07/24/12

Here is our next adventure at the arboretum.... dangerous plants.  

They had an exhibit there that talked about Wicked Plants.  It was quite interesting to find out how some foods we normally eat are poisonous if not cooked correctly or if eaten a certain way.  I wish I had written more of them down, but we were trying to get outside before it started raining.

I wanted to share some exciting finds that were there... these are some that I do know a little bit about simply because I read about them to my students each year when we study plants.  These plants I am showing you today do not receive enough light to make their own food... hence, they have to catch their food in their clever vices.

First off we have:

Pitcher Plants

 Interesting facts about Pitcher Plants:

• It lives in the rainforest.
• The leaves are slippery.
• An insect can land on the rim of the leaf drawn to it by the sweet smell inside.
• Before long, the insect loses its footing and slips and slides down the walls of the plant.
• The insect then finds itself in a pool of water at the bottom. 
• The plant releases an acid and the insect, well, is no longer.
• Doesn't sound like a pitcher I want to be around anytime soon....

Our next "Wicked Plant" is:

Sundew Leaf

Here are a couple of up close pictures of the sundew leaf.  I must say I love the macro shots of them!

Interesting Facts about the sundew leaf:

• The leaf is covered with hundreds of hairs that have a gluey bead on the end.
• The insect gets stuck on the beads.
• The leaf curls over the insect and devours said insect.
• Nice, huh?

Next:

The Bladderwort

 Facts about the bladderwort:

• This is an underwater plant.
• The stems have hollow pouches with trapdoors... that are secret.... like in a murder mystery novel or something.
• When an insect (like a mosquito larva) touches the trapdoor, the door opens and water rushes in.
• The insect is taken into the pouch and consumed.
• Remind me not to ever sit on one of those...

And, last but not least:

The Venus Flytrap

(I had one of these when I was little... they are quite fascinating)

 The "jaws" do not really hurt humans... I have stuck my finger in one before.

Interesting facts about Venus's fly-trap:

• The plant's leaves stay open when waiting for their next victim.
• When a yummy creature hops into the leaves, they close shut.
• The plant will then feed on the animal juices.
• Flies seem to be a delectable choice, but frogs (and other small insects/creatures) have been known to be eaten by this plant. 
• I don't think I'll tell Wesley.

07/23/12

 Let's take a trip to the mountains today... specifically the North Carolina Arboretum near Hendersonville and Brevard, NC.  

This place is just beautiful.  It makes our NC State Arborteum look miniscule!!

 It was raining that day, of course, but Steve and I still were able to capture beautiful sights and tour the arboretum.  I loved the fact that there were rain droplets EVERYWHERE!!!

Sweet Man is near one of the structures in the garden area with the mountains in the background.  Unfortunately, it was so cloudy you couldn't really tell!!

 Yours truly by one of the small ponds/fountain areas.

 Sweet Man in the Bonsai garden.

 Who knew Bonsai trees could be so interesting!  I didn't realize they could be pretty much any tree!  There is really no way to tell how old these trees are but some were quite old.

 This is what I feel like after a day of school.  haha

 Cutest trees!

 Yours truly by another waterfall/fountain area.

 Steve looking good in the entrance area.  Just beautiful!  I could so have a blast photographing people here!

 Me, me, me.... from the other side of Steve.

 I had never seen sunflowers this color.  They were really nice.

 Steve and I also went on a hike around the arboretum.

There is a funny story here.... 

As most of you know, if you have read my blog for long, I have issues with anxiety.  However, the Lord has given me the help I need and I am much better now.  I don't live in fear for every step I take.

This adventure hiking was no different.  I was enjoying the hike through the beautiful tree areas of the arboretum.  I enjoyed the heart-pumping, calorie burning moments. 

Steve, on the other hand, was scared to pieces.  You see, we were one of few people who had ventured out to the arboretum on this rainy morning.  Hence, we were pretty much the only ones on the trails for a bit of time.  Steve was convinced that there was a bear lurking around every tree.  

He jumped.  

He walked cautiously.  

He made ME nervous.

He was convinced that a squirrel was really a bear in the trees.

Here I am trying to depend on the Lord and calm myself through His promises and my husband is a wreck!  haha!

We made it safely through, although Steve said he wished he had brought his fire arm.  (yeah, right.)

I am thankful my man wanted to protect me.  I just wish he didn't make me nervous doing so.  :)

Here we are near the end of our hiking at the arboretum.  It truly was a breathtaking place!

 Like my stylish hat and raincoat?  I was digging the raincoat for without it, I would have been beyond soaked our entire visit to the mountains!

More on our adventures tomorrow!

07/22/12

 

Amos 4:13

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, the God of hosts, is his name.

07/18/12

 

I read this and thought it fit with this flower.... even though this is an orchid and not a rose.  :)

What is more beautiful than a bride?.... 

Maybe it is the aura of whiteness that clings to her as dew clings to a rose.  Or perhaps it is the diamonds that glisten in her eyes.  Or maybe it's the blush of love that pinks her cheeks or the bouquet of promises she carries.

A bride.  A commitment robed in elegance.  "I'll be with you forever."  Tomorrow bringing hope today.  Promised purity faithfully delivered.

When you read that our heavenly home is similar to a bride, tell me, doesn't it make you want to go home?

~Max Lucado - The Applause of Heaven

07/17/12

I have been at a workshop for the last two days.  I will talk more about that soon.  :)  It was quite fun.

Today I thought I would share what happened to my lovely cell phone.

I loved my cell phone.  It looked like this:

I loved this phone with my whole heart.  I had it for 2 years.... it was my first texting phone.  It was easy to use and I love the slide out keyboard because my fingers are "fat."

This phone had been dropped, brushed off lovingly, taken on trips and many a text message sent through the airwaves.

Am I being a bit sentimental?  Why, yes.  Of course I am... you should know that about me now.

Last week when Steve and I were in the mountains, I had shared that it rained A LOT... remember?

My precious cell phone was in the pocket of the backpack we were carrying around.  What I didn't realize is that it was not in the very front pocket, but the middle pocket.... where after it rained and Steve got hot in his raincoat he had put his wet rain jacket.

Did I say it was wet?

Yeah, good.

As we finish up our hiking and are quite tired, we get back to the truck and I am ready to check my phone and check in with those I wanted to call.

But her precious screen did not work.  I could hear it come on and go off, but it did not appear.

I had the cutest purple tulips with a green background as my wallpaper.

I had special rings for everyone that needed to be different.

Canon in D was my ringtone for regular callers.

It was a beautiful phone.

Well, that night I decided to put it in rice because I have seen where other people have done that and it fixed the electronic device right up.

It didn't work ... even after I left it overnight.

I told Steve we would have to go to the Verizon store to see if they could fix it because I wanted to be able to get in touch with any info. with the kids coming home from camp.

The guy couldn't fix it.

She had died.... and that made me sad....

Now it was a time of trying to decide what to do and what to get.  I wanted to just get the exact same phone and be done with it, but you know it isn't that easy.....

SO....

After a lot of talking and working through pricing and figuring out what would work best, we decided to bite the bullet and I got:

My first Smart Phone.....

  

I LOVE THIS PHONE.

I didn't realize how much fun these phones really are.

Or, maybe I did and didn't want to get hooked.

Unfortunately, now I am hooked.  :)

The selling point was the slide out keyboard. You know how I mentioned above that I loved my old one.

I found some free Apps and have downloaded them.  Goodness.

I have a lot to learn, but I think I will have fun while doing so.

I now have downloaded extra wallpapers that look like photographs I would take... LOVE THEM.

I downloaded extra ringtones so I could have my Canon in D again.. and that is my ringtone for my Sweet Man since we love that song from our wedding.  :)

So... if you know my number, call me or text me.  I love playing with that phone!

07/16/12

I realize I haven't been as communicative this past week and am not just sitting here doing nothing as it appears this Baboon may be doing.... I have been quite busy.  :) 

 

What a week we had last week!

It was quite strange to have the kids away from us all week.  It was good for Steve and I to have some time to just be "us" again, but we certainly missed the kiddos.

Here are some highlights from the week:

Camp went well for Wes and Mikayla but they were both quite homesick.  

We thought we may stop in at camp to see them mid-week because Sweet Man and I left on Wednesday for a little mountain vacation of our own.  

We were an hour away from the camp so we decided to forgo that.  I am actually glad we did because I think the kids would have had a hard time watching us leave.  Plus, I truly wanted to give them the time to just enjoy camp life.

On mine and Steve's adventure we saw waterfalls, Steve was scared of bears, and we walked in the rain... A LOT. 

I had to get a new phone.   More on that particular story later.

We hiked between 8 and 10 miles on mountain trails Friday.  Whew.... I was thankful I had been doing Zumba because the way I felt at the end of the day of hiking, even after exercising, made me realize I never would have made it if I hadn't. 

I will share pictures of our fun time.

The kids had enough fun getting to and from camp.  Their bus broke down going up and pretty much blew up on the way back.

On our way back from our little mountain retreat we had to do a u-turn when we were almost home so we could go pick up our kiddos who were stranded on the side of the road.

God is good, as He always is, and provided a place for the kids to stay in air conditioning until another bus arrived.  We were just glad to pick up our two and a friend's daughter and get them back home with us.  Let's just say that they definitely made MEMORIES with this trip!  It was the running joke around church yesterday!

By the way, the "tin can" as the kids affectionately, not really, called it will be gone by next year.  We are praying for the Lord to provide a new bus.... one that actually works.

More of our adventures as the week continues.....

07/13/12

 

Jeremiah 32:27

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?