*rain bops

Beehive Rain Bops were calling to me today while we were in this little shop getting Henry's hair cut.  Aren't these adorable?  The shop had them priced at $20 per pair, much cheaper that where I found them here.  I am not sure I want rain boots with heels, but I thought these were adorable. 

*martha stewart?

Martha Stewart works at our local Tractor Supply Store. Not really, but she sure favors the tycoon.  I, of course, had to ask her if people comment on how much she looks like Martha.  I was not the first to notice the uncanny resemblance.  She laughed and said how awesome it would be to have the money that Martha Stewart has, she certainly would not be working at Tractor Supply Store. 

She and I are practically best friends, I see her all the time (at the store) because it seems I am there frequently enough to develop a friendship! 

*peaceful Erilyn in a picture diary

Today as I woke, it was me with all of today's responsibilities at my feet and mine alone. My mother left for her Georgia home yesterday morning. Although I am looking forward to having our place just to ourselves when Eric get's here for good in just a few short weeks, I miss my momma.  She has become my companion in my darling husbands absence.  This past month or so has been a time of adjustment for me and momma.  By the end of her stay in her RV here at Erilyn, we started to move in almost perfect harmony with each other.  I will miss her while she is away, but I know this time is also needed for our family to meld together and get back into our normal routines as we, together make this our home. 

The weather here has been simply lovely. I know the days will come when I desire to turn the heat down a little bit, but for now the warm 80 degree weather warms my back as I work in the gardens. 

Our property is covered with Jasmine and we can hardly wait for it to break forth in bloom.  Ohh the smell will surely be intoxicating.   We have had to trim, cut away and drastically prune much of the Jasmine here at Erilyn.

The garden was planted weeks ago and everything is growing wildly.  We have only had a few days of rain here, so the sprinkler runs off of our well to water the gardens. 

There is no way I could make a post about the property without including the barn. When my dearest friend Franziska visits we are going to make a quilt square to hang on the front of the barn. Can't wait!  To learn more about quilt barns simply google it. 

These girls are doing awesome!  They will be ready to provide us with delicious eggs by the end of May, just in time for Eric to get the chicken coop built. 

Every morning, afternoon and evening you can count on the melodic sounds that reverberate throughout the property. In addition to many birds we also are a home to many squirrels and hoping to invite bats too.

These girls, born on February 19th are growing in leaps and bounds.  I never knew chickens could be so much fun.  This is the other chicken tractor built by Henry and Summit while Summit was here on spring break.  Both are fairly easy to move and are serving their purpose quite nicely.

Amaryllis abound at one end of our home.  I love Amaryllis because of their beauty, their ability to be cut and brought indoors without weeping or wilting.  I have two vases indoors right now, one of which I cut and brought in several days ago which are still going STRONG.

Three of our six cats, enjoying their domain!

I love this capture, I took this last night as the sun was going down.

We had added one bee hive to our property too, more to come on the hive in a future post.

*sixteen candles

I can hardly believe that we are getting ready to celebrate the sixteenth year of our youngest son's life! Happy Birthday Henry! (see a previous b-day post)

Henry in his ROTC uniform.  I am not sure what he was doing with his facial expression?

Henry seems to always be ready for an adventure, and this  move has been an adventure that he has found himself on top of.  In the state of Florida, homeschoolers are invited to participate on ANY school sports teams and take ANY elective classes at the local public school that the student desires to take.  A month or so ago, Henry started taking several electives  and plans to play on one of the sports teams for his upcoming Junior year.  The school is a K-12 and we have found the students and teachers are amazingly welcoming. 

This year has also come with a drivers education book.  Henry showed no interest in taking the drivers course in North Carolina last year.  He was not in a rush to get his learners permit which was fine by us!  He has just gotten the Florida drivers book so he can start studying for his permit.  Henry has been driving for several weeks now and I am relieved to say he is a great driver thus far.  Robby even gave him his first lesson on a stick shift.  They were having a blast driving around the property a few weeks ago.

Happy Birthday Henry!
We love you,
Mom & Dad

*wordless Wednesday

*pool season is here

Mom and I have been working tirelessly to keep the pool clean of leaves and oak blossoms and when momma leaves this weekend, Henry will pick up where she left off.  We are hoping that soon we will come into a season where nothing oak will be falling from the sky and into the pool. 

The weather has been dreamy here lately and with that the temp of the water has began to rise.  Henry and his friend Ryan first got in the pool back in February when the water was mid 50's if I remember correctly. Then he and his cousin, Joel got in for a quick dip in February as well.  A month made a big difference in the temp and the pool is OPEN!

Fray is wearing part of  Kierstyn's swimsuit.

She so desperately wanted to play with Kierstyn.  Not so sure about getting in the water though.