Dear Reader,
So much going on! I took another trip to Denver to help Jeff out when Angela had her first weekend away with her girlfriends and sister. She was only gone 3 days, but near the end, it felt like a long time. Jeff was great being both Daddy and Mommy, and the triplets were very good. Still....we were extremely happy to see Angela when she returned! All the photos above are from that last trip in early July. Now that I'm back my arms feel pretty emtpy without holding my darling little grandbabies. Chris and Smitty were out to fish a few times. It is so good to see them. I was visted by some lovely white birds which I think were snowy egrets, but maybe you know better than I do what they were. And on a sad note, Gordon, Gordetta and family all flew away sometime the night of July 14th (Jeff's birthday and Bastille Day). I miss my little family of geese! I literally have "empty nest syndrome." (no pun intended) Happy Birthday to Jeff! He says he's old enough to not mention his age, but to me he is still quite young! Jeff's and Angela's friends, Heather and Doug, are featured in the last two photos. They welcomed their healthy 8 pound, 14 ounce baby 4 days after this photos was taken. All of us here on the Land - creatures large and small - welcome baby Noah, too! Dave Haury came upon this rocking horse and brought it to me for the triplets. It is SO cute! I will describe the triplet pictures so you can follow along with our weekend without Angela: The first row shows the tiplets watching their Baby Einstein videos, Chloe is crawling to her Daddy, and Jack has found Grammie's camera! The second row shows the triplets hard at work, with Daddy, and Katie's big bright smile. Third row first two pictures shows Chloe losing her balance while Jack plays on, totally undisturbed about what is happening to his sis. The last picture shows them all hard at work again. Fourth and Fifth rows are the cutest pictures of total exhaustion - Katie, then Jack (with faithful pal, Einstein) and Katie and Daddy, too. It isn't easy keeping the house going without Mommy. And of course, classic pictures of Chloe who, after finishing a big bowl of food, just can not stay awake! Sixth row shows Daddy with his clan. Daddy loves Katie, Chloe and Jack! Seventh row shows Mommy coming back home! Every one is happy to see Mommy! Eighth row shows Chloe really looking over the long-suffering Einstein. And last but not least, Heather with Angela just 4 days before Noah makes his appearance. Doug, Heather's husband, relaxing (maybe for what will be one of the last times - as sooner than expected Doug's whole world changes!). Noah is the most perfect, adorable baby! Katie, Chloe and Jack will be looking forward to playing with Noah! And that's it, dear Reader.... a summation of a wonderful time in Denver! Written June 28th:
Now THIS is summer. The heat all the way down in your lungs, filling you with humidity from the inside out. The chairs in the screen house looking wet. I sit here, safe from the dull, yet relentless, sun. The breeze blowing up and over the pond, across the drying out lawn, to the grey cottage and beyond; then quietly subsididng as the drone of a wheat combine rises higher like a well rehearsed choir. A double winged black dragonfly lands on the middle of the screen above my chair, resting a minute, and then lightly dancing off to the next panel. He holds on as the breezes play with the loose screened mesh - perhaps he feels as though he is riding a bronco. This "bronco" is not jerky and mean, it undulates in the playful breeze and then stops. The dragonfly is there still. A plane flies lazily overhead and disappears. The combine drones on. THIS is summer. I feel as if this summer there will be great changes. Not with me, necessarily. My great changes were last summer with the birth of 3 tiny one-and-two-pound babies. This summer will usher in a change for all of us, across America, across the world. It may start in Spain, it may start right here in our cornfields. Who knows? It is wafing in on this surging breeze, sometimes like a wave surging ahead, then like the tide pulling back. Each surge gets a little closer. I don't believe in the end of the world coming in 2012 like some. So that's not what I feel. I'm not sure what it is...whether it will be good or bad, but its coming. But again, maybe not. Maybe our lives will get one more reprieve. Maybe its only the closeness of the hot air churning up to 100 degrees that makes me feel like there's almost an ominous change nearing. Perhaps its the feel of something we haven't had for many weeks ...a thunderstorm. Yes, maybe its nothing more than a thunderstorm heading our way - finally. And we feel it approaching in the air, in our bodies. .... Well, dear Reader, we did get that thunderstorm, and how we needed it! It felt so good - and actually cooled things down for a bit this weekend, but now we are heading for 100 degrees again. And the air is thick with humidity. We must admit, this IS summer! Karl Hawbaker and Logan Sellers are on the pond in Randy Ikeler's john boat, trolling around, fishing. It's so good to finally meet Logan. Floyd Sellers, not long before he passed away last year, told me all about Logan - how Logan was so much like Floyd, loving the outdoors. Logan seems to be such a nice kid. Floyd would be happy he's out here. Thanks to Karl for bringing him! (see picture above) By the way, where are the other intrepid fishermen, Chris and Smitty? I miss them! I am waiting to hear all about their adventures up north. The goslings are very much growing up and "spreading their wings." Only problem is...they spread their wings like they are as big and grownup as Gordon and Gordeeta, and then...nothing happens. They put their wings back down again. I call it Gosling Flight School where they are beginning their flying lessons. I get a kick out of them! Yes, soon they will spread their wings and really use them. It won't be long. Can you believe, dear Reader, how big they are now? I stopped at a garage sale in Hinckley the other day and could not pass up a twin stroller for dolls! Dave brought over the wooden tool kit box, so I have even more items for the kids to play with when they get a little bigger. I must stop soon or the carriage house will be over flowing with toys (it already is)! My cousin Bob (from Iowa) rode his Harley out to Denver to a wedding and stopped by to see Angela and Jeff. That's Bob holding Chloe in the picture above. It was so nice of him to make the effort to see the extended family. Bob is a sweetheart - always has been. A very kind man. Of course, I remember him playing "war" with his cowboy and Indian figures while he was dressed in his pj's with the drop down drawers in the 1950's. Oh, my, a lot of water over the dam since then! Jack no longer is wearing his canula, as you can see from his smiling face above. And that's Katie, clapping for Jack, while he was going through his test to remove the canula. They are just the cutest kids! The other pictures are of the cottage, lake and the Great Blue Heron. Hope you enjoy them! Other odds and ends: I saw these bumper stickers the other day and loved them. They are: Free Range Learners on Board Pesticides Suck Make Tea Not War This blog received a nice compliment from minnesotaroofcontractors.com - apparently a new reader. I'm always glad to know that there are readers from different states! Welcome! That's it for tonight, folks. Keep praying for more rain, dear Reader. Hope you stay cool! |
AuthorJane Heim is a writer and lifelong activist for sustainable living and organic growing. She is author of The Directory of Working Women, What to Do When the Stock Market Falls, and Car Living Your Way. She is also the author of Chemical Cowboys, an article that has recently appeared in Acres USA. Ms. Heim is also the author of an upcoming article on www.motherearthnews.com Archives
July 2016
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