Soaking It In {pretty, happy, funny, real} - vol. 69


Today in our little neck of the woods it is absolutely beautiful and so I sit on our porch trying to soak it all in as much as I can.  And I get to share a little piece of it here.

Remember how last year we got one (as in 1) pear off of our dozen trees?
This year, barring some horrible freeze, we're set to explode!

{pretty}
See those baby pears forming??  Aren't they sweet?

So many.  We'd get a lot already but since we had none last year, it's even more than a normal year.  Thousands.  Be prepared, local friends.  Come late August we'll be begging you to take them. 

Oh, and remember that whole bee thing we've been talking about?
You guys.

{happy}
We have bees!!  
I'll have to do a more in depth post at some point and don't you dare go thinking we know what we're doing but...bees!  We ordered two nuc hives and had only "sometime in spring" given us as the reference to when they would be ready.  I predicted they would be ready the week I was due and sure enough...

This weekend was insane and part of the insanity was Brian and the older boys going out at dusk Saturday night to pick up our bees and bring them home.  We were already exhausted from a long day but Brian and John Paul stayed up until after ten getting the bees situated in their new homes.  I wish I had been able to get pictures of the process but they were working by flashlight at that point and I was deflated in the tub from such a crazy day.  John Paul was amazing, though.  No fear.  He knew exactly what to do and how to do it and guided us through the process of installing the hive.  

We're really excited about it.  This could be such a neat hobby or it could flop and this could be one of the most expensive (but educational?) experiments we've ever done.  We shall see!

A scene from earlier in the day.  Michael and Luke were called in to lunch and had picked heaps of goldenrod from the field to bring back with them.  Happy.

I did have to break it to them that goldenrod wasn't a good house flower.

And a scene from a few days ago that I had to include because it is a happy day indeed when our farmer plows the fields behind our house. 

 The boys are hoping that they'll plant corn this year.  And yes, they were too close.  Way too close.  So I took a picture…and then called them in ;)

Brian replaced the chicken fence and I think it looks great.  The old one was made from tree branches that were finally beginning to rot out and fall over :)  We filled it up with lots of straw and grass clippings and we have happy chickens.  Except for that one that got killed by a hawk yesterday.  That chicken is not so happy anymore.  She was one of our routine escapees and the boys found her body by the coop just before dinner.  We weren't sure what had gotten her since the body was left but during dinner I flew out of my seat when I saw a hawk come to perch right on one of those posts, presumably to get the rest of her or to pick off another bird.  I'm sure it was quite the entertaining site to see us all run outside to scare it away...

But, um, the rest are still happy :)

 {funny}
On hawk patrol.  This kid thinks he's tough as nails and that he can do anything.

 {real}
This.  
Remember how gray and cold and dreary it was just a few weeks ago?  Thank you, Lord, for this.  Help us to soak it all in.  
That patch in the middle, if you can see it, is what used to be our garden.  After thinking it through we made the sad decision to forgo a garden this year.  There is just too much other life going on and we needed to replow a whole new area to plant since this fence, too, was rotting out and falling over…it just didn't make sense and would've been more than we can (sanely) handle right now.  So if anyone wants to share some of their garden's harvest with us later on…well, we'll have pears to trade? 

And this.  Because I can't let it slide through that someone in our house turned 35 this week.  Thirty five.  And John Paul made the annual birthday brownies all on his own this year so apparently someone else is growing up, too.  Brian didn't get a birthday buddy like he was hoping so it looks like we'll have three different May birthdays in this house to celebrate next year!

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty, happy, funny, real}
Hope you're having a beautiful Thursday!

5 comments

  1. Can I come live at your house! It's so dreamy inside (per what I've seen through your blog) and outside! Oh my goodness, the outside! Beautiful and so gorgeous! As for the bees, better you than me! I'd be a mess! As much as I'm a fan of all they do, I'm just not a fan. Happy Birthday to your husband and praying for you!

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  2. Congrats on the bees! You sure have lots going this May! So much happy, happy. Lovely pictures, all.
    And I trust the kid who 'thinks he can do anything' knows he can't really shoot a hawk. Maybe you'll get a dog next to protect the chickens. :-)

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  3. Your boys are so handsome! I loved this post. And I'm sorry about your garden, but I know how that decision-making process goes. We opted not to expand ours this year as I'd planned for our own life reasons- sometimes you have to know what you can handle and what you can't. :-) Can I mail you basil and tomatoes, do you think? :-)

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  4. Looking forward to hearing more about your bees! I've considered getting a hive of my own, but there's the tiny detail of... I'm terrified of bees. So. That's not gonna work. I'll just live vicariously through you. ;)

    The Starving Inspired

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  5. Ooh I cannot wait to follow how the bees go for you. And also I wish I was local because I love a good pear.

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