Postcard Swap #2 David M. Lynch

My dear friend Alan Burnett from across the pond

started a postcard swap a while back and it is starting

to branch out among many of us. My other dear friend,

Silver Fox and I decided to do a swap, too! You can go to

his blog here and see the card I sent to him.

Yes, it's a bird. Yes, I drew it. lol. :)

This week, I received Silver's card.

It's old. Love that. It's of a bird. Love that!

And his message is full of word play. Love that, too!

You can click on each photo to enlarge.

Here's what he writes...

Hi, Betsy,

I thought I'd send you a card which was evocative of Massachusetts. And of course, it features a bird! Reminds one of your "Tern, Tern, Tern" post a while ago, eh? A perfect Twitter 'tweet', too!

David

*****

The bird on the front is a Tern. And he's playing on my

post about Mr. and Mrs. Mourning Dove and how they reminded

me of that good old song Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds.

*****

Very clever, David!

Thanks so much for the postcard!

How very fun!

♥

I Think I've Been Adopted!

Two summers ago this little tortoiseshell cat was a

stray kitten who we would find sleeping on the

top step of our pool ladder! Last summer she amused me

with her hunting skills as I watched her leap from her

hiding place in a shrub and catch a sparrow mid air under

the bird feeder! Recently I saw her trot along outside my

kitchen window with a large grackle in her mouth!

Her sides were wide and she was obviously

carrying a litter of kittens, soon to be born.

This week, while it has been warm enough to have the

back door open, she's come up to the screen.

I don't know if she smells dinner cooking or Nugget!

I think the torrential thunderstorms have hampered her

chances of catching dinner for herself. And she's obviously

so hungry as she's nursing her babies. I broke down

and gave her some meat yesterday.

Those sweet eyes were looking at me ALL day from this spot. How could I resist?

She won't let me touch her but she did come take the meat

from me and she posed nicely for a few pictures. I especially

like the tip of her tail. One of her hind legs

is orange like that, too.

So, if she's lived in our back yard for 2 years, do you think

she's officially adopted us? Actually, I think since I fed her

she has officially adopted us. lol.

So, any ideas for a name? I've seen two of the kittens. One is a calico with lots

of white and the other is a grey tiger stripe with a

white chin. Adorable! If you live near me and

want a kitten they could use a good home.

Nugget would appreciate them all leaving. ha.

♥

Lost In Translation

Having non-verbal kids makes it hard to communicate at

times. I'm pretty good at figuring out what our boys want

and can tell by their body language if something isn't

just right. But for the last week I've been stumped when

I would tie Harry's shoes each morning and he would

stand there like something was wrong. He would stick

his foot out and point to it like something bothered him.

Several days in a row I checked for a rock, twisted sock

toenails that needed trimmed, cut on his foot...anything

that could be bothering him. Everything seemed fine!

One day I checked his shoe and he stuck out the other one

to be fixed, too! After messing with both shoes for the 3rd

or 4th day, I said, "Harry, there's nothing wrong! You

just have to wear them." He reached down and pulled

the hem of his pants down OVER his shoe laces!

"Are you kidding me?" I said, "Why didn't you just

do that yourself the first time!?"

I guess showing your laces isn't cool. ha.

Some things aren't as difficult to figure out. Like when

Harry dug in my desk drawer and brought me a pair of

scissors. "Do you want me to cut something?" I asked.

He took both hands to the sides of his head and shook

his hands, making an exasperated expression. Oh!

You need a hair cut? "Oy" he says. (his 'yes')

So I complied. And I agree...it does look better! And Harry looks happier, too!

Sigh.

:)

♥

Squirrel

Unabashedly sitting where the birds feed

Stealing the peanutS and sunflower seed.

Quick rodent without a chin,

FlUffy tail twitches signals to kin.

Your tail Is also good for balance

As you show off youR talents

Leaping Roof tops so nimble

To tree tops without a trEmble.

Hiding treats in that oLd bird's nest

To savor later after a rest.

♥

Short and Tall

The theme over at Creative Tuesday this time is

short and tall. I immediately knew what I was going to

do with those opposites! Yes, the ostrich and the

hummingbird are extremes as far as size or height.

Their eggs are extremely different, too. A

hummingbird's eggs are the size of a small jelly bean,

less than one half inch long. An ostrich's egg weighs

about 3.3 pounds and is the size of a cantaloupe!

******

If you'd like to join in Mr. Toast's bi-weekly art

group, click HERE. This theme is open through

Tuesday, April 26th.

♥

Easter

Mrs. Dove enjoying the bleeding hearts and

violets this week.

"He is not here, for he has risen, as he said!"

Matthew 28:6

Wishing you a happy, peaceful Easter!

♥

The Grape Turns Into A Raisin

Remember Grape Face, the grape with the naturally made

face that I saw looking at me in a cluster of grapes I brought

home from the grocery? Well, here he is 2 weeks later.

He's been sitting on the window sill at the kitchen sink

watching over my jewelry I lay up there when I do dishes.

He's looking rather raisin-ish, don't you think?

Remember these guys? Maybe Grape Face has big dreams!

♥

City Girl Needs A Farm Girl Wardrobe

Some of my regular blog friends may remember me talking about some of my stories of being a city girl living in the country. I thought 'layers' was a hair

style and 'nesting boxes' were pretty floral hat boxes we all had in our closets!

Wrong! lol. Well after our thunderstorms and flooding over the last few days I knew that my on-sight farm auction was going to be wet and muddy.

I told The Mister that this city girl really needed to buy a few farm girl wardrobe essentials if I was going to be working these auctions! One thing I really need are some boots. Not the leather and suede ones that I already have.

No, I need some to wear mucking about in and around the barn yard.

So this doesn't happen to my shoes!

I did make sure I wore an old pair of shoes so it wasn't too traumatic when I was standing outside in the wind and could feel my feet sinking into the ground! There was about 2 inches of water just standing in the yard!

Here's what the roads looked like on my way home. The ground is just

too saturated to absorb any more rain! Want to swim? ha. Not with the wind chills, which were in the teens today. Is this really April? Now I need to clean up my shoes and go shopping! I'm thinking Welles! Now I just need to decide what color! Actually, I'd pick the classic dark green because that's just more me. No auction pictures today. We were just TOO busy for me to get out my camera. And my hair? LOL! No pictures. Ha. As much as I love keeping it real, that's just a little too real! Let's just say I love the windswept look but this was a little overkill on that.

♥

Thunderstorms

It's a well known fact that it rains when I go to the grocery.

It doesn't matter which day of the week I choose or even

if the forecast calls for rain! Today terrible thunderstorms

were forecasted for the morning and we woke up to the

electricity flickering and the thunder rolling.

But the weatherman said it was going to be dry from

noon to five o'clock, so I went out in the afternoon.

And I got soaked.

In fact, it didn't stop raining! And not just rain but

rain slamming so hard it was deafening in my Jeep.

Lightening so bright I was a little scared to be out in it! And look at that field. There isn't suppose to be a lake there! I finally had to put my camera down because visibility was so bad and I kept coming up on water covering the road! I hear the worse is yet to come around 2am tonight. At least we haven't had tornadoes like the south! Big hugs to you all down there! I work an auction Wednesday. It's on-site at a farm. Wanna bet it's going to be wet, muddy and cold?

Yep, I'm thinking that, too.

I'm predicting a bad hair day right now. lol.

♥

Easter Lamb Sugar Cookies

For more Sweets for a Saturday recipes, click HERE!

Yes, I'm counting sheep!

I've had this darling Brown Bag Cookie Mold for ages

but never used it until today. Their website has special

dough recipes formulated for the molds and several

helpful hints in making the cookies. If you are interested

in visiting their website, click HERE!

These are big cookies! Bigger than my hand!

It was kind of like playing with Play-Doh!

After baking, I did a thin rough coat of frosting. Then used a pastry bag and tip to make the wool. The website gave a lemon sugar cookie recipe. I adapted it to

almond since I made lemon brownies today.

********

Cookie Mold Almond Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 T almond extract

1/2 T water

2 cups flour

1/4 t salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, extract and water.

Add flour and salt and mix well.

Chill dough 20 minutes.

Lightly oil and flour mold.

Mold cookies and bake 350 for 14 minutes or until edges are brown.

One recipe made 5 cookies.

******

I think they will look cute tucked into the Easter baskets!

And they smell wonderful!

♥

Autism and Appetites

Any parent of a child with autism knows how difficult it can

be to get them to break out of their self imposed limited diet.

Spencer and Harry eat almost the same thing, every meal,

every day. Alex, on the other hand left behind his

food obsessions years ago and he's always in the kitchen

looking to see what I might be preparing.

This past week he asked for a bowl of the homemade

chicken and vegetable soup I was making. His brothers, on

the other hand, haven't tasted something new in years!

And they are all different, too. Harry is a self imposed

vegetarian that loves cereal, fruits, veggies and yogurt.

Spencer love his protein...turkey, ham, hot dogs and

cheese and self imposed gluten free.

He will eat fruits and some veggies, though.

Alex will eat anything! And the interesting part of

that is that he is the thinnest!

They all love potato chips.

None of them eat dessert.

Suckers are the only sweets!

I'm SO glad I don't have to share my ice cream! ha.

♥

Random Thoughts

1. I can't seem to get enough of fresh cilantro lately! If you trim the ends and put the bunch in water like a bouquet, it will keep in your refrigerator for about a week. Our favorite way to eat it is chopped into spicey chicken or beef mixed with rice, corn, beans and spooned over tortilla chips. Add salsa, sour cream and cheese. Yum. Nugget, however, likes it plain. :)
2. Mr. Cardinal is still feeding Mrs. Cardinal. They're such a romantic couple. The Mourning Doves, on the other hand are entertaining in quite another way. It seems Mr. Dove wants to do a little hanki-panki and Mrs. Dove will have nothing to do with it! lol. Maybe she's just playing hard to get. I'm telling you, there isn't anything I don't see from the view at my desk. :)
3. It really seems like spring now with the neighborhood doing their first grass cuttings. The trees are sprouting leaves and the perinnials have all started growing.
4. Last week we had a pea-sized hail, dark gloomy skies, bright sunshine, a rainbow and a pink sunset all in one day!
5. I have a 12'x12' violet patch under one of my crabapple trees. I know some people consider them to be weeds, but I love them. I planted a clump of them and they spread to fill the area in two years. These are weeds. ha.
6. And violets aren't the only things blooming. So are the pear, magnolia and redbud trees and the forsythia bushes!
7. When I give myself a pedicure, I sit up on the kitchen counter and put my feet in the sink. You should have seen my neighbor's face as he wandered over a little too far into our yard and happened to look up and make eye contact with me. I waved. He quickly turned away and acted like he didn't see me. lol. I was sitting there soaking my feet and I'm sure he wondered what I was doing. Hey, if I have to look at his tightie whities on the clothesline all summer, he can see me sitting on the kitchen counter. ha.

Happy Weekend!

♥

Weeds

At the end of October we did the last outside chores.

We weeded the gardens, tilled the soil, and laid weed

block. See how lumpy and bumpy the weed block is

now? Those are WEEDS growing under there!

Can you see the dandelion that has bloomed UNDER the weed block?

I just had to laugh as I took these pictures today! Yep, I think that was a waste! Maybe it only works with mulch on top? Should I rip it off?

Or should I leave it, plant the garden and lay mulch

between the rows? Either way, I think the weeds won! ha.

♥

Postcard Swap #1 Alan Burnett

I was delighted when Alan from News From Nowhere sent

me an email inviting me to participate in a postcard swap!

His postcard arrived safe and sound from across the pond

this week. How fun. And I have to say, the boys

crowded around as soon as they got a glimpse!

The triplets live, breath and sleep all things trains!

And Alan, being the sweet man that he is, remembered that.

Here's what he wrote:

Friday 1st April 2011

Dear Betsy,

The choice of my postcard for you wasn't difficult at all because I know

that Spencer collects pictures of trains. Well here is the Flying Scotsman

at York for his collection. York is only about 20 or 30 miles away from

where we live and we frequently go for a day out. The actual "Flying

Scotsman" train used to hold the speed record between London and

Edinburgh. Now it's home is the National Railway Museum - which

is also at York. Kind regards to you and your five men. Alan.

How very fun, Alan! Thank you!

You should receive mine there very soon!

And yes, Spencer had to read the words and study the photo!

He knows the Flying Scotsman very well!

Thank you, Alan! We all enjoyed the postcard very much

but I know Spencer will cherish it forever!

♥

This stuff smells so good, you're going to be tempted to taste it.

Just sayin'.

I got it at Wal-mart if you're interested.

♥

Rooftops

click to enlarge

Rooftops is the current theme over at Creative Tuesdays!

Here's my little sketch of a quaint and cozy neighborhood.

Black ink, colored pencils and chalk.

And yes, I got my bird in there, too! :)

If you want to join in, click HERE!

We take care of our health, we lay up money, we make our roof tight and our clothing sufficient, but who provides wisely that he shall not be wanting the best property of all ~ friends?

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American Poet 1803-1882

♥

Grackle

Grackle, as seen from my window. 4-6-11

*****

Ms Grackle here on my picket fence.

She certainly has a different demeanor than the

Mourning Dove, doesn't she? She doesn't seem

as soft and sweet. She doesn't seem as naive either.

No pink toes or powder blue eyeshadow for her!

No, she looks more like a female superhero!

She's confident, authoritative, and beautifully shiny.

I love her keen yellow eyes and striped long legs. She's

also an excellent mom. I watched a grackle a few

years ago when one of her young fell from a nest high

in a maple tree. It couldn't fly yet and it was pouring

rain. He landed on his back and lay there with his legs

straight up in the air, unable to move. Mom flew down

and flipped him right side up and fussed over him

for a while. She would feed the babies in the nest

and then swoop down and feed the little one on the

ground. Just like humans, right? Sometimes our kids

need extra care, love and work and we don't even

think twice..we do it because we love them and

because they belong to us.

♥

Bunny Love

Nugget keeps trying to run on the treadmill with me.

I've had to rescue him with my foot a few times

as he's jumped on while I was running!

And I often find him here waiting for me, too.

But now I think I know why he's wanting to look his best!

Because this pretty girl keeps hanging around our yard! ♥

Pink

It just doesn't get any better than a pink sunset!

From my front porch.

Happy Friday!

******

I've joined Sky Watch Friday!

Click HERE to see amazing skies from all over the world!

♥

The Byrds

I was snapping pictures of Mr and Mrs Mourning Dove

today while sitting at my desk and it occurred to me

that I was humming Turn, Turn, Turn from The Byrds. :)

Then the shots I was getting seemed to go with the song!

Well...with a little creative liberties with the lyrics!

Click open the embedded link in a new window and

listen while you look!

*****

To everything, turn, turn turn

There is a season, turn, turn, turn

And a time for every purpose under heaven.

A time to laugh...

a time to mourn... a time to rest a time to gather stones together. A time to be fat a time to be thin

a time to be startled

a time to listen

a time to refrain from embracing.

A time to build

a time to preen

a time to dance

a time to sleep

a time to refrain from speaking.

I swear it's not too late.

I certainly giggled the whole time I put this together!

I hope it puts a smile on your face, too!

♥