I Heard them Say Thank You!!

With all of the winter weather we have been having lately,  my little backyard birds have enjoyed eating and drinking water at the Adams Restaurant.  Here are pictures of some of these little Cuties.  Above is one of my MANY Goldfinches.  Below are more.

I love this picture of the little Bluebird watching the Northern Flicker at the suet feeder.  The Bluebird was patiently waiting her turn!

The sun came out for a little while---which gave me an opportunity to get some good pictures of some of the birds at the feeder.  This Red-Bellied Woodpecker is a regular  visitor.

I love this picture of one of our female Bluebirds...We have four Bluebirds who are always together --and they come to the feeders regularly --especially when the weather is bad.

I love seeing our Northern Flickers...  This is a good picture since you can see the yellow tail feathers... Isn't he gorgeous?

Finally, this bird,  even though it is pretty,  can be a nuisance to many of us who feed the birds.  So far though,  I have been very lucky.. This is the first Starling I have seen at the feeders this winter.  (Sorry---I originally called it a Grackle for some reason.)  I hope this one doesn't invite his friends to come to my 'table'...  My restaurant is NOT for him --nor for those pesky Squirrels... ha

Have a wonderful day --and remember to feed our feathered friends,  especially in the cold winter!!!!

Hope you had a good weekend.  I did more work on my Family History, but I took time out last night to see a wonderful movie,  "The Lost Valentine" starring Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt.   EXCELLENT movie even though I cried like a baby!!!!!! Hope you saw it...  Both George and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hugs,

2010 Best Of...: ROSES -Part II

If you didn't see the first 6 roses I posted,  please click on OLDER POST at the bottom of this blog so see them.   Today,  I will post six more of my favorite photos of our 2010 roses.    Above is one of my favorite NEW roses in 2010,  PEPPERMINT SPLASH.  This picture was taken on 6/28/10.

This beauty is named STRIKE IT RICH.   Isn't it a gorgeous color?  This picture was taken 5/31/10.

This one is named PERFECT MOMENT.  I love the pink and yellow colors.  This picture was taken on 5/15/10.

This  beautiful rose is called SUMMER OF LOVE. This picture was taken on 6/20/10.

The colors in this rose are gorgeous.   Its name is SUNDANCE, and this picture was taken on 5/19/10.

Finally,   I saved my 2nd favorite rose in our yard until now.  These beauties are called VETERAN'S HONOR.  This beautiful red rose is HUGE and smells heavenly...  The picture was taken on 5/31/10.  (My 1st favorite rose was shown yesterday,  and was named Double Delight.) Hope you enjoyed all of my favorite 2010 Rose pictures...

We visited George's parents yesterday --and are working hard to get them to move in with their daughter in Tullahoma, TN.  They are 'thinking about it'.   George's sister has a great place for them --and they would be safe and well-taken-care-of...    Dad will be 99 in August and Mom will be 91 in May.  Both are legally blind --and still trying to live in their home, and remain independent.  Please pray for these two wonderful elderly people.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

Hugs,

2010 Best Of...: ROSES -Part I

We have had so many gorgeous ROSE photos this year ---that I couldn't just choose six of them to post in the "Best of" series... SO--there will be two posts showing some of the gorgeous ROSE photos we have enjoyed during 2010.

As you probably know, unless you are new to my blog,  George grows beautiful Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora Roses.  He has about 50+ different bushes in our yard.   ME?  I just get to enjoy them.  I have a bench in the front yard where I can sit and smell and view these beauties.  George also brings a blossom or bud  inside, most every single day during the season for me to enjoy.  Wow--who could ask for a better life than I have?????

Here are my 2010 favorites beginning with my all-time favorite,  DOUBLE DELIGHT.  This photo was taken on 5/13/10.

This beauty is named JOHN F. KENNEDY.   This picture was taken on 5/27/10.

This gorgeous rose is named GEMINI, and the picture was taken on 5/13/10.

I love this rose, named LOVE AND PEACE... This picture was taken on 5/15/10.

This gorgeous rose is named WILDFIRE... I love the colors in this beautiful rose,  and I think its name is appropriate. This picture was taken on 7/3/10.

Here's another rose named after one of our Presidents.  This one is named RONALD REAGAN.  It was taken on 5/31/10.

I will share six more tomorrow.  I love all kinds of flowers,  but roses are definitely a favorite of mine.

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Several of you requested the recipe for my Orange Balls... I usually double the recipe--since I have to share with family.  Here 'tis!!!

Betsy's Orange Ball Recipe

  (came from her mother)

3/4 cup conf. sugar

1 lb. vanilla wafers-crushed

1 stick margarine--softhened

1 cup (or less) chopped nuts

6 oz can frozen orange juice (thawed and undiluted)

1 can or package of shredded coconut

Mix first five ingredients together and form into balls---roll in coconut.  Do not bake.  Makes about 4 doz. depending upon size.  I keep them in the refrigerator.  They seem to get better as they age a little.

Hugs,

A Very Special SON

Above is a picture of my 'baby'.... Hmmmm--he doesn't look like a baby anymore,  does he????? ha..  My Jeff was born on May 14, 1971.   I have two other very special sons --but today,  I'm featuring JEFF and his two children.  Above is a picture of Jeff taken when he took his kids on a camping trip in the Fall.  Jeff is a single Dad ---and the BEST Dad in the entire world.

This is my favorite 'baby' picture of Jeff...He was a cutie then --but is still a cutie now to me...

Jeff loves photography --and has loved it for many years,  LONG before I got interested in it.  They say that kids learn from their parents.. WELL--when it comes to photography,  I think I have learned from him.  The picture above was taken  recently by Jeff from his home in Chattanooga, TN.  after one of their big snows.

This picture is very special to me,  not only because it is a picture of my granddaughter,  Avery, but also because of what she is doing.   Avery is 12 yrs. old ---and Jeff taught her how to make Grammy's (me) famous Orange Balls,  a traditional Christmas dessert in our family.  I 'had' to make my sons Orange Balls EVERY Christmas --and you can imagine how excited I was when Jeff got the recipe so that he could teach his daughter how to make them.  I'm sure that this tradition will continue on in the family.

Jeff is the Comptroller at a very large Animal Care and Adoption Center --and absolutely loves his job there.  There are some adorable animals (such as the ones above) that come into the facility each and every day.  Jeff says it is hard not to want to take ALL of them home with him!!!!

Granddaughter Avery visited her Daddy at his work recently --and loved playing with some of the dogs and cats there.

Jeff visited us on Sunday,  1/16/11,  and brought lots of Christmas presents.  He was one of two sons who were supposed to visit us during Christmas --but the SNOW kept them away.  SO---we had our 'Christmas'  a little late!!!

Since Jeff has seen some of my bird pictures,  he wanted to take some himself.  He got some great pictures of some Bluebirds,  Goldfinch and a Pine Siskin.  He sent me the pictures when he got home that night.  I had to laugh because even "I" had not gotten a picture or even seen a Pine Siskin this winter.  I knew that we had had them two years ago---but none last year.  SO---I was quite surprised to see the picture of the Pine Siskin (shown above) which he took.

While Jeff was here on that Sunday,  four deer decided to come for a visit also.  Above is a picture which Jeff took.

Finally,  here is a wonderful picture of Jeff's other child,  his son, Landon.  Landon is a Freshman in high school and a drummer in the band.  I featured a blog about him and the band in the Fall.  If you missed that post,  you can click HERE.    This is his 'official' band picture this year.  AND--if I can brag (like Grammy's do),  Landon was chosen to be the sole drummer in the school's Jazz Band.  That is an honor--especially for a Freshman. I'm so proud of him --and of his sister,  Avery.   AND--I'm definitely a proud Mom when talking about my son, Jeff.

Hugs,

A Night Snow

This past Thursday night (1/20/11),   we had a small and pretty snow which came through our area... I am enjoying taking night pictures with my camera ---so I thought I'd share a few that I took while the snow was coming down.   We only got about an inch --but it was pretty while it lasted...  (This is the kind of snow my hubby loves since he doesn't have to scrape the driveway!!!! ha)

George can tell you that my favorite part of a snow is seeing it fall...  AND--with all of the little snowstorms we have had so far this winter (I think there have been EIGHT),  most of them have come during the evening...

This one was a quick-moving front --and, as I said above, we only ended up with about an inch of snow (even though the forecasters said that we would get 3 inches)...Typical!!! ha... Anyhow--I hope you enjoyed seeing some views of our little Night Snow around our home.

They say we may get more snow tonight and tomorrow--but I don't think we'll get much this time.  The silly weather people keep changing the forecast.. I think this one will go south and east of us.  That will be okay since we need to be be 'out and about'  on Thursday.

Hugs,

2010 Best Of...: SKY

I have so many sky pictures in 2010 --so I decided to feature some of them again in my "Best of"  series.   Above is one of my favorite sunset views taken on 2/24/10 when we were at our little cabin on the mountain at Mt. Nebo, Arkansas.

I love seeing the BLUE sky --especially in winter.  We had had alot of snow and ICE,  so I took this picture with ice on the trees while looking straight up.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Here is a gorgeous picture of the lunar eclipse.  I know that I just posted this recently--but just getting to see a piece of this eclipse was just awesome.  This was history in the making... We saw this eclipse while at Ocean Isle Beach in December of 2010.

Do you like rainbows like I do?  This double beauty was taken on 5/4/10 while we were at Ocean Isle Beach,  North Carolina.

This beautiful picture showing the sunbeams was taken on 11/22/10 when we were at at the top of the mountain at Mount Mitchell,  North Carolina.

I love seeing the sunset when there are lots of beautiful clouds in the sky.  This sunset was taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC on 11/22/10.

Finally,  this beautiful sunrise was taken when we visited Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina,  on 12/23/10.

Hope you enjoyed my 'sky' pictures.   There is so much I love about being out in nature.  Seeing beautiful sky pictures is always a favorite of both George and me.

Hope you also had a good weekend.  I spent the entire time working on my Family History... I love Genealogy --but it takes time and effort for sure!!!!

Hugs,

2010 Best Of...: FLOWERS

Besides our gorgeous ROSES  (which I will feature in a later blog post),  we also enjoy our flowering trees and shrubs, along with many other annuals and perennials which we plant in our yard throughout the Spring/Summer/Fall seasons.  I went through my photos and picked out some of my fav's in 2010.   Above is definitely one of my favorite IRISES..  That may be because of its color and name.  This is the TENNESSEE VOL IRIS...   (See why I like it???? ha)

We have lots of beautiful LILIES in our yard.  I have lots of pictures of many different types of lilies--but I also love seeing the entire bed.  These are outside of the kitchen window --so you can imagine how much I enjoy washing dishes in the summer when the lilies are in bloom --and smell so wonderful!

Here is one special lily that we had, named an ORANGE TIGER LILY.  I love this little lily, and this particular picture.

Another favorite in early spring is the PINK DOGWOOD tree in our front yard.   Here is one of my favorite pictures of the blossoms.

Another favorite perennial is our TULIPS... We have many different colors of tulips in our beds --and they are all just gorgeous.  Above is one of my favorite photos of the tulips --with our ground cover, Periwinkle, in the background. This tulip is named ALL THAT JAZZ.

And what can be any prettier than a beautiful RHODODENDRON in bloom?   This beautiful blossom is on our big Rhododendron bush in the backyard.

Another beauty in our yard is our DAYLILIES.  Again,  we have several different varieties --three of which you can see in this photo.  This patch of daylilies is near our garage in the front yard.

This beautiful DAFFODIL is named PINK CHARM.   As we do with our Lilies, Tulips and Daylilies,  we also have a variety of beautiful DAFFODILS.  This one is so unique I think.

WELL--I could go on and on and on --when it comes to showing pictures of our flowers.  BUT--I'll stop and let you enjoy these.  I enjoyed going back through all of my pictures in 2010 of our flowers,  especially THIS time of year,  when our ground is brown and bare --or is WHITE from the snow.  The COLOR is nice to see ---and reminds me that Spring WILL come!!!!!

Hugs,