in and out of the garden

what a whirlwind week this has been...there is so much maintenance going on in the garden.
not to much fun to take photos of that.
my usual wednesday lunch with rachel got bumped up to tuesday because of the busy schedule.
rachel and i are always looking for new places to go...well we hit the right spot
with square market & cafe'.

it is in the town square of columbia about 45 minutes for me but just about 15 minutes from her work. we are very happy we drove the extra bit...it might become a favourite haunt.

this little town square is about 45 minutes south of nashville.

the town square is quaint and full of old buildings...

cute little restaurants...

window boxes.

and the food was great at the square market & cafe'.

rachel and i always have a great time with tons to talk about.
it's wonderful to have grown daughters to share your life with.

things are pushing out everywhere...but with the heat comes weeds.

hens and chicks loving the heat.

weeds are not my friends. but i sure have plenty of them.

potted hydrangea flushing out.

my spirea bushes are blooming. i adore flowering bushes.

we had a massive storm...felt like a hurricane...warm air and

super high winds with thunder, lighting, and some hail.

right before the storm a rainbow appeared on our way to

celebrate dh's birthday at rachel's.

also there was this gorgeous sky with a flying balloon over the fields.
there is always the quiet before the storm.

rachel and maday made the best cuban food for daddio's special day.

black forrest cherry cake was made...his favourite.

we laughed and talked and told stories...the best of nights.

dh and our a~# 1 son share their birthdays most years but

they each got their special day this year.

their birthday's are one day apart.

friday night we surprised david at fulin's with sushi and cake.

and a glazed pot full of cooking herbs.

the sunsets this week have been beautiful.

then after the farmer's market this morning....sauteed fresh veggies for brunch.

with some heirloom tomatoes.

life is good and full......full of family, fun and food.
of course working in the garden, too.

slice of an abundant life

mixed green leafed lettuces growing abundantly.
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csa(community supported agriculture) basket for july
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when i first read the ggw photo contest theme abundant harvest

the natural images that were conjured up were of a bountiful harvest...

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...like this wagon load of watermelons.

or the bounty from our new farmer's market in leiper's fork.

all over flowing with the harvests of the latest season.

wonderfully bountiful apples...crisp and ripe at this harvest time.

baskets full of multi~colour okra....just waiting to be eaten.

but then my mind, heart and the images before me....told me of

a different type of abundance.....a bounty of gratitude....of love....of family.

so with that in mind i thought of how we had picked a special puppy

to be part of our family....beatrice.

how very happy we were and thankful to have her.

then she disappeared we were devasted....but we held out hope.....for the best.

you my bloggy friends said prayers...and made us feel we were

not alone.........remember the day she was found....and by the

kindness of strangers was returned....she was a little frazzled around the edges

but with love, care, and time just look what she has done...

she has fully recovered and we have a bounty of love returned to us.

this year with all the rain....grasses grew.....they were left for

longer periods of time. so what do you do when you have an abundant

bounty of grasses...you cut paths thru the very long stalks...then

run and play in them.....of course.

..........you let your inner child rejoice.

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what about when you do have an abundant crop from your

garden...you harvest it (photograph it) and then eat it.

this image of fresh from the garden okra speaks volumes of abundance.

then there are all those apples...especially right now....

sure there is apple pie, apple crisp....but what is better than

throwing caution to the wind and tossing your freshly picked

apples into a galvanized tub adding water and letting some

costumed guests have at it.

this is sweet bounty.

you know this is the season of abundant loads....truck loads of pumpkins.

okay there is pumpkin in every recipe right now and

on every doorstep, piled high in your decor but why

not have a pumpkin carving with lots of family and friends.

now you have an abundance of fun, creativity.....

....it gets pretty competitive around here come pumpkin time.

we had a bountiful harvest of herbs this year and

love seeing them fill in the garden.......especially the mint.

with all the abundance of herbs....we carefully chose some

fine specimens from the garden....brought them in and

cooked.....until our hearts were content.

having a bounty of herbs means delicious things to eat.

this last year along with a bountiful garden.....

we had something else in abundant

proportion .....

hair.....jesse's hair....
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some mothers might have a problem with this

but for me ....i am okay with personal expression...as

long as you are still being a loving person.

well jesse is a really great kid with a huge heart.

he said he was ready to get rid of his bountiful head of

hair but wanted it to mean something....he decided to donate

his locks to......locks of love.

my mother's heart was very touched....and someone got the

gift of hair from jesse's bountiful blessing.

one thing we did not have in bounty this year was our own pumpkins

but none~the~less....we were very grateful for our one little pumpkin.

success/abundance should not be measured in how much you have

but in how you view it....we were overjoyed.
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another area of abundance in our lives is the ability to buy

farm fresh food......from local growers....we get to pick and

choose what we want...when we want.....i call that a life in abundance.

market flowers

local farmer's bringing and sharing their abundance.

we grew a variety of heirloom tomatoes this year and received

an abundant harvest....to enjoy looking at....

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and of course partake of....as well.

this is our first try to grow raspberries....i was happy with our harvest.

...it gave me an abundance of photo opportunities.

also just one more of the many things that were abundantly bountiful were

our sunflowers....these are mammoth grey striped sunflowers

that reached into the sky at 9 feet high and their faces measured

12 inches across....this gave us a bounty of sunflower seeds....for

the birds....for us to replant and for us to give away.

we are living a life of abundance here on dash home farm....

we are very grateful and fully aware that this is a blessing....so

we are not taking it for granted....not for one little moment.

marmee

my entry for gardening gone wild photo contest.