North

After sixteen busy days on the road in North Dakota and Minnesota, our family is safely back at home.  Here are a few of the highlights:

• Being with my extended family.
• Spending time in Minot with close friends.
• Making cake and going to graduation parties with Kate.
• Seeing Joanna of Jo-with-it's Portfolio and her fun family.  It was the first time in nearly seven years, and so enjoyable!
• Celebrating my cousin's graduation.
• Watching birds.  If you ever want to see a wide variety of birds, including ones you've never heard of (Bay-Breasted Warbler and Philadelphia Vireo, anyone? I didn't know they exist.), go to North Dakota during migration. 
• Swatting vulture-sized mosquitoes.
• David shot his first raccoon.  And killing a carp.  And a rattlesnake.  For real.  Somehow, David is still alive.  
• Music, music, music!
• Reading and painting.
• Meeting Joren, a Swedish woman who was a foreign exchange student at my cousin's school last year, and came back for the graduation.  She was so sweet, and very fun to talk with.
• Watermelon and blueberries. 
• Spending lots of time outside, in the grass, wind, and sun.  
• As always, coming home.  This was especially fun, as Beth and Dad couldn't come with us on the trip.

Freckles

Photo courtesy Oregon State University Archives.

Bird Song

Spring's Arrival

A German Folk Poem

All the birds have come again,

Hear the happy chorus!

Robin, bluebird, on the wing,

Thrush and wren this message bring.

   Spring will soon come marching in,

   Come with joyous singing.

~~~

     I admit it, Spring is pretty far off at this point, and the birds have not all come again.  Be that as it may, I am currently listening to a guide to bird songs, so when they do come, I will be ready.  I am not an auditory learner, so the listening (and repeat, repeat, repeat) is slow going, but very enjoyable.  It's also applicable - I heard a downy woodpecker the other day, and was actually able to tell what it was!  Knowledge of bird songs is like knowledge of French;  without it, the sounds just run together and sound pretty, without having any meaning.  Once you learn about it, the sounds separate and their individual purpose (or producer) become plain.  So cool!

Jenny Wren

One down, six to go.  Opinions on Ms. Wren's color? Should I outline the next bird in black (like Ms. Wren) or in its actual feather color?

P.S. There were actual bird specimens in our botany room today (don't ask me why)! The pigeon had seen better days, but the seagull and blackbird were really neat.

An Autumn Weekend

Just us, at a state park.  Every last one of us has been extremely busy lately, and this quiet getaway was a welcome relief.  It has only rained once here since the early August, so the leaved weren't very colorful, but the air was cool and crisp, there were plenty of acorns to throw at each other, the sky was clear and blue, and it was just a little breezy.   

We read.

We went to the Nature Center.

We went inside a watery cave.

One of us caught a frog.

And we visited a lake for an hour before the sun went down.

A Cozy House Finch Nest

Sky, Water and Sun

Independence Day weekend was filled with many things.

Patriotism and many dogs, young and old.

Golden sunlight soaking everything.

Viking themed fireworks displays. The Ride of the Valkyries.

Docks and brackish water.

Seafood.  On an island.

Bird watching.

Old wood.

White boats.

The heavens declaring the glory of God.

P.S. Tomorrow the winner of the giveaway will be announced!  Enter before 9:30 A.M. centeral time tomorrow if you haven't yet!

Do You Like Robins?

Me too.

Doves and Dandelions

Well, I'm back from the land of the whiny.  In happy, non-stressed news:

• Dad got encouraging news from the heart surgeon, and he's recovering at a good pace!
• The morning doves' eggs hatched.  The babies are so ugly, they're cute!
• I don't have to pay taxes on my income this year.  Yay for Daddy figuring that out for me!  I love being classified as a dependent.
• Gideon is still in I'm-so-glad-to-be-home-I'll-be-sweet-and-cuddly-and-won't-attack-Kara mode.  I'm enjoying it. :)
• The lawn is mowed, and the dandelions are gone (for now).  Last night the front light was shining on the yard full of puffy seed heads, and I couldn't help but think that it looked like we were being attacked by a bunch of tiny aliens in little, round, glowing space ships.  Odd, I know, but that's what they looked like.
• I started my CPR and First Aid course online.  To check for consciousness, tap the victim on the shoulder and shout "Are you all right?!?"   You could try this on perfectly conscious people to "practice".  I'm sure the teacher would give you extra points.  At least one.

Adventuring

For the past couple of weeks, David has been visiting "the creek." By himself, with friends, with neighbors. I just assumed it was the small, usually dried up creek that we pass whenever we go on walks. Well, he convinced Chrissy and I to go with him (we've all been sick around here, so the trip was a bit delayed).

It was not the small creek.

How have I lived here for five and a half years and missed this? It was a gorgeous, genuine stream, complete with crayfish and minnows. The banks of the creek were layers of dark slate that crackled under our feet. We saw cardinals and heard blue jays, and David had his hands either in the creek or on the binoculars most of the time. And the fresh air. Mmm. Don't you just love spring?

P.S. Can you tell who got her camera back from Canon today?

Cleaning Ex-Library Books

We were manning a bake sale today which coincided with a library book sale, so we peeked at what they had.

There were books about birds, and a Golden Nature Guide about shells. All hardbacks. My mother has passed on the happy curse of loving books to me, so I brought home five of these for a total of two dollars (three were free)!

They were filthy, though! I cleaned them with dish soap on a wet rag, wrapped around my finger. The amount of dirt on these books was disgusting. They didn't look that bad until I started washing, then I could compare the clean part with the, uh, not so clean part. Gross.

It's amazing what a bit of scrubbing can do!