Five

Happy Birthday, Greta!

Two Beauties

Dancing Tonight

 I think Sigrid is introducing her sister!  Below all three girls.

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 Astrid and her Mom did her hair.  You can tell it is neat.  Drew is a very nice young man.  Don't you figure he is thinking how lucky he is that this beautiful girl asked him to the dance?

 The wrist corsage was a great idea.

Astrid looks...well....SMASHING.

 I posted all the pictures that Laura sent me.  After the dance, they are going over to Astrid's friend Eleanor's house.  I am sure hoping that Astrid and Drew have a great time!  Astrid did her finger nails...oh she got them at Dollar Tree.  I know they are beautiful because she is an artist!  This morning she went to the trail and ran at least 3 or 4 miles.  I was just finishing and she was taking off. It was raining, but a little guy from the C Country team was there and he ran with her.  Momma was doing her miles too.

Finally A Little Rain

 Larry cuts up the leaves with the Badboy mower, but it has been so dry that he did not want to stir up the dust or maybe worse start a fire.

Here Astrid is at Heifer International with her good friend, Jenny and the middle girl is Audrey Reed.  I don't know Audrey.  When I was in High School I joined all the clubs so I could go on all the "little" trips.  I am sure Astrid will only join things she has an interest in.  If they have an Art Club, she will join it.  She said something about an "outdoor" group that takes hikes and she thought it would be a nice club.

Laura said Ingrid is smiling all the time!  She is thrilled to have the braces off. Today she is off with another friend and I don't have to pick her up.  Volleyball is over so she has to be picked up when she does not have dance after school, but she has so many friends that she is off with them afternoons, too!  Yesterday, she went with Avery Peel after school and they attended an out of town game.  Today, she is going home with her friend, Claire.

Fleta would be proud.  I walked two miles in the rain this morning.

Brace Yourself

 Top photo is at 10:00 this morning.  Ingrid still is wired.   But below...she is debraced!!

 And here is the selfie she took with my camera to send Momma.

 Also, she made print again in the last volleyball game.  Whoopee, Ingie!!

October Almost Over

October is winding down.

 Clayton likes his dog Sophia.  I am glad to see he is using his afghan.

 Found all these pictures of Ingrid at the Dance site. I forget where the Volleyball site is.  Ingrid's volleyball group won their last game last night.  She is going to try out for the AR Tech team.  I hope she makes it because she really loves volleyball.

 Astrid in black and white.

 Sigrid at Hawk's Bill Crag.

Greta on the rings!

Gawking or Walking

 This morning I decided to walk here and not drive to the trail.  I put on the above vest as I did not want to get shot!  Below is my first picture as I trespassed across my neighbors pasture.  Larry, will always say to me, quit gawking and come on.  This morning instead of going on a walk I took my camera and went on a gawk!

 I can walk down my lane and across their field as they have a trail cut to Galla Lake.

 This is after I came back up to our land.  This is a Black Gum.  Seems like I looked it up and they are called Tupelo Gums.  A Sweet Gum has all those nasty balls that mess up everything, but the Black Gum has a waxy leaf and it so beautiful in the fall.

 Someone asked Larry if they could deer hunt to which he said certainly.  Kill them all.  He has set this up and comes and sits in there at dawn.  I could tell him where to place it as the deer walk behind where he has it looking...but maybe one will venture in front.  Too many of the folks that ask to hunt want a big buck.  I just want them all shot.

 When the man rented the pasture for his horse.  Larry insisted that he put up a shelter.  Larry told him to buy one of those tiny carports.  Look what he bought. It will shelter a herd of horses.

 This is a Sweet Gum.  Those balls fall from them and you will be tripped walking if not careful.  You will certainly be tripped gawking because you are not looking at the ground when you gawk you are looking at trees, bushes, flowers, the sky, birds.  Today I was gawking.

 Black Gum

 Persimmon

 Road to Galla Lake.  I am coming back around from my gawk.  Before I walked up this lane and now I cam walking down it.

 Pin Oak--I love them.  Some folks call them Water Oaks.

 This is a Ornamental Pear.  Folks plant them in their yards all around here.  They grow fast and have a pretty shape.  They break in storms and don't have pears on them.  Well, they have tiny pears the size of a little cherry.  The birds eat the seeds and spread the Pear trees around.  I like them ok, but I was thinking this morning...what if all those folks had planted REAL pear trees.  Wouldn't that be awesome. Pears growing and spreading.

 I think this was a Pin Oak but I really can't remember for sure.

 We call this a Scrub Oak.  Daddy cut them for wood.  Some call them Black Oak.  They don't grow very big and are hard as nails.  You will mess up your chain trying to cut them down with a chain saw.

 Pin Oak and below a close up of the leaf.  They get really huge and grow near a ditch or water source.

 This is where I am coming back around across my neighbor's pasture.

 Neighbor is trying to attract deer.  Why not just plant a garden like me and you will be run over with nasty deer.

 Sycamore--bad tree for yard.  Huge leaves and nasty stuff that you have to pick up.

 Dogwood.

 Wild Cherry--Larry likes them.  Wood is soft and they will split in a storm.

 Mighty Oak--this is really two trees grown together.  In 1984 when we bought this land, they were not really very big.

 Maple--Larry's Momma liked them and planted a lot of them in our yard.

 Pecan tree she planted.

Pecans are falling but the crows are carrying them off.

 These are Willow trees.  We hate them. If they get in your pond or neat a ditch, they just take over. These are on the neighbors land.

 I saw this pretty woodpecker in the top of the first willow.  He is sitting on the bare limb in the tree to the left.

 This is nasty nut grass.  It has a start in the garden.  I can't get rid of it.  We bought some top soil and this is what he brought me hidden in the river dirt.

 This is a Catalpa and a Red Bud, I planted 3 years ago.

 This is a "Piss" Elm.  Why did Daddy call them that? I do not know.  They grow slow and have a rough bark on the tree.

 Pretty Maple

 Maple and Ash we left on the pond bank.  If I had it to do over, I would never let trees grow on the inside of a pond bank.  Larry says now they are too large and pretty for him to cut down.