Tigers

Beauty

My daughter loves tigers. Specifically she loves white tigers, but since our zoo doesn't have any she manages to content herself with the regular orange variety. I had promised her a few weeks ago that we would go to the zoo again before school starts and make it to the keeper talk.  During the keeper talk, the tiger keeper talks about tigers and feeds them meatballs through a heavy duty chain link fence.  We made it in time, but the speaker was broken, so we just watched the tigers take meatballs...and I took pictures.

Look at how powerful his muscles are!

A discussion over who goes first.

She waits patiently for him to finish

Read more!

I miss her...

My mom and me May 2009

Read more!

Photos from our zoo trip

Read more!

Fireflies, photos and probable bad impressions

Last evening after getting the kids to bed I wandered outside because of the sky.

I stood and breathed and let my mind settle after a busy day. As the sun set further, the toads began to sing, then the jug-a-rum calls of the bullfrogs from the back ponds showed up. A high pitched squeaking with scrambling sounds came from the vicinity of the barn as the bats made ready for their nighttime exodus.
I stood and watched as the bats dropped out...they fall and swoop back up. Twenty one bats exited last night.


Read more!

Kid pictures

Gwen and Burrito

And for comparison- two pictures of all three kids. The top one is from their first day of school this school year and then one I took this morning of their last day. (almost last day, it is actually tomorrow)

Read more!

And now for something completely cute....

Somehow my family convinced me to keep Burrito. It is absolutely awful having to keep this snuggly, always purring, feisty, TV watching, toilet falling into, feet attacking kitten. Sheer torture I tell you.

The resident housecats are not too thrilled about this new addition. The dogs have had different reactions. Leia wants to play...or eat him (not sure which)
Burrito wants nothing to do with her and stands his ground.
I think in this one he is threatening to claw her face off if she comes any closer.

With Daisy he is completely different.  They paw at each other, and Daisy lets him chew on her ears.  I took this photo of them playing together. After I took this Burrito began licking Daisy's face. I guess her doggie hygiene was not good enough for this kitten.

I also think Daisy wins "Most Patient Dog of the Year" award.
Read more!

Demeter and Persephone

So in this pleasant vale we stand again,
The field of Enna, now once more ablaze
With flowers that brighten as thy footstep falls,
All flowers -- but for one black blur of earth
Left by that closing chasm, thro' which the car
Of dark Aidoneus rising rapt thee hence.
And here, my child, tho' folded in thine arms,
I feel the deathless heart of motherhood
Within me shudder, lest the naked glebe
Should yawn once more into the gulf, and thence
The shrilly whinnyings of the team of Hell,
Ascending, pierce the glad and songful air,
And all at once their arch'd necks, midnight-maned,
Jet upward thro' the mid-day blossom. No!
For, see, thy foot has touch'd it; all the space
Of blank earth-baldness clothes itself afresh,
And breaks into the crocus-purple hour
That saw thee vanish.
(From Demeter and Persephone by Tennyson)

Butterfly on the lilacs

Apple Blossoms

My army of tick eaters

Read more!

A Sandwich that Dreams are made of....

I mean that literally.
During Holy Week I dreamed about a big platter of sandwiches, on a table, in the front of our Church near the icon of John the Baptist

horrible photo quality from my cell- but to the right of the arch is the icon of Christ, and next to him is john the baptist. That is where the sandwiches were. in case you wanted a visual

The sandwiches consisted of Swiss Chard and goat cheese on rosemary focaccia bread.
I REALLY wanted one when I woke up, but being Holy Week I was still fasting from dairy. So, all week thoughts of these sandwiches impeded my thoughts.

It is now Bright Week and there is no more fasting, and I have been eating lots of goat cheese. Today I had time to bake focaccia bread. I noticed that I was running out of white flour, so I had to make it half white and half whole wheat. I used the Rosemary Focaccia  recipe from Real Mom Kitchen.
It turned out pretty well. I was liberal with pepper, and will use more rosemary next time...

The cat really wanted to eat it, and was not pleased with me when I told her to go away.

While the bread cooled off, I sauteed rainbow (because it is pretty!) swiss chard in olive oil and minced garlic..and added a bit of pepper (because I really like pepper!). I cut off a wedge of the focaccia and spread both sides with goat cheese, and added the hot swiss chard on top. (mmmm...melty)

I am happy to say that it lived up to the precedent my dream had set for how delicious it should be.
Read more!

Mornings

I am not a morning person.
Some mornings getting out of bed feels like a major accomplishment, most likely because I stayed up too late the night before, unable to say goodbye to the day.
As I struggle to wake up and form coherent thoughts my children are miles ahead of me, especially my daughter. She wakes up and before her eyes are fully open the words begin to pour out of her mouth with barely a breath in between, so much she has to tell me after her 10 hours of being unable to do so.  I try to patiently listen and respond.

After some thought I realized that I did not want her mornings to consist of a half awake, desperate for coffee mother barely able to respond to her questioning and insights. 
I came up with a solution to what I was beginning to see as a problem.
The solution is I wake up at 5am so I have 2 hours to drink a lot of coffee, clear my head, do morning prayers, and read. This way, when everyone wakes up I am able to greet them with a smile.  We have precious little time together on school mornings, and it is important to me that the time together be good time.

It is not easy for me to get up at 5. Some mornings I hit the snooze button on my phone to get a few extra minutes, and then I wake up with my phone cradled in my arms like my daughter holds her stuffed animals in her sleep.
I make my way downstairs, hit the on button for the coffee maker, and take the dog out into the morning that is still night.
After a time I hear the birds outside begin their morning song, and Fairy the Rooster starts his daily crowing. Roosters do not always crow with the rising sun, they start when the world is dark.  I drink coffee, sit on the couch and am kept company by my little dog and orange cat.

 

Read more!

Death by Cuteness

Burrito (orange baby) and Chalupa (cream baby) at 3 Weeks

Read more!

The Little Things...

Maintaining my focus on the little things and finding new discoveries is how I maintain an inner equilibrium. At times life may be difficult and confusing to navigate and things out of my control threaten to overwhelm me, but as long as I keep my focus on the small details I come through ok.

When I feel my focus slipping a favorite way to bring myself back is by limiting my vision to what I see through my camera lens. While shooting pictures a sense of calm overtakes me and my breathing slows- my focus becomes solely that of my subject. In between shots while searching for the next thing my entire awareness becomes that of how the light falls and how colors interact.  It is my most practiced form of meditation.  Capturing Beauty becomes my main goal at that moment.  By limiting myself in this way and focusing on (and seeking out) what is beautiful I am able to let go of any negative thoughts or worries that threaten to swallow me whole.


Sometimes what I find beautiful is simplicity...a raccoon print in the mud- it is the stepped on stick- the contrast of the leaf and the mud with the sheen and texture is what captivates me..

The Moon in its fullness and the pull it has on the Earth, oceans and people

My sons walking away and the contrast of their clothing in the colorless landscape

How the wood on my deck echoes the colors and lines of the Chickadee

The startling red of a Cardinal in a landscape of browns, deep greens and greys

Read more!

It's a Baby Boom Around Here

Last Sunday we added six chicks.  I had only planned to buy three more, but the feed store had a minimum purchase of six.  Should they all survive into adulthood our flock will be  at 11 chickens.  This year I am sure we will have plenty of eggs to share.  I am still uncertain about having that many chickens, it seems like a lot, so I may sell off a couple- or give them away. 
Here are the chicks in their fluffy cuteness last week. Already they are getting feathers in and starting to look ugly- but here they were still cute

Here is a curious blurry chick.

After we got home from the store we discovered that the stray cat we took in was in labor.  So, the kids and I sat with her and watched her birth two kittens.
(sorry for the bad photo quality...I will be taking better ones this coming week)

After the babies are weaned and go off to their new homes the mama cat will be spayed and will go to her new home with my mother in law.
Read more!

Turkeys, Coyotes, Cat

Turkey in the back field

Coyote Trail

Mama Cat

Read more!

Dog....the Lunatic Maker

I hear from friends with small children that they are going batty because the weather is cold and their kids are cooped up in the house without a good outlet to get rid of energy.
Im out of that stage of life, with my kids.
However, for reasons unknown to me, that space could not remain empty, and has been suitably filled by two dogs named Leia and Daisy.
Leia, being a cattle dog has some serious exercise requirements, and Daisy who is an American Eskimo/Chihuahua mix of a whopping 4 months old has just as much energy with the added bonus of the need to bark.
Together they work to drive me to the asylum.
Leia is the size of several Daisys and is bossy. When Daisy is bad, Leia grabs her by her head and drags her across the floor. Daisy yelps, I yell at Leia to drop her.
Every morning they go ballistic and run around the house chasing each other, while Daisy barks incessantly. This is not good before coffee.
 It is very very very very very very bad before coffee.
Heck, it is bad AFTER coffee.
This evening I was lazy, and let Daisy out without her leash, normally she goes a few feet from the porch, does her business and runs back.
Not today.
Since she is cooped up and crazy and has rocket fuel in her she ran across the yard and went to the chicken coop and started eating chicken poop.
She was then put into time out for an hour in her crate to confine her grossness.
Later, while putting the kids to bed, they both ganged up on Jack the Cat which created much barking and jumping and barking and knocking things over, and yelling (from me).
When they noticed I was yelling "Out" they dutifully left, only to go try to eat out of the cat box.
After that, Daisy realized the toilet held water and heaved her little self up to drink out of it. This led to more yelling on my part, this time "Get out of the toilet!!" My oldest son was in the other bathroom brushing his teeth, and the poor kid thought I was yelling at him. 
Thankfully, this weekend should warm to 40 degrees, and maybe, possibly that sheet of ice that is my yard will melt.  Then, should that miracle arrive, I am sticking them outside in the fenced area to run and bark their little hearts out.
Perhaps then they will return to being sane dogs, and  I will not be a yelling crazy woman.
Which would be awesome, because I am not a yeller- it hurts my throat and gives me a headache...but these dogs.....

Yes, even this cute, relaxed looking monster.....

Read more!

A Barn Swallow and Provision

 Barn Swallows are my favorite type of bird...

Resident barn swallow flying from our barn

and in a small boutique during late summer of 2008, I found a plate that had a barn swallow with clouds as it's design.  My husband suggested I buy it, but when I looked at the price it was $200- for a melamine plate with a decoupage design on it- by John Derian.
There was NO way I could bring myself to spend that much on a plate, so with a longing backward glance I walked away.

A couple months later my mom called me and told me she had been diagnosed with Leukemia. I have some wonderful friends, and upon hearing the news they mobilized quickly and told me they were taking me out to dinner for a fun night out, I agreed knowing it would be helpful to have a nice distraction while processing this new reality.

The night of our dinner I was early, so I decided to wander around Target to waste time. I walked around aimlessly,  until I turned a corner, and saw that Target was carrying a collection of John Derian items.  I ran over, and under a stack of plates was my plate, slightly altered, but the same swallow and close enough to the original design.  It was priced at $20 so I bought it.

It now holds a focal point of honor on my mantle and serves as a small  reminder that things will usually work out.
Read more!

Adventures in Chicken Keeping

Last March we went to the feed store and on a whim we bought  7 chicks.

This one was named Butterscotch

Since we did this impulsively, and brought them home in a little box, I had to be inventive in making a brooder for them.  I had an old dog crate, so I put bedding in it, surrounded the sides with cardboard because they could fit through the openings, and rigged up a heat lamp.
Leia the Cattle Dog mix took her job as chick protector very seriously. She also liked to herd the chicks in the crate by running around it till she was satisfied they were in their proper places. The chicks did not like this.

Leia the chick guard dog

 They grew and were moved outside to a coop. One day one of the chicks crowed at me and I realized I had accidentally gotten a rooster, we called him Bob.

Bob

Unfortunately, Bob turned out to be mean and attacked my daughter. So I rehomed him. After Bob left our very flashy chicken named Fairy started to crow...Fairy was then named Dread Rooster Fairy.

Dread Rooster Fairy strikes a pose

My chickens free range during the day and in the evening they go back into their coop. So far, even though we have coyotes, raccoons and hawks we haven't lost anyone during the day.  Christmas Eve, however, there was a chicken massacre by what I assume to be a raccoon due to my red hen's head being pulled off.  My husband came home from somewhere, and asked me why the chickens were not in their coop and were huddled around our backdoor.  I went out to check, and noticed feathers on top of the coop, and lots of blood. I opened the door to the nesting boxes and found the body of the red hen.

The door was not shutting securely, there was a large gap, and I was lazy - so it wasn't fixed, and the chickens liked to sleep right by this gap, which was big enough for a paw to reach into.
I disposed of her body and shooed the rest of the chickens back in.  After that I went into the house and took a bath.  Upon getting out of the tub, I heard a horrible commotion coming from outside. I threw on a robe, ran downstairs, shoved my feet into my boots and went outside.  There were chickens squawking- running everywhere, and ghastly growly noises coming from the coop.  I thought I had latched the main door earlier, but I hadn't and the beastly chicken killer had opened it and was back.

Running around at night, in the snow,naked aside from my robe and boots and chasing chickens was never on my list of things to accomplish in this lifetime,but I suppose I could add it and check it off. (By the way,chickens are very fast).  After several minutes I found and caught three chickens and stuffed them in the spare coop.  The next day two other appeared-one with a stump for her middle toe.

Anyone interested in keeping chickens, can find wonderful information at Backyard Chickens.
Read more!