a thought for your day

Two very true statements.

Complete with a bogus date.

Destined to confuse and give headaches -

for many generations to come.

(Did they even know about bananas in 1828?)

(Original quote credit goes to Groucho Marx.)

Of Gardens and an adorable Pest

I've been catching up on the garden today.

It seems just yesterday there was a snow drift out there -

and all of the sudden there are daisies.

Daisies that are literally taking over the garden.

But that really doesn't bother me yet.

I picked our first strawberries of the year too -

a whopping total of six.

But there will be more soon.

A lot more...

So, I was busily hilling the potatoes - and attempting to

get an area ready for one of the varieties of green beans that

we are trying this year.

If it weren't for this little guy -

I would have been a lot more productive.

Problem number one:

He can't rationalize how on earth I can dig in the garden

all day; and then turn around him and scold him

for doing the same thing.

What a hypocrite I am.

Secondly,

He had a bad case of 'go fetch' on the brain today.

He kept throwing his basketball at me.

I tried ignoring him for awhile -

but I can only handle a dog sitting right where I'm

attempting to plant green beans for so long.

I tried telling him to go away;

but something about the garden makes him deaf;

He just kept staring at me.

So I threw it over the fence -

and he immediately tore right through the lettuce patch,

stomping the potatoes, barely grazing a tender

pepper plant.

Last week we had five pepper plants.

We're down to four now.

I covered my eyes as obliterated lettuce leaves

rained from the sky.

Three seconds later:

he was back.

Spencer is not healthy for gardens.

(Freshly hilled potato plants...)

Somehow the green beans managed to get planted;

and I decided to quit, before Spencer turned everything

into coleslaw.

Between him and the cats -

it's a wonder anything even bothers coming up around here.

We've got some hardy vegetables,

and thankfully,

we had a surplus of lettuce this year.

But as far as pepper plants go -

it looks like we'll be buying another one.

May, and things that buzz

Due to some circumstances of my crazy childhood...

I'm an advocate for sufficient recovery time between

"new animal projects."

But, the cows are old news by now -

we've had cows before.

So as of yesterday,

we embarked on a summer journey we haven't tried yet.

And that says a lot.

Because we've tried almost everything.

(Except for pigs, and llamas,

and wild ostriches...)

I had to take quite a hike to the back of our twenty acre

pasture in order to get a look at them.

On the way I spotted this adorable little guy.

He saw me coming,

So,

walnut in mouth -

he jumped out on a cut off limb,

hugged it,

and closed his eyes.

I seriously think he believed he was invisible.

The cut off limb thing was pretty ingenious,

and the fact that he closed his eyes was way too cute.

After thirty seconds he spit the nut out -

and went for higher ground.

And there they are.

Several thousand - all in one little

white box.

We're hosting a honey bee colony this summer...

If things go well, we may end up with more.

It's exciting for us - not having had bees before -

but I'm still grateful they're so far from the house.

I took these pictures from about thirty feet away -

and that was too close for me...

More and more of them kept coming out on the shelf -

and I was just sure that the one running back and forth

amongst them was giving each bee the coordinates of

my exact location.

They can do that you know.

The more I thought about it,

the creepier it became...

I didn't stay long.

On the way back,

There were a couple dozen male red-wing blackbirds that

weren't happy with me.

A sure sign that they had families nearby.

It's been awhile since I've had the patience to find

a red-wing's nest;

but I happened to spot this one.

Swaying in the branches of a thistle plant -

intertwined with the blooming alfalfa.

What a charming spot for a little bird

family to grow-up.

I should take this hike more often.

Moo Arrivals

Here's the first glance I got of our latest project.

We're back in the cow business.

We haven't had cows around here since the days of

Big Mac and Big Buford.

They were a pair of Holstein steers,

but they got really big and ornery,

and, well,

with names like Big Mac and Big Buford-

Let us just say they fulfilled their destiny...

But, as of this afternoon -

the cows are back.

This time we have three.

Two more young steers - and a little heifer.

The heifer's not really ours,

we're just doing the farmer a favor by

"calf sitting" her for a little while.

They're not named yet.

I'll get back with you on that...

Meanwhile -

Sheep. (The whole flock in one shot!)

They were pretty stunned by the cows' arrival.

Whenever we want to know where the cows are -

we just have to look where the sheep are looking;

they're keeping a sharp eye on those things...

(Imagine having thirty pairs of sheep eyes on you;

at all times...)

Haggai isn't real thrilled about the situation either...

He would not stop barking at them.

It's been awhile since he's seen a critter bigger than he is.

As for the cows;

they didn't seem bothered by these things.

They're pretty focused on the pasture at the moment.

a parrot attack...that ended well

We were in the midst of a peaceful lunch with friends;

when suddenly I heard the flutter of wings;

parrot wings.

"The bird's loose!"

Just as I got my warning out -

the bird herself appeared;

she made a graceful high speed pass over the lunch table;

-landing gear down-

and began a rapid approach for either the window

or my head.

(Her favorite landing spot of all time...)

Not liking either option -

I offered her my hand.

And she took it.

It was such an odd moment for me -

I don't believe I've held the bird since...

Well - Years.

Joe grabbed the camera and captured the moment.

Of course she started scooting down my arm

(as you can see in the photo)

in an attempt to get Dad to "rescue" her,

but she never bit me...

You wouldn't think a little parrot bite would hurt.

You'd be surprised.

I know that the bird actually sort of likes me;

she knows she does too.

She will almost always talk for me,

(she can be pretty stubborn about talking sometimes)

and over the seven years we've had her,

we've become pretty good friends.

-As long as I don't touch her cage.-

She is known to be nicer if she's away from her

house and other belongings...

She's very possessive about her stuff.

Of course Dad is still her favorite person;

and always will be.

So we awarded her for escaping

with a bite of blueberry muffin...

and then she was escorted back to her house.

We're back to double-checking that all of her doors are secured.

She has an uncanny knack for opening them.

And I have a feeling that those lovely turquoise flight feathers

are going to be getting another trim here shortly...

Details

The weekend is already upon us;

and I only have time to share a few snapshots.

Just a few artistic moments that Spring has brought.

The blessing of details.

The sweetness of feline femininity.

Thirteen years old, and her posture is as perfect as ever.

The heavenly fragrance of fresh lilacs.

Wafting in the east windows on a sunny afternoon.

Huck and Buster.

A decade of dog friendship.

Tea with Honey and Cream.

With a nod to my English ancestors.

A smiley dog. Who never stops moving.

The world's greatest challenge in photography. Captured.

A piece of history.

More schoolhouse woodwork, and the beauty of time.

A Favorite cat.

Who has quite the knack for finding masculine backgrounds.

And posing.

Take a moment to thank the Lord for details.

He puts detail into everything He creates;

even the little things that last just a moment.

I'm so thankful for the details.

The Forgotten Schoolhouse

I'm not a poet.

But I took a composition class with some fellow homeschoolers at the age of fifteen - and, well - writing a poem suddenly became mandatory. We were encouraged to use as many metaphors and instances of personification as possible... My source of inspiration became the little one hundred year old schoolhouse at the end of our road, the country schoolhouses all over America. The poem was written, graded, forgotten. A few weeks ago, we took some friends down to visit the old place, and get some photos. It made me remember my poem.

Down the road stands a crumbling

brick schoolhouse,

without many days left to spend.

Nothing to keep it company,

but the melancholy sighing of the wind.

The quaint little building has fallen

into hopeless disrepair -

Creaking, and rattling

with every breath of air.

Many years have passed

since all it's children were laid to rest;

some sooner, some later,

but where I can only guess.

Some on the battlefields of France,

some just a mile away.

It's beyond one's imagination

where so many adventurers could stray.

They were born into a generation

when freedom and tyranny would duel,

But the will to protect liberty

was diligently taught in that school.

With only an eighth grade education,

they grew to be patriots and inventors,

Some paid the ultimate price,

others lived to be wizened mentors.

(David Thatcher, one of the last surviving "Doolittle Raiders" - I took this photo Saturday.)

Their legacies live on,

and may for a few years more,

but what has become of the values

they fought so valiantly for?

Their schoolhouse stands forgotten;

a relic of the past,

And the country that has forgotten it,

is crumbling just as fast.