More of the Biltmore pus a report on my first week of school.

The first two pictures are inside the arboretum.  The others are of the bushes and  trees on the side of t;he driveway that is on three sides of the rose garden.

  I love the limbs of this tree!

 Another view of the  rose garden.  See more here.

Mike was fascinated with how they trained this tree to grow in that shape.

 A fountain that was in a little outdoor 'hallway' that we used to sit and rest out of the beating sun.

 Isn't this cool?!

They hold concerts with big name entertainers.  The patio to the right overlooks the grounds and you can see Mount Pisgah in the distance when you stand on the far side of the patio.

   We  had our first week of school and it went really well for me.  The inclusion teacher and I had to come to an understanding on how a particular boy would stay in my classroom and not run to her(she has a class the period I have him.)  He needs an aide and we won't establish that if he can hide out in her room.  She's not the best at saying no.  Plus  I  can't help him if he's not in my classroom.  He and I came to an understanding also and he apologized to me for directly disobeying me and running to her.  Two other boys with special needs tried to run to her, but we nipped that and I was able to help them write three-paragraph essays of which they were quite proud.   Then we had a fun day and they all earned suckers.  Those junior boys will do a lot to get a tootsie pop!
    My friend the librarian's aide did quit.  She gave a week's notice. Two aides within the school district bid on it which means they are not necessarily right for the job but one of them will get it due to seniority and the union. I am praying that God has moved on someone who will do a great job for the kids and the staff.
    We have a teachers' day tomorrow and then are off the rest of the week for our county fair.  It will help us get all  our pre-testing recorded and evaluated.
    Thank you for all your prayers.  Please continue to lift up my last school year.
    Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Wednesday's Color is Fern.

  Wednesday's color is fern.  I took it literally by taking photos of the fern plant that hangs on my back porch.  I don't wear green nor is any part of my house green and I was up against a time crunch, so I played it safe.

For more versions of fern go on over to Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Odds and ends of my life

We got a new microwave for over the stove.

We have had it for several months,

 but Mike wasn't looking forward to installing it,

so it sat in its box in the dining room.

I asked him if he could possibly have it in 

before my brother and sister-in-law's visit.

He did.

We are taking the older counter one 

to a rental we now have.

 Here again is the container with the shamrock plant and its shamrock leaves and pink flowers. I took two photos using a different setting on my camera for each.  Which one do you like best - 1 or 2?

Here's a close-up of the shamrocks--a better close-up than the one

in the other post.

This arrangement of potted plants are in the right-hand-corner

of the garage where it can be seen from the road

and especially coming up our driveway.

This is an old steel-toed boot of his dad's.

It was a 60th birthday present from his sister.

I thought I'd show some close-ups of it.

Close to it, in another planter, is this star and globe yard ornament.

You can see the wear and tear on it from the weather,

as I have had it a long time.

We have cherry tomatoes now,

but the other bigger tomatoes are still in progress.

This pic and the one below is of the huge planters that stand guard 

on each side of the swing set.

Here is what they looked like when I planted them.

Here is the front door although is it on the side of the house.

We use the back door and have company come through the back one also.

  I planted three flowering bushes in front

of some of the hostas.

I also hung two hummingbird feeders near-by.

This is a sun planter that my son got me years ago.

You can barely see the sun now.

I think that was also the  year he got his sun tattoo on his upper back.

Tim McGraw had a Cd out featuring the sun

and Doug really liked the picture and the Cd.

Each morning, after I hang the bird feeders,

I water the flowers and the tomato and pepper plants.

It is a soothing routine by which to start the day,

and it also gets my body moving (it tends to be quite stiff

first thing in the morning).

These are just odds and ends from my life.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

corner view: growth

Growth Through Plants and Friendship

This is the peony 'cut'  that my friend Peggy gave me last August.
It  has moved with her mother throughout the U.S. and is old.
(She has more of these peonies.)
Peg and her mom decided that a good house-warming gift
would be a part of one of the peonies.

I planted it.
Below is a photo of it now.
I think of Peggy and her mother
each time I look at this plant
and I cherish our friendship.

A friend was in town the other day

and stopped by to see me and the farm house.

We had some hostas that we had taken out  

because there were too many

and they were too close together.

We offered them to her

and she was happy to have them.

This is like a small one she took.

Here are the hostas that are left

after 'thinning' out some.

There are three plants in this planter.

The shamrock plant is the one that's important to this post.

Our high school is the 'Shamrocks'.

Every year I get several of these plants.

They are annuals here in this part of Ohio.

My friend lost her mother a little while ago.

By the time I realized I wanted to send flowers,

it was too late.

Then I thought of the shamrock plants 

waiting to be planted.

I had plenty of nice pots.

So I chose a plant

 (she graduated with us, so she's a 'shamrock'too)

 and a pot,

put them together,

and  then put them in a gift bag

with a card.

My wonderful husband 

delivered it to the funeral home

the next day

 before the funeral was scheduled

(I was at school).

Now I think of her and our friendship when I look at my plant.

Growth. Plants. Friends. 

You can see the shamrock leaves in this photo.

For more views on growth, go on over to Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Weekly Musings--Spring and Daffodils

Spring is a time of wonder

for me.

How anyone can witness the unfolding of spring

after the 'deadness' of winter

(especially one as brutal as this one)

mystifies me.

This spring I am experiencing a double wonder

as I discover what the previous owners planted.

The 'green-thumber' was the husband.

I  don't agree with a lot of what he did,

but I am loving the daffodils

he planted on the fringes of the land.

The above picture is between two bushes

in front of the living room's big window.

I'm not sure what they are yet,

but am looking forward to the revelation!

The forsythia bushes are beginning to bud.

I have brought spring inside.

I bought some fake daffodils

before I realized how much of the real stuff I would have.

All the photos here feature freshly cut blooms.

The fake ones have been relegated to a corner

where the cat would spill the real ones.

Next to last 'big' test is today and tomorrow for my juniors.

If I'm tired of creating, giving, and grading them,

just imagine how the kids feel.

I call this teaching to a test in conjunction with the new common core curriculum

as 'the dumbing down of America'.

Just saying.

I hope this week has begun well for you

and you will continue to find many blessings

interwoven in the days.