Gracie's on the roof again!

Our Gracie Girl cat is a jumper.  She jumps up on the roof of our first floor by leaping from the porch rail to the garage roof and then to the house roof.  Gracie then proceeds to "secure the premises" by scouting out any stray invaders to the house - such as bugs or starlings or other birds on the roof that just might slip through the screen and get in the house (little likelihood of that, Gracie).  She is very good at this security position.  Gracie does on occasion eat a bug or two while "on duty" but she has never eaten a bird on the roof - yet.  Notice the cows in the pasture.    They must think she is "Superwoman Cat" - leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

Gracie is the epitome of grace, agility and flexibility.  She loves the other other cats and all the people who live here and visit.   She has always been on this farm with us. She is a joy to watch, even when on the roof.

Fields of Gold

We have been aplenty with golden blooms this year.  Fields of Gold...Buttercups.  This is the breathtaking view from the backyard looking towards the property across the road at the end of the three acres.  As a child, and even as a playful adult, I would hold a buttercup under my chin to show everyone that I  liked butter,

and I do.  

Although I do not have a photo of the flood plain in the far distance down the driveway, those fields are also bathed in yellow.  Spring.

Buttercups and daisies,

Oh, the pretty flowers;

Coming ere the Springtime,

To tell of sunny hours.”

Mary Howitt

Underground utilities

Look at that wide stripe!  Through our upstairs office window we can easily see the strip protecting newly planted grass covering the path dug for underground utilities.  It is amazing to live in the country and have no overhead wires around the house.  The power, phone and DSL should never be lost!  Occasionally we still need to "reboot" DirecTV, but it is wonderful having so many channels on this hill overlooking the flood plain in the far distance.  Never a worry about flooding either.  Can it get any better?  Why would we want to move to Florida and its hurricanes and tornados and 4pm daily thunderstorms.  Only one answer...family, family we love and want to be near to.  We will miss the security of our underground wiring and Dr. Joe and Jean.   Thanks to Dr. Joe next door for arranging for the underground service.  Nifty!

Grammy's Kitchen

Clean, white, large.  That's this kitchen.  It is often filled with people - young and old.  Many  gatherings have been held here with the serving of meals both sit-down and buffet style, with people making ice cream sundaes along the counters, by serving cups of coffee and tall glasses of fresh brewed iced tea plus the bonus of my husband's breadmaking, the results of which are scrumptious to eat and wonderful to smell as it bakes.  A happy place for us and for many friends and family members.    And for yours....

Let the light pour in, and it does.  Thank you, Lord.

Oak leaves, Pollen, Pat's office

We had the builders remove the wall between the two bedrooms on the second floor of the house.  This allowed for one huge office.  Pat's desk is shown here.  Neat.  See the oak leaves through the window?  The pollen is a curse of Western North Carolina for about three weeks, and then the beauty makes us forget all the sneezing!

Redbud Tree

Often wonder why they call it Redbud, when it is really more majenta?  This is a nice time with this tree as the new leaves are breaking free and the redbuds are still very much adorning the limbs.

Notice the young cows in the background.  Love to see the animals here on the farm.  They are well taken care of by Chuck who was raised a farmer and loves being a farmer.  Even his stepsons who are at NC State are aiming to become farmers upon graduation.  They work here a lot.  Nice young men.

Azalea and Spirea

Spring is truly here when the Azaleas pop!  Although we have just finished (I think) Blackberry Winter's cooler blast of air reminding all of us to cherish warmth as winter will come again.

Ashley's Stepping Stones

   

Over the years here, Ashley painted 5 stepping stones - her landscape artwork. 

Four are pictured. 

Her mom is going to place these in her garden. 

So glad these have a new loving home for Ashley to enjoy for years to come. 

Thanks, Alicia!

Sweet Woodruff and a Climber

We used to live in a shady area and when we were building here, we brought a couple of plant rootings to place in our new yard.  This is a sunny yard of 2.95 acres, so I sought out the perfect place for my shade-loving sprouts.  After 8 years, they are still thriving - Sweet Woodruff is the ground cover and I don't know the name of the climber, but it has white and green leaves, is non-invasive, and is a great accent to these mature trees.  I am glad I brought them! 

Sunrise

Sunrise Easter 2010 over the flood plain of the French Broad River.  This is a typical view from our side porch and master suite on the first floor of the house and from the office/bedroom areas on the second floor.  Begins each day with new wonder!

"On Easter Day the veil between time and eternity thins to gossamer."   Douglas Horton

Weigela is an early blooming shrub located in our transfer or perennial garden in the back acreage.   These are so nice to cut and display indoors while having a vast number of blossoms on the shrub outside to brighten up the outdoors Spring with pink!

A friend of mine grew these years ago and she would bring them to the office and display with Forsythia and opened Pussy Willows.    Lovely.

I have never tried to propagate a new Weigela shrub, but I understand it is quite easy to root from a fresh cutting.  Trim off the lower leaves, dip in rooting compound, and start rooting in moist peat moss.  Roots should start in a couple of weeks.

 Worth a try one day to share with others or locate in a new place on the land.

Musical Home

My father was musical,  but my mom was not.  I took after Mom!  Imagine the joy of having talented grandchildren filling our home with the songs of many decades as well as classical music.  They sing, they play trombones, keyboards and violins...plus an occasional harmonica tune!  They play CDs, iTunes, you name it.  They bring their musical friends and play concerts in our living room!!  Oh, and, of course, they play WII Rock Band and sing along with American Idol.  Whatever!!  It is all fun to us.  Thank you dear grandchildren.  May this home always be blessed with music of the heart and soul, of the past and present, and of the talents of its owners and visitors. 

Home in winter....

                                Fairwinds - serene, safe, warm.

Dog cousins...

Oh, to have Spring again and to frolic in the grass as did Kolo and Skipper, "cousins" who love their time together on the three acres.

Looking from the side porch is the faraway restored Holloman farmhouse.  It has several horses, couple of dogs, and kids from time to time.  We can hear the merriment when they do a bonfire and many of the family members attend.  In this wintery scene the sky breathes blue for a bit, before the next snowfall.  The gardens are warmed by coats of snow.  Still.  Nice.  Breathtaking.

December's Storm

The December and January snows have been beautiful, but difficult as the snow just never seems to end.  Say Good-bye to us, El Nino!  We need sun and Spring to come soon. 

This is the view from our house to one of the grazing pastures of the farm.  So white...so cold.  So lovely.

There is never a boring view from this home.  This view looks from the driveway across the field in the direction of Pisgah Mountain, which can be seen from the house on clearer days.  I love the snow clinging to the tree limbs and the pristine snow lying on the ground...as yet untouched by wildlife, pets, grandchildren or us.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”   John Ruskin

FRONT YARD SUNSET!

Catch your breath!  Looking from the front porch across the driveway and beyond the pasture.   Each sunset is even more spectacular in person!

  This awesome  picture of early morning mist was  shot by my granddaughter, Ashley, from the side porch of our home. The photo is overlooking the distant French Broad River flood plain in Mills River.  It is quite breathtaking. The sepia tones were caught by the camera and not by editing. Way to go, Ashley!

Our Rose Garden, which is somewhat heart shaped in design, bloomed well this year. Must be more due to lots of rain and sun than to my green thumb. Well, maybe my thumb helped a bit, but the credit goes to Mom Nature!