Simply Sunday...

Jasper enjoyed the view.



Sarah talked on her phone to grandma and friend Callie.



Anyone want to buy a 1991 Suburban?



I love it when the oak tree is this color.



This is one tall tree!



Jasper tried to make friends with Jeff, the red eared slider Sarah caught at the park today.(click to enlarge any of the pictures)

Deliberate spontaneity or spontaneously deliberate....

I've decided I want to be more flexible and regain some of my muscle tone(this would be the deliberate part). I tried skating today for the first time in 9 years, it was NOT pretty(this would be one of the 3 spontaneous parts). Anyway, I've found 5 Element Qi Gong is an easy way to get back into exercising. Several years ago I did yoga all the time and LOVED it but one day it was too cold(I did my routine outside) and it was like hitting a steel wall. I have never done a yoga routine since then. This is fun and doesn't take long to learn or do(spontaneous thing #2). I follow along 3-4 times a day.



I've also started walking at a local park again(spontaneous thing #3). This is Julianna Park for the locals. My plan is to get fit enough to be able to skate. I took 2 semesters of roller skating in college and loved it. Hopefully it won't take too long to get back in the swing of things but I've GOT to have better muscles in my legs!











Along the walking trail is a small neighborhood park(Ward Park). We lived a few blocks from this park before Ryan was born and I'd walk there when I was pregnant. It used to have old, dangerous equipment but yesterday we were pleasently surprised to see this being installed! Now, if they'd only add more tables and a bathroom we'd be set! Luckily its just a 1/4 mile or so to another park(at the upper end of the trail) with facilities. This looks like one to add to our rotation.

abundance...

For Christmas, my mom gave me a book of affirmations called The Art of Abundance, a Simple Guide to Discovering Life's Treasures, by Candy Paull. I've just now had time to start reading it and found three wonderful quotes right away that spoke to me. They have a common theme not just about abundance, but about where it is truly found...

One of the hardest lessons we have to learn in this life, and one that many persons never learn, is to see the divine, the celestial, the pure, in the common, the near at hand- to see that heaven lies above us here in this world. ~ John Burroughs

One of the most important -and neglected- elements in the beginnings of the interior life is the ability to respond to reality, to see the value and the beauty in ordinary things, to come alive to the splendor that is all around us in the creatures of God. ~ Thomas Merton

In those vernal seasons of the year when the air is calm and pleasant, it were an injury and sullenness against nature not to go out and see her riches, and partake in her rejoicing with heaven and earth. ~ Milton







Abundance, for me, means enjoying the goings-on in our very front yard. That this Spring-like weather is tricking my daffodils into blooming is only part of it! I've got 17 flowers in my little "daffy patch". I also love the beautiful moss carpet that's shooting up new growth like velvet underfoot. If it wasn't 45 degrees at the moment I'd be out there closer to it. My dad bought a bird feeder for the girls and I after we returned from North Carolina. The birds have finally figured out how to eat from it and we've been enjoying them for about a month now. Sunday morning as I took Puppy-girl out for her potty break, there were 4 robins swooping and darting from the back yard oak to the front yard pines and all manner of other birds hopping and twittering in the sun. This morning there was a squirrel on the porch, teasing the cats as it stuffed its face full of sunflower seeds.





Abundance also means cooking the spaghetti squash that was languishing on the counter and anticipating the eating of said squash as if it were the finest meal in the world. For the record, I sprinkled it with ground sage, a tiny pinch of dried thyme, salt, and liberal amounts of garlic, oh, and a spoonful of smart balance margarine! It was a comfort food much like mac and cheese without the guilt! We won't be doing a "real" grocery shop until Thursday which means I'll have to make do with what we've got in the cupboard til then. A "pantry challenge". Mark just arrived with guinea pig food and hay, potatoes, and bread. We've got rice, pasta, beans, spices, chicken breasts, tortillas, dairy products, sausage, peppers, onions, fresh and frozen veggies, canned tomatoes(and beans, etc, etc.), and more, so technically we could probably eat for another 10 days or so. Having such a bounty is not just abundance but also peace and provision.



I hope you all find similar things to appreciate within the ordinary(and it is SO not, once you take time to observe) this day and this week!! Children seem to enjoy abundance naturally so I take a lot of cues from this chicka. She found the first anole of the season yesterday!

I'm HOME!!!

We drove straight through yesterday, leaving a very cold Micaville around 7am and arriving in Longview around 10:30ish(honestly I didn't look at a clock). There was fresh snow on the far end of Yancey county but not too slick on the roads. It was beautiful on the mountains but I don't have a picture, the cameras were packed.

The trip went by really fast, dad and I took turns driving. We saw dozens and dozens of deer all through Mississippi, probably over 100. The girls and I had fun watching for them, until we hit one. Dang things leapt in front of us, the first one made it across to the median, the second one crashed into the rear wheel well. I have no idea if it could have survived its wounds, we found a dent and where it wiped off the road dirt along the back of the SUV. After that it was a nervous trip, there were deer EVERYWHERE!! Thankfully the Louisiana deer weren't as plentiful.

Mark took me to lunch today for my birthday. Then mom and I went and enlarged patterns from several books and magazines for our thrifted wool projects.

We're having homemade chili for dinner with cornbread. Mark's coming home early because we didn't sleep well last night. He's VERY busy with his new company, getting everything in compliance takes a long time!

Anyway, I've got pictures on 3 different cameras so it's gonna be a few days. I'm sure it will take a week to get back to normal!!!


(the girl in the hat is my mom's mom's mom, Ollie Skaggs)

Conversations with Sarah...

Last night I went on the back porch to observe the weather. Sarah wanted to come too so I had her bundle up. We turned off the porch light so we could see the stars and moon better. I pointed out how we could see snow in the boxwood patch so we were ooohing and ahhing over that. Then...

She told me about how she and Amy had been up there yesterday and seen all sorts of tracks. Some looked just like dog tracks, they were Puppy-girl sized, some were Daisy sized and one was people sized. But it didn't really look like a people foot but more like a cross between a people foot and a dog foot. It was shaped like a sweet potato or cashew and had toes and claws. Hmmmm, my neck hairs stood on end. Like these?



Or the ones found Here.

I casually quizzed her on shape and size and we went inside. Amy described the same thing and I handed them each a pen and paper to draw what they saw, in separate rooms. They came up with the same exact thing, a bear track! Later Ryan verified by looking online at all kinds of tracks. He said it was definitely not canine, the toes didn't go around the pad but were across the top in a line. I let the girls look and they picked out several bear tracks that fit the bill.

They are banned from the hill/boxwood patch for now, unless they have a grown-up with them(preferably not me). Good thing their uncle is coming home today, he can go along.

My mom said that she and my dad saw a bear track up there once, on the trail Sarah and I went on a few days ago(wish I could get pics on here). I plan to investigate later. Where the kids saw the track is all grass, no way a track would show up after the snow melted, but the trail has muddy ruts so there might be one there.

Deer and music....

The more I listen, the more I like them. First Aid Kit.





Now for the deer!! I wish I had been able to slip out the door to take these pictures. There was a mama, a daddy, and two babies. I only managed to get one shot of the mama, running across the yard to join the others. They were in the front yard late last night, I could see their eyes glowing blue when I stepped out before bed. This morning they were in front of the picture window for about an hour but I only found the camera at the last minute.


(mama deer sprinting across the yard)


(babies nibbling)


(babies watching mama who'd snuck around the back and come up the neighbor's driveway)


(watching and listening)


(itching)

The Walk...

It started beautifully....
(please click each picture to enjoy the full-size version)








Got even better...







With many neat discoveries...

















Then, luck turned and we had to head home...

What a DAY!!

Actually it all started yesterday when Sarah and I left bright and early to get the milk for our co-op. It was an uneventful trip up but on the way back a strange animal ran right in front of us, I thought I'd hit it actually. It was fuzzy, chocolate brown, and ran like the dickens. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a guinea pig! Anyway, we were almost home when a huge buck ran up the embankment along side the highway and caused me to very nearly stand the car on its front end. Luckily he decided not to dash into my path but turn and run up the shoulder towards us. Just as he got within about 15 feet of the car he bounded back to the woods. Absolutely amazing, would have loved a picture or two.


(Sarah and friend ready for a big night)

I picked up an extra kid when I took the milk to the drop-off house. She went with Sarah to their church's "trunk or treat". Mark joined up with us later and then we went across town to pick up his car from work. Sarah's friend spent the night and went with us to homeschool park day...


(Jackson park play area)


(pecan leaves)


(trees mid-park)


(Virginia creeper)


(park trail to the right)


(Ike damage to the left of the trail)


(Ike damage by the creek banks, I did not happen to include the picture of a homeless camp that I happened to be standing in when this pic was snapped)


(sparks of sunshine)


(hello there, I see you)


(he doesn't live here but someone probably does)


(Sarah and friend spinning)

After park, we ran by and grabbed a bite of fast food, then to Goodwill for socks and on to Kids Station for a birthday party. It was a looooong day, but oh, so enjoyable.

(girls in the ball pit)


(birthday boy)