A quiet start

We've had a relatively quiet start to Lent this year.  Unable to make it to Mass for Ash Wednesday, I was at least able to make a few preparations at home.  Having more readers in the house this year made it necessary to print up and make a few more Stations of the Cross booklets.  I can no longer find the ones I printed out (I saved them on my computer), but these are nearly the same, having only different illustrations).  During Lent every year, we replace our family rosary with the Stations on Fridays.  We have them put up throughout the house, and we process around, praying the prayers and singing the Stabat Mater.  The kids really enjoy the change of routine, and I must say that I really love it, too.

I also set out the beans for our little mortifications and acts of charity.  The beans will "transform" into jelly beans at Easter.  We don't do much candy here anymore, so jelly beans will be special.  It's a nice way of illustrating that God will never be outdone in generosity, and that the little things we do for Him are never overlooked but repaid many times over.

Today, the weather being mild and sunny, we took a short walk.  At first it was only Adrian, Gemma and myself.  Then Gabriel appeared.  Then Sebastian.  Una stayed home with Dominic, who was still napping.  It was a nice leisurely walk, and I came home feeling refreshed.

I had intended to do a post on some herbal remedies I've been using to treat a few colds we've had in recent days, but that will have to wait a bit longer.

You lookin' at me?

Meet the new baby!

Just after 6, and I had just missed the blessed event!  See the stunned look in Fiona's eyes?

Say "cheese", baby!

Geese flying overhead.

Here's the baby's grandma checking out the new arrival.

And we all thought it was going to be a black calf!

This is our fourth calf born on Patch O' Dirt Farm, but the first to be born in daylight!  Fiona had the calf while I was putting fresh batteries into the camera this morning at about 6 a.m.  By 7 it was wobbling about on spindle-legs. No name as of yet, as we don't know the gender, but we are thinking it may be a  bull calf (which is what we're hoping for, since the calf is half Angus).  

I went out to give Fiona a bucket of warm water with molasses (an energizing drink for a newly freshened cow), and as I held the bucket, the little one came up and sniffed my face.  It was a sweet moment, making worthwhile all the trouble and heartbreak involved in raising animals.

I hope things slow down a bit this week.  The first two days of it have been a bit too much (hence the lack of my usual Monday Musings).  Computer problems, butter and yogurt, to make, mountains of laundry, a birthday to think about, school things to think about...and I am still attempting to squeeze in a bit of reading, writing and/or knitting if I can, for the sake of my sanity!  

{pretty, happy, funny, real}: 31 May 2012

I am joining Leila over at Like Mother, Like Daughter, for this week's {pretty, happy, funny, real} for the first time in a few weeks.

{pretty}

We had a particularly foggy morning yesterday and so I went out early to look for spider webs.  They are so lovely beaded with dew.  

{happy}

The roof is finally on the new house.  Deo Gratias.

{funny}

Whoa!  What's going on here?!  I can tell you that it involves paper strips, paste, and one very brave if not overly-eager victim.  If you want to know more, you'll have to go to my daughter's post...

Gemma decided that Adrian's gnome doll, Thorwald Oakenheart, needed breakfast.  I'll bet the sippy cup helps keep the milk out of his beard...

{real}

Real food.  My sister and I have been doing a lot of talking about it.  We like muesli for breakfast.  And sometimes for dinner.  Typically it is a combination of old-fashioned oats, a Grape Nuts-type cereal, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, raisins, cranberries, dates and dried apples.  

For more {pretty, funny, happy, real}, visit Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Meet the neighbors

We have this little family living at the pond nearby.  Sebastian grabbed my camera and went down there to capture them during their morning constitutional.  It has been an exceptional spring for viewing wildlife, and in only the last two weeks we have had in our yard or close at hand: a baby snapping turtle, an ancient snapping turtle, a mole, a possum, a squirrel (believe it or not, we don't seem many of these--maybe because of the barn cats), baby birds and goslings and a frog.  Some, but thankfully not all of these have been brought into the house for me to view.  I don't care for that much.  I have had a snapping turtle baby lost in my workroom for a couple of days and a snake for several hours.

Anyway, I am looking forward to watching these guys mature over the summer...

Story of a storm

Warning: this is a photo-heavy post.

 We had the worst storm I can recall since having moved here.  It began with a few ordinary flashes of lightening and rolls of thunder.  Then there came the hail, pea-sized at first, but within a minute it became at least quarter-sized.  It pelted the windows and pounded the trees, splashed in puddles and floated like chunks of Styrofoam.  It frightened the children, and made me somewhat nervous, too.  

Dominic drew a picture of the hail.  It didn't do a fearful lot of damage here, although my heart goes out to those who suffered the devastation of their newly planted crops.  I suffered only the devastation of my herb seedlings (oh, my 36 little basil seedlings were so strong and hearty this morning!) and my tomato plants.  A hailstone ripped through the screen in the kitchen window, and one of our hens, the one with the limp, didn't make it to the coop and had to seek shelter where she could.  Una brought her in, very wet, and we gave her a bit of Irish oatmeal and dried her off.

There was a brave little mockingbird mother on a nest by our window during the storm.  When it passed, she left to find food, and the three little eggs were unharmed, to our great relief.  Some babies were not so lucky...the boys, splashing about in the soggy aftermath, found a couple of babies, unrelated, that had been tossed from their nests.  I don't know what will become of them; we have had poor luck with taking care of baby birds.

The rain stopped and Sebastian ran out to quickly do the milking.  And soon the sun broke out again.  And as it lowered in the sky, the mist began to gather over the ponds and in the low places, spreading out and up until it reached into our yard.

Adrian said he saw the first two fireflies this evening...