Nothing to sneeze about . . .

Look carefully and you will see our Dansfield Beeyard.

I am hopeful for a September honey flow.

Because look at this beautiful haven.

Every direction you look is a bee paradise.

Mostly goldenrod but a few other flowers as well.

If you look closely, I caught four workers in this picture.

They are bringing pollen and nectar in to here.

They don’t quit.

They don't take a break. (They also don't live long.)

Their work is their pleasure.

We are on vacation but they are not!

I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Somebody Special is Two Today!

Our youngest grandson, Jacob, the little charmer, is celebrating his two year old birthday today!

It is one week after his daddy celebrated his birthday.

Last year, I sent Jacob’s card and gift on the wrong day. For some reason I had it in my head that his birthday was a week later! Oh my—no grandma points were earned for that! Thankfully, he doesn’t hold grudges.

He’s our littlest guy and he is getting skinny—losing baby fat. He looks and sounds just like a little boy. He loves to be silly. He loves to be like Daddy.



He has all of the important language down for his age level: "more," "no," "mine," "wheels on the bus . . ." —really, much more than that, even some sentences.

But here is what really tickles my ears, “Go to Grandma’s House!”

Yay! I will see him in twenty days—not that I’m counting, of course.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

So many, many highs!

This was an incredible High! Watching hopeful Olympians practice downhill skiing into a pool at Lake Placid, NY.

In case the video doesn't play, I hope this photo will give you an idea of the height. We held our breath every time!

Here is one guy right after he crawled up the ladder and out of the water. Can you imagine wearing all of that clothing and swimming?

Lou was so brave to ride up the ski lift to see where the Olympian skiers take off.

She admits that the view was worth it!

Although it did take our breath away!

Here we are nearly on top of the world.

Later, Lou and I rode on the top level of the ferry on our ride across Lake Champlain.

We may not come back down to earth for a long time.

The air is a little thin at these heights. Here's hoping that it rubs off on us.

To set the record straight . . .

In Chicago last month, with my nephew and his family, his son, TJ--in the red shirt--quietly corrected people when they referred to me as Aunt Brenda. I heard him say under his breath, “Great Aunt Brenda.”

TJ was just clarifying that I was NOT his dad’s sister, rather his grandma’s sister.

And I don’t blame him a bit for wanting to be perfectly clear, and neither will anyone when you see this beautiful photo of TJ’s Aunt Amy and Aunt Dawn.

I thought about TJ using the precisely correct verbage recently when my sisters visited. My sister, Lou, explained to my friend Lois that we sisters are all three years apart in age. I thought, but held my explanation, “Actually, three and a half years.” You see my one sister was born in 1941, the other in 1944 but I however, was born in 1948. My brother was born in 1951.

For years, I told people that Lou was seven years older and Donna was four years older and Lowell was three years younger, particularly because one friend always thought I was the oldest sibling!


Truth be told, since they all have fall birthdays and my birthday is in the spring, Lou is 6 ½ years older than I, Donna is 3 ½ years older than I and Lowell is 3 ½ years younger than I. Both of my sisters are definitely that much older and wiser than I. Lowell is another story, his youth probably also reflects that he is a tidge less wise—okay just kidding. We are still praising him for his wisdom in handling my Dad’s estate so efficiently and wisely.

Today is Donna’s birthday—a milestone of sorts. I always love occasions when I get to publish old photos. She is amazing—kind, godly, a farmer’s wife, a retired nurse, a faithful mother, intelligent, resilient, and so much more . . . including a blogger.

To be perfectly clear, I am glad that you are my sister.

Hope your day is great and full of surprises!

Happy Birthday, Donna!

09-09-09

Today’s date is unique.

I have experienced 01-01-01, 02-02-02, and so forth and none of those days particularly stand out as significant.

Today though has been a bit different.

I have thought of the today’s date often throughout the day.

I read a few articles about its significance on the internet but they all seemed pretty bogus to me.

It wasn’t just an ordinary day though.

It was exceptionally sunny and beautiful reflecting the joy in my heart.

Today is my eldest son’s birthday.

This young superman showing off his cape,

His Halloween costume,

And his favorite pj's . . .

Is now a husband and daddy, working on his doctorate at Duke.

He is a blessing. I give thanks to God for his life.

Happy Birthday, Andy!

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:3-6 [The Message]

Well Written

Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

Know also that wisdom
is sweet to your soul . . .

Proverbs 24:13 & 14a

This is from a wise man.

The note is worth many times its
weight in gold—honey gold.

Walter’s words warmed our hearts
and made us chuckle.

He is an underground poet
or writer of prose. . . or should be.

We love it—the note, the honey, the man.

Postscript

To clear up any confusion, this note was just received a day ago. It is not from my father but I did describe Walter, the friend, like Walter, my Dad. I did not do that intentionally. Looking back over what I wrote, it is remarkable how it does sound like my Dad. Walter is a good name.

Yay! Hooray for Honey Day!

One good thing was that we did not have to buy any bottles.

One bad thing is that we had plenty of bottles.

Our honey production was way down this year.

Everything else about our honey extraction day was as it should be—sweet—good—full of delight!

We finally have the procedure down to a efficient system.



The best part of all, the part that makes us smile all evening and for the next day as well was that it was a great family day!

The girls were a great bottling team!

There is nothing more unifying than completing a project together as a team and even better when the team is your family

Grif confessed, “Some people may think this is boring, but I love honey day!”

Then to add frosting to the cake, we celebrated Hale’s birthday.

Hale was happy ecstatic to be nine years old!

I hope you will take time to watch Seamus at work in the videos that I posted. You will smile. His joy in helping is contagious! He truly is sweeter than honey!