A Fly By

I was sitting on the deck yesterday afternoon talking with my sister when a huge..I mean HUGE, plane flew over.  It sounded like it was going to land in the backyard for crying out loud.  It also looked like it just skimmed the pine trees on it's way over.   We have an airport in Ashland that's for small aircraft not far from here but we don't see big stuff flying over.   Later when I was on the computer doing really important stuff...like a little facebook stalking...I heard it fly over again...and again..and again.  I asked Jack if we were being invaded but he said there was some kind of event going on at the airport and it was happening all day.  Gee, how did I miss this?  Probably because I'm not fond of flying and going to an airport "event" isn't on my to do list.  But I thought it would make a cool pic for the blog to catch that big momma flying by.  So I hustled outside with my trusty camera and waited...and waited... and...well, you get the picture. Which is more than I got.  Not one to just stand around I took the time to snap some junk in the yard.

Pumpkins are growing...still no airplane flying by.

Marigolds are looking merry.

Tomatoes are coming on in droves...or clusters..but no airplane.  As I walked around with my camera around my neck I started to notice some small indications that Fall is coming in another month.

Leaves near the woods looked more yellow.

Dogwood leaves are getting red.

Black walnuts are ready to fall off.

Buckeyes are also getting ready to litter the yard.  Still hoping to get a pic of  plane I kept the camera close as I grilled some burgers.  Then, miracle of miracles, I heard the sound of the plane!  I grabbed my camera and was trying to get it on and the lens cap off as quick as possible but that darn plane was quicker.

If you click on the pic you'll see it...I circled it so you wouldn't miss it.  Jack said: "Remind me next time to not marry a girl from Greece who never saw an airplane before".  Funny guy.  I'm only half Greek, never even been to Greece.  Lived in Chicago on the flight pattern of O'Hare.  Not my fault he moved me to the rural outposts of Ohio where a plane is a rare sighting. A let's not forget that as a blogger I'm always on the lookout for something like a nice fly by to post about.  Throw in some produce and what a page turner this post is! Have a good week.  

Same Old, Same Old Or Weird and Wacky?

 Holy cow it's been one of those weeks.  It really wasn't until Friday that I thought it was one of  "those weeks".  Work had me in an uproar but that's another story best left unsaid.   The thing is,  I've been struggling with blogging.  I've gone long between posts, at least for me anyway.  I took a look back at some blog posts from years back to see what I had to write about.  I kept thinking my life must have been more exciting back then.  Nope..same old same old.  I've been blogging for 9 1/2 years now and I feel like I'm repeating each year with pics of the same things only older and bigger...I'm not really just referring to me! Ha!  Anyway, I did have a few pics to put in and try and get a post out.  I was taking a bunch of shots the other day after a nice rain.  We've been lucky with lots of rain to keep our lawns bright green and the garden overflowing with lovely tomatoes.  I took a few of the Creepy Woods and just had to share one particularly weird one.  This one is for my dear friend Shady.  He keeps telling me that the Yeti lives in the Creepy Woods.  I think I caught a pic of him.

Look to the right and see if you can pick out that dark brown hairy thing....hmmmm.  Keeping with the weird and wacky pics, when we were at the orchard last week we bought some different peaches. Donut peaches.  Can you see why the name?

Very tastey, very low in calories compared to a Dunkin Donut!   Another photo made me wonder if we lived near a lake.

I took this one from the top of the hill behind our house.   It's just clouds across the way but I can always pretend we live near a lake.  I keep telling Jack we need to sell and buy a lake house.  Problem is we don't live near a lake and I'm not in the mood to move and some how I doubt the lake will come to us.   As I mentioned earlier, we have had some nice rain.  We also  have had some nice rainbows.

Not the clearest shot but it looked pretty clear in person.   These next 2 pics are not the weird and crazy....

It's Jack checking out his new apple tree.   He's holding a few green peppers from the garden.  That reminded me that I took a pic of some stuffed peppers I made last week.

Hence the amazing stuffed peppers.  Yes, this post is bouncing around.   It's how my mind is working these days.   As I contemplate about blog posts being the same over the years I remembered my Mom giving me something she found of mine from years ago.  My high school activity pass we had to get each year.  Of course it had a photo on it.

That's me from 1968....fast forward to the here and now.

As Jack noted..."Hey, you had the same haircut back then"....yep,  sometimes it's "same old, same old" and "weird and wacky all in one.

Ode To A Tree

The weeks of Summer are flying by.  It won't be long until we're bidding this month goodbye and welcoming in August..the dog days of Summer!  It's been a much warmer season than last year.  We've had many 90 degree days and much humidity.  That has also led to rain and a good growing season.  Our tomatoes, beans and green peppers are coming along nicely and today we enjoyed the fruits of the garden with fresh green beans and some salsa I made yesterday.   But sadly this month we had to say farewell to the only tree that shaded the house.   Anyone who's followed my blog knows our property is surrounded by pine trees.  When we moved in 16 years ago I was inspired to call our place "Whispering Pines", which also explains the name of my blog.

They are three deep in some places and keep the wind at bay on those very cold Winter days.  They shade the yard as the sun sets, but not the house.  We had a lovely ash tree that did that.  It was a nice big tree that hosted a few parties under it's branches.

Pinatas were known to hang there on occasion!

However, a nasty disease, ash bore, has claimed many of the ash trees in our area.  I'm not sure I spelled that correctly or even know what exactly it is,  but I do know many folks have had to have their trees removed.   We were one of those folks.

This photo was taken a few days before we had it taken down.  Not a leaf left behind.  The middle gable on our house is the computer room.  I've sat in there with the window open many times and watched the different birds that called this tree home come and go and enjoy it's hospitality.

Afraid it would come down in a storm and smack the house, we deemed it necessary to take it down on our terms.

What once shaded us in the heat will now warm us in the cold.  Ode to a tree...we will miss you and are looking for a replacement that will one day grow as tall and majestic as you were.  I doubt we'll still be here to see it to it's full height, but someone will thank us for it I'm sure!

Typical July

It's been a week since July 4th and the weather and happenings are pretty typical for us.  It's been warm and sultry the past few days with  a few severe storms just for good measure.  Monday the city of Ashland lost power in many places including the hospital.  You can imagine the panic of the families who had patients in the OR.   We have back up generators that kick in pretty quickly but it sure seems much longer than 5 seconds when you're in the dark!  Monitors, anesthetic machines and most of our equipment have battery power so no danger there.   Once the surgeries were done we  weren't  allowed to do any elective stuff until we had regular power.  We've had lots of rain and I'm not one to really complain about that.  It means I don't have to water the gardens!  I don't know why that makes me so happy but it does.

My hydrangea bush is flowering nicely! The blooms look pink here but they are really a pretty blue.

This angle makes them look bluer!   I hadn't been on a good walk in the cemetery for a long time so I stopped by the other day.  Thanks to the patriotic holidays we've celebrated all the graves of folks who served in the military were decorated with flags that the Boy Scouts put up before Memorial Day.  One section of the cemetery has many Civil War Veterans and someone donated money to spruce it up a bit.

The stars that mark the graves of veterans were cleaned up and fixed where needed.

Sure looks nice!  But there was another new addition that was super nice too.

This beautiful bench was placed there  by the VFW.   What a nice way to say thanks and honor those that have served and those who are buried here that lost their lives for our country.  Glad I took the time to walk and notice all the changes.  Makes me proud of our community.

This little dude was enjoying the day in the cemetery too.  Lots of deer make their home in the woods that surround the property and they are not very afraid of humans.  Probably feel pretty protected here with no hunting allowed in city limits!  More storms are predicted for late tonight/early tomorrow in our town.  Hope it's a beautiful day where you live and you're able to take a walk around your community.   You never know what or who you might meet.

Beautiful July 4th!

Again the 4th of July finds me at the Pines without even a sparkler to light!  Jack's at Boy Scout Camp and I'm on call today.  But it's all good because we have beautiful weather and so far I'm not working.  I have many projects in my brain and will do a few but will mostly enjoy the quiet and probably take Chubbs for a walk in town.  There's a steak in the fridge with my name on it...with a few tidbits for the 'ol Chubbers too.  We did have a fun celebration early over the weekend.  Sunday we all gathered to enjoy some ribs and to just hang out.

Nothing like a game of corn hole to put some action in the day!  I think Cameron is holding his breath that his Dad's throw won't go in the hole!  Do you see the new puppy in the pic?

Jack and Evelyn got a new pup named Kip.  They say it's really Evelyn's daughter's dog but they all sure seemed pretty attached to the little guy.  He's so soft and cute!  He's only 9 weeks old so you can see how big he's going to get. He's a Golden Doodle.  In my day those were just mutts but now they are a real breed...another name for expensive! But we already love him so welcome Kip!   On Saturday Jack and I headed down to Loudonville for the annual antique and car show.  There wasn't much in the way of antiques but tons of cars!  I didn't even bring a camera for one pic..I'm slipping in my blogging brain!  But I found a couple of treasures to bring home.  One was a big metal red "S"...yes we had tons of 7th grade humor about me and my big red "S"....

Not sure where it will finally reside but I say if you have a big red "S" you should show it off! (hey, that line never gets old! Ha!)  I hope everyone has great day.  Stay safe and enjoy somthing red:

Like fresh raspberry pancakes....or maybe something blue...

Like fresh blueberry pancakes....or maybe something white...or I should say black and white..

An old July 4th pic I showed a few years ago...my sister and I at our neighborhood July 4th parade.  I believe we were celebrating Hawaii becoming a state in 1959.  We looked thrilled!  Happy 4th America!  God bless you!

Goodbye June

I've heard many say that this Summer is flying by...and I agree.  Last day of June tomorrow and we welcome July on Saturday and start, for some, a long weekend of celebrating our freedom in many forms.  Cookouts, parades, fireworks, family gatherings.  For our small town it's the weekend of our annual balloonfest.   Ashland used to be the balloon capital of the world...yes really.   Those days are over but it still makes for a fun festival.  Hot air balloons need perfect weather for launching and I'm afraid we're not starting out too good.  I sit here at the computer and listen to the thunder and rain falling.  The concert in the park probably was moved to the high school.  I would have loved to have gone to hear the John Denver tribute person again.  I saw him a few years ago and he was great.  I've been a bit under the weather these past few weeks and just didn't feel like going tonight.  I  hope things do clear up for some balloon races. I love seeing them fly over!  It will be a wait and see.  I'm sure many of the organizers of this festival are praying hard tonight!  The other morning I took time out to wander in the yard and take a few pics.

The curly posts are keeping the tomatoes in good order.

We even have a few on the vines! I'm looking forward to that first delish tomato straight out of the garden!

Jack's tent was up and airing out for his annual week at Boy Scout Camp.  He leaves on Monday and he's praying for good weather too!  I'm on call for July 4th so it will be very quiet at the Pines...except for my neighbor who always has a huge party and tons of fireworks that will drive poor Chubbs nuts! I'll have to hunker down with him in the family room in the basement where he won't hear them.

Hope lots of sunshine finds it's way to  your home for the 4th and however you celebrate I hope it's fun and also a time to be thankful for living in this wonderful land of the free that is ours because of the brave.

Brightest Day

Hello first day of Summer! I'm always tempted to say it's the longest day but it's still only 24 hours. However, it is a day when it seems as if the sun will go on forever.  It was a perfect Summer day here. The temps were in the upper 70's and low humidity. Blue skies and sunshine.  I got the last of my flowers planted and a few weeds pulled.   I was glad to have the day off and get some simple things accomplished...like sitting on the deck and reading a new magazine..oh, and taking a nap in the afternoon!  Yep, perfect.  Hope your first day of Summer was good!   I have only a couple of pics to share tonight.

I made a keylime pie last week.  I squeezed the keylimes myself!  Light and refreshing and a good Summer dessert.

I found this cute canvas painting depicting all the things that spell out Summer.   As the sign says: Simple Pleasures.   Hopefully all things listed will be on your  "to do list" !  Happy Summer!