Worm Moon

As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter.

Making Me Laugh

Ya know, I have to give you a little glimpse into what kind of humor cracks me up. I have a former student from Inglemoor High School in Bothell where I used to work that I have remained in contact with all these years. He cracked me up then and he is still making me laugh today. His humor always reminded me of Seinfeld. And what especially impresses me is his humor is never (around me) vulgar and rarely at someone else's expense. Very rarely do you find someone who can make people laugh while avoiding those two pitfalls in my opinion.

He has a blog that he doesn't write on nearly enough but it chronicles some of his life.

http://www.spap.blogspot.com

Thanks for all the laughs Matto.

Cold Northern Winds and Tasty Eastern Nights

Northern hills and the shop and combine shed

The cistern reflecting the setting sun

The dry creek valley facing east

This is what I would refer to as a very unproductive weekend. Doug is fighting a cold, Kate has a cold and has been coughing and sputtering all night, and I am caught somewhere in the middle. Doug is also on call and has been busy with work. The wind has been howling, cold and hard. There have been threats of snow storms blowing in but at this point we haven't seen any and I hope it remains that way. As the sun set last night, the wind calmed and the sun shone through the valley on it's way out of site for the day. It gave me a glimpse that spring really is trying to break way but we just need to give it a little more time.

The talented cooks
Saturday night Dean and his girlfriend Sara created a real treat for us. Sara planned an entire dinner of East Indian cuisine. YUM!! We always enjoy trying new dishes so when Dean offered to come out here and cook we jumped at the chance! Dean and Sara are both very at home in the kitchen so I eagerly turned over the reins to them and stood by to see what they whipped up. We dined on cauliflower curry, curried spinach and chickpeas, chicken Marsala and my contribution of jasmine rice.

The bounty

I have really enjoyed getting to know Sara. She is smart, funny and so upbeat. Dean is happier than I have ever seen him.

This morning, as I type this, Kate is sitting right next to me eating frozen raspberries from last summers harvest. I had forgotten just how wonderful they smell, even frozen they smell like a bouquet of roses almost. I have so many summer plans for gardens and activities! I don't want to wish away the time we have right now but it gives me something to fill my mind with when the cold wind blows and we are stuck inside.

Adios amigos! Gotta fry up some pancakes for the baby coyotes.

Blissful Wednesday

In spite of intimidating weather reports of a snow storm moving into our area, today was actually quite beautiful.

I was awakened early EARLY by Kate who joined us in bed and spent quite some time discussing Grass and Orange (the cats) and how much she loved them and how cute they were and so on and so on. They both took up residence right on her chest and I asked her several times if she could breath. She was as pleased as could be with their attention and wouldn't consider asking them to move. I finally convinced her to go back to sleep around 5:00 am so I could get a little more sleep before I had to start the day.

Wednesdays are the days I spent 2 hours at Bible Study Fellowship. It is absolutely a shot in the arm in a hectic and crazy world. There are 7 different studies and this year we are studying Moses from the Old Testament. Don't be surprised to hear that Moses is really a fascinating read even though it is what many feel is the "dull" half of the bible. My experience has been quite the opposite. As we are well into our last half of the study year we are so close to the Israelites making it into the promised land we can almost taste it. With the help of a great teaching leader and discussion leaders every week has something fantastic in store.

After BSF, it was just Hadley and I to run errands because Kate had stayed home with Betty. We made a fun stop at Joann's fabric store where Hadley picked up a couple of craft projects that we will do later in the week for fun. Then it was time to head home so Hadley could spend the afternoon with her grandma and I could make a bee line for the horses! It has been so long since I had a good opportunity to RIDE and RIDE I did!! Ahhhh......horses, dogs and the wide open space... nothing quite like it. I rode Elvis and ponied Cruiser along for the sights and the dogs ran to their hearts content. I believe living on a farm has got to be almost every dogs slice of heaven. It was so wonderful to get out and make such a good use of a sunny afternoon.

And with that report, I better go stack wood and prepare for the storm that is supposed to roll in. Until later, Adios!

Post Weekend Report

It has been raining. Raining and blowing. But I won't complain, nope...you're not going to hear any complaints out of me. Because that's not my nature. But I will say if my horses could talk they would probably have a few complaints to offer up. They are tired of the mud. Tired of the blankets. Tired of slop. But they can't talk so we don't need to worry about it.

The weekend was a fun one, if you were Hadley. Saturday morning was beautiful, sunny and chilly. We dressed up and headed into town for the retired teachers teddy bear tea party. We met up with a few friends and other little girls and enjoyed a 4 course tea party. We started with the fruit tray, followed by the tea sandwiches and then came the cookies and tarts plate and lastly the chocolates. The first two were great but I had to pass on the last two because I gave up for lent. I know, I know...why give up something so hard? Well, does it really mean very much if I give up something that is relatively easy?

Yesterday we went to church and Doug was immediately called to provide some medical attention to an elderly church member who had fainted. So I went solo into the sanctuary and enjoyed a sermon by my very favorite Rev Robin Peterson. He is amazing. Keeps me coming back for more. Doug made it for the second half and we both get a lot out of the time we spend listening to Robin.

The church had organized a family evening at the ice chalet and Hadley and I signed up. She loves to skate. We took her little friend from church and we had a great time. Hadley used the assistance of a skating helper, a metal walker of sorts, and by the end she was skating so fast I could hardly keep up with her. I think next year we will sign her up for some skating lessons.

My nephew, David, had a little birthday get together after ice skating to celebrate turning 13. He is a great kid, I can't believe he is a teenager now. Wow. And his brother Michael is already 16. In the blink of an eye it will be Hadley and Kate turning into teenagers. But for the time being, I will enjoy snuggling with them and seeing all the "firsts" that come their way.