Along The Fence

The photo prompt for 52 Photos Project this week is  "along the fence".  Great prompt for me because I love fences...all kinds, sizes, and colors.  They have such wonderful lines,  angles, and curves. There is something extra special about a white picket fence though. Not only are they beautiful, but they always make me think of Huckleberry Finn having to whitewash the fence! I really don't think the fence he and his friends painted was as pretty as this one though! I'm not even sure how you would even paint this fence with all the vines one it!

What's behind this beautiful fence?  A lovely antebellum house, Curran Hall, which was built in 1842-43. It has been restored and reopened as the Little Rock Visitor Center.

The vine growing on the fence is Hyacinth Bean. One of volunteers at the visitor center is supposed to send me some seeds. I sure hope they'll grow for me!

Not only does it have beautiful flowers but its has the most amazing bean pods. The light is so bright you can see the seeds inside the pod.

OK, back to the fences.

wrought iron fences look elegant and classy

ornate fences show off fine workmanship

rusty fences have character

  barbed wire fences are strong and ageless

Fences

keep things in

or keep things out

or just look beautiful!!

Weeping Willow Tree

Willow Haiku
Elegant, graceful

Swaying softly in the wind

Lovely willow tree

                                      CSH 2011
 

If I had to pick a favorite tree, it would be a Weeping Willow.

The willow is elegant and beautiful.

Her leaves gracefully dance in the wind.

She provides shade from the burning sun.

The willow plants her feet and stands firm.

Her branches though small, will bend not break.

Some see the weeping willow as a symbol of sadness.

Not me, I see her weeping only happy tears.

I see her joyful to be a part of God's beautiful creation.

 

Linked to Live Every Moment A Photo Challenge - orchards, trees, leaves

Beautiful, Beautiful Quilts

 Quilts, quilts and more quilts!
Quilts of every color and size were displayed at the Saline County Quilt Guild's annual show that I attended with my sister.

It's always so inspiring to see such beautiful quilts.  I do a little quilting, but, they are mostly smaller wall hangings (you can see some of those here.) I admire these quilters for their talent of choosing the right fabrics and patterns and then completing the quilt.  I've only finished one regular size quilt, you can see it here. I have a few works in progress that I really need to get back to, maybe this winter! Although, I think I said that last winter!

 This was one of my favorites.  I love the pattern, which I don't think I've seen before. She chose such beautiful fabrics that blend so well together.

 

 Isn't this a beautiful quilt with gorgeous fall colors! For some reason, it reminds me of castles and knights in armor.

When I looked at this quilt I realized I knew the children in the photos!  This quilt was made by a friend of mine. The pictures scattered around are of her daughter, son-in-law and her grandchildren. The little girl looking through the photo album is Briana. She was born in Korea and was adopted into this wonderful family.  The photos lying around are of her new family. I love this special story of a family that brought love and joy to this beautiful, sweet girl! When I saw what it represented, it brought tears to my eyes. She is blessed to be loved so much!

 

My friend also made this feed sack quilt.
The fabrics in this time period are my favorite.

I love the vintage look this beautiful quilt has!!

Beautiful landscape quilt! 

I would like to try something like this!

This is a small wall hanging.

I might actually get something this size finished!

I love the fall leaves on this and the batik fabrics are beautiful!

 This is a variation of the Log Cabin quilt that I haven't seen before.  Lots and lots of pieces in this one!!

I really love the colors in this one!

I can't imagine the hours it took appliquing all these pieces!

I wish the pictures were better, but there just wasn't enough room to step back and get good shots. These quilts remind me of winter.  There's nothing better than sleeping under a warm quilt! I'm working on a queen size quilt right now, but it won't get done for this winter!

The Joy Of Reading

I love this beautiful statue that is in front of the Bob Hertzfeld Memorial Library in Saline County, Arkansas. It was donated by Joyce and Jim Faulkner who wanted to instill a love of reading in young people.

It makes me smile that  the little boy has fallen asleep, as  the girl continues to read. That's pretty typical, I think most girls love to read more than boys!  I love how they kicked off their shoes to get comfortable and are barefoot.

When I saw this statue outside the library I was flooded with wonderful childhood memories of books and libraries. Reading has always been such a large part of my life. I've loved to read from a very young age when Dick and Jane were the characters in my first reader!!  I remember getting books as birthday and Christmas presents. I still have a few of my first Little Golden Books and my Nancy Drew books. We couldn't afford a lot of books in our home so we depended on the bookmobile to bring new and exciting library books for us to read.  In the late 50's we lived just across the street from the bookmobile stop, a small grocery store called "The Food Basket." I can still remember the excitement as we watched for it to arrive...as we held Mom's hand and crossed the street to climb aboard.

color postcard

I still remember what it looked like inside. The smell of many books in one small place was wonderful. I remember the joy of finding books to check-out for a month. Books I would read over and over again.

Now I go to the library near my home, I still love the smell of books, and I still love to read. But, I miss the excitement of the bookmobile arriving!

 

"The more you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

A Week In Review

My Favorite Photo Of The Week

 I have always been fascinated by shadows.

I love the lacy shadow of the leaf end.

The Simple Things

It is now officially fall!

This makes me smile!! 

Cooler weather and beautiful colors

are something I look forward to!

Picture Inspiration Week 31 - Extreme Crop

We were to use the camera to crop an image in an extreme way. I took this photo in the early morning light when the dew was still on the leaf.

52 Photos Project - When Daylight Fades

Crawly Things For My Grandsons

Yesterday morning it was foggy.

Today when I went outside

(not in my pajamas this time!!)

the sun was coming up,

the clouds were beautiful,

and there was a chill in the air!

Yeah, fall may be coming!!

As I looked around

I began to spot

little crawly things.

So, this post has pictures of little crawly things for my four grandsons.
If you don't like crawly, gooey creatures, you might just want to close the post. These images may not be suitable for the squeamish!! (Personally, I don't really like them, I just do it for the boys!!)

I found this guy eating the leaves
of the willow tree
Gramps and Jake planted!!

Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar!!

He's stretched out there to get his leaf!!

 I got a little closer.

Doesn't he look like he has a happy smile on his face!!

I got a closer picture...pretty colors!

I read that caterpillars don't see too well.

I guess that's why he didn't see my camera!

 AND CLOSER!!!!!!!

I wonder if those teeth are sharp!!

He sure is bumpy!!

 Then I found this guy on the same tree!

He's weird looking with those two sections that are green.

His tail section looks like the brown of the branches.

Maybe this is how he blends in and hides!!

YUCK!!! He looks sticky and gross!!!

I barely saw this caterpillar.
He matches the leaf so well. 
It looks like he has whiskers on his back.
These are butterfly eggs that will hatch
and be caterpillars.
The caterpillars will eat, and eat, and eat.
A cocoon is then formed.
And later a new butterfly will come out of the cocoon.

Then I found a Grandaddy Long Legs trying to hide in the top of a fence post!!

This spider was enjoying the sunshine. Do you see his shadow?

This grasshopper kept trying to hide from me behind this flower!

 Look what I found on another tree!

Look how long his tail is!!

He sees better than the caterpillar.

He saw me and got real still.

I guess he wanted me to think he was part of the tree!

He kept watching me with his little beady eyes!!

OK, grandsons!

I do not get close to these creatures!

My camera has something like a telescope that zooms in on them.

I just want you to know that we can't get too close.

Lizards bite,

spiders jump and bite,

and some caterpillars can sting!

It's best to look at them up close only in pictures!!

Hope you enjoyed the crawly things I saw today!

Love you, guys!!!

FOG

We rarely have fog around here.

I've been waiting for a foggy morning to take some pictures. This morning as I opened the blinds at the kitchen window...there it was....fog!  Still in my pajamas,  I grabbed my camera and went outside in the cool, damp air!

There's something mysterious and magical about fog.

Even our old barn looks dreamy.

Things are quiet and still.

I only heard an occasional bird call.

As the sun began to burn off the fog, I came in...refreshed, invigorated, and ready for this lovely day!!