I have a new project going on at my house.  I have a group of trees in the back yard that I always look at and think, "I need to clean all that up."  It was really grown up and had vines and wild bushes all in between the trees.  Last summer I got out there and attempted to clean it all out, but it was too much of a job in the hot hot summer.  So I asked Larry to burn it out this winter so I could tackle it this year.  I did a lot of it by hand, but Larry decided to go borrow a tiller and help a girl out.  I should have taken a before picture because there is no way to describe what a tangled mess it was, but two days later this is what it looks like. 

Much better. 

My plan is to plant some bushes, azaleas, roses, or something in there eventually.  So maybe this is my before picture.

Last Monday, I took off of work and that is what I did most of the day.  I couldn't wait to get home every day to get out there and work on it some more.  I was surprised at the help that I got.  Sophie usually is my 'go-to-helper', she loves to help.  She was feeling a little sickly, but still couldn't stay inside with me working.  She worked on my pile of bricks that I saved for something just as this.  I had left them there a little too long. 

 

Molly usually doesn't like to get dirty.  At all.  But she even stepped on up and decided to help.  She thought she was a big girl.  She was a given a job and she took it seriously. 

 

She loaded the bricks up in her ranger and drove them over to me. 

 

 

The picture is blurry, but you can still see the determination in that face.  She was a working machine, because she then unloaded all the bricks when she got them to me. 

 

Sadie did come out for a little while and helped cut some vines from the trees.  Trust me when I say she didn't get dirty or hurt herself any.  Manual labor is just not her thing.  I should have gotten a picture to document her labor, but I didn't.  If it ever happens again, I will have my camera ready.

 

This past weekend, I went and got some azaleas and planted them.  I am not totally through yet, but am close enough to do my after picture. 

I am going to get a little dogwood tree and some Hostas to put in there also.  But I am proud of my little  creation.  I hope that they all live and I can't wait until next spring when they have gotten a little bigger and they bloom so pretty. 

What did we do all weekend?? We planted and planted and potted and potted.  Yes, I am turning into my mother.  Here are some pictures of everything we planted.  More for my documentation purposes, but also for your enjoyment.  I hope these are still alive and pretty in a couple of months.

I am beginning to love spring time and watching the flowers grow and in my case, sometimes die.  I haven't mastered anything yet, but I am trying and I will keep trying. 

Sophie absolutely loves to help plant.  She really gets into picking the flowers out and arranging them in the pots.  Sadie was my hole digger.  She is really good on the end of a shovel.  I was quite impressed at the perfect holes she would dig.  Molly could have cared less.  She does like them now that they are planted, but wanted nothing to do with the work or the dirt.  She really does enjoy the watering too. 

 

These are some of the bushes and vines that I planted around the house.  I hope to keep them healthy and happy. 

Then a little down time and play time turns into super dorky camera shots on the phone.  Love these girls!!

Day 25.
Fashion

I have to say that little Miss Molly would have to be the fashion Diva in the house.  Sadie is 'too grown' to let me dress her up, and Sophie will only willingly let me dress her up on occasions. 

Day 23.

Water

There has not been much rain lately.  It is sad to look at the creek beds and ponds that are just nearly dried up.  I have been praying for more rain. 


Day 24.
Warning

I absolutely love church signs.  I always look for these clever little spiritual sayings. 

This one is pretty cute! 

Day 22.
Sport

Yes, Golf.  It is a sport.  And it is HARD!!

Day 21.
Culture

In our culture, we have Turkey and dressing for Thanksgiving every year.  This year, my mom was in North Carolina.  Sadie went with her.  I was on my own to cook Turkey and dressing.  We deep fried our turkey and my dressing turned out delicious!!  Thank you Mom for teaching me how to cook.

Day 20.
Movement

Since Julie did her post on painting with light, I just knew I had to try it. 

I think I need some practice. lol

But it was fun!!!

Day 18.
Animal

This little feller lives at Mrs. Verna's.  He always greets us every morning sitting in the swing.  He's a pretty little guy and very friendly.  Yesterday he grabbed Molly's passy and took off running with it when she dropped it.  I was pretty mad at this little feller.

Day 19.
Door

This is the front door to my house.  I love my front door and my house.  I am so thankful for the many blessings that I have.  I love the song "From my front porch looking in."  It really hits home.  (I need some pretty Mums for my front porch.  I must go get some this weekend.)

Day 16.
Symmetrical

This was a hard one for me too.  I searched and searched and found many things symmetrical, but none of my pictures turned out pretty.  So I just gave up and settled to get on with my life.  I love this cross.  It is beautiful.  It is on my desk at work.  I bought in when in New Orleans one year with Julie and Diane and Jamie. 

Day 17.

Asymmetric

*I will have to come back to this one.  I took a picture that I thought would work, but when I loaded it, I determined it was in fact symmetrical.  I'm a dork.  I will update later.



Day 15.
Orange

This should catch me up on my photo challenge.  I knew I wouldn't be able to do it every day.  I have been struggling too hard on my photos, for one thing.  This is more than orange, but I love the colors together and it turned out pretty cool.  I have a bucket of these on my desk from Halloween.  I confess I eat some every day.!



Day 12.
Nature

When I hear the word nature, I think of "mother nature" and "nature walks."  I think of trees and flowers.  I think of storms and hurricanes.  The thought brings beauty and pleasure, but also natural disasters and destruction.  Both beautiful and scary.

This photo is light and pretty.  These flowers are in a pot on my deck that I planted in the spring.  I didn't do very well through the hot summer and they did not survive well, but since the weather has lightened, they have started budding again.  I love the colors.  I love the resistance, and it truly is amazing at all the beautiful things in life. 

Day 13.

Luxury

Luxury is my Canon camera that I got through work.  I have used it way more for personal reasons than at work so far.  I am constantly trying different settings and playing with all the features.  Some turn out just plain awful, but some are amazing!  I love my camera. 

Day 14.
Gear

Did you think anything different?  This is my golfing gear.  My pretty bag and my clubs.  Everyone in the family has a set of golf clubs, except for Molly.  She is a little too young yet, although her Daddy already has a golf ball in her hand.  They sit in the floor and roll a golf ball back and forth to each other.  It is the sweetest thing.  She picks it up, turns her hand over, and gently releases the ball like she's rolling it.  Precious!!





Day 10.
Landscape

This is an old photo that I took when we went to the Village to play golf.  I meant to take my camera with me this weekend when I went out to play golf, but I forgot it.  A golf course is some of the prettiest landscape that there is.  Everything is so manicured and pretty. 

Day 11.

Portrait

 

I chose Sophie for my portrait shot.  You can't see if very well in this picture, but she got her ears pierced this past weekend.  She brought home a 100% in conduct Friday.  As promised, she got to choose where we went to eat out Friday night to celebrate, and I let her get her ears pierced as an extra prize. 

She picked out some sparkly pink earrings and did very well getting them pierced.  She winced, but didn't cry.  She is so proud of her new earrings.



Day 8. 
Filthy

I am way behind because of this filthy picture!  I could not, for the life of me, find a good enough filthy picture.  I tried, and I tried.  It was either too filthy or not filthy enough, or the picture didn't turn out very well.  So I finally decided just to cave and give you this to get on with my life!! 

Filthy is what Molly looks like after eating Gerber cookies in her high chair.  I know this picture does not look like she is filthy, and she has been a little filthier than this, but it really is a chore to clean her up after she gets through feeding herself.  (I know, it's pretty lame for a filthy picture, I promise to do better!) 

Day 9.

Glass

This  picture turned out way cool, I thought.  This picture is through the glass of my oven door.  Sophie and I were watching the biscuits to make sure they didn't burn. 

Day 7.
Clean

You guessed it, right out of the tub!  Sweet and shiney!

Day 6.
Texture

I tried many objects to get my texture photo.  This is the only one that I think came close to capturing the texture.  I can look at this brick and see what it feels like.  

Day 4.
Light

I may have taken it a little literal, but I chose my 'Light' photo to be a picture of my favorite lamp.  My Grammy gave me this lamp for Christmas many years ago.  I love this lamp and the light that it produces.

Day 5.
Dark

This picture I did not pick for my dark picture, but it absolutely works.  This is Molly and Daddy sitting outside on the deck talking about the moon.  

Day 3.
Lunch

Sophie has had fever for two days and stayed home from school.  She has been pretty pitiful.  My momma always made me chicken noodle soup every time I was sick when I was little.  It always made me feel better.  So yesterday, when I stayed home with her, I made her chicken noodle soup for lunch. 

Day 2.
Strangers

In honor of Halloween, I picked my strangers to be these cute little witches.  I don't know to whom these cute little ones belong, but I couldn't resist snapping this for my stranger day. 

 Day 1. 
A Street

According to Wikipedia, originally the word "street" simply meant a paved road.  I did check before I picked this for my first day of the challenge, not that it matters, because in this photo challenge, the rules are:  there are no rules!)

This road/street is one that I travel every day.  I chose this because it was the only place that I have seen any fall colors in our poor drought-ridden county.  I love how the road seems to disappear.  I love that at the crest of the next hill is where all of my babies have been taken care of by "Mrs. Berna."  I love that it is now paved and not as dusty as it once was. 

I am going to challenge myself.  I do this occasionally.  Sometimes I am successful.  Sometimes I fall short.  This should be a fairly easy challenge though, in which I hope to learn some things. 

I found a 31 day Photo Challenge online.  The object is to photograph what is on the list for the day.  I plan to post my photograph of the day to display and document.  I can not promise that I will photograph and post every single day, but I hope to stay on schedule enough to post every other day or at the very least, weekly.  I hope that you will join me.  This will fun to see what everyone comes up with. 

I plan to start on November 1st, and I edited my list to a 30 day Photo Challenge to fit the month of November.  So, get your cameras out and battery charged!

1. A street
2. strangers
3. lunch
4. light
5. dark
6. texture
7. clean
8. filthy
9. glass
10. landscape
11. portrait
12. nature
13. luxury
14. gear
15. orange
16. symmetrical
17. asymmetric
18. animal
19. door
20. movement
21. culture
22. sport
23. water
24. warning
25. fashion
26. signage
27. pattern
28. home
29. strong
30. work-related