All posts in In the Family

You are here: Home / All posts in In the Family

Jun

My Favorite Flowers of June

Categories: In the Family, Our Farm, Penny at Home

June gives us such a flush of the most beautiful flowers, Penny and I thought we’d go into the yard and capture some in photos for your viewing pleasure.

The mock orange bush fills our yard with the most heavenly aroma.

I think of these flowers as bridal flowers because we picked huge bunches of them for my brother’s wedding. Congratulations on 7 years of marriage, Tim and Jessica!

And now for a cheery chat with a smiling pansy.

Bleeding heart, it sounds so sad, but is such an elegant flower.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!!

A bouquet of my favorite poppies.

Our garden would not be complete without the whizzing little hummingbirds that zoom in and out and chatter and squeak. They don’t seem to mind who is nearby. I am glad that Mom has so many feeders, and places them right outside our windows so we can see the activity so close up.

Chives and pink columbine. I didn’t realize that so many of my pictures were pink. I wish I had captured some more of the blues and purples for this “visual bouquet.”

Peonies are so gorgeous!

An explosion of soft pedals.

You may not recognize this unusual flower.

That is the blossom of a tulip poplar tree. Quite a work of art, isn’t it?

Next is the beauty of the draping wisteria on our arbor. Another very fragrant place!

So much life and beauty.

All creation has a language,

Words to say what must be said.

All day long the heavens whisper,

Signing word in scarlet red,

Amber rays and crimson rainbows,

Twinkling stars and flashing light,

Punctuate the heavens’ statement:

“God is glorious, perfect, right,

God is glorious, perfect, right”

All day long the sun proclaims it,

Like a Bridegroom dressed in white,

Coming from His tent to greet them,

All His guest feel His delight.

Words of love and warmth He whispers,

Warning all who hear His voice,

“Oh, be glad and share My table

Dance and celebrate . . . rejoice!

Dance and celebrate . . . rejoice!”

All creation sings His praises,

Earth and heaven praise His name,

All who live come join the chorus,

Find the words His love proclaim.

the song “Anthem” by Steve Green. Words and music by Gloria Gaither and Michael W. Smith.

Apr

All Snug In the Barn

Categories: In the Family, Our Farm, Penny at Home, Winter

Comments: 2

I haven’t been keeping up with this site much lately as my Dad has been pretty sick all winter, advancing from one problem to another. We have all been pretty stressed, but praise the Lord, he is doing better and able to be up and about more than he has in months. We are so thankful. As the spring comes on we are glad to be drawing a deep breath and getting ready to tackle some outdoor jobs in the warm sunshine.

First, to play catch-up a bit, here are some shots of Penny all bundled up out in the barn helping to do chores this winter. I didn’t realize that my camera battery was weak, so I apologize that the focus is a little fuzzy as the camera is dying. But Penny sure did enjoy herself, and the animals were all pretty pleased to see her. They do love attention!

Here is the milking cow, drinking out of her water cup, all snug in the warm hay. She provides us with all the rich milk we can drink, as well as the butter and cheese Mom makes. Dad calls her Matilda.

Penny is checking the connections to be sure the water runs freely into the drinking cup when Matilda pushes the lever. Yep, all is well here.

“Weren’t you going to milk the cow?” asks a thirsty kitten who is always on hand for milking.

The young cow nearby says, “Don’t you have a pat for me?”

After a petting, he gives Penny a big slobbery kiss, “Thank you my friend!”

Down at the other end of the barn the two affectionate donkeys, Claryce and Dinklepuss, await their turn to be scratched and petted.

“Hello? hello!” says little Goatly, “don’t forget about me! Were you handing out treats, by any chance?” Her favorite treat is a soft apple from our basement apple bin.

No treats for you this morning, but here is grain for the alpacas.

Fritz likes a soft bed in the hay and sunshine. Penny rests with him a moment.

“What a big, wet nose you have, little calf!! Be careful, I’m not wearing a raincoat!!”

Little wet kisses.

A furry soft Silkie hen sits comfortably on her perch.

Here’s a little snack for the others.

A beautiful sunset picture over the farm. So peaceful.

Thank you, Lord, for critters, we sure do enjoy their personalities and friendliness.

I love life in the country!

May

Pet Chickens and Children

Categories: In the Family, Our Farm, Penny at Home

Comments: 2

Here is Penny feeding the chickens early in the morning. These are my pet chickens, they are silkies, a special friendly and pretty bird.

“Hi there, you’re kinda little. Wanna be friends?”

A big puffy cloud of chickens, all gobbling up breakfast. Don’t eat Penny!!

The faithful hen ignores the call to eat as she will not leave her eggs.

A collection of eggs waiting to be set on. Penny does not find the job to be very exciting, and soon tires of it.

Ben watches over as the little girls take their turn feeding chickens.

One soft, poofy hen eyes what Emma has to offer.

Audrey loves the chickens, what a sweet grin!

Penny loves life on the farm. Emma found an egg!

Ethan has got this hen in a head lock.

Ben took Audrey out to see his horses.

Emma offered Penny a swift swoosh down the slide by the swingset.

Fritz is relaxing in the yard near the lilacs. It was a beautiful year for the lilacs, they were full, sweet smelling and long lasting! A big favorite of the Dart family.

Take a BIG WIFF!!

Thanks for coming for a visit!

Apr

Penny Attends a Greater Vision Concert

Categories: In the Family, Penny's Travels, U.S.A.

Comments: 1

Our family enjoys the music of the Southern Gospel trio, Greater Vision, made up of Gerald Wolfe, Rodney Griffin and Chris Allman. They were in concert in Bath, NY recently and our family was eager to go see them again live in concert!

Penny was excited to be able to go and shake hands with these fellows herself, and to sing along with all her favorite songs!

Gerald Wolfe is the lead singer, and emcee. He used to be a member of the legendary Cathedral Quartet with beloved members George Younce and Glen Payne. Gerald is also a great piano player, and is a lover of the old songs, especially the hymns written in shaped notes in the old red Church Hymnal.

Rodney Griffin is a popular song writer in the Southern Gospel field, in fact, is known as the Singing News Fan Awards Song Writer of the Year for 13 years! Papa Dart likes how his songs reflect his rich study of Scripture. His songs are thoughtful, fun, unique and inspiring.

Chris Allman is the tenor and is also a songwriter.

We hope you enjoy these video clips we took at the concert. The first song portion is called No Longer Chained, written by Rodney Griffin. It tells of Paul imprisoned for his faith, whose story is told in the book of Acts. In prison he was chained to a Roman soldier, and this song is from the soldier’s point of view as he hears the gospel message from his unusual prisoner.

This next is a favorite of ours, a portion of the hymn “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” sung so mightily!

And now a bit of Rodney’s testimony about his alchoholic father who met a common ordinary man with a wholehearted love for Jesus, Bill West. When none of the highly gifted people could reach his dad, Bill West’s simplicity and compassion met a need in his dad’s heart and created a hunger for the Savior, which our Lord happily met!

We have gotten to know these men through building our collection of their CDs and DVDs, and seeing them in the popular Jubilee DVDs, and by attending their concerts when they are in the area. We enjoy their humor and their heart for ministry. You can learn more about them at their website www.greatervisionmusic.com.

Here is Penny relaxing at home near the stereo with her kitty, Ruby, listening to CDs of Greater Vision, recalling how special it was to be there at the concert hearing them in person.

One of their classic songs is this one written by Rodney Griffin. It is a favorite of mine, below are the words.

God Wants to Hear You Sing

Their chains were fastened tight
Down at the jail that night,
Still Paul and Silas would not be dismayed.
They said, “It’s time to lift our voice,
Sing praises to the Lord,
Let’s prove that we will trust Him, come what may.”

God wants to hear you sing,
When the waves are crashing round you,
When the firey darts surround you,
When despair is all you see.
God wants to hear your voice,
When the wisest man has spoken
And says your circumstance is as hopeless as can be
That’s when God wants to hear you sing.

He loves to hear our praise
On our cheerful days
When the pleasant times out weigh the bad, by far.
But when suffering comes along
And we still sing Him song
That is when we bless the Father’s heart.

God wants to hear you sing
When the waves are crashing round you
When the firey darts surround you
When despair is all you see.
God wants to hear your voice
When the wisest man has spoken
And says your circumstance is as hopeless as can be
That’s when God wants to hear you sing.

God wants to hear you sing!!!

Pixie and Penny together make a joyful noise to the Lord!

Who better to sing with than a talented bird??

Apr

Penny at Tim’s Greenhouses

Categories: In the Family, Penny's Travels, U.S.A.

Comments: 1

Penny has been visiting at my brother Tim’s house!

Abby went to visit for several days to help out in the greenhouse and around the house with Jess and our two little neices. Here is Audrey greeting Penny, she’s ready to play the “gentle” hostess.

Tim has 3 greenhouses on his farm. Two of them are shown here full of flowers: flower packs, pots and hanging baskets, all growing so beautifully green and accented with bright flower colors. Abby took Penny for a tour and took some really nice pictures. Thank you, Abby!

The next greenhouse is ready to be filled with vegetable plants of all sorts: tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers and all. Greenhouses are a great place to get a head start on spring while the snow is still flying outside. Feast your eyes on these pictures and imagine you can smell the warm moist air, the damp soil and the breath of green plants that are happy to be alive!

These little neices know that wherever Aunt Abby is there is lots of tickling and laughing going on! Fun, fun, Abby! Emma is 3 1/2 and Audrey just turned 2.

This was the final day of Abby’s stay there at Tim and Jess’, she helped with hosting a birthday party for Audrey. Mama Dart is in the background on the couch with Mike. What a fun, festive ice cream cake!

Darling little Audrey, enjoying her special treats, displaying her pearly Oreo teeth and ice cream drippy chin.