Grandsons are the greatest....especially mine!

Jeremy Todd

Grandaughters are so much fun.....

Loves to bake....

Ashlynn Faith

By Rachel Page Elliott

Balm brings you sympathy and Marjoram joy
Sage is long life...Sweet Woodruff augurs well for health
A blessing richer far than wealth.
Herb of sweet omen, Rosemary conveys
Affection and remembrance all your days.
May Heaven and Earth and Man combine
To keep these blessings ever thine.

Old red...old brown...old yellow.....

Bricks! My backyard has thousands of used bricks I have made into planters and paths. Some of the bricks are a hundred years old and many came from downtown Fort Worth when old buildings were torn down. I decided to do brick paths around the backyard some time ago and yesterday I added a second row to all the paths I laid out last week. I have a few areas I need to work on, but for the most part I am done with bricks... until my neighbor brings me more! Moving bricks is hard on the back and hard on the hands! Friends are amazed at what I have done in the yard in such a short time. Once I have something in mind to do...well, I keep at it until it is completely finished. The best part of all this hard work...I sleep well at night after being not only in the sun......but from hard physical labor!

Gardening

Wow! Gardening feeds my soul, but it certainly plays havoc with my body!! I hurt every where....every muscle...every joint...I hurt in places I have never hurt before.......but, I loved every moment of working in the yard this past week. My neighbor gave me a large amount of bricks from one of his job sites and I recycled them into paths and planters. For two days I moved those bricks all around the backyard until the pile of bricks was almost gone. I told Bobby I would take as much bricks as he could bring me......today I am rethinking those words. Ah, maybe not!
The vegetable garden is growing and I am so proud of it!! I have lots of squash, peppers, tomatoes and hopefully the watermelon and cucumbers will grow as well. The herb garden has basil, oregano, tarragon, dill, and a few other ones as well. I worked hard putting in the vegetable garden in the backyard and the hot Texas sun is making sure everything grows! I planted a bit more than I needed because I was figuring some of it would not make it.......well, I might have to put a vegetable stand in my front yard by the looks of what is happening in my backyard!! There is still lots to do in the backyard, but I have come a long way since I moved into the house. Planter beds are all laid out and I am working on what flowers I would like to plant. Lots of color......lots of plants......lots of work...lots of fun!!

First picture: Used brick my neighbor brought to me. In the back ground is the divider I made out of an old brick mailbox post and branches cut from my pecan tree.

Second picture: The brick walk way leads up to the BBQ area and butts up to pieces of the old sidewalk which was torn up in the front yard last spring and I recycled them for a pathway. Off in the distance on the fence you can see (sorta) my collection of bird houses I nailed to the fence along with china plates. The watermelons I planted are surrounded by the bricks laying to the right of the walkway. Once the plants take off growing I will remove the bricks. I get to running around that backyard so fast that I had to protect the garden from my big feet! There is a top to an antique pedestal sink laying in the midst of old street concrete the work crew brought me planted with two kinds of mint.

Third picture: This picture shows part of the vegetable garden on both sides of the walkway and the BBQ area (big smoker!). I am in the process of collecting things to hang on the fence for this area and it has been lots of fun trying to see what I can find. First on the list is a big Texas star.

Fourth picture: Here you can see part of the vegetable garden and part of the planting station. The planting station was made around a cement slab that was probably laid the same time the house was built (1919). One afternoon I decided to see what was under the dirt...oh my gosh, that was an afternoon to say the least!! Hot day.....and I kept saying I was not going to uncover all of it, but my curiousity got the best of me. I am now showing off to friends and neighbors what I found under the dirt in my backyard. That day I also came across an "old gas pipeline"......YIKES! Fortunately for me....it was capped off, but it got my heart racing!!

Fifth picture: This picture shows part of the back yard. Off in the distance you can see what is left of that big pile of bricks my friend gave me.....almost gone! Under the pecan tree is where I have my bird feeders placed.....lots of beautiful birds out here in Texas. Bricks are the paths and borders for future flower beds.

Ashlynn's artwork to her Grammie...

Ashlynn is very creative.....just like her Mommie.

Gotta love Texas!!!????!!!

Patterson Drilling
Abilene, TX

During clean up around the yard of Patterson Drilling...a forklift driver moved some dirt......he stopped and called his boss...."I need some men down here with shotguns! Rattlesnakes!!"

Shoot 'em up cowboy!! When the smoke settled....62 were dead and that many more got away!