Andrew Davis' First Birthday

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do here,

 so I’m going to jump back to September!

 It was our baby boy’s first birthday. 

It seems he’s been part of our family for forever,

and we can’t picture what life would be like without him in it. 

And in another way, it doesn’t seem possible

 that one year could go by so quickly,

and we have a boy toddling around the house! 

He’s such a fun child, all boy, loving all the things

 that go “vroom” and any sort of ball. 

But he also loves animals and anything

 that is soft and fuzzy. 

Andrew’s first birthday happened to be at the time

 of our family vacation to Chincoteague.

 That made it special for all of us! 

 Since we were traveling I wanted to keep things simple. 

It seemed natural to go with a boat and water theme.

  The girls and I did a few fun things ahead of time

to make it feel like a good party.

We made “bobbers” with marshmallows, red food coloring, and skewers. 

We tied them to sticks along with simple fish shapes cut from newspaper.

And little newspaper boats with fish crackers were simple things to set at each place.

The kids enjoyed the challenge of eating the dangling bobbers!

 The fuzzy animals were his favorite presents. 

We love this little man!!! 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

James 1:17

Collecting Seeds

It would appear that I’ve taken an unintended summer sabbatical from writing here. 

That may be a good thing. 

It has been one of those summers where you blink, and it’s gone.

For the first time this year this week has had the mood of autumn. 

The undercurrents in the air have become chilly

 even while the sun is hot and tries to convince us that summer is lingering.

We are picking the last of the garden things.

  I savor the flavors, knowing the freshness won’t be the same until next year. 

And in planning for next year, I’ve been collecting seeds from what I can. 

 I usually save seeds from some of my favorite heirloom

 or non-hybrid vegetables and flowers.  

And then there are years when time gets away from me,

 the pods age in the rain,

 and drop their seeds to the ground before I can harvest them.

This year I’m winning against time.

A variety of lettuce seeds.

 Chive seeds in the herb bed.

 Putting a brown bag over a bunch of seed heads and then cutting the stems,

 is an easy way to harvest without losing the mature, dry seeds.  

Simply grip the stems and bag and give them a good shaking. 

(Pretending to play a Maraca is optional.)

  If the seeds aren’t quite dry enough to shake off easily,

 they can dry on the stems in the open bag for a few days.

Sometimes I cut ends of old envelopes to wrap the seeds in. 

This year I just used the bags and wrapped them “butcher” style. 

Here is Cilantro, Radish, a great variety of “Wildflowers” from a friend.

And a “Winter Lettuce” grown from seeds from my grandma’s lettuce

 who had gotten her seeds from a friend who has passed away now. 

Sharing with friends makes gardening special to me.    It creates and gives life to memories. 

“Then God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant

 yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, 

and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; 

it shall be food for you.’ ”

Genesis 1:29