Thursday, August 9, 2012

After the Elusive Elderberry

 Dear Friends,

Thank the Lord for the friendly clouds that visited us last night and brought life-giving rain! Today was much cooler (only in the 80s), with a nice breeze, so we decided to go look for elderberries, in hopes that there would be a few berries in spite of the dry weather.

Along the way we made sure to enjoy the nature around us (and to avoid the poison ivy and chiggers!)~









 Since we were near a lake, the children decided to cool off in the water. .
.

. . .Where they found a perfect little fish to draw in their nature journals.


We discovered an autumn olive tree, with almost-ripe fruit that was quite tasty,


Plus a great blue heron that was hoping to find his own perfect little fish!

We ended up finding almost a bucketful of elderberries, and literally covered ourselves with burrs, which we are still trying to coax out of our hair and clothing! Now to remove them from their stems and make some syrup, which is wonderful to boost the immune system (and tastes lovely on pancakes, too).

Love,

Marqueta

p.s. I've been adding a few writings on my "By a Lady" blog, including a few autobiographical vignettes, if you'd like to catch up there.

11 comments:

  1. Everything looks so refreshed after your rain! So neat you were able to catch that little fish. Your other blog writings are delightful, and the pictures (and header picture, so nice!) are very good. love,andrea

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  2. So nice to visit here with you - your day looks beautiful!
    Blessings,
    Tonya

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  3. Hello Marqueta! Glad to read that you have some cooler weather. We had rain too! A bucketful of elderberries is a nice score. Haven't found any trees in our area yet. Didn't know about your other blog. Will have to go over and take a peek. Have a lovely weekend!

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  4. P.S. Your girls are as pretty as their mom! love,andrea

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  5. What a beautiful place to visit with the summer heat you would find me floating in the lake hehehe Great pictures~Love Heather

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  6. Wow you are one relentless photographer. "The best of the best!"

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  7. Marqueta, I'm so glad that you had a bit of rain. :)

    And is that a Morning Glory that I see? So pretty.

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  8. Dear Marqueta,

    As always, I love the pictures! Your girls are turning into beautiful young ladies!! Enjoy your syrup, and good luck with the burs!

    xx
    Love,
    Lynn

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  9. I am so grateful for the rain, dear mama! It is so lovely. Going swimming was quite fun, and there were also many wonderful things to photograph, only I wish I could have taken better pictures of the other heron! :) I love you! Love, Audrey

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  10. Oh those burrs are a nuisance, especially when a kitty is covered in them, ( we had to shave her). The young ladies are lovely as ever. I hope they can capture the gorgeous colors of the fish with their colored pencils and paints.

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  11. I've been catching up on your posts and enjoying them very much, Marqueta.
    It's so nice to see what you and the children are doing with your summer days.
    I hope it cools down for you soon though.
    Your adventure walks are delightful to read about and I appreciate the information you share about the various plants and herbs you find!
    blessings..Trish xx

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