Taking It Easy

It was a beautiful day to spend working with the horses.

This is Rascal, Kali's horse.

Actually, Mark worked and I watched.

I spent the morning at the podiatrist having my achilles tendon issue re-evaluated. 

Walking is a major pain right now, so I'm spending a lot of time sitting. 

(This is Gus. Our primadonna, or prima-don as the case may be.)

So I rode out and sat and took some cell phone pictures of the boys. 

Ha! Sawyer is sticking his tongue out at me! 

Actually he was hoping to get some more treats. 

They all were.

Gus always hope for more treats. And he thinks licking the camera will help his cause. Silly Gus!

Then the girls wanted treats. 

No idea why Luna is hiding behind that post!

I swear I think they were plotting against me.

"Let's frolic and be all cute and stuff.

Maybe the lady will give us more treats!"

Sawyer was all like, 

"Grow up, girls!

You have to act all nonchalant, 

like you don't care.

Then she'll give you all the treats you want."

Keep dreaming, Sawyer!

And, back to my ice pack I go.

Refuge

As you go through today, just remember that God already sees your path and He is going before you. 

Trust Him to protect you and to keep you safe. 

Sheltered in the refuge of His wings.

(Photo taken in Melbourne, Florida. 

April, 2013, by Alice Hendon.

A Tangled Web

 When I woke up this morning it was hazy and foggy outside. 
Standing at my work desk, looking out the windows, 
I noticed this web attached to one of the metal posts out on the deck.

I haven't taken any photos in a long time, but I just had to go outside 
to try to capture this shot as the dew and mist hung on the web. 
Glad I did because it wasn't five minutes before 
the sun came out and dried up all the mist.

So Long to Debby!

These are my new feed-the-horses-in-the-monsoon boots!

(Not a good quality picture - sorry - taken with my phone.) We needed to get hay to the horses, so we headed out. What a production! The first thing we noticed is that the road is still a major mess! See the pond where these teens are swimming? That's our road and they are standing up.

Thank the good Lord for our tractor! We were able to travel off-road to get a roll of hay in. Mark only lost the roll off the back of the tractor once - in the road :). Thankfully I was no longer standing on the side of the tractor at that point, because the front of the tractor lifted off the ground as the roll of hay splashed into the river! Uh, road!

The entrance to the fields is still under water, but it isn't quite as deep as it was yesterday. It is starting to receed.

And the front pasture is still under water, although not as deep :).

And in some spots it isn't horrible :).

This is the "higher ground" we moved the horses to. Normally the donkeys have full reign of this area, now all of the animals are housed in this field.

It is always safe to assume that Sawyer is thrilled to see food in any shape, form, or variety! What an awesome picture I got with my phone! I am still afraid to take my nice camera - and good thing when I almost got pitched into the river - uh, road - when we lost the roll of hay!

All in all, a very hopeful day! It didn't rain today - yay!!! The sun was shining for part of the day! The horses are fed, we didn't lose the tractor down a mudhole, and my fancy new boots kept my feet dry! Great day!!! Now, if our friends in Colorado could fare as well. 


Lifting prayers for the Sieberts, Yuens, Rutkowskis, Greens, Craddocks, Schlichtings, Jeubs, Hagoods, and Steve Warren! Several have been evacuated. We are hearing conflicting stories about the house of one family. Praying for safety and a quick end to the fires!

Flourish

Cedar Key, 2012

Just spent a few days in Cedar Key. Lots of sun, heat, water, and fun.  Hope to post more pictures soon. 
Right now my editing is being hampered by Tropical Storm Beryl. Not good!

We certainly had a good time, although we would have liked to stay another week or so - hahaha! 
Didn't know this storm was coming through, it's probably a good thing we aren't still there. 
Cedar Key hasn't historically done well with storms!

Everglades, 2012

Mark, Mike, and Bill just returned from their annual 2-day fishing trip in the Florida Everglades. 
This year they took along Tony - he's new to this annual jaunt. 
Were they successful? Uh, yeah! 
All I can tell you for sure - this was only a portion of what they brought home! Good job, guys!

A Garden Built on Love

Isn't this garden beautiful? I had the good fortune to spend part of one afternoon walking through this garden and just enjoying myself. Tucked away in the backyard of a beautiful home, it is completely apparent that this was a garden built by loving hands. A garden of significance and meaning. A garden of love.

The couple in the next to last photo was celebrating 50 years of marriage. Fifty wonderful years by all accounts. Fifty years later and they are still best friends. Fifty years later and they are still holding the family together in one huge hug of affection. One daughter and three sons, their spouses and children, all make for a loving family weekend celebrating all the memories, devotion, and commitment.

One thing I noticed repeatedly, every person there was familiar with this garden. Familiar with the birdhouses, familiar with the statuary, familiar with the plants, familiar with the lighting. It was obvious to me that each person there had spent time in this garden with these grandparents. This truly is a garden that was built on love!

Topiary Gardens

Welcome to the Pearl Fryar Topiary Gardens, located in Bishopville, South Carolina. All this was created by one man.

Pearl Fryar began work on his gardens at his home in the early 1980s. In 1985, he was awarded Yard of the Month.

By the mid-1990s, Pearl's topiary gardens gained national recognition, being featured in numerous newspapers, magazines, and television programs. In 2006, there was even a documentary made about Pearl and his gardens - aptly titled A Man Named Pearl.

Pearl bought this piece of property - a corn field at the time - totally barren of trees. He planted every single tree and shrub you see in these photos. (It's amazing how he trains them to grow in certain ways, distorted, into shapes.

Many of these plants and trees were retrieved from compost/trash piles at various nurseries.

Pearl took plants that were "ugly", or sick, or undesired by others, and crafted and coaxed them into living works of art and beauty - impressive topiaries.

He maintains his topiary by trimming the trees every 4-6 weeks. People come from miles around to see Pearl's creations. He even donated one to the State Museum in Columbia, South Carolina!

Pearl had no previous experience with topiaries. He got a quick 3-minute lesson on topiaries from a local nursery, and went to work cutting up the bushes around his home.





Pearl also designs metal sculptures and fountains, which he has placed throughout the garden.

He uses scrap metal to create what he calls "junk art." If you look closely in the next few pictures, you may find the words "love," "peace," "goodwill."




My favorite photo from the whole shoot, L O V E. Pearl must be one remarkable man.

Do you see the dog drinking from the fountain?


And across the bridge is the Garden with a Message. A message of love, peace, and goodwill. Pearl wanted his visitors to leave with a positive message.

Pearl literally dug trenches in the ground - in the shape of letters - and filled them with pine straw. It spells out the words love, peace, goodwill in 8 foot tall letters.


Continuing with the love theme.

The reverse side.

The sun was wonderful that day.

Do you see the message? Kali said this picture was all sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies :).




Do you see the elephant?

This was a really impressive place. A huge work of living art. Pearl has his own website at www.pearlfryar.com. You can find more information there. I picked up a brochure during our visit. Most of this information (don't I sound brilliant?) actually came from that brochure. If you get near Bishopville, you should definitely drop in and say hello to Pearl!