Spring Zooms

Oh, and I should have been saying: The last three photos are from my mother's garden.

And a Flowering Quince

Sounds about right

Your Taste in Music:

80's Rock: High Influence Country: Medium Influence 80's Pop: Low Influence 90's Hip Hop: Low Influence 90's Pop: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

Found via Julie.

Flowering Almond

Oh man, it's impossible to choose. Flowering Almond, violets, lilacs, lily-of-the-valley, yikes! What is your favorite spring flower?

Unconscious Mutterings

I have the nieces again for the weekend, but two of them are still sleeping, and one is wrapping birthday presents, so I'll mutter!

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Tumor :: Growth
2. Bunch :: of grapes
3. Gratitude :: Thankfulness
4. Feel alive :: Once I hit west of M-100
5. Connect :: Join
6. Temptation :: Resist
7. Brighten :: Lighten, whiten
8. Jewelry :: Ring
9. Tough :: Rough
10. Harmless :: Tame

Miracle

You remember my aunt N, who was close to death back in March? Her stomach had become strangulated, part of it caught up in her chest cavity. She wasn't getting enough blood flow, and the original prognosis was that surgery to correct it would kill her. So all her nephews and nieces (she has no children) made their way to the hospital to say what we thought were our good-byes. She was at peace with the decision, and gave everyone little happy tidbits to remember.

Well, another surgeon was called in. He thought he could do a simpler surgery. Aunt N. had the surgery done two weeks before Easter. On Good Friday, her brother, Uncle H., checked her out. She wasn't through rehabilitation yet, but he thought his rehab plan would work better.

Yesterday I was out in the yard, burning branches, and a car beeped and pulled into the driveway. Out one door popped Uncle H. Another door opened, and it was his wife, AuntM. And a third door opened, and there was Aunt N, walking under her own power. Wow!

Lilacs

The lilacs are early this year.

The Farm - 1941

From the May 2004 archives

Take the What Fruit Are You? test by Ellen!

Looking at Old Archives From Other Side

Finding this from May 2005. It had been created using instructions from Mandarin Design. meg passed on in June of 2006. Time remembered.

REMEMBERThem

And time
remembered is
grief forgotten.

It Wouldn't Be Spring

. . . without me posting this. Thanks for putting up with me!

For winter's rains and ruins are over
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins
- Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Close Cousin?

Here's the honeysuckle, which looks a lot like the pear blossom, I think. However, the scent of honeysuckle is out of this world! (Unless you're allergic.)

Pear Blossoms

Happy May! This is the grandest appearing month in Michigan . . . as long as we get some sunshine! *grin*

Full Moon Coming

Once again, Bryn (thank you so much!) gives us the full moon information.

Full Flower Moon - May In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.

What do they call the full moon in your part of the world?

Mother knows best

The little colt (is that what they are called?) was standing away from its mom when I pulled up. He wasted no time moving closer to his protection, then gave me the look.

Good-bye Grandma D.

Family birthday parties have found us meeting a lot of the other-sides of the families. We go to my baby brother Boo's childrens' parties, and meet his wife Ruby's sisters and mother and grandmother. Grandma D. was a hoot. We saw her most recently on April 14th. Boo always escorted her to her class reunions, and she had it all planned out. She had a new purple outfit, and one of her daughters had helped her find just the right jewelry to go with it. She had talked to her good friend who also went to the reunions, and had told her to save her a place. The reason for having to save places: Grandma D planned to be fashionably late, so she could make an entrance. She regaled us with how she would rule the festivities.

The next Monday was a dance recital that two of Boo's girls were in. Grandma D had been expected, but was a no-show. That was unusual. One of Ruby's sisters also didn't show, and we found out later why. She had gone to Grandma D's to pick her up. There was no answer to her knock, and she couldn't gain entrance to the building. She called her husband and he broke down the door. Grandma D was there, but she had had a massive stroke. She lingered for awhile, but last Wednesday she passed on.

Today we went to the visitation. Hard to keep a dry eye when she was laid out in, yes, the purple outfit.

Simple, Part the Second

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Order :: Chaos
2. Mortician :: Funeral Home
3. Determine :: Find Out
4. Ignore :: Snub
5. Guy :: Gal
6. Train :: Montana
7. Garlic :: Ward off a cold
8. Wacky :: Goofy
9. Parent :: Mom and Dad
10. Burning :: Fire

Global Warming

Diane has proof of global warming here.

Sick

One of the bad things about living alone is that when you get sick, you are really alone. No one to hold your head or your hand, no one to yell at you, no one to tuck you back into bed. Alone. *sigh*

Woke up in the middle of the night with a bad case of the stomach upsets. Don't know if it was something I ate, overeating, or a bug, but man, I was sick! The cats seemed to sense something was wrong. Snuzzles likes to bite my nose to wake me up, but he would come close, I'd say "i'm sick" and he'd leave me alone. Whew.

Feeling better this morning, but everything is kind of achy, and the only food that sounds good is stale crackers. I have a load of dirt coming this morning for the flower gardens, but I bet I won't be doing too much shoveling today. (I know, I know, it's weird to bring in dirt when you live on a farm, but this is screened top-soil to go in the flower beds. I have three other flower beds besides the new one where the wall is.)

And, the sun is finally shining again, and when I opened my front window there were three deer grazing out in the field across the road. So life is good. It would be better shared, I think, but we do the best we can with what we've got.

Michigan's State Bird

Some say our state bird should be the Kirkland Warbler, but the robin is our traditional state bird.

Development???

Susan has a good post about preservation in her town, and the problems that build up as property gets into developers hands. I so hear this discussion. I've followed the provenance of a couple of farms in this county pretty closely. I live in a house that has only family historic value, but it is approaching a hundred-years-old, and is situated on 160 acres that is still used for agricultural purposes. It is the house my Grandma Bea grew up in, and as she was an only, and my Mom is an only, it has stayed intact through the years. However, the bulldozers are working overtime four miles down the road, as the road is widened and given turn lanes. Mom's half-mile stretches of just farm are rare: most frontages have been transformed into homes. I'm just grateful for the time I do have here. The uncertainty of the future makes now sweeter.

Now Grandma Bea's husband, Chris, also grew up on a farm, over in the next township (closer to Lansing). He was the youngest of six. His father bought him eighteen acres when he married Grandma. The farm he grew up on passed to his oldest brother, who helped take care of the parents. Uncle Wills and Aunt Tommee had a dairy farm. Development hit their township a lot earlier. Uncle Wills passed in the early 60's, and in the early 70's Aunt Tommee sold the land to mall developers, with the proviso that part of the acreage would be a township park. There is nothing left of the original farm.

Development. Progress. Or is it?

Great-Grandma's Jonquils

The jonquils are outside the north kitchen window. I can see them there in the morning as I make my breakfast, and in the evening as I putter in the kitchen. I like to think of Great-Grandma looking out at them, and then looking down the road to the next farm, where my Grandma (her daughter) lived. I like to think of her peeking to see if she can see little Barbry (my mother) playing in the yard, or walking down the lane to meet the team coming back from the fields.

I'm glad the jonquils bloom. But I forgot to smell them!!!!

Happy Birthday to You

Julie has a birthday. She's a young thang!

Nerdy Me

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd   Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Drama Nerd
Musician
Science/Math Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Simple

Building a Wall

Mom and I were sitting on the back porch last spring. The view is the yards, the barns, and a gray wall on the barn bridge. Mom said, "That gray wall needs dressing up somehow."

"Yep," I replied. So I thought. And I put a couple of planter boxes atop the wall with sunflower seeds. Looked kind of dorky, but it was something to do, and added some greenery to the wall. Well, it added greenery until some thing (deer or woodchuck or maybe both) ate the sunflowers.



As I thought some more, I thought it would be cool to have a flower bed by that old gray wall. I wanted it to be a defined bed, though, because we have a lawnmower guy and I didn't want it to be hard to mow around. I was telling my friend Carol this one day, and she said, "Oh, I know how to make the retaining walls, I'll help you!"

Wow. I have such good friends, both on the internet and off. This weekend Carol met me with her 1/2-ton pick-up to pick up the blocks for the retaining wall. She drove them out to the farm, and then patiently showed me how to set the first row of blocks so that the wall would be level in all directions. (She actually set most of the bricks.) What a friend.




Now I just have to figure out what to plant that the deer and woodchucks won't eat.

Interview Meme

Saw this at Julie's, and thought it was a good idea. (However, I did warn her I might lie.) So here goes....


1. Why did you move to the country?
*smile* Because I wanted to live in Paradise!
I had lived in apartments for the last thirty-some years. My mom owns a house in the country that was vacant. I thought, why don't I rent that? It's one of my favorite places on earch. I've been here for eleven months now. It just keeps getting better and better.

2. What is the best and worst thing about country life? There are two best things: the wonderful sounds and sights of nature all around, and the fact that a lot of people love the country, so I get a lot of company. The worst thing about country life? The cellar!!!!

3. Share a vivid memory from your childhood - whether it's good, bad, funny, sad, etc is up to you. Visiting Yellowstone National Park, and watching the Tetons in the rearview mirror for 100 miles.

4. If you could go back in time, what's one thing you would change and why? You can't change things when you go back in time, or

you'll make even worse problems!

5. Who is your favourite entertainer and why?
Well, after all these years it would still be Kevin Costner. His early work fascinated me, and Field of Dreams is my favorite movie. Now his work is more spotty, but there's something comforting about his screen presence. Only, I wish he wouldn't keep dying in his movies!!!!

DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Unconscious Mutterings

Here we are at 4:44 in the morning, so let's mutter!

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Found :: Lost
2. Male :: Female
3. Spoken :: Oral
4. Life :: is a bowl of cherries
5. Tonight :: From the Musical West Side Story
6. Fingernail :: Mine are all broken. I've been doing hard manual labor
7. True :: False
8. Give up :: Quit
9. Shining :: Moment
10. Everywhere :: nowhere

She's Got Deer!

Wow! I am jealous. Diane puts out corn for deer in her backyard, and look at them come. Wow!

Once Again, My Flickr Favorites

There are just so many styles and colours and fun things happening on flickr. Here is a sampling of what I have seen in the last month. Click through for the links to the individual photographers.

Look Both Ways

The deer are getting closer!! This is out the kitchen window, so it had a lot of screen and dusk to get through, but it's proof that the deer are getting closer. And isn't it nice, she checks both ways before crossing the street?

Virginia Tech

Our hearts are saddened and our minds horrified by the events at Virginia Tech. I have checked flickr, keyword Virginia Tech and recent, to find non-news words of the situation.

Gone

I've been watching this old abandoned house about six miles west of me as it deteriorated. Finally someone decided enough was enough. A controlled burn reduced the house and outbuildings to scrap and ashes.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Freeze :: 32 degrees F. We're below it an awful lot these days.
2. Naturally :: Alone again,
3. Painting :: Mona Lisa, Vermeer
4. Merits :: Earns
5. Ironic :: rhymes with Iconic.
6. Survival :: of the fittest
7. Cow :: Cash, Moo, Milk
8. Anchor :: Boat
9. Sisters :: are the best!
10. 70 :: Will I live to be?

Julie's Vacation

We get to go on vacation with our good friend Julie, who lives in Australia! Wonderful pictures of oceans and lighthouses and and and . . . dolphins! And it is autumn (see I can use that as well as fall, Julie) in Oz.

Wild Life

One of the benefits of living in the country is all the wildlife. A few nights ago, I looked south out of the kitchen window and saw a stream of deer heading up to the road. There were ten in all. They gathered at the road, then crossed it single-file. I wondered if one of them was the safety, saying cross now, kiddos. (Let's see, that's anthropomorphism, isn't it?)

This morning I looked out the same window, and darned if there wasn't a flock of turkeys coming single file down the same area. Twenty of them. A couple of them were puffed up, showing their tail feathers. I grabbed some jeans (I was in PJs) and hurriedly got dressed, raced out the door with my camera, and . . . they were gone! Sheesh. Not a peep out of them. How do 20 turkeys move so fast???

Oh. I bet you thought the title was about my wild life, right? **chuckle**

Ruins

We have ruins in Lansing. This historic warehouse burned a few months ago. The fire department is still trying to determine how the fire started, so it stands as is near downtown. A small set of pictures of the building is here.

Blog Trail

You know how it is. You visit someone on your bloglist. You click on someone in their bloglist. A whole world opens up.

Boomer Chronicles to
Amish America to
Martyrs Mirror and Bill Coleman's Amish Photography (other-worldly and wow)

Spring

Isn't quite here yet. We had a week of 25 degree F weather. We had two inches of snow, followed by rain, yesterday. Mush. The daffodils and tulips and jonquils were all knocked down by the cold weather, but are struggling back to their feet.

Cleaning windows: I'm usually a windex kind of person, but I know folks have recipes they swear by for sparkling windows. Anyone care to share?

WD-40. Don't stay home without it. 2000 uses here.

Gail has returned from vacation. One of the great things of blogging is that you get to see vacation pictures from places near and far. These are awesome, Gail!

Now back to Monday Monday

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We shirley did. There were 24 of us at my mother's house. Now, her house is rather tiny, but somehow it can hold an awesome number of people.

The star of the show was the newest member of the clan. It has been thirteen years since the tribe has had a new little one to dote on. Caleb is a sunny happy interactive baby, and he made caused many smiles.

Next Easter there will be two little ones. Caleb's Mom's sister is expecting now. Isn't that the way things go?

The Star of Easter Dinner

Caleb is three months old now!

It's so cool to have a little one at family events now. He's a good boy, let us pass him around and hug and coo over him to our hearts' content.

Happy Easter!!!!

This is my favorite holy day. Death, burial, and . . . Resurrection!

If I come up missing

You have a 33% chance of being abducted You have a fairly good chance of being abducted. You may be somewhat skeptical about the existence of aliens, but you know that they could exist… somewhere. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

This just in, as I visited Alice's.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Freak :: of Nature
2. Open :: the door
3. Important :: Lesson
4. Magnetism :: Animal
5. Lap :: Top
6. Anything :: Goes
7. Match :: Light
8. Father :: Mother
9. Idea :: Thought
10. Mirror :: Mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hope the snow won't slow the Easter Bunny down too much.

A little night music

My sleeping patterns have been out-of-whack since the nieces were here last weekend. So here I am, at 3:52 a.m., quite awake. Oops. Let's do some quizzes.

This first one I spotted over at Cindy's, and we are blog twins again!

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

Well, this isn't a quiz, but:



Put The Big Red Button on your site

The Princess says hello

Princess Sierra Pinknose

My favorite relaxation: sitting on either of my porches, reading, letting the cats bask in the sun. There is something pretty cool about porch light.

So Happy It's Thursday!*

or S.H.I.T.*, as Susan says.

I work for a heating and air conditioning company. On Thursdays I work with our service technicians to realign their trucks to a stand inventory. It's quite a long process as we check products off on a master sheet. We have nine techs, and we're down to the last three. I normally work with the installers, so this has been a unique opportunity to work with the techs and understand their philosophies of keeping our customers happy.

Bad thing: it's cold again today. It will take awhile to warm the warehouse up to a comfortable temperature!

More fun with flickr and dumpr

With flickr and dumpr, you can make cool things like these spring eggs. Click through for the dumpr link.

Oh My! I Won!

This morning I checked my flickr mail, and had a wonderful surprise email from Paola at The Year of Living Gorgeously. My goosey picture had won their March contest which they sponsored through flickr groups. Judging was by the talented Abigail Percy. What a great way to start the week!

Big big congratulations!!!!

Kathryn, at A Mindful Life, has shared her life with us for many years now. And this weekend she has the grandest announcement: she and her husband are expecting their first child. They have passed the danger zone, and all systems are go for their little girl. What a blessing!

I bonsai'd my daffodills??!!!!

I bonsai'd my Daffodils! I didn't mean to, but I planted them Very close together. They are about 4-6 inches tall. That's a clothespin standing amongst them!

State Capitol

Capitol Dome on the way home, Wednesday, March 28th.

Unconsciously Muttering

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Trembling :: shaking
2. Shut up :: utoh. When we were kids, "shut up" was a high no-no. You would lose your allowance for the day for uttering it. It just wasn't considered respectful. It didn't matter if you said it to a parent or a sibling . . . zip went the allowance.
3. Heights :: Mountains
4. Monica :: Lewinski
5. Delicious :: Tasty
6. Joint :: Pain
7. Ferry :: Boat, road (my brother lived on Ferry Road for 12 years)
8. Bliss :: Sublime
9. Rejection :: Hurts
10. Satisfying :: Needs are met

Premonition

I saw Premonition this afternoon with Sandra Bullock. I had read no reviews of the movie, so had no preconceived notions about it. The movie kept my attention, but there were a few parts that didn't quite jibe. Only, that might be okay. If you like Bullock, go see it. Otherwise, wait for the DVD.

Have you ever had a premonition that came true?

Whee!!!!

Busy busy teenagers! I picked up the nieces (16, 14, and 13) at 6:15. We went to dinner at one of the "in" roadhouses. Good food was had, and the girls had met our waiter before, so they were very happy. We didn't leave there until 8:30. We stopped at the scrapbook store, and didn't leave there until 9:30. We then went to Meijers to buy stuff for breakfast and snacks. Money was allocated for this: the amount they didn't spend for food they could spend for more scrapbooking supplies. We ended up with no snacks (I think they knew I always have a few hidden around the house) and sausage, chocolate waffles, eggs, and bananas for breakfast.

We finally started scrapbooking at 11:00. The last person crashed at 2:30 in the morning. Hann had to get up early so her Mom could pick her up and take her to dance: she was teaching a class today. The other girls got up when their mom stopped by. I made their breakfasts, then back to scrapping we went.

A great time was had by this old aunt. It was just what I needed, hanging with the kiddos. They're so good to me.

Friday Fill-in.

1. I love my ... nieces & nephews, my farm, my gardens!
2. Looking in the mirror, I see ... Farmer Pete!
3. The best thing that happened to me this week was .... it's going to happen tonight! Three of the nieces are coming over for a scrapbook party.
4. Taking photographs... is one of my favorite things to do!
5. I always have a good time .... at home.
6. I'm looking for ... the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow . . . this weekend.
7. "Oh, I'm bein' followed by a ... moon shadow." .

via Julie.

I Was Kissed by a Butterfly

Well, okay, it's probably a moth, but it sounds cooler to say butterfly.

I was at the Nature Center at noon, trying to destress from a harrowing morning. This little fellow was walking along the path with me, so I stopped to take his picture. He let me, then wheeled around, came straight at me, and lightly lit on my head for about two seconds. Then he wheeled away.

Made the rest of the day a lot better.

Monday, Monday

Not only does my cat fetch, he also gallops. He can pussy-foot when he wishes, but when he's playing, it is galloping that he does.

Rainy Days, and Mondays. Got 'em both this morning. Guess it's better than snow.

Aunt N. is in Sparrow Hospital. I used to live in the parking ramp of the hospital. Well, not IN it, but our house was where the parking ramp is now. Saturday I drove up to the fifth floor so I could get some pictures of Lansing. Unfortunately, the weather was damp and gray/grey.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Groovy :: Feeling
2. Jealousy :: Envy
3. Watching :: Observing
4. Kenny :: Rodgers
5. Games :: People Play
6. Bread :: Toast
7. City :: Lights
8. Stems :: Stalks
9. Birds :: My backyard, feeders, woodpeckers, finches
10. Listener :: Good

24 Hours, Shirl Style

Friday, 9 p.m. At Mom's. Watched Charade, a Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn movie. It was captivating.

Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Yay! Sleep-in. Breakfast, write bills, mail bills.

Saturday, 10:30 a.m. Visit Aunt N. She's doing well, sitting up, great progress for all that she has been through.

Saturday, 12:30 p.m. Took pictures from the fifth-floor of the parking garage at the hospital. Unfortunately, a grey day, so they are rather boring.

Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Picked up two cartridges of colored ink at Best buy. If you're a member, you get free paper when you purchase two cartridges.

Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Play with the kitties, mop two floors, change the litter box. Begin Robert Parker's book . . . oops, it's still out on the porch so I can't see the title, but it's the latest Jesse Stone one.

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Work in the yard. Pick up sticks. Try to light a fire. Fail. Begin digging in the pea patch.

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Do a load of laundry. Read the newspaper. Read more of book.

Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Continue yard work. Plant lilies of the valleys.

Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Back inside, curl up on loveseat on porch. Snuzzles curls up with me.

Saturday 8:30 p.m. Finish Parker book.

And you?

Day Off

Yesterday I took a personal day. I think the past two weeks had gotten to me. It seemed I couldn't move. It was storming outside. I stayed in bed, sleeping and reading until 3:00 p.m., when my brother called.

Aunt N. had surgery last Friday, and it appeared that she wasn't recovering the way the surgeon had told us she would. I had seen her on Tuesday night, up in intensive care, and she was really out of it, so much that I got scared: what if she died while I was there? I started humming hymns, which tends to comfort me and I thought would comfort her. After the third one, she made a raspberry sound. See, even my humming wasn't helping!!!! (Actually, it was dry mouth, but . . . )

When I saw my brother's name on the caller ID I thought, utoh. Here it is. But it wasn't. Aunt N. is out of ICU, is in a regular room, recognized him, and was getting cranky. And today she is 83 years old. Two weeks ago she told her brother she wouldn't see her next birthday. Ha!

Eleven Deer Last Night

I got home about 8:00 p.m. last night. (I had stopped to see Aunt N, and then had to do grocery shopping.) Eleven deer were playing in the field across from my house.

Paradise.

Whew!

This pet food recall is scary. I think Snuzzles and Sierra have avoided the products, but doesn't it make you wonder about the safety of our furry friends. Yikes!

Fun New Experiences!

I got to ride in a hummer last night!

We had a retirement party for one of our supervisors last night, and one of the young guys had just gotten a hummer. He was giving rides. Too cool!

And, my black cat Snuzzles really does fetch! He has a toy mouse that he brings to my feet. I throw it, he goes and gets it and brings it back again. This morning I was sitting here at the computer and he was batting my hand. I said, "go get mousey" and next thing I knew, mousey was at my feet. Right now he's on his fourth trip of bringing mousey back to me.

Flickr Favorites

Once a month I like to share the latest favorites I've marked on flickr. These are from photographers around the world. Click through to find the individual links.

Spring is Just About Here

More signs of spring:

• The Robins are back!!!
• The Maple Syrup Festival is going on at Fenner Nature Center.
• The willows are greening!
• Bulbs are starting to emerge.
• Some people have Crocus.
• The Pussy Willows are out!
• The Cedar Waxwing are making their stops on their way north!

Sorry for the absence. There were several family-health issues going on. Everything seems calm and going positive now. Missed you!

The Power of the Link

This goofy pictured just passed 10,000 views on flickr. Why? Because boingboing.net pointed to it in a post on the Wisconsin 7-legged deer. Weird, eh?

Unconsciously Muttering

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. San Francisco :: Bay
2. Sadness :: Sorrow
3. Spirits :: High, Alcohol
4. Harriet :: Ozzie
5. State :: Michigan
6. John :: the Baptist
7. Offense :: Crime
8. Timeless :: Eternal
9. Account :: Bank
10. Refuse :: Garbage

Language Check

What to DO you call those holes that open in the road in the spring of the year?

Goose

I don't know if this is one of the year-round geese or one heading north. He was out on the Red Cedar River near the Kellogg Center Saturday.

My cat Snuzzles now likes to fetch. Well, he likes to fetch when he wants to fetch. Silly cat!

Flickr stuff.

You can now modify your layout on flickr.
Collections are also available on flickr. Read more here.

More Signs of Spring

• The Dairy Queen in Charlotte is open.
• The red-winged blackbirds are back. (The robins can't be far behind.)
• Brackets are open for March Madness!
• Daylight Savings time is here.

Got your bracket?

I've got mine! Susan, I see Duke was a 6th seed. We were lucky to be a 9th. Yikes.

My Current Project

I was able to sign up to work on the Michigan Barn Survey this weekend. It will be a season-long project. I hope most barns look better than this one!

Going Home

Friday I got one of those calls you really don't like to get. It was from my cousin: our Aunt N, his dad's and my dad's sister, had been taken to emergency and the outlook wasn't good. Various folks were being notified, and we were going to meet at the hospital later that night.

Aunt N is in her 80's, and a woman of great faith. In her later years, things have troubled her a lot and frustrated her, but when we got to the hospital her spirit was amazing! It was as if she had let go of the trials of earth, and she was so cheerful. She asked after each of us. She told me to enjoy farm life and driving my red car. When she spoke to my youngest brother Boo, she said: I'm going to be seeing your Dad pretty soon. (Our father passed away in 1982.) There was no panic, no fear. It was an amazing experience.

As medical things often go, there is a twist to this story. The original prognosis has been modified, and it may be awhile before Aunt N. sees Dad after all. But whenever the time comes, she's happy to be going home.

Unconscious Mutterings

It's Sunday, so . . .

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Contribution :: Donation
2. Ryan :: O'Neal
3. Minimal :: Least
4. Cleansed :: Freshened
5. Centered :: Lined up
6. Arrow :: Bow
7. Beyond :: the deep blue sea
8. Execute :: Kill
9. Intuition :: Women's
10. Apology :: I'm sorry

A Bird In the Bush . . .

This little guy was hanging around the takeout window at Wendy's. He's still pretty fluffed . . . it's not real warm just yet.

Daylight Savings time this weekend for U.S. folks!

Reporting In!

Winter still lingers up here in mid-Michigan, but the signs of spring are mounting. The willows have a tinge of yellow-green to them. Regular trees have little tiny buds on them. There are more birds arriving every day. And the sun, when it comes out, feels a little stronger. This weekend we should have a couple of 40 degree days. Time to dig the pea patch! (Peas should be in by Good Friday. I only have 4 weeks left.)

Guess what???? Okay, time's up. Last night, as I turned onto my road, I saw a shooting star!!! Right there. You never know what you're going to see out here in the country.!

Good Advice

My Fortune Cookie told me: If you stand at the north pole, every way is south except up. Take a rocket. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Confusion Reigns!

Blogger still hates me. I kept trying to log in yesterday. Blogger would send me to the old blogger page, then say log in with your new account. I would click on that link, and it stalled. Grr. Same thing happened this morning. What the??? So I went to google, and it showed me signed in there. So I signed out, came back to blogger, and could sign in. Weird. Weird. Weird weird weird. But here I am now!!!

Home Sweet Home

The farmhouse is in that reflecting ball, and someone with a goofy orange cap.

Mighty Hunter, Stalking Game

Places to Go

Set up your Yahoo Brackets.

A March 26things has been posted.

People Magazine had an article about the complaintfreeworld bracelets you can get here.

Come to the Michigan Barn Preservation Network's Seminars next Saturday with Mom and me.

Visit In The Shadows.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Nude :: Naked, art
2. Support :: Arch
3. Rachel :: Ray
4. Crane :: Stephen
5. Candy bar :: Milky Way
6. Material :: Girl
7. Mind games :: I'm not very good at them
8. Eviction :: Notice
9. Produce :: Vegetables
10. Joke :: Riddle

Just because it's the New Era doesn't mean we can't do a quiz or two

You are Catherine the Great. You are very intelligent and a socialist. It is very important to you that all people be treated equally in a society. You are able to fully comprehend social problems and you are outspoken when it comes to dealing with them. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Link via Roscoe.

Darn those clouds anyway!

LUNAR ECLIPSE: Set aside some time this weekend for sky watching. On Saturday night, March 3rd, there's going to be a total lunar eclipse.
This weekend's eclipse will be visible from parts of all seven continents. Europe and Africa are favored. People there will see Earth's red shadow swallow the Moon for more than an hour around 23:21 GMT.
In the United States, you have to be in the eastern half of the country to witness totality. At the end of the day on Saturday, go outside and face east. As the sun sets behind your back, a red Moon will rise before your eyes--fantastic! Maximum eclipse is at 6:21 p.m. EST.

Bryn keeps us posted on all things lunar. We had clouds here. Did anyone get to see this?

The Eyes Have It

Couldn't find the cats the other day. Checked out the bedroom. Sierra was asleep on the bed, and there was a suspicious lump under the afghan and throw. Stuck my camera up to the lump. Yup. There was Snuzzles.

Signs of Spring

Calendar wise, spring is only three weeks away. And we're starting to see signs of spring here in mid-Michigan. Takes some looking but:

• There are clumps of grass showing through the snow. Brown grass, but grass nevertheless.
• Birds are chirrping more in the morning.
• The sunrise is smackdab in my face on the way to work. I should try going earlier????
• There are little tiny buds on the trees. Really. You have to look, but they are there.
• Home Shows start! These are affairs where vendors for home building and home upgrades gather at a venue and display their wares. We're showing at one this weekend.

Added 3/4/07: Eau d' Skunk is another sign of spring.

How do the seasons show their change in your area?

Sunrise Behind the Fog

Good morning! The saying goes: "If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb." We have the lion going here in mid-Michigan. It's a winter mix. Snow and freezing rain, rain, maybe even thunderstorms. Hope we can count on that lamb!

Welcome!

Welcome! You've found the new era! Sign in, if you have a minute! Thanks!

That Tree in the Storm

This is the first tree out in the field. It has marked a lot of events, and you'll see lots of pictures of it through the years.

Unconscious Mutterings

And I guess we'll Unconsciously Mutter over here today.

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Plaster :: Cast
2. Cabbage :: Cole Slaw
3. Jazz :: Band
4. Darts :: Game
5. Poke :: Pig in a
6. Bribe :: Ensnare
7. Whale :: Rider
8. Receipt :: Purchase
9. Answer :: Question
10. Dentist :: a place I've had to go wayyyyy too much!

will THIS work?

Fog over Straw

The fog was perfect the other morning. Well, perfect for picture taking. I was a little scared to drive in it, but after chasing it around the farm for a few minutes my eyes began to adjust, and I feared less. There were no problems in getting to work.

And I have Fruit Trees!

Princess Sierra Pink Nose