Earth Day-Things I Want My Granddaughters to Know

I live in a beautiful rural area, and when my three city girl granddaughters come for a visit, I want them to learn more and develop a sense of wonder about the natural world.

I tell my granddaughters about the wild creatures that inhabit my woods, fields and pond.

We look up the names of the birds that frequent the feeders in the summer, or winter. I show them the great blue heron that visits the pond in hopes of catching a frog or fish dinner. They think he is "cool" looking. And so he is!

Later, we watch a red-tailed hawk soar gracefully above the field and land on a limb of the dead oak, eyeing some lunch possibilities in my yard.

"Shoo!" I yell at the hawk, making my granddaughters giggle.

I show my granddaughters the beautiful raccoons and homely opossums that visit my yard at night. Sometimes we see an armadillo, too, digging for grubs in the field.

"He is strange looking," says Hannah.

I want my granddaughters to see the deer grazing in the field, or drinking at the pond. And early mornings, I want them to hear the wild turkeys gobbling. If we're lucky, we can catch a glimpse of them, too.

I tell my granddaughters about some of the scarier creatures that live around here. Like the huge blacksnake that sometimes finds his way into the chicken coop. I want them to know that although I may threaten the blacksnake with my broom, to discourage him from getting the eggs, I would never harm him. I tell them that the blacksnake, like all the other wild creatures, has a right to his existence, too.

In the woods, I teach them the names of the trees, so they know the difference between an oak and a hickory; an elm and a maple. We look up the names of wildflower’s as well, and when we see butterflies alighting on them, we look them up, too.

I want my granddaughters to go outside with me on a clear, starry-night, and learn the names of the constellations. If we are lucky enough to see a shooting star, they can make a secret wish on it. Summer nights, I open the windows so they can hear the chorus of a country night, while fireflies flash their perfect lights.

I want my granddaughters to hear the eerie howl of the coyotes, and be glad there is still enough wilderness left, where coyotes and other wild creatures can live their lives. I remind them often that the Creator of all this beauty, would be pleased if they worked toward preserving His beautiful creations, so their own grandchildren can someday enjoy it as well

Thank you for visiting. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

PS. I had a wonderful visit with my older son and family and I will post a few pictures soon. I know Mckenzie is looking forward to seeing them. I did want to add my own small tribute to Earth Day, first.



Blessings from the woods!

Where Do I Begin?

Where do I begin, posting about the ice storm our area experienced? As I'm writing now, the spring peepers are singing at the pond. It has been in the low 70s since Saturday, they think it's spring. Since the pond is 20 feet from the house, I fall asleep to their singing, and dream of spring. It can't come too soon for me!

The jonquils/daffodils are up as well, after having been under the thick ice and snow for several days. But the jonquils are hardy little troopers, and can withstand the elements better than I! Andrea had said in her post "My Mom is brave." But I am not all that brave.

The last time I posted ( before the torrents of freezing rain came down on the woods,) was on January 27th. We had an inch of snow, but were under a freezing rain advisory. Since we already had a couple of episodes of freezing rain earlier in January, that had kept me in for a few days, I didn't think this one would be a more serious one either. I was wrong! By noon that Tuesday the freezing rain had been pouring for several hours and Eileen called to tell me she lost power. Ice was already everywhere and on everything. She could not come here, or go anywhere else. I told her to call the law, since I heard a shelter was already set up for people with no heat. Then Jan called. She had already lost power as well, but she, like myself, had propane heat not dependent on electricity. I still had power at that point. But not for long. Before dark set in, my power went out as well. The freezing rain continued to pour down.


Did I prepare for the ice storm? Yes, but not expecting it to be as bad as it would get, I was not that well prepared. Besides the propane heat, I also have a small wood stove as back-up, and had lots of wood. I had candles, an oil lamp, and a flashlight, and a couple of little led lights. I also had a battery powered radio, but forgot to stock up on batteries. I had canned food, both bathtubs filled with water, and bottled water as well. But I had a worrisome night, as I kept listening to the pounding rain still coming down. And I hate the dark! I was glad to see daylight on Wednesday morning, but didn't like what I saw. Ice was everywhere and on everything, and the freezing rain was still coming down. Hundreds of birds were waiting at the feeders that I could not go out and fill with the black oil sunflower seeds I had stocked up on. So I pitched seeds out two different windows hoping the birds would find it. They did! The deer where nowhere to be seen.

(Icy Hickory tree by my bedroom.)


After the freezing rain stopped, snow began to fall. And Wednesday night, so did the tree limbs, sounding like bombs hitting the house all night! The cats ran under the bed, the dogs weren't sure what to make of all the noise. The boom, booms continued all night. The deck was full of tree limbs, missing the glass door by a few inches. The top piece of one of the trees that fell against the deck, speared the corner of the roof like an arrow and came through the attic, landing on the kitchen floor, scattering ice all over. In semi dark, with flashlight in hand I gathered several pillows, stood on a chair and with the broom handle pushed the pillows up the hole, to keep out the cold. Greg called and I was crying! Andrea called, and I was crying! Then remembering the huge hickory tree in the back, right behind my bedroom, I moved myself to the living room sofa for the night. I was afraid if that tree fell overnight, the roof would come down on my head, while I was sleeping. Strangely enough, as full of ice as that huge tree was, it only lost one limb, and it didn't fall on the house.
(Ice arch)


Thursday morning I woke up to discover the freezing rain had turned to 4 inches of beautiful, crunchy snow that made it possible to actually walk around outside. But the ice laden trees continued to drop their limbs. I heard on the news that several people were killed by the falling limbs. My car had a smashed rear window. I ventured outside anyway and even took some pictures. Everything looked beautiful! The entire time outside, I could hear the tree limbs snapping off in the woods, sounding like guns going off, as I cautiously held on to my sturdy stick, and stayed out of the way of falling limbs.

Andrea kept the mailman, UPS and Fed Ex busy with her care packages! Greg, who was trying to find a generator and could not find any within 200 miles of here, drove on 200 miles of icy roads to get here on Friday. By then, the road crews were out there clearing the gravel road of tree limbs and scraping the ice off so people could drive out of here. Greg arrived with all kinds of supplies, but no generator! He even ended up taking me to town around noon, after we found out the power had been restored there, and we ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant. It was such a wonderful treat!


Friday evening Eileen called. Since she lives only 3 miles from town, her power had already been restored and she was back home. But she was shaken from the experience. The generator at the shelter she had been first taken to, failed, and they had to transfer the people to the city garage which they quickly set up as another shelter. She said she was shivering from fright, holding her cane and her purse with her medicine, as they held on to her and led her in. I was glad she was back home and all right, but also envious that her power was back on three days later, while mine was still very much in limbo.


The area was declared a disaster area. FEMA came in with water and food; the National Guard arrived. Two cute, young Guardsmen came to visit.

"Is there anything we can get for you that you need?" they asked.

"Yes, you can get me some electricity," I told them.

They chuckled, gave me a hug, and said they wished they could help me. Two nice guys from the Fire Department had come to see about me as well, bringing me an extra flashlight and some batteries. They asked if I would not consider going to the shelter. I said no, I had heat, and I would never leave my animals alone.

Finally, some Linemen from other parts arrived to help our overwhelmed Electric Cooperative fix the lines. Greg had left, as he had to go to work, but was back the following Wednesday. He worked all morning clearing my long driveway of some limbs, so one could drive in and out without dodging them. The sun came out and was melting the ice and snow. I collected water in buckets and refilled both bathtubs. Everyone was given a large supply of bottled water and army food that heats up in the box. But I still had plenty of canned food left, and a few fresh things in the huge Coleman Cooler Greg bought.

Later that Wednesday afternoon a green SUV drove in. It turned out to be Andrea and Jimmy, who drove all the way from Ohio to bring me a generator! It was to be a surprise, and what a surprise it was! Jimmy and Greg set up the generator on the deck, after clearing it off from all the fallen limbs. What a neat device. Of course, it didn't power everything, but Wednesday evening, eight days after the power went off, I had some lights, a working TV and microwave, and I could charge my cell phone. Basics, really, but it was wonderful to see clearly again!


I can never, ever thank Greg, Andrea and Jimmy enough for all that they did to come and help me through the ice storm. I am very blessed! They left early Friday morning to drive home.

Later that morning, I met Eileen in town at our favorite restaurant. We lingered for an hour and a half, and caught up on each others details of how we fared during the ice storm. Back home, around 5 PM I went out on the deck and filled the generator with five gallons of gas. But I decided to wait a bit before starting it, and went back into the house. That's when I had the surprise of my life. The clock on my electric stove was blinking! I hit the light switch. The light came on. Water came gushing out of the faucets, the TV with the satellite worked. Everything worked. It was finally over.

But the cleanup around here will take months, and the forests will take years to recover from the ice storm of 2009. However, it could have been much worse, and there was much to be thankful for.


This past Tuesday, there was some good news in my email. I received a permission release agreement from Chicken Soup for the Soul. My story, "Making the Best of the Worst of Times" will be published in the book "Chicken Soup for the Soul, Tough Times, Tough People " in May of 2009. That story is about my beloved Apa's (Grandfather's) handling of tough times, while we lived in a refugee camp, and this news was a much needed boost, arriving at the end of my own tough times!



Thank you for reading my account of the ice storm. I left many details out, but even so, it is rather long, so I appreciate your patience in reading it. Have a wonderful weekend.



Blessings from the battered woods, where the spring peepers continue to sing, and life goes on!

Beebopping In The Woods.

Election Day was gorgeous around here, with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures, so when I came home from casting my vote, I decided it was a great day for some beebopping in the woods. With camera in one pocket, cell phone in the other, and a sturdy walking stick to help me navigate the woodsy terrain, off we went to enjoy the last of this years autumn's colors.

Of course, some of the animals towed along. Like Felix on the left, and Oreo, on the right. Oh, boy, the woods are fun, Mom!

Sidney came along as well, although at 12, she is a bit arthritic. But she seemed to enjoy beebopping, as much as I; two oldies reveling in nature!

This is the southern exposed side of the woods, where things are dryer, and the ecosystem is a bit different from the northern side, where the huge white oaks grow, and the ginseng thrives! I'll take pictures of that side sometime as well.

But there is much beauty in these woods, where the young hickory trees intermingle with numerous dogwoods.

Sun shining through the tree tops created a magical effect; a feeling of being in a cathedral. Thank you God, for all this beauty!

A crow's nest up high adds some interest as well.

Standing under a dogwood umbrella is magical experience. Color and light make for a gorgeous palette.

We were in the woods for almost two hours. Time flies when you're having fun, and fun we did have! I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

According to the forecast today is our last mild day, for a cold front bringing thunder showers is on the way by tomorrow, followed by somewhat cooler temperatures on Friday. But today I won't be beebopping in the woods. Today is Chinese Buffet day!

Thank you for reading. Have a happy week.

Blessings from the woods!

Ruby Tuesday!

It has been a GRRRRR morning! The HTML got messed up and I had to redo this post. Greg, of course, thinks it's amusing. But I'm going back to bed! GRRRR!

My last hibiscus flower of the season is lovely. I took the photo yesterday as a heavy frost was in the forecast for overnight. And it's chilly this morning! It's always a bit sad to see a beautiful thing come to an end. Oh, well, there is always next summer to look forward to!

We spent some time in beautiful Mammoth Spring last week. You see some reds showing up around the river there.

The hills around here are slowly getting colorful as well, but still have a way to go.

To see other participants visit http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Taking a Break.

Hi Friends,

I took this photo of the north-east corner of my woods yesterday afternoon, and as you can see, the colors are moseying on in, but there is still a lot of green. It will be another week or two before nature has perfected her pallet in these woods.

I did not have time to do Ruby Tuesday this week. I am getting company Wednesday, so have been busy getting ready. My granddaughter McKenzie has a short school week, and her Dad is bringing her down for a visit. They will be here until Saturday. So I will be taking a break from blogging for a few days. I hope you all have a wonderful week. See you Monday or Tuesday.

Blessings from the woods!

Ruby Tuesday!

Autumn blessings become more and more evident as this beautiful season of color progresses, delighting the human spirit. So, I was out with my camera early Monday morning, capturing some of the red colors of Autumn for this weeks Ruby Tuesday post. I hope you enjoy them.

The early bird catches the worm? Well, maybe not, but something even better. This early bird caught the red glow behind the woods, while the morning was still dark.

Nature brightened a thicket at the edge of the woods, with some beautiful red vines!

The lowly scrub sumac becomes a beauty in the Fall!

And the gravel road I live on still has a lot of green, and a beautiful red adding a special touch of beauty to my travels on it. In another two weeks, there will be a riot of color to enjoy.

If you would like to participate in Ruby Tuesday visit the teach to find out more.

Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Blessings from the woods.

Cruising Down the River!

Our weather has been perfect for spending time at the cabin on the river, and doing some cruising in the jet ski. The captain doing the navigating is my younger son, Greg.

Here he is, above, sitting next to me, manning the steering wheel, while I am snapping pictures. I'll have to keep it a secret from him that I put his photo on my blog though. lol.

So I thought I'd show a few pictures of our lovely river, along with a few of some of the cabins we see along the way. There are many more, some elaborate and large, some smaller and some tiny, (but quaint,) like our cabin.

The Current River is a very beautiful river with blue green waters, and scenic views. This is where it really begins, at Big Spring, in Van Buren, Missouri. The ladies on the dock in this picture didn't know they were going to be on my blog, just as Greg didn't know!

As the Current River winds its way through our hilly, forested County, it sings its sometimes tumultuous, sometimes placid song. And in the water, on the banks, and in the sky above it, wildlife thrive. Can you see the nose of the jet ski, where I am sitting, snapping the pictures?

Another picture going north on the river. I have not been successful at snapping a picture of any of the Great Blue Herons, although they are always around, for the fishing is good on our river. But I will keep trying, and maybe have some next time. Many Bald Eagles spend winter along the Current, arriving in the fall, as do other beautiful visitors like the Osprey, or fish hawk. Of course, tourists from all over the country come to enjoy some float trips and fishing on our beautiful river. Float trips are done in huge inner tubes, that are carried along with the river's current. The last time I went on one of those was with my daughter and son-in-law, a few years ago. These days, I prefer cruising and floating in the jet ski. Not as scary!

And below, you see a few of the cabins we passed.

Heading back now after a totally relaxing hour spent cruising the river. Guess where I will be once again, very soon?

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of this area, featuring our favorite playground-the Current River.

Thank you for visiting. Have a great weekend, and week ahead, friends.

The Amen! of Nature!

August's loveliest surprise!


Friday we had some lovely, light rain, and cool temperatures, and when I came home from an outing, I found the Magic Lilies blooming! Can you see the raindrops on them? Actually, I don't know the name of this flower. Everyone around here calls them magic lilies, because they appear as if by magic, and disappear the same way, leaving no trace behind. They have a long stem, but no foliage of any kind, and they have a heavenly fragrance. They are August's loveliest surprise! Anyone know their real name, or are they really magic lilies?


The meaning of Passion Flower is: Faith, religious fervor. And the color is a heavenly blue!


"The Amen! of Nature is always a flower." Oliver Wendel Holmes. Ah, yes it is!



Blue and white and lavender Amens! at Mammoth Spring State Park, in Arkansas, where I love to visit and take pictures.

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into."- Henry Ward Beecher.

After a wordy last post, I decided to show you a few of my flower pictures today. Thank you for visiting. Have a lovely Sunday, and a great week ahead, everyone.