June Blooms and Random Views

Time for my monthly photo tour! All of these pictures were taken around our yard....a mix of wild flowers and perennials, and some miscellaneous shots. Hope you enjoy this little glimpse of June beauty!

Starting with these beautiful purple and white irises. I took a picture of them early in the month, thinking I almost missed them, but they have continued to bloom all month long!

And then onto some of the wild flowers that grow all over our acreage.

Can't leave out a good sunset!

This is a painted daisy...one of our perennials that grows among the false spirea hedge.

Brian brought these home and just put them in the ground until we could find a home for them...they seem to like it here in the sand!

I had to include this picture...I love these trees! We don't have many on our property, and of the 50 we planted, only a few survived...but these ones are thriving in the pure sand! I like to pretend my house is surrounded by them! One day it will be...these trees are producing a small forest with all the shoots they are sending out.

My beautiful fence and arbour covered in virginia creeper. It gets better every year!

Another few of my forest in the making!

And last, a pretty little shrub that Brian planted...but I can't remember what it is...maybe someone can tell me.

That's it for June. I can't believe we're just a few days away from July...see you next time!

3 John 2

  Last week, a blogging friend posted a response to a reader's concern about the change in direction her writing had taken. She had recently begun posting about her health and fitness...where in the past her posts were more focused on spiritual encouragement. In her video she explained why she felt that the two were not mutually exclusive, and that both spiritual and physical health were important. 

  I appreciated her response, because I'm in a similar place...not just with writing, but life in general, and realizing the need to make some changes to be the healthiest I can be. I know that there are many things in this life that we have no control over...the timing of the last breath we take being one of them, but until that day comes, I think God expects me to be the best that I can be, both spiritually AND physically....and just as with Kasey...what is happening in my life tends to spill over into my writing...whether it's here, on Lyric Devotions, or on my Face Book.

Under Deck Storage

We built our house five years ago, but there are still many ongoing projects. The front deck is one of them....or at least UNDER the deck. Because we cantilevered part of the deck out three feet from the house, we have a small room under there. It's the perfect place to store bikes or seasonal items, but it was lacking a door or gate to close it up.

This is actually a project from last summer that I didn't get posted. I was hoping to stain the gate, but because I have a long list of items waiting to be stained, I decided to go ahead and post it as it is.

Here is how it looked before

And here is Brian with his carpenter's helper, Danica.

Treated 2x4s were used for the frame.

It didn't take him long to build the frame, and add the hinges.

He used fence boards to match the planter beside the deck.

And there it is....another job done....almost!

A simple slide bolt closer was added.

Unfortunately, this one is a little hard to close, so we may get a larger one.

I'll post another picture when the staining is done....

hopefully this summer!!