Today is Christmas Day.  Although most of the country is struggling with winter snows, we have been having blessed rain.
We did not travel this year and I am happy to be safe, secure (even if the cloud cover is preventing satellite reception) and healthy.
This is a time of year for family and friends and good food and memories.
My mind is full of memories (70+ years worth).  A brief chat with my husband of 55 years (tomorrow) will recall something for both of us.  So, thankfully, we can be together another Christmas and share a quiet and peaceful day and rain.

These are a few of my favorite things.  If you "hover" over the picture and click, it will enlarge a bit for more detail.

The bell is one of 2 that have survived that I painted in my tole painting days years ago,  and the trees have been accumulating for years The one with the red "berries" are to me Cardinals that I think of  because my sister loves them.

This is my favorite because of the stories I relive when I look at these.  The duck has its own story in that it "flew away"  when my son was moving.  Blew right out of the pickup and the head broke off.  I had painted this wood duck for him. Unfortunately for him, he is living at my house as I have never quite gotten him repainted.  The 2 pictures are of  New Mexico ruins and aspens.

So, they are here on the web and much easier to "find" than scanning through the many, many pictures.
A blessed and joyful Christmas and "God Bless Us Everyone"

CANTON, TEXAS FLEA MARKET

You cannot have a story of Texas without a windmill

Perfect morning for a drive

While taking pictures of grazing cattle, they began to gather together to see what I was

I have been driving to Canton for over 20 years and still look forward to it.  It is constantly changing.
I have learned that certain times of the year, it is

Another scene in Texas travels, barbed wire fencing.

a good idea to get there EARLY.  Since I live 2 hours away, this means up and out by 6AM.

If I am lucky, I get to see scenery like these pictures.  Fog is fascinating and a wonderful subject to use in picture taking.

I have a dear sister-in-law, who is not a morning person at all and she is a real trouper when I start waking her at 5:30AM.  She is my Canton buddy!

The biggest weekend is the first weekend of the first Monday in December.

At last the City of Canton!

 Canton is an East Texas city of 3,583 and the County Seat.  Which meas it has a court house in the center of the county, or as near as possible to the center.

This building is the first place we visit when we arrive.  The facility is hilarious in that the stalls are tiny and have a shower curtain (cut in half lengthwise) for privacy.  Awkward to say the least, but all in fun of the day's adventures to come.

The trade days was originally called First Monday.  And if memory serves, trading was held on the court house grounds.

I have no idea what the population swells to on the first Monday weekend. Thousands and thousands travel from all over the country to be there, antiquing, shopping and eating and more eating.

 What I really love about this place along with all the shopping and eye filling displays, is the people.  Even with crowds so thick in some of the permanent buildings, everyone is so friendly and seem to be having a really good time.

I am sure there are other large flea markets around the country with the same type of shoppers.
I hope to visit some of them some time.

This is one of my favorite places.  It is not very big, but so welcoming and tastefully done, it is one of the first places I head to.

When my husband and I first began visiting Canton, there were not as many permanent buildings as there are now, I call the unreserved area the "cheap seats".  This is where the fun really is.

I am going to post as is and add pictures at a later date.

Texas and snow

I have been reading a book with a great description of what snow is all about.  The blizzards in South Dakota and other northern states area a thing of extreme danger of freezing to death.................

So, I am reminded of a snow we had here in north Texas a few years ago in February that was so awesome in its amount, and the after effects...............

It was "only 12 inches"  no blizzard winds, nor deep freeze, but something to behold.

The tall tree in the back ground is a pine.

 

These were taken from the patio. Many of the branches were so heavy they dragged the ground.  I worried that the limbs might break.

Now, I am originally from northern Minnesota.  I have seen "snow", but after 50 years living in Texas, this was remarkable.

No branches broke and the snow was gone 12 hours later.  Looking out on this view from  warm and toasty windows, it was a treat.

Then, there are the cardinals.  We have cardinals year round, but they are so photogenic. So, here's a few of my favorite pictures

Cardinals rarely approach the patio, this guy was looking for food

Bluebonnets and what I think.

In 2010, after several really bad summers, that included bad springs and sorry bluebonnet germination in my area, the stars all lined up and decided to make up for lost time with a wonderful show last spring.
That being said; it would have been wonderful(er) IF our neighbor at the top of the hill hadn't had a water main break.  My husband was in the our yard at the bottom of the hill and suddenly was standing in 5" of water.

Now, that set up an interesting problem...... Bluebonnets are funny seeds.  They need to lay around most of the time, even for several years and get "roughed" a bit.  Seems, they need the outer shell of the seed weakened to absorb moisture.  A lot of things come into play.  I even think birds that have crops,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,well, you get the idea.

So, the spring after the flood, I noticed piles of swollen bluebonnet seeds along the garden area next to the house.  Sure enough, hundreds of seeds were floated down hill and stopped there.  The ones that passed by the house, floated to the level area on the north side of the house.

OK, now, when bluebonnets get wet, get tossed around and have freezing weather.... I noticed (not in time) that those suckers were germinating overnight!!!!  I didn't get most of them separated and scattered in time and I then had a mat of seedlings.  The seedling root is very tender and doesn't like to be disturbed.

This is what happens when seeds pile up.  Most will be lost because they are too close

I chose to pull a lot of them as a sacrifice to the greater good.  Then, just waited until the little seedlings established themselves in the ground and then carefully dug out what I could and transplanted in other areas as well as pots. This was relatively successful but not so great when they reached full size and started blooming.
Oh, don't get me wrong, the color of bluebonnets is one of natures miracles.  The problem was, they were too crowded, grass was too aggressive and grew too tall and made the bluebonnets leggy.

Over all, it was beautiful in spots and annoying in other places .

This patch is a result of the "flood". Not quite what I had planned for this area.
Sometimes, you go with nature's choice.

The rose is a  Knockout species.  They are nearly indestructible.

This bed was full of Bluebonnets that weren't scattered by the flood

 2004 /April

2004 color

This picture is so special to me in that both my sisters and their husbands came to visit in 2004 because I said this was "THE YEAR". I wasn't really that positive, but as it turned out, God said YES IT WAS!!!  It was one of the most enjoyable springs in my memory.

In years past, this whole area was a sea of bluebonnet color.



My camera does not do justice to the fantastic color that filled the area.  This picture was the last year of bluebonnet color in this area.  The heat set in and things changed. I saw plants that were only one inch high with a tiny blue flower on it.  When it is time, regardless of weather, bluebonnets have to bloom. It was so sad.



This was the turning point in my garden experience.  I "took charge" of nature, soil, rain, physical ailments and back breaking work.

This is what the area looks like now.

Given another year or so, the bluebonnets are still with us. The seeds may lay around for years before they are ready to bloom and offer surprises in the most inappropriate places.

This is what makes gardening an enjoyable time, regardless of failures.  Nature doesn't make mistakes, just "happy accidents".


                                                                                                                                                                               

This little plant has come up in the gravel path that covers the whole garden area.  Unfortunately, there is an underlayment that makes it impossible to dig up and transplant.

A blog for small gardeners

A blog I love.  I thought my gardens were small, then I came across this unpretentious and beautiful blog.  I found a new "quote"  {It's not having what you want, It's loving what you have}

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

Click here
TheNotSoBigGarden

Spring 2012

It is too chilly and windy to do yard work and I am thinking of my trip to South Dakota in May.

My niece and her husband have a ranch in Milesville, SD

In my limited understanding of ranch life, I am saying this time of year is for rounding up the calves for branding and treatment of cows.

I

This kind of life is so different from anything I can imagine.  The branding is only a part of life on a ranch.  I was privileged to be there visiting in time for the annual event.  I don't ride or even think  of what it must be like to ride out in that wonderful, wide open land and then ride an animal that knows more than I do about how gather those cows and their babies into some sort  of semblance of a line and herd them to the pens at the ranch house area.


That being said, the first time I was there (2011) it was chilly, misting and generally not a good day to be out.
I was in an over heated kitchen helping my niece, and another ranch wife, prepare the meals for the hands who would need food and lots of it.,  That day, everyone ate inside
My niece found their dining room table at an auction that has so many leaves it can stretch far enough to seat18. There were over 30 people to be fed.

I didn't bring a camera that year.

This past May, I did. This year it was warmer and very dry, hence the dust.



 My job was to basically keep the dishes and pans washed and help set the tables, for break around 10AM and then lunch around noon.  Sort of reminded me of church functions when the women clean in the kitchen and visit, while the men and children are fed in the dining room.
This year, it was warm and dry, a lot easier on the drivers, so the tables were outside,














My niece prepared the meal (with the help of another ranch wife). (this shot if of my niece at the refrigerator and her friend at the sink)  Some of the prep began the night before and then the main meal beef and elk roasts (huge) roasted in the oven overnight , 5 pounds of potatoes (I can peel you know), 2 huge bowls of salad and hot rolls and pies, pies and more sweets. Oh, yes corn from a can. warmed in a crock pot









In the "down" time, my niece told me to go out and take pictures.  I did.  The whole time outside, there was the constant bawling of the calves and calls of the mommas.

My brother in law brought his old (city) dog with.   Barney could not make out what that noise was and was not very sure of himself.  If it hadn't been for the ranch dogs, he would not have been very happy.(Barney is brown)                          

   
I  took pictures and more pictures.  Not nearly as many as I should have and missed out on the kitchen business and tables inside.

I believe this building was where my niece and family lived while building the main house

 

Something I noticed last year and this, the young people brought beer with them. My niece and her husband do not drink and these young men and women took their "supplies"  outside.  No rowdy behavior, no cussin', just doin' what they do outside.  Oh yeah, and everyone took their muddy boots off in the mud room on entering the house.



                                                        

All in all, the cowboys and cowgirls from nearby ranches spent at least 9 hours at this ranch.  They do this what ever the weather (my niece said that cooking in her kitchen and serving in her home beat delivering to the riders in the back of a pickup, in the driving snow, wind or what ever else mother nature throws their way.)

Probably the next weekend they will all go to another rancher's spread and do the same thing.  They only hope they will be as well fed as they were on this day and the day last year.  My niece believes in feeding people who work hard. Bless her.