More Hail. . . .

We had a huge hail storm Saturday afternoon. I braved the pellets to take a photo or two.

Fence by the Road II

I don't think this fence is going to keep many animals in - or out - of this field.

Oh, Hail!

I took this photo out from our back door this afternoon when it was raining hail while the sun was shining. The dime-sized hail came down for a good 5-10 minutes straight before it stopped.

Hello X 4

When I first stopped to take a photo of these guys, they were probably a good 50 feet or so away from the fence. When I approached the fence to take yesterday's photo, they started walking toward me and watched while I took that photo and a number of others. These five (There's one behind the 2nd from the right.) watched me a good 5 minutes before asking me to take their photo. ;-)

Hello

Not too far from the pasture filled with Belted Galloways, we saw another pasture filled with donkeys. They were quite curious, and this one wanted to see my camera up close.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the group that followed me along the fence.

Oreo Cows

The Belted Galloways are a rare breed of cattle which originated in Galloway, Scotland (or so it's believed). While their origin is unknown, it's believed that the Scotts bred the black Galloways with Dutch Belted sometime in the mid-19th Century. Note the longer hair (outer coat) which helps them shed rain and snow while their soft undercoat insulates them from cold winter temperatures.

Belted Galloways are a rare breed with fewer than 2500 registered in the US and 10,000 or so worldwide. While most US breeders of the herds are in the east (mostly New England)and there are herds in the midwest and southeast, breeders west of the Mississippi are building herds, too. There is a herd of Belties not too far from our house.

Spring Brings Dandelions

Along with the flowers of spring come the weeds, although I rather like dandelions and don't know if one can consider them true weeds. I know that my grandmother used to pick dandelion greens for salad and other dishes. And, I know there's dandelion wine (although I've never had that). Anyone else remember eating them?

Please note: I have been receiving spam from one email address lately, so I'm enabling comment moderation. If it doesn't stop, I'm going to have to enable word verification. Sorry that one person has to spoil things, but I know a lot of you have the same problem.

Evan at the Depot

Evan checked us out after we picked flowers for our yard.

Green & Gold Floral Carpet

It's That Time!

Dancing Through Another Year

My birthday!
What a different
sound that word
had in my youthful years. . .
~ Thomas Moore

I don't like this business of getting older. Sometimes I lie about my age, usually subtracting a year or two or ten, and sometimes (but not often) adding a year. Most days, however, I just avoid the subject completely. I've come to the conclusion, however, that there are a lot of good things about celebrating birthdays. For one thing, celebrating a birthday is better than the alternative. In addition, each year brings me thousands of experiences in thousands of places with thousands of people. Through them all, I've learned thousands of things. So, today I'll dance through this first day of Spring and celebrate another milestone while happily looking forward to more experiences, adventures and friends.

The photo: This is one of my favorite photos of my late mother and me. I was about three or four months old, and she was 32. Mom passed 3.5 years ago, and while she drove me crazy at times (as I'm sure I did her), I still miss her.

PS. Yes. Yes. Yes. I know that the calendars say the first day of Spring is tomorrow. They're all wrong. March 19 HAS to be the first day of Spring as I would *never* have been born in winter!

Dancing into Spring

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On St. Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone.

(Photo was taken in Dingle, Ireland.)

More of That Birdhouse Thing

As I mentioned the other day, there were over 100 birdhouses up for auction, and a number of area restaurants and caterers offered food and dessert samples. In addition, the auction included a number of other gifts donated by area shops, restaurants and/or vendors, including jewelry, haircuts, dinners, artwork, etc.

Jonas Brothers Birdhouse

My neighbor, Laura Heatherly, also decorated and donated a birdhouse to the auction. Hers was themed to the ever-popular Jonas Brothers. Not having a teenager, I know who these guys are, but I couldn't tell you a think about them.

At The Beach Birdhouse

This year, I did a Caribbean-themed birdhouse for the Birdhouse Thing auction. Included were a bracelet (which is hanging from the left palm tree of the pewter frame), a scrapbook, a beachbag and the birdhouse.

Last year, I made a dog-themed birdhouse, which you can see by clicking here.

That Birdhouse Thing

As I did last year, I participated in The Birdhouse Thing Auction which benefits the W.O. Smith School of Music. Over 100 artists decorated and donated birdhouses for the auction, and the public was invited to bid on the birdhouses and other items while sampling food from area restaurants and caterers. All proceeds benefit the school.

The birdhouse the woman is bidding on in the photo above is a wine-themed birdhouse. Note the corks that line the roof.

To see my posting from last year, click here.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the birdhouse and goodies I decorated for this year's auction.

Harpeth River at the Greenway

Morton Mill Greenway

I've shown you a few of the greenways in the Nashville area over the years. This one is the Morton Mill Greenway. The walkway - to the left of this little lake - is paved for about 3/4 mile. The lake empties into the Harpeth River, and I'll show you a bit of it tomorrow.

Sunset Out Back

Blue Skies and Boney Trees

Isn't it about time for the leaves to come out?

More Nashville Buildings

Music Row

In the Round

The Bean and Jason

My son's dog, Bean, is pretty ill right now. She spent most of the weekend on an IV in the emergency vet clinic. Jason picked her up early this morning and delivered her to her regular vet for further testing.

Jason rescued Bean from a shelter in Cincinnati eight years ago, and they are best buddies. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.