Vineyard of Dreams

     I think I would like to own a vineyard. Despite the constant worries about rainfall, weather extremes and wildlife, there has to be great satisfaction in the growing and harvesting process. And mostly I just love the appearance of an established vineyard on a gently sloping hillside - the neat rows and the uniformity of the vertical trellising. In this photo taken recently in Hermann, Missouri, the symmetry of the field of grapevines is a beautiful contrast to the brushy thicket of trees in the background.

Chicken Pot Pie

     A lazy Sunday afternoon on a cool, rainy day calls for comfort food, the kind that takes awhile to prepare. It doesn't feel like work, however, to cook and shred some chicken, dice and parboil a few vegetables, and bubble a homemade gravy on the stove. Even rolling out and weaving a biscuit crust is fun! After baking, the browned, steaming pie is ready to place on the dinner table and we can't wait to cut into the flaky crust and ladle out bowlfuls of the creamy chicken filling.

Urning Volunteers

     In early May, the cleanup of autumn and winter debris from the yard is finally finished, the soil in the garden areas is turned and ready for planting, and the fun part can begin. Shopping for annuals and such (that I haven't started from seed at home) is an annual highlight of spring that is sheer delight. And so the planting begins...

     A complete surprise awaited in one of two urns that flank the garage door, where what appeared to be cucumber seedlings were sprouting en masse. I was baffled, especially at the number of seeds all grouped together and then, in an "Ah ha!" moment remembered that the urns had each held a small pumpkin during the months of October and November. Apparently they were covered by leaves and/or snow for the winter and I had forgotten about them while they languished, decomposing into nothing but seeds. What fun to find free plants after spending $$$ at the local nursery! My volunteer pumpkins have since been transplanted to a couple of different growing sites - we'll see which they prefer!

Mourning Dove Chicks

     Mourning doves (or coo-birds, as Pop calls them) are pretty common in our neighborhood and there always seems to be a pair close together above on a wire, on the ground near the feeder and even in the middle of the street. They are much less skittish than other birds and slow to take flight, which makes them seem "friendlier" to us humans. These two little fellows were nestlings only a couple of days ago - preferring now the stepping stones and rocks between the house and spruce that housed their nest, an area that offered some protection and maybe some warmth as well. I didn't even need a zoom lens to get a good photograph, and because they seemed almost like pets, I named them Micky and Minnie.

     A few days later, the pair had gained strength and the ability to fly more than a few feet. However it was kinda cute to see that they still stayed pretty close together on their chosen stone. On Mother's Day, one week after this photo was taken, Micky and Minnie were nowhere to be seen and we supposed, or rather hoped, that they had taken up ranks with the adults. I miss their quiet, gentle presence.