terror in the night (con't)

"Sounds of terror are in his ears, while at peace the destroyer comes upon him." Job 15:21

If you read our post about the killing/slaughter/sacrifice, you're probably wondering what we found the next day. Come with me and I'll show you!

First, let's head down the old driveway. Rather overgrown, isn't it? Perfect place for an attack!

Here we see a well-defined trail.

It appears to be used quite often.

Eric and I trekked up the hill and found nothing.

This is actually the ground underneath the tree where we thought the fought took place.


















This is on the other side of the tree - two of many dens we have found on our little plot of land.

And back up the hill to the house - another well-defined trail.

Now you've just seen as much as we saw the day after the attack. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even the slightest hint that the battle took place. Now can you understand why we are so ready to develop the land?

terror in the night

"Sounds of terror are in his ears, while at peace the destroyer comes upon him." Job 15:21

Just barely asleep, Eric and I were awakened last night to the most hideous screams of terror. Before Eric was out of bed, he had the night vision monocle in one hand and protection in the other. It was coming from behind the house, but where exactly?
Gingerly, Eric walked out onto the deck. Somewhere in this tangled mess, the screams of the prey continued as it desperately tried to escape. Each act of defense forced the predator to find a new grip, dragging his victim until he found another stronghold.
Were the goats still in their pen? Neither of us spoke a word. Posed for action, I stood guard at the patio door ready to slam it shut after Eric's dash inside. Still in pursuit of a meal, the predator gave no relief to its prey. Chills of the hunt were right in front of us. But, where?
With one last bolt of energy and every ounce in his spirit, the prey did not go down quietly. Branches crackled, screams intensified, battles enraged. We stood breathless, stiffened to the bone. As Eric wildly scanned the tree with the monocle, protection prepared, the war ended as quickly as it began.

No more screams. No more struggles. No more defense. Just the tired, deliberate steps of a conqueror's victorious parade home after a long battle. It was done.

The goats were fine. Wide awake and just a breathless as we, they knew Eric's voice and were comforted by his presence.

Sleep came once again - finally. Will we ever know what succumbed to the terrors of this night? Probably not. Isn't this reason enough to continue landscaping?

Dances with bees

"They surrounded me like bees; they were extinguished as a fire of thorns; in the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off." Psalm 118:12


Lately, we have been focusing so intently on the ground that we hardly ever looked up. Until, that is, Eric got stung by a bee in the front patio area. After looking around to see where it came from, this is what he found. The neighbor's DH estimated this as a three-week construction project.



What to do now? Counter-attack!! So begins Eric's dance with the bees.
First weapon of choice: diesel fuel. Works great for killing bees; however, leaves an awful mess on the house. And the smell is not so lovely, either.

After awhile, Eric switched to Simple Green just to clean the house off.

In case you're not familiar with this dance, here's a few moves for you to practice at home (ha, ha, ha).



Have you got it? It really is quite simple - you just let the bees lead!

Where was I during this dance? In the vehicle, of course! In one of the photos you can see the side mirror of my Jeep.

Honor your father & mother

"Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you." Exodus 20:12

Last fall, I visited my father for a few days with the intentions of "helping" him with a project. Mind you he's in construction, so I wasn't sure how much help I'd actually be. This back-yard creek was his current project at the time; however, there were no plants. When he heard I wanted to help, he purchased plants. Then he purchased more plants. Lots of plants. Almost 200 if I remember correctly. Virtually every plant and tree you'll see was planted by the two of us in ONE day!

Looking east toward the waterfall.


Looking west toward the fish pond.

Here's a close-up of the waterfall. Eventually, that PVC pipe will be covered.

We had the best time working together that day and loved what we saw. However, when we awoke the next day, we were even more amazed. In Dad's words, "This is gonna be more awesomer than I thought!" (He likes to be goofy, at times.)

Dad, thanks for letting me help with one of your projects. I just wish we lived closer so I could help more often.

More golden vitamins...

The sun was shining again!! Here's another picture from October which represents what today felt like. When I took this picture, I was standing north of the plum tree posted yesterday, facing southeast. The big tree on the right sits on our southern-most property line. The far left edge of the retaining wall marks the beginning of the driveway slab.
Hubby and I spent the afternoon cutting and stacking firewood. What a workout, but we really enjoy being outside when the weather is this fantastic.

Has spring arrived already?

Today was the most beautiful day in a long time (several months). The sun was shining, the air was crisp, the sun was shining, the temperature was just right, and the sun was shining!! Oh, yeah, and the sun was shining. Even though this picture was taken in October, it represents what today felt like.This plum tree is situated to the left of our driveway as you approach our house. The fence behind is our western-most property line. If you look closely at the bottom left corner, you can see where our southern-most property line is. All the foliage belongs to the neighbor while the bare ground has been cleared for our first shade garden. Before I cleared the foliage, Hubby had dismantled a huge dog pen that wrapped around the tree with every post being cemented in the ground. That little project took a few weekends.