebrated my daughter's birthday , along with sharing encouragement and inspiration in God's word. ( the Bible ) A special blessing is to have one of my granddaughters at the table with us, reading aloud the scriptures, learning from older women about what is truly important.

The china I used in this table-setting is Rosebud Chintz by Spode. The china was a precious gift from my Aunt Ruby. Our luncheon consisted of shrimp pasta salad, deli sandwiches, tossed green salad, and birthday cake for dessert. There was coffee, peppermint tea, and cranberry juice to sip as we ate.

I enjoy the many tea-time blogs & posts I read from so many other ladies. I especially appreciate seeing how they use the china and teacups they are richly endowed with being used practically. Using the lovely china and tablescapes to set a table for sharing good times, celebrating family & friends, to encourage and uplift people in their lives. Do you have a friend, relative, or neighbor who would be cheered and delighted to be invited for a cuppa and a snack ? If you need any inspiration for a tea-time recipe & good time then check out the blogs listed below.( Just remember you don't need anything fancy , expensive, or even too much fuss to offer what is most important, hospitality that shows you simply care ).

* Sandi
*Terri
*Martha
*Bernideen
*Antiques & Teacups