A Visit Over Iced Tea...

 

I posted the recipe last year so check out

the 7/18/10 posting.

                                                     
So before you settle in to read this blog, get yourself a nice glass of cold iced tea or whatever so you're comfortable and cool while I catch you up on what has been happening at Edwards Ranch lately.

We celebrated Mark's 65th birthday and as you can see he requested Millionaires Pie again this year. Since it was a milestone year, I dressed up the pie with the numbers and candles. He just wanted the pie and wasn't much interested in the fancy.

My eldest sister, Marcine, from North Carolina visited us for 2 weeks. Marcine and I stayed overnight in Omaha after her arrival so we could do some touring of her old college town where she attended Creighton University. One of our first stops was to the downtown Wagon Train sculpture park which is magnificent. The bronze sculptures are bigger than life size and consist of several wagons pulled by horses and oxen, families, the scout on horseback and children and dogs romping behind the wagons. The dramatic display was created by Utah sculptors Blair Buswell and Ed Fraughton and the first phase was installed in 2005. If you get to Omaha, this is a must see. (Double click on the pictures to get an enlarged view of these incredible pieces)

We had such a lovely time with her. Essentially she lived the country life with us for 2 weeks - gathering eggs, playing with the dog (yes, the dog --- I'll get to that), attending a 4-H horse competition etc. It was hot and humid so there were naps in the cool house too!

On the way to gather eggs with Buddy on

Marcine's lap - his favorite place



OK, about the dog. We decided we really wanted a farm dog and English Shepherds are considered the quintessential farm dogs so we searched and found a pup with the big name of Ivanhoe that has become known around here as Buddy. He is a sweet dog and appears to be very trainable. Hopefully he won't be interested in eating the chickens! He loved sitting on Marcine's lap and they became great friends.

 

Buddy

While Marcine was here, our youngest sister, Sandi from Denver, came to NE for a short visit with us. It was delightful to be together...

Sandi and Buddy

swinging in the front yard

relaxing on the deck

enjoying a meal together

With all the heat and humidity, mornings have been very foggy but the heat soon burns it off.

Then in the afternoons when the heat is blasting, the hens find cool shade under the trees...

And, nearly every afternoon we see the buildup of storm clouds, so beautiful and sometimes so dangerous...

This summer I replaced a rose that wasn't thriving in the front of the house with a lime green hydrangea called Limelight. As you can see, it is doing beautifully with lots of blooms. On the trellis is a perennial vine called Variegated Porcelain Vine or Ampelopsis 'Elegans'. Both add a fresh modern touch to the front garden.

And this years tangerine hibiscus is starting to be showy, usually more than one bloom. The Parrots Beak plant, 'Amazon Sunset' at the lower edge of the pot had gorgeous orange flowers earlier in the season but they haven't been back although the greenery is beautiful. The Pelargonium Citrosium 'citronella' is thriving - it is the larger plant on the right.

Below is the pot sitting outside the french doors. It contains rosemary and a chocolate plant. It's supposed to smell like chocolate but I don't smell it. It sure is pretty though.

And who can resist a puppy in the flowers...

Buddy in the hollyhocks at the front of the barn

Savor the remainder of summer. It goes so quickly, doesn't it?

Delores