Nature – Page 2 – Asbery's Echoes

Friday

Life lesson for Drew: The Mule doesn’t work in snow, the 4-wheeler can also get stuck, and Dad doesn’t like to stop what he is doing to help dig you out! After a lot of shoveling and some pulling, Drew now knows how to get things unstuck!

It’s hard to believe February is almost over. It always amazes me how quickly time flies. We decided to do our phenology wheel journaling for February today. It’s fun to see what each of remembers most from the month. We pulled out our nature journals too and went through them to remind us what we observed and what we studied on those days we couldn’t get outside. (Which was most of the February as there was just too much snow and too many cold cold days.) We are starting to really enjoy these phenology wheels now that we have two months filled in. Our nature year all in one picture!

It really hit home today that spring is on its way. Along with a wonderful warmer week, today Drew spied our resident chipmunk out running around. Hibernation must be over! We noticed him last year living around the oak trees and today he was out running all over the cave and around the yard and trees. Drew and Possum would go from one dining room window to the other watching him run around. Drew was entertained and Possum was wanting to eat him. It’s a good thing there was a window between them! And he was a great addition to our nature journals!

Candlemas and Groundhog Day

We celebrated Candlemas and Groundhog Day yesterday. I surprised Drew with a day of celebrating mixed in with school work and I think he enjoyed the day. He asked if we would celebrate Candlemas every year! I found it interesting that he has never liked Groundhog Day and never wanted to talk about it or know if the groundhog saw his shadow or not. But he was open to studying it yesterday and he even chose to draw a groundhog in his nature journal. A groundhog with a top hat on!

For Candlemas we talked about what Candlemas is and how we’re halfway to spring. That seemed to excite me more than Drew! I had not ever heard of Candlemas so it was interesting for me too. We brought out the beeswax candles we poured awhile back to use in our celebration. We did some fire experiments using the candles and for supper we ate pancake stacks by candlelight. We had just read the chapter in Farmer Boy about Almanzo’s mom making him pancake stacks so that made it even more fun! It was nice to have a little celebration on a cold winter day.

Winter Days

I’m sitting here munching on dehydrated apple chips from the apples we picked at a friend’s house this past fall. They sure taste good on this cold, foggy winter day! I’m thankful I broke down and bought a dehydrator. I got it thinking we would make beef jerky and so far, that’s the one thing we haven’t tried!

It’s been a quiet few days around here. It’s cold and there’s lots of snow on the ground. I enjoy these days and would enjoy them even more if Drew did. He needs to be able to get out and run. Being cooped up is not for him. We’re planning a trip to the library later this week. We have to make an appointment to be able to get in. Hoping to find some books for our mammal study we’re starting and hoping to find a good book for him to read. With all the books in this house that his siblings read you would think something would grab his interest but so far nothing.

I’ve been busy stitching orders and am finally caught up so last night I switched things up and stitched a chicken. No reason. Just ran across the free pattern, had some fabric begging to be used and ran with it. A little bright spot in the kitchen to cheer us up on these cold winter days!

Drew learned to run the snow blower and got to put it to use over the weekend. He thought it was fun to try and bury me in snow! We went on a road trip before the snow hit. Joe showed us where they hunted for deer and told us about the hunt! Drew and Rambler must have gotten bored, they both fell asleep! There’s been a lot of fort making going on and I’m ready to have my living room back! And then there’s Possum, just enjoying being King of the Castle!

Getting Things Done

Some weekends just fly by and this past weekend did just that. Joe was able to work from home on Friday (yeah!) which gave him some extra time in the afternoon since he didn’t have to drive and he called Dad and asked if he wanted help moving his building over the weekend. The weather looked like it would cooperate and since Joe is wanting to do some pheasant hunting next weekend he thought it would work out best to get the building moved now. That worked great with Dad and Mom’s schedule so we basically spent the whole weekend working outside and getting things done! I am so thankful Joe is able and oh so willing to help Dad and Mom around their acreage!

I spent Friday planning and ordering some garden seed while Joe worked. I know, it’s really early to be thinking about the garden, but I want to explore some different types of veggies and I have this fear that I won’t be able to get what I want if I don’t order now. I didn’t get a tremendous amount but I am excited about what I did order. Things like purple carrots and different varieties of kohlrabi. It never hurts to plan ahead!

We left the house Saturday at 7:00 and didn’t get home until 8:00 that evening. Then Sunday we left the house at 8:00 and got home around 5:00. We didn’t get much done around here but we did get things done for Dad so I would say it was a very productive weekend. Drew and I ventured down to the timber as Dad wanted me to see the lichen growing out of the cottonwood tree. This tree has always been my tree, my favorite tree, the one I always gravitate to when we’re in the timber. It is huge and ancient and full of growths and protrusions and nooks and crannies. The eagles love to sit in the very tip top branches and look out over the fields and timber. If only that gigantic and ancient tree could tell stories. I can’t imagine what all it has seen over the years.

I told Dad and Mom that the building should be moved down to the timber, at the bottom of the sandstone bluff where the fire ring is, nestled between the trees. We could clean it all up, put a couple of beds in there, a couch to sit on and set up a camp kitchen. It would be the perfect place to get away. But alas, they had other plans, which I knew they did. But a girl can dream right! So we moved it up to the lot and it will be used for storage and that is as it should be.

I finally got some stitching time in yesterday evening. Mom had gotten out her microwaveable heating pad to show us and Drew wanted one so bad. She got hers from the store but since we aren’t doing much shopping and I’ve decided to try and make what I can with what I have versus buying anyway, I stitched him up a rice bag. I found a pattern I liked on Pinterest and used it as a guide and he loves it! I let him pick out an essential oil he wanted and we mixed few drops in with the rice before we stitched up the bag and he hasn’t let it out of his site since. He slept with it last night and warmed it back up first thing this morning. I love it when something so simple and easy can be made at home and can make someone so happy. Now I think I’ll make one for me too, and use lavender oil. Oh, to have warm toes when I get in bed at night. And then Joe will want too, to put on his back when he’s hurting. I’ll definitely need to put rice on my grocery list. Another reason to get the sewing machine out of the box and teach myself to sew. How much quicker and prettier would it be to sew up rice bags on a machine versus stitching by hand!

Homemade

I’m slowly exploring the art of homemade products for the skin, health and home. There is so much information out there and so much to learn. I don’t plan to become an expert but it does fascinate me and I want to learn some of the basics. I have been using a handful of homemade cleaning products for quite some time. And I have a skin cleanser that I am really enjoying. I have made lotion bars, body butter and lip balms. I want to explore more of those too. I find so much joy in using products that are all natural and that I have made myself. To know there are no chemicals in them gives me peace of mind. My newest project is infused oils. I have calendula and lavender infusing right now. They look so pretty sitting on the windowsill with the sun shining through them! In a few days they will go into a nice dark cupboard for a few weeks. In the meantime I’ll be researching what all I can do with them. I know the first thing I’ll be making is a salve with healing properties and to use for fungus. Maybe some lavender lotion of some sort. The possibilities are endless. And then next spring I hope to plant some lavender and calendula so I can harvest and dry them myself. Now I need to break out the seed catalogs and start planning!

Our Fall Days Are Winding Down

We started out with beautiful fall weather this week and today it’s cold and wet. We enjoyed the last of the fall leaves on our Mule drive. We don’t have a lot of vibrant fall leaves around our property but I still find them beautiful. Joe was gone for the week again but hopefully will be home now for the foreseeable future. We’ve gotten so used to him being home that it just doesn’t seem right when he’s not here. Our last lunch and read picnic was Monday. We loaded up chicken noodle soup, jumped in the Mule and found our spot then ate lunch and read another chapter of Little House in the Big Woods. It was a great way to get Drew to sit and listen to the book. Now to brainstorm another way to get him to settle down and listen while we’re in the house!

We decided to try our hand at pouring beeswax candles and what a calming and fun project that is. Time consuming but fun. That beeswax takes forever to melt! I love burning candles but I don’t like all the chemicals that are found in the commercial ones. I had read how burning beeswax candles is actually good for the air in the home, had some beeswax here in the house from other projects, some yogurt jars I had been saving and we now have some beautiful little candles to burn. We tried putting essential oils in a couple of them but it takes so much to get any fragrance and the candles have a nice soft honey fragrance to them anyway, we’ve decided to skip that step in the future. We’ll run a diffuser when we want to scent the air. Since then I’ve found instructions on how to make the candles using the oven and/or a crockpot. A project to try on a cold winter another day.

Sunshine

It sure hasn’t been a very nice spring so far. A day with sunshine has been few and far between. Yesterday was one of those sunshiney days. I made a quick run to the local greenhouse and bought some tomato and pepper plants and a few flowers too. Drew and I planted a few pots and walked around the yard to see what was blooming. It was still chilly even with the sun shining but we just had to get outside and enjoy the afternoon since rain is in the forecast again. It’s nice to see the bright beautiful blooms

Winter

I’m going to try this whole blogging thing again. Only different. Here goes.

We had record breaking cold weather last night. It was absolutely frigid. I had never heard the house groan and creak and pop like it did all night long. I’d read about that happening but had never experienced it myself. It was strange. Like the house was talking back to Mother Nature. But this 100+ year old house kept us safe and warm. The furnace kept up (thank goodness we had a full gas barrel), and the electric heater along with an old heavy quilt kept the back bedroom comfortable, the water pipes didn’t freeze. I’m so very thankful!

Joe was gone. He’s been in Pella this week. So it was up to me to hold the fort down. I stressed and worried about the poor chickens. I went out at dusk and gave them more bedding, stuffed some old sheets up and around them, then more bedding, told them good night and closed their door. And this morning – they were up and clucking and seemed to glad to see me. They got warm oatmeal and fresh water for breakfast and I opened their door in case they wanted to venture out. I was so happy to see them up and moving around!

It is so cold that everything in town is pretty much closed down or opened late and will close early. The postal service has shut down for the day. That has never happened before that I can remember but I was so glad to hear their decision yesterday. And Monday they announced that school would be canceled for yesterday and today. School was canceled four days last week due to snow, blowing wind and cold. Looks like we will be going to school longer this spring but that’s okay – better that than putting anybody’s life in danger trying to get to school. I have always loved winter. I find a good snowstorm to be exhilarating! There’s nothing prettier than a snow covered landscape! But these temps – I must say I’m not a fan. It’s been a winter to remember that’s for sure!

So after braving the temps this morning to take care of the girls I sat down with a couple of warm cranberry muffins, a cup of coffee and my new MaryJane’s farm magazine and enjoyed a few minutes of perusing. I ordered this magazine sight unseen when they sent me a flier and I am so glad I did. It is filled with fun, informative articles on everything farmgirl related. I can see I’m going to really enjoy it. I’m trying to get back to simple. Less electronics more hands on. Less time spent on blogs and Pinterest and Facebook, more time spent reading a book or magazine and just slowing down and enjoying my family and my home. As much as I enjoy having the internet at my fingertips, I enjoy a hot cup of coffee, a homemade treat and a good magazine so much more. It’s the little things for me!

Perfect October Morning

Monday morning – Drew woke up early and wanted to cuddle. Who am I to say no when my baby asks to cuddle? He’s seven after all – it’s rare that he wants to cuddle with his mom! Then I dropped him off at school, stopped at the store for milk and potatoes for supper, took the groceries home and headed over to help Dad doctor a goat. On the way I stopped and snapped this picture.

As I was looking at this picture I realized how blessed I am. I’m blessed because these are the things that make me happy – cuddles with Drew, running simple errands, being able to help Dad when he needs it, a picture of the timber on a beautiful misty October morning. What more could I ask for? It’s times like these that remind me how good God is!

Buckeye Luck

While camping we made our yearly pilmrimage to pick up buckeyes! The last thing I need is another buckeye but we love to find and gather them. When we got there there was a man and a little girl and their two dogs there. They said they were from Central City and had never seen a buckeye tree before so they were really enjoying finding them. It’s especially fun to find them still in their cover and to open them up and see how many are inside. Drew had one with three inside and Mom had found one with four which Uncle Jerry said was rare. I love how pretty they are when you first find them – all different shades of brown and then they darken to a solid brown as they dry. I keep them in an old wooden bowl. They say if you find a buckeye it’s good luck – I’ve older men who keep one in their pocket all year long for that very reason!