(late..) 28/52 weeks

52 weeks of daily life in pictures:
trials and celebrations,
the extraordinary and mundane --
whatever is unique to the week.

Join me if you like.

This post comes later than obviously anticipated. Summer has been whizzing by, but there are smiles on our faces as the days offer plenty of non-scheduled school work and mom wanting the children to hit the books. Dare I say, this mother is indeed very much enjoying the break.

May I present my 28/52 weeks, though late, and assure you that my 29/52 is all loaded and almost ready to upload for your viewing pleasure also.

**Rolling hills of canola are currently in full sunny yellow bloom, speckled across, and in between corn and wheat crops over the abundance of great vast farmlands near and far from our home. 

It's just so lovely to drive by and witness those happy colored hues of yellow, so sunny and bright in coloring, that often cars are seen pulled over to the sides of the roadways, sometimes with driver standing outside of the vehicle with camera in hand, much like me this day.

**Bunnies have taken up residence in the forest on our property. They are the sweetest and yet strangest things!

If you look very carefully in the center of our fire pit, to the left of the burnt logs, you'll see a wee little brown bunny with his ears standing straight up sitting there. This one recently rolled about trying to lose his scent for survival instincts. Can you see him?

Yesterday, there were five, three with fluffy white cottontails, and two larger ones who were bold enough to come up to the house and discover my hostas. They love their leaves, and I'd honestly prefer they didn't.

** The conversation pit, well when heat and high humidity allows. The heat has become a huge factor for everyone in our part of the country, and since this photo was snapped, the tent (not seen in this photo) above has been removed from the deck and placed over top of our dog's outdoor pen for some shade protection when they require outdoor duties. They prefer resting on cool concrete and are fairly wilted much of the time these days.

** For my husband, and for anyone who wishes to brave the area's mosquito problem during shady moments, this is the scene welcoming and screaming invites for all "to come and rest their weary souls"...

We have longed for a hammock on this property, mostly as we have trees the perfect distance apart to allow for such a wondrous treat. When I stumbled upon one recently, it was just one of those "known" must-have purchases, and voila, here it is.

And because of one simple purchase of such a wish listed item, a true type of dreamy resting place, a sanctuary for stolen solitude and respite moments if you will, is now here for all to enjoy.

This gently swinging hammock beckons for moments like this, memories to capture of sisters bonding and chatting over horse shows and all things barn.

 

** Indeed all things barn is a heightened topic these days for our girls, thick in their summer horse show season excitement and daily chatting.

Our younger daughter had her first seasonal horse show and fared quite well, taking two first place ribbons after the first two divisions; Equitation on the flat, and Hunter Hack. I about allowed my jaw to drop to the desert hot ground at first, wondering if it was "my daughter's" name actually called on the loud speaker! And then she moved forward on her horse to collect her ribbons.... squealing proud mommy moments resulted! All day long!

Next she was awarded a fourth and fifth place ribbon for; Equitation over fences and Hunter over fences. Later when returning home again, we were informed our daughter had enough ribbon points to earn her the "championship ribbon" which will be awarded on the last show date in August. What a surprise!

The girls' coach was so excited for the five riding students during this show, especially after having a rough and rocky start to the day when someone forgot all the girths for the horses! The initial mood was somber, worry showing well on the girls' and parent's faces. How did this happen ... quickly became the question of the day.

Luckily one of the young gal's grandmother was traveling and planning to arrive later, offering to stop by the barn and bring them with her for the journey over an hour away, saving one of us the trek back to fetch them on time for the show start. Oh, and bless her heart! Often these shows include such an early 6:30am start to the day, by the time we travel to the location for the day's horse show, a coffee delivery like the one above has everyone doing the happy dance and hugging the lovely lady.

** Bike riding has taken on an all new form with us in our home. With the older ones working hard all summer long, we are able to put the seats down in the van and get all three bikes in it, transporting our bike riding into a whole new realm near the water's edge! 

I can hardly wait for more adventures with these two, mostly as we have now collaborated with many new ideas for further riding around our area. I'm going to begin browsing for one of those signs to hang up, not the one that says; "I'm in the garden", rather one that says; "I'm out making new summer memories with my kids!". :)

** Surprises blooming within landscape rock cracks, little sweetness blessings creeping into my day while out watering plants in the ridiculous heat and humidity offered this summer in the east.

** Even though I removed many plants and shrubs from the front garden beds on either side of our front doorway, no one this year can tell for the luscious blooms are completely filling in the temporary spaces made there before now.

Hues of purple and lovely lavender coloring fill my garden beds, and I'm really enjoying the change from red to purples this year immensely. They are so soft and unassuming in their appearance, yet hardy to the heat surrounding them as it also reflects off the stone exterior of our home.

Here's a little peak into our front garden blooms; 

I would also like to thank all those for taking a moment to email their sweet thoughts and prayer offerings when I divulged a difficult medical discovery last time. Finally after the results came in, I feel admittedly both relieved and yet saddened at the same time! 

• No, the bacterium did not visually show up on the ct scan. 
• Yes, it's still there! 
• No, since it's obviously hiding in the lung wall scar tissue, it appears to be "dormant". 
• No, there will be no immediate course of treatment. 
• Yes, the treatment was divulged for standard TB and other family non-contagious forms of it, a detailed and discussed treatment in fact which would require usage of three strong drugs with course of treatment lasting NINE MONTHS! One of the drugs causes severe breathing difficulty, another liver failure. Mighty fine...
• So, yes, if such a treatment is required, my husband was told he'd be flat on the couch for the entire duration. And yes, the treatment could very obviously prove fatal. 

Final thoughts and offerings; 

• mixed emotion for no treatment possible to rid the body of the bacterium
• thankful that the bacterium is dormant
• like a human time bomb, if/when it raises its ugly head, it would be in the form of a vicious and fast acting pneumonia we are told. 
• thankful for a good supply of drug prescription offerings for emergency self prescribed treatment at the first sign of sputum color change. 
• Continued prayers so incredibly appreciated...

Thank you!

Head on over to Barbara's to check out the invitation to join the

52 week photography link-up party.