Day 30: Mission Accomplished

I have indeed met my goal to blog a post every day in the month of November.

It's really not as easy a task as it might sound, not some days, at least, when my creativity has about bled dry.

But it's been fun to see what I could cough up, just by sitting down at the keyboard and beginning to peck, peck, peck-no real destination in mind. Kind of like my contrary chickens.  Ha!

Remember those beautiful ornamental cabbages and kales I posted about a few weeks back? They are riddled now; there's nothing left but the stalks.

So I guess if ya peck long enough, you might see some results.

On another note, I've been ranting about Matt Lauer all day long to anyone who would listen. Now, if you've only caught the headlines about him getting fired, you may be thinking what's the big deal.

But the big deal is, apparently Mr. Lauer has been nursing a dark, even sadistic, side for a long time, if the accounts in Variety magazine are to be believed.

I can't help but wonder how many more prominent men-possibly women too-are losing sleep at night, wondering when their actions are going to come to light.

Ugh. The news just gets more sordid every day, and it really makes me want to punch somebody in the face. Or head for the hills and never come out.

On a brighter and totally unrelated note, I was invited to a school concert this evening-several dozen budding young guitarists showing off some new skills.  I really enjoyed their performance.

I was rather surprised to learn that there are 75 or so students taking guitar classes at the middle and high schools.

The youngsters were joined on stage by some expert classical guitarists from the University of Kentucky. Wow. Talk about giving them something to aspire to.

So yeah, even with all the stench of moral decay in this world, there's hope in the bright young faces of these kids.

One girl at the concert really captivated my attention. I could tell she was serious about what she was doing.  It was evident in the way she cradled her guitar like it was precious to her, the way her face glowed with excitement.

I reminded myself to watch for her in the next few years.  I think she's going to go places.

I just hope and pray she doesn't stumble across any Lauer types on her way.

Day 29: Life's evening sun...(A beautiful life)

We headed out early this morning to see the orthopedic doctor who patched up my elbow several weeks ago.

He said I had healed amazingly well, but to limit my activities for about three more weeks, then I'm free to do push-ups or whatever.

The doctor explained that he is like a mechanic who can re-assemble a body part, but every individual's healing is different, and he thinks the mind-body connection is a big part of that.

I have no trouble believing that, because this gal gets white-coat hypertension most every time I go to the doctor.

Thankfully, I have a blood pressure cuff at home, so I can monitor it here and get a truer picture.

But honestly, don't we often feel like we anticipate feeling?  Have you every missed some sleep and complained about how tired you are going to be the next day?

I have.  But sometimes I forget I should be tired, and I'm later surprised that I didn't feel so tired after all.

Yep, we need to be mindful of our thoughts, because they do change our body chemistry and have a big effect on how we feel.

None of us are going to get out of this alive, but we want the quality of our lives to be as good as they can be for as long as possible.

Earlier today, I spoke with someone who recently received a very grim diagnosis from doctors.

She's elderly, but she's sharp as a tack, and she has been blessed with a long healthy life.

That's what she said, "I thank God I've had such good health all these years." She's facing the prospect of her death with strength, and she's not flinching.  I'm amazed and impressed.

I hope that if I'm ever in a similar situation, I'll have the courage to be the same.

My grandparents used to sing this old hymn called, "A Beautiful Life."

"Life's evening sun, is sinking low; 

a few more days, and I must go

to meet the deeds that I have done

where there will be no setting sun." 

Day 28:Some mighty pretty weather

I'm loving this long stretch of pretty weather we've been having.  

I love the frosty mornings that are so invigorating and good with my coffee during the drive in to work. 

I love the clear evenings, pretty for taking walks around the cow pasture in the short expanse of daylight left after work. 

Tonight I snapped this picture of the moon already high in the sky by 5 o'clock, but it doesn't begin to do the view justice. 

Now, doesn't that look serene? 

We were just talking at the office today; we only have four more issues of the paper to produce this year! 

Four! 

In a little more than four weeks, 2017 will be past. 

Fastest year yet, I think.  It's been busy and eventful and stressful-and it has simply flown by. 

Day 27: Breakfast with Santa

This will be a super short post-I still have some work to do to meet tomorrow's deadline.  

But I wanted to share this photo I took of the grandkids Saturday morning "Breakfasting with Santa" at Rader's River Grill under the Irvine bridge. 

Oaklee clearly looks worried.  She didn't know what to think about the fellow with the long white whiskers.  

When asked what they wanted for Christmas, Oaklee said something about "chocolate" in the tiniest of sweet little voices. I think her mommy put her up to that. 

Clay just referred to his extensive written list. Read it for yourself, he basically said. I'm not gonna  go through all that again. 

Ah, these kiddos. They are as much fun as a barrel full of monkeys. 

Day 26: The best things in life are free

So, we had Thanksgiving dinner with the other side of the house this afternoon, and there was some after-dinner talk about what to get the kids for Christmas.  

Then we decided to take a stroll down to the creek, it being such a fine sunny day and all.

The kids had a great time throwing rocks in the creek and watching them splash.  We practically had to drag them away, because they didn't want to stop!

I'll bet there aren't many things we could spend our money on that they'd enjoy any more than a walk to the creek bank, where there is a good supply of rocks to throw. 

Big throw!  

Just look at these silly goons.  

And there's a mysterious looking girl up there above the mysterious-looking tree root.

The shapes and colors of the rocks are endless, and they all contain a record of some era in our earth's history.  I wish I remembered more from my college geology class!  

Day 25: Deckin' the halls (Joy to the World!)

So the grandbebes were here last night.  I promised them breakfast with Santa this morning, and by golly, that's what they got!  It's obvious by these photos how excited they were about the prospect of leaving the house to go see Santa. 

Clay was enthralled with my tablet, and Oaklee was in a near trance watching Saturday morning Christmas marketing. 

We took the little boogers home (their home) after breakfast, and because it was such a sunny, glorious day (for November), I figured it was a good time to drag out all my Christmas decor.  

I'd decorate the porches while it was warm, then I'd get my trees up.

Robin's reaction to helping me get the stuff out of storage was even less enthusiastic than the kiddos' about leaving the house this morning. 

My enthusiasm waned too as I looked at the mess I've accumulated over the years, because the sad thing is,  my accumulating and de-cluttering have not kept pace with one another. 

About half of this stuff needs to go in the dump! 

But I'm always in a hurry to get my decorating done, so I put off sorting through what should stay and what should go. 

In January, I'll be in a hurry to stash it all back out of sight, so I'll avoid, once again, sorting and thinning it out.  

Maybe I won't avoid this year! (Maybe.) 

I do enjoy the fruits of my labor once I'm done (I'm not), and I get sentimental re-visiting all those memories tied to the tree ornaments.  

So many of them are handmade, either by the kids or by my crafty relatives. (Not me!)

Anyway, once I have everything up, I'll no doubt be bubbling over with Christmas cheer, but in the meantime, it stresses me out having all these boxes sitting around. 

(Bah-humbug!) 

Day 24: This too will pass

I make it a strict rule not to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Now, if you choose to do otherwise, that's okay.   I just like to keep my holidays from mixing...kinda like the kid who doesn't want her food to touch on the plate.  

But Thanksgiving is over, so it's time to transition into the "most wonderful time of the year!"

I felt a little sentimental about taking down my fall decor. I love fall colors, and pumpkins, and gourds, and brown leaves. 

My left arm was darned nigh useless in September when this stuff was put out, and I had to have some help. 

The old adage, "This too will pass," couldn't be more true.

I could barely tell that my arm had ever been injured as I took down the fall stuff-by myself-then took a long walk across the hayfield, down to the creek.  

I'm not complaining about that!

I bought a new phone today, and I've been fooling with techy-stuff all afternoon, switching stuff over, creating passwords, contemplating whether I want my phone to recognize my face, my fingerprints, or my irises.  Not the flowers, but the things in my eyes. 

The gal at the phone store, however, tells me my phone can recognize my irises, or just about any plant or tree. 

Don't that beat all. 

Well, not really.  I still prefer nature to artificial intelligence, handy as it might be. 

The water looks good right now. Not quite as turquoise as it sometimes gets in February, but pretty clear. 

And look at those clouds...ever-changing, always interesting. 

So another beautiful day draws to a close.

Day 23: The Gathering Season

I love a big frost.  

I see frost as being cleansing, somehow.  

I imagine the cold as purifying the air, the soil, everything that it touches.  

The cold forces a period of rest upon the natural world, and we humans are pretty much led to follow suit. 

But we need the rest too, especially us farmer types who work such long hours in the spring and summer. 

This morning I went out to traipse around in the crusty frozen grass for a bit...can you tell?  

I snapped a quick pic of frost on the pumpkins and the remnants of a dried morning glory vine.  

But frost was not the only focus of my day.  The remainder of it centered on family... and food! 

We had plenty of good food, and I enjoyed it very much surrounded by family.  

What more could I ask for on Thanksgiving Day?  

It's never more apparent how fast time flies than when three or four generations get together in the same place.  

Seems like no time ago that we were leading our kids into grandma and grandpa's house, but today, it was me leading my grandkids, and how in the world did I become middle-aged? 

I do know this: the faster time flies, the more precious are the gathering seasons. 

Day 22: A day in the life

It's been a pretty pre-Thanksgiving day, although a bit cool. 

This morning, I cut some fresh sage for the dressing and some parsley for whatever, cut a few heads of cauliflower and a cabbage too, and took some to share with Hannah, who is prepping food for two or three feasts this weekend. 

It's such a blessing to still have fresh produce from the garden to contribute to our Thanksgiving meals. 

Before re-commencing with the food prep,  we took a stroll with the grandkiddos on the one lane road where they live, and the kiddos wanted to ride their bikes. 

Oaklee insisted that she was not cold and didn't need a coat, so I carried it. I guess she didn't want to cover up her "Wonder Girl" dress.  

Maybe Oaklee is on the right track.  Hannah said she saw a video where Scandinavian parents let their children go roll in the snow in their underwear, then come in and have hot tea-all to keep from getting sick. 

I've always been a fan of fresh air, and my thought is, if a kid gets cold enough, they'll change their mind about the coat-eventually.  This little stinker never did, although the hat and mittens were on and off. 

Oaklee got off her trike long enough to demonstrate some karate kicks and "Hah-ya's."  You can barely see them, but she had an audience of goats and horses-and some funny-looking shadow women. 

Clay and Leo were a little less dramatic.  Here they are, just a' headin' on up the road.  

Day 21: Questions, questions

I picked this big boy up from school this afternoon, and when he stepped out the door of his school, I almost didn't recognize him.  

Why? 

For one, he was in his war paint.  

Second, he's growing like a weed!  

We went to the grocery after school,  and he was very attentive to the items on the shelves.  

Always curious and asking questions, that boy.  

He asks "why" a lot. I remember being that way-still am, I guess.  

According to Gretchen Rueben's book profiling personality types, I'm a questioner. 

Ha! Who knew?

And apparently Clay is too.  

He's gone home with his momma now, and my thoughts have turned to which cookies I want to bake for the holidays this year.

Why?  I have no idea why I'm wondering that already, when I haven't bought the first gift, card, or hung the first bough-or bow.

But I'm thinking I want to make gumdrop cookies this year.

Why?  Because I ate some once, years ago, and I've been craving them ever since.

Why?  Because they were sweet and chewy.  Gumdrops by themselves, I can do without. Gumdrops in a cookie, however, taste pretty exotic.

So, I've been agooglin' to see what kind of gumdrop recipes there are out there, and I came across one featuring coconut, oatmeal, and gumdrops.

Now how could a gal go wrong with a recipe like that?

Maybe I'll report back later on how they taste. I'll bet Oaklee would help me test them.

Why?  Because she loves sweets even more than I do.

Day 20: Worn to a frazzle

I left the house this morning as the sun was rising on the hills across from my drive.  

The view was restful and calm, and I wished I had extra time to admire it while drinking my first cup of coffee. 

But, an early deadline loomed, and we had a larger than usual paper. 

I headed on out to work.

When I got there, the server was down.  Then I discovered our internet wasn't working. 

That's not how ya wanna start an early deadline day with a larger than normal paper, let me tell ya. 

But want to or not, that's how it began. 

It took an hour or two to work out all the technology bugs, and we began to churn out the pages. 

But man, it's been a long day. My muscles are burning with tension, and I'm not in the best of moods. 

Why is it that hard physical labor relaxes you, but brain work while seated wears you to a frazzle?

I could have dug a row of taters and not be this exhausted.

Anyway, we got 'er done. 

And I'm hoping for the chance to admire another beautiful frost in the morning. 

Maybe I'll eat some shredded wheat biscuits while I do. 

Don't these hay bales remind you of shredded wheat biscuits, or do I think too much about food? 

You don't have to answer that.  ;)

Day 19: The Reckless Way of Love

I've been reading The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus by Dorothy Day. 

Dorothy Day was founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, and spent most of her adult life devoted to serving the poor and fighting for justice for those whom most might deem unimportant. 

I'd read about her in history books, (she was a little bit controversial because she challenged the status quo in both religion and politics), but this book is just short musings written by her about her own personal faith journey. 

Very spirit-enriching reading.  

She writes: "One must be humble only from a divine motive, otherwise humility is a debasing and repulsive attitude.  To be humble and meek for love of God-that is beautiful.  But to be humble and meek because your bread and butter depends on it is awful.  It is to lose one's sense of human dignity." 

Think about that.  What does it mean to be humble from a divine motive...for love of God?  

I think it means we are to respect everyone as a soul created by God.  There are no exceptions.

No matter how much money they have or how moral.  No matter how poor and immoral, they are worth much to God, so they should mean a little something to us. 

Dorothy Day deeply applied herself to living by those truths.  She fed the hungry and housed the homeless and spoke out against exploitation of the weak.  

But think about how humility can be a debasing and repulsive attitude.  

Have you ever met someone who wallows in their "humility" to the point that they seem a bit proud of it? 

Yeah, me too.  And it is debasing and somewhat repulsive.

Or, think about how undignified it must feel to be forced to be humble "because your bread and butter depends on it."  That's where the oppressed are coming from.  Not a good place to be. 

So, here are two realizations we need to be humble and meek.  1) We are all human, but we still matter.  2) We all mess up sometimes, but we still matter.

Nothing glamorous about it, but isn't that a reckless way to love?  

Day 18: I think I'll just stay home.

I went to town this afternoon to take some pictures for the paper and did a little shopping while I was doing so.  It was fun walking from store to store on Main Street.  I vaguely remember doing that way back in the old days when I was just a kid.  

Back before towns got turned inside out, and all the businesses moved to the outskirts of town.

After several years of nearly all the buildings looking deserted on Main Street, it felt good to meet a few people on the street, to chat with the shopkeepers, to see the storefronts all decorated for Christmas.

Now, if there had been a few snow flakes blowing around, I think I might have caught the Christmas spirit.

I came home, squeezed in a walk before dark, then the hubs and I got an invite to go to town for a bite of supper with some neighbors.

                (Random photo that has nothing to do with my post, once again.) 

It's so convenient to have the option of visiting a good restaurant just minutes from home.  Otherwise, I'd probably have been like, meh...who wants to go to Richmond.  I think I'll just stay home.

And we did. We spent our time and dollars in our hometown.

I know.  It's crazy! But I like it.

Day 17: Clay meets his surgeon

When I saw this picture earlier today it absolutely squeezed my heart.

Clay had a check-up this morning with Dr. Draus (not sure if I spelled that right), the surgeon who operated on him time and time again during the first couple of years of his life.

The appointment went well, and Hannah said the doc was impressed with how well Clay is doing.

I remember waiting...and waiting...and waiting...during those surgeries. I remember the relief when Dr. Draus would come out and tell us the surgery went well.

I recall looking at his hands, those long slim fingers, and wondering how in the world people have the nerve to slice open little bodies and probe around inside them.

But just look at this.  It must feel like a million bucks to this doctor to see the fruits of his labor, his and many others.

It sure felt like a million bucks to me to see them smiling together.

Day 16: Be a person of value

I like quotes that make me think.  I came across this one in my journal, while I was obviously still in my pajamas.  

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." Albert Einstein

The quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, but I think a lot of stuff is attributed to Einstein that he didn't say.  I have no idea if he said this or not, but it gave me pause. 

What's the difference in being a success and being of value?

Winning is usually considered being successful, but does winning make us valuable?  

To a professional sports team, yes, if money is the objective. 

But winning just for the sake of coming in first place? What does that get us?  Envy? (if we aren't the winner)  

Or arrogance (if we are)? 

Would we be more valuable if we helped someone win?  Or if we helped someone compete in the first place?  

Valuable.  Worth something, not necessarily money though.

"He ain't worth two cents."  

That usually means "he" is lazy.  Or tired, and only temporarily worthless.

I've said it myself: "I ain't worth two cents today." 

But my self-esteem is higher than that.  I think I'm worth more than that. 

Maybe not too much more, but a little bit more.

If something is of value, it's usually of substance, of good quality, dependable, reliable, etc. 

Real.  Not phony or plastic. Weighty. 

But what's wrong with being successful? I guess it all depends on how you define success. 

Some define it by how much they can acquire, or how often they can come out on top.   

Some define success by how much they can give.  

I met someone like that today.  Interviewed him for the paper.  His name is Santa Claus.  

Seriously!  Pick up next week's paper to read my exclusive interview with Jolly Old Saint Nick.  

Day 15: Punkin' chunkin's

I've had a few pumpkins and cushaws lying around since I decorated with them at the end of September. Now that it will soon be time to undecorate for fall and put up Christmas stuff, I've been eye-balling those big gourds and thinking I ought not let them go to waste.

So, while I was cooking supper tonight, I put one of the smaller pumpkins in the oven on a cookie sheet and let the heat from the oven soften it up enough to cut it into chunks.

I scraped the seeds out to save to plant next year, then roasted the pumpkin pieces until they were fork tender.

I didn't get it done this evening, but my intention is to use some of it to make a pumpkin casserole.

To me, pumpkin casserole tastes pretty much like a crustless pumpkin pie.  I like it cold for breakfast with coffee.   And it's so easy!  Here's the super-simple recipe.

Pumpkin Casserole

You'll need:

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar (I only use about a half cup. I have added a few spoonful of molasses too, which changes the flavor a bit.)
1/2 cup self-rising flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
Two pinches cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients and spoon into a casserole dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

P.S. Was a good day for strolling with the dogs too.  And the girls. 

And for visiting with Dreamer.

Day 14: Around the world in a day

Ever have those days when you feel like you've been around the world emotionally?  All in one day?  

Days that include tears of joy, grief and laughter one right after the other? 

Some days are pretty boring.  Nothing happens that you didn't really expect,  except maybe you stubbed your toe or burned yourself on the oven. 

I went to work this morning expecting to do the same work that I always do on Tuesday mornings, and I did, but not before I opened an unexpected note from someone we became acquainted with at the hospital when Clay was there, six years ago.  

She had read one of my columns where I'd shared how well Clay is doing.  She wanted to let me know how happy she is that he is happy and thriving.  

That flipped the switch on my tears.  I tried to concentrate on finishing up police beats, but it was difficult. 

A little later, I received another message, this one sad and sobering. Just like that, the tears came for another reason. 

Several long hours after that, I got my work done and rushed to Hannah's before dark to take a walk with her and the grandkiddos.

They are pretty entertaining company.  Clay pedaled his little bike, and Oaklee pushed her doll in a stroller. She found another dead snake on the road (!), not much bigger than a fishworm, and she wanted to pick some more of that "fruit" (persimmons) that we found the last time we took a walk. 

Hannah and I lamented together the fact that the next episode of  Poldark is the season finale.  Boooo!!

I read stories to the kids when we got back to their warm cozy home, then I came on home and found my hubby at the sink, washing the dishes. 

I feel pretty spent after all that, but I'm thankful for all the feels-most of them anyway. 

I reckon it's called living.   

(Again, this photo has nothing to do with my post, I just think it looks peaceful.  If my phone had been charged, I'd have taken cute pictures of the kids, but it wasn't, so this will have to do! )

Day 13: Too much information

Mondays are killer in the weekly newspaper  business.

Everything that needs to go in our newspaper for Thursday's edition has to be sent in by our Monday deadline.

The articles need to have been written, and photos and stories filed for beginning the process of layout on Tuesdays.

I've received community calendar announcements, school news, political news, courthouse news, blah, blah, blah. It's just about more information than my brain can absorb in one day.  

I've learned of arrests for thefts and for drug use.  I've learned of things that surprised me, and things that should surprise me but I've come to expect.

There's been some good news sprinkled in too, so not all will be gloom and doom in the CV&T this week.

But I've got to give this brain a rest, because tomorrow the onslaught continues.

Until next time...a restful image.  Back when our trees still had tops.

 

Day 12: Wait and see

Pancakes for breakfast, a couple of cups of coffee, and a church service.  A walk in the countryside and Sunday dinner with the family.  

A few loads of laundry, and prepping for work tomorrow. 

No hurry, no pressure.

Sounds like a pretty idyllic day.

Except there's a lot of folks hurting today, and my heart feels heavy for them.  

I wish I could magic-wand away all the pain, but that's impossible. 

When my burdens feel too heavy to carry, I take a lot of comfort from the book of Psalms. 

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. "

"Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage, yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 13,14

There is so much more to the visible world than what our eyes can see, and our eyes can behold all kinds of wonders.

Wait for the Lord, and let your heart take courage.  Wait and see that the Lord is good. Be strong. 

Day 11: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22

I spent a busy afternoon cleaning up spent plants from my flower beds and the garden.

As I pulled up limp tomato vines and dragged them to the burn pile, I thought how soon it will again be spring.  The soil beneath the vines looked so loose and dark, I was almost tempted to find some seeds to plant.

But I have to be patient.

I used to think there was a long time separating seed time from planting time, but now that I'm getting older and the wheels of time need someone to give them a speeding ticket, I know it won't be long until springtime comes back around.

The seasons turn, turn, turn, of that we can rest assured.  That's one certainty in this crazy world, and one I find encouraging.


A couple of nights ago, in a rush to beat the first hard freeze, I picked a couple of bucketsful of green tomatoes from the hoop house-just in case it got cold enough to freeze the tomatoes.  It didn't, but I didn't want to take chances because fried green tomatoes are too good to waste.

Because it gets dark so early these days, I was forced inside at a decent hour, so I took the opportunity to fry up some of those green tomatoes.  Boy, were they tasty after a day of working in the fresh air!

Earlier in the day, I came across my appropriately-named beautyberry shrub.  Is she not a sight to behold?




All the grasses, even this little short stuff, are seedy and interesting-looking right now.  The berries below are almost black.

I leave a lot of the seedy stuff for the birds.  I mean, my husband keeps their feeders filled, but they can browse from nature's snack bar too.

Who wouldn't want to, with these cute little morsels to tempt them?

Day 10: Baby, it's cold outside

Brrrrrrr....it feels like winter tonight-and it is NOT winter yet.  

Earlier though, the sky was so blue, the sun so bright and the air so crisp, I decided it was a good time for a walk.  

Even if it wasn't a good day for it, I needed that walk.  

My cholesterol has been creeping up, and I'm sure my desk job contributes to that.  

So, I gotta walk!

While trudging through our field, I noticed this tree with the bent limb.  

What happened to you, little fella, I wondered.  

Now, I've seen this tree many times before.  It has obviously been around a long time, but I began to ponder what might have given the tree it's unique shape.  

Was it a traumatic event? A storm? A weak spot in the trunk? Faulty genetics? A blight? An infestation?

 Something caused the tree to get all bent out of shape.  

It occurred to me that I should extend grace to the bent tree. Maybe I should even admire it.  Whatever bent it did not break it.  

It's still standing, and it's framing the sky in an extraordinary way. 

The tree is beautiful, even in its imperfections. 

And so are we.  

Day 9: The Case for Chicken Contrariness

Chickens are said to have excellent memories and can even tell the difference in 100 faces of people and animals.  

I believe it.  

They will almost always make a beeline for the places they aren't supposed to be, places I've run them out of.   It makes no difference if they've got 40 acres to graze in to their hearts'  content.

No matter how much fresh green grass, no matter how many bugs and worms they could find if they just looked, they will inevitably head straight for forbidden fruit.  

If there are tomatoes ripening, they will find them.  

If I've just planted something, they'll dig it up. 

If I have a beautiful ornamental cabbage showing off its colors, they will track it down and give it a trim.  

That's what happened to these about a month ago.  The chickens found my ornamental cabbage and kale and picked them almost down to the bare stalks. 

They also kicked some pansies out of the bed where I'd just planted them, so we've been keeping the chickens confined lately. 

Surprisingly,  in just a few short weeks, the plants have rebounded to look like this.  Who'da thunk it?  

I mean, I'm reeeeaally impressed.  

So, I felt sorry for these ornery birds and turned them out the past couple of nights for some fresh pickens.  

Where do they go?  Straight for my ornamental cabbage and kale.  

Here's another interesting little factoid:  Did you know that a chicken can live a little while without its head?  

Just saying'...

Day 8: Hygge, hillbilly style

Hygge is a funny looking little word, a Danish word, that is all about the practice of coziness and simple pleasures.  It's intentionally cultivating and celebrating these things.

So, today, that's what I did. I spent a good part of my day indoors, cleaning house, cooking slow food, reading, and tidying up-and I kind of enjoyed that.  I hadn't had a day like that for a while...just me, at home, piddling.

The sun came out after a few days of overcast skies, so I had to get outdoors and take a walk. I enjoyed that too.  I saw some bright fall color and a lot of green still lingering in the landscape.

This evening, I had a cup of hot tea and sank into our shabby old couch while I watched television for a while.

I've been thinking how we rob ourselves of joy by not being content-with our possessions, with our imperfect selves, with our imperfect loved ones.

I'm not saying we shouldn't continually seek to better our situations, but simply being thankful and content with the ordinary, everyday miracles that surround us adds a richness to our lives that we squander by wallowing in self pity or just being grumpy.

So, yeah.  I'm gonna practice my hygge (hue gah) this winter!