Nature – Page 7 – Asbery's Echoes

I Choose Joy

Its been slow going on this one – a lot of frogging for some reason. But it hasn’t upset me in the least – I just remind myself to choose joy and enjoy the process!

I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it. It’s by Lori Rippey. She designs the most beautiful prim patterns. This one has really been a joy to stitch! It definitely is a choice and I’ve learned through the years that no matter what, you can choose joy and your life will always be better for it!

Besides the obvious things that bring me joy, God and family being right up there at the top, these are a few of the things that are bringing me joy right now:

The Bleeding Hearts are blooming. A spring favorite that brings me joy.

A worn out Pierre – five whole days of having Drew home is hard on a cat!

A new prim finish. There is something about the feel of pulling that needle through cloth that brings joy. And horses and flowers and old prim frames. Pure joy.

The newest book in the Bellingwood Series – just waiting for me to open it up and jump in! Do I read it now or wait three months for the next installment? I love having more than one to read so I can visit Bellingwood longer!

My turquoise and red dish cloth and hot pad. I find joy in using the things that I’ve made. These are headed out to the camper!

Candles and some splashes of blue – for some reason burning candles right now brings me joy and the color blue has always brought me joy!

My wonderful husband surprised me yesterday afternoon – he asked if I was ready for the camper to come home. Oh joy! Of course I was ready. I’m always ready for the camper to come home! So off to Pella we went on a road trip to get the camper. There probably wont be any camping in our future until after graduation but at least I can start getting this baby ready. Our second home!

And now I’m off to take care of the chickens. Another thing that’s bringing joy to my life right now!

The Girls Are Growing

Meet Beaky – the largest of the brood. She is so pretty with her black and white feathers.

Not sure who enjoys the new coop more – Drew or the chickens!

Esther, Ethel and Blackie. I cannot tell Esther and Ethel apart. Wonder if I will ever be able to? Little Blackie is the smallest of the girls and she has a sweet temperament right now. Drew likes to cuddle with her!

Easter Fun

The bluebells were up for Easter! One of my favorite spring flowers are the wild bluebells that grow in Dad’s timber. Rarely does a spring go by that I don’t get down to the timber to visit them. They are beautiful and the timber is my happy place. There’s no place I would rather be to relax and unwind!

We had a perfectly beautiful day for Easter and it was so nice and relaxing. Just spending time with family, sitting down together at the table, being outside and playing with the littles. There’s nothing better.

Grandpa and Braxton hunting for eggs. Braxton loved finding eggs this year!

Teamwork – I love how these two are bonding! They get along so well together right now. I can’t even imagine what kind of trouble they will get themselves into in the coming years.

A beautiful end to the day.

We Have Chickens!!!!

Drew’s sixth birthday is coming up this week and we couldn’t decide what to get him. So, we asked him if he could choose between three things, a new bike, a trampoline, or chickens what would he want the most. His answer – a battery operated pencil sharpener. I do not know why he wants a battery operated pencil sharpener but he does. And he will get one so he has a present to open on his birthday. Along with the Playmobile treehouse that he has been wanting and I picked up a long time ago.

But – much to my delight he also chose chickens! I’ve been wanting to get chickens for the past couple years and Joe keeps saying no. Drew asks for chickens and what do we get – chickens! I can’t remember what breeds the two black ones are. I’ll have to ask when I’m back at the store buying bedding. The other two are Rhode Island Reds. Drew named his, the black ones, Beaky and Blackie. I named mine Esther and Ethel. Now if I can only tell them apart. A whole new adventure for us. This should be fun!

A trampoline would have been a good choice – it would keep him entertained this summer. If we were to get one it would be our third. Storms, wind and trampolines don’t go together. And he’s outgrowing his bike so he really needs a new one. Bikes and camping go hand in hand so we’ll see what happens there. But chickens – they provide fresh eggs, and they teach responsibility and they are fun to watch. I think he made the best choice!

Spring Was Here Today!

We had a beautiful spring day here today! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the temperature was in the low 60’s. Normally I consider that the perfect temperature, not too hot, not too cold, but I didn’t spend much time outside. For some reason, I have been so cold the last few days. Chilled to the bone cold. I did open up a couple of windows this afternoon to let some fresh air in but if I’m not up and busy, I have to sit under a blanket and I’m still cold. I hope I’m not coming down with anything. We had a nice surprise at supper again tonight. Aaron showed up unannounced. He didn’t stay long but it was nice to have all three boys at the supper table! Tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to 73 and sunshine. We have a soccer game in the morning and then I plan to spend the rest of the day outside working on flower beds. Even if I am cold! I want to enjoy the day as it’s supposed to cool down again and rain most of next week. Since April showers bring May flowers we should have lots and lots of flowers next month!

Busy Days

Wow – the last three days went by like a blur. Friday was a fun day. My mom and I spent the day in Kalona with my daughter Abby as she lives there. She was off work for spring break. We visited the antiques stores and specialty stores and went out to lunch. It was the first time we’ve ever done that and it was so much fun. No pictures were taken of course. We’re not a picture taking bunch. Kalona is such a fun little town to explore. It’s an Amish town. You see horses and buggies everywhere and lots of fun little shops. Our first stop was the Amish bakery. Lots of yummy pastries and fun things to see. Then a little shopping and lunch at the family restaurant and more shopping. We didn’t buy much. I picked up a little yellow vase and a potted plant. We just enjoyed the day with each other. Hopefully we can do this more often.

Looks like a serious discussion going on here.

Then Saturday Joe and I took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill. It felt so good to get so many things out of the house. Just the beginning of clearing things out and trying to simplify. Grocery shopping while we were out and then back to Kalona to babysit our grandson Braxton so Jeremy and Abby could go out for supper. He’s such a sweet little boy and he and Uncle Drew have so much fun playing together. I can see they are going to be quite the pair when they get older as they are buddies already. We could have our hands full!

Then Sunday was spent in the timber at dad and mom’s cutting down trees and splitting wood. It was a beautiful day – a nice cool breeze and sunshine. A perfect day to be outside and working. The timber is my happy place. I spent hours and hours down there when I was growing up. Wandering around, exploring the creek, sitting quietly for hours watching the squirrels and the fox play, picking wild raspberries, riding my horse, Cherokee. It was heaven for me. Now I hardly ever pass up a chance to spend time down there. We have wiener roasts down there and just take the mule down and ride around and spend time cutting down the trees that have died. It’s a great place for Drew too – he loves to spend time exploring and playing as did all the kids as they were growing up and they still do when they can.

Standing back while Joe cuts down a tree. Mom will hate this picture but I love it – this is how I will always remember them when we’re down in the timber.

And the chainsaw is stuck – time for a wedge.

A busy, busy weekend. Very little time was spent at home. But a lot of time was spent with family. There’s nothing better.

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to a white world this morning. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen snow on the ground and it’s so pretty. I love how it changes how everything looks and how hushed everything is. It reminds me of a blanket – soft and inviting. I remember in years past the huge snowstorms we used to get. Being snowed in for days, losing electricity, blizzard like conditions. We don’t get snows like that anymore. But with that being said, we also don’t get the ice storms we used to get either. I never liked the ice storms. Ice is scary! I’m sure we’ll see those kinds of storms again. Everything seems to cycle. This snowfall won’t stay long – not this time of the year and that’s okay. It’s time for spring to arrive now. I’m ready for warmer weather and to see everything come alive again.

Unfortunately we got just enough snow that my mom and I have to cancel our plans for today. My aunt is going through some health problems right now and we were going to take her out for lunch today and have a nice visit before she has some tests done later in the week. She lives a few miles away, in a remote area, and the roads to get there are not in the best shape due to the weather. I was really looking forward to visiting with her but we’ll just have to try again for next week. Something to look forward to!

I bet dad’s timber looks pretty right now all dressed up in the snow!

Time In The Timber

We spent some time in the timber yesterday. It was a beautiful day so Joe decided to head over and chop some wood. Dad had one dead tree down on the bottom he wanted taken down and hauled away before spring. Once it starts raining and the creek over flows its banks they won’t be able to get back there again anytime soon. Mom, Drew and I headed down for a little while to check out the progress. We didn’t stay long – it was just too cold! But it was nice to be outside and getting some fresh air for a little while anyway.

Heading for the bottom. It’s a good thing Dad knows which trees are dead and which aren’t – you can’t always tell this time of year.

I’m always amazed at how they know where to cut to get the tree to fall where they want it to.

Joe is back down there again today. Drew and I stayed home. I made a homemade strawberry pie and we’ll have a nice warm supper waiting for him when he gets home. According to the weather we may be in for some snow tonight and in the morning 4″ – 7″ is predicted for our area. That’s okay with me. I love the snow and in March you can enjoy it knowing it won’t be here forever as spring is on it’s way!

Stormy Night – Beautiful Morning

We had a little wind last night. Actually we had a lot of wind last night. But we are thankful – the only damage we had was to Drew’s swing set. We heard something hit the house with a loud bang and we could see during the lightening flashes that the swing set was down. We assumed that part of it hit the house. We’re not sure what actually did hit but it wasn’t any part of the swing set. Thankfully no damage was done to the house. A tornado warning and 60 to 80 mph hour winds were predicted so we consider ourselves lucky.

Our neighbor’s horses. I never tire of this view!

This is what we have today. Big, beautiful, fluffy white clouds. There’s a cold breeze blowing but the sun is out. A beautiful March day in Iowa.

Pops Concert and Photo #3

Eric’s last Pops Concert. It was, as usual, an excellent concert. This little school has so much talent. Mrs. Meier, the band instructor, does an amazing job with these kids and they love her. It definitely shows. She’s young. I remember going in with Eric in fifth grade for instrument night to pick an instrument and it was her first year teaching. I think she’ll stay here too. She married a local boy who works at the bank. They just had a baby. It is so wonderful to have someone like her who really cares, is so talented, and bonds so well with the kids.

The Pops Concert is for Junior High and Senior High students, band and chorus. I love how they perform separately and then together. This year the combined JH/HS Bands performed Highlights from GREASE. They sounded wonderful together!

Aaron and Eric both started out playing trumpet and then switched to baritone. It wasn’t necessarily the plan for Aaron but he enjoyed baritone. It was what Eric wanted to do from the beginning. He wanted baritone but had to start on trumpet and then switch. I have to say, he does a pretty darn good job on that instrument. Both him and Lindsay do. They will be missed next year as they are both seniors. I need to remember to sit on the opposite side of the gym for the Spring Concert so I can get pictures of their faces! I sat on this side because it’s always much less crowded so Drew has more room to fidget without bothering others!

Another fun performance. Every Pop Concert they have soloists. There is a group of girls that are extremely talented and I always enjoy their solos. This is Eric’s Abbey, as Drew calls her. That’s how he differentiates between his sister Abby and this Abbey! She’s a senior too and a very talented young lady. I love listening to her. This was a very dramatic performance and she looked and sounded beautiful. I didn’t take anymore pictures of the choir. Eric’s not in choir. He sings like his mom – which is not good. All the kids got my singing voice which is sad. Their dad can sing. I can’t! Mr. Stichter, the chorus instructor, does a great job too. I had him as a music instructor when I was in elementary school so that tells you Mr. Stichter has been around for a long time. You tell he loves doing this and he loves working with the students. We have been lucky to have him at our little school for all these years. It was a wonderful concert and sad and yet exciting to think there’s only one more for these seniors before they move onto their next adventures in life.

It snowed yesterday morning. The snow came down fast and furious and in big wet flakes. And then it was gone. I took this picture from the kitchen window. I wish we would get one more nice big snow before spring. I love the snow!

And my March picture, picture #3. It’s a frosty morning out there. Not cold as cold as I expected. Nothing much has changed over the last three months.

March 3, 2017 – frost on the ground today.

And one more day for Drew to stay home. He still wakes up in the night in pain and wakes up in the morning in pain. He went all day yesterday without any medicine until evening. He asked to take some before going to the concert in case his throat started to hurt. Now he’s refusing medicine and wanting to just get through the pain. He’s a tough peanut. He can’t wait to go back to school on Monday. I’m ready for him to go back to school on Monday too! It’s been a long week. Joe has been gone for work since last Sunday. Eric’s been busy. So I’ve been on my own with Drew. I have enjoyed the one on one and all the cuddling but he’s getting better and is so bored and needs to see his daddy and his friends! Daddy will be home tonight in time for supper – yeah!