Peaceful day...

I'm so grateful for today. It was quiet and peaceful...absolutely lovely. While it got a bit warmer than the past few days, there was still a nice breeze and it was very pleasant sitting on the front porch in my rocker while the dogs played in the yard.

While I was sitting there I closed my eyes and listened. All I could hear were the birds chirping and the grasshoppers humming. It was as if I were the only human on earth...glorious! It was definitely the quintessential late summer day.

The farmer came this afternoon and harvested some of the cornfield and I took advantage of the sunshine by hanging clothes on the clothesline. I don't know why, but that's one household chore I love to do.

Last night I baked an apple pie and tonight I've got venison spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove for Don when he gets home from work. The house smelled so good last night...scents of cinnamon and apples and it smells just as good tonight with the aromas of bell peppers, onion, garlic and tomato sauce wafting around me. Mmmmm...

Even though it's dark out I still have the front door open so I can enjoy the fresh cool air and the sound of crickets chirping between Sarah McLachlan songs I have playing.

I hope you're having a pleasant Friday evening as well. Enjoy your weekend!

I wanna be a star....

As soon as I saw her the theme music to Project Runway went running through my mind. Obviously our pup Aislinn is an aspiring fashion designer. Check out this adorable orange poncho she created in the short time I was outside feeding the ducks and chickens!

While I was outside feeding my feathered friends I was composing today's blog in my mind. I'd intended to write about the corn field being harvested today, the Autumn coolness in the air and it being time to dig up my sweet potatoes.

My mind changed the minute I came in and laid eyes on Aislinn. She was sitting primly in her crate wearing her stylish new poncho. She fashioned it by chewing a hole in the middle of her blanket (which is actually a dust cloth I bought at Dollar Tree). Maybe this is what she intends to wear for Halloween.

Aislinn is incredibly difficult to photograph as she is never still. There's no way I could even attempt to take her photo outside the crate. As soon as she's out Aislinn is off at full speed around and around the house. She has an all out bouncy joyful run that is a delight to see. In fact, Aislinn is just a pure delight and we are very grateful that she came into our lives.

Hmmm...I wonder if she'd make me a new outfit if I gave her a tablecloth to chew?

What a glorious September day!

Yesterday and today were absolutely perfect - my favorite kind of weather! Yesterday was cool and drizzly, while today was cool and windy. I love it! No one can mistake the Fall feeling in the air and I've had the windows and front door open all day so I could enjoy it.

My daughter and her family were visiting her Dad this weekend and I drove up yesterday morning and took them out for breakfast. I love seeing them and wish with all my heart they lived closer so we could visit more often. Spending time with my three-year-old grandson is always a joy and I'm already looking forward to seeing him again in November for his fourth birthday.

Today I've spent most of my time sitting in my front porch rocker just soaking in the pleasant weather. It is such a relief to have gotten a little rain and cooler temperatures. I'm hoping we won't see any more high 90s, but I'm not holding my breath...just enjoying what I have while I have it.

I hope you have a wonderful week and are able to enjoy every minute of it. See you Thursday!

Check out my mussels...

Isn't my mussel a beautiful thing? It's certainly bigger than my muscles! This lovely freshwater mussel was living in the pond. Don was there the other day when our dog Caoihme (pronounced Kee-va) came trotting out of the pond with this mussel in her mouth. She'd found an elephant ear mussel, known in the scientific world as the species Elliptio crassidens.

This is a good indication that our pond is very healthy. Mussels are nature's water filters and can filter several gallons a day! When we moved here a neighbor told us this particular pond (at the lower end of our front yard) was dead. He said nothing had ever lived in it and told us when our property was a cow pasture the cows wouldn't drink water out of this pond. It's a "run-off" pond and isn't spring fed, so that concerns me as to what pesticides, etc. were being sprayed out here before we bought the place.

Fortunately all that appears to have dissipated and we have a thriving pond. For that, I am very grateful. The pond is a source of entertainment for Don and I. We enjoy sitting there watching the dogs swim and play, we enjoy discovering all the wildlife in and around the pond and I enjoy fishing there.

Unfortunately, freshwater mussels are considered the most endangered critters in North America. Approximately 70 percent of their species are in peril of becoming extinct and in the past 100 years 30 of those species did cease to exist. Believe me, this particular mussel was quickly returned to the pond where I hope it lives a long and healthy life!

Hurricane anyone?

First off, let me assure you I'm not doing a blog on the famous drink you can get on Bourbon Street. No, I'm talking about the famous storm that nearly wiped Bourbon Street off the map and also caused damage to our house (top photo is from six years ago, lower photo from last summer...can you spot the difference?).

It's hurricane season and with Tropical Storm Lee flooding the coast of Louisiana I've been thinking about hurricane season six years past. That's when the devastating Hurricane Katrina blew in and caused widespread disaster on the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi. Less than a month later Hurricane Rita struck.

You'd think that living in the northwest corner of Mississippi we'd be to far away from the coast to worry about hurricane damage. However, those two storms were so strong we had major weather from both. Hurricane Katrina took out a piece of our gingerbread trim on the front porch above the front door. We weren't sure how we'd fix it, but Rita did that for us. She blew in and took off the other piece, exactly matching it to Katrina's damage. Six years later and we've never repaired it because it looks okay the way it is, thanks to Rita.

We were fortunate. So many down south of us were not so lucky and with Tropical Storm Lee moving in today that area is now dealing with major storms and flooding. We may get lucky again and get some rain out of this storm. We need it badly, although I wish we could have gotten it without all the devastation down south.

Charlotte's supper...

Last night while bringing the cats in for the night I noticed that the garden spider on the front porch was busily storing a meal for later. Of course I had to run get my phone and take a photo.

This is just one of the garden spiders living on our place. There are bunches of them at the barn, one on the back porch and one in the chicken pen. I call all of them Charlotte after the spider in E.B. White's book, Charlotte's Web. These are actually the seventh generation of Charlottes and are welcome additions to the farm as they catch lots of pesky insects.

Garden Spiders are also known as Writing Spiders or Corn Spiders, but in the scientific world they are known as Argiope Aurantia. They're harmless to people and are very tidy for spiders. Every night they eat the center of their web (which may have tiny insects stuck on it) and build a neat clean center in the morning.

See that thick zigzag line in the middle of the web? Scientists aren't sure exactly why the female garden spider does that. Some theories are that the zigzag is a camouflage for the spider, or a beacon to attract insects, or perhaps a warning sign for birds so that they don't fly into an otherwise difficult to see web and destroy it. Male garden spiders often have a smaller zigzag web near the female's large one.

Late in the summer Charlotte will lay one to four egg sacs that she suspends on or near her web. She will protect them as long as she can, but as Fall arrives she becomes weaker and eventually dies. It always makes me sad when I go out on the porch or to the chicken pen and discover that one of the Charlottes has died.

On the other hand, I'm always thrilled to see one of their babies setting up shop in the same area early each summer and I enjoy watching them grow and live their lives throughout the summer months. 

A regal find at Goodwill...

Yesterday afternoon I made my weekly trip to buy groceries and find treasures at the Goodwill store. I was quite awestruck by what I found OUTSIDE the store...a beautiful Imperial Moth! I snapped the above photo with my cellphone and could barely wait to get home to show Don.

It was about two inches wide from wing tip to wing tip and the colors were just amazing. Naturally I had to get online to learn all I could about this beauty.

The Imperial Moth is a member of the Saturniidae family of moths which is also known as royal or regal moths. I can certainly see how they came by that moniker as it was truly a regal creature of the night!

They are really ugly as caterpillars and feed on oak, maple, pine, sycamore, sweet gum and sassafras leaves. We have plenty of those around, so I'm a bit surprised I haven't seen one before now!

I have to admit, I didn't find much inside the store yesterday, but seeing this gorgeous Imperial Moth outside made it worth the trip.