Father's Sermon

Father Kevin told us Sunday about a student in a friend's theology class -- an atheist who challenged him on every point, every fact.  He was a "pain in the neck," Father admitted, but pretty hard to forget too.

On the last day after class, Tom asked Father pointedly, "Father, do you think I'll ever find God."  And Father responded bluntly, "No, Tom, I don't."  Tom looked a little shocked by that.  Then Father called to him as he headed for the door, "Tom, I don't think you will find God, but I am absolutely sure that God will find you."

After a time passed, Father found out that Tom had graduated and he was very glad to hear that.  About six years after that, however, Father found out that Tom was gravely ill -- he had cancer in his lungs, spread there from a tumor in the groin that was removed.  And Father felt that he should contact Tom, but he didn't need to worry about that.  Tom contacted Father Kevin first.

Father Kevin and Tom had a very, very long talk, and Tom told him about his journey to God.  How he had looked for God but couldn't find Him, and how he indeed remembered Father's comment that day in the classroom.  He also remembered that Father told him about finding God in love.  Loving others leads to finding God, Father had said.  Or these are the best recollection I have of how Father put that phrase into words.

So Tom changed his approach and began to seek out the people he loved to tell them about it.   He told his own father that he loved him, and his father did two things he had never seen -- hugged him and cried.  How Tom started showing love to others.  And THAT is when he found God.  His life was transformed, and now at 24 he only had a short time to live. 

Father wanted Tom to come to his class and tell the students about his journey.  Tom wasn't sure he wanted to do it, but a few days later he called and said he had considered the invitation and would accept.

It was not to be.  Tom called Father and explained that his condition had worsened considerably and he wouldn't be able to come as he had hoped.  He would be going on a final journey soon.  And Father said he understood.

But Tom implored Father, "You've got to tell them.  You've got to tell everyone!!"  And Father promised that he would and he is keeping that promise -- to let everyone know about God and the wonderful, encompassing, compassionate, personal love that He has for each one of us.  Because this is what a personal relationship with God is all about.  It is one to one.  And then one to others.  Spread the good news!!  God is alive and among us.

Forgot a Nursery

A few years ago someone in the family recommended a nursery that is off the beaten track.  Its main center of operation is in Tuscarawas County and it is completely family owned and operated.  The name is Mazzocca's, and their website in case you want to check it out is:  http://www.mazzoccasgreenhouses.com. 

This is really a nursery since they grow their own plants at Mazzocca's.  The Tusc County location is 10750 Corundite Road, NW, Massillon, OH.  They have every sort of plant you might want to purchase, and excellent advice from either the Mazzoccas themselves or their daughter who works there just about full-time.  Their other location which is not yet open is 1638 Perry Drive SW, Canton, Ohio.

If you just have to get some impatiens this year, their place might be a good bet because their operation is self-contained and they may not have been affected by the mold problem.  Last year I bought some wave petunias there and the results were spectacular.  They also have very nice vegetable plants, so last year we got some tomatoes, basil, and parsley.  I froze the beautiful, green basil leaves and then when I need some, I just get them out of the storage container.  Since they are frozen, they run through the chopper-slicer-dicer really well.

The prices are very good, very competitive, and they also sell their own favorite brand of fertilizer, recommended by Mr. Mazzocca himself.  They purchase a large quantity of the stuff and then break it out into plastic bags for home use.  The company approved of this idea of theirs.  It is not (I just can't think of the name right now) the usual fertilizer brand that a lot of folks use.  Mr. Mazzocca does not like it at all.

Another thing that usually happens at Mazzoccas is they have kittens.  A pregnant cat almost always finds her way to the facility in spring and has her babies.  Two years ago the little kittens had just ventured out of the box the very day we went to buy plants.  They were adorable!!  And the good news is that no one can seem to resist these little balls of fluff and they are always adopted in no time flat.  I could have stayed another hour playing with the kittens.

Speaking of kittens, a good friend of mine and my niece are both raising kittens taken from feral mothers.  The kittens are bottle fed and cared for entirely by humans and as a result, they bond with people much better than cats usually do.  They are in high demand actually.  My niece has eight of them and should be adopting them out in a couple of weeks.  She has a demanding job, and I am always amazed that she can find the time to do this extra work.

Well, if you want to take a nice little ride into the country and see a beautiful nursery run by really great folks, then try one of my favorite finds -- Mazzoccas.  You won't be sorry that you made the trip.

Today we are off to Navarre for their children's health fair held at the Navarre "Y."  The Lions are doing eye screening as their part of the event.  It only lasts from 10-1 so we'll be home before long to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and get outside for a while.  Take care, kind readers!!

Wild Carrot

In the early spring, everything looks so green, so lush.  There is little hint of the amazing amount of growth that occurs when summer really arrives.  Right now, chickweed is a huge annoyance, but an area left untended for long produces much, much more in the next couple of months.

Most governmental areas expect that property owners will take care of their surroundings to the extent that they mow the lawn at least.  Mowing keeps down the worst of the weeds that begin to take over otherwise.  Even poison ivy withers when its ends are cut, which is why you almost never see it growing in a mowed area.  The plant gathers its strength at the ends rather than at the root, the opposite of most plants.

The State of Ohio recognizes a number of plants as "noxious."  The plants are invasive and serve no good purpose, and some of them you might easily recognize.  The Wild Carrot is one of the most common ones on the list.  It is also called Queen Ann's Lace, but that elegant sounding name isn't enough to make it desirable.

During the time when I worked at the local newspaper, one of my jobs was to cover the Lawrence Township Trustee meetings.  The road superintendent at that time, Jim, was really an amazing guy.  He was very low key and I honestly never saw him upset about anything.  The whole crew stopped what they were doing each day to have lunch and listen to Paul Harvey.  He was that kind of guy -- and had a wealth of common sense to boot.  He also did a little farming.  One of Jim's jobs was to identify properties that had not been mowed and had developed weeds. 

So at the one meeting, he was questioned by a trustee about a certain property.  Jim said, "Well, it does have some of those obnoxious weeds."  It was so hilarious!!  I wrote about it in the paper, and Jim being the good sport that he was got a big kick out of it too.  Everyone did.  Life in the small town, remember?  You've got to love it.

We have some "obnoxious" weeds around here too, and some of them aren't even on the list.  Jewel weed is pretty annoying at times, but easy to pull up.  The worst are the briars.  Apparently, briars can actually be lethal.  If a child is riding a bike through an area with briars, one of the thorns can actually cut through the skin and nick an artery.  Ditto riding a dirt bike or maybe even running.  People have died this way.  One of my goals to is to try and figure out a way to get rid of a large number of them.  Now why couldn't the slugs eat briars? 

When a yard isn't mowed, then the township has the right to mow the property (if noxious weeds are identified) and add the cost to the tax duplicate.  This means that whoever buys the property will ultimately pay for the work, but it could be a good long while before the money can be collected.

Every single day I wake up to the view of the woods out the windows, I am so grateful.  Living here is like living in a laboratory.  There is always something to look at, to look up, to discover.  The dogwood trees are just starting to bud out.  They take their time as though they are savoring each delightful spring day.  And we should do the same, and take the time to thank God for everything!!

Sure Things

Don't you just love to look at landscaping while out on a drive?  Of course, not while YOU are driving.  The variety of plants, trees, shrubs and flowers is really inspiring.  And who doesn't like to go to the nurseries that seem to be everywhere around here?  We are really fortunate in that regard.

In my neck of the woods, there are Miday's, Rohr's, Lafayette Forest, Rice Nursery, and one on Erie Street (can't remember the name).  And that is only a few.  There are many more, including one nice one on Applegrove.  If you want to really treat yourself, try Petitti Gardens.  Their main store in Avon is spectacular, but people have told me the Tallmadge location is good too.

When we first moved here, landscaping was the last thing on our minds.  We still didn't have closet doors or carpet!!  And builder's dirt was everywhere.  It was a daunting task building a house.  There was, in fact, too much so we sub-contracted some of the work to others.  We subbed out the basement dig, the block, concrete in basement and garage, the fireplace, chimney, the electric and the plumbing.  We took on the framing, the drywall, painting, finished wood trim, the roof, siding, and heating.  We moved in just before the snow started in October 1987.

Finally, after a few years when the dust had settled, we went to Miday's.  The old guy was still there and he helped us pick out azaleas, rhododendrums, and an unusual Japanese flowering plant of some kind.  They have all made it and are still doing great.  As time went by, we added a bed in the backyard and landscaped the front too, using some dwarf Alberta spruce.  Thing is, these conical spruce got infested with spider mites.  We didn't know that you have to take the hose to them every year and really spray them hard.  So they started dying a little at a time until you could see through them.  Finally, it was time to yank them out using our old trusty John Deere four-wheeler that's as old as the house.

That's when somehow I found boxwoods.  They are my favorite "go to" shrub that fills almost every need.  They are hardy and evergreen.  The aren't pokey.  They define an area with their beauty, and can be trimmed into almost any shape.  There are many different species, so pay attention to how large they will get.  For small spaces, they even have a variety that only gets a couple of feet tall.

Viburnums are lovely.  They come in either tree or shrub, and their pinkish flowers have a wonderful smell in spring.  Ours are just budding out now.  They hold most of their leaves during the winter too so at least you don't have another barren tree.  A couple of days ago I told you about the drift roses, and I do recommend them as well.  Rose of Sharon are a nice tree/bush.  They bloom in late summer/early fall, and their purple color is lovely against a backdrop of green.

My niece has a verdant backyard, an oasis amidst many older homes in Fairview Park.  She has always said that you don't need a lot of color, just dabs here and there.  Too much color and it is overwhelming and almost garish.  The shades of green are gorgeous, with just that splash of color.  There is an ad on TV running right now.  Have you seen it?  The one where the man and woman create these towers of flowers?  The result is really nice, but they have way too many of them and way too much color besides.  Perfect example of too much of a good thing.

This spring the reluctant work that I did last fall paid off.  My grandson's school had a fundraiser and I bought bulbs.  Seemed like a great idea at the time, but then when they came it was cold and I didn't feel like going out there and planting them.  BUT, I did.  And I think every single one of them came up this spring.  I put them among the Sweet William in the front and so they were naturalized.  What a nice surprise!

If you are just starting out, read the labels on everything.  They've made it so much easier by telling you if the plant likes full sun, part sun, or shade.  They tell you how large they will get and how far apart they should be planted.  At that point, you can make some really good decisions on where this plant would do best in your yard.  And there is no law against moving them.

Oh, and about slugs!!  I really despise slugs.  They have done a lot of damage over the years when I didn't realize what was doing it.  Buy some play sand in a bag and put it on the surface of your flower beds.  Slugs don't have much protection and they can't tolerate the sand on their skin. 

Good gardening everyone!!

A little venting

Today I feel like venting.  My discontent stems from the attitude of too many parents these days towards their parental role.  The "me" generation is raising the "me too" generation.

I'm not going to spit out a lot of theories about psychology here, but kids need our time and attention.  They don't do a good job of raising themselves.  The very generation of people described often as the "me" generation, the ones who needed time to find themselves, raised children who have no foundation.  Their lives seem to be a perpetual hunt for the next party, and sometimes their parents aren't doing a whole lot better.  Movies like Jackass kind of show what happens when kids with no foundation go out looking for fun. 

A good friend of mine told me about her surprise when her youngest son talked about some of the other parents and their drug use.  This was right here in CF.  She was really shocked, because she thought she knew these people.  And guess who was watching them?  Their kids.

Kids who raise themselves lose their innocence quickly.  They get street smart.  They most often don't make it too far in school.  They become friends with the wrong people.  Their lives are often wasted.

On the flip side of the coin are the parents who started out trying to do a good job, but somewhere along the line they overdid it.  They are the so-called "helicopter" parents, who hover over their children and basically prevent them from every little misstep.  These children are overprotected and often either rebel at some point, or simply get in trouble because they have no idea of how to take care of themselves, make decisions quickly, and assess danger.

Children used to be outside as much as possible.  In the shadows of the house, they learned how to have fun with other kids, play games that had rules, and yet if they needed help it wasn't far away.  Parents today are afraid for the children to be out of eyesight, and I can't really blame them too much for that.  There are definitely some nut cases out there, and even though most children are hurt by parents or relatives, we don't usually see it that way.  The stranger danger thing has really taken hold.

Because of the messages society sends out, so many children today grow up thinking that happiness is a high-functioning cell phone, an ipad, iTunes, and small portable speakers.  Then add clothes from Aeropostale or whatever the hip store is nowadays, boots that cost more than $100, sneakers that cost $300.  Materialism dictates all of this and parents fall trap too, and often refuse to say, "OK, now that is enough." 

There is an ad that really gets on my nerves lately.  It shows a middle age man who wakes up in his luxury bed, puts on his luxury clothes, makes his coffee with a luxury coffee maker, and then gets in his luxury car for the commute to work.  Really?  Interesting thing is he'll be dead in so many years too.  Where will all of that get him?  Where will all of that get any of us?

It takes guts to swim upstream and be a different kind of parent, one that knows when to say no and when to say yes.  We need many, many more of them.  I've heard of one place where the mothers got together and with their collective strength boycotted the stores selling suggestive clothes for their girls.  That way, little Susie couldn't come home and say that her classmate got this or that.  They found their strength in numbers.

The foundation for our kids is a strong believe in God.  And our strength there is in numbers too.  It's called church.   Interesting, isn't it?

 

Drift Roses

The company that has the patent on knock-out roses also has another product that is gaining some interest -- drift roses.

Drift roses are smaller, more of a landscape plant, and they retain their green leaves just about all year.  They bloom from early summer through December.  They are hardy, disease-resistant, and pest resistant.  Their shape allows them to be trimmed into a more rounded shape or let go, they kind of spread out.  Maybe that's where they get the name drift roses?

The blooms are tiny when the buds but open up to a multi-petal display of about an inch in diameter.  They could probably be used here and there in a bouquet as long as the branch does not have to be too long.  They don't need any special treatment before winter's onslaught -- just don't prune them late in the year.  The adage is that if you prune roses too late, the cold that comes will follow the open stem right to the inners of the plant and kill it.

The colors available are peach, red, and pink so far as I can tell.  The peach has a yellowish quality to it.  Drift roses would not make an impact from the street.  They are most effective as a fill-in plant to add greenery and color. 

Locally, Rice Nursery carries them in what seemed to be a fairly small quantity.  I believe maybe Donzell's has them too.  If you travel to Tallmadge, Petitti Gardens carries them, and usually has a half-price sale in around June. 

Perennials are gaining in popularity for a number of reasons.  The biggest one is probably economics.  Annuals only last for the season and as Americans are more affected by the economic downturn, it may seem like a luxury that a family can't afford.  By spending money on perennials, they become an investment in your landscaping efforts.  However, there are some annuals that are just too lovely to ignore, namely the wave petunias.  They are quite a show stopper and the colors are lovely.  Just trim them when they start getting too ungainly, and they will fill out even more.  Dead head the spent petunias and they will multiply even more often.  Because the also lovely impatiens are not going to be in large supply this year due to a mold that has infested the plants at the growers, a nice change might be the petunias.

There is a flower/plant for everyone.  God has given us such a wonderful selection, so much to choose from and enjoy.  Artists and their plants are often a twosome, such as Monet in his famous Giverny gardens.  Van Gogh also painted flora and there are many others.  Couple beautiful flowers and plants and the sound of water and you've created something as close to the Garden of Eden as we will ever find on this earth.

Keep the faith, friends.  And don't despair if you suffer from doubts.  All of the great saints had the same experience at times, even Mother Teresa who was beset by doubts for many years.  We must simply persevere and plow past them and walk with God.  Run the good race and keep your eyes on the prize.

Lighter Fare

Well, today Boston is trying to get back to normal.  And the good thing is they have the weekend to get everything open again.  I'm really relieved that they were able to find the younger brother and take him in alive.  We can only hope that they can discover the reasons why these two young people living in the US for years were so easily swayed to radicalism.

The people of Watertown will long remember yesterday.

But on a lighter note, I love desserts.  When I was little and we went to the grocery store, the last stop of the day was Herman's Bakery.  This German shop was amazing.  They had kuchen and lady locks, and all manner of good things to eat.  My favorite was probably the cheesecake with pineapple slices on top.  Then when we would get home, everyone would gather at the kitchen table my father threw together one weekend years before and painted a celery green, and we'd have coffee/cream and cheesecake.  If you are looking for a similar experience, try Lieberman's Bakery in Massillon.  Their wooden shelving unit is identical to the one that used to be in Herman's. 

I have a couple of recipes to share with you today.  All you need other than the kind of ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen is ripe bananas. 

Banana Spice Cake
Source:  St. Joseph Catholic Church (Massillon) Cookbook, 1972; Mrs. Michael Palumbo
2/3 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2/3 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmet
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 1/2 cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs and bananas and beat.  Add baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.  Beat well.  Add milk and flour and beat well.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (or until knife inserted comes out clean) in 2-9" pans or 1-9x12 baking pan.  (Sour milk is made with a little less than 2/3 cup of milk to which you add lemon juice so that it thickens slightly.)

The cake is delicious but the frosting really makes this dessert!!!

White Sugar Frosting
1 cup milk
4 tbsp. flour
(Cook the above two ingredients in a sauce pan until smooth and thickened. Stir constantly.  Cool.)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Crisco (regular or butter flavored)
1 cup granulated sugar
Beat the three ingredients above until light and fluffy.

Add cooled flour mixture to the butter/Crisco/sugar mix and beat four minutes.  Add 1 tsp vanilla or flavoring of your choice.

Wait until the cake is well cooled and frost.  It is DELICIOUS!!!

This is a nice summer dessert too. 

Random Thoughts

It is hard to leave the television set this morning, with all of the news of the Boston bombers, their attempt to escape, and now at around 10:00 a.m., the police officers' work in trying to apprehend the second of the two brothers who have wreaked havoc on Boston, Watertown, and the MIT campus.

Anything I would write about what happened in Boston at this point will be old news in two hours, so let's just give it a rest for a moment today and go to a different time -- to sleep, perchance to dream.

People sometimes mistakenly look at the 1950s as an idyllic time in America.  On the surface it would seem so, but we all know now that it was really not so very perfect.  Still, I know our front door was unlocked all night and almost nothing ever happened in Fairview Park, Ohio that made the news.

On Sunday morning after church, the first thing we did was put on the TV and change the channel to the Gene Carroll Show.  This locally produced and live show was hosted by Gene Carroll.  The piano player was Gene's wife.  They had a few props -- an umbrella and a lamppost.  And they had all of Cleveland's attention because it was very popular.  They had auditions every week for the show on Sunday; they had a small group of "regulars" who performed each week, and who participated in the finale of the show -- the production number.

I can remember some of the acts.  Where else but on the Gene Carroll show could a kid taking acrobatics (as they called it back then) get television time?  The singing was pretty rough sometimes, and between our laughs, the other reaction was cringing for the poor kid who showed up that Sunday.  Really, in so many ways it was like American Idol.  Gene Carroll was a man way ahead of his time. 

By the time I wasn't watching the show anymore, my nephew and his friends had become regular watchers.  They had names for all of the regulars, like "sweaty lip."  They would call each other on the phone and watch the show together.  A newer friend of mine, Sue, who lives right here in CF, shares my enthusiasm for the Gene Carroll Show.  At a few Lions Club social events, Sue and I have had a ball asking people at our table about whether they watched the Gene Carroll Show.  If the person lived in northeastern Ohio back in the day, they always remember, and it starts a great conversation.  Everyone remembers a different contestant, a different regular.

One regular was Andrea Carroll.  Carroll was not her real name; it was Gene Carroll's last name that she took for her "stage" name.  People still look for her on the internet and they won't be disappointed.  She lives on the west coast and is a psychologist.  Apparently, she still has fond memories of the show, although it never launched her to stardom.

Well, now it is 11:44 a.m., and they are still looking for Suspect #2, a Chechan immigrant.  Our little trip down memory lane is over for now, and reality looms large.  We'll lose the quality of life that we've led when we forget to cherish the little things that are still jewels in our lives, when we forget that the vast majority of us are decent people, and when we modify what we do because of some cowardly people.

Art Linkletter

Back in the golden era of television, there were three stations -- 3, 5 and 8.  And the knob to turn to those stations was clunky and stopped in a very positive manner at 3, 5 or 8.  In between stations, there was the annoying white noise and granular image.  At a certain time at night, the stations closed with an American flag and a patriotic theme -- right before the white noise and granular image of the station logo.

And yet, with just three stations, I almost always could find something I liked?  What about those of you who are old enough to remember?  What did you watch?

Art Linkletter's program, "Kids Say The Darndest Things," was one of my favorites.  Kids sat like contestants in a quiz show while Art walked back and forth asking questions and listening -- and laughing.  As we all know laughing is infectious.  When we see someone really laughing, it makes us feel better too, and often we join right in.  Art had one of those kinds of laughs, and he could not have been faking the fact that he really liked kids a lot.

One summer when I had a salivary gland infection, my friend next door gave me a book about Art's show.  It was really a perfect gift, because it was just as funny as watching it and it took my mind off my misery.  Salivary gland infections aren't much fun. 

Years and years later, Bill Cosby tried to recreate the magic from Art's show, but for me it just never quite measured up.  It was funny, sure, but not as great.  Art knew just what questions to ask as a follow-up, and he really GOT kids.  He could sense their every feeling, their every mood.

One of the best parts of being a grandparent is getting to hear about life through the eyes of a child again.  My granddaughter was frustrated the other day because the cats were hiding from her and even Gracey who usually is quite friendly was hiding too.  I yelled out to no cat in particular, "It's okay.  Lauren isn't going to hurt you."  And she liked that, but she knew it wouldn't work, as did I.  Then she looked at me very seriously and told me, "Grandma, the problem is that we don't understand animals and animals don't understand us.  It's the way we LOOK."  That was pretty pithy stuff.  I might have to ask her a little more about that today when she comes over.  And I couldn't agree more; and you can add people to that equation too.  Oftentimes we don't understand each other.

A really nice lady from church once told me a story about her grandson who lives some miles away.  The grandmother texted her precocious grandson, "I love u."  When he received the text on his mother's phone, he read it and told his mother, "Isn't Grandma cute?  She doesn't know how to spell 'you'."

The best humor in the world comes from kids!!  That little girl on the credit card commercial, "What's in your wallet?" is just adorable.  I watch it every single time.   The kids on the Mitsubishi commercial crack me up too, "Come and buy 'em.  Here's a blue one; buy it.  Here's a black one; come and buy it."

My oldest grandson was always hilarious.  On one of the family gatherings -- this time in the summer so we were all sitting on the deck-- he found out what we were having for dessert.  His speech had a way to go, and he called out in a loud voice, "Caulk-it cake?"  And then again even louder and with more expression, "Caulk-it cake?"  Wow, did everyone laugh!!! 

I guess there's a reason for that quote, "Out of the mouths of babes."  Have a great day!  Spring has sprung.

Lions Club Camera

The Canal Fulton Lions Club has been around for a long, long time.  Most of the members are older now, although they are starting to sign up a few younger ones.  They're going to have to continue recruiting younger members or the club won't be able to function in 10 years.  And they are not alone; there are a lot of service organizations that are in the same boat.

The mission of the Lions Club International is preserving sight.  When you see one of those Lions Club containers for used eyeglasses that are placed in various businesses, it means that someone is going to make good use of the frames and perhaps even the lenses.  Certain uncorrected eyesight problems increase the decline of vision.  Eyes that don't work together can increase the chance of lazy eye.  Uncorrected lazy eye that goes past maybe around the second grade can lead to blindness in that eye.

A company called Pediavision has invented a device called the SPOT camera.  This device that costs right around $7,000 scans the eyes of anyone from six months of age and onward, and gives readings for five different conditions:

• Nearsightedness
• Farsightedness
• Astigmatism
• Lazy Eye
• Gaze Problems

It takes only a few moments to scan the eyes, so it is very efficient in terms of time.  The camera functions like a computer and then sends the scanned information to a printer.  Parents/schools can get immediately readouts from the scans.  A few weeks ago a scan done at a pre-kindergarten event discovered a child with some serious vision problems previously unknown to his family.  His eyes were not working well together at all.  His parents took him to an eye doctor and the scan information was verified almost exactly!!  He will have a much better kindergarten experience now, and it will certainly change his life from this time forward.  Isn't that amazing?

The camera is intriguing to anyone who sees it in action.  The high school students who acted as chaperones for the pre-kindergarteners were very, very interested.  It is extremely easy to operate.  The information entered is first name, last name, sex, birthdate, and if the person is wearing glasses or contacts at the time of the scan.  For school aged children wearing glasses, the scan will let the family know if the child's prescription is still doing the job.

The State of Ohio requires school aged children to be tested in certain grades.  The State of Ohio as yet does not endorse the SPOT camera, because they are concerned about accuracy.  Sometimes the arms of government move way too slowly, don't they?  The Lions have been using the SPOT for two years now for pre-K and daycare children, and as far as anyone knows, children who have been found with vision problems and went to the eye doctor, were verified as having those vision problems.  This camera is a marvel of ingenuity and progress, since the technology that has been used for all of this time (the lettered eye chart) is still being used in the schools. 

The CF Lions are going to buy a SPOT soon.  It is a great investment for them, since they really believe in the organization's mission and not only talk it but live it.  It may also function as a recruitment tool to sign up more members.  Today's salute is for the Lions Clubs who do a worthwhile service in our schools for free.  They show by this how much they care for the children in the communities they serve.

We are all called to do service as Christians.  There is nothing that gives live more meaning than doing service.  It is a fulfillment of our commitment to God.  When we pray, we should always pray for opportunities to do service, and for the guidance to know our calling in this area.

Have a great Tuesday!!

Individual Rights vs Safety

Yesterday's Boston Marathon was so tragic.  The top finishers had already completed the race, and the crowds had died down.  Family members were still on hand to see their loved ones come past the finish line and congratulate them on completing the race.

Apparently, from what we learned last night on the news, there were more explosive devices and they did not detonate.  It could have been so much worse.

In the United States, there has been a tug-of-war going on since the very beginning really over the rights of individuals versus the safety of society's members as a whole.  This undercurrent of a battle goes on in police departments, the courts, the appeals courts, and even in schools every single day.  America's founding was based on freedom, and at that time it was the freedom of religion that most drew the pioneering families to its shores.  Today, the freedom of religion is probably under more attack than most would realize. 

When Virginia Tech's massacre unfolded, and when Newtown's children were murdered, it makes everyone think about the price we do pay for our freedom.  College campuses have long been heralded as open.  Any of us can get in the car and drive to Harvard, Yale, Michigan, or Ole Miss and visit the campus.  One of the professors I worked with at UA wrote the book used most often in marketing classes around the country.  He loved to visit college campuses and particularly the bookstores to see if they used his book.  Then he would visit the marketing department and say hello.

Just as the voice of freedom can be spoken on college campuses, so can the voice of oppression.  Just as truth can be spoken on college campuses, so can lies.  Just as faculty members can be a model of behavior for their students, so can they twist the subject matter in favor of their own particular brand of brain washing.  I've always wondered -- who is most vulnerable to this sort of thing?  Almost certainly, it would be the most disturbed, most confused, most damaged students who would be hooked and drawn in.  If a person can't think for themselves, then they are attracted to someone who can do their thinking for them.

At Newtown, the children were just going through a normal day.  The crazed gunman entered through a broken front window, not by means of a locked front door.  The laws that are being proposed now may not be able to stop someone driven to do wicked things, and this frustration over the rights of individuals versus the safety of our schools spills over everywhere.

The battle over individual rights vs safety continues and likely will always be discussed in a free society.  The idea would be that the scales of justice might swing a little one way, then right itself, then perhaps swing the other for a while -- but overall the balance is maintained. 

Comparing ourselves to other places in the world, we have to ask ourselves what we want our society to resemble.  Are we willing to give up freedom for more safety?   It's a tough one, isn't it?

The person or persons who wreaked havoc in Boston yesterday will be caught.  Perhaps we will hear his perverted thought processes that began somewhere when he listened to a voice and rather than think for himself, followed. 

An absolute blessing of yesterday's marathon was the way that people turned and ran TOWARD the blasts and ripped off their belts, made tourniquets out of their own clothing, comforted the injured, gave aid to the dying, and ignored the danger.  Isn't that really the victory?  No terrorist or terrorist organization can take away the love that we have for others.

As for me, I will follow God the very best I can.  He is the true giver of our freedom.

Old is New Again

When I was in about the sixth or seventh grade, my brother and I would watch an early morning show called, "Clutch Cargo."  It was absolutely the corniest thing you've ever seen, but the mesmerizing part of it was how they made the animated characters talk.

Rather than the usual animated mouths, the characters had filmed mouths superimposed on the animated characters.  There was something really creepy about it, but at the same time I couldn't stop watching.  Now I am well into my 60s and so that was a good many years ago, but you won't believe what I saw the other day on one of the cartoon networks.

Yep, it was a new program for kids that uses animated characters AND real mouths superimposed on their faces.  Same creepiness, that's for sure, and I just had to watch.  My grandson was intrigued too and said something about how he would like to watch it. 

Thing is, the characters are like round blobs.  They are unrecognizable as anything we've seen on this planet unless you could maybe blow up an amoeba.  Lots of the stuff on TV for kids is the same.  A sponge is the main character on the one show.  A sponge.  Really?  Then rather than having some middle ground, the other stuff on the kids' television stations is more for teenagers and certainly not appropriate for young ones.  Even Scooby Doo is more into the "teenage" stuff than it ever used to. 

I'm going to leave the picture of my craft room on another day.  It was such a great feeling getting it finished, and so far, it is staying nice and neat the way I was hoping it would.  Reason is -- there's a place for everything and it makes it really fast to tidy up.  Even the best laid plans don't always work out perfectly though.  There isn't room for the laundry basket we always use, so it's just kind of here and there in the bedroom.  I'd still like to figure out a better place for fabric so it would free up another shelf.  When you fix up a space, you should also leave a little extra room for expansion.  Otherwise, this becomes the source of clutter and chaos in the future.

Well, have a great Saturday, and I'll be back on Tuesday.  Thanks to the Altar and Rosary Society at SPJ for another great card party!!!

Craft Room

The craft room is done, and actually has been for several weeks, but just when I went to take pictures for the blog, my old trusty HP camera failed.  That meant doing some research and selecting a new digital camera for not a huge amount of money. 

Then it was time to upgrade the computer to Windows 7 from XP, since Microsoft isn't supporting XP anymore.  The computer had slowed down and was freezing (I'm starting to sound like that annoying ad on television, aren't I?) and my frustration levels were building.  So off to a very special former neighbor who did the upgrade and now finally, here we are!!!

It took a while to find the pictures taken by the new camera.  It took at least an hour to figure out how to make the computer understand that the virus protection plan the computer guru loaded for temporary purposes was NOT the one I paid for.  And that meant "chatting" on line with someone named Kristopher Directo, a representative from Trend Micro.  No, I'm not kidding.  I wouldn't have been able to make that one up.  But he was helpful to a degree.  Still, speaking on the phone would have made the whole process go much, much faster. 

Having a love-hate relationship with technology isn't really very hard to achieve.  There are so many wonderful things about getting on the computer, looking up info about a camera, for instance, or getting a bargain on a great Disney program for X-box (not our X-box; we don't have one!!).  But then there are the other aspects that aren't nearly as fun.  When the computer was gone for those two days, I found myself heading down the hall to the craft room any number of times to "look something up."  However, as far as the cell phone thing is concerned, I do not have any sort of attachment to it at all.  It doesn't do much of anything; it calls people, and I can call people on it.  That's about it.  That's all I want it to do, that and not ringing when I'm in the car driving.  Personally, doing one thing at a time and trying to do that one thing well is my number one goal.

What I have learned over the years, and especially when I worked at UA, is that being organized is absolutely key.  Having a purse that is organized.  Having a car that is organized.  Having a bedroom closet that is organized.  Ditto for the pantry, the bathrooms, the garage, the basement, the attic.  Anyone who ever saw me at work could tell when I was in one of "those moods."  The kind where you clean the whole office from top to bottom and start organizing files and desktops.  Kind of sad it took me about 23 years to get pretty good at it and then it was time to retire.  BUT, I brought home with me all of the lessons learned and all of the discipline garnered from years on the job.  What a gift!!  Besides, I never met an office supply catalog that I didn't love.  More than once, I told friends that I'd probably volunteer at Office Max if given the chance.  Isn't that sad?

So let's see.  What are some good nuggets of information I can share?

1. Determine just what you use most often and make sure that those items are closest to you while you are working, whether in the kitchen, the home office, or the bedroom.
2. Put all like things together, like one place to store ALL batteries of ALL sizes.
3. Purchase organizational aids like baskets, pretty storage boxes, and pen/pencil holders.  Put them where you can grab what you need.
4. Get a file folder holder (my favorite is from Thirty One; it has style and function and is not that expensive).  Then make up some file folder labels for such things as:  medical bills, miscellaneous bills, tax information, bank statements, insurance materials, investment statements, pet stuff, etc.).  File as soon as you get the stuff, and that means that the organizer should occupy a prominent spot on your desk.
5. Organizer your books like the library does, around subject matter.  All recipe books and folders should be in one place, for example.  And the recipes shouldn't be that far from the kitchen.
6. Have telephones in logical places in your house so you never have to run for a phone.
7. Put up shelving with shelf supports.  They are attractive and you can display family pictures or whatever you want, and then change the display in a moment.
8. Put everything related to your computer, such as disks, in one place.  That means the disk that came with the camera or the printer.
9. Have a box for each craft you pursue.  I have boxes for watercolors, pastels, acrylics, drawing, stamping and card making, and sewing. 
10. Put pleasant things around your crafting area, things that make you happy and feel confident, like some of your successes.  Bury the failures deep.

The most important part of the craft room is the recognition that God is the giver of all of our gifts.  So there is a cross on one wall, a framed photo of a traveling Jesus that Cathy Dean gave me, and there is a card on the bulletin board with the smiling Jesus.  And a couple of  little country churches, one a small wooden model and a wall art representation.

Well, that's it for today, blog friends.  Winter is temporarily back.  No worries.

Dry

One of the pieces of advice that I once read was this:  when you are writing, NEVER write everything that it in your head.  Save something for tomorrow, for when you start again, because otherwise you might run into the dreaded "writers' block."  It's a paralysis of thought to the extent that absolutely nothing comes to mind.  It probably has scared more writers into NOT writing than anything else.  It has probably been the cause of many, many books to sit idle for years or maybe forever.

That's what I feel like tonight -- like I'm all dried out in the head.

The storm this afternoon does come to mind just now, however.  The skies over Canal Fulton were absolutely black at around 5:00 p.m. when I returned from watching two of the grandchildren today.  So dark that I decided not to go to Subway and get dinner after all.  As soon as I got home, the winds started and dead leaves blew past the front door, and the howling began.  We went down the basement as a precaution, but the worst of it went quickly, and soon it was just rain and an occasional rumble in the distance. 

The strength and the power of the wind, of rain, and of lightning is awe inspiring, and so beyond our control.  It comes; it goes as it pleases.  The first summer we lived in our house, there was a drought.  By August, I was certainly depressed, oftentimes looking out the window for any hint of a rain cloud, of a storm.  When the rains finally came that August, the smell of that rain was one of the most welcome things I've ever experienced.  We had gotten through it and I vowed at that moment to never complain about the rain again -- and I haven't.  It wasn't until years later that the true damage could be assessed.  We lost many, many trees to the drought because the damage was already done and they were failing.  Many dogwoods, all of the hedge apples, all of the wild crabapples, and all of the edible wild berries were gone.  You look at a stretch of woods and you think -- yes, it looks the same -- but I learned that summer that no stretch of land is ever really the same for long.  One of the dogwoods that died had branches spanning at least 20 feet across, a true umbrella tree. 

Just when my husband had cleared much of the dead trees and had gotten the property in the best shape it had ever been, a terrible storm came and knocked down about 50 trees about 10 years ago.  Most of them caught in other trees, and many of them remain so to this day, still alive.  One tree with a huge trunk was literally spun around and left in a twisted mess.  Two trees hit the house; one fell into the house on the side and the other grazed the house on the other side.  When the tree guys came to get it cleared up, the one man looked about and said, "You were very, very lucky."  Of course, I believe that God spared us that day. 

The American Indians have a saying that is very true, "No one owns the land.  We borrow it."  I believe that.  We are caretakers of whatever we have been given, and we will leave it to someone else when our time comes.  This homestead of ours has taught me so much.  How we basically share the land with the animals that roam about it, whether we appreciate the smell of skunk in the early evening hours or not.  How we might hate the briars that grew more abundantly with the loss of the trees, but to think of managing to eradicate them -- too big of a job.  How we might tire of the greenish tint that the roof gets after a while on one side, so that we have to bleach it.  But it is such a blessing being in the woods.  Time to read Thoreau again maybe.

Well, enough now -- I've got to save something for tomorrow!!!


 

15 Minutes

My neighbor and I are going walking in 15 minutes, so this is going to be really fast today!! 

Have you enjoyed the nice temperatures the last few days?  It seems to be energizing people.  I saw kids out riding bikes and scooters yesterday and heard the sounds of children playing out in their yards.  Two little girls with long blond hair were running here and there, their hair streaming behind them.

15 Minutes ...

There is a lot we can do in 15 minutes.

1. Call a friend and set up a time/date for coffee or a walk.
2. Check your date book and see if there is someone who might enjoy a card.
3. Update your facebook page, because I got two or three responses yesterday for posting some pictures from my granddaughter's BD party.  One was from Thailand.
4. Sort through your summer tops and get rid of the ones that were too tight, too loose, or you never wore all of last season.  Give them to an organization that clothes the needy.
5. Check your pantry and get rid of any food that is out of code.  It shouldn't take that long really.
6. Walk outside and take a quick inventory of what you need to do this spring.
7. Make a wish list of plants you'd like to buy or maybe you can swap with a friend or family member.
8. Look through some old pictures and do a quick reminiscence (don't have time to spell check this).
9. Play with your pets, or give them a nice brushing or combing.
10. Think about all of the wonderful blessings you have received, and thank God for everything.  Everything that is good is from God!!!

Well, that didn't even take 15 minutes!  A quarter of an hour.  A snippet of time in the grand scheme of things.  Time is our gift.  We should not waste it.

Have a great day today!!  Prepare for Thursday's drop in temperatures.  It will feel like winter again.  Oh boy.

Sibling Rivalry

One of the most common things in families, and something that we more than often laugh about, is sibling rivalry.  It is pretty much pervasive.  Entire books have been written about it, and everyone has a theory about how to handle the new baby and the "big" brother or sister waiting at home.  And yet, no matter what, it materializes at some point.  And it LASTS!!!  That's what we don't talk about.  The lasting.

I have seen a few cases where the rivalry does not seem to be there at all.  In that case, either the mom knew much more than most, or she just lucked out.  I do know that our rides in our Chevy Astro van were often punctuated by the sound of leg slapping in the back seat for a long, long time.  And my husband and I wondered at what age it would finally stop.

There isn't anyone who knows the weaknesses of another better than siblings.  They have just about memorized their brothers or sisters, and in some cases might actually have figured them out better than mom and dad have.  There are always stories that get mentioned that underscore all of this.

In our household it is definitely the walk to Lock IV Park.  I took my sons there on occasion, and when the little one was really small, I worried about him tripping on the rough towpath terrain and falling into the murky canal.  So I purchased for $.25 a harness leash for him at the neighbor's garage sale.  Most of the time I held the "reins," but once in a while his older brother did too.  And I happened to take a picture of this, to the absolute delight of the older son who loves to bring it up at times.

The story of the prodigal son is certainly peppered with sibling rivalry.  About a month ago, when the gospel reading about the prodigal son was our gospel reading at Mass, a Deacon from Portland, WA visited with us.  He was a dynamic and interesting speaker.  Let me tell you about his story.

He was a very driven and intelligent child.  He became an Eagle Scout.  He had never been in any real trouble.  He had been a credit to his mother and father his whole life.  At one point during college, he was offered a full scholarship to study theology in Rome, Italy.  All he had to come up with was airfare.  At the time he did not have the funds, so he asked his mother, and she agreed to pay for the tickets.  About three days before he was to buy his tickets, his mother called and said he would need to return the money to her.  His younger brother had gotten in some trouble and his dad was going to bail him out.  The situation was dire, as he would also lose custody of one of his children if something wasn't done.

This older brother was irate.  He told his mother that he had been a good kid; he had been the Eagle Scout; he had obeyed the laws; he had gone to college, and now he had been given this unbelievable opportunity.  His brother was always getting in trouble.  He had three children by three different women, and wasn't supporting any of them.  Why not let his brother stew in his juices for a while?  It might be good for him, he told his mother.  She disagreed and requested the money back.

His brother was bailed out and never thanked the brother who gave up a trip to Rome.

A little while back, the older brother's 20th high school reunion was coming.  He was returning to New Jersey for this event, and his brother called to ask him to stay with him.  In fact, he insisted.  So the older brother arrived at his brother's house, and noted that he had purchased a brand new bed for him, offered him the keys to his car to go wherever he needed, and during the stay, got up early to make him a very nice breakfast.  They watched movies at night until late and talked and talked.  The younger brother was fully supporting his three children and had remained single.  He had a house and a good job.

Finally, the older brother had to ask -- "What was the turning point in your life?  What started these changes?"

"When you had to give up your studies in Rome," the brother answered.  "I knew I had to make it worth it." 

A real life prodigal son story, don't you think? 

One other point -- so often while we are still worrying about whether mom and dad care more about this one than that one, the more important thing to know is that God loves ALL of us. 

Birthday

Going to a birthday party today.  It's all about ice cream!!  Lots of little kids are coming too, so it should be loud and crazy.

My granddaughter turned seven on 4/1/13.  Yes, she is an April Fools child, and she really doesn't mind that at all.  What she did mind this year was missing her birthday at school, since they are on break.  Of course, if you want to have a birthday at school when you are an April Fools child, just wait, because as we know Easter is the one holiday that changes dates from year to year.  It could be in late April next year perhaps.

Do you remember your birthdays at all?  Mine are really a blur at this point.  I can remember one party when some cousins came, as well as some neighbor kids.  My mother bought these huge coloring books and of course, crayons, to go with them.  Everyone seemed to have a really good time, and a lovely black and white picture is the best memory of the whole day.  I don't remember what we ate; I don't remember one single gift; I don't remember the kids coming; and, I don't remember them leaving.  Wow.

So let's get this straight then -- we go ALL OUT for the child's first birthday.  We've got two cakes, tons of food, relatives swarming the house, other little kids who OOOH and AAAH at all the appropriate times, and one really little kid who is oblivious to almost everything.  And after all that, save for some lovely color photos, doesn't remember a thing.  And not only that -- doesn't remember a single birthday for YEARS after that. 

Hmmmm.  Certainly gives one reason to pause, doesn't it?

I saw this absolutely great TV program several years back.  They should play it for every new parent in the hospital.  Young kids were interviewed about life, and especially about what was their favorite memory.  Some of them had probably been on a Disney cruise; some to Disney World maybe; some on expensive vacations.  So they ask this one kid, what was your favorite thing you did as a child?  Drum role ==== tatattattatatatatte == when I camped out in the backyard with Grandpa.  And he had a HUGE smile on his face.  Another moment to pause here...................

So what kids seem to remember is us.  Those who love them and spend time with them.  Listen to them, read to them, pray with them, sing with them.  All the cruises and presents and excitement in the world doesn't seem to hold a candle to the simple things in life, like a Grandpa who risks being bent over in two for a couple of weeks in order to sleep on a tent mattress in the backyard with his grandson, eat terrible food, and wake up to the congestion that only comes from mold spores and pollen. 

One birthday, although I was obviously operating on a budget, I made paper airplanes in various designs (from a book), and we had balloons I think, and I can't remember what else.  I don't think there was a kid there, no matter what age who didn't have a good time.  And heck, I don't remember what we ate!!!

So my granddaughter will have her birthday today, and perhaps I'll try to keep the memory alive by talking about it once in a while.  I know last year she won't forget her birthday.  She was pretty much amazed by Justin Bieber at the time (Justin Beaver to her) and so I did a little cutting and pasting and took Justin Bieber's head and pasted it onto the body of a blue-footed booby.  That's a bird in the Galapagos Islands she had seen in one of my nature books for children.  So it was a blue-footed Bieber.  She opened up the card in front of everyone, and her mom read the note and Lauren just LAUGHED.  She kept laughing for a while too, and it was really precious.  Made my day!!

Lost Boys

The other night on "60 Minutes," they featured a segment on the Lost Boys of the Sudan.  Apparently, the news show had been tracking several of the "boys" since their arrival in the U.S. years before.

The Lost Boys are a group of now grown men whose parents were killed, sisters taken for the sex slave trade, and the boys left behind when Islamists destroyed their Christian villages.  The boys made a trek through hostile places finally to arrive in Kenya.  No one wanted them; they had already been kicked out of a couple of places, and Kenya wasn't keen on them staying either.

The U.S. State Department decided to fly the boys to the U.S. and paired them with willing guardians.  A number of them came to Cleveland and were supported by a Catholic nun, with a charity called "Sudanese Lost Boys of Cleveland."  As you might imagine, given the fact that there were probably well over 1,000 of them, some did much better than others.  Some of them have degrees; a few are in prison.  One is an ordained Bishop in the Anglican Church.

My encounter with one of the Lost Boys was when I was helping the School of Accountancy at UA in 2009.  Their administrative assistant had been out ill for a period of time, and they had just learned she wouldn't be returning.  When I walked into the office that first day, the front door was already open, the coffee was on, and one of the Lost Boys was sitting at a desk in the reception area of the office.

At first, it was hard for me to understand him.  He spoke very softly and his accent was unfamiliar to me.  As time when by, though, I learned about this young man and his brother who was getting a Masters Degree in Cleveland.  He was also obviously bright; he was on track to graduate. 

I knew that something bad had happened to their home, but didn't ask about that.  I asked about his life in the village.  He said that they were an agrarian people.  When there was work to do with the crops, they worked.  When harvest time passed, they relaxed and played.  The men had their area to talk and such; the women had their area, and the kids were all over.  They swam in crocodile-infested waters, and somehow survived that.  It was perhaps that simple upbringing, that happiness in life, that prepared them for th worst and gave them a winning, positive attitude.  He certainly had that attitude.  He always had a smile on his face.

One morning I got to work before he did.  He looked surprised, and he commented, "Good morning.  You are here even before me!!"  Wide awake and facing the start of another day.

The Sudan has been liberated, and there are those who believe that the plight of the Lost Boys is one of the reasons.  A few of the Lost Boys have returned; most have stayed here.  At least one has fought in Iraq, three tours in fact.  He wanted to give something back to the country that took him in, that gave him his first identification.   And one of the State Department employees who helped them make the transition said it has been one of the most successful programs of its kind.  Maybe THE most.

The kindness, gentleness, and steadfastness of these young men is rather astounding.  Only through God does this kind of thing happen.

In the 50s today!!

You know how we have this tendency as humans to name things?  Of course, the obvious is our pets.  According to our vet, there are some pretty hilarious ones out there and some they can't repeat.  They used to do something like this when you took your pet to the vet's office and it was your turn-- "Puddin'Head Nelsen?"

Yes, that was our cat's name, and it seemed like a good choice until they said it OUT LOUD in the vet's office.  They don't do that anymore, probably a pretty good idea.

Years ago, I had a Chevy Nova that was a more or less medium shade of brown.  The car really grew on us, and it took us to many different places, such as Florida and Boston.  It was dubbed, "The Little Chestnut," by me.  When it was totaled in an accident, that was it.  No more car names!!

The upstairs computer was handmade by a former neighbor.  For that reason, she doesn't need a name like, "Dale Dell," or "Hannah HP."  She has no pedigree.  Therefore, just recently I've started referring to her as Carmen Computer.  If she likes it well enough, she might stop choking on large files and stop shutting down when she doesn't appreciate a video.  Carmen is getting a bit of an overhaul (and Windows 7), which should quicken her up a bit too.  She needs to be nimble and responsive so she can help me with this blog every day.

That's why today, without Carmen, I'm in the basement doing the blog.  The downstairs computer is much, much older.  I bought it with the guidance of one of the computer center folks at UA and it is a reconditioned Dell.  With one month to go on the warranty a good while back, both the mother board and the monitor failed, so Dell replaced them.  The Dell will be getting an overhaul too and a new system, since Windows XP is no longer going to be supported by Microsoft.

To have a name is to have an identity.  We are known by God, and like the sheep to the shepherd, we recognize His voice.  We learned how to love from God, and then we offer that love as best we can to other humans, and also to the creatures of the earth.  We have a social security number too, and our cars have VIN numbers.  Not the same as a name, is it?  Not even close.

Enjoy the 50s temperatures today, and just in case you want to go out and sniff the spring air, I left the picture of the skunk cabbage at the top.  I'll be back tomorrow, friends.  (But it's COLD down here!!)

Backyard Scents

Isn't nature amazing?  We were just talking the other day about the eye testing that the Lions Club does, and some of the finer points of this important service.  My comment was, "You know what else is amazing?  Mosquitoes can see!!"

One animal that can't see very well is the bat, hence the old saying, "He's as blind as a bat."  But that doesn't stop bats from locating food or swooping here and there, their image backlit by the light of the moon.  That's because they have a magnificent sonar system that allows them to determine where objects are.

So the eyes represent one of the five wonderful senses -- sight.  But what about smell?

Spring is ALL about smell!!  A certain skunk, and I'm betting it is the same one, has been spraying nearby most nights.  It is a fearsome odor, and really annoying too.  We never see this critter, but he's around!!  Hope the cat doesn't find him or vice versa.

Then a little farther along into spring, the skunk cabbage come up.  They arise from the ground like their more presentable counterpart -- the jack-in-the-pulpit.  The latter are endangered, and we haven't seen any here.  But oh boy, do we have skunk cabbages.  The plant isn't the ugliest thing I've ever seen, but the smell is really noticeable if you step on one.  They like wet feet, so they flourish in the mucky area near our house.

The perfume fragrance of the lovely viburnum really gets thing going, along with their pinkish-white blooms.  I recommend them highly!!  The rather strange but somehow appealing smell of daffodils is yet another.  Tulips don't seem to have a smell.

Speaking of no smell, fawns don't have a smell.  This is how they are protected when they are wee and defenseless.  They curl up in some brush and blend in with their surroundings nearly perfectly, and would-be preditors just mosey right on by. 

The mosses have a mild scent, but the mosses along with the spring grass and some of the other flora are already starting to do "their thing."  I'm congested!!  Yep, it's those spring allergies that have everyone flocking to the store for sinus stuff.  Digging in the dirt is great, but I always pay for it.

Have a great day, readers, and if you get a chance walk outside for a bit and take in the smells of spring.

Our Fine Feathered Friends

One of the blog readers has suggested a post on our fine, feathered friends.  So glad to oblige!!

Here at the Nelsen household we have a bird feeder.  It's weathered and grayish with age, mounted on a greenish pole, and at its base is surrounded by a rocket nose cone.  Picture showing nose cone is provided for evidence.  Why, you ask?  As my one grandson said when my husband asked him about his yellow teeth, "Well, Grandpa, there's a good reason for that."

The birds don't care what it looks like; they are just hungry.  The rocket nose cone mounted just below the feeder keeps squirrels and raccoons out of the seed.  We have a LOT of critters running around here, and we're trying to feed birds first.  The pole being green -- well, that's because Eric painted the short light posts in the front of house that same color.  Kind of looks like weathered copper.

By feeding the birds for so long, we now get a lot of the so-called desirable ones -- cardinals, woodpeckers, titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, towhees, and an occasional surprise.  There are probably at least a dozen or more pairs of cardinals who call our woods home. 

The so-called desirable ones behave pretty well, other than the cranky bluejays.  They have no manners at all.  They are hoggish and do not like to share.  The doves are slow and look like turtles moving around (when you don't have your contacts on) below the feeder.  Unfortunately, they make a good catch for hawks too.

There are top feeders and ground feeders.  Many of the birds are just as happy pecking and nibbling down below and count on the top feeders to make a mess and send some seed down their way.  That's where the bluejays come in.  They swipe along the tray of the feeder and make rain of the seed. 

The squirrels, chipmunks and birds coexist happily below the feeder, hopping over one another and giving each other a little space.  I love to watch this interaction.

About eight years ago, a cardinal was hatched in a nearby nest.  He had some kind of brain chemistry problem, as we would soon find out.  Territorial?  Oh, you have no idea what territorial could be unless you saw this bird in action.  He would see his reflection in our windows and attack them.  He'd sit on an outside windowsill and just fly at the window, flapping his wings as he went up and then came back down.  Over and over again.

We have cats.  Can you imagine what sort of chaos this created?  The cats would hear the bird flying at the window and run for that part of the house.  Then they would jump onto the inside windowsill.  That kept old crazy away for a few seconds, but he'd be back in another location, and the cats would scurry to that window.  Birds spit.  This cardinal spit on everything.  The windows were covered with bird spit to the point where we'd have to wash them much more often.  The top half of the garage windows was just spit covered.

When the windows weren't good enough, he started attacking our van's rear view mirrors.  If my husband didn't remember to turn them inward, by the next morning, he couldn't see out of the rear view windows.  We went through a LOT of Windex during that time.

One spring/summer old spitter didn't return.  Guess maybe he wore himself out in about three years' time.  Is that about the lifespan of a wild bird?

The birds are amazing, beautiful, and very special.  St. Francis loved them.  I love them.  On two different occasions during the winter, a bird hit a house window hard enough to stun it, but not kill it (some have been killed).  My husband went out with gloved hands and put each of them up on the feeder to get them out of the cold snow.  After about 10-15 minutes, they were okay again.  That was a good feeling.

Feeding the birds is wonderful, but you have to keep up with it in winter.  They rely on the feeder at some point in time, so running out of seed for several days is not an option.  I think St. Francis would like our backyard.