Climbing Trees and Eating Cones

This weekend we re-visited some old haunts in Eau Claire, including this enormous cottonwood tree along the river. It's located just off the bike trail, by the university and Water Street.

Don may recall it-- we showed it to him once.

We didn't camp as a family this Memorial Day weekend, but the older kids experienced the Great Outdoors a little. Emma spent Friday night in a camper at her friend Cienna's house, while Michael spent Sunday night roasting marshmallows and sleeping in a camper at Rowdy's.

We all went to Owen Park, which is one of many nice shady community parks in Eau Claire. Leila LOVED having Daddy push her on the swing.

Jon has been home for a week now and will be with us for at least another two weeks. Then hopefully his new job in Iowa will start.

Meanwhile we've been getting lots done around the house. Jon's cut down more trees around the garden, to let in more sunshine and hopefully increase our crop this summer. He used his Bobcat to dig up the stumps.

He also used his Bobcat to cut the fallen trees up into firewood. Using grapple hooks, he held the logs up into the air before slicing through them with a chainsaw. He says this is easier on his back-- less stooping over. When I saw this I wondered what Dad would think of this unusual method for sawing logs.

Here Jon and Emma overlook a burn pile in our back yard.

I've always admired willow trees and considered them a personal favorite. Well, now I have one of my own! We planted this willow (at right) in our back yard, near the garden.

As the tree grows it'll need more space-- they grow to fifty feet wide. Someday I'll be sitting in its shade.

Another interesting little happening this weekend was bringing Macy (the horse) over to our house. For the past month or so she's been nearby-- at the neighbor's farm up the road. Well, this weekend Jon and Emma led her down the hill on a little adventure... to our front yard!

It turns out that the grass in our lawn is very tasty. Emma brushed Macy out and Jon walked her around the house. He led her as she walked beside him; she can't be ridden yet. But she did tolerate a blanket on her back, so that's a start. He got out the saddle and let her smell it and think about it a little, but when he attempted to put it on her back she wanted none of it. So he backed off and decided that was enough new stuff for one day.

All those timid little shoots that first began poking through the ground in March and April have burst open into big leafy bushes. And now that we're in our second summer here, it's easier to anticipate which flowers will bloom next. Because they don't bloom all at once. Flowers come in ones and twos... first one kind, then another.

This year and last, the first flowers we saw were daffodils, followed quickly by tulips. After a few weeks those went into decline and dropped petals, but by then the bleeding hearts and violets had taken over.

And so it will go all summer-- an emerging procession of blooms that's revealed slowly over the course of time.

At left, an old cultivator that belonged to Jon's great grandfather, Nat Hurlburt. It still works-! Jane had this in her yard for several years, but passed it on to us recently.

Right now Susan is taking the next step toward her medical career. She has finished her classwork and began rotations yesterday. To begin, she'll be working at two hospitals in the Beckley area. For the next five weeks her focus is internal medicine; after that, surgery. We spoke to her on the phone this morning while she drove to work; hopefully the day went well for her.

Monday we went to Cornell. After visiting with Bud and Jane (and Brent and Kristen, who were also there) we stopped and said hi to friends who also have a one year-old-- Dave and Shelley DeJongh. Leila was very excited to see little Addy, who is similar in size to her though slightly more petite. They had a cute hug but then Leila started getting rough, so we said our goodbyes.

On our way out of town we stopped for ice cream and ran into Jon's sister Ann and her husband. Pat treated us to some very large ice cream cones, which made us all rather sleepy. Jon took the scenic way home, a little nicety that was wasted on us since everyone but him wasted no time falling asleep when we left town. But I did awake in time to spot this sign for "Lake Lulu", which of course reminded me of my fabulous sister Laurie, who turned 33 a few days ago. Happy Birthday, Lu! We love you!!!

Well, since Jon just proofread this blog (frown) and decided I ended rather too abruptly, let me add this pithy witticism to wrap things up: blah blah blah. The end. Thanks Jon!

Almost Summer

Hard to believe summer vacation is almost here. Only 13 more days of school left for Michael and Emma!

Jon came home for a visit again this weekend. He arrived late Thursday night and was with us through most of Saturday. He headed back to Colorado again Saturday evening.

This should be his last week in Colorado (we're hoping!).

Tired of all the driving, Jon "relaxed" by working around the yard. One big accomplishment was that he and the kids planted our new vegetable garden.

We've held off planting the tomatoes because there have been some cold (near freezing) evenings here, of late. But we went ahead and planted corn, green and yellow beans, peas, onions, carrots, and potatoes. Next weekend we'll probably plant the tomatoes, along with squash, cucumbers, and melon.

Jon made a trip to Cornell to gather this mulch (at left) for our flower beds. It was made from the ground-up stump of an enormous old tree that Jon's parents had removed from their yard awhile ago.

Jane has pictures of her kids and grandchildren (each photographed in turn, over the years) sitting among the thick branches of that landmark tree. So... pretty special mulch.

Meanwhile, I've been playing "decorator" again. My newest project is the greenhouse off the front of our house. I'm trying to convert it into a porch. The windows and glass roof make it uncomfortably hot inside at mid-day, but it's pleasant out there in the cooler morning and evening hours.

I made sure Jon sat in it a little so that he could see the room has potential. He agreed that it would be nice to replace the glass panels with screens and suggested maybe adding a roof.

Leila's been having a blast crawling around outside on the lawn. Michael has gotten quite good at keeping an eye on her for me while I work outside. He tends to be somewhat of a worrier, so is very diligent about making sure that she stays safe and happy.

At right, Leila and Emma in the "clubhouse" Jon built.

While Jon was home we spent time visiting Macy (our horse) and the chickens up at our neighbor's farm.

Macy lying in a sea of dandelions.

During the summer Johnne's chickens roam freely on her pasture. At night they climb inside their traveling chicken coop for protection from foxes and other predators. Every few days Johnne moves the coop to a new patch of grass, so there's a constant supply of insects to forage.

When Emma comes over with a bucket full of vegetable peels and table scraps, the chickens rush toward her excitedly. Emma calmly lays a pile of scraps here, another pile there, and so on, so that everybody gets some. It's fun to watch.

I confess I was a little nervous about walking among all those chickens, at first. I mean, there are several dozen. That's a lot of chickens. But I stopped feeling fearful one day, when I came to see the chickens while wearing sandles. Sure enough, several of the chickens noticed my painted toe nails and began to peck at them... aaiiiaaah-! The horror!

But their little pecks don't hurt. And when they realize those are your toe nails, they stop. If you need to pass through, the chickens make way. They don't hiss or glare at you. They just wonder if you have food to give them. And they are truly comical and interesting little creatures to watch. They don't mind if you take their eggs and they're not intimidating (the way large barnyard geese can be).

Here's Emma holding her two chickens, Pumpkin (the hen) and Dot (the rooster).

Mom and Dad surprised us by coming over on Sunday (they called that morning so it wasn't a complete surprise!). It was a beautiful sunny day, so perfect traveling weather.

At right, Mom shows Emma how to pick the "good" grass and offer it as a horse treat.

We had a nice visit. Thanks for coming, Mom and Dad!

The Snow White of Colfax Enjoys a Visit From Prince Charming

After a month of work in Colorado, Jon came home last Thursday for what he hoped would be a week-long stay in Colfax. That plan was cut short yesterday when he got the call to return to Colorado, to help haul equipment for the next job. Still, we were able to have him home for a long weekend. The kids (and I!) enjoyed our time with him.

The first big project Jon tackled this weekend was to clear away brush from the site where we hope to plant a very ambitious, large vegetable garden. He rototilled and laid old railroad timbers down for the border. He also used his Bobcat to slowly haul cow manure and black dirt to the garden from our neighbor's farm up the road (it must have taken him at least 50 trips).

We weeded and planted more flowers and decorative grass in the beds around the house. We also made all kinds of plans for new projects we hope to tackle around the yard this year.

Jon and the kids gave me plants and a lawn ornament for Mother's Day. We ate a late brunch on our way to Cornell, where we visited Bud and Jane for a few hours. Susan called while we were there, to wish me a Happy Mother's Day (which made my day; thanks, Susan!).

Here's Leila and Grandma Jane on Mother's Day. Mom, notice she's wearing that pink sweater you picked up on your trip to Georgia.

Our back yard is full of wood violets, dandelions, and moss. Emma loves the pretty "flowers", but we wish their was a bit more actual grass on our lawn.

Now that we're starting a vegetable garden, we're noticing how many large rabbits seem to call our yard "home". Jon suspects he's created lots of nice critter habitat in the process of clearing the land and pushing all that brush into nice fluffy piles.

Jon bought fencing for the garden, but on second thought returned it and decided we'll try one year without any fence. The fence is expensive ($150!) and critters would probably find a way under it, anyhow. We'll keep you updated on the results of this little gardening (and frugality) experiment...

Meanwhile, we've been enjoying the return of seasonal birds to our backyard. This weekend we observed a "new" kind of woodpecker at the suet feeder-- that makes four distinct kinds of woodpeckers we see here! There have also been orioles, finches, cardinals, doves, hummingbirds, robins, and many, many more winged friends outside our windows.

As I describe all this wonderful Nature around our wooded home, I'm reminded of one of those "Facebook" quizzes I took awhile ago ("Which Storybook Princess Are You?"). The result was Snow White.

I think I need to buy seven little garden gnomes for the yard. That way when I walk around outside, humming and petting any chipmunks or birds that perch on my shoulder, everyone will immediately notice my charming resemblance to that black-haired beauty.

(Did I just write that?)

Here's Jon laying timbers for our new garden. I was impressed with all the measuring and math he did in order to lay them straight and at 90 degree angles from each other.

Last night he and the kids went to a track meet in Colfax. They met Steve, Brent, and Kristen. Steve's son Brent and Kristen's son Alex were both competing. Steve and Brent came over for awhile afterwards (it was Steve's 39th birthday yesterday-- Happy Birthday, Steve!).

Jon got some sleep but then left us early this morning (3:30 am). He hopes to be home again next weekend.

Emma Reports: Clouds Are Beautiful

Sorry it's taken me this long to get back to the blog. I've been busy chasing after a little girl who still isn't walking but crawls and grabs her way into trouble every chance she gets.

Take a look at our "new" Emma! We picked up these glasses yesterday. Emma had been telling me that it was hard to see the chalkboard, so finally we got her in for an eye exam.

Unlike Michael, who didn't even need the glasses he was given a couple of years ago, Emma noticed immediate improvement in her vision, with glasses on. On the way home from the eye doctor she made exclamations like, "I didn't know the clouds were so beautiful!" and "I can see birds in the sky!" I remember having that same sense of wonder and amazement back when I first got glasses. So I'm happy for her.

But this is her first day of wearing them to SCHOOL. She spent a long time polishing them this morning, and looking at herself in the mirror. She is apprehensive about someone calling her Four Eyes. I told her that if anyone does call her that, it will only be for a day or two. Then people will stop noticing the glasses, and she will just be 'Emma' again. And anyhow, nothing compares with being able to truly see the world around you.

And this time of year there's so much beautiful stuff to see! There's green everywhere... the lawn looks like it could stand a mowing (hopefully Jon will be home this weekend to take on that job!). The flower beds have come back to life (cut to photo of my lovely tulips). Many of the tree buds have turned into tiny leaves, and the tree branches are softer and gently green.

We've had lots of days that are warm enough to open the windows and use the screen doors. It's nice to let fresh air into the house! And the sunny days have been punctuated by regular rain showers, so our burning ban is lifted. We can now offer a campfire to anyone who comes by for an evening visit!

Last weekend the kids and I went to Rhinelander. Brothers Bob and Bill, as well as my sister Laurie, were there too. So there was lots of lively conversation and walks in the woods with the dogs. We had been expecting John and Jim, but in the end they couldn't make it.

Dad has been saving aluminum cans for Michael and Emma (we're doing the same here at home), promising them money for the cans as long as they do the crushing. The kids crushed the cans (with Grandpa's help) this weekend and we took them home in bags. It isn't a good time to redeem aluminum right now, so we'll wait for the price of aluminum to go up again before cashing in.

Leila enjoyed standing up and leaning against Mom and Dad's big windows. We took her for some stroller walks, and she liked that too.

Emma had fun riding Mom's big bicycle around the yard and driveway. She also spent a long time digging in the sand (and making mud), in the same spot we kids always used to play the "road game". Remember how fun that was? There was usually a bit of shade there, and digging in cool dirt was a good way to pass the time on a hot summer day. We must have played that for hours!

Mark wasn't with Laurie this weekend, but he was nearby... fishing the season opener with his brother and father in a cabin they like to go to every year.

When Mark and Greg stopped by to pick Laurie up on Sunday, they caught us singing. Yes... singing. And no, we Braggs do not sing well.

It all started this Christmas, when Susan brought along a Play Station game that lets you sing karaoke, while showing you how often you sing on-key or fall flat. It scores you as you go along, and you can compete with other singers. Anyway, we all had fun with it. My brother Bob was so impressed that he bought the game (and a Play Station 2-- he didn't have one of those) and has been practising ever since.

I hadn't played Sing Star since Christmas. I offer that up as an explanation as to why Bob kept scoring higher than me in our sing-offs!

Anyway, Laurie demurely stopped singing once Mark and Greg came, but the rest of us were just getting warmed up. Hope you weren't too embarrassed, Laurie! Hee hee

The purpose of the picture at left is to show you how nicely Laurie and Emma color-coordinate with each other... as well as the new doll that Emma got from Grandma this weekend. The doll had on a bright pink and zebra striped ensemble. Emma was wearing pink and black with a zebra striped headband, and Laurie sported a sassy zebra striped belt.

So you see: the picture had to be taken.

I don't have pictures to show, but Monday night there was a big Girl Scout event at Emma's school. I thought it would be maybe a 45 minute or hour long thing, so didn't pack a bottle or things to entertain the baby. It turned out to be almost three hours long! Leila was very good, considering.

Well, I better sign off! Hope all are well. See you soon!