July 31

We had a foggy morning today. When I left for work this morning, the fog was starting to life, but enough remained to blur the trees and fields. It was another beautiful morning!

July 30

Our neighbors were clearing out a flowerbed a few months ago and gave us some plants. This is one of them and now it's blooming. My hubby planted a bunch of them together and now they are giving us a splash of color when we look out the window.
*For those who asked, this is a Black eyed Susan.

July 29

Look at these cool plants I found growing along the road today! There were several of them that had that purple ring around the center. The stems are very prickly. I don't remember ever seeing them before and I thought they were quite unique.

*Thanks to Ione and Cherdecor who sent me tips on identifying this plant. Ione thought it may be a cuckleburr and Cheryl thought it was an Irish Thistle. I looked them both up and the Irish Thistle it is. It's nice to have a name to go with the plant!

July 28

My husband loves to carve and I think he has quite a talent for it. He has been out in his shop, after supper working on one of his little people and I got this shot of him at work.

I thought I would include a picture of one of his finished caricature carvings so you could see his work.

July 27

Aren't these good looking sheep?
I took this picture at a friends house. She and her husband raise these sheep. These two will be moving to a new home before winter comes.

July 26

Another old barn picture! This one is on the road we take to go to our church. It's not in great condition anymore, but it still has character!

July 25

There are several of these little shrubs growing wild in the wooded area near our house, and they now have these little red berries. Don't you think they look pretty against the green leaves?

July 24

I had the day off today and decided to take my walk early this morning. This beech tree is across the street from our home. We enjoy looking at it in each season, but I thought the sunbeams shining through it this morning were especially pretty!

July 23

Last evening the sun was shining while it was raining. I hopped in the car, hoping to get a picture of a rainbow. There was a rainbow, but I kept seeing it through the trees and when I found a clear spot, it was so faded it didn't show up well in the picture.
I did come across this pretty scene though. This is the Grand River, seen from a hill near our home. It was still raining lightly when I took this picture.

July 22

This is a farm that I drive by quite often. It is always kept so clean and neat, even the fences look nice!
Look at those clouds. It was sunny this morning, but we are being rained on again this afternoon!

July 21

I've mentioned before that I love old barns. They have such character about them and they are all different.
This is the door to my neighbor Tami's barn. Just think of all the use this door has gotten, and how many animals have lived in the stalls behind it!

July 20

Something sad happened here at the end of the week. The county came through and cut down everything growing in the ditches and the sides of the road. I know they had to - it's a safety issue, but I've been enjoying the weeks and wildflowers that were growing there.
I still found some though. These pretty weeds were growing on the edge of a field. I just love the color!

July 19

The crazy weather continues here! It rained while we were in church this morning and was quite cool. I decided I would have to walk on the treadmill if I didn't want to get wet. However, the clouds cleared and I was able to go for a nice walk in the afternoon.
I saw this field that was full of Queen Anne's Lace. What an intricate flower it is, when you look at it closely, almost like a snow flake in the form of a flower!

July 18

Last night we went to a White Caps baseball game. The White Caps are a Minor league baseball team near us. Bob's work invited all the employees to a game. They rented out a special deck and treated us all to supper there.
These games are fun because there is always something crazy going on. Between every inning the mascots are out playing games, like tip the cow and eyeball races to name a few!
The White Caps won over the Peoria Chiefs, 9 to 0.

July 17

It is the middle of July and the high temperature for today is supposed to be 65 degrees! Crazy weather! It's been switching between being very cloudy and the sun shining. When I was walking this morning, the sky was full of clouds but I made it home without being rained on. I thought these clouds were really kind of pretty though!

July 16

We have been having some beautiful mornings here. I love when it gets cool enough at night to have a mist over everything in the morning!
I took a different way in to work this morning so I could see some of the fields layered in mist. Don't you think this is a great way to start the day?

July 15

I was in one of my neighbors barns last night. They have horses and had some saddles hanging up. Although this one hasn't been used for a while, I was struck by the details on it. The wear on the edges also adds to its character.

July14

Isn't this the picture of innocence? Let me assure you that it's all an act. This is Oliver hiding under our bed. When we go into the bedroom, he darts in and goes under the bed, then sneaks out and attacks our feet as we walk around! He doesn't really hurt us though, and we do laugh at his crazy kitten antics!

July 13

Isn't this a neat looking flower? It's called a moon lily, or moon flower. It is closed up during the day and unfurls in the evening. This picture was taken a little after 9 at night so it's not all the way open.

July 12

I had to work this weekend. Yesterday when I went in it was thundering and lightning, with the rain pouring down. What a difference a day makes! This is a view of the road on my way in this morning. It's been a beautiful day!

June 11

Last night we went to the surprise 50th birthday party of our friend Lori. Her hubby had a small decoy party last week so she was surprised by this one!

Here are a few funny statements from one of her cards.
50 is a long time! Did you realize that when you were a kid:
Remote meant a secluded spot, off the beaten path
Cable was something that supported a bridge
A video game was trying to make out the snowy images on a 10 inch black and white tv screen
A cell phone was for your one phone call from jail
A calculator was who you hired to do your taxes
An airbag was some guy who talked too much.

A lot has changed in 50 years!

July 10

I drove past this farm today and was impressed by all the hay bales. I stopped and counted and it was stacked up this way, 15 bales back. They have a good start on being ready for winter!

July 9

I love daisies! They are so bright and cheerful. These were growing wild in the ditch near my house and they make me smile!

July 8

These are in one of our flower beds. They are called water bells. When it rains they collect water and then dump over when they get full. If there is a breeze they bump together and make a ringing sound. They make a nice accent even when they are just sitting still!

July 7

My sister is camping at Lake Michigan this week. I had the day off and went to spend the day with her. I snapped this shot as we walked to the beach. I love dune grass!

July 6

It was another beautiful morning! It had cooled off during the night and was 54 degrees when I left for work. The sun was giving a pink glow to everything and the coll air created a mist hanging over the fields. I love starting a day that way!

July 5

We spent last evening with Bob's brother Tom and his wife Bonnie. As we were sitting outside enjoying the campfire, someone noticed the rake sitting nearby and decided to re-enact the classic painting, American Gothic.
We thought it tuned out pretty funny, so I'm sharing American Gothic, part 2 with you.

July 4

Happy Fourth of July! Here in the States we are celebrating our Independance Day. We went to our town park at noon. They were having a Chicken BBQ, there were ball games being played, someone was doing chainsaw carvings...
Here are a few of the cars we saw before we got some chicken for lunch. It was delicious!

July 3

This is not the best picture, but it's cute so I'm sharing it anyway. Our kitten, Oliver is at the stage where he is always getting into something. If we leave a cabinet door open, he tries to get in. He loves to go into small places, like behind our piano or dresser.
Last night I found him in our back entry, knocking shoes off the shoe rack.

July 2

When I walk, I usually go down our road. It's a country road with ditches and fields, which gives me lots of wild flowers and weeds to look at. I've mentioned before how surprised I am, that things seem to change daily. I'm also surprised at the colors. When you drive by, everything looks green, but when you are walking you can see things better and there are lots of small splashes of color in the weeds. I thought these little grassy weeds looked quite pretty with the tint of purple at the top of them.

July 1

I had the day off today, so had time for a nice long walk. I walked to the state land near us, entering with trepidation since the last two times I was there, the mosquitoes nearly carried me away!
No need to fear today though - there were very few bugs! I did scare up a deer as I walked, but the brush was thick and he was so fast that I couldn't get a picture.
It is so quiet here, the only sounds you hear are the birds chirping and the rustle of the leaves in the wind. It even looks peaceful!