Gone Fishing

I love the last couple of days schedule..off work in time to go fishing out at the big pond. She's usually SO excited just to go on the daily walk anyway! The minute I walk in the door after work she's running circles around me and when she sees me getting my gun and putting on the walking shoes she's an absolute mess of excited doberman! Running back and forth as I load up the fishing backpack, going back for something else, then again for something else (the anticipation just kills her!)

FINALLY heading out the door she bursts through chasing kittens and momma cat, then running to the chicken coop to bark through the wire in her usual show, the chickens and rooster fight back with their own pecks knowing she's a just a little drama queen, just letting them know their place while she heads out to the pond on a walk again :).. Racing ahead, over the levee, off on trails of scents left and right, stopping only to look back and make sure I'm still following.

She lives for this... :)

Me too.. :)

Walking past the 100 year old pear tree (at least) that made it through the drought and harsh summer (which was not as lucky as the big willow tree over the chicken coop..but that's another story)

We walk on, watching the sun still high enough to promise a little more light to fish by, a few early monarchs (a sign of an early winter I'm told) but not a lot of birds and no deer surprised by us. The pond is hopping with signs of fish biting, BIGTIME! Yay! :)

Setting the pole, backpack, beer (of course) on some rocks to start baiting the hook with nightcrawlers (someday I will have a worm bed next to the compost pile..someday..), back turned to the pond, I hear a SPLASH!!!

A BIG splash from a super huge fish! "Oh you're just taunting me.." Oh yes..it's on...

Back turned...ANOTHER big splash! What the heck?! Turtles high diving off of the dead sticks sticking out of the water? I start thinking about the large shadow in the water I had seen the week or so before and jokingly thought it might be a croccadile. It's been known to have them show up in ponds in Oklahoma. No...couldn't be a croccadile.. most likely not..

Then finally facing the pond while finishing the baiting of the hook, it happened.. Big splash out of nowhere..nothing leaped out of the water and I saw something floating on the surface..with two eyes looking at me.. One eye blinked so I knew it wasn't a turtle. It floated a long body of a shadow behind it so I was watching its every move ..Daisy oblivious to everything while she darted through the trees..

Then I saw the beaver flip its tail in obvious warning to me, with a conviction he would stand his ground and defend his pond. Once we made eye contact he swam around, watching as I fished, caught 4 perch today, he didn't bother me and I didn't bother him. He swam like an otter but didn't do anymore tail slapping warnings on the water. He just hung out, keeping an eye on me..

We've seen signs of beaver dropping trees around the pond. Usually they don't take more than they need to make a house. I'm sure the ecosystem of a beaver contributes to the health of the pond so I never thought about drawing my gun on it. I've even named him "Braveheart". He seemed to be more worried about me harming the pond (or HIS pond anyway) so I think he's earned a right as the caretaker. I do need to talk to Amber and Camaron about letting this caretaker stay with a reprieve long enough to prove himself as a worthy guardian of the Big Pond. He really seems worthy...

The sun was setting low...Daisy was getting worried about the darkness coming on.. curled up by the fishing tackle ready to go home so we packed up. I stopped at the edge of the pond, looked at the beaver that was still floating...watching me closely. I sent a protective prayer to him and asked Spirit to watch over him and goodbye..

As I turned away he slapped the water loudly with his tail and was off...

me too... ;)

Women In the Kitchen... (plus Camaron) :)

Monday's Harvest Moon seems a fitting time for this weeks activities and the somewhat sporadic entries here. (sorry Ron, but better late than never :)~)

Amber has been getting right into figuring out the canning process now that she has all the equipment, researching recipes to the letter and having all the "why's" and "why nots" of canning all figured out before the set up all began.

Today she and Camaron borrowed Betty's truck and got a load of pine for me from Mary. (Thank you Mary!) Their tree was another casualty to the harsh summer of '11, but it is a good start to my wood pile and I am very thankful for it! After that Amber had all the ingredients for canning salsa so we went to work on that once we got back.

There is so much involved in canning, a simple process really but a lot of timed and choreographic efforts in the kitchen that's not an easy task for just one person. I did my part cutting up cilantro, garlic, onions, peppers...Amber blanched the tomatoes and chopped those up...Camaron cut up the jalepenos and wax peppers... It just all came together so nice :)

It reminded me so much though of Sundays at Grandmas, when sometimes it just happened that lots of aunts and uncles and cousins seemed to pop into Grandmas and Grandpas all at the same time. The usual Sunday dinner was a pot of beans with salt pork, the famous fried chicken, corn bread, and probably fried potatoes, green beans. The smells of Sunday dinner at Grandmas are imbedded in my dna and my psyche. But all the rest of it are memories..some strong, some distant and fleeting.

The hustle and bustle of aunts running around the kitchen like ants. The cousins, boys and girls alike trying to sneak in the ice box to get a glass of the sweetest ice tea ever made, always at least two pitchers ready made and ice cold. And of course while we were there Grandma always had candy hiding in the ice box for grandkids :). Orange peanut candies, those chocolate drops that us kids weren't allowed to call what the adults called them (for obvious reasons), those pink wintergreen candies, all were fair game since Grandma put them there.

With so many cousins, aunts, uncles, moms and dads in and out of the house, doors wide open, every fly swatter was being put to good use by us kids. Sneaking into the kitchen to see if the fried chicken was done..pretending to not be looking and going on into the laundry room. As if they didn't know.. The old wringer washer Grandma used for so long was always in that musty smelling laundry room. Eventually Grandma got a "modern washer".

I'll never forget when the family got together and put in an indoor bathroom and no more outhouse! Yay! The outhouse may be the source of past childhood trauma.. I'm not sure...

All the uncles, dads, older boy cousins on the front porch talking, waiting for dinner to be done. The summer heat was never as bad in the shade of the front porch. From there you could watch everyone coming or going down the street. We could listen to the adults talk..discern how much time we had before dinner...take a walk with cousins down the alley, taste a little bit of wild licorice that was growing, go to the little store that had penny candy when it was 2-5cents, and they would take soda bottles we found along the way as trade ins. Marveling at the cost of a payphone going up to a dime!!! But then, it was time to get back home with our candy and see if dinner was ready.

And it was..everyone grabbed a plate...got in line .. in antlike perfect disorganized chaos. And it was good... so very good...

But the clean up process.. now that was what got me started on the whole kitchen situation. There seemed to be an unwritten rule that if the lady of the house opened up her kitchen to family, the ladies of the clan never left the kitchen with even one dish dirty. That was just how it was. The hustle and bustle of cooking was one thing...but the hustle and bustle of cleaning up afterwards was the finale'. I remember vaguely boy cousins helping out now and then, but I mostly remember standing at the sink (vague memories of standing on something to be tall enough to reach the sink) one dishpan of soapy water to wash, one dishpan to rinse, grumbling because the boys got to hang out with the uncles and not have to help... ("why did us girls always have to do all the work?") But the aunts always had such stories going on in the background for us to try to pick up on :)

The old dish water was strewn across the garden area, or just the yard. Same as the scraps since there were no chickens. But once the kitchen was clean... the dishes dried with old flour sack towels then left to hang on rusty nails to dry over emptied old enameled dishpans. Aaahhh... now the aunts and other girls could visit on the porch with the boys now that the work was done.

There usually wasn't enough time by then to go swimming with the big cousins at the canals but we could walk around the small town of Traver, California, at least until it was time to go home. We left after a nice Sunday visit of lots of family, wonderful food, wonderful girl -family-kitchen interaction (which is the most amazing bonding interaction from generation to generation)

Girls gathering in the kitchen just didn't seem to know they were passers on of girl secrets to the next generation. We just didn't know it was all being passed on down to us at the time. But we were just part of the girls if we helped with the washing and drying. It's just the way it was back then.

Summer Dormancy

Oh my ...the heat...

the relentless heat.

It just seems to have been escalating for some time. Who'd o' thunk the year would have turned as it did?

This heat, 30? 40? days now? The record is 50 100 degree days in 1983. We're likely to break it still being in July. Bambi is doing pretty fine with the amount of pasture to eat on now, but I'm hearing cattle will need to be fed EARLY this year, and that's IF they can find a grower that hasn't been hit by the drought with no hay to sell!

Walking out to the ponds this evening I didn't see Bambi tonight. The fences are good so I'm sure she's fine. She's been out to say hi close to the house then off she goes as usual. People are saying the heat is cooking the grass at an enormous rate so she's probably foraging quite nicely. Grasshoppers are CRAZY this year!!! Luckily they've stayed clear of the garden but the flowers are fair game. If the grasshoppers could only be trained to mow the lawn.. :)

The pond has such a layer of green over it, not moss but that layer of tiny leaves that float on the water. But the SMELL of the grass was so sweet and fragrant this evening... I didn't walk far but it was far enough to inhale the heat of summer permeating off the native plants baking..no, sauteing in the humidity.

We found the feathers of the hen that I had to let loose because she was so henpecked on her scalp (chickens just do that when they decide a pecking order). I didn't have the heart to put her down so just had to let her go loose and probably a coyote got her. I've been told to watch for coyotes..

And then there is Barron.

That baby doll of a dog that thought Daisy was a Goddess, following and worshiping her every move... was hit by a car this week. Amber, Camaron, me and Daisy and the rest are very devastated. Daisy went everywhere with him. She is so sad after losing her best friend. They were the most odd couple and since he is gone she has been so depressed...

On a HAPPIER note!!

Amber and Camaron got married!!! They drove all the way to Lake Tahoe and got married at the chapel that me and my ex got married at, my mom and Earl got married at, AND her Aunt Rita and Jay got married at! It was a whirlwind vacation and the reception out here is coming. :) Woot Woot!!

Summer 2011

Summer night on the 4th of July

Aaahh.. finally home from work.

A rushed exit after a rushed and hurried day. My weekend off went by too fast, not a lot to show for it but went swimming at Bettys, got the garden perked up with soaker hoses and a boost of good soil, even found time to meditate and made salsa for the potluck today.

Today just seemed so ... I don't know.

Coming home to Daisy lifted my spirits. She doesn't take well to the sounds of fireworks (or gunshots, or thunder, etc..) She's been by my side all night, protecting me of course! We went out to watch the fireworks this evening, just before sunset.

The sky changed color by the minute, no..by the second! Blue to pink to orange..the distant pockets of thunder showers were too far away bring any relief by way of rain, but they made for a nice sunset on the horizon none the less. The fireworks started early, seems like it's earlier every year. The whiporwills were calling their songs back and forth, bullfrogs from the pond by the barn were calling to bullfrogs in the little pond, who croaked back again their call...and it went on and on... :)

The silloette of the weeping willow towering over the chicken coop, as roosters crowed (yes there are two of them and they have "an understanding") but still insist on crowing competition. (For the record, the little rooster is over compensating with his voice, not judging, just sayin )

The crescent moon is shining brighter through the willow branches, waxing on it's way to a full moon in a couple of weeks. In the mean time the air smells of summer. You can breath in the scent of hot grass that has been baking through another day of 100 degrees or better, ..another one! Yesterday was 104 and something about the air in the summer evenings as it cools gives off the smell of summer. The plants tell you, "yeah, it was HOT again today but smell this! We adapt!" And so, they teach us to adapt through smell. We seem to forget every year, forgetting with each season's harshness, whining about how "bad" this or that season is, the plants remind us that this is how it is every year. The sounds, smells, feelings, remembrances, fireflies, the air nudging you to inhale deeply and remember! Then a heron flew over, solitary, (odd, I never see them fly in pairs, just alone) on his way to where he would settle for the night.

The fireworks continued to peak. Daisy at my feet turning her head towards each direction, not so much "oohing and aaahhhing" just noticing. Then looking up at me, like "have you had your fill yet?" It was funny that she at least watched them with me by my side.

I put misters around the patio now, an extra air conditioner in the kitchen since the house got to over 90 degrees inside with these 100 degree days. It's comfy now. It's quiet though. Work is work but the time spent at the art gallery was amazingly like fireworks. The fireworks that shot up high in the sky, exploding with peacock tails in every burst. Cloud formations of dragon shapes watching in awe as each exploded in random direction.

I want to be that burst of light in the middle of those fireworks...

Best vacation EVER!!

Greetings Knights and Damsels!

Oh wait.. I'm back at home now :)

Let me fill you in on how I got here. While job hunting I stopped at the local art museum. Mostly to wander around and soak up the art for a "me day." I asked about any job openings but the only positions available were volunteering at the museum. There was a Creative Art Camp for kids for four different weeks this summer. The first was "Recycled Art" (last week), but this week "Knights and Damsels" I had time to request off for vacation to volunteer for the whole week! It's all about merging art and creativity with the history of the Middle Ages. The age group for the morning class is 5-8 yrs old, and the afternoon class is 9-13 yrs old.

I am having an absolute BLAST! The first day was a walk through the museum to see the art from that time period, 1 hour to do art projects, then a walk to the "castle" which is the monastery or church there (it's an old catholic monastery/college). Then the second hour is play practice! "St. George and the Dragon" based on a play from the middle ages! (Oh! And we also played "Ring around the Rosy" on the lawn and told the kids that was a game kids played back then and has been played hundreds of years!

The chance to just play all week has been amazing! To practice screaming and running off stage with 3 princesses was awesome! Then.. when the three boys playing the dragon started chasing us around stage...screaming...as loud as we wanted to... then they were still chasing us...so we screamed and ran more ...until we couldn't run anymore...and we were so out of breath from laughing...and screaming...and ran one more time.. and they were STILL on our heals...so the boys won (but we didn't tell them they won) aaahhh...what a day :)

Then MORE art projects...and the chance to get to know theses awesome kids even more! Like Tessa that came in quietly on the first day and pulled a chair to a table away from everyone else by herself. I pulled up a chair next to her and started helping her. Once she got her bearings she was perhaps the most outgoing one in the class! There were the identical twins we had to kind of ask what his brothers name was so we could figure out who we were talking to.. ;) Hey, whatever works..

One in the youngest class told me he's been in newspapers, on the news, won awards for his art capabilities but is afraid he's done it all and will run out of ideas for art..(he will be going places!) Two in the older crowd I predict will be quite the actors in the future (maybe even Dungeons & Dragons Masters someday).

To see artists and creative souls in this state, in a truly unlimited potential is so amazing to me! I want to teach art to kids for a living. Or just for free... I don't care. This has just been an amazing experience. Maybe someday..

Tomorrow is the final performance for friends and family. (Helana is ecstatic her grandma is coming all the way from Texas to see it!) And of course the display of all the artwork they have worked so hard on! The shields, tunic, stained glass project, endless painting.. kids can be so artistic if given the means. Seeing their personalities come through in their projects is surprising... The ones that are restless and fidgity can surprisingly become meticulous and perfectionistic in their art projects.

It's all about individuality and accommodating each one to be his own. But isn't that what we all want? And basically, isn't that what we all need? No matter what our age...

Have a wonderful day
And smile and play too
Love Sandy

May 24, 2011 and thereafter

Oh my! What a day! And what a long time since I've written.. (sorry Ron) So many gaps of the past to fill in but for now will concentrate on current events.

Tuesday was an exciting, stressful, eventful day and thankfully all is well with me and mine. :) Circumstances happened that I had switched workdays with Melissa so I was home to be close to the tv, Amber and the storm cellar. The local station had warned early on that if you had plans that day, it was best to cancel if possible and stay close to family and a safe shelter.

That was odd.. they are usually on the side of optimistic if at all in doubt.

I got ready early. swept the storm cellar out (Amber had already put a radio with batteries inside from the last tornado scare, with a chair), bought new batteries for my lantern/flashlight, got treats for Daisy to coax her into her space that had her blankie and toy. She nervously watched from the steps like "hell no, you are NOT getting me in there again!"

I registered the storm cellar with the local fire dept. in case the area was hit and they needed to know where to find storm cellars that people might possibly be trapped in. (Most towns keep a list to register)

Called Mom and Earl and let them know we were prepared since I know how mom's mind works. No sense in letting her hear how bad things were going to get through the media, and they knew we were home and safe.

The storms fired up exactly where they predicted..and with the speed they were predicting! I think with Joplin being fresh in everyone's mind people had a healthy respect for the instability and speed that tornadoes can become deadly. Watching the news reports were unsettling, unnerving, and scary as hell. From the back patio I looked toward the clouds wondering when we should go in the storm cellar. Eerie quietness in between the hot muggy tossing of branches and leaves..birds being noisy one moment..eerily quiet the next.

Then I watched what I thought was a bird dive bombing or landing very strange. No wait..that was debris falling from the sky... (Many expletives escaped my mouth at that point) Storm cellar NOW! Thank goodness Camaron was here! He put Daisy in, completely against her will, Amber, me, Camaron and Barron. I thought I heard tornado sirens but wasn't sure. Didn't care..we didn't need them to tell us before the heavy rains and what sounded like hail hit fast and hard. But the storms did move through fast. There was reports of an elephant trunk tornado on Hwy 102 at Firelake Casino headed towards us and Jacktown but it seemed to lift somewhere in between us. It missed Lowe's in Shawnee (thank goodness!) and most people i know or talked to are safe.

Today I walked out on the property (a nice walk in the woods, part of my "play day" :) ) and found many scraps of paper, insulation, shreds of sheetrock, bits of peoples homes that I wonder if they are okay. I found bank records of a lady I found on facebook (50 miles away in Lindsay,still hoping she'll friend me), found a receipt for some farm related receipt in Dibble, all from the beginning of the paths of these tornadoes that day.

I also found some pages from a Bible, newspaper, a calendar.. the paper from sheetrock from someones room... the small chips of paint left on it was pink... from a little girls room maybe. Shreds of the smallest and seemingly insignificant parts of a house, scattered and strewn about the pasture and property to melt into the landscape never to be found.

I collected every bit I found. And wondered and worried about every pieces origin and hoped the families were as safe as mine.

My family is safe.. we made it and hope everyone else is doing okay

Love Sandy