I've had many Three Dog Nights, but a Two Squirrel Day is a record. One thing I've thought was strange about this farm is how few little critters you see. I've seen a couple dead moles, a couple dead tiny shrews, and one dead bat. Of the living small creatures I've only seen a couple squirrels and maybe five rabbits over the last year. Until today. We saw one squirrel run from the bird feeder when we started our walk today; then another deep down in the woods flying from tree to tree. It might have been a flying squirrel; that's how it jumped between the branches - with all four limbs out. They are nocturnal and I've never seen one. But the reason I saw this one was because the top of a tree snapped and I looked up to see this little guy jumping from it to other nearby tree top branches. Maybe the tip that snapped off held his nest?
Whenever I see these little things I think they are special gifts from the Lord to me. I'm very spoiled. I sometimes go out looking, like a little child whose expecting her father to bring her home a present. It's like a special game....what will the Lord show me today hiding in this field.
The window birdfeeder has been comandeered by a flock of pine siskin for the past three days. They are chickadee size birds that look like slim sparrows with a few yellow wing feathers. My first sight of them made me think they were female goldfinches. But they have pointier beaks. Anyway only 6 of them can fit on the feeder at once. They wait on the closest brush branches until one looses its balance on the feeder, then fight over who's next. They eat a lot. The resident chickadees and juncos hardly get a chance. H-m-m? Maybe the little siskins have been around all along and the seed my kids gave me for Christmas is something they really love?
The red bellied sapsucker I saw a while back....saw another one today deep in the woods working at the owl's tree stump. I really don't know if that's the right name for it. It seems like a red-headed woodpecker to me, but the books say this isn't their range. I just know that the head is pure red and the long beak is white. The wings are black speckled with white. I'm not sure what color its belly is though. Will have to pay attention next time I run into him.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Habla Un Poco Espanol
Saturday there was much to do. SIE was here overnight Friday to Saturday.
How does one little person have so much energy!!!??? He was going full speed from about 5 pm till almost midnight. We tried to go to bed at 8 pm and we turned off the lights and got into bed. He made sure we both had flashlights because it's pretty dark in the country. Mine had a smaller beam, so it became the moon and his was the sun who kept eating my moonlight. Then that hungry sun made him hungry (although he'd been eating almost non-stop since arriving). His parents had dropped him off with a lot of good food. They'd brought a roasted chicken which he loved, but only after asking if it was a real chicken or if that's just what we call it. Yes, I lied. "Oh, we just call it chicken." Sorry. I couldn't face the dead meat issue. Besides he loved it after that.
By then it was 9 pm and I made the mistake of saying we could play "animal hospital" in bed quietly for a while. His imagination is so fast and he loves role playing. Isn't four kind of young for that concept? For the next hour it was, "Now, you call me doctor, and say, My pet isn't feeling well." "Now you be the nurse that helps me. Say, Doctor, this pet needs an exray." At 10 I told him we had to go to sleep. But then we had to read 3 books, two of which we'd already read earlier. He still wasn't tired. I told him he could watch a video, but we'd have to turn off the lights. One amazing thing about him is that he is a master of staying awake until a video is over. This video gets stuck and needs help fast forwarding, so after he woke me up twice to fix it and I realized it was midnight, I told him we just had to close the dvd and wait to fix it in the morning.
All the time we were in bed, he was on one side with my pillow. I had to wait till he was sitting up and not paying attention, to switch pillows. As soon as the dvd went off, he climbed over me to switch to the side near the wall and stole my pillow in the process. At least he was holding still, so I knew he'd be asleep soon.
We didn't wake up until 9 am! The first thing he said was, "Turn off the lights; it's too bright!" Less than 5 minutes later, he was awake, alert, and back to role playing. He's so funny and fun.
It took me about two hours to get the house under control after he left. Later, I decided to watch the debates. I couldn't believe how long they went - like 4 hours? But I did mannage to stay awake for it. It kept saying it was broadcasting LIVE, but New Hampshire time is 3 hours ahead of us, so just how LIVE could it be? Plus they'd already played some of the comments on the evening news. I wish I'd counted how many times Hillary said, "I have 35 years experience with making change." How come no one asked her how old she was 35 yrs ago and point out that they too could make change being, in fact, older now than she was 35 years ago? And also point out that just because she says it over and over doesn't make it true. That's what G. Bush has been doing for eight years....
OK, all this to say: I didn't make it to Mass this AM. I ended up going to the 1pm Spanish Mass. There's a large migrant population here in Washington, as you could guess because of all the orchards and all the berry picking needed. So I decided to go to the Spanish Mass at the Woodland parish. The Spanish Mass is wonderful. It is such a spirit boost. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like church has become boring and/or hard to sit through. The music is most wonderful. The children are gorgeous and no one cares if they make noise. The priest, whose 1st language is English, speaks very slowly and clearly. I was able to pick up at least some of the sermon. I guess it helped that it was the Epiphany - El dia de los tres mago y Jesuchristo. But even with the responses written I had a rough time keeping up with the congregation. They seem to talk so mucho rapido. And we didn't have to sing "We Three Kings of Orient Are", which I bet was sung in every gringo church in the county today and I cannot sing without thinking about exploding cigars. I might go again next week. Amen. Adios.
How does one little person have so much energy!!!??? He was going full speed from about 5 pm till almost midnight. We tried to go to bed at 8 pm and we turned off the lights and got into bed. He made sure we both had flashlights because it's pretty dark in the country. Mine had a smaller beam, so it became the moon and his was the sun who kept eating my moonlight. Then that hungry sun made him hungry (although he'd been eating almost non-stop since arriving). His parents had dropped him off with a lot of good food. They'd brought a roasted chicken which he loved, but only after asking if it was a real chicken or if that's just what we call it. Yes, I lied. "Oh, we just call it chicken." Sorry. I couldn't face the dead meat issue. Besides he loved it after that.
By then it was 9 pm and I made the mistake of saying we could play "animal hospital" in bed quietly for a while. His imagination is so fast and he loves role playing. Isn't four kind of young for that concept? For the next hour it was, "Now, you call me doctor, and say, My pet isn't feeling well." "Now you be the nurse that helps me. Say, Doctor, this pet needs an exray." At 10 I told him we had to go to sleep. But then we had to read 3 books, two of which we'd already read earlier. He still wasn't tired. I told him he could watch a video, but we'd have to turn off the lights. One amazing thing about him is that he is a master of staying awake until a video is over. This video gets stuck and needs help fast forwarding, so after he woke me up twice to fix it and I realized it was midnight, I told him we just had to close the dvd and wait to fix it in the morning.
All the time we were in bed, he was on one side with my pillow. I had to wait till he was sitting up and not paying attention, to switch pillows. As soon as the dvd went off, he climbed over me to switch to the side near the wall and stole my pillow in the process. At least he was holding still, so I knew he'd be asleep soon.
We didn't wake up until 9 am! The first thing he said was, "Turn off the lights; it's too bright!" Less than 5 minutes later, he was awake, alert, and back to role playing. He's so funny and fun.
It took me about two hours to get the house under control after he left. Later, I decided to watch the debates. I couldn't believe how long they went - like 4 hours? But I did mannage to stay awake for it. It kept saying it was broadcasting LIVE, but New Hampshire time is 3 hours ahead of us, so just how LIVE could it be? Plus they'd already played some of the comments on the evening news. I wish I'd counted how many times Hillary said, "I have 35 years experience with making change." How come no one asked her how old she was 35 yrs ago and point out that they too could make change being, in fact, older now than she was 35 years ago? And also point out that just because she says it over and over doesn't make it true. That's what G. Bush has been doing for eight years....
OK, all this to say: I didn't make it to Mass this AM. I ended up going to the 1pm Spanish Mass. There's a large migrant population here in Washington, as you could guess because of all the orchards and all the berry picking needed. So I decided to go to the Spanish Mass at the Woodland parish. The Spanish Mass is wonderful. It is such a spirit boost. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like church has become boring and/or hard to sit through. The music is most wonderful. The children are gorgeous and no one cares if they make noise. The priest, whose 1st language is English, speaks very slowly and clearly. I was able to pick up at least some of the sermon. I guess it helped that it was the Epiphany - El dia de los tres mago y Jesuchristo. But even with the responses written I had a rough time keeping up with the congregation. They seem to talk so mucho rapido. And we didn't have to sing "We Three Kings of Orient Are", which I bet was sung in every gringo church in the county today and I cannot sing without thinking about exploding cigars. I might go again next week. Amen. Adios.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Weird Weather
I was never able to talk my kids into becoming meteorologists. It's not that I didn't try. I should have become one myself. But they're all so cute and photogenic that they would have looked fabulous on TV. They would have been the sweethearts of any town they worked in.
The weather has been so rainy the last few weeks that I'm finally getting tired of it. Portland's weather has never bothered me before. But except for the days it snowed, it's been raining like crazy. Every time I get on the highway it's a deluge! And last night I heard that another storm system is due this weekend. The rains from the new storm have already hit California and they're moving this way.
So imagine how amazing it felt this morning waking up to a few hours of no rain and actual sunshine! No tapping on the tin roof. Silence. It was 47 degrees, too. Blue and I got hot on our walk! Still one or two spots where the snow hadn't melted, but mostly green grass and wet mud. It was so beautiful that I kept finding excuses to go outside.
On the super chilly, rainy days the air was filled with the smell of fires burning in the neighbors' homes. It's a nice smell. Today smelled like spring. Very nice, too! Well, the storm is still coming this way. It's getting colder inside now and the wind is blowing the trees so hard that I thought a semi pulled up the drive! The sky looks ominously grey.
SIE is coming here after school to spend the night. Everything's ready for him...but does he bring his sled and skis, or his rain jacket and boots?
The weather has been so rainy the last few weeks that I'm finally getting tired of it. Portland's weather has never bothered me before. But except for the days it snowed, it's been raining like crazy. Every time I get on the highway it's a deluge! And last night I heard that another storm system is due this weekend. The rains from the new storm have already hit California and they're moving this way.
So imagine how amazing it felt this morning waking up to a few hours of no rain and actual sunshine! No tapping on the tin roof. Silence. It was 47 degrees, too. Blue and I got hot on our walk! Still one or two spots where the snow hadn't melted, but mostly green grass and wet mud. It was so beautiful that I kept finding excuses to go outside.
On the super chilly, rainy days the air was filled with the smell of fires burning in the neighbors' homes. It's a nice smell. Today smelled like spring. Very nice, too! Well, the storm is still coming this way. It's getting colder inside now and the wind is blowing the trees so hard that I thought a semi pulled up the drive! The sky looks ominously grey.
SIE is coming here after school to spend the night. Everything's ready for him...but does he bring his sled and skis, or his rain jacket and boots?
Four Eagles in One Day
Well, it could be one pair of eagles seen twice. No one I talked to seems to know how many pair of eagles live around here. I drove over to Ridgefield Refuge via my daughter's friends' property. They are the ones with the eagle nest on their land. Just as I got to their drive, a pair of eagles bubbled up from the trees playing, then cruised in formation overhead until splitting up. One went North, one flew South and then returned to the trees landing with it's huge talons spread. (I love my new binoculars!) About 20 minutes later I was driving through the Refuge and saw two eagles perched on a tree near one of the lakes. A bit later I passed a young eagle on a branch close to the road. I could see the other tree, now with only one eagle. The young eagle looked ragged as it was trying to grow in its white head feathers and soaked from the pouring rain. The other mature one was so impressive with white head and tail feathers. There was so much standing water in the Refuge, only a few wood ducks were swiming. The swans and other waterfowl were hunkered down in groups in the water with head under wings. One day I watched a young eagle swooping over the swans just to get a rise out of them. Today I think they wouldn't even have cared. There were about 1000 (for real) cackling geese huddled together in a field - all standing withtheir heads looking in the same direction, no umbrellas. And there was one huge Nutria in the grass near the road munching away on the grass totally oblivious to the rain or me.
"The Time Has Come," the Walrus Said.......
Yesterday was my parent's wedding anniversary. They have been dead now for many years, but I still think of this as a special day to remember them. I'm not sure what a "war bride" is, but their wedding would sort of fit I think. They met during WWII when my dad was stationed in Bossier City, Louisiana, my mom's home town. He was transferred to Officer Candidate School in Florida. When he was almost finished there, my mom traveled by herself with all the documents she'd need for their wedding. (She was a Catholic convert so she had to have proof of receiving the sacrements) She wore a brown and tan suit and a "diamond" necklace that I still have. Not real diamonds, but sparkly and pretty. Right away my dad was sent to California, so my mom was one of only a few women on the train with the troops. Except for a couple years during the Korean War, my mom lived away from her first family whom she really missed.
When we were little, my mom used to read us poems. Maybe they didn't have as many picture books way back then. I don't think I read poems to my kids, but it is something I remember about my mom. This is one of them. It's been stuck in my head for several days:
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes - and ships - and sealing-wax -
Of cabages - and kings -
And why the sea is boiling hot -
And whether pigs have wings."
I was dusting my bookshelves today (something one should do more often than once a year) and opened an old poetry book to this Lewis Carroll poem. Imagine my horror finding out that the poem is about a man and a walrus that trick some young oysters into going for a walk - then eating them!!! No wonder shildren of the '60s grew up wanting change. But I did laughed at the pig's having wings. That is probably the first I ever heard of winged pigs, Cincinnati's mascot
One poem I remember my mom reciting was Rudyard Kipling's IfI think she'd quote from it when we wanted something or disliked something. But she really liked that poem. I've kept a little ditty based on that poem which I cut out of St. B's church bulletin a long time ago.
If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can do all these things,
Then you are probably the family dog!
When we were little, my mom used to read us poems. Maybe they didn't have as many picture books way back then. I don't think I read poems to my kids, but it is something I remember about my mom. This is one of them. It's been stuck in my head for several days:
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes - and ships - and sealing-wax -
Of cabages - and kings -
And why the sea is boiling hot -
And whether pigs have wings."
I was dusting my bookshelves today (something one should do more often than once a year) and opened an old poetry book to this Lewis Carroll poem. Imagine my horror finding out that the poem is about a man and a walrus that trick some young oysters into going for a walk - then eating them!!! No wonder shildren of the '60s grew up wanting change. But I did laughed at the pig's having wings. That is probably the first I ever heard of winged pigs, Cincinnati's mascot
One poem I remember my mom reciting was Rudyard Kipling's IfI think she'd quote from it when we wanted something or disliked something. But she really liked that poem. I've kept a little ditty based on that poem which I cut out of St. B's church bulletin a long time ago.
If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can do all these things,
Then you are probably the family dog!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Two Thousand Eight
A new year filled with good health, world peace, and lots of laughter to ye!
Today has been a quiet beginning to a new year. I felt like sleeping instead of doing anything today. My alarm went off at 6; then at 7; finally got up around 8. Took the first cup of coffee out for a walk with Blue. It was 39 degrees, but SO windy it felt really, really cold. There's still snow on the ground. We haven't seen any deer since hunting season and I've been worried about them. But today we saw their tracks. I'm glad they're here. Also tracks from a really big racoon, I think. Cute little hands and feet with long toes went from the back birdfeeder half way down through the pasture. H-m-m. I'll have to check with Mr. Beachy. The tracks ended right about his house.
I made an attempt to write my Christmas cards out, but only finished one. I've been working on a couple paintings, but I'm not pleased with them. I thought I'd work on one of them a little more before pitching it, but I never got out the paints. I did start 3 more mouse houses! It's an obsession. I love thinking up the little tiny things a mouse might need in his house.
We did go somewhere new for new year's mass. Blue and I drove up to Kalama, Washington which is up the highway two towns. The parish I go to sometimes in Woodland has a church in Kalama, too. Same priest. Later mass. I'd been past there along the highway, but never into the town. It reminded me so much of Mount Adams in Cincinnati. The little church, St. Joseph's, is a miniature of Immaculata. It sits at the top of a hill, lots of steps winding up to the front door. The view from there was amazing. Just like Immaculata looks out over the Ohio, this little church looks out over the Columbia River at a point where you can see the river curving up into the mountains.
In my mind,Oregon looks like a rectangle and the Columbia River goes straight across the top of Oregon to the Pacific. But it really doesn't go straight across. At Portland, the river turns right (North) for maybe 50 miles, then turns left (West again) until it gets to the ocean. When I drive to the farm, I drive North to La Center, and really I'm driving parallel to the Columbia River, but that's easy to forget because at this point the highway is more inland. After La Center comes Woodland. There's still a port in Woodland and the Lewis River comes in there. After Woodland is Kalama. By the time you are past Woodland, the highway starts running along the Columbia River. The exit to Kalama is right on the Riverfront where large barges are coming in. It's all uphill from there. We drove around the town and it looks like every house has a view of the river and Oregon's hills, and some have incredible views of mountains rolling into more mountains and the river winding through. This section of the Columbia had really big boats going down river toward Portland which I don't get to see much because they dock before getting to the North East side of Portland where Sie lives. Kalama is such a sweet little old town. I could be an old lady there. Just sit in the window with my binoculars all day and night, and walk to church, too!
Today has been a quiet beginning to a new year. I felt like sleeping instead of doing anything today. My alarm went off at 6; then at 7; finally got up around 8. Took the first cup of coffee out for a walk with Blue. It was 39 degrees, but SO windy it felt really, really cold. There's still snow on the ground. We haven't seen any deer since hunting season and I've been worried about them. But today we saw their tracks. I'm glad they're here. Also tracks from a really big racoon, I think. Cute little hands and feet with long toes went from the back birdfeeder half way down through the pasture. H-m-m. I'll have to check with Mr. Beachy. The tracks ended right about his house.
I made an attempt to write my Christmas cards out, but only finished one. I've been working on a couple paintings, but I'm not pleased with them. I thought I'd work on one of them a little more before pitching it, but I never got out the paints. I did start 3 more mouse houses! It's an obsession. I love thinking up the little tiny things a mouse might need in his house.
We did go somewhere new for new year's mass. Blue and I drove up to Kalama, Washington which is up the highway two towns. The parish I go to sometimes in Woodland has a church in Kalama, too. Same priest. Later mass. I'd been past there along the highway, but never into the town. It reminded me so much of Mount Adams in Cincinnati. The little church, St. Joseph's, is a miniature of Immaculata. It sits at the top of a hill, lots of steps winding up to the front door. The view from there was amazing. Just like Immaculata looks out over the Ohio, this little church looks out over the Columbia River at a point where you can see the river curving up into the mountains.
In my mind,Oregon looks like a rectangle and the Columbia River goes straight across the top of Oregon to the Pacific. But it really doesn't go straight across. At Portland, the river turns right (North) for maybe 50 miles, then turns left (West again) until it gets to the ocean. When I drive to the farm, I drive North to La Center, and really I'm driving parallel to the Columbia River, but that's easy to forget because at this point the highway is more inland. After La Center comes Woodland. There's still a port in Woodland and the Lewis River comes in there. After Woodland is Kalama. By the time you are past Woodland, the highway starts running along the Columbia River. The exit to Kalama is right on the Riverfront where large barges are coming in. It's all uphill from there. We drove around the town and it looks like every house has a view of the river and Oregon's hills, and some have incredible views of mountains rolling into more mountains and the river winding through. This section of the Columbia had really big boats going down river toward Portland which I don't get to see much because they dock before getting to the North East side of Portland where Sie lives. Kalama is such a sweet little old town. I could be an old lady there. Just sit in the window with my binoculars all day and night, and walk to church, too!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Softness of the Christmas Season
Christmascame softly this year. I've been sick with a bad case of pink eye and finally had to give up on all the preparations before the big day.
When Christmas morning arrived, SIE came down to the basement where I'd spent the night, and together with kaleidoscope girl and Hapapapa we went up to see the most amazing sight. Santa really had eaten all his cookies, drunk his milk, and given the carrot to the reindeer.
It's the first time in as long as I can remember that I didn't get to Christmas Mass. My eyes felt really bad, though, and I think when your eyes or hearing are affected, the rest of your body feels bowed down and crummy.
Driving back to LaCenter on the 26th, the roads were wet and rain poured most of the way. There's one spot between LaCenter and the farm that is a curvy stretch of road. One side of the road goes up and the other side of the road drops down, and it's covered on both sides with sheltering trees. This section of road is like a tunnel.
The farms were green and the road clear when I went into this "tunnel". When I came out the other side, everything was covered in snow! You drive this section of road, concentrating on the curves and not really realizing that you're driving up an incline.
When they tell the weather during news casts they tell it by feet above sea level. So they'll say something like, "Rain in the valley; snow above 4000 ft." My farm, I'm told, is at 1000 ft. It must be La Center is lower!
I still felt sick, but Blue and I went for a walk. We went deep into the woods along the main path. There was only one set of footprints. They looked like they were from a big dog. I kept wondering if they could be the coyote we used to see. We haven't seen him since last New Year's Day. So maybe he's going to visit us again this New Years? The snow was wet and I heard on the reports that the rain would melt it all by morning.
Waking up today, we beheld a beautiful white morning. Putting my clothes on over my pajamas, we went out to see the world. Snow was falling all around us and kept falling all day. A couple branches snapped from the firs sounding like gun fire. Glad we weren't under them!
The snow on the greenhouses slipped down from the roofs sounding like mini avalanches.
With snow on the ground you can see deeper into the woods, but nothing was stirring. All the birds in the area were at our feeders. Blue tumbled in the snow certain she would find some critter under each snow-laden twig. Brownie and Molly ran across the field to play. Blue was so-o-o-o wet when we came in!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
In Which Miss Ingu Looks for Comments
Ah! It's a delight to read a "comment" and know you're not alone with your thoughts. I know Mr. B & Miss I have 4 faithful followers because they've left their comments on occassion. Thinking that there may be more faithful or even once-in-a-while readers that would like to add a comment, but don't know how...I will now tell you the easy way to do it. First, click on the tiny little word "comments" at the bottom of a blog. A comment page will appear on your screen. It might say: "This page has unsafe material, etc., etc., etc.," Don't worry - it's not unsafe. If this happens, just click the phrase that says, "Open it up anyway." So now you have the comment page and sometimes you will see the comments others have made. There is a box to the right of their comments where you can type your own. Anything you want...even just "hi" so I'll know you're there. Then go down to the spot that says, "Nickname" and put a name or initials in there. Next, copy the crazy, wiggly letters into the box beneath them. (This prevents a zillion computerized scam ads from appearing on the comment page) Last step, click on "Publish Comment"....and there ye be. It's not so hard. I would even say it's one of the easiest computer skills to master!!!
A Mouse House for Every Child!
It's always fun to find out what your kids remember about their growing up years. It's usally the awful stuff of how they were mistreated, abused, and neglected. But occassionally they remember something wonderful. One thing each of my girls remember, and indeed still have, are the "Mouse Houses" I made for them one year. These were little wooden house forms bought at a craft store and then painted and decorated with teeny furniture just right to house any little mouse. We hung them by their beds so that somewhere between stories and sleep they could make believe about the mice in those houses.Since moving out West, kaleidoscope has wanted me to make some more mouse houses. This Christmas, I finally got it together enough to complete 5 little houses. They are actually larger and more elaborate than the girl's had way long ago. Already all are spoken for: one to Celia, the most enchanting little girl I've ever known, who came to the Christmas Party and went home with it via The Great Chinese Gift Exchange. Another went to SIE, who was with me when we decided which gift to bring to the party. He got first dibs...of course! Another went to a little classmate of SIE's who attended the party, but didn't get the one in the gift pile! How could we not give her one! I feel like one of Santa's elves.
The Day Before the Day Before the Day Before Christmas
Blue and I just returned from a long, wet walk into the woods. This morning was spent wrapping and packing a box for Brother Bear and Sweet Sis. To reward us, I bundled up in two sweat shirts, clogs, and a rain jacket and grabbed my binoculars, ready to head off for the walk. Blue was so excited she almost had a melt-down anxiously skipping around waiting for me to finish dressing. We went down through the pasture and deeper into the woods than usual. This is my favorite time of year to walk there because the grass and blackberry brambles have all died away and you can see where you're putting your feet if you go off the main path. That is important to people who wear Birkenstocks most of the time. Also the deer and other small animals have cut trails through the woods that are just perfect for following. Yesterday we heard an owl. It's the first time I've heard one out here. Just once around noon, then several times toward evening. We went to the part of the woods where we saw an owl last spring - as if yesterday's owl would be sitting on the same branch! But no luck seeing anything other than the beautiful colors of trees against a cloudy sky, bowed down light orange field-grasses, and crystal drops of rain reflecting off fence lines.
It's the time of year to look for antler sheds. I tried really hard to find one last year and it seems almost impossible. There are so many fallen twigs and branches that look like antlers, that it is like finding a four-leaf clover in a field of clover. The thing is, I'm good at finding four-leaf clovers! I think all I have to do is find my first antler shed and then I'll be able to find more. They say the deer shed their antlers after mating and hunting season when their testosterone is lowering. I've been told that the little woodland creatures need calcium so much that the antlers are scarfed up and eaten right away. And I read a great gimick in Field & Stream which says to put cracked corn at the inside angle of a fence corner, so that when the deer bend down to nibble, their antlers will get caught in the fence and drop off. As we walked and looked, it dawned on me that the antlers are sort of like baby teeth. They get loose and could drop off anywhere. They tell you to look for places where the deer might jump over a fence or rub up against a tree. I suddenly realized why I haven't found any...I think there is a tooth deer. Like our tooth fairies, there is probably a tooth deer - most likely a tooth reindeer because they fly, of course - who swoops down and grabs each fallen antler quicker than a wink. I'm not sure what they would leave in return (like the quarters under our pillows), but I will give it some thought.
It was a peaceful way to spend the day before the day before the day before Christmas. Once I realized I couldn't get everything Christmasy done, I was able to relax and appreciate the Season. I even had a chance to meditate a bit on the Nativity and reading Matthew's Gospel. I also looked at a book, B is for Bethlehem, a children's book by Isabel Wilner, illustrated with wonderful scenes by Elisa Kleven. I got it at Powell's Book Store last weekend thinking I'd give it as a gift. But I think SIE is too old for it, and I'm definitely not, so I think I'll keep it for myself!
It's the time of year to look for antler sheds. I tried really hard to find one last year and it seems almost impossible. There are so many fallen twigs and branches that look like antlers, that it is like finding a four-leaf clover in a field of clover. The thing is, I'm good at finding four-leaf clovers! I think all I have to do is find my first antler shed and then I'll be able to find more. They say the deer shed their antlers after mating and hunting season when their testosterone is lowering. I've been told that the little woodland creatures need calcium so much that the antlers are scarfed up and eaten right away. And I read a great gimick in Field & Stream which says to put cracked corn at the inside angle of a fence corner, so that when the deer bend down to nibble, their antlers will get caught in the fence and drop off. As we walked and looked, it dawned on me that the antlers are sort of like baby teeth. They get loose and could drop off anywhere. They tell you to look for places where the deer might jump over a fence or rub up against a tree. I suddenly realized why I haven't found any...I think there is a tooth deer. Like our tooth fairies, there is probably a tooth deer - most likely a tooth reindeer because they fly, of course - who swoops down and grabs each fallen antler quicker than a wink. I'm not sure what they would leave in return (like the quarters under our pillows), but I will give it some thought.
It was a peaceful way to spend the day before the day before the day before Christmas. Once I realized I couldn't get everything Christmasy done, I was able to relax and appreciate the Season. I even had a chance to meditate a bit on the Nativity and reading Matthew's Gospel. I also looked at a book, B is for Bethlehem, a children's book by Isabel Wilner, illustrated with wonderful scenes by Elisa Kleven. I got it at Powell's Book Store last weekend thinking I'd give it as a gift. But I think SIE is too old for it, and I'm definitely not, so I think I'll keep it for myself!
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