Scrapbook background

I'm not a scrapbooker, but I like collages. I put together this digital picture, using some random photos I'd taken and one of the digital sheets I've added to one of  my Etsy shops, diaimage. I'm going to post more  sheets in different styles over the next week.

Back in Action

I can't believe I haven't posted in over two months. My how time flies! this is one of the biggest things that has been occupying my time lately.  We love to put out a big garden, even thought it's a lot of work. Now it's to the point of keep out the weeds, and wait. We have corn, beans, tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, squash, and cucumbers. I planted sunflowers but some critter ate them all as soon as they came up. It's always a wait and see thing to see what seeds come up and what animals or bug will be waiting for them. Right now I can picture the racoons sitting in the woods watching for our corn to start setting ears, they love it and seem to know exactly when to "pick"it!
Back in February I started a gourd project that has taken me a lot longer than any others have. It's been one of those things that nothing came together right! I posted about it here:gourd beginings II, gourd beginings III, and  gourd...middle?.  So it's almost done, I think I want to add a couple more little touches to it. Here's a (really bad) picture.

Hopefully I'm back on track, and will finish it and post it for sale soon.

New pictures of Gracie

I took Gracie on a walk last week. just the two of us. Well not exactly  the two of us, Porky had to go along. But since he thinks he's a king and doesn't have to associate with the peons he stayed in the distance, just close enough that we knew he was there. Anyway, Gracie and I enjoyed our girl time, she hadn't been in this part of the woods before so she stuck pretty close to me, something that I know will change as she gets older and the genes kick in.

In this picture you can see the foot that froze, she lost all the toes on this foot, as well as small places on the other back foot and part of her tail. She is a fireball, though!

"You can't see me, can you?" She was hiding behind a tree, or thought she was.

Who could resist this face?
We've had a lot of dogs over the years, and some of them really touch the heart. Gracie has been one of those. For those of you who don't know her story, I posted about it  meet the puppies.
She has become one of those pets who make their way into your heart and stay there. 

Team Giveaway

Check out this great giveaway from CAST (Christian Artist Street Team )members! Wonderful items!

CAST giveaway

Meet the Puppies

My husband's Walker hound Princess gave birth on February 18 to eight puppies, 4 males and 4 females. She has been a great Momma, very good considering it was her first time. We didn't have a good place to keep her and the pups warm, so a friend offered his workshop/garage as a  "birthing room" since he could keep a fire going if need be  during the first crucial days.

We brought the little ones(and Mama!) home today, at 6 weeks old. We've been visiting them every day, it's good to have them here where we can see them anytime we want.
This is Thumbtack, he's the male Richard decided he wanted to keep when they were 1 week old. He's grown into the largest of the litter, We'll have to by a saddle for him when he's full grown!

This is Gracie. I don't have a really good picture of her, but she is a special baby.
All of the pups  were born about the same size, which is unusual. There didn't seem to be a runt in the bunch.  Then when they were two weeks old, somehow Gracie got out of the whelping box. It had been really warm that day, so  it was decided that the fire wouldn't be needed. None of us know why she got out of the box, or why mama didn't' come after her when she heard her crying, but for whatever reason she laid on a cold concrete floor all night.
When our friend found her the next morning, he thought she was dead. She was cold and still. He picked her up and laid her outside the pen while he cleaned it out. His mom was with him and she told him she thought the pup was breathing. He checked her and felt the inside of her mouth, which was cold. He really thought she was beyond help, until he heard her whine. so he brought her to our house. I was at work, Richard called me in a panic wanting to know where the heating pad was, what the milk recipe was, etc.He put her in a box with a covered heating pad,fed her,"wooled" her, and watched her like a hawk all day.  I came home on my lunch break to check on her, and she seemed fine.
That evening we decided to take her back to mama, and I noticed her left back paw was blistered and swelled. Long story short (too late) she had frozen back feet and the end of her tail was frozen, from laying on the cold floor. Since then I doctored her feet and spoiled her, and convinced Richard she need to stay with us. It didn't take a lot of convincing.

In this picture she is resting against my leg. All tuckered out from playing.
I'll try to get a good picture of her soon to post.
Oh, and her name. I wanted something to mean "miracle"  One day the friend's mom who had found her almost frozen that morning said "it was a saving grace we found her when we did"
Grace!!! God's grace works for his creatures as well as us, so I have a reminder. My Gracie.

Maple Tapping Time

This past week we tapped our maple trees, something we've been doing for several years and really enjoy. It started as something for my husband to do during February and March, which is between all the hunting seasons and farming seasons, pretty much a down time for him. He remembered how all the families around here tapped their sugar trees and made cane molasses when he was growing up (along with raising their own meat and just about everything else the family ate). So he found someone with a vat for sale and we started a yearly tradition.
   We usually do this a lot early than we did this year, but the weather wasn't right for it until the last couple of weeks. Warm days and cold nights make the sap run. This year we also hung fewer buckets, only 23, and ended up with almost 3 gallons. Plenty for us and our family and friends.
  Here are pictures, starting with Richard tapping trees and ending with the finished product. He boils it over a fire until it gets to a certain point, then I take it in the house, strain it and jar it. We had some on pancakes this morning and it was GOOD!!!

Fingerprint Friday

Beki at The Rusted Chain was inspired to start Fingerprint Friday. Her inspiration was a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, and her wish to find out what others saw as the fingerprint of God

I  see God in so many things, in the love of family, the laughter of children, the comfort of home. But the first thing that came to mind was nature.

From the tiniest creature or bit of dirt to stately  trees to mountains, every inch is covered with the fingerprint of God. His majesty, love, and creativity shows in every minute detail.

Every little bug counts forsomething        



Nature isn't always pretty, or kind, but it knits together in an amazing pattern. Proof of God's greatness and plan.

I spend a lot of time outdoors, looking and absorbing, and it's my belief that God's fingerprint is everywhere.