First we had the HEAT
Then we had the WIND...
Then we had the RAIN...
then we lost the TREE
then we lost my favorite garden..
SMASHED
to bits, along with a blackberry trellis.
then we lost the POWER, for five days
People were depressed..
But not everyone was unhappy...
as you can see..
Ducks smile at the rain, and dance in thunderstorms.
Well, we are grateful that flowers come back and fences can be repaired, and eventually the lights come on again.
But, I digress... didn't we have to choose a winner for the America Print? My sincere thanks to all of you wonderful ladies who left a comment with your thoughts on America. What silly game can I concoct to thank you, and choose a winner? I'm afraid this won't be terribly amusing as my imagination is running on empty, it is tiring hauling a tree out of your yard.
Let us turn to fallen pears for the answer.
... fallen before their prime,
thanks to that windstorm.
Let's give each pear a name,
and toss them in the grass.
Can I please have a volunteer???
.
Yes You! The lady with the red hair and whiskers.
Pick a pear, any pear!
And you have chosen.....
.
Well, flip it over for Petes sake .
Send me your address MEME, and I will send you this signed and numbered print of my papercut,
AMERICA
Oh Jeri,
ReplyDeleteWhat a mess mother nature brought to you.. I cannot even imagine how tired you must be... Your poor garden...
Even with all this going on your imagination my friend is certainly NOT on empty! As much a I TRULY wanted to win I am happy for dear Meme.. Congratulations to a very lucky lady...
Take care and get some rest..
Love and blessings,
Penny
Jeri, I am so sorry you suffered such storm damage to your lovely garden. Congratulations to the winner. I do love your method of random selection. So creative! I hope you find rest soon. Bonnie
ReplyDeletelove your "random name generator" !!
ReplyDeletecongrats to your winner!!
you have had a bad time with Mother Nature. at least no person or animal was harmed. sad about your tree and garden.
so much work to clean up!! hope you can rest soon!!
You do the cutest name drawing!
ReplyDeleteI knew storms had gone through your area. Glad it was worst. Although 5 days without power is bad enough!
Looks like a lot of clean up work for you guys!
Take care
Patt
I do feel sorry for you. It is such a mess to clean up and no electricity? After having gone through 3 ice storms in ten years, freezing with no electricity, we finally had a generator installed this summer. At least now, I won't be so anxious.
ReplyDeleteWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAHHHH!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a draw, WHAT CHANCE!!! teee heeee....see my dear, you make joy out of unfortunate circumstances. Much like I suppose you do with your art, you take the imperfections and WEAVE THEM INTO the art. I am SO sorry to hear that you lost a tree; it often HURTS to see a living thing like a tree fall before its prime. OH YOU had those nasty storms....we had the HEAT WAVE,then you all got the winds. I saw a precious little pink baby squirrel on our path for our morning walk that fell from its nest during our windy time earlier last week. Thank God you are all OK!
I SO LOVE YOUR MIND. MEME is one lucky lady to have won this superb piece my dear.
THANK YOU for coming to visit me and the belugas and the mermaids. I have my mind of THE DEEP these days, wondering what magic lies therein, and WITHIN, ME.
Anita
so sorry to see the damage to your garden...I'm sure it will be beautiful again soon with a touch like yours
ReplyDeleteDear Jeri ~ How awful to lose a tree, a special garden, downed fruit not ready to eat, and lose power for 5 days. YIKES. That's enough to depress anyone, well except for the ducks.
ReplyDeleteClean up is hard work, doing without power makes you appreciate having power and all that it does for us.
Love and hugs to you, your DH and all of your critters.
Congrats to the winner of your lovely artwork.
FlowerLady
Jeri, so sorry about your tree and the garden and the trellis. Loved the pictures you posted and congrats to the winner of your papercutting. Hope all the cleanup goes quickly for you. Everything there looks so green. The unrelenting heat and drought has left our area with brown grass and withered plants and flowers. Looking at your pictures is such a joy. Beautiful country and I do love the pics of your animal friends! Take care and God bless!
ReplyDeleteSoSorry to hear thing are going hard for you right now. Hope all gets back to "normal" soon! Hugs to all the critters Carol
ReplyDeleteOh, your poor garden and trees. And here I've been whining about the heat in NC, but when I see these images the the words "no power"...well I have a reality check.
ReplyDeleteGlad you all are ok and your beloved animals.
Oh Jeri,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your damage from the storm. Doing without power adds insult to injury...I still remember doing without power for days and days here in NC in the aftermath of Hugo. Really glad that neither you nor your animals were hurt in all this. Fences can be mended and gardens can be replanted, albeit with a lot of labor. I hate that part for you.
Congratulations to Meme...she's one lucky girl to be the winner. Sigh...I can always hope that the red haired bearded one will choose me next time!
Love from Diane in North Carolina
wow, you sure have had weather!
ReplyDeleteanother tree.... i remember that big one you lost a year or two ago? i remember a forest ranger telling me that trees and people have a lot in common in regards to health, life, disease and dying. interesting to consider.
how did i miss your give away! rightly so after winning your wonderful Christmas Print!
I love the piece of art you share with the rain, it is like one weather to the right of the tree and another to the left. love that.
Oh Jerri! That is such a shame about your big tree and the garden. This weather has been just awful.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to MEME on the win of the beautiful picture.
I'M SO HAPPY!I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU MY ADDRESS IS: MINA HAMMONDS(MEME) 1483 CR 4215 SIMMS,TEXAS 75574 I WILL BE WATCHING THE MAIL! THANK YOU AGAIN
ReplyDeleteI WAS SO EXCITIED TO WIN I FORGOT TO SAY HOW SORRY IM FOR ALL THE TROUBLES YOU HAVE HAD.I HATE THE LOSS OF THE BIG TREE IT TAKES SO LONG FOR ONE TO GROW LIKE THAT.AS LONG AS YOU ANDTHE ANIIMALS MADE IT IN TIME EVERYTHING SHOULD BE ALL RIGHT.THANK YOU AGAIN!
ReplyDeleteBeloved Friend, You cannot keep a
ReplyDeletebeautiful garden down, so look for
its return, stronger and more lovely
than before. A blessing the menagerie
is safe and making the best of the
puddles.Why do I see a "storm" chapter
in a future book? Whirling excitement.
The children would be intrigued....
The Landers' are so good at making
lemonade with life's lemons...I am
so sorry about the damage and
inconvenience, but grateful for your
safety. Please get the well-earned
rest you need after all the hard work.
Blessings ~
Our Mary
Our Mary...it was so good to see, yesterday, that all is running smoothly, once again at Hopalong hollow. A visit of a lifetime I must say!
DeleteI'm so sorry for all the damage the storm brought you. It was just awful. Being without power for 5 days is the worst. My best friend in WV was without for 10 and she was about to go crazy.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you, James and the critters are all safe. Sending you lots of hugs.
It's truly amazing how powerful a storm can be. But as long as you and the animals are safe and sound, all is well. And I know you'll find inspiration for a new garden after you clean up the mess Mom Nature left.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeri!
ReplyDeleteDid you get the money plant seeds I mailed you?
Ooh Jeri,
ReplyDeleteWhat a conundrum !
We've had our share of problems these early days of Summer, I'm sorry to see your beautiful tree was lost, and that your precious garden was destroyed in part....
Strange weather we are having to endure.
Love your random number generator, You had to be quick on your feet, before the pear was a gonner :)
Lucky Meme !
Hugs,
~Jo
Such an honor to see the America print in PERSON...it is intriguingly beautiful! Yes, Meme, you are a special gal to receive such a treasure!
ReplyDeleteJeri, thank you again for such a delightful visit...food, conversation, bondingof kindreds...all the elements of a memorable occasion. I have returned to the cottage with a fresh energy...and buckets full of inspiration..
Many more hugs and blessings, my dear friend,
Christie
Dearest Jeri,
ReplyDeleteOh dear, what a sad loss to endure, after losing your other big tree! I am sure that you will come back even stronger, with an even better garden, and that a little sapling will take the place of the tree you lost.
Congratulations to Meme~ I've been out of town, and missed out on the fun! :)
Love,
Marqueta
Hope you can get your broken garden back to it's lovely self very soon. So sad that it happened but the storm mad for some great artwork and a good tale. Love your writing and art! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOh, so sorry about the storm that went through, just experienced one last year ourselves and are still trying to clean up the damage around the property... it will take years to try to recover our walking trails! Love your blog, and I am an animal lover myself, so especially love all your pics. Congrats to the winner! Hugs.
ReplyDelete