Country Girls' Playground

 Who needs a playground when Uncle Daniel's tractor sits in the field.?

 Who needs a playground after feeding the horses and climbing the hay bales stacked so high in the barn  ? Who needs a playground when you've spent the day walking in the woods, cuddling barn cats and farm dogs?

These country girls are 5 of my granddaughters. I am blessed !

I am joining the 31st Home Acre Blog Hop , just click here to enjoy bloggers who farm, garden, can, sew, and ....well, check this link out and see ! *

 

Don't forget to leave a comment to be included in the drawing to win a flock of 3 Wee Little Sheep !

Our Old Cedar Tree ~ Extending the Drawing For Give-Away

 We love this huge, old cedar tree that sits on our property. It overlooks the sheep pens & woods and was enjoyed frequently by our children as they grew up. Now our children's children climb this tree.There are several more huge branches reaching out all around the tree. It would be perfect for a sturdy tree-house, but for now a ladder and a rope & room to sit are enough.

Last weekend and all last week were event-filled days, some planned. However, 5 days of this past week I was away in the hospital with one of my grandchildren. I am grateful I was able to be there, but I was unable to get much done at home. Therefore I am extending the give-away celebrating my 5 year blogging anniversary for one more week. I will have a drawing next Sunday evening, August 11. I will add your name to the drawing as many times as you comment and the winner will receive a flock of 3 Wee Little sheep. (photo: all of our grandchildren in or in front of the tree)

Lovely View ~ But I Wish We Could Go Home

Isn't this a lovely view outside the window in our room ? Can you see the church steeple ? Can you see Mt. Rainier ? The mountain appears to be floating above the city. We can also see Puget Sound from here and the tops of the trees in nearby parks. But this is not a fancy hotel or resort. It all started...

...here at home on Cedar Pond. Yes, that is a Medic One vehicle in our driveway and two handsome and kind men transporting one of our grandchildren to the E.R.They let me ride with them and our grandchild. What an exciting ride, sirens and all.

Grandchild brought friends and was given 2 new friends. You can see Belle Bear who rode with us to the hospital also has to receive oxygen, but just like grandchild,

she is doing much better now.We've been here several days and are a little tired of staying in this lovely hospital even though it is all new, all truly beautiful, and even has room service ! We are wanting to go home now please.Pretty PLEASE ?

UPDATE : My grandchild and I are home . We cannot say enough good things about the hospital (Mary Bridge Children's Hospital ) and the staff and are very thankful for everything they did for us. Yes, they are very kind and supportive of family staying with those hospitalized, and there were numerous people I met there who are volunteers. Self-sacrificing volunteers who spend a great deal of time with patients and their families. I think I will be writing more about this later...but now I am needed by grandchild. Time for meds !

Smile In My Heart !

 Ella & Fella, my Sebastopol geese are growing up quickly ,

 and are so much fun to watch after I release them from their evening pen every morning.

Ella & Fella hang out with the frilly chickens and some ducks. If you're feeling low and need a smile in your heart, watching silly chickens, fluttering geese, and comical ducks is just the ticket ! If you don't have your own poultry then arm yourself with bread and crackers and head for the nearest duck pond . Quack- quack. ( To see more of my chickens lick here.) *

 

"O Lord, how many are Thy works ! In wisdom Thou hast made them all; The earth is full of Thy possessions. There is the sea , great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great...They all wait for Thee to give them their food in due season. Thou dost give to them, they gather it up; Thou dost open Thy hand, they are satisfied with good." Psalm 104:24-29

 

"He has told you ,O man ,what is good ; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God ? " Micah 6:8

Fairies Need Houses Too !

 I had the blessing of two granddaughters spending a few days with me while my husband took their two brothers over the mountains for a visit with cousins and some fishing. These granddaughters love to think about where the best places for fairies might be and they love even more creating little houses for fairies. Here they are rowing our little boat around Cedar Pond, I know they love to tie the boat up at the little island and explore. Maybe there are fairies there.

 Look at what she made for the fairies from a cardboard box, twigs and leaves, and bits & pieces from my craft room !

 I think a fairy is already checking out this little house in the tree.

 This granddaughter not only made a pretty pink house, but she made lawn furniture to go with it,

 and carefully arranged it for the fairies.

 Looks like a fairy is interested in this house too. I hope the fairies move in.

"A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision , that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring , is dimmed and lost even before we reach adulthood. " Rachel Carson

Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries ~ Ambassadors Of Summer

 It's that busy time of the year again, summer. The berries and cherries are ripening faster than I can keep up with them but the birds aren't complaining, they snatch up any I miss picking.

 I set aside today, normally Tea-Time Tuesday here on Cedar Pond, to make and can jam from the berries piling up in the refrigerator. But first I picked the newly ripe raspberries before the day got too hot.

 

 I set up my canning area on the back porch. I have worn out 4 stoves since we built our home because I do a lot of canning and dyeing wool, and my husband & I also love to make a lot of food for people we love. The newer stoves can't seem to hold large cooking pots without suffering for it. A few years ago we bought this camp stove for all big cooking & canning jobs and I love it ! I also appreciate canning on the shady back porch, near the kitchen, while NOT heating the house up anymore than necessary. I make the jam inside, then after filling the hot sterilized jars I process them outside. ( BTW, the stove is mighty nice for camping too.)

I made blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry jam today and the canning season has barely begun. Tomorrow I am trying a new recipe, Strawberry Margarita Jam. The pantry shelves should be full of sweet fruit jams and canned fruit by the end of August, then apple season begins and hopefully the green bean harvest from our garden will yield a big crop too. "Berries & cherries , whether harvested from brambles, bushes, patches, or trees, these tiny ambassadors of summer sweetness share one thing in common - rich, exotic, and intoxicating taste." Canning B.H. & G.

Can't Stop Blogging After All These Years

 Five years ago I began blogging while waiting for our youngest grandchild to be born. We have 8 grandchildren , the youngest and oldest of the eight are our only grandsons and both share July birthdays. I can't believe our youngest grandson is going to be 5 and our oldest is going to be 14 ! ( our daughter's 4 children are shown here on our day trip to Alder Lake last week )

 Youngest grandchild, Little 'J'. His birthday always marks my blog birthday.

 Oldest grandchild, "Bugs", he and I share a chicken blog.

 Blogging has been such a rich experience for me over the last 5 years. I have made friends through blogging, learned many new & wonderful things, shared joys and sorrows with sister-bloggers, prayed for them, been prayed for too. As I watched these four grandchildren play in the lake I  realized just how quickly life changes . Little boys and girls grow up fast ! I am thankful I began this blogging adventure because putting my thoughts into words along with pictures of my day-to-day life has given me some perspective and an even greater appreciation for this life I have, right here, right now, in the good, and the not-so-good.( But mostly good ) I publish my blog every year , believe me, I am so glad I do because I have forgotten a lot !

Blogging is a joy for me for so many reasons, but when my grandchildren open my blog books ( they often do ) and get excited about one of my previous posts, when I read a post and remember "Oh yeah, that duck WAS funny !" or " Wasn't that tea-party fun?", then I am reminded how quickly life flies by and thankful for this opportunity to record snippets of my life here on Cedar Pond through blogging. I know I can't stop blogging after all these years. Thank-you for reading my blog !

*In celebration of 5 years of blogging I will be having a give-away this month. I will be giving away a flock of 3 Wee Little Sheep .If you're interested in possibly winning the flock simply leave a comment and I'll enter your name.There will be a drawing for the winner July 31st.