The End

GREETINGS!

Once upon a time our grass was green.

And our tomatoes were growing and producing.

And my Lemon Balm was tall and green too.

All of that has come to an end with the heat. I hope you all are managing in this weather. Stay cool as you can and drink lots of water! And give thanks to the Lord for seeing us through this. Until next time, take care and God Bless.

Annual Cowboy Picnic

GREETINGS!

It's been a few days since I've posted, and what do I find when trying, but a whole new way of adding pictures. Which really messed me up (of course it doesn't take much to do that!) and took quite a while to figure out. But I think I've got it half way under control. :)

Anyhoo, on July 9th Ronnie's Single Action Shooting Society club, aka the Rattlesnake Mountain Rangers, had their monthly shoot followed by their annual cowboy picnic. Since it was soooooo HOT, it was held at the home of the Club leader so the "boys" could cool down a bit.

Black River Jack (cowboy name) and his wife, Kathy, live on the edge of a cliff which provides them with an outstanding view of the valley below. See pictures.

Across the valley, just beyond the middle tree line, runs I 40 to Oklahoma City and/or Fort Smith, Arkansas and points in between and beyond!

These two pictures are of the yard - what little there is before the drop off - and show some of Kathy's handyword at pond building and landscaping. It's really quite beautiful and nature friendly.

Kathy also cooked all the vittles for the picnic, and of course they were delicious! Big platters of cold cuts and cheeses, rolls and buns, sloppy joe fixins, potato salad, 5 bean/meat casserole, vinegar/sugared sliced cukes, chips, chocolate cake, ice cream cake, apple cider pie w/sour cream & Cream cheese, and another pie that escapes me! Oh, and iced tea, soda, bottled water, lemonade and coffee. I think I remembered it all...........it was sure good, I know that.

And a great time was had by all! Was a kick to see 12 grown men dressed in authentic cowboy gear, seated at the dining table munching away. Guns checked at the door, of course!! :)

I am thankful that Ronnie has a hobby that he is so passionate about. Until next time, take care and God Bless.

P.S. We are still having extreme heat in the 100's with no end in sight. I am also thankful that our air conditioner is holding up to the task!

Haying Time

GREETINGS!

A few days ago I went somewhere - would you believe I don't remember where? - and snapped these pictures of some hay fields. It is so great to see the hay all cut and laying to dry, and then the rakes coming along and putting it in rows. And finally the huge round bales scattered all over the fields. Not to mention the wonderful smell of fresh hay!

And this last picture is of the bale of hay we bought today for Eeyore and Jenny. It is one of last years, so it was only $40. I hear this years has gone up to $45 a bale. We had to buy one because it has been so hot the grass is all dried up and with no rain it can't grow and replenish itself. When Ronnie put it in place, they dove right in and haven't left it all day!

It was 105 (regular) degrees today. And the forecast for the next week or more is 104 on up every day. Thank the Lord for air conditioning. The dogs are spending a lot of time indoors too. I hope you all are staying fairly cool.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

How To Beat The Heat

GREETINGS!

This is how I'm staying cool in this 100+ degree weather. I feel for y'all if you don't have a Muu Muu!

Have a Happy 4th of July tomorrow! Take care and God Bless.

Checotah

GREETINGS!

I'm having a problem posting my blog! Did one yesterday and it won't post -- tells me javascript void, whatever that means. So this is kind of a test blog. If it works I'll redo yesterdays. Now isn't that clever?!

Left home this morning at 7:30 a.m. and headed to Chechotah to hit WalMart and Atwood's. Got the shopping done and then stopped at the donut shop for a fresh donut and cup of coffee. Very good.........that's the perk of going early in the day.

Got some good pictures of this years hay fields and bales, and will post them later if this is a success!

Until next time, take care and God bless.

OK! My guru sister in law fixed it! I spent a long time on the phone with the help desk to no avail, and then Mary came and got it working. Thank you to her, for sure. It was apparently some setting that needed fixing.
Will do more later.

From The Garden

GREETINGS!

I cannot believe it's been a whole week since I posted! And I have no excuse other than time just seems to slip away.

We have been busy trying to stay cool, but what's new?! The report is we had 29 out of 30 days in June over 90 degrees. And this week is all 100 or over, so a hot 4th of July is coming. Get out the sun screen or crank up the air conditioning; or both!



These cute little cucumbers are from Mary's garden. I had some in a salad for lunch today and they were great. She said some were bitter, but I used my "rub the cut ends together" secret and they weren't bitter to me! Anyone else ever hear of that little secret?



And these are Early Girl tomatoes Mary shared with us as ours are a later variety and aren't ripe yet. Although, I did eat one of my black Cherokee tomatoes - that wasn't totally ripe - and it was out of this world. Got more getting ripe and can't wait. Will definitely plant more of them next year.



And this.........this is Webbers Falls Sweet Corn! I want to tell you, it is the best sweet corn I've ever eaten. Ronnie and Tom bought a bushel a week or so ago and we split it. Then a couple days ago, they bought another bushel. So we each ended up with a bushel. One was $10 and one was $12 - from different farmers. The locals say to just freeze it in bags with the husk on - no muss or fuss - and that's what we did. Saving out enough for a few dinners of course! We did take enough for a couple suppers off the cob, and it was delicious also.

So, tomorrow is go to town day and get the traditional 4th of July watermelon to go with the corn on the cob and who knows what else! Mary's watermelons and cantelopes aren't big enought to harvest yet, so we have to buy them! Can't wait for home grown ones.

I hope you have a great weekend and remember what we are really celebrating!------
One nation, under God, with Liberty and Justice for all. Thank you Lord. Until next time, take care and God Bless.