I thought these were funny.

A Bouquet for Kay

Please pray for my sister Kay.  She is in Butler Memorial Hospital with multiple issues.  She will be home in a few days, and her doctors are going to manage her condition with medication, but she has some serious medical problems:  cirrhosis of the liver (she has never been a drinker), enlarged spleen that is destroying her platelets so she doesn't clot (an internal bleed first alerted us to the problems), a total heart blockage and a partial blockage (Kay is younger than me, and had quadruple bypass surgery when she was only 38.)  Because of the low platelets, her physicians prefer to avoid surgery.

She also started a job a few weeks ago and is still on probation, so she may lose her employment because she has been in the hospital.

Thank you, faithful friends and pray-ers!

Iron Butt 615 Mile Road Trip Day One

Hmmm.  A motorcycle road trip?

It stormed (and was still storming to our east 

and south when we left to head north.)

Oh, well, what's life without a little adventure?

We rode up to PA Route 6,

and took a detour up to Kinzua,

which isn't as much fun since the old bridge was destroyed.

Then back down to Route 6 toward Wellsboro.

Ah, we took one more little unintentional detour

after apparently missing a turn in Coudersport.

We weren't lost, mind you--

we just didn't know where we were 

or how to get where we were going . . .

We had breakfast day two in this original 1938 diner.

Fun.

Iron Butt Road Trip Day 2

Our friends Roxann & Jim recommended:

We rode up to New York in rain/sun/rain/clouds/rain.

We walked down 800 steps (1.5 miles) through the beautiful gorge

some of the time in a thunderstorm.

At least we had raincoats from the bike ride!

(My leg muscles are still a little sore!)

On the way back to Wellsboro, we stopped at a

Norton motorcycle convention.

There were also some other British bikes--

BSA's, and this 1967 Triumph Bonneville, which is

exactly like one Burger used to have:

By the time we got to this point,

 it had stopped raining for the day.

Iron Butt Road Trip Day 3

Pine Creek Gorge a/k/a the Grand Canyon of PA is well worth the trip. 

A few years ago, we rode bicycles through 10 miles of the gorge and back.

Funny.

Around and about Rehoboth Farm in July

"I am the rose of Sharon . . . "

"I am the rose of Sharon, 

The lily of the valleys."

Song of Solomon 2:1

I have white and lavender Rose of Sharon bushes, given to me by one of my friends named Mary Ann.  I need a pink one . . .

Louvered Shades

What, do you suppose, is the purpose of these?!?  (Be creative . . . )

A miniature sun in my flower bed

To be part of my perennial bed at the side of the house, flowers must usually belong to the red or blue family of colors--red, pink, blue, lavender, and white flowers are allowed.  I'll make an exception for this beautiful little yellow addition.

I have the most wonderful husband!

I have wanted Bee Balm for years, but never got around to getting any.  I was working last evening at an event, and was coveting our hostess' Bee Balm. When I got home at 9:45 last evening, I found a note from my husband (we never saw each other at all yesterday--we live in the same house, but sometimes work really different schedules) telling me to see what was growing beside the beans in the garden . . . 

I went out at 6 am this morning, and found a whole row of Bee Balm!  He had spent his evening while I was working hunting it up along the creek and digging it up to temporarily transplant into the vegetable garden for me.  How thoughtful.

An early morning in July

How can people see a spider web and not believe there is a Creator God?

Well, I KNOW why--I was one of the unbelievers until I was 36 years old.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised [1 Corinthians 2:14].  Pray that eyes and hearts will be opened!

Flower Mystery Solved

Pastor Mike deduced that my mystery flower (in the foreground) is a sunflower.  I thought it looked like a sunflower, but it is so tiny, I thought I must be wrong--you can see the echinacea behind it is much taller.

A bird or a chipmunk must have deposited the seed in my perennial bed.  I'll post again when it blooms.  Who would have thought?  A miniature sunflower . . .

I'm so easily entertained . . .

I love my flowers and just every little thing about where I live.  One of the hydrangeas is blooming.

The echinacea also started to bloom this week.

Burger found this little toad when he was mowing.  Look how tiny!

Then we found a big toad, too (although there is a much bigger one living around the porch.)

Another tiny toad.  Aren't they cute?!  Look at their little bitty eyes . . . .

We have a Bob White this year; we hear him every day.

This one is a male--black and white.  (The female is yellow with a brown mask).

Mystery Flower

I don't know what this plant is.  It appears to be ready to flower.  It is surrounded by echinacea, and is about the same height, but different.  I can't wait to see what it turns out to be.  Keep you posted!

Niagara Gull

Copper pipe + a rubber hose = magic

My sister Kay told us years ago that stuffing a piece of rubber garden hose inside a piece of copper pipe would produce colored flames when tossed in a campfire--cool, huh?

Happy 4th of July!