Eating the 18 in. Cucumber!

THE MONSTER CUCUMBER has turned out to be monstrously delicious!!  The radius when cut was 3 inches!!  We were afraid it would be either bitter or bland and instead it smelled wonderful when we cut into it and it was delicious!!  Made a great Cucumber Salad.  I used bacon Ranch on mine-Yum! 

If there could only be one, I am glad it was tasty and big enough to share-ha!  That was so much fun!  I am saving some of the seeds from this whopper!  

MONSTER CUCUMBER

OOOOH! STEP BACK JACK, IT'S THE MONSTER CUCUMBER!
Isabella, our ragdoll was not impressed at all with our 18 inch, 3 1/4 lb. cucumber!!  We finally cut it from the vine as it was starting to turn yellow and probably unedible at this point.  But it is chilling in the frig as I write and we will cut it later to see what the inside is like.  When you pat it, it sounds like the thud on a ripe melon- LOL!  It was so much fun to see just how big it would get but it sapped all the strength from the vine and the smaller ones all died out from the very high temps we have been having in SC.

Thanks for sharing in all the cucumber fun!

Face Lift and FAITH lift...

Nature does not require face lifts.  No creature ever gets a wrinkled face unless he was born with one.  And though their little lives are sometimes filled with stress, they seldom show any signs of it.  Who could resist this beautiful Mockingbird babe who was calling to his Mother?  And how about this wrinkle- free little face of the squirrel who naps on the birdhouse in our back yard.

Or how about this beautiful wrinkle-free bunny face as he grazes on my Lily leaves?

We humans are obsessed with our looks and how to stay young looking and wrinkle free when no matter what we do to improve our looks, we all end up wrinkled--somewhere!  A happy person with a great smile is noticed for their smile and never for the little wrinkle by their eye or mouth!  And a weather worn farmer who is wrinkled from hard work in the sun is no less handsome to his wife and children. 

WE SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED WITH A FAITH LIFT!!

Tune into God and have faith in his works and it will show on your face.  Ever notice how believers seem to have a glow about them and peace?  They do not wear their troubles, their cancers, their lack of material things on their face.  We can find something attractive in EVERYONE.  Maybe it is their smile, maybe they have beautiful hair or maybe they have that special "light" in their eye that comes from their faith deep within.  I have been told several times in my life that I have a light in my eyes.  It both embarrassed and blessed me.  My Mom had the light in her smiling eyes and my daughters have it in theirs.  It's a "good thing" as Martha Stewart would say-ha!  I think God puts the light there so that we can shine for him and spread his word.  What do you think?

GOOD MORNING LORD

        by Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart 3/2/94

Good morning Lord

 Thank you for another day.

How great it is to walk in your way.

 How blessed I feel to know your son

Come into my heart 'til day is done.

Help me to be kind to others I pray

 And may I never forget to thank you

  for all that you give.

May I gain some wisdom along the way

 And walk close to you for as long as I live.

Thank you for giving me a partner like Bill

 To walk through life with, even up hill.

We will try very hard to do your will.

 And you have blessed us with love beyond measure

We could not ask for any greater treasure.

♥Kerrie

BLUE BIRD ADVENTURES

Blue Bird Call
      ©Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart

A tiny body needing food
  A weary Mama understood
A fluttering of baby's wings
  Brings Mama holding nourishing things
To please her Darling baby!

This little Babe was sitting on the crook where the suet is hanging.  He would beg and Mama would take pieces of suet and feed him.  Much too quickly for me to snap a picture.  Such a beautiful Monday visitor!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

This is a picture of my Dad (right) with his Dad.  I never knew this Grandfather but I love him just the same.  And my Dad is gone now, too, but left me with his teachings and wisdom.

Proverbs 4:1-5

"Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight; for I give you good precepts: do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me, and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live; from the words of my mouth. Get wisdom; get insight."

      God is so good to give us a photograph book of memories in our mind.  So that we can still see our loved ones even when they are no longer with us.  Such Blessings! 

     Father's Day at our house....

Love shoes by the front door---it means family is here!!  LOL!

Rainy day Thrashers and Flowers

TODAY was a peaceful day with rain showers on and off with intermittent blue sky.  Nice day to be indoors as the heat index was high and so was the humidity.  So I took pictures of the Brown Thrasher again as he was up to his silly antics on the crook with the suet.  He was sitting and preening and nearly fell off the crook!

Pardon his back- ha!

Next I had been visiting Needled Mom's site and tried the great pattern tutorial she had posted.  I could not wait to try these wonderful fabric flowers and used some old sheet material from my stash.  I loved the way they came out and can't wait to make more.  Link is http://needledmom.blogspot.com/

I would say that it was a lovely productive rainy day....

Thanks for visiting and come again soon.  Hugs to all my bloggy friends!

Kerrie

A Reluctant Friend

MY daughter and the female swan have come to an understanding.  Slowly day by day, she talks to her and offers her a bit of a snack.  Sometimes the male is there with her and sometimes not.  If the male is there, he watches and guards while she comes up to eat.  Today, Barb was able to actually pet the Swan (not recommended!) and she was so excited.  My camera was not working well but I did manage to zoom in from the den window and capture this bonding.  Remember that Swans are wild and very agressive so don't think you can just walk up to one.  Their jaws are very strong and could really do damage to fingers and legs if they feel threatened.  Barb has always had a way with animals and creatures though and even picks up small green lizards and they will rest on the warmth of her hand.  I tried picking up a little one a few years ago after seeing her do this and he bit me so hard that I was trying to shake him off of my hand and there he was hanging on with his little lizard teeth!  Won't do that again-ha!

All creatures great and small, the good Lord loves them all.

WE are in the process of publishing our own picture book.  you may preview by clicking on the link in the sidebar.  Thanks!

Hugs, Kerrie

SWAN GRACE

TODAY'S VISITOR WAS THE MUTE SWAN~~ ENJOY!
  The beautiful Mute Swan is more graceful than the Whistling Swan, swimming with an S curve in the neck, wings arched. The knobbed orange Bill pointing downward.  Their wingbeats make a singing sound and they do talk making gutteral sounds in their throat and when aggressive they hiss like a cat!  This one was very friendly and not menacing at all, perhaps because he was not with a mate.  He ate right out of my daughter's hand.

At first I took a picture from the window with the zoom.

Then the Swan came right up to the open window and was below me.

He is so beautiful and his feathers are gorgeous!

I was able to get a close up detail of his huge webbed foot.

So beautiful and graceful....

Off to go dunking for underwater growth.

bottoms up!

PEACE BE WITH YOU!

Thrashers: Brown Thrasher

BROWN THRASHERs are really quite fascinating!  I have been mistaking the ones in our back yard for Thrush which are in the same family. A Brown Thrasher is thinner than a robin: bright rufous above, heavily striped below.  Note also wing bars, rather curved bill, long tail and yellow eye.Their song resembles the Catbird's song, but more musical and each phrase usually in pairs.  Their range is from S Canada to the Gulf states; east of the Rockies.  (Source: Peterson Field Guides)  Here is the one that visits our suet every day.

The wonderfully bright yellow eye makes them look so smart and aware.  I love the length of their tail feathers and the lovely slight curve at the end of their bill.  They seem to be very combative and chase and posture at one another at the feeder and on the ground.  They are certainly one of God's beautiful creatures though.

Thank you for visiting as always and come again soon.  Please visit my Etsy Shop and my Kerrie's Krafts 3 blog to see what crochet and craft projects I have been up to!  Have a most wonderful day!

"The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you." ~ Tom Bradley

 Kerrie

Today's Thrifty Treasures

Today's Thrifty Treasures Every Monday Thrifty Treasures Party from http://southernhospitalityblog.com is a great blog I just visited for the first time and I would like to add my Garage Sale items blog post from yesterday to the list!  Visit the host by clicking the link and visiting all the other finds, thanks!

GARAGE SALE AND THRIFT STORE FINDS

WHAT A FUN DAY YESTERDAY!!  It was too hot and humid to work in the yard but the sunshine was so inviting that we decided to look for yard sales and visit a thrift shop as well as a little quilting shop.  We were gone but a couple of hours but had so much fun!  We never think about illness or woes when on one  of our little jaunts and it is so nice to not worry about anything for awhile.
  Hubby got up first, went to a neighborhood garage sale with one of my daughters and came back with a box of Carnival Depression Glass!

Then he surprised me with this lovely still in the box collector's doll by DUCK HOUSE heirloom dolls, "Cadie"!

I have always loved dolls and this one is so sweet with her Teddy Bear, red curly hair and wonderfully detailed porcelain face!  Thank you hubby!

Okay, so now I had the fever and after getting ready, we went out looking for garage sales.  These are the other things I found for only pennies!

I already had flowers from the ones scattered on our table for the Anniversary party in February.  This sweet little ceramic basket was perfect to keep the memory in!

Next, we stopped at a little quilting shop named aptly, Common Threads.  I have passed it many times but never went in before.  There I found these lovely pastel varigated wire ribbons and a fat quarter with nostalgic post cards on it!  These will come in so handy for card making and trading cards!  I cannot wait to create! 

And the fluffy soft blanket in the background, I got a yard sale for my Cat, sweet Isabella for her bed.  So we had a very nice day and now I am anxious to create something new.  I don't know where the time goes, I have good intentions every day but like Scarlet, tend to "think about it tomorrow" ~ ha! 

Come again soon and visit my Two Happy blog for a spititual Sunday message. Thanks! http://beaver-kerrie.blogspot.com/

HUGS, KERRIE