Over the Hill

I was wondering how old I have to be, to be considered over the hill. So, I looked it up. According to the urban dictionary, age 40 is the magic age for being over the hill. Past my prime. Physically lost to middle age spread. HA! I totally disagree with that.

According to age requirements, I'm so far over the hill I'm starting to climb up another one. Furthermore I feel like this is the best time of my life.

My grandchildren are a blast to be around. I have no one to answer to but myself. Work is fun because I'm my own boss. Most importantly, I'm healthy. The healthy part is just dumb luck because I come from a good gene pool, and I always make sure to keep the pool clean.

There are a couple of family members who keep telling me I shouldn't be riding horses anymore because it's dangerous. They might as well tell me to go chew on a wad of tin foil. It ain't gonna happen.

Age is relative. You are only as old as you feel. Being healthy is a definite bonus and I'm always grateful for my good fortune. I find that drinking lots of water, eating a nutritious diet, and getting plenty of exercise is a great way to enjoy life to it's fullest. It also helps to reach for the Bible first thing in the morning.

Think I'll jog over to Jenny's to say hello.

Nature At It's Best

While driving up the winding driveway to the barn around 8:30 a.m., I was greeted by two beautiful swallowtail butterflies feeding on thistle weed. I thought, 'What a great photo opportunity!' So I reached into my purse, pulled out my I-phone, stopped the truck (I think I stopped the truck), then jogged over to the thistle weed site where the butterflies were oblivious to the fact I was even there.

I raised the camera, hit the camera button, and like magic, this is what I was able to capture. By the way, I'm having a blast with my new I-phone, compliments of my lovely daughter!

Let's see what others have created for the letter N on alphabet Thursday.

Swallowtail buttery feeding on thistle weed blossoms.

More is Best

Most of the time my philosophy is, "Less is Best"; especially when applying makeup and cheap perfume (or any kind of perfume for that matter). However, there is one time when more is best and that's when I plant my garden in late spring.

This year I won the garden contest. It feels pretty darn good to come in first out of 200 entries. To tell you the truth, I'm the only one with horse pucky in my garden, which is probably why the plants are all mutant-like. The coleus look like trees, and the black-eyed susans are taking over the neighborhood. As you can see I love color.

I decided to go all out and plant as many different types of flora and variegated vegetation as would fit into a 7' wide x 5' long x 6' deep garden patch. There are probably seven different kinds of perennials and as many annuals.  It looks like a multicolored jungle. It was a lot of fun as well as hard work, with a $100 gift certificate as the prize, but the best reward is the gift of the plants themselves.

It gives me great pleasure to sit on my front porch and enjoy their beauty as I think about my sweet little Buzi, who was always right beside me in the garden, during the spring and early summer planting.

Flowers for Jenny and all those who read this blog post. Hugs, Pam

Wax Lips

Remember those wax lips when you were a kid?

I remember walking to the corner store where I could buy penny candy such as wax lips, licorice whips and sugar dots.

There was always a jar of home made, ice cold, dill pickle spears on the counter when I made my penny purchases. My purchases generally included red wax cherry-flavored lips, black licorice whips, and those pastel colored sugar dots glued to a strip of white paper.

The pickle spears were at least six inches long and loaded with garlic and lots of dill weed. The thought of those pickles still make my mouth water. I paid for my penny candy, then paid an extra nickle for a pickle. The store owner put the candy in a paper bag, and wrapped the pickle in a piece of wax paper for me to eat on the way home, which I did...along with the bag of penny candy. After eating the dill pickle, and the candy, I firmly planted the wax lips between my upper and lower teeth. I was a sight when I got home; black licorice on either side of my face with two bright red lips right in the middle.

Those were the days when I spent most of the evening with a very bad stomach ache. Most of the time it was worth it, but after while I decided that dill pickles, penny candy, and cherry flavored wax lips do not go well together. But what does an eight year old know? !

Let's check out more L posts at Jenny's.