Wildlife

Frogs.....check
Toads.....check
Snapping turtles.....check
Other turtles.....check
All sorts of crazy bugs.....check
The heir of Slytherin.....EWW! CHECK!

I can handle the top 5 on my list, but today I found my first snake! I am a snake-hater anyway, but this one appeared from inside my garden (that I was demolishing since I didn't plant anything this year and it needs to be mowed) and totally took me by surprise! GROSS! By the time I called Josh (me: "What do I do?" Him: "Take a picture and email it to me."), got the camera, and got back outside, he had moved and completely changed shape. When I first saw him he was all coiled/bundled up and so you could see that he just went on and on. The following pictures don't do justice, since he is all stretched out and hiding in the long grass (Yes, we have grass and weeds that long. Don't judge me.) Maybe I'll get a better shot when Josh comes home to rescue me.

flowers for Jamie

I should have taken this picture last week while all of my lilies were in bloom, but it will have to do.


This year's garden includes: white lilies, star-gazer lilies, yellow sunflowers, red sunflowers, yellow and red sunflowers, impations, strawberries, and green peppers. I didn't realize early this spring that my sunflowers weren't weeds, that's why they are not very plentiful on the right-hand side. I started weeding over there before I realized what I was pulling up!

steps

Before:

During: (Ever tried digging in Kansas? It builds character.)

Josh kept losing his shoes in the sticky mess, so he just took them off and sunk right in.
Kansas rain can ruin any progress that you have made in a matter of only a few minutes. Here is Josh trying to dig some furrows so that the rain water would drain to where the pump that we rented was. Yes, there was that much water.


After:
Thank you Scott! We love it!

As per a request...

I've had a request for some pictures of McKayla. In the past week, she has been traveled through Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. She has been to a Royals game, the Negro Leagues Museum, The Legends, and Liberty Jail. She has seen some awesome legal-in-Kansas fireworks, been a gravel-scooping helper, been on 4-wheeler rides, gone to the library, caught toads and frogs (well, we catch them and she screams...but that counts, right?), and even learned to like helping with the dishes! We have been really lucky to have her and Scott here for the week!

For Grandpa John

My lilies aren't as beautiful as his, but I'm pretty proud of them anyway!