Random Musings

I have a lot of pics I REALLY need to download, but as of yet, that's just not happened. Perhaps tomorrow. I am still in shock that April is almost over. We have a busy week next week, and tomorrow is the blasted Beach Music Festival (meaning every drunk within a 100 mile radius will descend on a nearby farm and any road in or out to our house will be blocked with a traffic id/sobriety checkpoint as well as drunk idiots thinking they can ride fourwheelers through our yard as a possible means of escape)  and as it won't be the wisest thing to leave home this Saturday, we went shopping today. We were able to get 2 of the 3 wedding gifts we needed, so I'm thankful for that. Tonight we started cutting grass in hopes of getting most of that done this evening. I stopped for us to make a quick trip to the nearby gas station, and upon our return, I couldn't get the blades to engage. So I guess Monday we'll be calling John Deere, which is NOT an expense we were anticipat...

I didn't go to the dentist growing up. That was a luxury for rich people, or else a crisis if Mom spotted something wrong with our teeth. And you better believe she checked them regularly. We brushed, and brushed, and sometimes brushed again. And then in middle school two things happened that changed all that for a little bit. One, I started having nose bleeds. Two, I popped my jaw out of place (thanks to chewing gum and cheering at the same time).  My Mom took me to the doctor, who was concerned that something else was wrong and might be causing the nose bleeds. He said he could feel something hard in the roof of my mouth that didn't feel right. And, my jaw was still out of whack. By day four of not being able to eat anything nor talk without hurting (and facing the possibility of not being able to cheer at the next basketball game), I dumbly followed a classmate's advice and took my fist and gave my jaw quite a hard hit, literally popping it back in place. I do not re...

When I realized last week I was going to hit my 1,000 post, I started to do a give-away, or a very special post. But there's was just too much happening to decide what to write about. Boston was bombed, two attempted poisonings happened, the gun bill went for a vote on Congress, we attended an antique gun auction, we made a quick trip to Alabama for two baptisms, my quilt schedule is out of whack and exploding, we've lost several hens in the last few weeks, the incubator is out and running, AND my hometown was hosting an "open gate" of main street this past Sunday which we decided was just way too much to fit into our already very crazy schedule. Demolition began Monday morning. One side of main street and the grocery store where I had my first official paying job is now gone. And in the midst of all these crazy things, plus many others, I simply did not have the heart to minimize any of them . And so today I post the timeless words that summarize how I feel about s...

Every year as summer ends, I hate myself and wonder why on earth I EVER planted a garden.  The weeds have taken over, people laugh, it looks to be a mess, and I simply have no time for it.  So I spend the entire winter refusing to look at seed catalogues or other such ideas, and then... spring comes. I buy one small packet of seeds, and we're off. Of course, this year will be different (hahahahaha).  Last year I tried straw bale gardening, which did okay. After the garden was finished, we left the fence door open and the chickens tore the remaining bales apart and kept the garden scratched up all winter. So this year, I didn't even till it. Just hoed up my rows and planted (and closed the makeshift garden back, which almost wouldn't meet the fence post). So for three days the chickens walked around the fence forlornly, peering in at one of their favorite spots to scratch. And now?  We currently have peas sprouting, along with one cucumber and two squash plants. T...

And my nephew is now the big 13! He's an Auburn fan. He loves to deer hunt (and isn't very happy about his Mom sharing his deer meat with others). He enjoys basketball and baseball. He's in the Beta Club. He does NOT like having his picture made and if he saw this he'd be MOST unhappy with his aunt. He likes both dogs and cats. He enjoys exploring the woods. I wish we lived a lot closer. Happy happy Birthday, M.E.Weems!

Several years ago while on a trip (Biltmore, Tryon Palace, or somewhere else?) I saw these tiny fruit trees that were shaped and grafted and tied to a wall. And they were producing quite significantly. I was startled, curious, uncertain, but there was no one around to answer my questions. And this last week, I found the answers, quite unexepectedly. In the last This Old House magazine I received (because I'm way behind on my reading pile and I've not renewed my subscription), there was actually an article on espalier (pronounced es-PAY-ler) trees. They came about during medieval times because people wanted fruit but didn't want to leave the safety of the walled cities. So as necessity mandated, they improvised. You take a small tree that hasn't branched out very much (or not at all), and clip the top about 18 inches above where you want the first branches to be. You hang anchors (to attach wires to) into the wall or trellis (walls supposedly work better because the ...

Tonight is the night for Star parties across NC (where you can go to certain parks and meet with astronomy clubs, learn how to find certain stars and planets, etc).  And of course it is cool today, meaning it will be cold tonight. I suppose that's great for seeing stars, but it also means if I go to a party, I'll have to go alone. And seeing as we'll have yard work being done at the house in the morning (meaning an early morning for me), I don't really care to stay out very late. There's a small part of me that is tempted to just lock the dog up this afternoon and attempt to set my telescope up in the backyard, and then see what I can find myself. I know there are supposed to be several websites telling you where to look and how to find things, so perhaps I can figure out a few things on my own. I know the star parties are supposed to be looking at Jupiter and its four moons, as well as trying to count all the stars in the Leo constellation (a way of gauging light...

First, the most exciting thing of the week: I saw an owl yesterday! We were driving on the bad part of Bryan Rd (for those of you who don't live near here, I live on a road that is half-dirt/half-paved, and right before you get to the pavement, the road is VERY bad) about 6pm yesterday, still very light outside, and there was an owl perched in a tree. I strained my head backwards to watch him as we drove by, and he did the same to us! :) It made me laugh. I've seen tiny owls before but never one like this. My only regret is that I didn't have my camera charged and on me and I didn't tell Bobby to back up so we could watch him a little bit. I am finally starting to feel like I've recouped from our trip home. I was more than a little irate when we returned. I was so tired, there was so much to do here, and my heart felt so guilty for leaving my parents at a time when they could use an extra hand or two. Of course, while we there Mom didn't want me to do too much...

Last night I finished reading Mary Beth Chapman's book Choosing to See. I remember hearing on the radio about the death of their child several years ago, and how everytime I would hear one of his songs, especially the Cinderalla song he wrote about his daughter before her death, I would send up a quick prayer for that family. I also remember hearing a snippet of her testimony on the radio where she commented that you teach truths all your life, but it's when the hardships come that your faith is truly put into action. As one would expect in reading a book about death and dealing with the intersection of faith and life, it was a hard, sad read. But I finished that book overwhelmed and reminded of God's grace in the midst of life's hardships. Then this morning I heard from a friend in high school. He struggled with drugs throughout most of his teen years and then another hard fight in his mid-twenties. Someone had made a video for Easter about what Christ can do in a...