Bees, Butterflies and Milkweed Blossoms

When I was a little girl, I remember being excited about finding milkweed pods in the fall.

I remember thinking that it must have been where Elmer's Glue came from...lol!

I mean, the milk inside looks and feels just like Elmer's, right?

I also really liked the fly-away thingys inside and generally just thought they were really cool.
~

What I didn't know until I was exploring and snapping some weed pics,

was that in the summer they have gorgeous blooms!

How did I not know this until last year??

I guess that's what happens when you start a blog...
...on one of my many treks driving about in the country, I discovered them.

~
These photos were taken last summer and I just recently came across them in my files.
I had intended to use them in a post but they seem to have gotten misplaced until now.
I guess I should do a better job of keeping my photos organized, huh?

Anyway, when you look at these lovelies...what do you see?

Is it possible that molars (teeth) come to mind?
Maybe even teeth with cavities...I mean, am I the only one that's seeing this?

Anyone???

Well, whether you see teeth or not, I am totally enthralled by these gorgeous blooms.


Where ever you find milkweed in bloom, bees and butterflies are almost certain to be present.



The bees were so busy drinking up nectar, they didn't seem to mind me being so close.

Neither did the butterflies.



I'm glad to know that I am never too old to learn new things, aren't you?
~
Have a great Hump Day, friends :)

Fence Stones and Grave Stones

Hello friends!

I wanted to share a lovely old stone fence that I discovered a couple of years ago

and thought that Tex's Good Fences was the perfect place.

~

This great old stone fence surrounds a family cemetery,
some stones dating back to the early 1800's, even earlier possibly.

It's a few miles from where our son and his family live near Spring Hill, Tennessee

and I made a special effort to stop there when we visited a couple of weeks ago.

As I was taking photos, my DIL was going around reading what she could on the stones.

Many of them were so weathered and worn, it was hard to read them.

As she began to read the names, we soon realized that a great number of them 

were young women and children's graves.

How terribly sad that these folks died so young.

The sun was beginning to set, casting a bright orange reflection on the fence and the markers.

It almost looked unnatural, the way it outlined the tombstones in an orange hue.

It was really quite beautiful.

I would love to know more of the history surrounding this family cemetery...

...and especially what caused such untimely death of so many during that time.

I have a feeling I will be doing some research to satisfy my curiosity. 

Have a blessed weekend.

UPDATE:
One of my sweet blogging friends found a cemetery online that she thought might be this one.
I checked out the link and it was the same one!
The links below will take you to more information,
including a complete list of those who were buried there so long ago.
Thank you, Donna!

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maury/cemetery/AlexanderCemetery/AlexanderAreaPhotos.htm
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maury/cemetery/AlexanderCemetery/AlexanderCemList.htm

WHOOOOOOO WANTS A CARROT???

We're B-A-C-K!!
...and linking up again with PERFECTLY PRECIOUS PETS...
...because we are perfectly precious, of course!
~
Hi...Hunter here!
Let me just tell you how much my brother, Oscar and I love carrots...
Carrots are our favorite treat of all time!
Milk Bones or the other doggy treats just don't compare.
Our mom buys them for us all the time 'cause she really loves us...a lot...
and they are good for us dogs...just like they are for you humans!

Sometimes, when she takes us outside (so we can go potty) we like to sniff around and stuff...
...and sometimes we take a little longer than we should.
Oscar has to be on a leash (that boy will run away...I hear weenie dogs are like that).
Since I obey better than he does, I don't have to use one...(na-na-na-boo-boo)...oh...sorry...
...okay, I admit it...sometimes I do get a whiff of a deer or a cat and run out into the woods.
My mom, Debby, can get real mad at me when I don't come back right away too!
So, do you know what she does?
She yells real loud,"WHOOOOOOOO WANTS A CARROT????!!"
(don't tell her, but the neighbors think she's a little cray-cray when she does this)

Oh my goodness....we just LOVE those things...
and we come a runnin'!!
Well, just let me tell ya, I'll come out of the woods for a carrot any old time!
So it's back inside for our treat...

Mom kept telling us to stop jumpin' so she could take a picture of us.



I think they taste like chicken but Oscar told me he thought they tasted like steak!
Yep, our mom can pretty much get us to follow her anywhere when she gives us a carrot!

See you next time!
 

Hunter & Oscar

Fences on the Blue Ridge

Hello fellow Good Fencers!
For anyone who has never checked out this interesting and fun linky,
you really should head on over to Theresa's at the Run*A*Round Ranch!
~
Today I am sharing some great split-rail fences from the beautiful
Blue Ridge Parkway.



If you have never had the pleasure of traveling the parkway, I highly recommend it!
It is 469 miles of quiet mountain majesty stretching between Shenandoah, VA and Cherokee, NC.

This is the Puckett cabin, only about ten miles from our cabin in Fancy Gap.
Orlean Puckett was the area midwife, delivering over one thousand babies in her lifetime.
She gave birth to twenty-four of her own children, all of which passed away in infancy.
Can you just imagine the heartache she must have endured?
Living to the ripe old age of ninety-five, she continued to deliver throughout her life.
~
You can read all about her in the book,
Orlean Puckett: The Life of a Mountain Midwife, by Karen Cecil Smith.



These particular fences are some that surround the grounds of the Puckett cabin.

Everywhere you look, you see these wonderful fences...each one unique.

 

Just a little jaunt down the parkway is the Groundhog Mountain Overlook,

a great place to pull off, have a picnic and/or climb a few stairs up into the observation tower.

That is Buffalo Mountain you see in the distance.

 I just love this place.

I could actually pitch a tent and live here if they would let me...
..."they" being the National Parks & Recreation people.

This is the same place where we were invaded by the zombies last fall :)
(really...I swear)

The views just go on and on whether you are headed north to Shenandoah or south to Cherokee.

Fancy Gap is pretty much smack dab in the middle and are blessed to able to visit here often.

~

So...if you listen closely, you just might hear me singing...
..."Almost heaven, West Virginia...Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River..."

(sorry John, I changed up the song a bit!)

So until next time, may your life be happy and your fences be good ones!

A Weekend in Nashville (or thereabouts)

Hello friends!
Gee, it seems like forever ago since since I have read your blogs!
It's only takes a few days out of town for me to feel totally out of touch with my normal routine!
I know I missed a lot of good stuff and will do my best to catch up.
~
Yesterday, my baby boy turned thirty-two!

Man...do you know how old that makes me feel??

We just returned from having a great visit with his family in Nashville to celebrate.

The older grand boys went with us and it was a blessing to have them all together!

Despite the age differences, they still love spending time with their cousins!
~
I always have these grand ideas of taking lots and lots of photos of them all together.

As usual, we get busy having fun and before I know it, our time together draws to an end.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get very few pics where they were all together.

This is my oldest grand boy, Dacey as we rummaged through a great antique barn.

They had some lovely things, including many vintage linens...I wanted them all!
 

Olivia pretended she needed to make an important phone call while she was there.
The phone was not quite vintage unless you consider those reproductions from the 70's vintage :)

Although, these are not the sweet cheeks I wanted to photograph,
I couldn't resist getting a shot of "Uncle Adam" practicing his old wrestling moves on Dylan.
 

 Later on, we enjoyed a bit of fireworks and sparkler action.
As you can see, I need some tutoring on fireworks photography :)
 

The next day, I was finally able to wrangle them all together while we played in the Duck River,

 at Chickasaw Trace near Spring Hill, an area they had just discovered.
Parker wins the prize for the best tan :)

 It may be called the Duck River but I didn't see any ducks...
...although...I did see some other very interesting things.


 

Along the river bank, there were swarms upon swarms of baby butterflies!

I have never seen this before and was excited to be able get a few shots of them.

There were thousands of them, several different species.
 ~

Shortly afterwards, a blue heron swooped down and landed pretty much right in front of us,

after I had put my camera up...of course!
 

By the time I got out of the water and made my way back,

it had flown to the other side of the river so I didn't get a very good photo.

 

 

However, the dragonflies were out in abundance!

It was a perfect opportunity to play with my new (old) camera.
Yes, folks, I actually am the proud owner of a DSLR!

And then this little beauty landed right in front of me on the riverbank!
I have never seen one quite like this before!

 

Later on, after fun in the sun at the river, it was off to the big city for dinner!

If you've never been, downtown Nashville on a Friday night it's quite interesting.
Even if you have been there, it still is!

 

It was a first for the older grandsons and although they were a bit out of their comfort zones,
they really did enjoy it!

~
Now...why in the world would I be posting a photo of my feet??
 

I just wanted to share with you that I experienced my very first professional pedi!
What a sweet DIL I have to treat me to this wonderful bit of pleasure!
All I can say is, why on earth did I wait so long???
~
So our time soon came to an end and as always, we stopped at our cabin on the way home.
I decided I'd check out the blackberries growing all along our driveway.

Just look at these beauties!

Even found a few black raspberries along the way...hubby's favorite!
I see a cobbler or a pie in the very near future!

We did have a very enjoyable time!
Monday came way too soon...but doesn't it always?
It is HOT, HOT, HOT here....so I will be trying to stay cool!
~
I hope you all have a great week!