2019 SPRINGTIME

Well, once again I have allowed life and living life in abundance to interfere with my time to sit down at this computer and make time to update our blog.  We have been very busy (at times) and very lazy (at times) here at the edge of the woods.


We had a small greenhouse constructed so we don't have to bring any plants into our small house for the Winter months.

We love it!  Not too big, not too little. 

We met up with our friends from Michigan, Joyce "Thimbleberry" and Jeff "Greenstone", for a few days of camping, day hiking, visiting, and enjoying our campfire on the shore of Ratcliff Lake in February.(Ratcliff Lake is situated in the Davy Crockett National Forest)  We really appreciate them for planning their annual trip to the South each year to include getting together with us.  As always it is a relaxing fun time with friends! 

At the end of February Tom and I joined a group of 18 of our family members for a week long Caribbean Cruise......FUN IN THE SUN!

BooBoo is one lucky girl.....Cruising again!

                       Tom is 6' 2" but is short stuff compared to Shaq!

The eastern side of Cozumel Island is sparsely populated with beautiful crashing wild surf!

In March, my sister Norma's grandkids Holly and Devin decided they wanted to go to Galveston for Spring Break.  It turned out to be very cool, overcast, and  misty so there was not much activity on the beach.

We spent a lot of time in our hotel playing games and visiting with our brother Don and his wife Beth who also joined us in Galveston.

One day we four gals rented on of those four-person covered bicycles to ride along the seawall while our brother Don rode his bike with Devin.

Oh yeah, Tom got a new toy this past Spring.  Rancher Tom is ready for anything now!

The last week of March saw Erma "Flame" joining up with three women friends for a three day hike in Arkansas' along the Ouachita Trail.

Cindy "Foray"; Mary "Titmouse; Bernice "Trooper"; and Erma "Flame" 

                           FLAME; TROOPER; FORAY;  TITMOUSE 

It was awesome weather and I really enjoyed hiking on the Ouachita Trail with friends, even though on the final descent on the last day of our hike, my right knee became so painful that each step was painful and upon returning home and having several injections I have been told that I need a knee replacement.  YIKES!  Hold on Doctor, I have some more trips planned for this year so that knee replacement will have to wait until after November 16th, at least!

 In April Tom and I made our annual Springtime trip to check on our adopted section on the Ouachita Trail which begins at the Winding Stair Trailhead and goes about 2 1/2 miles eastward to the 23rd switchback down the southeast side of Winding Stair Mountain.  Our section includes the Winding Stair Shelter.

After maintaining our section of trail, we traveled eastward into Arkansas and set up camp in Springhill Park on the Arkansas River overlooking one of the Locks & Dams.  Fascinating to see how they move multiple barge loads of product up and down the river.

At the end of April, for our 19th Anniversary, we went to the Dallas Arboretum...

      .......always a pleasure to walk around in such beautiful surroundings.

In June, we met up with my grandsons and great-granddaughter in Galveston.  

                                      JUSTIN and his fiancee MERRITT

                                      DYLAN with 4 1/2 year old JULIETTE

The following day our friend Bernice came to Galveston, met us for lunch at the Fisherman's Wharf and as always we rode the Galveston Ferry over to Bolivar and back.  

Now Tom has a cover for his new tractor and we have a nice new shop area.

In my next post I will tell you about our 12-day trip to Leavenworth, Washington and Spokane, Washington.

Catching Up at the End of 2018

Well here we are almost to the end of the year and I realized I have not updated this blog in quite a while.  Actually quite a long while.

We did make a trip to Galveston this past Summer.  As always we rode the Galveston/Port Bolivar ferry which is always a relaxing and enjoyable ride over and back.

In the evening we went on a sunset cruise and watched this awesome sunset.

Tom grew a wonderful garden this year and we enjoyed eating fresh vegetables all Summer, we filled our freezer for the Winter months, shared our excess veggies with family and friends, and Tom even grew some beautiful flowers at the end of some of the rows in the garden.

 It allowed us to have fresh cut flowers in our house for weeks!

                                                  Lovely!

Tom is going to experiment with raised bed gardening, probably starting out with some herbs?

We made our third trip this year to Oklahoma the first week of November to maintain our adopted section of the Ouachita Trail.  It was a glorious sunshine-filled day and the Fall colors were just gorgeous. 

We hardly ever see anyone on the trail but on this day we met these three hikers who had started their hike at the Ark./Okla. state line and were hiking west to Talimena State Park where the Ouachita Trail begins.

 

It was such a nice day to be out in the woods not to mention the views!

I love showing off this Christmas Cactus plant when it blooms.

 We have had this Christmas Cactus for several years and we put it outside in the Spring once the fear of frost is gone and we leave it outdoors all Summer, bringing it inside before the first frost in the Fall.  Then in December it just really shows off!

I walked outside early the other morning and was stunned by this incredible sunrise over the hay meadow behind our house.

               We are so fortunate to live in the quiet countryside.

Sadly, three more of the large cedars on the south side of our house were dying and rather than risk them falling onto our house we contracted to have them taken down.

We will be receiving much more morning sunlight on that side of our house now.  We sure will miss all the shade we had for so many years from all those big cedar trees.

In Memory of my Mom

Sadly we lost my Mom on May 30, just shy of her 92nd birthday.  Needless to say Mom being gone has left a huge hole in my family's lives.  I am so grateful for the upbringing that my Mom and Dad provided for me and my siblings.  What a blessing it was to have had Mom live her life fully right to the end.

               In Loving Memory of my Mom