A Day At The Lake & A Surprise Visitor

Today, two of my sisters came to visit and we spent part of the day and the lake. These two photos are taken just above the dam. It was a beautiful day!




FeFe is in the green. She is the baby in our family. I have such beautiful sisters!










Nena is in the blue. She turn 80 years young a few months ago. She is the oldest of Mama's 9 kids! Isn't she pretty! No one would believe her age-she looks much younger.


Then we had this SURPRISE visitor. I had walked down to a viewpoint to photograph the lake and had just turned around and started back to the stairs when just at my feet was this long, crooked snake. Fortunately, his head was away from me, but his tail was about twelve inches from my feet. At first, I thought he was a non-poisonous black snake, but upon further checking he had some markings on him and we noticed his nose was shaped more like a viper! Bravely, I took this photo. (or more like stupidly!!) When we got to the computer to check out this markings, he looked pretty much like an adult Cottonmouth (water moccasion). I read this on the internet about Cottonmouth snakes:

There is only one North American poisonous water snake - the Cottonmouth Water Moccasin! Not to be confused at all with its many nonpoisonous neighbors, this snake is a pit viper in the same general family as the Copperhead and the Rattler. Cottonmouth snakes are poisonous and extremely aggressive. They get the name cottonmouth because when they prepare to strike they open their jaws wide, exposing the puffy white lining of their mouths. This dangerous semi-aquatic snake is truly an aggressive reptile that will stand its ground or even approach an intruder.

If this was truly a cottonmouth, I was in a really perfect position to be attacked. Then, of course, Fefe had to come down the steps to see what it looked like! Now aren't we a pair! Can you imagine the two of us trying to outrun an aggressive snake!! That snake must have had an angel closing it's mouth. Thank God we were not bitten.

A Beautiful Rose and Uncle Al

I couldn't resist to post this beautiful rose that I found at the Azalea Festival. Along with the azaleas, there were beautiful iris's, roses, tulips, and many other gorgeous flowers.


Here's a little tidbit from Mary Ellen's book on helpful hints that I thought I would pass on. I have never tried it, but I think it would be great if it worked. If you try it, let me know:

How to preserve a favorite news clipping:

• Dissolve a milk of magnesia tablet in a quart of club soda overnight. Pour into a pan large enough to accommodate the flattened newspaper. Soak clipping for one hour, remove and pat dry. Do not move until completely dry. Estimated life: 200 years!

That's longer than we have on this earth! There may be something to that milk of magnesia!?!

I hope everyone has a great day!

Check out my cousin Janet's post for yesterday (a link to her blog is on this blog page). She has a posted a couple of pictures of our Uncle Albert and a little story about him. He is our only living Uncle at the ripe young age of 84 years. Mama always loved to hear him play the fiddle! Here's a picture of Uncle Al and I taken at a couple of years ago at a his 82nd birthday party. I LOVE YOU, UNCLE AL!

Azalea Festival in Muskogee

Today Ken and I went to Muskogee and went through the park where they were having the annual azalea festival. Since we have had such a warm winter and spring, the azaleas had passed their peak, but the park was still beautiful. I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the of photos I got with my digital camera. This is a beautiful place located in Honor Heights Park in Muskogee. The festival is held every year in mid-April.

My New Blog

My cousin, Janet, introduced me to this blog site. I had never heard of a blog before looking at her blog. I couldn't even imagine what a blog was! Well, now I know. It is a place to post photos, notes, and cutsie things for family & friends to enjoy. I certainly enjoyed reading and seeing Janet's blog, so I thought I would create one for myself.

Today, I will just introduce you to my blog, then each day will have to be a surprise to you and me both as to what goes on it! Well, tonight is just a trial to see what it looks like, tomorrow maybe I will do better.

I will leave you with some tidbits from one of my favorite books, "Mary Ellen's Best of Helpful Hints" (no, I didn't write it), it was written by Mary Ellen Pinkham and Pearl Higginbotham:

Watering Houseplants:

• Use water at room temperature. A plant can be injured by cold water.
• Let tap water stand for 1 day to rid water of chlorine. This will help avoid brown tips.
• Stick your finger 1 inch into top soil, if it feels moist, delay watering.
• The water you boil eggs in is filled with minerals and is a good "drink" for your plants.
• Or, drop egg shells into a jar of water and cover. Let set a day before watering. Do not store egg shells for any length of time, because they will spoil and cause the worst odor (phew!).
• Top choice fertilizers are old aquarium water and water in which fish has been frozen.
• Don't throw away your fizzless club soda. It has just the right chemicals to add vigor and color to your plants.
• Once in a while, if you wish to water plants in hanging baskets without making a mess, try ice cubes. They will not drip through before being absorbed. But only once in a while.
• Bulb plants should always be watered from the bottom. Fill a saucer or kitchen sink with water and let the plant sit in it.
• If you must have a room full of plants, a small portable vaporizer is a must for addition of moisture in the wintertime.