In Which Miss Ingu Posts an Over-Due Update

Well, I still haven't found that fat lady, but I have a new key in my pocket! The past several days have been spent packing belongings into the jeep and moving them across the river into the dearest little house. Remember how I never found a name for this farm? For some reason, right away the name for this house came to me. I'll call it Little Nazareth. Maybe "Naz" for short

On Saturday Hapapapa and a friend came to move the big stuff. And I have one more trip to go tomorrow. So tonight's my last night here and it feels just right.

The Beachy's had me over for tea last week. The weather's been crazy with frost in the morning and 60 degrees by noon. We had tea outside overlooking the pasture near their little tree stump house. Peachy made some delicious tea and berry cakes. I'm not sure how she preserved the blackberries, but they were perfect.

We talked about the farm and laughed about all the adventures we've had. They refused my offer to help with the move. It was all I could do to persuade them. It ended up that I moved all their belongings in one trip and they are now on Hickory Street settling in. I just told them it would hurt my feelings to think of them carrying all their bundles down the highway. And it would have taken days for them to arrive! How much nicer for us all that they are safetly there and getting everything ready for Blue and me. Well you have to do that with these little people. They're just too proper and humble to ask for anything that would seem like help.

Since I couldn't find the fat lady, I decided to sing my own song. I think it's a response to the idea that all of nature is praising the Lord just by existing. It's a little bit stolen from Daniel 3:56-88, which is a Canticle used in The Liturgy of the Hours Morning Prayer every other Sunday Morning.

All you creatures praise the Lord. Birds on the wing or hiding in thickets, sing praise to our Lord, sing praise. Frost and chill, praise the Lord. Showers and dew, bless His Name. Breath of wind that warms the field, praise the Lord. Sounds of tumbling creek and trees that crack in the wind, Sunlight glimmering along wooded paths, Deer that hide among the brush, all ye creatures large and small, praise the Lord, our God. Colors of sky - blue, pink, and gray - praise the Lord in your own way. Colors of field and pasture and hills, reflect His glory. Give thanks.

It's a good song for walks.

Will write from the other side of the river as soon as my internet connection is up. Love to you, my dear ones.

Bird Songs

One of the things about our country walks is the changes that light makes on the paths. The view changes every time we go out. Sometimes overcast and gray-blue, sometimes sunlight streaming through the woods and lighting up places you've never noticed before.

The sound of birds' songs also changes. It's the eeriest thing to go for a walk in the woods and not hear one single chirp. But it happens often. All is silent. It's one for the est files.

Other times it's quiet, but not silent. You might run into a wren trying to throw us off of the path to her nest; or another bird, invisible, up in the trees that calls out as if it was his particular job to notify nature that we are present.

Sometimes there is so much bird song that it's like a symphony of different instruments tuning up. I think the first noise is the scree of an eagle or a hawk leaving their nest and crossing the fields to a different hunting ground. Then a few little birds pipe up. Then it's as if every bird realizes the threat of being eaten by a raptor is gone for a while and they join in like the munchkins singing, "Ding, dong, the witch is dead."

There are some bird songs that I've come to recognize - like that pileated woodpecker, who is around quite often now. And the chip of chickadees is familiar. I think my favorite is still the robin's voice. There's a flock of them now down at the thicket where our driveway begins. And there's lots of geese and ducks migrating and making noise you can hear long before their vee-shape flight pattern appears.

And then there's those mystery birds that I have gotten used to hearing, but never identified. There is The Auk, a huge bird that screams out a loud "auk, auk" as it flies over the woods. And there's The Telephone Birdwho lives in the thicket and sounds so much like a telephone ringing that I've run to answer my own phone forgetting he's around. There's a bird that "meows" just like a kitten. I've never seen him. I have seen in some bird books the calls are sounded out - but that's such an individual thing that I have to hear them first, before I can read them.

On another note (pun intended)today my head song has been Woody Guthrie's "Git Along Little Doggies".

Whoopie-Ky-Yie-Yo, Git along Little Doggies, It's your misfortune and none of my own. Whoopie Ky-Yie-Yo, Git along Little Doggies, and know that Wyoming will be your new home.

Bones

A few months back on a drizzly day, a little before the sun went down, Blue and I were out walking down behind the blackberry hedge when I found some bones. It looked like pieces of a small animal skull and some ribs and vertebrae. We dug around until it got too dark, then brought our wet selves back to the shed to wash our finds. After they dried we tried to piece them together and found that we did have about 3/4 of the skull.

Occassionally we would pass this site on our walks and once or twice we'd spy another bone. It was kind of like an archeological dig. It was interesting to see the small bones work their way to the surface and to see what colors they were. And it was amazing to actually find anything.

So late yesterday afternoon I decided I better go down there and really excavate, or I'll regret not having all the bones that belong together. I took my little shovel and, while Blue patiently sniffed around the area, I turned over the soil and found a few more bones. I think any that I don't have now have disentigrated or been carried away by critters. When I get to my new home, I'll glue them together.

While I was down there I picked up a few interesting rocks, too. I think that's a family trait - saving rocks that call to us. One of the rocks was wavy like the edge of a sea shell. I washed it off and I think I've found an ancient artifact. It looks like a piece of pottery formed by a child's fingers. The ripples look sort of like fluted pie crust and the form of fingers is there. The material is red clay, like the soil in which we were digging. And it is "painted" black. The contrast of the Paint and the clay remind me of the petroglyphs in Nevada.

Another treasure to add to my collection.

In Which Miss Ingu Thinks About Four Year Olds

It's true. Sie turned four today. I can remember my fourth birthday and that I had already formed a philosophy of life by then - that's probably why I think of this as such a landmark. I can't believe he's four.....But he is and he acts just like the best four year old you can imagine.

His parents had friends over for a birthday party and it was as good a party as the Annual Chinese Gift Exchange Party. They only expected a handful of kids, but ended up with 13, I think, plus their parents. A lot of his classmates came - the adoring little girls and rambunctious little boys. I made a pinata for the occassion. I used to make them for my girls, but it was espectially appropriate for him because he attends a Spanish bilingual school. There were cupcakes and juice boxes and presents and so much fun that at the end of the party, Sie laid down on the floor and sighed with a sweet smile on his face.

In Which Miss Ingu Welcomes the Vagabonds Home

They're home! Home from Honduras. Went to the airport for their midnight arrival on Sat/Sun. Each face was beeming. Glowing with a great trip behind them. I'd expected weary and ragged-out faces. It was very exciting to greet them and take them home. Wish I'd taken a picture of them. SEI chattered away and told me about parrotsandmonkeysandlittlelizardsandglass-bottomboatrides. Sunday I got to see photos and hear more stories in between playing games and building tents with SEI. Hapapapa and SEI showed me a huge conch shell they found on the beach and brought back for kaliedoscope's own. And much as I've resisted having chicken decorations, they brought me a really sweet little ceramic hen on a nest that I really like and is perfect for a new kitchen window sill. Welcome back to tu casa, mis amigos!

In Transition

That little house in Portland is becoming a bit more than just a dream. I drove over there Saturday to just walk around it. The blinds were all pulled so I couldn't see inside, but I puttered around the back yard thinking of things to plant and how to build a tree house. I was surprised to see a lot of birds - guess I've been thinking I was leaving all the birds behind. And then I saw an eagle overhead. Really. With a bright white head cruising high up in the sky, sweeping the surrounds with his eagle eyes. Must have been St. Joseph sending a good house warming wish.

Blue and I returned to the farm last night. We'll be back in Portland tonight and tomorrow, then back here for a few days. The neighbor dogs have made friends with the man who is renting the green houses. It's the first time I've seen Zeus with a ball in his mouth and a smile on his face. Brownie and Molly were hanging around, too. So Blue had a lot of peeing to do to make sure they all know who's home this really is!

Blue and I went on a long walk this morning, going a little deeper into the woods than usual. Every walk is getting to be a bit nostalgic. Sort of like it might be our last chance to get down there. I've had a song in my head for days that's like background music for this transition time - Joan Baez's "Deportee". The words don't really fit, but the tune and refrain do. The song keeps playing as we walk:

...Goodbye to my Juan,
Farewell, Rosalita.
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria...

We'll have to have a Grand Farewell Party when the time comes to really leave here.

We saw a pileated woodpecker on our walk. My first! And a crazy, huge, red-headed fellow he was. We heard him first. His call was so raucus that I thought some bird had had his nest raided. Then I spotted him and was able to follow him. Maybe he was following us! Anyway, he really makes a lot of noise when he's in flight. Then when he's on a tree he's still rapping away, but a little lower like he's humming to the bugs inside the tree. The sounds of his pecking are loud enough to be the masterful strokes of a crazed woodsman He followed us from the end of our trail right on up to one of the large trees near the shed.

While we were on our walk we ran into Mr. Beachy and his daughter. They looked miserable. Apparently the weather completely destroyed their house under the blackberries and they's been wandering around homeless, wet, and distressed for days. I felt so bad for them, but their sad little faces perked right up when they saw us. Noble Blue right away attacked an old tree stump and dug them quite an entrance. I'm not sure if it was a cedar tree, but the wood inside is a warm and invting red color. The Beachy's were ever so pleased and bowed to both of us over and over in that peculiar way they have. This stump will work for a temporary shelter until we're all moved back to the city. They didn't want to leave before we did. Isn't that sweet

Do You Know What Pure Joy Looks Like?

Answer: Three dogs jumping out of the jeep and running through the fields at the farm. I wish they could put words to how they feel. It is so much fun to see how excited they are!

Been away from the farm and the internet too long, so we decided to drive up here today for a few hours. It's strange how addicted I've become to having www capabilities. And nothing has changed out here on the farm, so I'm relieved. I'd worried that the pipes might have frozen or something disturbed while I've been gone. It's funny how wet it's been in Portland, but the ground out here is still frozen and large patches of snow on the ground. The dogs and I walked all over (well, that's not quite accurate...I walked, they ran circles around me as I walked) to check out Blue's and my trails. I found another bone to add to my collection - will write about that sometime soon. We filled the bird feeders and dug up the rose and clematis so they'll be ready to take to a new home when the time comes.

We are sorely missing our little family, but we did get an e-mail from them today. They are warm and having a wonderful time...no kidnappings or banditos. Can't wait to hear their stories. They'll be back Sat. at midnight, which means I'll return to the farm Sunday or Monday. Talk to ya'll then.

Quick Note

The kids left for Honduras last Tuesday night and I've been at their house without internet access. They told me "if it goes out, just push the plug in farther". Didn't work. I'm at the library now and only have 7 minutes left for today. All the dogs are fine. Hammy is sleeping a lot. Waylon (the cat) hasn't been making as much noise as when k-girl is here. The snow base on Mt. Hood is 200 inches. I think we are snowed-out of the farm, too, because it's been snowing here and sticking a little. I've been ODing on cable TV. There's so much to watch! I'll be over it soon, I hope. Guess I'll sign off now and hope to figure out how to use my lap-top at a coffe shop soon. Bye.