A Fine Day

Yesterday was a fine, fine day. The weather was sunny and just warm, not hot. We had wind, of course, but it was the kind of breeze that would have been good for flying kites, if we'd chosen to fly kites. Days like that make everything in life look sunny.

I decided it was a day to take a few pictures of outside goings-on before settling in to wash dishes and start supper.

What was going on? Well, it seems a warm day is a day for bees.

That wind did make it difficult to keep the smoker lit.

Lots of honey coming out of winter

I know it seems like lots of honey would be a good thing, but we suspect something is wrong with that hive because there are few bees. The queen is still alive, but there is little brood. I'm guessing something happened earlier in winter to make fewer bees since there is so much honey remaining. The other hive seemed to be doing well, so that's good.

After visiting the bees, I walked toward the backyard to see what the chickens were up to.  To nobody's surprise, they were scratching about in the leaves, and Chester the Rooster kept his evil eye on me. 

Common sight nowadays

Chickens weren't the only thing I found in the leaves on the edge of the trees.

Hello, crocus! 

And, yes, according to the dictionary, "crocus" is the plural of "crocus." The dictionary also says it would be correct for me to type "croci," but that would just make it more awkward, I think. I've always said "crocuses," but I learned today that I've been wrong all these years. I will probably continue saying the word incorrectly because I like it better. I guess a lovely spring day brings out the rebel in me.

Sideling Hill Sunset

 Tonight we saw a beautiful sunset. It is the time of year that the sun sets right in the cut in the mountain. The picture doesn't do the colors justice, but I'll post it anyway.

Ugly Truth and Quick Cookies

Is it just me, or does it seem that the truth is hard to come by lately? With an election year in full swing and with all the COVID-19 and riot confusions, I just don’t know what to believe. Maybe you’re feeling as ill as I am from the honesty deficiency surrounding us. If so, I’ll try to help you out and give you a dose of the cold, the hard, and the ugly truth.

I hate the hot days of summer. I hate the heat. I detest the humidity. I love air conditioning. That’s the cold truth.

I can’t stand my garden looking wilted, but sometimes I am just too l lazy to water it. I complain about my tomatoes being too small, but it’s probably all my fault because I don’t fertilize enough. The poor crop of green beans, on the other hand, is entirely the fault of the bunnies. And the most prolific crop in my garden is the rocks; that’s the hard truth I was talking about. 

Wilted

I like bacon. I like bacon grease. And although my kids scold me for it all the time, I even lick the bacon grease off of the cookie sheet using my finger as a spoon. This is, most definitely, the ugly truth.

That’s not my only bad habit. I also enjoy kicking my socks off in bed. My husband scolds me when he finds several pairs of my socks under the sheets at the bottom of the bed.

Small tomatoes

While I’m being honest, I might as well tell you that sometimes I neglect my family in order to read a book I just can’t put down. Don’t misunderstand; the kids are fed and clothed and loved. But sometimes I do hide in the bathroom to read when I should be grading school papers or folding clothes. Or washing the bacon grease from the cookie sheets (with soap and water).

Snack for caterpillars

When I was a little kid, I stole a pistachio nut from an open basket in theproduce department at the A & P. I loved green pistachio pudding, but I’d never tried the nut. My mother was certain I wouldn’t like them and refused to buy any, so I slipped a single pistachio into the pocket of my jeans when she wasn’t looking. Later I closeted myself in my bedroom, took out the contraband, and felt so guilty that I didn’t even attempt to eat it. I don’t remember how I got rid of the evidence, but I do know that I didn’t try pistachios until I was an adult. To be completely honest, I still feel guilty about that.

So many rocks

And finally, because I have no desire to run for public office ever, I will come out and say it. I am a racist, but not in the way you might think. I am prejudiced in favor of the human race. Truthfully, I have been disappointed by people and their actions and words over the last several months, but I still love them. I can’t help it. I enjoy watching people, listening to people, and even complaining about people. I love big people, little people, ugly and pretty people, stupid and smart people. 

An entire garden full of rocks!

We are all so different, with different concerns and ideas and hopes and fears. But folks, we are being pitted against each other in this day and age; the media calls us maskers and anti-maskers, vaxxers and and anti-vaxxers, racists and anti-racists. How easy it is for us to forget the big truth— that we are (most of us) just people doing the best we can in a world full of controversy and confusion. 

And here’s my last truth: we need each other. I can’t think of anybody I know who hasn’t felt isolated in some way this year. Bridge that divide however you feel comfortable because we are, all of us, mired in this sometimes mucky life and need a connection to solid ground.

**************************************

I’ll never be a politician because I am a little too open and honest. But it is the political season, and the mud-slinging has commenced. It just so happens that one of my favorite cookies looks just like mud. The church cookbook from North Dakota that I use calls them Five Minute Cookies, but most people I know call them No Bake Cookies. I see them in convenience stores all the time, but the only reason I know why somebody wouldn’t make this simple recipe at home is that she doesn’t want to gain a few extra pounds by eating them all. Enjoy.

Five Minute Cookies

2 cups sugar

5 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

3 cups quick oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large pot, stir together the sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by tablespoon onto waxed paper and allow to cool until set.

 *This column was printed in the April 1, 2020, issue of the Hancock News.

**I hope you enjoy all of the garden pictures that show just how ugly my garden can be. If you are like me and have weeds over-powering the food stuff, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! At least we tried.

My Nemesis

This is the face of my summer nemesis.

Tomato hornworms are evil.

Lately (Few Words, More Pictures)

Bear vs. compost bin made of pallets

Just one step of fixing up the former guinea coop-- soon-to-be chicken coop

Soon-to-be chickens (I'm trying not to count them!)

Little boy fun

Little boy self-portrait

Warning-- if you have no interest in our new little bee endeavors, scroll no further. It's all bees from here on out.

Bee loaded with pollen

Wax comb-- a little wonky

Wax comb-- a lot wonky

Bees

Bees, a little bit closer, since you're brave

My son holding bees-- pretty stinking brave (I want to do it next time).

The replacement queen (the one with a bit of blue paint) and her attendants

The end. You made it!

Five on Friday

1. Bees!  Okay, so not yet. But soon. Soon we will have bees. My eldest son has been obsessed with interested in honeybees for a couple of years. He saved up money, bought supplies, and ordered bees. He also set up a webpage for the whole endeavor. I'm a bit of a partner with him in this, but we've changed roles because he is the boss while I am the underling.

Son-created website

So, if you're interested in following along on our latest adventure, check out Sideling View Apiary's webpage. He will be updating the blog there to document our adventure in treatment-free beekeeping. I'll also put a link in my sidebar.

2. Instagram. I signed up to Instagram today so I can follow my friends. But. I haven't figured out how to post things yet. Someday. (I think a big problem is that I don't have a cell phone.)

3.  Dress. I made a dress for my daughter for Easter. I learned a lot. Unfortunately, I had to learn a lot the hard way. For example, store-bought patterns can have multiple mistakes (I'm talking to you New Look #6427). But my sweetie was absolutely thrilled with the results.

Hand-dyed scarf was made at homeschool group.

I spent a lot of time on this, so I haven't made much headway on the Great Clothes Heap Challenge. However, I like to think I learned skills that will come in handy when I try to repurpose that huge pile of unwanted stuff and make it useful again.

4. Soap. Remember how pioneer-y I was feeling a few week ago?  Well, the soap didn't come out perfectly. In fact, when we flopped it out of our primary mold, it wasn't ready and cracked and generally looked ugly. But it'll be okay. Today we cut it into bars. We put all the ugly ones and pieces into a container; these bits and pieces will become "hand-milled" soap later because my daughter wants to make "flavored" soap. (By "flavored," she means "scented.")

Ugly soap

5. Spring. It's still a bit chilly out sometimes, but spring is here. It's fun watching spring creep up Sideling Hill.

I'm looking forward to getting more things planted outside. One of them is this beauty a friend gave to me.

I have just the spot for this on the east side of the house.

That's all for now. How's your week been?

What Happens When. . . ?

What happens when a big Nissan van. . .

meets a tiny little killdeer?

Killdeer intimidation

Well, in our van vs. killdeer matchup, our big van backed down.  Why?

Well, that's not close enough for you to see, is it?

How about now?

Well, hello little mama bird!

The tiny little nest was so hard to see in my father's driveway.

Well-hidden nest

Little mama bird protected her three little eggs fiercely. Good job, mama bird!

Turkey

This post is just a short one-- not much more than a less-than-great picture.

Turkeys!

I love it when we have a zoo in our backyard.

Five on Friday

1. The Great Clothes Heap Challenge.  Okay. I haven't made a ton of progress. I did mend a few things. However, the most important progress was in getting the sewing area semi-organized. Also, the piles of stuff surrounding the shelves are now sorted into different totes-- one for mending and one for items to be re-purposed. Three garbage bags of my mother's clothes went to Loaves & Fishes (my favorite thrift store). Progress, not perfection.

That stuff on the floor has found new homes.

2. Snow. In early January we got a small amount of snow. It was maybe enough for the children to play in, but they didn't because they were sick. They were not sick enough that they didn't notice a neat "gingerbread house" effect on the gutter that we'd not ever seen before. One child said, "So that's why the make gingerbread houses look like that!"

3. Not Christmas Cookies.  My kids always like frosting sugar cookies at Christmas; I do, too, to be honest. We'd been waiting since our "Big Trip Out West" to use the cookie cutters we'd bought my mother at Yellowstone National Park. Unfortunately, the chance to use them with her never came, but I'd promised we'd use them soon. However, this year at Christmas, we were sick, so cookies didn't happen. 

So, our "Christmas cookies" fun came a little late this year. Over the last few years, I'd been storing up inspiration from The Frugal Girl's cookie guessing game. This year I even invested in candy eyes! And they were almost everything I'd hoped for, except when I put them in a little dish for fingers to easily grab, they got a little wet and smudged. This did not ruin my fun.

Tree and maybe Elton John

Wonder Woman, obviously

Three colorful fish and Tyrone (from Backyardigans)

Absolutely no clue what this one is

4. Spring Has Sprung (Maybe. I Hope Not). On the first of January, I cut spinach. On the last day of January, I took this picture. My daffodils were peeping out of the ground. This weather has been so strange.

Silly daffodils

5. Pride and Prejudice. I read it again. Folks, if you like a good romance, this is it.

Five on Friday

1.  Things Kids Say, Part 1. After reading a fairytale ending picture book (at the got married and lived happily ever after part), my 4-year-old said, "I would punch him in the stomach!"

Surprised, I asked, "Why? Don't you want to get married when you're older?"

Her reply was, "When I get married, it will be to somebody who is nice and kind and drinks coffee with me!"

I can't say I don't agree with her.*

2.  Things Kids Say, Part 2. Let's go to the other end of the age spectrum. Overheard recently, "Great! My least favorite-- negative cosines!"

I can't say I don't agree with him, too.*

3.  Misheard Lyrics. I found out Sunday night, thanks to the display on our van's dash, that The Marshall Tucker Band sings the song "Heard It in a Love Song"-- which I always thought was "Purdy Little Love Song."

I was inexplicably so let down, disappointed, etc.

4. Black Beauty.  Although I used to watch the old tv series on Nickelodeon early in the morning when I was a kid, I'd never read the book. Since we own it, I thought several years ago I might use it as a read aloud, but somewhere on the great internet I read how snooze-worthy it was. It remained untouched by me until we chose it as a homeschool book club pick.

This week I picked up the book and enjoyed it. Was it my favorite book? No. Was it a little bit preachy? Yes. But still, it was enjoyable.

5. Random Picture. Because I think I'll never catch up on what I want to post on this blog, I'll throw in a random picture that's been waiting on the desktop.

Amazing lightning storm in summer

*Yes, these are things I wanted to share with my mother. I am so used to grabbing the phone when the kids say or do cute things. I don't think I'll be saying this with every blog post because 1) you'll think I'm depressed, 2) I want to focus on a few things that aren't tinged with sadness, and 3) it will get old real quick-- BUT there's a whole lot of sadness blanketed over everything for me right now. If I'm not missing my mother, I'm missing our dog Calvin. 

Sheesh. I can't stand it when life throws the bad things at you so fast. It was about 17 years ago that both of my grandmothers passed away on two consecutive days. Throw in a couple more deaths that year, and it was just no fun. 

So why am I telling you all this? Well, I guess I know life goes on. Somehow God will carry me through it all and fill me up with joy. Eventually. If you're in a similar situation in your life, hang in there; He won't fail us.

Good Morning, Sunshine!

I tried to capture the beauty of the sunflowers as they saluted the golden morning sunshine, but I failed. I hope you enjoy the picture anyway.

Neglected Summer-- Spider Webs

When I was younger, I walked back and forth on our dirt road to the school bus stop almost every day. I didn't live in town, and I was constantly surrounded by the beauties of nature, but I can't remember ever noticing them.

Now, however, it's as if I've awakened to the wonders in this world. My children often point them out to me, but just as often I notice things first.

I don't always make the time to run inside for the camera, and I certainly don't know enough about photography to capture the wonders wonderfully, but sometimes I can't help myself.

Back in June it was my turn one morning to take our dog Calvin outside for his first walk of the day. I tried not to hurry him inside so I could capture the beauty of the spider webs which covered everything. There were hundreds all over the field, in the grasses and weeds, on our fences. I wonder why this morning?

I learned something about photography that day; spiderwebs are tough to bring into focus! If I ever think about it when I have a moment, I'll do an internet search about taking pictures of these delicate works of art.

Neglected Summer-- Growing Things

The title of this post might be a bit misleading because I feel like I've truly enjoyed my summer so far. However, I've neglected to post about it. I found a few snapshots of my summer that I wanted to share.

1. Snow peas.  We had an overabundance of them. My children may never want to see them again.

2.  Garden with new electric fence. Everything newly planted and few weeds. I definitely need to update this picture!

See the not-quite-completed yet bike shed in the background?  It's still not completed, but it does house a little bird's nest complete with eggs.

3. Clematis in full bloom. I love this every year and must always take a picture of it.

4. Butterfly weed. This one has such pretty blooms. It will be featured in a less glorious state in an upcoming post.

 5. Rose. This is a less glorious state of a rose if I ever saw one. I need to read up about taking care of them. I'll bet the library has a book for that.

 6.  More from the flower bed. Why, yes, that is my mum peeking out from between the lavender blossoms. It over-wintered quite well. Perhaps I'll be smart and take a picture of it now that it's flowering.

 7. Blueberries. Almost ripe. This little miniature blueberry bush is not the only berry-bearing plant for us this year. The blackberries outdid themselves. We were able to get a few pies out of them plus plenty for eating. There's still not enough for putting up without robbing us of the joy of eating them fresh. No complaints.

After writing this post, I realize I need to get outside with my camera for a few before-and-after pictures because these were taken in June-ish, and it is most certainly July-ish. What a difference a month makes!