cold feet

Posted on March 24, 2018 by Shanda

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I just got back from taking old cornmeal muffins to the chickens. I did what every other New Englander would do when it’s March 24, sunny, and 39 degrees. I threw on a jacket….and sandals.

Parker the Dog couldn’t get any closer to the hens because of his Hidden Dog Fence. He was very much longing for an old cornmeal muffin.

I have sent various children to the coop for the last three days and they all skipped back to the house cheerfully saying, “No eggs!” “None?” “No, they ate them!” “Did you check the barrel? They’ve been laying in the barrel lately.” “Yep, there weren’t any!”

Just to be sure, I also went in the coop. I found seven in the barrel and 3 each under two brooding hens.

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I put them into the same bag I had brought the muffins. By this time I was calling myself Stupid because my toes were turning pink and icy and I had sandy textured snow in my berki’s. There was a bit more darn snow than I had anticipated.

I kept my eyes on the warm dry dock as I slipped toward it, planning to warm my feet. Upon arrival, I kicked off my sandals to get rid of the snow and dry off. One of them slid right across the dock and….into the pond. Thank goodness for cork bottoms. While Parker stood on the bank and leaned across the water with his nose stretched out toward my shoe doing nothing, I also leaned over the edge of the dock stretched out my arm to retrieve it. “Stupid” I called myself. I tapped my shoes on the wood to get as much snow and water off before slipping them back on to walk back to the house, keeping in as many of the bare patches as I could. This must be why the children are always skipping into the house after they go to the coop.

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I washed my dishes and 13 eggs.

And put socks on.

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birds and blooms

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Shanda

American Goldfinch; in the trees at the dam by the stream

Eastern Phoebe; wire fence by stream

Black and White Warbler; high in treetops

Ovenbird; in the woods (next pic shows the stripes on the top):

Tufted Titmouse; tree by my house

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; bushes by the driveway (first sighting) It’s a small and very pretty bird.

Sparrow; very common, however I loved him because he threw and stiffened his whole body into his singing.

It takes a powerful amount of energy to be a song bird.

This bird was in the woods this morning, I identified it as a Veery using the Merlin ID app on my phone.

Chipmunk frozen in fear in the woods because he saw me.

Warbling Vireo; bushes on the edge of the field

(not positive about the identification)

Catbird; I love the way they sing

This unidentified hawk (?) made several passes over us all (myself and the little birds) which put a damper on things because he (I’m sure) likes eating little birds. But maybe he was looking for mice?

Common Yellowthroat; isn’t it’s black mask and yellow bib pretty?

I think this is a Female Eastern Towhee but it was difficult to get a photo. It was on the ground the whole time, scratching into the leaves finding food. As soon as I found it in the camera frame it would hop out of it again. The bird book shows a female looking like this with a white breast (which this one may have but I couldn’t see it). A male Towhee was singing up in the branches which also led me to believe it was it’s mate.

Male Eastern Towhee

Mallard Duck; I sat on a boulder with him in the distance but close enough that I could still hear him quacking now and then. Very companionable.

Cardinal; isn’t it pretty with all the gray background and spots of red buds?

Apple blossoms

and Marsh Marigolds

The gypsy moth egg casings are hatching out which means that there are tiny caterpillars EVERYWHERE, it’s rather like a plague. It’s a nature phenomena that I have never seen before in the 10 years we’ve lived here. WAY too many. So I’m hoping that all the birds (and chipmunk) photographed in this blog post like to eat them.

I brought home a branch of apple blossoms and put them in a blue vase by the sink. I picked some white and purple violets, too.

frosty sunday morning

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Shanda

Time to be, time to dream, time to do nothing but wander in outside, free, in nature.

It’s invaluable for young and old.

Doesn’t the red winged black bird remind you of an English Guard?

There is beauty abundant in each ordinary day……and it often stops me in my tracks.

Tom the Turkey.

We wanted to see a Tom with his feathers all fluffed out but it didn’t happen during my visit at Mom and Dad’s until I was on the highway leaving Albany and I saw one on the side of the road with a hen.

*****

“Then there were long, lazy summer afternoons when there was nothing to do but read. And dream. And watch the town go by to supper. I think that is why our great men and women so often have sprung from small towns, or villages. They have had time to dream in their adolescence. No cars to catch, no matinees, no city streets, none of the teeming, empty, energy-consuming occupations of the city child. Little that is competitive, much that is unconsciously absorbed at the most impressionable period, long evenings for reading, long afternoons in the fields or woods.” Edna Ferber

I found a caddis worm

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Shanda

Yesterday afternoon I went to the chicken coop. It was the first day back to school for the children so I was alone and greatly enjoying the quiet. There were three eggs in the coop which I promptly put into the pocket of my shorts. I held in my hand a mug of lukewarm coffee. A rose fiestaware mug, to be exact.

Seth and Caleb were playing catch by the road last Friday. Across the road from our house is forest and when they heard a cracking sound, they looked up just in time to see a small bear jumping down from a tree and running away into the woods.

I had this in mind as I stood and gazed around me at the edge of our property. Would I see the bear? Was I nervous?

Our property sits on four acres and it borders state forest. A shallow but constantly running stream also borders part of our land. I walked away from the coop into the forest and toward the stream. I was wearing shorts and sneakers, the air was warm with a cool breeze and sunlight streamed through the tops of tall pine trees. Beneath my feet were old damp leaves and pine needles, and crackling twigs.

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A frog hesitated and then took a flying leap into the water and swam under water soaked leaves to hide. I had surprised me so I stood still for a while just in case there were any others. In the center of the water beyond reach was a gelatinous mass of eggs. The stream had overflowed its boundaries with the rain, forming a nice big puddle of fresh water, just right for a frog nursery. As I looked, I saw a tiny little wooden thing slowly crawling in hesitant dips and bobs on the bottom of the puddle. It looked like a small pine cone … walking under the water. But that couldn’t be right, could it?

I was wearing my perfectly good black sneakers and for a brief moment I had to decide; would I or would I not get them wet? For a pine cone?

I would.

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I dumped my coffee out and dipped the mug into the water to rinse. The water was cold and my sneakers were instantly filled with it. I bent down to scoop my discovery into the mug and brought it back with me, just a step or two, to dry land.

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It was a tiny creature living inside it’s own homemade case of twigs.

I kept it in the mug as I took a few pictures and a video.

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It’s “front door” –one the end of the case– was finished off with whitish twigs.

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Right before I put it back I held it in my hand. It was less than an inch long.

I proceeded on my walk and as I walked down the trail to the road I almost stepped on a snake.

It moved away from my foot fast enough but then had a hard time slithering away because it was so cold.

*******

Back in the house, I quickly located my favorite nature book and identified the strange water creature that I had found.

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“People who have never tried to fathom the mysteries of the bottom of brook or pond are to be pitied. Just to lie flat, face downward, and watch for a time all that happens down there in that water world is far more interesting than witnessing any play ever given at matinee. At first one sees nothing, since all the swift-moving creatures have whisked out of sight, because they have learned to be shy of moving shadows………….and then something strange happens. A bit of rubbish on the bottom of the brook walks off. Perhaps it is a dream, or we are under the enchantment of the water witches!” ~Anna Comstock

Pity me, because I have to say I have never (until yesterday) tried to fathom the mysteries of the bottom of our stream….and it was only because of that frog jumping that I stood still long enough to discover my very own “bit of rubbish.”

Things I learned:

*You can take these things home, put them in an aquarium to observe them, remove the top twigs of its case, give it tiny strips of flower pedals, and watch it rebuild using the blossoms. They are “underwater architects.”

*The inside of the case is lined with silk.

*The worm is not attached to the case and if you turn the case wrong side up and hold it down, the worm will flip over within it to right itself.

*An artist named Hubert Duprat collects them, keeps them in climate controlled aquariums, removes them from their cases, supplies them with precious metal and stones, and thus creates (using the worms) beautiful little works of art. Click HERE to see.

*When they are ready to pupate (turn into a fly), it fastens itself to an object in the water and seals itself up inside. Eventually it emerges as a caddis fly.

* People make fishing lures using the caddis fly as inspiration.

*If they are located in your backyard stream it is an indication that the water is clean.

*They can make their case out of almost anything including sand, stones, or even a hollow stem.

*Someone made this.

For more information you can read the wikipedia article HERE.

In fact, the more I dig around the internet studying these things, the dumber I feel! Why haven’t I learned about these before? What fascinating creatures they are!

“Little brook, so simple, so unassuming
–and yet how many things love thee!”
~Edward Carpenter

PS, I didn’t see the bear. However, I thought I heard one at one point and peed a little in my pants. Bears, worms, and snakes….oh my!

easter happenings

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Shanda

Happy Glorious Easter!

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us–set us right with him, make us fit for him–we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand–out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary–we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t be so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him.
Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shoout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!

*****

We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.

*****

A whole, healed, put together life right now, with more and more of life on the way!

(from the book of Romans in “the Message” translation)

I could just keep typing and typing, copying out these rich and wonderful words! Even on the worse days, the Holy Spirit keeps ministering to God’s children. The bad days are a little better, the best days are a foretaste of Heaven!

One of those “best days” for me personally happened just yesterday. We visited Mom and Dad’s church and then I was able to ride along with them to the Otesaga Resort for our buffet Easter dinner. I felt like laughing all day, I was so happy. Even when we didn’t quite know where we were going for a little while there on the back roads……..

Our reservations were for 2 and we arrived with time to spare and were seated at two large round tables, side by side. We were in a nice open room with huge windows which opened out to the bluest lake. The weather was lovely, warm and spring like. The food was served buffet style and we all ate until we could eat no more, with laughter and fun conversations.

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We were missing Ethan very much.

(My sister and her family also could not make it this year.)

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Cassandra’s dear parents joined us though, which was a fun treat; we love this family!

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Dave was able to play a few songs on the grand piano!!! He was dying to get his hands on it.

LOVE IT!

And one last drive away photo from out the window! the parents! xo

Well then, it came out in the car that Rich was in a bad mood because of something a couple of our children did that I didn’t know about until we were driving down the road and he was able to fill me in on the details. I had wondered why he had sort of “deflated” toward the end of the meal. My poor husband, I always have complete confidence in how he handles the issues that arise in our family. Very thankful for that. However, as we drove along, his irritation was causing him to retreat inside of his own thoughts and problem solving so that he wasn’t paying attention to his driving….I did notice that he was going a little fast but what with the situation and all I decided to keep my mouth shut and not nag him about speed limits.

Instead, I took pictures out my window.

You can sort of tell by these photos that we were going 60 in a 45, right?

However, the officer was merciful and decided to only ticket us not for speeding but because our vehicle had tinted windows (I guess in NY you can only have a certain shade of tint)….and even that was eventually thrown out because after all that he wasn’t able to get his computer to work- so off we went again on our merry way and at a much slower pace, praise the Lord.

We still arrived home at just the right time; bedtime for the younger children to be exact!!! And heart to heart time for the ones who needed fatherly guidance and instruction.

All is well.

I took these photos just this morning; things are growing fast now that the snow has melted and the ground has warmed up.

April showers and all that.

I saw the first spring violet this morning when I walked Sarah to the bus; picture to follow!

You are loved, xo

~Shanda

What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. Romans 6

duck & bike & flowers

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Shanda

I love mornings. I rarely blog at night, if I did I’m sure all that would come out would be zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

It’s Thursday. 43 degrees. Sarah is outside riding her new bike and Seth is upstairs taking a bath. Caleb just woke up; everyone else is still sleeping. It’s 7:40.

Are the duck photos neat? I took them first thing yesterday morning. I stood stealthily behind a pine tree by the pond and watched this duck. It wasn’t so much concerned about anything but looking around and quacking. I guess he was looking for his female?

As I mentioned in the previous post, this is Spring Break Week for the children. Yesterday was “Buy Sarah a New Bike Day”. I left the house at 8 with her and Seth and we went to Target. On the way we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts. Sarah wanted “a donut that was filled and it would be jelly inside.” She is quite wordy.

On the way there they explained to me that they were Odie and Garfield. Sarah was Odie and Seth was Garfield. I played along and they decided I was John.

“I’m going to be John the man?” I asked.

“OH, I know! You can be Liz! Liz is in love with John and John’s Dad!”

That didn’t sound right.

“Liz is in love with John AND his dad?” I asked.

“No, John IS Dad. And you love Dad.”

Oh. Okay. I get it now.

So we played pretend for a while until I got tired of getting yelled at for accidentally calling them Seth and Sarah.

They had their donuts and we proceeded to Target and found a nice bike for Sarah and a few shirts & ties for the boys for Easter.

What beautiful tulips!

On the way home there was a garden center, a nice small independently owned one, so I stopped to buy some pansies.

Here they are sitting on the floor of the passenger side…..aren’t they beautiful? They have little ruffled edges.

Guess what? I don’t have a photo of this but when we pulled in the driveway, the duck was in the other pond with his female! 🙂

Nice big brother Jacob did some work on Seth’s bike but ran out of time. He had to go to college and work. But Seth was okay; he still had the scooter to ride.

And Sarah was so cute riding around on her new wheels.

This bike is a bit taller and it took her a little practice and a few falls to comfortably get on and off of it. She could ride her new bike for hours at a time and unlike the boys, she’s content to ride the same path over and over again. She talks and sings to herself as she pedals.

Sarah even shared her bike with Seth until he ended up crashing it and said he wasn’t going to ride it anymore. “First it went in the garden and then it crashed!” he said, without taking any of the blame. It was all the bike’s fault.

I used to watch Jacob, Ethan, and Grace play EXACTLY the same way. It’s like deja vu.

One sad note: Before I could do anything to stop her, Sarah butchered the pretty streamers off her handle bars because “they were distracting her.”

My pansies at home. I also had 3 six packs that I planted in pots. Two of them are on the front steps and one is by the side steps in the garden. They are cold weather pansies so even if the temperature drops they should be okay.

The potted geranium on my windowsill bloomed!

RANDOM PHOTOS:

My friend Lea Ann texted me this picture of her Texas wildflower bouquet!

I saved it as my phone screensaver.

Seth in the dentist chair. I was reading my book but also watching and listening. Very entertaining. No cavities!

“Mike, will you show me your airsoft gun?”

“No.”

“I’ll give you a neck massage.”

“Okay.”

water and wine at the spa

*********

Quote for today: “Faith sees even the darkest deed of all history, the death of God’s Son, as a necessary prelude to the brightest.” Philip Yancey

stop trying!

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Shanda

Hello! I’m sitting in my bed with half my face numb. I had to go get a filling replaced this morning and I did so with Seth sitting in the corner of the room watching intently. After observing the big needle go in my mouth and half an hour of drilling and filling, he is now either traumatized or perhaps will be a dentist one day.

This week my husband is away on a business trip and the children are home from school on spring break. Yesterday was a bit of a challenge, as I was on edge about several things, and as a result I spent much of the day trying very very very hard to “be a good mom” instead of forgetting about myself and just living out the day in a mature fashion. It was an internal battle of sorts and I spent a great deal of energy trying to be as polite and kind as I could and I believe the children enjoyed being home from school, but as for my mental state by the end of the day let’s just say I was pretty exhausted and went to bed as soon as possible (9pm) after several hours (6-8:30 with a trip back home to get Sarah to bed) of being at the ball field for little league practice.

So far today is much better. I’m not trying anymore. I’m going with the flow.

Ahhh, adjustments. All is well.

One of the things “I tried” to do yesterday and sincerely thought it would be relaxing was sit in a chair by the driveway in order to watch the children happily play. Caleb took it upon himself to carry up to the driveway my “favorite orange chair” (his words–I had no idea what he was talking about.) It turns out that my “favorite orange chair” was my brown adirondack lawn chair from clear over by the chicken coop. It’s true, it’s my favorite chair, but only because it was right where I wanted it…..by the chicken coop. It is now by the driveway and the chair weighs about 85 pounds, I’m not even sure how he carried it up the hill to the house, to be honest, by the groans he was making I know it was quite difficult for him. So that put a damper on things within my mind; I had to pretend that I was touched and pleased with his thoughtfulness to deliver my favorite chair but also fight irritation that it was even moved in the first place, I could have just gotten a chair off the porch even though it wasn’t my favorite.

So I sat down with my bag of books and a pen and started to read. I looked up just in time to see Caleb run, jump up and off an upside down cooler, and try to dunk the basketball in the hoop. The cooler tipped over and I had a heart attack as I watched him try not to body slam himself on the pavement. I sighed with relief. He avoided injury this time but then I had to tell him not to do it again and answer the inevitable question, “Why not?” and all that followed in that conversation.

Seth wanted his bike but the tires were flat and that took a great deal of effort in explaining why I wasn’t the one to fix bikes…….

Then he and Caleb set up an old tire against the stone wall to practice throwing baseballs at it…well, in my mind I could see them throw it right into the road (which is behind the stone wall) and getting hit by a car. We had a long talk about where else we could put the tire and then I gave up so to speak when I realized they would probably be fine so we left it there. After all that, they decided not to practice throwing after all.

Sarah was happily riding her little two wheeler around the driveway and then (as I was reading and not watching), Seth, from over on the lawn, thought it would be a good idea to throw a tennis ball at His Sister the Moving Target. After he hit her once and was scolded, he did it again, and that time I had him sit in the penalty chair, which had been moved right next to me. “Don’t get up until I tell you,” I said and then went back to reading and became absorbed enough that the next time I looked up he was completely gone. So now I had a disobedient child to find and put back in the chair.

Then, Caleb approached me (and Seth back in the chair) with a piece of moist white skin, about the size of a dime. “Guess where this came from Mom?” he asked cheerfully. “My tongue! My tongue is peeling!”

Turns out he ate too many sour Warhead candies and his tongue was peeling, the entire tongue was sloughing off. I gazed at it in horror. I had Seth run inside for my phone so I could google this situation and sure enough, it’s a thing that happens, my friends.

I was done. I shut my book and put my stuff inside. I had too much adrenaline from “trying” so hard to relax that I had to power walk myself back into a zen state. But first I had to explain how far we were going to my son and just how far the stop sign was about 5 zillion times………

Caleb, instead of walking the normal way, walked up on the curb and would periodically fall, stumble, scrape and/or lurch head first off it until once again I had to be mean mom and tell him to quit it before he tore a hole in his good sneakers.

Caleb enjoys talking and didn’t stop the entire time.

I admired the birds and the sky and this pine tree with big lush pinecones way up on top.

On the neighbor’s lawn up the road…..

Another neighbor’s guinea hens. Funny birds.

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Well then at 10:50 Sarah had a dental appointment downtown so I dropped Grace off with the boys at the playground so they could run around while we attended to the appointment. Sarah is a rather nervous patient but did very well. We left the dentist and drove over to get the kids from the playground only to find their stuff everywhere (books, shoes, and jackets) but no children. It was like the rapture had occurred. However, in one of the best moments of the day, I honked my horn and only had to wait 45 seconds before the darlings appeared running as fast as they could from way around the other side of the school.

We headed to the grocery store where they all “helped” and the boys argued about who would get to push the button at the register to see if we would win a coupon.

Seth got a foot long loaf of crusty french bread and then only offered Caleb a one inch piece so I had to mediate that next because Caleb was very offended by Seth’s stingy ways in “only giving him a crumb of bread.”

Back at home I exclaimed, “Bring in the groceries and then outside until the salad is done!”

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We ate an entire big fiesta bowl of Dorito chip salad; one of my favorite ways to get the children to eat their vegetables (spinach, kale, and other dark green lettuces). YUM.

Now that I think about it, the next few hours are a blur…..oh wait, at one point I tried to relax again down by the stream but as soon as I started reading I heard the Schwans truck pull in the driveway so I ran to the house to purchase some frozen vegetables…..

At three o’clock, we headed to Rita’s for the first time this season. Caleb in particular has been begging and begging to go so I said yes, that would be a nice thing to do on our first day of spring break and I even set the time for 3PM so that he would stop asking when we were leaving. It was a big deal, I had that feeling of joy in giving them something they really wanted to do, as a special treat. We piled in the car and drove to Rita’s. Jacob followed in his car so he could go to work after.

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They had a new flavor ice, “Peeps”, no doubt for the Easter holiday. I had sugar free peach mango.

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She’s so lovely. And NEVER can finish her ice because it’s too cold. So one of the boys got to finish hers.

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Sugar free ice makes my custard a tiny bit less caloric. 🙂

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I like to savor every mouthful, but very soon, too soon, the boys were finished and right on top of me begging to go to the playground.

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And even though I said, “not today” not once but thrice, they begged and begged, prompting internal hurt feelings on my part and yet another teaching opportunity about being thankful for the treat you did have instead of jumping straight into wanting MORE while the taste of the last one is still in your mouth!

Also yesterday, the girls planted peas and I planted radishes and spinach.

Grace was a huge help to me yesterday and she also had time to read almost an entire book.

David worked on clearing the bank over by the garage. He has this big job to do because he got in some trouble last week and is grounded off video games and electronic devices….so to fill his time his Dad gave him lots of chores to accomplish.

When he saw me taking his picture he lifted up his shirt to show me his impressive abs.

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Usually I’m looking for the first spring wild flowers WAY before they appear, so it was a sweet surprise to look down at my feet and see these little wonders already blooming.

Soon we’ll be seeing violets, too.

*****

And today? Today began with three loud honking geese visiting the pond.

Causing Parker the Dog to run around in circles, doing his own honking.

Happy National Pet day!

The side of my jaw and mouth is currently still numb but I’m shaking with hunger so I’m gently trying to eat a yogurt. Sarah’s upset because the tire is flat on her bike and wants macaroni and cheese for lunch–I just boiled up some water and poured in the noodles. Jacob is getting ready for school, Michael is here for the day and is helping with the children, (He took Grace to the library to get the next book in her series) We have two extra kids here visiting from up the road. Later on they are all having an airsoft battle outside but right now they are downstairs playing video games. Grace and Seth are shooting their bows outside.

I’m going to the spa at 2:30 to get my hair done and enjoy some quiet. (!!!!)

****

God’s grace abounds on every kind of day, as I was reminded as I read a book yesterday by Philip Yancey, “Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part.”

everything is this, now

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Shanda

I cannot tell you how happy I am

to see the sunshine this morning!

Dishwasher’s a hummin’, the dog’s a snoring’~

it’s going to be a nice day, I can tell already.

This picture is from a few days ago when it was raining. We had a squirrel come to ~~visit~~ stuff his little cheeks full of sunflower seeds.

I never realized how brown their heads are. I though they were all over gray.

A delegation of mourning doves.

“Hour one”

I took a few hours to admire our sleeping buddies yesterday. They were on this chair together for most of the day.

“hour two”

“hour three”

“hour four”

David arrived home from school.

“Dave, you’re wearing all black today”

“Yeah, but I wore my blue hoodie to school instead of this black one because I didn’t want them to send me to guidance thinking I was depressed.”

This boy thinks of everything.

And he made the middle school baseball team! We are all so proud of him and can’t wait to see him play.

Parker the Dog is flat on the couch snoring as I type–tired from the morning. He helps get the kids off to school, you know, by barking when the bus comes and stealing their breakfast bagels.

This morning’s gently clouded striped sky.

This morning I attempted to scrub a marker drawing off Seth’s arm, “It’s not coming off,” I muttered, “Put it under the water,” he tried. No such luck, but it is lighter at least. We stood in front of the mirror and I styled his hair with rosemary gel as he squirmed and groaned. He’s wearing his baseball shirt; ’tis the season. And this is truly his technique; he either misses entirely or it’s a good big hit. “Don’t over swing, Seth!” is the advice he gets from his coach repeatedly.

We finished The Children of Noisy Village, by Astrid Lindgren. It took us a very long time to get through it because we had misplaced it for about a month and forgot about it; such is life.

A very dear book, however.

On the last page.

“TEN IS MY STUDENT NUMBER!” she explained in a loud voice.

“OKAY, THAT’S FINE,” I answered in like manner.

Our next book? One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Hope is a geranium about to flower for the first time in a year.

I started a new book last night and LOVED this quote:

“Children don’t know the meaning of yesterday, of the day before yesterday, or even of tomorrow, everything is this, now: the street is this, the doorway is this, the stairs are this, this is Mamma, this is Papa, this is the day, this is the night.” My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante, page 29

cherry bars

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Shanda

The path to the chicken coop is getting easier to trudge. With all the snow we had last week it became a little annoying to wade through it multiple times a day to check on things. We still have snow everywhere but our footsteps have stomped away most of the snow on the way to the coop so it’s easier to walk although I do find myself getting grumpy at times. “Why did we put it so far from the house?” “The snow is blinding me!” “Oh I just got some in my shoe” “I hate snow” “Slip” “Fall” “trip”. I spent more time down there this morning simply because although the wind was blowing quite a bit, the sun was shining and there was an actual warmth. I said hello to the rabbits and the chickens said hello to me. I sat down on the feed bag and a chicken hopped on my lap. One sat on the rabbit cage right behind me and softly pecked my hair. They are curious birds.

Invariably, we have a cat visitor or two, as well. The chickens become nervous.

They like to sink down into the hay to lay their egg and I always think to myself that they seem to enjoy the time spent waiting for it to arrive. I watch them fuss and arrange the hay strand by strand and get as comfortable as possible. If another hen comes too close, the one sitting makes an ugly caw which means “Get away from me!”

They do not fancy the snow and do not go far these days. I prop the door open for fresh air and they hop in and out of the coop.

A favorite egg laying spot.

another curious cat visitor

He ended up with no where to go, so he had to back shuffle until he could jump back down. It was cute because he stirred up dust along the way.

Some of the hens melted down to the floor in the sleepy sunshine. They stretched out their wings to soak in some healing rays.

As soon as a hen was done, I took her egg and put it in my pocket. (They would rather me let them eat them). I have over a dozen saved in this way. What to make?

How about Cherry Bars?

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 (21 oz) cans cherry pie filling

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the extracts. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture just until combined.

Spread 3 cups batter into a greased 15 by 10 by 1 inch baking pan. Spread with pie filling. Drop the remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over filling. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack. Combine *the glaze ingredients; drizzle over the top. Cut into bars. Yield: 5 dozen

*THE GLAZE
I cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2-3 Tablespoons milk

recipe source: taste of home baking classics cookbook pg 370

spring again

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Shanda

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“Listen to His voice, and cling to Him” Deuteronomy 30:20

Good morning! I’ve been contentedly puttering around the house. The children were sent off to school and I have been doing dishes, laundry, and general organizing and home keeping. There is always a lot to do around here to keep me busy. I also journaled and wrote a little letter to Marcia.

We were away all weekend and then Rich worked from home yesterday so I have not been on the computer…….

Uncle Roger’s funeral was on Saturday. I haven’t mentioned here that he passed away from cancer at the age of 44. He was a Christian man who loved his family most of all, spent his life devoted to the same church congregation, and quietly and contentedly lived. He and Aunt Colleen, along with the girls, visited us often through the years and it was always an Event for us and always blogged about. Such fun. He will be missed.

All of this has given me so much to think about. Things like being sincere, being quiet, being yourself, remembering what really matters in life, and the love of family. The way Aunt Colleen has handled this journey has made me respect and love her all the more. What a grace-filled woman. Never asking for attention. Just living life and letting God lead, open to His will, sad, yes, but full of hope in Jesus. And she took such good care of her husband……. I pray God’s richest blessings on her and the girls now as they continue on.

On Sunday we went to church at the place I went to all through my growing up years. (The same one Uncle Roger and Aunt Colleen have attended, too.) It was wonderful to see and hug many old familiar friends.

We were able to visit Mom and Dad after church (I posted a bunch of photos on instagram). And oh that was just the best…just to be together.

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Yesterday afternoon we went to Costco and then to the grocery store (because Costco doesn’t have cayenne pepper or organic apple cider vinegar). While we waited for Rich to come back out, Seth climbed a tree. Very fitting for the first day of Spring, right? Caleb and I were standing underneath him and this picture is of Seth looking down at his brother who was worried he might fall down and reminiscing of a time when Seth was showing off and consequently hurt himself. I said, “It’s only a tree, Caleb, quite safe.”

Look at the design of the branches against the blue sky.

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Who is Michael? At first glance, he is simply a Very Large Young Man. He’s over six feet tall, 27 years old, and weighs about 400 pounds. So when he’s in the room, his presence is hard to ignore, if not impossible, and you just don’t know what to make of him. Years and years ago (about 5) we met him at our *new to us at that time* church. He and Jacob became good enough friends that he started to come to our house on a constant basis. Although slightly awkward at first to have him always around, after I got to know him I realized that Michael is an extremely friendly, willing to help, people loving, witty, extroverted, goofy, Christ-loving, theology-curious, writer of epic letters, fun person who has carved a niche for himself into our family. He works at a home for troubled boys and is PERFECT for his job. He spends almost every Sunday night -Wednesday morning at our house and sleeps downstairs with Jacob, Caleb, and Seth, on his own blow up mattress. I have talked to him about everything from raising kids, church life, depression, to bodily functions (quite reluctantly on my part because I’m a lady). I can say anything to this guy without fear of judgment. Rich and I love him to death, and so do the kids. He went to Costco with Rich and me and the kids yesterday because he wanted to buy some seltzer water……..so to answer the question “Who is Michael” is kinda hard. He’s Jacob’s friend is the answer in a nut-shell. But so much more. He’s been such a gift to our family. A brother in Christ. I’m so glad Jacob has a friend in him.

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” Mark Twain

Dumping the entire bag of sunflower seed on the driveway has continued to be a very wise decision on my part. We are getting so many more birds now. And I don’t have to keep track of the feeder!