"Sage" words

We've had some wind and rain the past few days. I can see snow on the South Hills already. It would only take about 45 minutes to drive from our house up to where there is snow.

Nancy and Jaedan just finished making No-Bake Cookies. These are Jaedan's specialty. He has all the ingredients memorized. By the time Nana gets out to the kitchen, Jaedan will have all the ingredients pulled out and sitting on the counter, ready to be measured and combined. Sissy (Ashlynn) is sleeping although she won't be taking naps for much longer. She already resists having to go take a nap. At this point, I wonder if the nap is more for the benefit of the adults!

Thought I'd just post a few more pics of our back yard before I move on to other things. This is a small shed I built from a kit a few years ago. One of the few things I've done that is actually still standing. If you look closely at the door, you'll notice quite a gap between the bottom of the door and the floor.

When I built the door according to instructions, I somehow missed the instructions for the length of the door. When the door was hung for the first time, it was to long and drug on the ground. Without thinking, I just took it down, flipped it over onto the saw horse and with the handy dandy skilsaw, slashed off the bottom without even measuring. The result is that I am forever reminded of the need to think, think, think......before saw, saw, saw!

The wooden path leading to the shed is actually an old wooden skid that was used years and years ago in a local cheese factory.



Now for some "Sage" words.....................this picture shows what used to be the sandbox that was here before we bought the place. Our kids hardly ever used it although it housed a turtle for a short time. I turned it into a herbal bed many years ago. The wooden planks surrounding the bed are needing to be replaced, so I have let this bed sort of outgrow it's boundaries and plan to completely rebuild and replant the bed next spring. It currently has sage, thyme, mint, lavender and lemon balm growing haphazardly.



Finally, these are the Austrian Pines we planted when the trees were shorter then the kids. Now they are huge, beautiful although some drying in the branches even though I've watered quite a bit. It is under these pines that all of the family pets that have gone on to wait for us in heaven reside. If you look closely at the undergrowth under the pines, those plants are free range lemon balm, seeded from the lemon balm in the herbal bed above. During the summer I love it out here because the heat of the sun causes the scent of the pines and the scent of the lemon balm to mingle and if I can ever capture the blend in a bottle will consider it quite an accomplishment.