twinlake farmhouse

fun with the bubble train

2009-09-28T12:10:00.001-07:00

cutie patootie

2009-09-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

If Aurora is the chicken whisperer, then Laurel is the chicken cuddler. She pets them like rabbits (when she's not pulling their feathers).

birthdays and rainbows

2009-09-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

My little Canadian princess!

My sweet little darlin' is two! And it rained! The pond is full once more, the upper lake is about to top the spillway, and the grass is green. Good stuff.

beautiful rain

2009-08-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for a good rain for oh so long. And we finally got two decent storms. The first came last Wednesday when Michael and Melissa stopped at our place on their way back from Colorado. And the second arrived last night as we were having dinner at the Kendall/Bendall house. The sound of rain on their metal roof was ecstasy! And the kiddos frolicked happily!

Photos from Connecticut!

2009-07-16T13:30:00.001-07:00

Click to see shots of our adventures in the great North-Country.

congratulations doctor stacia!

2009-07-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my sweet sister for finishing her doctorate! We loved being there with her to celebrate.

magic chicken time

2009-04-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Tim took these shots of the girls out with our chickens the other evening. I love them.

snackin' buddies

2009-04-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

Kept Grover the other morn and he and Laurel loved to nibble breakfast together. Good food and good conversation, I guess.

sweet blissful yogi

2009-04-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here is Aurora playing with "bunny ears" pose, wearing her new skirted leotard. She outgrew her old one. Just woke up one day and was too big for it. She is so tall!

zingo!

2009-03-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

Both kids have had a virus this past week, and we have come to love playing ZINGO! Great family game given to us by somebody . . . can't remember who!

sisterly love

2009-03-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

l

From time to time these days Aurora practices her nurturing skills on her sister. Provides her with a toy, gets her hair out of her eyes. I relish those moments. And they have been snuggling with each other lately, too. The snuggling can devolve pretty quickly into wrestling, but I enjoy it while it lasts . . .

st patty's weekend

2009-03-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have Orion for the weekend, and he and Aurora thoroughly exhausted those chickens. Zeppo got to swim in the newly-filled pond, the spring peepers are out, and last night we had a St Patty's gathering. A superb weekend altogether.

Tim holding little Sander.
Jeff and Grover in the field.
Pink jasmine in bloom.
Striding the territory.

aurora, the chicken whisperer

2009-03-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Aurora can tame any chicken, even our alpha female Guinevere (top photo).

potty party!

2009-03-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Laurel and Grover are working on potty training. And this try was a success! Adrienne bought us two new potties at the IKEA, so we can have them all over the house!

almost a year . . .

2009-03-04T08:19:00.001-08:00

As of the 15th we will have been out here for a full year. Hard to believe, as we are still adjusting in so many ways. But life has proven beautiful--full of blue skies, friends, the scratching of hens, and the bustling business of two little girls (and the parents trying to keep up with them). I feel blessed. I just wish it would rain. But I know I am not alone in that desire.

I'll post here a passel of photos I'd like you folks to see: of Aurora at her school's Open House, of our trip to the Houston Zoo this past weekend, and of a relaxing playdate at Adrienne and Grover's house on Monday. SO here you go!

Laurel inspecting the turtle shell at the zoo playscape.
A beautiful Brahma heiffer.
Aurora pretending she's a beaver at the playscape.
Adrienne and Grover on their porch.
Baby drum circle!
Aurora practicing her embroidery.
The classroom.

fun with fingerpaints

2009-02-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Aurora never really liked fingerpainting as a toddler, but I guess she has gotten over her distaste. Laurel likes it just fine. I love these moments when the two small-fry can co-exist peacefully.

happy valentine's day!

2009-02-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

afternoon at the zoo

2009-02-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

It rained on Monday! Which was great, but I had promised the kids a trip to the zoo that day. So we ended up going in the afternoon with dada. We had the place to ourselves, and the roaring of lions filled the air. I can imagine it would be a bit creepy to be there after dark, with those bellowing sounds surrounding you . . . knowing that the whole "lions and tigers and bears" thing was not just your imagination . . .

lazy sicky family, pretty sunset, fun howling, new orchard, that about does it.

2009-02-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

We've all got some respiratory thing. Wheezy sniffly ack. We're about one week on one week off with the diseases. Talked to Matt and he said that his fam in CT was about the same, sick now too. That made me feel better somehow, like it wasn't some kind of major failure on my part that we keep getting sick. We're trying! Vitamins, baths, handwashing, fruit and veg . . . and yet here we are. At least we can all still howl with Zeppo while watching Fantasia.

a future new college student?

2009-02-01T08:13:00.001-08:00

This outfit indicates to me that Aurora might be destined for New College.

are you a licensed driver?

2009-02-01T07:15:00.000-08:00

Children are like kittens. The more you have the funnier they are.

25 random things about me

2009-01-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

Brent Gillentine tagged me with this on Facebook, so I thought I'd share it here too . . . Consider yourself tagged!

1. I had both my babies with midwives, and the second at home.
2. My first daughter's placenta is buried under a peach tree, and my second's under a fig.
3. I have an MFA in dance but am lazy about using it.
4. I love lemon verbena.
5. I lived in Holland for 3.5 years of high school.
6. I adore the smell of clementines in winter, when you open them and the juice squirts out.
7. I am overcoming my addiction to coffee.
8. I am jealous of my sister's sense of style.
9. I have always wanted to swim with a whale shark.
10. My hubby and I met at a Quaker camp in Maine, and were married there.
11. My oldest daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 2.
12. I used to be a lifeguard trainer, and trained Tim the summer we met.
13. I used to teach dance at an all girls prep school in Greenwich CT.
14. I am obsessed with any plant that has blue flowers. (borage, morning glory, blue hibiscus)
15. I used to have a bellybutton ring.
16. I have always wanted to go to Fiji, to a resort where peacocks stroll the lawns.
17. My husband and I love Dr. Who.
18. When I was in college Melissa and I performed a dance buck naked, illuminated by two candles that we held.
19. I cannot resist the dollar aisle at Target.
20. Laurel had a pleural effusion when I was pregnant with her, and we didn't know if she would be able to breathe when she was born.
21. I once found a baby owl on my lawn.
22. I love Barack Obama.
23. I would have twenty more chickens if Tim would let me.
24. Sometimes my life feels like a game of "How Many Things Can You Keep Alive At Once???"
25. I am addicted to Craigslist and to searching for real estate for other people.

teething hurts, and some sisterly love

2009-01-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

Poor Laurel has been suffering from some nasty chompers. They are just on the edge of cutting all the way through, but have this little slip of skin that just won't get out of the way. Ouch.

Got the ladies matching Valentine's dresses. Never bought them anything matching before. Kinda cute. They both wear them in their own way, though. So different they are!

obama babies

2009-01-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

Sara and Adrienne and Grover and Mandy and Daisy came over to watch the inaugural festivities with us today, and we all planted a tree in our new little orchard after. An amazing, amazing day. I really loved the benediction. I've posted the text below. Funny, heartening. Wonderful.

Text of Rev. Lowery's inauguration benediction

By The Associated Press – 5 hours ago

Text of the benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery during President Barack Obama's inauguration, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions:

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed — the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

dance class take two, and laurel the lunchboxer

2009-01-15T10:37:00.001-08:00

Laurel has taken to toting about the two lunchboxes she found in our red hutch. Oh, so cute.
Supergirls!
Paying such close attention! Aurora's teacher really is lovely.

sunday afternoon at the park

2009-01-12T12:08:00.001-08:00

Sara watched the kids yesterday so Tim and I could go see Benjamin Button. It is just fantastic! We both left feeling renewed, newly in love with our lives, our children, each other. What more can you ask from a work of art, really? It is heartbreaking in all the right ways, and is a film that truly honors life. There is so much self-referential crap out there, that just spins in on itself and doesn't take you anywhere, doesn't change you. But this will. Go see it! And the thing I love the best is that the people in this film are not cruel to one another, despite sometimes impossible circumstances. Basic human goodness triumphs. I know that's not too sexy in the box office. And that real "artists" scoff at that goody-two-shoes business, but man, in my life, be good or be gone. We just don't have that much time, people. And every second you are given is a gift. I remember when I was in grad school and the folks who got the most accolades were those making the dark stuff, ripping their mouths off on a box, colliding into one another in anger. And our world is full of violence, yes. But hell, if the only good art out there is the stuff that wallows in it, then I'll take bad art that makes me happy any day and leave it at that. (Not that this movie makes you "happy," exactly. But it leaves you with the kind of deep longing and melancholy that reminds you how much it all does matter, and how fleeting it is.)

We went down to our local park after, watched the light glinting off the water (or what's left of it in this drought), and enjoyed each other's company.

Aurora's first dance class!

2009-01-08T17:12:00.001-08:00

(they'll get those booties underneath them eventually!)

So, Aurora has been begging me for a while for a dance class, and I did in fact give in. I guess I was just a little hesitant about sending her down the same path I tread . . . and about affirming the princess leanings . . . but I went ahead. And I think it was a good choice, because man, dancing four year-olds are cute. She is enrolled in a ballet/tap/tumbling combo class at our local Y once a week. Her teacher is Miss Stephanie. And Aurora says she loves her class. "Dancing isn't so hard after all, mom," she says . . . I guess I might beg to differ . . . but I'll let her live with her sweet illusions for a while. Enjoy the video! (the noise in the background is from the gymnastics class next door--I am watching thru a window.)

some shots from yankee land

2009-01-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Now that we are finally beginning to simmer down from the holidays, I can post a few of my favorite shots from our trip to the Northeast. Enjoy!

Aurora arranging her stocking stuffers--

Sue in a big poncho, Christmas day . . .

I love the studiousness with which they are going after this puzzle:

Learning birds:

Stroller beauty:

Diner in Sandy Hook, CT, not too far from Andy's new home:

Aurora excited about watching her Shrinky Dinks shrink!

Dang, she's cute:

Baby girl and mama:

A sunken kite in the pink light:

The gang:

And yet another pretty shot (this one by Timmy), of that one last sunset:

merry christmas!

2008-12-25T18:15:00.001-08:00

The tale of the above puppy is an interesting one. Her name is Saucy (according to Aurora). She was supposed to be a Fancy Nancy dog, but Santa found another that looked just the same (no more Fancy Nancy pups in his workshop, I guess). Anyway, Aurora did in fact "fall in love with him" (her own words), but initially, when I said "Wow--you got that Fancy Nancy dog you wanted!", Aurora said, "No, this isn't the Fancy Nancy puppy, this one was on another aisle." You cannot pull anything over on that girl. But the look of love tells me it's OK anyhow.

Aurora found the snow out in front of the Norwalk Aquarium a couple days ago irresistible. More shots from that trip another day . . .

early christmas, and a day of construction

2008-12-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

Nana and Baba came out from Houston to celebrate Christmas with us before we head up to the great North Country (where it is snowy white now, yay!). They came bearing oh so many wonderful gifts, and Nana almost even managed to stick to the regifting/handmade/vintage maxim we set for ourselves this year. Thanks for the loot you wonderful grandparents!

The most delightful gift, though, was that Baba and Tim constructed this awesome playhouse for the girls! I hope you enjoy getting to take a look at the construction process!

what do you do with a kazoo?

2008-12-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

craftapalooza

2008-12-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Crochet, printmaking, we're having fun! That hat on Laurel is the first I've made in many years. It's a little lumpy but she still looks cute in it! I learned to crochet the summer I met their father, so it is a fun skill to return to now! I did spend way too long last night trying to master one of the more complicated stitches, though, and pretty much failed. So I guess I'll just keep it simple, or see if You Tube can help me!

Here's hoping you are indulging your own crafty inklings this holiday season!

SNOW!

2008-12-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

Sara called at 11pm last nite to say its snowing its snowing its snowing! We were asleep of course . . . but look what we woke up to!

love letter

2008-12-09T18:27:00.000-08:00

So the rain and sleet are falling and the thunder rumbling. The Christmas tree is lit and glowing. I am so grateful, so thankful. And for some reason I want to address my two ladies, in all their loveliness (I guess it might be because I just read soulemama's letter to her tiny one . . . ).

Miss Aurora, I love your laugh. And the way you adore the darkness of black ink. And how your face lights up over stuffed animals, however homely they may be. Your gangly feet. How you always ask about a new word when you hear it. I adore your affection for our critters, the way you hold the chickens close to you and pat them on their backs. The way you tuck Zeppo gently beneath a blanket. I love how you wear pink and sparkles as if they were a religion. Your obsession with cat-mice. The faint dusting of freckles on your cheeks. How your hair kinks up after we wash it. The concentration in your eyes as you do your "work." The radical creativity of YOU is astounding. I love you as you come into your own in this moment, swinging high, with your long, restless legs stretched out before you.

My Laurel Bean, you are beyond darling now. Every bit of the earth that you step on becomes new under your feet, which are unsteady, like those of a little sailor on this earth-ship, the decks bucking beneath you. You say "hi" to us each morning, scooting around the bed, the seats worn right out of your pants. You are a cautious daredevil, not wanting to walk until you were sure, but wanting to climb like a monkey now and always. You are beautiful, your sweet pert face both absolutely present in every moment and completely timeless. Your occasional word is always a surprise, like "strawberry" or "definitely." You can make a friend with anyone. Your gift in this regard astounds me and humbles me. That fearless smile. I love that you are here, that you are healthy, that you are ours--or, more accurately, that we are so helplessly yours--for this fleeting moment.

cookie decorating playdate!

2008-12-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

so exciting!

2008-12-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

decorating the tree!

2008-12-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

I will always remember Aurora decorating this year's Christmas tree wearing a tropical tunic, black tights, and one fuzzy blue sock!

laurel mama lovefest

2008-12-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

I can't get enough of her right now.

and here comes saint nick!

2008-12-02T07:12:00.000-08:00

The holidays are such a blur, I can't believe we've already celebrated both Thanksgiving and Aurora's Birthday! But last night I decided to move on to the next festive moment and churn out some felt stockings for the fam. I am so thrilled to have a mantle to hang them from!

the little cowgirl celebrates birthday number four at the little buckaroo ranch!

2008-11-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

We are in a hundred-year drought and have had record high temps this year, but of course on Miss Aurora's b-day party-day we have 58 and drizzly! But it was wonderfully memorable. The chill brought everyone out around the campfire, and made the coziness when we came back home (with the relatives) all that much more delightful. Aurora had her very first pony ride today and took to it like a true Texan. She also loved feeding the goats and petting the soft snuggly rabbit and tiny bantam rooster (they said they had the only friendly rooster in Texas but they were wrong! our Pepper is still awful sweet . . . )

Aurora's favorite gift might have been Frederico ferret--from Laurel! She also got lots of fun games and arts and crafts materials, a pop-up book about the desert, some red cowgirl boots . . . the list goes on!

I had fun making the cake and arraying it with a little pond and fence and trail, and plastic animals from Michael's. Aurora was sweet and gracious and held it together with great composure through the whole party, which is tough at her age! We were all thrilled that she was happy and enjoyed it all, as we had a turnout of almost 40 folks and she could easily have been overwhelmed!

Enjoy the photos!

bigtooth maples in the fog

2008-11-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Who says we don't get fall color in TX?

this is getting stranger . . .

2008-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

So I just went out to the hen yard to collect eggs and Pepper emerged from the little nesting area the hens have chosen . . . I found an egg there . . . it was warm . . . it had one of his/her/its??? tail feathers stuck to it. What????

a little more . . .

2008-11-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

Howdy gentle readers. I've begun a new blog that will be open access, and will not contain all the scintillating personal familial info that this one does. You can check it out at: http://limestonebutterfly.blogspot.com/

pepper

2008-11-20T14:38:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to get around to blogging about this for awhile . . . You know our "hen" Pepper?? Well, she doesn't lay eggs . . . and she's growing spurs . . . and she crows. We discovered this one morning when Aurora and I opened up the chicken coop, she/he ran two crazy laps around the chicken yard, and then COCK A DOODLE DOO. SO. We have a rooster. Luckily, Pepper seems to not have all that much testosterone, is not bothering the hens (yet) and only crows in the morning after we let him out of the coop. And, Pepper seems protective of the girls, which could be a good thing if some vicious predator comes around. A bit of a funny anecdote nevertheless. Let's just hope Pepper doesn't get too proud of his crowing skills!

busy bees and butterflies, and the lovely eldar pine

2008-11-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

The butterflies and bees are going nuts over our big blooming rosemary bush (and the turk's cap too)! There is a hum surrounding it that makes me wish I had some beehives . . . I wonder what rosemary honey would taste like?

I also just ordered and received two sapling Eldar Pines (also known as Mondell or Afghan pines, pinus brutia). We have a full-grown specimen on our land that I adore, and when I asked Adrienne she said that they had planted it and that it had grown like gangbusters! It is one of the very few pines that will grow out here and is quite rare. Most pines like acidic soil, not alkaline and dry like ours. We are hoping to use them as a screen at the bottom of the field. I've included shots of them and our gorgeous full-grown specimen.

the firetruck park

2008-11-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I spent some of the most important years of my childhood in Southside Place USA (smack in the middle of Houston, but its own city nevertheless). My brother and sister and I spent many an hour at the Southside park and pool. It is now known all over Houston as "firetruck park" because of the old refurbished firetruck which has always been in residence there. Here are some shots of the kids (and my dad!) having fun times at the firetruck park!

the moon does it again . . . and a gorgeous day at the zoo

2008-11-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

So they had that babe! On Monday, so just before the full moon. Sander Elliot. Awesome!

We are in Houston for the weekend and had a superb day for zoo-going today. It was 60's and clear, about the best weather anyone could hope for, anywhere, at any time of year. The sea lions were revved up by the cooler weather and gave a demonstration of recycling, and both girls had good energy for running amuck.

had to share the moon with you

2008-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

The moon is full, or at least close, tonite. And the lady the other side of Longhorn Skyway just had a baby girl! The pull of that big orb in the sky is strong . . . We are hoping that dear friends Adam and Sarah (whose babe is due any day!) will get to welcome their newcomer soon! When I was pregnant with both my girls, the contractions always came the strongest right before a thunderstorm or on the full or new moon. Wild how connected it all is.

point taken

2008-11-12T09:46:00.000-08:00

So. Far be it from me to presume that my life is not all lollipops and rainbows. Look what I woke up to this morning. No joke. I guess I truly cannot get away with complaining. We are ridiculously lucky.

how i feel today . . .

2008-11-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

This image from one of Aurora's recent drawings pretty well sums up how I feel today. A bit overstretched, perhaps. Laurel has decided that sleeping is not for her, but that she really likes nursing and whining. Aurora just likes whining. And the garage is a mess! And they won't finish that damn house down the hill from us!

Oh yes--and I almost forgot. It NEVER FUCKING RAINS HERE.

buddies

2008-11-10T10:16:00.001-08:00

happy morning in the meadow! (mostly)

2008-11-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

We had such a delightful morning playing out on the swingset and frisking up the dog, but we did have a bit of a mishap (we will be conservative in our swing-pushing from now on). Aurora has just a little bump to remind us . . .

super chickens!

2008-11-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

My girls are laying again! In addition to their new food, I have added a light on a timer in their coop that comes on each morning around 3:30am, to simulate springtime. And they have responded so quickly!

William Christenberry

2008-11-08T06:14:00.001-08:00

I am so fascinated by this photographer, by his combined love and fear of the south. His photos are so compelling, I could stare at them for hours--obsessing over the light falling across a shattered window, or the imagined former residents of one of his signature houses, or the aging/changing of the land.
http://www.artknowledgenews.com/William_Christenberry.html

Hallelujah

2008-11-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

As I drove to yoga with the children this morning, John Aeiley played this song on his radio program. I felt it so strongly, with the leaves of the bigtooth maples blazing through the car windows, the children chattering in the backseat, and the world as we know it cracking open in front of us to reveal its pure, gracious core. We are a nation perched, holding its breath, on the brink of tomorrow. It is so beautiful to watch America, and the world, offer up their broken hearts to the possibility of renewal.

I have been thinking a lot about the role of the arts in "times like these," when things have seemed so dire. And I keep coming back to a comment somebody made on Charlie Rose one night, and it was something to the effect that the young people in this nation really reached out in this election, and that what they reached for wasn't experience, or time-testedness. What they reached for was a poet. It is somewhat counter-intuitive, but the more dire things get, the more we need someone who can put the words (or images, or movement) together that will help us face whatever comes. We need a well to drink from that will feed our strength, and that is why the arts are so indispensable. We need a reason to keep walking, keep waking, keep the faith that our children will have a nation of possibility to come home to (even if they may always, on some level, want to escape it--as we have).

loving our lake

2008-11-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

I have created a new blog with lots of info on our community for those who live here or who might seek to. Check it out at http://deercreekranchparksandlakes.blogspot.com
I took the kids to the Upper Lake this early afternoon to take some photos for the website and was just adoring the turning of the trees and the private magic of that little lake. I'll include some of the shots above, as well as some of Aurora that I took while over there.

proud to be an american

2008-11-05T05:22:00.002-08:00

I don't think I have ever felt quite right saying that. But I do now. We did the right thing. Finally. My heart feels full to exploding. I am so, so excited to witness the break of this new dawn for our country.

And here are Maya Angelou's words, so relevant yet again:

On The Pulse Of Morning
by Maya Angelou
American Poet

Delivered January 19, 1993 at the Inauguration of President Clinton

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Mark the mastodon.
The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spelling words
Armed for slaughter.
The rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.
Across the wall of the world,
A river sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more.
Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I
And the tree and stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow
And when you yet knew you still knew nothing.
The river sings and sings on.
There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing river and the wise rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew,
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek,
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the tree.
Today, the first and last of every tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the river.
Plant yourself beside me, here beside the river.
Each of you, descendant of some passed on
Traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name,
You Pawnee, Apache and Seneca,
You Cherokee Nation, who rested with me,
Then forced on bloody feet,
Left me to the employment of other seekers--
Desperate for gain, starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot...
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru,
Bought, sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the tree planted by the river,
Which will not be moved.
I, the rock, I the river, I the tree
I am yours--your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts.
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.
The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me,
The rock, the river, the tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes,
Into your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.

laurel says . . . stand up and vote!

2008-11-04T13:17:00.001-08:00

i did it! . . . chicken granola

2008-11-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

I cheffed up some chicken feed. Let's see if any of my chickens keel over in the next month . . . Here is the recipe I came up with for my free(ish) rangers, who get supplemental milk products (left over cereal milk and yogurt):
3 lbs millet
3 lbs sunflower seed
4 lbs cracked corn
2 lbs corn meal
1 lb bone meal
1/4 lb dry yeast
1/2 lb wheat bran
1 package Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal (contains soy, flax, etc)

I just found this useful breakdown of the protein content (by weight) of several chicken feed ingredients:
Dried fish flakes 76
Dried liver 76
Dried earthworms 76
Duckweed 50
Torula yeast 50
Brewers yeast 39
Soybeans (dry roasted) 37
Flaxseed 37
Alfalfa seed 35
Beef, lean 28
Earthworms 28
Fish 28
Sunflower seeds 26.3
Wheat germ 25
Peas & Beans, dried 24.5
Sesame seed 19.3
Soybeans (boiled) 17
Wheat bran 16.6
Oats, whole 14
Rice polish 12.8
Rye 12.5
Wheat 12.5
Barley 12.3
Oats 12
Corn 9
Millet 9
Milo 9
Rice, brown 7.5
I'll refer back to this next time I'm making food for them. FYI--for layers you are shooting for 16-18% protein--

coyote creek

2008-11-03T14:17:00.001-08:00

I'm about to run out of chicken feed and have been researching the best sources near Austin. Our first round of feed came from Jeremiah Cunningham's place in Elgin. His feed is absolutely the best, milled locally, with pro-biotics, totally organic. But you can only buy it at Buck Moore in town! Arghhh! Check out the Coyote Creek Farm website here. The second round of feed came from Tractor Supply and was that ACCO paymore crap. I don't want to feed them that anymore, but it is convenient, cheap, and easy to come by.

SOOOO--I'm thinking about experimenting with making my own feed, and here is what a super-smart fella has to say about that:
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/1/1-4/Harvey_Ussery.html

Here are two other nice little tips on making your own layer ration (laying poultry feed):

5) MAKE FEED WITH WILD BIRD SEED AND SCRATCH GRAINS
From http://www.upc-online.org/home.html
Providing a Good Home for Chickens

foraging areas should be free of applied chemicals and their food must be fresh. Store their food in clean, dry, rodent-proof metal containers. Moldy food poisons chickens and should never be fed to them. Premixed nutritionally-balanced food is available in bulk (e.g. 50 lbs), or you can make your own by mixing together chicken scratch (whole wheat & cracked corn sold in bulk at feed stores) and a good selection of wild bird food. (Premixed poultry rations often contain antibiotics and typically include rendered dead and diseased birds, offal and other slaughterhouse refuse.) Mix roughly: 65% grains including barley, corn, milo (sorghum), millet, oats, wheat, brown rice; 10% alfalfa meal or ground hay; 16-20% sunflower or oil seeds, dried peas, cooked soybeans or soybean meal--don't feed chickens raw soybeans, which have toxins [See the Protein Section for a simple way to prepare soybeans; however, some farmers have reported feeding their chickens raw soybeans for years!]; 7% hydrated lime for extra calcium for eggshell formation; 1% trace mineral salt. Chickens have gizzards instead of teeth to grind food. To grind, gizzards employ grit--pebbles and other hard indigestible objects chickens pick up while foraging. An indoor chicken should always have some grit available. Chickens love fresh treats. (Contrary to what you may have heard, chickens do not like garbage.) Offer them cooked spaghetti with tomato sauce, steamed brown rice, grapes, fresh greens, chopped cooked potatoes, whole grain bread, raw tomatoes, and their own eggs hard-boiled including the shells (eggshells have calcium and other minerals for chickens).

6) MAKE FEED USING RABBIT PELLETS
From http://brill.acomp.usf.edu/~jvanhorn/care.html
FEED THEM WELL!
My chickens eat a basic diet of scratch grains and rabbit pellets. I feed rabbit pellets because lay ration contains dead ground up chickens and often lots of weird chemicals and stuff they don't need. In addition, my chickens get bread, all sorts of veggies and fruits, and pasta. Their favorites are leftover corn cobs, apple cores, squishy tomatoes and lettuce. I'm trying to start up a cricket growing enterprise too, because they just love juicy bugs. Don't give them roaches and things that may have been poisoned, though. Chickens that live outdoors pick up little rocks that they store in their gizzards and use as teeth to grind up food. You can buy grit to give to them if you think there are not enough rocks on the ground for them. Oyster shell, which is a good source of calcium, is also a good supplement to give chickens.

fab library of congress photos

2008-11-01T19:19:00.001-07:00

At work on Belmont girl farm (LOC)
Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

If you need a time waster . . . log onto flickr and check out their "Commons." The Library of Congress photos are amazing! This is one of them . . .

tricks in the sticks

2008-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous Halloween experience last night. Aurora was once again a pink kitty, and we dressed Laurel as a little farm hand. Tim was Waldo and I was some kind of a benevolent witch. We were a little worried that "twin lake loop," the closest thing we've got to a walkable street near us, wouldn't pan out. But it was great! Very safe, lots of folks with super kiddo candy, and the perfect length for a four year old and fam to walk. Met some neighbors (a great fringe benefit of Halloween!), and all were tired and ready for bed when we finished the loop. Ideal!

go timmie!

2008-11-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

I got a free huge cast iron sink on craigslist a while back (remember when I was obsessed with sinks?). And Timmie just installed it yesterday! It looks great and has a big compartment so that you can wash pots with handles flat. Genius! It is not an apron-front as I had originally hoped, but it also did not involve MAJOR renovations to install. And it will last forever, for free. I love it!

a good library haul

2008-10-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Took the girls to the library today, and we found some super books for them (including Maya Gottfried's hysterical "Good Dog" poems), but on the way out I found three that inspired me too! It is garden season here in Central TX, so I am excited to read and learn from Doug Welsh's Texas Garden Almanac, and was thrilled to find fellow blogger Amanda Soule's guide to family creativity.

On a side note, the photo at the top is of Aurora at her school, giving us a guided tour of all of her lessons (a rare treat which occurred at the school picnic last Sunday). Cool! Laurel is moving toward even greater maturity too; she is becoming more verbal and making clear requests with her words, like "up" and "more." She is also cruising to beat the band. Walking should come any day now!

beautiful

2008-10-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is a bit derivative as Sara sent me a link to somebody else's blog with these amazing photos on it. But here are some shots of Obama addressing folks at a rally in Chester, PA, in some seriously grisly weather, on Monday. I think they are just incredibly, incredibly moving. And oh so Shakespearean.

persimmons!

2008-10-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

Persimmons, along with blackberries, are my new horticultural obsessions. They have so many varieties of them at the Natural Gardener and Aurora just adores eating the non-astringent ones right from the tree. It is almost impossible, sadly, to find them at retail (even at the Natural Gardener), so I may need to order my two favorite varieties (Fuyu and Chocolate). They did have a couple persimmon trees at the Lowe's a few weeks ago and I just knew I should have bought them, had that gut feeling, but then hesitated over cramming them into the Toyota Echo. That'll teach me to trust my gut in the future, because I have not been able to find persimmon trees anyplace since then. They are just utterly gorgeous, with their fruit hanging like ornaments from their bare branches, apparently pest free, and delicious. Below is what Travis County plant expert Skip Richter has to say about persimmons. I'm on board!

In Praise of the Princely Persimmon
By Skip Richter, Travis County Extension Horticulturist
Persimmons may well be the Rodney Dangerfield's
of the fruit world. They seldom are found with apples,
peaches, plums and pears in nurseries. Most catalogue
sources either don't offer them, or relegate them to a back
page status. Their place in the supermarket produce section
is off in a corner with the kumquats, plantains and other
obscure fruits. For most people they are either the golfball
sized wild fruit of childhood that taught you in no uncertain
term what the word astringent meant, or the bland, tasteless
baseball-sized varieties commonly sold in grocery stores
(and unfortunately recommended for years for home
planting).
Alas, I am here to defend this maligned fruit and
hopefully rekindle some interest in its virtue as a valuable
addition to our gardens and landscapes. Several ethnic
groups adore persimmons giving them the place of honor
they deserve. Why they have never made the jump to the
mainstream of the American palate is a mystery to me. Even
their genus name, Diospyros, means "food-of-the-gods"!
The recent arrival of numerous "new" persimmon
varieties has greatly expanded and improved our options.
Many have excellent flavor and aromatic qualities and most
offer a pucker-free experience even when not fully ripe! The
rich, subtle flavors and aromas of a fully ripe persimmon are
something to experience.
Persimmon varieties may be divided into 2 groups;
astringent and non-astringent.
Astringent types must be fully ripe (jelly-like) before they
are eaten. Some people are a bit turned off by the
"messiness" of a truly ripe persimmon, but don't seem to
mind the texture of pudding, jelly or any other similar food,
so what's the big deal? Perhaps we need a national
persimmon board who can take up the slogan, “ Persimmons
– the fruit you eat in the bathtub”!
The second type of persimmon is the nonastringent.
These may be eaten after turning fully orange
without waiting for them to get soft. Many of the new types
are non-astringent, and as such are very popular. I think
even the non-astringent types should be allowed to soften
before you eat them for the best flavor.
Persimmons are virtually pest free. About the only
significant pests seen are the twig girdler, which occasionally
shows up to prune off branch ends and a leaf spot fungus.
Neither requires spraying.
There are two persimmons native to Texas. The
first, Diospyros texana, is a shrubby bush/tree found in the
western portions of the state, and is plentiful in the Austin
area. Its dime sized, black fruit is hardly palatable although
some make jelly from it. It is a valuable, drought tolerant
landscape plant.
The eastern persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is
native throughout the eastern U.S. including much of the
eastern third of Texas. This wild persimmon’s chief culinary
Native Eastern Persimmon Trees in Austin contribution to our area is its superior performance as a
Oriental Persimmons
Persimmon - Page 2
rootstock onto which the larger Asian varieties (Diospyros
kaki) are grafted.
Persimmons ripen in mid to late fall. Their bright
orange fruits hang on the tree on into early winter after the
leaves have fallen for a beautiful, ornamental effect. If your
neighbor has a tree it may be time to bake them a pie and go
visit...get the idea? Maybe they'd trade persimmons for a
loaf of holiday persimmon bread. Delicious fresh,
persimmons may be used in a variety of holiday recipes
including pudding, custard, cake, sherbet and a wonderful
holiday bread made with black walnuts.
For more information visit our website:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/

halloweeeeeeen!

2008-10-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

www.flickr.com

calyxdanceco's halloween! photoset

it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown!

2008-10-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

We watched this one of Charles Schulz's masterpieces last night, and Aurora really enjoyed it. She hasn't been able to get into it in previous years, but now she is amused by the witty banter between the kids and by Snoopy's strange adventures with the Red Baron. There is no other character (none other than Charlie Brown) that so perfectly exemplifies the beauty in dorkiness.

morning light, the daily drop-off, and frisky chickens

2008-10-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

The title speaks for itself. I think the brisk weather makes the chickens frisky. Me too!

punkins all over the place

2008-10-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

It's pumpkin time! And squash and cider! All that delicious stuff that comes along with the cool stiff breezes and yellowing leaves. I am roasting acorn squash with rosemary tonite.

go go craigslist swingset

2008-10-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Found a lovely free swingset on Craigslist, Tim went into town and dismantled it, and then re-mantled??? it on our property. Yay! It is fun to swing out over the field and look to the houses perched on the far horizon. Someone carved the letter "S" in the top of the swingset--for swing of course! And they also carved some lovely vines up the supports. Sweet.

Had a little photo fun today, so here are some shots from around the place, as well as of the swingset--

guess what i did today!

2008-10-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

I took both the ladies to the library after picking Aurora up from school, and what did I notice but signs that said Vote Aqui! So early voting has begun!

I took the girls upstairs in the elevator and cast my ballot with Laurel on my hip. What a rush! We need Obama in the White House to turn this country around!

bob ross

2008-10-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

It is rare, when you have been with a man as long as I have been with my husband (over ten years now!) to discover that you have something in common that you had not yet realized. And yet that is just what happened to hubby and I recently. We both love love Bob Ross. Yes, that PBS painting guy that you used to watch and fall asleep to when you stayed home sick from school. The dude with the happy trees. I am telling you, this guy is a zen master. In fact, Tim tried to start a Bob Ross club when he was in high school (where everyone would paint along with Bob) but it was nixed by the art teacher who said that Bob was not a "real artist." Elitist snobs! We love Bob!

Incidentally, for those of you in Austin, Bob Ross is on the PBS CREATE! channel a couple times a week. Go ahead, indulge!
http://www.klru.org/

what a relief

2008-10-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! The earth is finally feeling a little friendly and spongy again, like things could live in it and off of it. We had a full day of rain and our pond is liquid again. The air has that crisp empty feeling of fall--full of possibility. I planted a new fig tree and a bunch of wildflower seeds. Fingers crossed for them!

We went out to Pedernales Falls with the Guilford Glascoffs on their last full day here and it was just gorgeous, if a bit crowded. There is something that happens when you get about half-way out there on Fitzhugh. The land opens up in this dramatic way, like a book, full of sweeps and crooks and crevices and bold stretches of openness. I am falling in love with it. I'll include a shot or two--

Just returned from my brothers B-day celebration "Will-toberfest." He was decked out in lederhosen and all. Adorable. We got him a dancing gnome and a Lowe's gift certificate for the renovation of their new house in town. They are leaving their spot on The High Road. It is just gorgeous, four acres and a view of downtown--but from their new place they can walk to cafes and the like. Good ol' city living.

obsessive about real estate

2008-10-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've been driving about the hill country looking at properties for sale for my parents. Here is a flickr badge with some of the spots I've previewed.

www.flickr.com

Go to calyxdanceco's photostream

billy goats and dosie doats

2008-10-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

We've got the Guilford Glascoffs here in TX! We went out to the Austin zoo today and the little ones adored feeding the livestock!

practicing for halloween!

2008-10-08T12:20:00.001-07:00

Dress-up has been a big theme in our lives for the last few weeks. Aurora says she wants to be a pink kitty, so we ordered her pink tights and leotard and ballet slippers, as well as some furry pink fabric. We've already made some ears from the fabric and they are adorable! We also attended a little bit of a costume party in town where we practiced our princessing skills.

hollyhocks and sisters

2008-09-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

My sis came and stayed with us for a week. Twas lovely for both the kids and for yours truly. We went out to Reimer's Ranch and waded/swam in the Pedernales, and generally just hung out and did boring family stuff most of the week. My folks came up for the weekend and we drove about looking at properties for my parents.

I also planted some hollyhock seeds which were acquired at the Point Ellice house on Vancouver Island, in Victoria. They have sprouted! I will include a shot of their sweet little seedlings as well as a shot of the original plants in Victoria. They have been collected and grown in that garden for almost two centuries. Awesome!

ike??? and sandbox fun

2008-09-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Only the very slightest whiff of Hurricane Ike out here in the hill country. A bit overcast and breezy. Quite a nice break from the heat, actually. Houston got slammed but my folks and cousin seem to have fared just fine. My parents have no power, running water, or cable, and are missing a few shingles from their roof, but they seem cavalier about the whole thing. At least they didn't have to survive by hanging onto a pier like some folks did.

Finally finished putting together the sandbox, too. The ladies love it.

benjamin

2008-09-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

One of the great delights of our recent trip to the Northeast was getting to meet little Benjamin, the youngest cousin of the bunch. He is just about eight months now and cutting his first tooth. He wants so badly to move! He lies on his belly and swims arms and legs frantically but just can't manage to swim anywhere. He is like an adorable little sitting Buddha with big big eyes, taking it all in. I'll post some shots of him so you can get a load of his cuteness.

Things are well here back in Dripping. All chickens are alive and pecking, though Penelope still has a cough and their laying is down quite a bit (the heat? moulting??). The grass had grown a mile high in our absence, so Tim went and got a good sweaty workout mowing it. I need to weed the beds but have a hard time finding a moment, as Laurel refuses to be contained anymore. She can return herself to sitting from any position and then scoots around like a maniac. No interest in walking yet, though. She just puts her belongings over her shoulder and scoots away. My Grandpa sent her the cutest white fluffy cat the other day that was just calculated to create jealousy in her sister. Aurora does like fluffy cats.

on a lighter note

2008-09-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

OK--so here's proof that I'm a real American despite despising John McCain. I do love me some catalog shopping (or catalog browsing, as there is not a lot of purchasing these days). And the new J Crew catalog is so so beautiful. All those shots of the pretty people in Prague remind me of those teenage days when a JCrew catalog could whisk you away to that perfect land of fantasy, envy, perfect dishevelment, and gorgeous visual storytelling. I love the shot I've attached here of the woman in the yellow jacket. She's a little tired, world weary, and that water behind her is so dark and moody. Forgive me this small weakness. I know they are just trying to sell me something. But hey, beauty is beauty wherever you find it, right??

don't eat it!

2008-09-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

My apologies to those of you with sensitive ears:

The McCain campaign is whipping up a load of bull-crap mousse! It might look like chocolate to some of you who fail to take a whiff, but it is NOT!!! That man has voted with Bush 90% of the time. DO NOT vote for him and expect change.

My greatest distaste for the speech and images of the RNC we saw on TV last night was the sea of cowboy hats out there. That man has nothing to offer the folks who are really out there sweating under those hats. Got heat exhaustion? NO health insurance for you! Lost your ranch due to foreclosure? Too bad--we love the bankers and crooked mortgage brokers more than we love you! Kids flunking out of school?? Don't worry--we'll fire all their teachers and close down their school!! What an utter load of bullshit. The people with dirt under their nails and sweat on their brows will not be served by this man, nor does it appear as though he is willing to hand over any of his innumerable houses to the many homeless Americans he is supposedly going to fight for. And on the note of that closing mantra of FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT . . . These folks are nothing but a writhing, senseless mob fighting the inevitable, beautiful, and necessary gathering light of dawn. And that dawn is coming after a long, long night. Woe to all of us if they win that fight. (And woe to them that they should even consider mounting it).

Behind all the tough talk and "country first" noise is a platform that is going to dig us even deeper into the pit we are wallowing in right now. Do not vote for this man!

cliff walking

2008-09-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

We did have a few days of gorgeous weather while in RI (70's breezy and sunny!). We went to the cliff-walk one day and the two cousins engaged in naturalist activities with their grandma Sue!

The Birthday Bean!

2008-08-31T14:53:00.000-07:00

She's number one (for a day!).

toad stools and fairytables (and lots of cousin-time!)

2008-08-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

We are here in Rhode Island with Tim's family for Labor Day (and Laurel's true first B-day!) and are experiencing some real New England weather. It is misty and has been drizzling off and on all day. The kids are getting a little stir crazy. Aurora and Alexandra (her cousin) have been experimenting with sibling rivalry and friendship intermittently. Back in Guilford they both did the princess thing and were super cute. Laurel is approaching one-hood (tomorrow!) and is a real doll, she had her first haircut recently and the sun (when it appears!) glinting off her sweet locks is delectable.

Tim and I took the kayak out today and he dug about in the muck with his toes and turned up 15 or so clams. I sat in the kayak and made him get back in before he had a hypothermic attack. I know he loves the thrill of the hunt of those poor defenseless shelled creatures. It is satisfying, as I recall.

I will post some shots of our adventures here in the Northeast, our stay in Guilford and up here in Rhode Island. Matt and Lakshmi's hood in Guilford is sweet, all that America aspires to. Simple solid houses dwarfed by huge trees, all with baskets of impatiens hanging from the porches. They have miles of wooded trails behind their house, where Aurora and I hunted the wild mushroom.

We also visited Tim's friend Jonathan and his lovely family in New Haven, where we had fantastic pizza from Pepe's out on their flower-filled deck. Sophie is the little blondie.

gully-washer

2008-08-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Is that how you spell it? We've gotten some rain! The world is just sparkling and happy and grateful right now. The afternoon light bouncing off the little beads of rain and refracting through them is dazzling.

And we have our pond back!

pretty kitchen

2008-08-18T16:56:00.000-07:00

So we did eventually find someone to install that new kitchen window, and Tim finished just yesterday building some new open shelving. I think it's coming together . . .

birthday fun!

2008-08-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

We had a little gathering last nite to warm our cozy spot here in the country and to wish Laurel a a happy first year of life. Such fun! A late nap was the ticket to gift-opening happiness. It was so wonderful to see the vehicles of the folks we love gather out on our rocky drive. We hope to celebrate many many more happy birthdays in this house. And little Laurel will get to celebrate again on her real B-day while we're up in the Northeast!

chicken dog

2008-08-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Aurora received her certificate and goodies at the Dripping Springs Community Library yesterday for being a part of their reading program this summer. "Chicken Dog" came along to the "reading gala" and was super-funny and entertaining with his macaw and three crazy dogs. Aurora particularly liked it when the macaw did an impression of the dogs and scratched herself.

the power of the princess

2008-08-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

I went to wake Aurora this morning so that she would have time to eat breakfast before preschool and she was decked out in princess attire (including plastic pumps). Like a fluffy little crinoline rose. Tim put her to bed last nite, so it was quite a terrific surprise. Our friends the Gillentines passed along an entire lawn bag full of dress-up clothes when we went to visit them for dinner last nite. They could not possibly have made a little girl any happier.

(Wait a minute . . . I can't believe I am having to wake my daughter and not the other way around. This is a sea change.)

the poetry of that moment

2008-08-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

My grandmother's funeral was really quite lovely. A number of people spoke and told personal, quirky stories that helped us all remember who she was in her prime. My uncle Stan gave a life history and mentioned that my grandmother was named Grace because the day she was born (in Waller, TX, I believe, the same town where the funeral was held) a terrible drought broke. And as her funeral was beginning, the rain began to drizzle down. As they lowered her coffin into the thick, red clay it came in torrents. There was something comforting about the bits of roots reaching out toward that wooden box, just waiting to reclaim it. Maybe some folks would find that creepy. I don't know. It is so rare for us to come close to death in a society that is so strongly in denial of it--we'd all like to stay young forever (and yet we've also got this peculiar fascination with killing, dying, murder--CSI and all that). Someone said as we were about to leave that "in some places they'll throw a bit of soil on top of the coffin--that's the tradition." And yet we seemed not to know what our own tradition was. And so the soil was thrown and one calla lily left lingering there. Our rituals are borrowed and we're a bit unsure of them. Don't know what could be done to remedy that.

Nevertheless, I do think we mourned grandma in a way that was respectful and appropriate, if a bit home-made. Field Store Cemetery, where she is buried, is almost entirely full of people related to us in one way or another. A strange feeling it gives you. It is a little honky-tonk, with some of the gravestones bearing silk flowers in Dairy Queen cups, but it is over-towered by ancient trees, and some of the stones are really quite dignified.

It was a surprising treat to see our relatives and spend this spontaneous time with them. It was like one last gift from grandma. Thank you!

saying goodbye to grace

2008-08-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

My grandmother, Grace Trigg (my mother's mother), passed away a few hours ago. She was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease and has, in practical terms, been gone from us for many years now. But somehow that does not make it much easier. For the last few days she has been, according to my mother, asleep. She has been breathing but no-one could even pick up a blood pressure. Truly drifting away.

Here are the things she loved (as far as her eldest grand-daughter was aware):

Her children and grandchildren.
Adlai Stevenson.
Garage sales.
Books.
The Encyclopedia.
Oprah.
A bargain.
Liberal politics.
Quilts.
The land.

And here are my memories of her. Largely moments in time, from the eyes/heart/skin of a child:

Falling asleep in the seat next to her in the car, the air outside the car so hot and the AC blasting on my face (I always stayed with her in the summer).
How she let me watch MTV and eat pop-tarts.
The costume jewelry in her bathroom.
Watching her mow her own backyard at the age of 60-something in the noontime heat.
Playing rummy with her and my grandfather.
How she loved to go to the farmer's market outside of her tiny East-Texas town.
Her curly grey-purple hair.
How she had good legs and good boobs (odd-but yes I did notice this).
The taste of her Thanksgiving stuffing (we haven't gotten it quite right since she's stopped making it).
Her appreciation for peanut-butter candies and pecan pie.

I took Laurel out onto the upper deck after my mom called to say that grandma had passed. It was twilight but the moon was already out. Laurel looked right up at that moon and waved.

Bye bye grandma. And wherever you are headed, I am sure your memories are there waiting for you. We love you.

Pippin: "I didn't think it would end this way.”
Gandalf: “End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back and all changes to silver glass . . . and then you see it.”
Pippin: “What, Gandalf? See what?”
Gandalf: “White shores. And beyond. The far green country under a swift sunrise.”
Pippin: “Well, that isn't so bad.”
Gandalf: “No. No it isn't.”

Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh after JRR Tolkien

what a horrible time to be a gardener (in texas)

2008-08-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Spent a long while weeding one of the beds in our garden here (such as it is) yesterday. It put me in mind of a cover of Texas Gardener where Skip Richter is pointing a shotgun at some crabgrass. The frustrating thing about gardening here in the summer is that the rest of the country is enjoying lovely, effortless color and you feel like you should be able to accomplish that. But you just can't, at least not without spending your life savings on water. Even so it's a tall order.

We really are good gardeners! I'll include some old shots of that Zilker garden. I think the raised beds were key there. You just have to add some tillable soil on top of the limestone if you want to make any progress without putting out your back and your patience. I am working on some plans for this garden which include an additional L-shaped bed along the front line of fencing and a mosaic patio outside the kitchen door (where anything and everything is currently tracked into the house).

hot hot hot

2008-08-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Over 100 almost every day, and Tropical Storm Edouard has not performed. Just a drizzle yesterday. We need some rain.

Aurora has begun school again and seems to having a good time. She gave her teacher a big hug on the first day and is thrilled that now she has her own left-handed scissors at school. She has brought home some cool artworks. There is a shot of a little creature she's been drawing at home. She says it's a tadpole (with eyelashes!).

There's also a shot of little Laurel with neighborhood buddy Grover (whose mama grew up in this house!).

more of pender

2008-07-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

I can't resist posting a few more shots of Pender Island, and also of an incredible high tea at the Ellice House that we enjoyed while in Victoria (which altogether pales in comparison to Pender (aside from the delicious tea!), but does offer civilization--the merits of which I am still debating).

our time in the land of the heart-shaped stone . . .

2008-07-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a blessedly wonderful week on Pender Island. Here are the things I brought home with me:

--the sound of a butterfly's wings (like crepe paper)
--the taste of rose petals (a little like mint)
--the warmth of stones baked in the sun
--the chill of morning
--the blood-like taste of iron in the water
--the knowledge that our world is both infinitely large and infinitely small
--the iridescence of a peacock's back
--the feeling of breaking shale
--the way my sister's hair falls across her face
--a burnt scalp

What an impossibly beautiful place it is.

sunsets, sunflowers, and late nite walkies

2008-07-15T17:19:00.001-07:00

Midsummer here is not nearly so unbearable as in town. It cools off when the sun sets. The breeze picks up, and it's altogether a pleasure to be outside. We have been walking the new gravel roads in our community, where some nasty developer is hoping to make his/her fortune. They are terribly beautiful right now, though, just trees and dirt and sky. We hope the economy collapses and those roads remain our own private abandoned trails.

the new yorker is funny

2008-07-12T06:54:00.001-07:00

OK, so the New Yorker is copyright protected and I can't post a very big image of this cartoon, but it is one of the funniest in a while. It is a shot of a baby kicking its mama in the face with the caption "I can feel the baby kicking." That's where we're at right now with Laurel. She is crazy active and ready to be on the move.

the view from up top

2008-07-12T06:45:00.001-07:00

We have been spending a little time in the evenings on our upper deck, and have noticed that we have a family of deer who come to visit our dry pond bed, where they nip off the tender grass shoots. There are FOUR fawns! They frolic about and are really darling. (And they make me happy that our yard is privacy fenced, because I'm sure they would take advantage of any and everything edible up here.)

lazy days

2008-07-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

It must be summer when a trip to the grocery store constitutes your main event of the day. (Or maybe that's just family life at any time of year??)

I must confess that the other tremendous weakness (and time killer) I have succumbed to recently is shopping for farm sinks on craigslist and e-bay. I may come up with the perfect one yet. Here is a shot of one of my recent lovies. The problem with the apron-front jobbies is that they are a booger to mount and incredibly heavy to boot. I may just do a 50's style with double drainboards and a high back. I think that would work nicely with the stove, and would allow us to do a drop-in installation, which would be a lot easier.

I have been pestering handymen about installing a new window in my kitchen (the one we've got has a broken seal). You wouldn't think it would be so hard to get that kind of simple task done, but it seems to be significantly more challenging than launching a space-ship.