And The Winner Is...

I'm a day late in picking a winner

for our Anniversary Giveaway!

Sorry! I worked all day Saturday painting

and was too exhausted!

So tonight before we settled in 

I set it all up...

very official like!

I put the names in a bowl,

held it over Sall's head

and he drew out the winner....

Nancy Claeys

you are the lucky winner!

Please email me your address

so I can send you your prize!

This morning we took the camera out

to capture some of the spectacular wildlife

I've been seeing on my way to work all week...

I've been driving 36 miles one way to this paint job

and seeing all kinds of birds, pheasants and deer.

 As usual it was tougher than you know what

to get a great photo of anything alive!

They were either too high, too fast or just plain

out of sight!

The wind blew all day and kept 

most of the birds tucked in...

another 80 degree day today

INCREDIBLE for March!!

We enjoyed a day off

(even if it was super windy)

I will try to post some more of today's

photos this week, one or two a day,

without the commentary...

It will be another week 

of 10 hour days painting

and I'm just too tired to type

at the end of the day!

Hope you all have a great  week...

Hey, Spring begins on Tuesday!!

So why does it feel like Summer already??

Congratulations to Nancy

I would love it if you'd check out her

beautiful blog...

A Rural Journal

She keeps it loaded with 

great photography

and other fun and interesting stuff!!

 Happy Spring from 

Sall's Country Life!

Thanks for being here!

Mosaic Monday

I started a big painting job today

my arms are weak,

my body is tired,

my head is stuffed,

ugh

a spring cold

is trying to keep me down

But,

my will is strong

and tomorrow I will

paint, paint, paint!

tonight I'm wishing I had 

the energy of a two year old!

A Beautiful warm week is 

in store for us,

70 degrees will feel like summer!

Enjoy your week...

if you don't hear from me

it's because the medics

are trying to pry the paint brush

out of my cold hand!

Hugs,

Don't forget to visit our giveaway post

(top of blog)

register to win!  

then hop on over to Mary's Little Red House

for Mosaic Monday!

goodnight.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

I'm playing along with

Ashley for 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday...

this week's items are:

Water

Light

Chocolate

Animal

Crowded

this was a late afternoon

decision,

that's what makes it fun - 

no, long processing sessions

just grab the camera

and go shoot some pictures...

I already had four out 

of five all taken in the last two days...

can you believe chocolate was the 

hardest one?

Sall was happy, cause he 

got some fresh chocolate chip cookies

out of the deal!...

Here's what I found 

all fresh from our farm...

Water....

Splish, Splash a ROBIN taking a bath

in a puddle in our driveway...

Light...

Spring preparations include

changing the light bulb in our 

antique lamp post....

Chocolate....

Naturally, I got a little carried away

with the chocolate entry, 

I just couldn't help myself!

Animal....

Mr. Cool....

And Last...

Crowded....

the Spring Spectacle....

Thank you Ashley for hosting 

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

I hope you'll hop over and enjoy more

of the participants entries!

Relax and enjoy what's 

left of the weekend!

Hugs,

They're Back!

Spring Has Sprung

and

the 

Geese

Are Back!

The Spring Spectacle

is ON!

About a week and a half

earlier 

than last year!!

Our skies are full

of snows and blues...

swarms of them 

gleaning the fields...

Heading North in

Formation....

Thousands of geese

passing through....

It's a wonderful sight!

They know it's spring

and now so do I!

to see last year's arrival,

click on  

A Spring Spectacle

Have a wonderful Sunday

any signs of Spring in your neck of the woods?

Please check out our anniversary giveaway!
Click on the giveaway near the top of our blog
to go to the post and register!
A Winner will be drawn Saturday the 17th!

The Bright Side Of Our Week

Massive amounts of snow,

icy roads and white-out blizzards

have prevented anyone from coming to the 

farm for many winters now! 

AND 

 with 10 inches of snow 2 days

before their arrival,

I was worried they weren't 

going to make it in this time either!!

Luckily the worst had passed, 

some rough icy roads in Iowa

delayed them, but they finally

got here!

Our New York kids
arrived safe and

all got to build a snowman at the farm!!

Little Wyatt had a blast in the snow!

He helped with the snowman

It was a family project...

a snowman greeter!

SUCCESS!!!

Max was a little disappointed

it couldn't actually throw his favorite green pig

for a little game of fetch!!

 Wyatt was off to explore other things...

Max was determined to wait

for the snowman to THROW!

A little venture around the farm... 

You don't get to do

 this in New York City!

Building Snowmen,

winter walks and sharing snow with Kitty...

F - U - N

at Grandma and Grandpa's!!

CHEERY-O!

(note: that was on Monday...

by Thursday evening Mr. Snowman

was a heap of slush!)

It's 71 degrees here today!

Hope you are enjoying some spring time weather

where ever you are!!

Family Ties

I dedicate this post to our kids...
Molly
Anna
Emily
and
Eric

Last week turned very sad for our family.

Sall's step-daughter's husband was killed in a car accident.

A loving husband to Molly and a wonderful father of

two little boys ages 4 and 3.5months. This young family's loss is heart-breaking!

When I met Sall, all of his
kids were out on their own
pursuing their own lives
spread out across the U.S.!
In fact, the first time I went
to his house in the Black Hills,
Sall was just returning from Anna's wedding in Seattle,
Molly was in Eastern South Dakota
and Eric and Emily were in Missouri.

Two step-daughters, a son, and a daughter...

Eventually I got to meet them all,
but never have we all been
in the same part of the country
ALL at once!

They all have children now...
they all have their own busy lives...

It's sad that such a somber occasion brought us all
together...

Sadly, that's how life has to be!

I came home thinking about everything...
how life is so fleeting
one day everything is wonderful,
the next day your world gets turned upside down!
How these kids grew up together...
 and how they've stayed together...
bound by love and childhood memories...

Although the proper ancestry term
would be "step"-brother/sister
these kids call each other
sister and brother
because that's just how they
feel about each other!

When I got home I had
to dig out their old pictures...


Some sweet memories
for some sweet kids...

My hubby raised some really good kids...

They went through a lot together as kids...

and as adults they are still there for each other...

You make us proud

when we see you reaching out 

to each other in times of need!

We love you all!

"A happy family is but an earlier heaven."

                                                                                         ~George Bernard Shaw

Simply Barny

Is it Monday already?

Time flies

when you are too busy...

I need to simplify!

Enjoy your week...

Hugs,

Playing along with Mary's 

Mosaic Monday Theme again...

and

Barn Charm is another great place to be!

Join the party:)

Happiness Begins With a Clean House

Where we love is home,

home that our feet 

may leave,

but not our hearts.

                                                             ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Doing a little house-keeping today...

I always like a clean house for the weekend,

don't you?

 T.G.I.F.

linking with Potpourri Friday 2805

Friday Fences

After the snow....

Yesterday A.M.

the garden...

fence...

and fresh snow....

Me and my Panasonic Lumix Point-and-Shoot

have such a wonderful,

easy-going and fun relationship

But I do get a little green 

when I see the wonderful photos

on other blogs....

Theresa at The Run*A*Round Ranch 

can zoom in on the the most

beautiful Texas birds!

Brian at Hey BJK Outdoors

can catch birds in motion 

like none I've ever seen

Nancy at A Rural Journal

makes still life an art form

not to mention

some pros like...

Lisa at Lisa Gordon Photography

Mary at Little Red House

Tricia at Bluff Area Daily

These are just a few photo

blogs I love to visit 

for inspiration...

I'm trying out a used Canon EOS Rebel T2i

what do you think?

Buried Fence

I love the extended zoom lens!

55-250mm

Useful Fence

Crisp, clear pictures!

Footprints and Fence

The camera is a year old and belongs to a friend.

I'm ready for a step up to an SLR, but know nothing

about cameras!

I know the camera doesn't make you a great photographer

but, I'd sure like to be like one!

Anyone have any advice for a real amateur?

I'll be deep into a Canon

user manual all weekend...

Enjoy your weekend!

Joining Jan and Jer

for Friday Fences 

A Winter Walk

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...


I grabbed the camera this morning
and in the time it took for 
my fingers and toes to get really cold,
I snapped these photos....


It took a lot longer to 
make this little slide show, however!
(God, I'm gonna miss Picnik!)


 Follow along on our little 
walk around the farm 
and
did I tell you how glad I am
you stopped by!

The tractor cometh,

looks like we'll be getting out today!!

Have a splendid day

and Happy March!!!

"Snow Tour March 1 2012"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!