Out and about--a walk in the woods

Yesterday we had a warm day with no rain--a hard combination to get these days. So Ward and I decided to take a hike with Miss Landers and her dog, Hans. The woods were still monotone brown, and we didn't see many critters (I think they were hiding from Hans), but it was refreshing to be out all the same.

Here are a few pictures.

The first part of the hike followed an old road. Here is Hans alerting to an approaching dog in the distance. The orange rope is one Hans' field training ropes. I'm not sure how it's officially used, but we used it to give him a little more leeway. He could run a little ahead of us, but we could still step on the rope to give him the signal to slow down. We brought him closer to us if there were other people around--which there weren't too many of.

The trail followed a stream and deteriorated quickly in its flood plain--meaning there was lots of mud.

The trail went by Froggy Hollow School House (named for all the frogs that could be heard in the valley). The school was built in 1893 and has been restored. However, it's only open for tours in the summer so we didn't get to see inside.

Hoping to avoid some of the mud, we went up the hill from the stream and took a different trail back. Unfortunately, it quickly deteriorated into a lot of mud also. Did I mention that we've been having a lot of rain recently?

Despite the mud, a good time was had by all--especially Hans. There is nothing more alive than a dog in the woods. :)

Thankful Sunday--February 28, 2016

I am thankful for our emergency workers.

Friday, I went to a graduation ceremony of a young woman who is studying to become a volunteer EMT. (Did you know that 70% of the emergency workers in the US are volunteers?) She had just completed her first segment--fire fighting. Although there were a variety of ages, most of the class were in their teens. During their training, they went to to EMT class for 5 hours a week, volunteered at the fire station for at least 12 hours a week, and kept up with their studies and part time jobs. An impressive, dedicated group.

But dedication is what is needed in this dangerous job.  During the first segment of training, the teachers impressed upon the students, that EMT work is a hard, perilous responsibility. But even with this warning, they all stayed the course.

Also, the leaders stressed that family, whether it was at home or on the job, was very important. They called the candidates "your loved ones" acknowledging that an emergency worker has to have the support of those at home to go out and do this job. In addition, one speaker gave an example of a young man who became badly burned while he was rescuing someone from a burning house. The young EMT was in the hospital for six weeks and there was another person from his firefighter family by his side 24 hours a day. There also was food prepared for his family every day.  This was one of several stories that were shared with us.

So during the graduation, I heard stories from new trainees, experienced veterans, men, women, and people of all shapes and colors. I heard bagpipes play, fire bells ring, and saluted the flag. But most of all during this ceremony, I remembered how thankful I am that there are people out there who are willing to risk their life for me.

Throwback Thursday--Wally's School Days

For a while, I was doing a regular feature called School Days. This was where I interviewed people about their earliest school memories. Below is the interview I did with Wally about his. Of course, I have some different memories as a parent about his early schooling. Here's one is one of them.

We went to our first parent-teacher conference and his teacher had an assortment of Wally's papers showing us his work. One of them was a picture of a house and his family. All of the kids in the class had some version of this. His was not particularly advanced showing a simple house, stick figures, with no perspective. However, she made an interesting comment. She said that everyone looked happy in the picture and they can really tell a lot about a family from a  picture drawn by a kindergartner. She said you wouldn't believe what the kids draw sometimes. Ward and I gave each other a sideways glance and nodded waiting for her to move onto the next subject.

After we got outside, we said, "Boy are we lucky that she didn't see the picture Wally drew yesterday." In that picture, we were a family of fishes in which Ward had big, scary teeth and was eating the rest of us. I'm not sure what Wally was thinking when he drew it and I don't know what his teacher would have thought if she had seen it.  But I'm glad she didn't, so we didn't have to explain that for the most part, we really were like his school picture.

Now here are Wally's memories of his kindergarten year.
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MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012

School Days--Wally

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is today's story.

  

Wally started kindergarten at age five in the 1990's in Houston, TX. His school was the neighborhood public elementary school.

Wally at kindergarten field day.

Tell me about starting school.

My kindergarten class was was in a portable building outside of the main school. There were two portable buildings next to each other for all of the kindergarten classes. Beside our buildings was a large grassy field about the size of 2-3 football fields. Now that I think about it, the grounds of the school were quite large. Larger than the high school that I went to.

I remember that there was a flower garden between the two buildings. One day I crumpled up some dry leaves and put them in the flower bed. Another kid told me that was stupid. I told him it wasn't because the leaves would decompose and help the flowers. He didn't believe me and asked the teacher if that was right. She said I was.

Did you go into the main building much?

Not really. We went to music and art in there. Kindergarten was only half a day, so we didn't eat lunch there. However, I went to first grade in the main building. My school wasn't like most schools. The walls didn't go all of the way to the ceiling.

Did that cause a problem with noise?

Not that I remember. The teachers were good at moving us around and coordinating their teaching so we wouldn't disturb each other. Also, the walls were about two inches thick and had good noise canceling properties. 

One day one of the walls fell down on one of the students. I don't think they got hurt, but it caused a lot of excitement.

Did you like school or have a favorite subject?

I was indifferent about most of it. However, I did like field day. All of the school came out for competitions with relay races of various kinds. The best part was the snow cones we had. 

Thanks. Another time I would like to hear more stories about your school days.

A Second Look--February 23, 2016

We had a warm, beautiful day on Saturday with temperatures reaching the 60's. It was so nice to feel warm air and sunshine again. I used this opportunity to survey the far back to see what has been going on for the last month or so since I took a look. The normal effects of winter were everywhere. Lots of downed branches, although no huge ones. Also fence posts and rails had fallen down probably in part to the weather and in part to the deer.

The ground was very soggy and muddy where it wasn't covered with crunchy snow. However, among the snow and the mud, there were signs that spring is on its way including my first snowdrop bloom.

Here are a few things I saw this week

 during a Second Look.

Shallow snow covered much of the lower back. There was a crunchy layer of ice on top of it that made it fun to walk on.

There was abundant evidence that the deer spent the winter with us.

Among the leaves and weeds, I saw my first snowdrop.

Closer to the house, I saw daffodil leaves emerging. No crocus however.

On Friday, we had several bluebirds visiting the suet feeder and had some good sightings of both males and females.  Notice of muted colors of the female on the left compared to the bright blue of the male on the right. (That's a male house finch behind it.)

The big surprise was the bluebird's nest in on of the nest boxes. I'm not sure when it was built, but I do know that I cleaned out the box last fall. It's too early to lay eggs, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Thankful Sunday--February 21, 2016

The cats and I are thankful for Wally's visit.

Wally visited this weekend and as usual, the cats enjoyed his visit. Wally has always been one to pay extra attention to the cats whether it was making them a special hideaway, a cozy place to sleep, or a new toy. And this weekend was no exception. This time he set up a new play place for them with an old box and a shoe string--classic cat magnets. The box was big enough for them to sit up and see the world or crouch down and hide with the added fun of a peep hole in the side. The cats stalked and pounced each other in and out of the box as well as chased a shoe string all around it. These antics have provided hours of entertainment for both the cats and us. For Wally's visit and this simple fun, the cats and I are thankful.

Throwback Thursday--a recipe

I don't talk much about cooking and food here because it's just not my thing. Although, I have tried then and again to post about what we were eating or wasting as motivation to do better. I finally decided that we were doing okay, so food posts are few and far between these days.

Here's one of my infrequent food posts. It's a recipe for spinach quiche. I use this recipe every time for the right ratio of egg to milk to cheese. I have varied everything else using what we have on hand and it turns out well every time.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014

Spinach Quiche

There must be hundreds of recipes out there for egg and cheese combination dishes, and I've read many of them. But in my standard way of cooking, I made a quiche recently and made up my own. I used what I had on hand and a little common sense. The results were just what we wanted--an easy to make, hearty, good-for-you dish. Now it may seem strange that for someone who doesn't like to follow recipes, I usually write down what and how much I put in a dish that I don't make all of the time. That way I can make it again if it's a success. And that's what happened this time. The quiche was a nice combination of flavors without being overpowered by any one. Also, the texture was good without being too eggy or too cheesy. (I know. My husband has told me that there's no such thing as too cheesy.) I've made it a couple of times using this combination and now the recipe has gone into my files. If you'd like to give it a try or just read another recipe, here it is.

Spinach Quiche

Preheat oven to 400°F

Crust:

1 cup flour
3/4 t. salt
1/4 cold water
1/4 cup oil

Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Stir until ball forms. Press into 9" pie plate. No need to roll out, just press into place.


Filling:

3 eggs
1 cup skim milk
3 strips of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach cooked and well drained

Beat eggs and milk together. Add cheese, bacon and mix. Add spinach and mix well so there are no large clumps of spinach. Pour into crust and bake for 30 minutes or until set. Enjoy!

A Second Look--February 17, 2016

It seems like every week is the same these days for my Second Look post--some kind of snow and cold weather and birds. Luckily, there are still new things to see and smile at in all the sameness. At least for me anyway.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

After a very cold weekend, snow returned and so did the flicker. See the yellow tail it is balancing with? Well, all the feathers under its wings are the same color. This week, I got to see the beautiful yellow feathers as it was flying away. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture.

During the snow, Mr. Squirrel opened the suet feeder and got the fresh suet cake out.

He looked around to see if anyone was watching. He didn't want to share.

He started carrying it to a secret hide away when Ward decided that he was going to rescue the suet.

Ward hung the suet back up and Mr. Squirrel had to climb to get his suet for the rest of the day.

The snow eventually changed to freezing rain coating everything with a sheet of ice. The next day, the rains came down and the fog came up.

Out and About in the Bitter Cold

Ward and I decided to get away this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary.  After several ideas, we decided to visit Cacapon State Park in West Virginia. Here's a few pictures from our trip.



There wasn't much snow on the roads, but it was sticking because of the low temperatures and what wasn't sticking was drifting making driving iffy. But it was pretty all the same.
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There are lots of things to do at Cacapon--if the weather is good. While we were there, the temps were in the single digits with winds 20-30 mph. Besides the obvious closed warm-weather activities, most of the trails and some of the roads were closed.
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Luckily, we were staying in the nice, warm lodge. It was full of friendly people, and as an added bonus, Ward got to work on a couple of jigsaw puzzles that were set up in front of the fire place in the lounge.
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We also visited the nature center where we attended a program about the CCC (Civil Conservation Corps) in West Virginia. There was a CCC camp located where the nature center is today and the CCC built much of the original park. We got to ask all the questions we wanted because we were the only ones there.
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This is the original lodge in the park that the CCC built. Today it is rented out to large groups.
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The next day we explored the area. This was our first stop. It was cold here. Bitterly cold with fierce winds. I only lasted a minute or two outside the car. Not much longer than it took to snap this picture.
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We drove by this castle, in Berkeley Springs, WV, which was finished in 1891. It was built by Col. Suit for his young bride. It has been auctioned off in bankruptcy twice since then and has served as many things including a museum. In 2002, it was bought by Andrew Gosline for his personal residence. He has to keep his doors locked and the gate closed or people just wander in thinking it's still open to the public.
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The area is most famous for its warm springs. The springs are one reason the castle was built here.
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I dipped my freezing fingers into the warm water from the springs. Boy, did it feel good. However, as soon as I took them out, they were frozen again. Literally. The water froze almost instantly in the cold air.
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The next day, we visited the Belle Boyd house. According to our guide above, Belle was quite a character. Not only was she a Civil War spy, she was also a stage actress. Once again, we were the only ones there, so we got to ask all of the questions we wanted.
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We came home to three noisy cats and Theo who was taking care of them. Now it's time to prepare for the snow and ice storm that starts tonight.

A Second Look--February 11, 2016

Winter continues and is bringing more of the same with it. We had another snow this week although there wasn't as much accumulation with only 4 inches. This weekend they're calling for bitter cold temperatures. I had hoped to do some outdoor activities then, but we'll see how it goes. In the meantime, I'm enjoying watching the world out the kitchen window.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

The snow we had this week was wet and heavy and very pretty.

Now that the snow is melting from the grass, the deer are back in the yard.

Starling. The starling gets white spots in the winter and looks blacker in the summer.

Bluebird. It was really cold this day so the bluebird was puffed up to keep warm.

House finch.

Cowbird and Red-bellied Woodpecker

Throwback Thursdays

So far, I've done 1068 posts on this blog. That number surprised me when I saw it. Who knew I had that much to say (Or sometimes, not that much to say, but said it anyway.) I've decided to join Facebook and other social media in a Throwback Thursday. On Thursdays, I'm going to post a previous post based on however my mood strikes me for the day. And here it goes.

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From April 18, 2014

I celebrated National Poetry Month that April with a poem most days. Here is a more serious one from Theo's teenage years.

Ponderings of Theodore--the teenage years.

The teenage years are often a difficult time as we transition from childhood to adulthood. During this time, we try to figure out who we are and who we want to become. We explore, we retreat. We're popular, we're invisible. We're happy, we're sad. In other words, we're in limbo, not quite sure where to land. During some of Theo's teenage angst years, he wrote about this. One of those times was in today's poem.

                                                                 Limbo

                                                            by Theodore

                                          How can you be falling if you never hit the ground?

                                          How can you be flying if you never touch the sky?

                                          How can you love yourself if you never are good?

                                          How can you hate yourself if you never are evil?

                                          When people stare in awe and wonder

                                          And flee before your touch

                                          Neither heaven nor hell will take you

                                          And you want nothing so much

                                          As a solid place to stand

                                          And someone to take your hand.

Thankful Sunday--February 7, 2016

I am thankful the dawn of a new day.

Every day is another day of limitless possibilities. It's a chance to enjoy the big things like telling others how much they mean to you and and a chance to enjoy the little things like Super Bowl snacks--sausage cheese dip, chicken wings, veggies and ranch dip. Are you planning to enjoy some special Super Bowl snacks today?

Hair Wreath

Last weekend, Ward and I decided we wanted to get out of the house for the afternoon. Recently, our outing of choice has been a hike. However, with snow and rain, we guessed the woods were too muddy/snowy for us, so we visited a local historic museum.

Living within an hour or two of Washington, DC and Baltimore, we have MANY very significant museums and monuments to visit as well as current government workings such as the Library of Congress or the Capitol. And much of it is free. Thus, sometimes the smaller local offerings get overlooked. Our recent visit was to one of those.

We toured a house built in 1815. In many ways, this house was like others we have visited. There was a grand entry way and a decorative dining room that was built to impress. The bedrooms were filled with fireplaces, four poster beds, and chamber pots.

However, there was one thing in this house that I don't remember seeing before--a hair wreath (just like it sounds, a wreath made out of hair). Even though they were common during Victorian times and there are quite a few still around, awareness of them somehow escaped me.  I had seen a lock of hair incorporated into a piece of jewelry but not something this large and intricate.

At first, I thought this was a wreath of dried plants instead of hair.

The wreaths were often used to remember a deceased family member, however the one we saw was used to commemorate a wedding. It included hair from several different family members as was often the case. It also won a ribbon at the county fair which I think was well deserved for the intricate work I saw.

The hair was often worked around wire.

I've just touched on the tip of the iceberg of this whole world of hair wreaths and I'm not sure how I feel about them. It seems a little odd by today's standards.  For now, I think I'm content to just have my hair woven into a bird's nest. :)

Want to know more?

http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2014/06/hair-wreaths-victorian-mourning-custom.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/284289795199575671/

http://www.leilashairmuseum.net/history.html

A Second Look--February 3, 2016

We have had warm weather the last few days which has really helped in melting the the large snowfall we had last week. In some places we're actually starting to see the ground. All of this melting snow has helped bring some of the outdoors in--meaning we have swarming ants in our basement.  Normally, I don't mind a few bugs in the house, but this is just too many. We're still working on getting rid of them.

Most of my Second Look has been done through the windows again, so it involves birds and squirrels. The excitement this week came from a Northern Flicker visit. I don't remember ever seeing one at my house even though they are not a rare bird.  Disappointingly, it hasn't returned.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker

Crow

Goldfinch

Male Cardinal

Turkey Vulture

Gray Squirrel