Just 3 Things | #37

Last week I was out of pocket and enjoying being a grandparent. So, I just didn't get around to creating a Just 3 Things post. I sort of started out in the hole this week due to the rainouts of the state baseball tournament that took me out of town and had me sitting round waiting for the skies to clear and finally getting to see Harris's team capture the state title. I got home after midnight on Monday - well, actually on Tuesday's wee hours. I can recall that there was a day once a long time ago when keeping such hours was really not even a hiccup for me. This week did not have that day!

- What I've Been Working On -

I felt like winning a state championship as a baseball team was a big deal. So, I wanted to do something for the team beyond assisting with fundraising. I remembered that when Bryan went to a World Series as a kid the boys exchanged pins. It was a far bigger thing than we were prepared for at the time. I thought maybe we could have pins made for the boys to swap. So, I asked if that was still a 'thing' or not. It turns out that tradition is still there and the boys do indeed swap pins and the state league provided a big bag of pins for the boys to swap. So, I decided I would embroider a towel for them that could hold all the pins they get at the swap. 

Diamond Youth Baseball Team Tennessee 2026 Towels

I shopped online for some towels and found that orange is a bit of a difficult color to discern with online shopping. I landed on an 18x26" pinstriped orange and white kitchen towel and ordered a couple bundles. 

I first did an example, pictured above to show Coach Bryan what it might look like. I explained that, obviously, I would not put a bow on the boy's towels. I also explained that I would use a bolder, more masculine font for the guys. He gave me the green light. So, after my towels arrived, I set up the design on my new sewing machine and started the creation process.

My favorite player's towel

So, that is what I've been working on for the past couple of days. I found out today that my creations have the approval of at least two of the mothers. I sent a message to my daughter-in-law with the picture of all the team towels as well as the photo of Linley's. I explained that I had some extra towels and asked if she had ideas for what else I could do with them. She was monitoring some of the team as they were working a fundraiser and one of the other player's mother said she thought it would be a good idea to make a 'Mama Towel' for the mothers!

- What I've Been Reading -

I've just deleted several offers of bargain Kindle editions all this week. I'm struggling to stay awake when I sit down and get still and I'm nodding off in bed before I even get a chapter read. It certainly isn't the quality of the writing or the book that I've chosen.  I think it is just fatigue from multiple road trips and enduring the July heat and humidity and all the rain. (Whoever heard of such a wet July before?!)

I chose one of my favorite authors for this week and, honestly, I'm just savoring it a bit. I'm taking my time and I'm even going back and reading a page or two at times just to make sure I don't miss anything. Two sisters who are seeking to uncover a long hidden family truth take a road trip from Savannah, Georgia to Ireland in search of information which might authenticate a portrait that has hung in their family's homes for years. 

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews

I was hooked from the first page - maybe even from the cover. (We had sheep when my children were young. I have a red headed sister. My sister and I are almost polar opposites.) I'm about halfway through this one and I like the characters and the journey that they are on.

- What I'm Loving -

Back in the spring the Mister and part of the grands brought an old water trough down and put it at the basement entrance right in front of the retaining wall. They filled it with dirt and I sowed some Zinnia seeds in it in hopes of having a cutting garden right outside the door. For some reason the Zinnias have not prospered. Did I not water enough? Was the soil too rich? Did the critters do too much damage? I don't know but I only have a few spindly stems of Zinnias in that trough. 

I also sprinkled a few seeds into the two sixteen inch pots I have sitting in front of the window of my office/sewing room as well. Those seeds have flourished and look so cheerful as I am looking out my window. For the past couple of days I have also had a visitor. A beautiful hummingbird has found those Zinnias. Then, just on the other side of the driveway, a doe is also making a regular sashay through.

Sometimes, when I step outside she will look up at me and pause for a bit. Then, she goes right back to grazing. I don't like that the squirrels and chipmunks and even the deer seem to want to nibble on my flowers and have prevented us from having a vegetable garden in the back yard but I must admit, they are beautiful creatures to watch when they are so close. I'm loving that.

Wildlife Friends

 Once again, this summer we have some wildlife friends who are allowing us to watch them grow and live. I mentioned the doe that had visited and munched on my flowers a bit earlier in the summer. Well, evidently the doe has a couple of babies. They have spent so much time in the yard lately that they don't even seem phased by our coming and going at times. 

There is also another doe with a baby who is a bit older and larger than these twins. They graze the yard, nap in the yard, and just generally hang out around our house.

The babies are cute and the mamas are beautiful. It also gives us a bit of a worry that they might get down onto the highway and get hit by a vehicle.

I watched them for a few minutes one afternoon and I thought one of the babies was going to go into Mike's barn!

They will look up at us and cautiously watch us to see if we are going to come toward them. When we stand still, they just go back to munching on the grass and ignore us.

Wildlife Friends (Part 2)

 Last week I wrote about seeing observing some of our wildlife friends and enjoying their beauty. 

On Tuesday, I was watering my flowers and admiring their prosperous growth. My flowers really have provided me with joy this spring/summer. They have bloomed prolifically and all the rain we have had made it easier for me to take care of them as well.

This long, shallow concrete planter is one that Mike had here when we joined forces. I have never had much that would prosper in it except Moss Roses or Portulaca, a blooming succulent plant. The picture above shows what they looked like when I first planted the four little plants out of a blister pack from the local greenhouse nursery.

Those things had really grown and were heaped up and full of blooms - about twice the size of what is shown above. I was so pleased with them and smiled over how well they were doing for a few days. I thought about taking a photo but decided I would wait till I finished my watering. Then, I was so hot that I forgot all about photo taking. 

The next day, I went out to water and noticed that the flag holder was rocking back and forth. I noticed it because there was quite a breeze but didn't think it was such that it would blow the little metal garden flag holder that doesn't even have a flag in it. But, I quickly set to filling my watering jug. My watering routine is to water the pots that are the furthest distance from the spigot first. So, I went to the pots at the ends of the retaining wall first.

Then, I went to the long, low, concrete planter. Boy was I shocked! Our wildlife friends must really like the taste of Moss Roses! Plus, she must have been munching right before I opened the door and bumped into the garden flag holder. 

I knew that deer don't like Lantana and all of the other pots down at the basement entrance have a little Lantana in them. So, I guess that is why they are still growing and looking pretty and not nibbled gobbled up. Every single pot that has Lantana in it is still completely untouched.

While I enjoy seeing these beautiful creatures munching in our hay field and yard, I don't really want them wiping out my flowers. So, next year, all the planters will have deer resistant flowers in them for sure!

Wildlife Friends

 Since we live on a farm, we have several animals. Oh, we aren't over run with farm animals. We do have a couple of goats and a miniature donkey. However, most of the animals we see around here are wildlife. 

Last year, we had a whole herd of deer who lived here and grazed our front yard and front field. Some of them have moved on. However, we still have a resident deer or two. Mike said that he saw a couple of babies when he was cutting the hay in the front field. So, we knew there was a mother deer somewhere nearby as well. 

One afternoon last week I made a delivery next door and visited some of the grands as they were playing and eating outside. When I came back down the hill and circled the buggy round to park it next to the back porch, I saw the mama deer!

She and I just paused and stared at one another for a few minutes. She was sizing me up and I was trying not to scare her. After a moment or two, she turned and ran across the front yard and around the side of the house to get away from me. Then, she slowed and headed up the hill toward the hay barn.