Thirteen years

I counted three times just to be sure. It was thirteen years ago.

Thirteen years sounds like a long time, but it's not.



He wore his Marine Corps dress blues. I had daisies in my hair.

It was the best Monday morning ever.

I'd marry him again.

One of those dreams

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you find yourself in the middle of a field...

You accidentally kneel on a dragonfly.



And then you sit on a thistle.

You let your hair down for a few self portraits.

Then you step on two of your hair clips. This frustrates you immensely not because they're broken, but because it means you're leaving more than footprints behind. It's impossible to get all those little smashed bits of plastic out of the earth.

The next morning, your two year old Bean greets you with a look of horror while pointing at your face and squealing, "Mommy! Owie!"

Sure enough, you look in the mirror and find a wood tick attached to the side of your face. You think to yourself, "Really? On my face? Am I still dreaming?"

But you know how dreams go.



Sometimes they're weird, but perfect.



Sometimes you remember the details.



And sometimes you don't.

The boys own Garden #1

She glares at the two packets of seed in her hand, both with "Walmart" printed on the top right corner. So tragic, Walmart as a seed source. But the end of June is fast approaching and hypocrite or not, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Her excuse? It was for the kids, so perhaps it wasn't such an irrational purchase. And anyway, no one needs to know where those seeds came from.

Ahem.

The boys fly out the front door and race their mother to the garden corral. The path they plot is more direct than hers, of course, but it intersects the electric fence. Apparently they don't see this as a problem. Mom yells. They yell back.

Easy. They will simply slip underneath the fence.

Mom yells again. The listen-now-or-else warning. You know the one.

Homemade chocolate malts are on the line, and in the end, beating mom to the corral isn't worth losing a special afternoon treat. The boys come trudging up through the garden gate behind their mother.

The first job is to weed the popcorn maze. The weed to popcorn ratio is at that critical get-it-done-now-or-struggle-forevermore point. The sun is blazing. It isn't long before the complaining begins.

Mom explains that the maze is going to be an awful lot of fun, but the popcorn seedlings will die if the weeds aren't removed. Planting is hard work. Weeding is hard work. Mulching isn't too bad. After that, it's all fun and games.

They decide the reward is worth the sweat. Their mom is proud.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Four fence posts are driven into the ground, then fencing up and around. Boys are in charge of zip-ties as they secure the fencing to the posts. They giggle and joke about planting chocolate chips.

Morning Glory seeds look just like bits of chocolate. Who knew?

Two faces look in disbelief at the big seeds in their hands. They try, and fail, to imagine the height these sunflowers could reach. Seed are pressed firmly into the ground. Their mother imagines the wind these sunflowers will have to withstand. She shakes her head and imagines twelve to twenty foot tall sunflowers lying fallen on the ground.

Planting is done. The boys own Garden number one.

Now the waiting.







KinderGARDENS week 7

Tough guy

Nothing like a pair of "Iron Man" sunglasses to bring out the inner tough guy in an almost-seven (what? how?) year old. Not that he even knows who "Iron Man" is.

I'll be the first to admit, this hazy look is really not my style. But I think maybe it does add a bit of superhero magic.



He's been practicing his "tough-guy" moves on our Red Rooster.

Yes, it's as funny it sounds. Maybe even more so.

Me: "What is going on out here?"

Tough guy: "Mommy, I'm trying to be brave!"

I Heart Faces - "Let's hear it for the boys!"

The rooster is shooting blanks

Scavenger Hunt at Ashley's!

Bet you can't guess which two I took with my loyal old malfunctioning mess of a Canon Rebel. No guessing if you cheated and peeked!

Photographer friends, don't miss my big giveaway!

1. Emotion

Mother of the groom. And yes, I have the rights to post this photo. Doesn't she look young?



2. From a Flower's Point of View



Can anyone tell me what these flowers are? They're along the side of our road.



3. Natural Frame

Red Rooster, Red Rooster. Only one chick out of fourteen eggs? For real? I don't think it's fair to blame the hens. What am I going to do with you?



4. Letters

I'm afraid this is going to make you all insanely jealous. I'm sorry.



That classy thing is on the side of our house. As in, covering up the space where a window used to be.

"Baked Goods
Baked Fresh Daily
Priced to Save
You More"

Sometimes I wonder if we could get any more white-trash around here. But I'm sure it's entirely possible.

5. Bliss

Summer. Bedtime. Playing with the bus for just a few more minutes.



Just enough available light. Capturing her at this exact moment.

Bliss.

A bit of parsley

Right now, I'm dreaming of the day I once again have a flower bed right outside my front door. Because I just burned the vegetables that were supposed to be our supper. Because it took me a whole lot longer than I figured, to run way the heck out to my garden corral to grab a bit of parsley.

Right now, three quarters of an inch of rain on our soggy farm means that sandals can't get me through the sudden flood that stands between me and my swamp garden. I had to come back to the house in defeat, and then head back out with my muck boots.

To get a bit of parsley.



I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I'm thrilled to have an entire old cattle corral to devote to my swamp garden.

But it will be so lovely to have a real flower garden just outside my door again.



I'm gonna fill it up with all kinds of pretty edible things.

That's what normal people do. Right?

Giveaway! Clickin' Moms Lifetime Membership

People, I'm pinching myself.

I can hardly believe I have the privilege of giving one of you this membership. It's not a tangible prize. It's so so much more.

For the self-taught photographer, the internet is an amazing resource. There is a ton of information out there. But if I were to weigh everything photography-related that I've gleaned from that great web in one hand, and what I've gained from Clickin' Moms in my other hand... the information from Clickin' Moms that overflows from my hand is richer, deeper, and more satisfying than what I've found anywhere else online.

Despite the name, you don't have to be a mom (or even a woman) to be a member, although the vast majority are.



This is a community where knowledge is shared generously and all are encouraged. We laugh together. We cry together. We gently push one another to become better photographers (hobbyists and professionals).

If you sign up for a new membership this month (June 2011) and happen to win the giveaway, your membership fee will be refunded. Links in this giveaway are affiliate links. If you decide to join Clickin' Moms, I appreciate you doing so through one of my links. And really, if you have any interest in photography, you won't be disappointed. The fee is nothing compared to what you get back. They even have a week-long trial membership for six dollars. How can you go wrong with that?

Four ways to enter this giveaway! Leave a separate comment on this blog post for each entry. Only new Clickin' Moms members are eligible for this giveaway. Existing members are not eligible. One Lifetime Membership ($195 value) prize will be awarded to one very lucky winner. Comments will close on June 30, 2011.

1. Visit Clickin' Moms. Leave a comment here telling me what you love about photography.

2. "Like" Clickin' Moms on facebook. Leave a comment here telling me that you did.

3. Are you on the "followers" list at the bottom of my blog? Thank you! Leave a comment here telling me that you are.

4. Blog about this giveaway. Leave a comment here with a link to your post.

Fifty extra entries to whoever wants to come over and clean my house! Okay, I'm just kidding. Maybe.



*** THE LUCKY WINNER***

My heart was pounding as I counted down the list to comment number 31. Much of the joy of blogging, for me, is the community aspect... and so many of the names on this list are bloggers who have become very good friends. I wanted you all to win!

Congratulations Maria!

We didn't pick the flowers

Procrastination is starting to pay off handsomely around here. I might even have to entertain the thought (ahem) of making it a habit.



You see... there were these flowers, on these plants, that didn't make it to the garden but ended up potted in Styrofoam cups in the house, because we sort of had a terrific Spring flood.

I'm finding that too much water is a great excuse for a lot of things.

The plants have been happy ever after underneath gro-lights in our back entryway. When I noticed the flowers, I knew they needed to be picked off. Really, I knew. These are going to be outdoor plants, not indoor plants. But like so many things around here, it just didn't happen, which meant that something else happened.


{one was tired of waiting for mom to get her camera}

Because we didn't pick the flowers...



My kids got to pick a very special treat for breakfast this morning.

And yes, whenever we get around to getting these tucked into a new home outside, I will pick every flower and fruit off of them. I know...



You Capture - Flowers
KinderGARDENS week 6

And!

Those of you who are interested in photography might want to check back again soon, because I have a teensy little giveaway coming up that may just slightly interest you. Something small and insignificant, like a lifetime membership to a certain photography forum. You know, that fabulous one that starts with "click" and ends with "moms".

Yeah, I just said that.

For real.

I could tell you the dollar value of this prize. But the honest truth? It's priceless.

Soon!

Where's Waldo?

It was still before 8:00 in the morning, and I'd already had to confiscate two wooden spoon type weapons from a girl and a boy. Apparently, the girl started it. Or so I was told.

The boys retreated to their bedroom. All the dishes in my kitchen rattled, and I wondered whether it was possible for those enthusiastic bodies to actually come crashing through their floor.

But the girl?

Quiet.

Like, the something-is-wrong kind of quiet.

Or, maybe not.



Business as usual.






In other news, I was honored to see one of my self portraits featured at Mortal Muses (at the bottom of the post).

The corn maze (and other failures)

I've been gardening by lantern. With mosquitoes.

It was my husband's idea. I could tell you how great that is, but I'm going to save it for another day. Because, it really is that awesome. So awesome I was inspired to take a picture with my malfunctioning cross-eyed Canon Rebel, just to prove it still could.



And, yes, those pathetic droopy onion plants died (mostly).

Getting the garden in has been more of raking and picking grass roots, and much less of actually planting. Add kiddos to the mix and I just wasn't getting very far with it, and not for lack of trying, believe me. Each passing day in our short growing season is beyond precious, so now I'm picking grass roots gardening at night.

What did the the kids plant?

The maze!



At the last minute, with boys ready to build their maze, we had a "Mom of the Year" moment. Their mom (cough) realized she didn't have enough sweet corn seed. Luckily, we were saved by good intentions gone awry the previous year. I just happened to have a packet of popcorn seed that was purchased last year and never used. Finally, procrastination paid off!

And really, doesn't a popcorn maze sound that much more fun?

But wait, people, it only gets better. After we planned and marked a sunflower hall-way leading out of the popcorn maze, I opened our packet of sunflower seed only to find them completely smashed.

Not much can smash our boy's spirits, though, and that is truly beautiful. From the looks of things, it won't even matter if that year-old popcorn seed grows.



A maze marked out with sticks is already a ton of fun. Popcorn will just be the icing on the maze.

KinderGARDEN week 5

The games we play

If you try to take my picture in a professional sort of way, Mommy...

I'm not gonna make it easy.





I'll do everything I can to not look into that camera.



Unless, of course, you tell me there is a bug in the lens.



Don't think for one moment that promising me a yummy treat is going to work.

I'll let you know exactly what I think of being bribed, and I'll even look into the camera, to be sure you get the message.



And just to drive the point home, I'll pee my pants too.

You Capture - Games