Beyond the Flowers

I have had fun going through all the pictures from my Father's Backyard. These are some of the other pictures I found that didn't have to do with his green thumb, but more to do with the man that he is. Above all he is a man of faith and it does not surprise me to find a statue of the Holy Family tucked away in a planter box. My father helped to raise us as a family of faith, which I believe is his greatest gift to us! And of course there would have to be a windmill! My father is a first generation American of Dutch decent. His parents immigrated to the United States with two young children and very little money. The family grew to nine children and prospered in this country.

An old mortal and pestle. I am not sure what the story behind this is but I bet it is either from my grandmother's ranch or from his parents house. It is a thing from the past that is to be treasured.

I thought this was a beautiful picture of the statute of Mary in the splendor of the roses.

This bird bath is fitting in the yard. My father has raised different types of birds including Parakeets and chickens. This is probably one of the very few times that I can remember that my dad doesn't have some type of bird. He is now just taking care of the wild ones in his yard.

And of course the most precious thing of all, our little Jeanie. This little stray appeared at my Grandmother's ranch one day. Because my Dad had his chickens there, he did not want stray cats hanging around. He set up a cage to catch her so he could take her to the SPCA, but she would not go in it. She also would not eat any of the food that he left out for her. She would just sit and watch him from afar. After quite sometime, he was finally able to win her over and she came to him. He was attached to her by that time, so he brought her home. He named her Jeanie. (That was my Grandmother's nickname for my Mom.) She is the sweetest cat and beautiful too. She is special to all us, especially my Dad. He now lays his pants on his bed just right so she can sleep in them!

I have enjoyed seeing things through different eyes. It has made me more aware of all the beauty that is around us that we don't see because we are too busy. It is something that I will have to work on. Just like the old saying "Stop to smell the Roses."

It has also made me appreciate how green my Dad's thumb is and how black mine is!