Butterfly

Just happened to spy some caterpillars hanging from a milkweed plant, while on a walk. So, I thought, let's try this. I picked a leaf with the caterpillar and placed him in our "bug cage". Tristan was so taken with the idea, he got another one. While feeding these caterpillars (what MUST be milkweed leaves) Tristan also found a freshly hatched caterpillar. This little guy was no bigger than a pinhead. In two weeks' time he became a big fat caterpillar and is now in chrysallis form. These guys change fast!!! Just yesterday morning i got up and checked on what are now three chrysalli. I knew one was ready to hatch. But, no luck. An hour later T gets up and there is a butterfly!!! We gently removed him from the cage and took him out to our flowering bush. He spent an hour there stretching his wings, then flew away to the barnyard where there are lots of goldenrod and queen anne's lace. It has been an amazing and educational journey watching these bugs. I must say in spite of my life-long adventure with bugs, this is the first time i've watched monarchs transform. and yes, i do believe he is a boy butterfly - go to www.monarchwatch.com. So, all you southern people, watch out for our butterfly, he'll soon be heading your way:)

Baby Bees

Beside running to rehearsal every night, trying to get the house in order, unsuccessfully, before school starts, family in for visits and many other of life's interruptions; it is so peaceful to watch the cycle of life take place. Every day I take several short breaks to watch my honeybees at work. Today it seems we have baby bees! I knew they were suppose to hatch out sometime this week, but really expected it to be this weekend or beginning of next. Well, the hubby and son beat me to the first bee check of the day and came running in excitedly to report it appeared there was a hatching! Yippee for baby bees. I just love watching these little creatures work and go about their business. They are so focused on what really matters that watching them bathes you in a feeling of total peace. And the honey's not bad either:)
The second pix is of "Suzanne", who has the hatch. The first is "Zelda", who is a week or two behind Suzanne, since the first queen died enroute. We had to order a new queen from Georgia and that is when T named her Zelda and the other queen Suzanne. Usually hives are just numbered, but not at our house.

A Star is Born!

Finally got a computer that really works! So, here i am again. And yes, a star is born. We have spent the last two weeks, T and I, getting up and going to an acting workshop sponsored by The Cresson Lake Playhouse. T is so dramatic i thought it would be good to direct it. And The Playhouse has a great reputation here and the instructor was awesome, with lots of training and experience from across the country.
So, as you can see T had the part of the scarecrow in "The Way Out Wizard". This is a more modern version of Oz. The scarecrow does not want a brain, he wants good looks, because that's what works now. And there is no tinman, there is the plastic man; and the lion is a lioness, who is not at all afraid. The whole show was quite wonderful with many of the children singing songs and doing other dialogues. The Way Out Wizard was the finale, with an ending dance to Over the Rainbow. It was great watching what these kids accomplished in two weeks!
so, here it is and i feel like summer is nearly over. there is so much going on and that i want to do... hopefully, i will be able to keep up here now that school is done and the computer is back on line!

winter

ahhhh, winter in pennsylvania. ya just gotta love it! yes, ya just gotta cause otherwise you would lose your mind. whilst my darling son and (pseudo) daughter-in-law porch-sit in raleigh and regale me with tales of blossoms and blooms, i fight 50mph winds with below zero wind-chill factors. as i said, ya gotta love it, NOT. shall we say 8 degrees maybe this weekend:) in spite of it all, there are some great and fun things to be had here as the pictures show. this was a fantastic, nearly perfect sunday morning snow-boarding adventure in the back field. Dad provided a ride back up the hill and as more trips were made the better the track became. even i gave it a try and i really have to get me one of these things! having one in the correct size just might help. it is great fun, uses a classic kenpo karate stance and requires superb balance. i now have much more respect for those guys in the olympics! thus said, i shall go shovel some more coal into the outside furnace and curl up with some nice hot tea:)

catching up

yes, it's been quite a while. first it was the holidays. thanksgiving was enjoyed with the hubby's sister and brother. this was his sister's first holidays without her husband, so very important to us that we were all together. we all had a wonderful time with lotsa good food and company. the sister and brother got home rather late, though, due to getting lost in the snowstorm. fortunately, all turned out well.
christmas was beyond wonderful with the daughter home from germany, meeting the new boyfriend, and just having a houseful! new year's was even better with more of a houseful due to the arrival of number one son and pseudo daughter in law:) we all went out together new year's eve. i think this was the first time ever and words cannot express what it meant to me. the entire weekend went beyond perfect - even the cut throat taboo game:)
this mini yellow rose was a mother's day gift from #1 son at least several years ago. i've done my best not to kill it and quite amazingly it's still thriving. i just had to document this miracle, since, tho i LOVE plants, i don't quite have the green thumb.
other news, and another reason why this blog is behind, is that my computer died - yes, folks, the blue screen of death was received. this involved a frantic call to the expert #1 son, who confirmed that the OS needed reinstalled, at least. best case, buy a new puter, LOL, don't we wish. reinstallation was successful, obviously. even so, there have been many tears. not because i lost anything of real importance(it was all saved due to many "beatings" of #1 son on saving/documenting important stuff) but tears because, as someone else wrote, the puter is my connection. being here on the farm is peaceful and great, but i do sometimes miss real mental stimulation, as well as the connection to my children. thus far the reinstallation has been a success. i won't go into all the hours downloading and reinstalling lost programs - due to the archaic dial up system with which i am stuck, since i choose to live in the middle of nowhere. (that line is almost a quote:) recognize it????
another bit of fun - #2 son and i have been stuck here inside, together for over a week now. he managed to finally get sick, sicker than he has been in quite some time, bronchitis and sinusitis. so, we are well and goodly sick of each other and bored out of our minds. fortunately, he finally seems to be recovering. doctor has told me people have been sick with this stuff for weeks and weeks, just can't shake it. so, i consider us lucky. even tho, we've missed weeks of karate, school, etc. - and #2 son lamented missing the snowboarding during the last good snow. great update tho - pix of 2nd greenbelt awarded December 12, 2005.

Halloween

It has become a Halloween tradition to go to Auny Betty's for trick or treating. This is a great thing, since the town where Aunt Betty lives really gets into it and supports the kids. The houses get all decorated and the people are out on their porches with huge bowls of candy, spooky sounds and music. The fire trucks drive around throwing candy at the kids out their windows. It's great - ALMOST the way it use to be when we all went to grandma's house:) The wonderful thing is that Aunt Betty gets into it just like grandma did. Though she is now confined to a wheelchair and can't move around much due to a stroke, Aunt Betty always has one of her daughters there, usually Robin, with the huge bowl of candy. Aunt Betty sits at the door reigning over it all like a queen. This year trick or treating started a little earlier, due to the time change, and it was still daylight out. A little odd, but it made for easier picture taking, and i got to get one outside, so we can appreciate the decorations. Hard to believe it is now onto the rest of the holidays - Thanksgiving and Christmas - goodness time is flying!!!!

Awww Autumn!

We had our first snow of the year this past Tuesday. That kind of slow, silent snow, where everything is hushed and the snow falls gently, straight down and molds itsself into images. The ground was covered, the leaves were covered and no one could quite believe it. You see, it had been so warm, no frost yet and the leaves had changed quite gradually. With no frost the trees are still full of leaves, all quite brilliant, due to their slow changing. Then the snow!

And now the snow is gone. And we are left with the usual Autumn weather. The dark, hovering clouds and that bite in the air that says apples and pumpkin pie. (And to me that it's time to get shooting, but we won't go there:) The leaves are still quite unbelievably brilliant. They survived the snow surprisingly well. And I still hear people who are waiting for Indian Summer.

So, that's Autumn. It changes in an instant. You don't know what to expect. That tang is in the air. The feeling of nostalgia as you watch summer slide away on a trail of colorful leaves, or snow, or usually both.