Accounts

Yesterday a deer jumped up from its bed in the chest-high corn and ran, leaping, away from us across the field and eventually into the woods.  When it stopped just its head would show if it held it up to look around.  It had antler buds.

This morning I walked around starting on the north edge and came to an area where usually my glad acquaintances the dragonflies would be sunning themselves on the fist-sized flat rocks on the edge of the corn field. But instead of them were only their black-veined cellophane-like wings. 7 wings: almost two dragonflies’ worth of wings.  A little further on, four more wings.  Then more, further on. I picked up  lot of wings.  Perhaps some bird figured out where they liked to sun themselves early in the morning when they were not yet up to speed?

From the garden today: four and a half pounds of sugar snap peas, a half pound of yellow summer squash, a pound and a half of broccoli, lots of lettuce that I did not weigh.

Monday we took Clarisse to visit the little nieces and nephews who were in town.   And others.

 

A Few Photos

So much going on!  A little taste of earlier this week. And of what is in bloom.  The trip to NYC was very much fun and very hot.  Doing lots of thinking about things I saw at the Metropolitan.  More to come.

We had a Yee-Haw time with friends who came for a short visit. My SIL and niece are here now.  It was their first visit to NYC yesterday.

From this morning’s walk:  see how small that grass stem is?  Those are eggs laid at the end of a stiff filament that was placed on the grass leaf.   Will try to figure out who laid these.

Deciduous peonies and poppies are out. Foxgloves, clematis, wegelia,and, and, and…..

Surprising Sunday

The last little robin did not live the night. Spent the morning walk with Hawthorne grieving until I came upon the first of the five efts.  They have been out returning to the wood’s edge many mornings after their night’s hunt. Then remembered that I had told Sue I would get her one to take to her bio class.  The largest and fattest came with us the rest of the way home, also the big black and yellow millipede.  Made them a portable home away from home and drove it up to Sue.

She and I walked around her pond and discussed gardens.  Lost track of time and on the rushed drive home to get ready for church saw a large blue-green snake dead by the side of the road.  Checked it on the way to church just to make sure.  Yup. Dead.

As we drove into church there was my father!  Now why would he be here, two plus hours away from their home?  Jay did not wish for me to see.  But if your parent showed up at an unusual place and time you would check it out, would you not?

And there were my aunts!  And my mother!  And Alison!–with whom I went to college and lived with during and afterwards.

They were part of a plot of our son’s to honor us with a surprise anniversary party.  It was a surprise.  Surprise!  My relatives and Alison came down to church with us.  And afterwards we returned to the family center to a large surprising mix of friends.  Isaac had friends of his helping and taking photos. When he gets some to me I will show you.   The room and tables were beautifully decorated.  Lots of flowers.  Photos of our wedding day.  And lots of dear friends and family.

Isaac made a very nice speech.  He coordinated the flow of the party.

Everyone brought a dish (or more) to pass. There was a large buffet of food.  Then another large buffet of desserts. Mary made and decorated a cake to look like our wedding cake.  Jay made a nice speech. He had been prepared because, as he said, he is an Eagle Scout and scouts are prepared.

We had known something was up.  But not when or where.  Jay had been suspicious of this weekend. But not this method or mode.

Alison came all the way from S. Carolina.  Susan came all the way from Boston.  Eileen called later that evening from California.  Betty and Suzanne and Sung and Gretchen and Kevin and Cassie and Jeni and Sarah and Erika and Isabelle all helped Isaac.

Isabelle played violin and had worn her purple and silver jaguar print party dress underneath her church clothes and all during service while she helped care for babies.  So it was a surprise to see her in the party dress.  I wondered if she had hid her clothes in her violin case.  Isaac and Isabelle played a few songs on piano and violin.  People told stories about us.

It was a very fun time.  Alison and Sue and Betty and Suzanne and Henry came back to our home for awhile together after.

Now there are flowers and food and cards all over the kitchen and living room.  It was a wonderful afternoon and evening.

And while we were enjoying ourselves, that large tornado was destroying part of Joplin, Missouri.

The Original Invite

Randi was right-there was a lamb.  We found an invitation.  It took me a while to figure out how to show the whole thing at an appropriate size.  The lamb was there because Jay was a shepherd and I was an animal scientist doing research with sheep (lambs, really).  That is how we met.

The invite is essentially a postcard.  But it was mailed in an envelope.  It was in black and white.  I still like it as an invite idea.

Single, Sunny, Still, Songs, Spiral, Squirrel, Sauce

Single digits but sunny.  And no wind; a wondrous stillness.  Yesterday was a howling whipping wind day.  On top of the thick crunchy sugar crust of snow is a light dusting that fell before the wind.  That thin layer looks like a fine painting this morning: fine brushstrokes covering the surface.  Wind work that artists try to imitate with feathers or fine hair brushes.  And through all the whiteness bright crystal sparkles of reflected light.

Even with the bitter cold, the birds are singing.  It is light earlier and later.  The Northern Mockingbird was at the feeder yesterday.  And the Brown Creeper returned to the suet tree. I had never seen one before last week.  It uses it tail as a support and spirals only up, flying down to work its way back up the tree.  Hawks, crows, jays, nuthatches, chickadees, finches, woodpeckers, the creeper: all are sounding off that spring is coming.  On the road trip last week we saw a pair of yellow-shafted flickers and some turkeys.

Our pussy willow is exceptional only for a few of its branches rather than its gray pussies.  Those are wide and flattened at the end with buds sticking out on every surface.  This one is best–a spiral.  The photo does not do it justice.

I have been contemplating moving the flying squirrels up to an enclosed porch to enable them to acclimate somewhat to the outside temperatures.  I didn’t think it would get into the single digits again.  So not yet.  But they continue to have to work for their food.  I give them whole English walnuts.  They chew one hole and eat some of the nut, then move to another nut.  To encourage them to do better, I put only as many nuts in as have been more thoroughly eaten.  This entails them chewing another hole to get at the other end.  So now I have a few necklaces worth of squirrel-slave-made “beads”.

Jay thinks they should be made into a garland for the Christmas tree.  I think maybe necklaces or buttons?  Each nut needs to be sanded.  Maybe strung with other large beads?

Isaac saw a gray squirrel on the feeder yesterday.  I saw a squirrel– could not tell the color–red or gray–crossing on branch tips from spruce to spruce outside our bedroom window this morning.  The same window Banner used to visit and come into our room through.  Sigh.

Daren harvested five grays Tuesday for me.  We were having guests for supper that would appreciate game.  I boiled them up yesterday morning.  They were noticeably smaller; the meat lighter and more tender than the big ones he gave us at Christmas.  Five yielded about 2.5 cups of meat.  It was ground up and went into homemade sauce for pizza.  Squirrel pizza.  Yum!  Quick sauce recipe: three large cloves garlic, three shallots (bought five pounds of them in the fall–must use them!), a medium onion all chopped fine and cooked in butter.  Add one quart home canned tomatoes (a red-Sungold mix), spices, extra frozen basil, salt, pepper, the rest of the ajvar and the ground squirrel.  Cook for a bit.  Really marvelous.  It got my 20-yr old out of bed.  Well, not until 10.30AM.  But he said he smelled it all the way upstairs.

Two Months From Tuesday, February the 22nd

Because spring always has come does not mean it will this year.  Does it?
Tuesday I told Isabelle that by the 22nd of April there would be green grass and flowers; no more snow.  She was incredulous.  How would I know such a thing?  This morning, as Hawthorne and I turned back after only a few dozen feet because of the disappearance of any trail, the depth of snow (over my boots), and the cold, it could seem fabulous to believe that the snow will end and spring will come. There has been snow on the ground for three solid months.  It is snowing now.  Again.

Is it more fabulous or incredible than believing the daily loving kindness, goodness, and mercy of God through Jesus?  Wednesday evening after supper, as I was doing dishes and Jay was standing by the stove speaking to me, I noticed Hawthorne laying by him.  Jay said the dog had just crawled out to the kitchen.  Hawthorne wanted to go out but could barely stand.  His right hip and leg were weak all of a sudden. That dog had done nothing unusual that day.

I took him out.  He slowly jerkily wandered a bit,   did his business,  and lay in the snow sniffing the wind.  He wobbled unsteadily back to the house, his right hind collapsing every couple steps.  As he lay on his bed, we prayed and asked Father God to heal him.  Was that silly?  Who else could?  Within 24 hours Hawthorne was back to his normal self, running and flinging himself through the snow with abandon.

I believe God hears us: I believe spring will come.  I have historical evidence backing me up.

Family Reunion

What we did this past weekend:

Rode bikes, both foot and gas powered.

Caught a young woodchuck with his bare hands.  Then Hawthorne had his first experience trying to catch one with his bare teeth.

After reaquainting myself with a motorcycle, I  even took the girls whizzing a few times up and down the airstrip.  Our top speed on grass with three of us: 35mph.

Mom and Charlie taking off.