Having a horse of my own was a dream I shared with decades of other young girls. After losing my best friend in the world my dad, my mother decided that maybe getting me that horse would help fill the void of his loss. Physics would tell us that if there is a void, something will move into the empty space and fill it, but when it comes to the heart, that is not at all true; there may seem to be an empty place but there really isn't. That empty place is actually filled with all the love that was there before, it is just hidden while time heals the pain. The gift of a horse did not fill the void left from losing my dad, rather it created a new place in my heart. We don't have to lose something in order to love something else but rather we continue to fill new places in our hearts for new things to love while at the same time, protecting the treasured places that are still there and will always be there. Getting the cherished horse did not replace the void, but rather gave me a new love for years to come and the love for my dad remains there today just as always.

Yesteryears Shape Your Tomorrows

You are a tapestry of those who came before you. Past, present, and future are all woven together to make the perfect tapestry of your family. Do you know your heritage? Do you understand the loves, lives, and struggles of those who contributed to the design of your path through life? Cherish your journey no matter your path!

The Feather Factory

A few years ago I started thinking about ways I could bring some farm life to my suburban setting and also have a tiny impact on my distaste for our system of factory farming and the inhumane treatment of our livestock. One way I saw I could combine my thoughts of this as well as a new hobby was to have a few backyard chickens. The summer of 2009 I decided to follow through my plans for some hens as "pets with perks"! To prevent overwhelming my neighbors and my ability, I ordered 5 day-old chicks from My Pet Chicken. I selected one each: Rhode Island Red (Amber), Black Australorp (Lilith), Silver Laced Wyandotte (Wynnie), Buff Orpington (Maisie), and an Easter Egger (Frisbee). The chicks were hatched on August 17 and my adventure began at the local post office two days later. I set them up in a crate in our garage and my husband and I started on the construction of what was to become their home. 

After studying books and the BYC forum (backyardchickens.com) for all the advice and tips and ideas I could cram into my brain, I drew out a sketch of my plans. After many trips to Home Depot and the bank and after spending all our summer weekend days sweating instead of kayaking, the hens all happily settled in their new home!! The girls seem quite happy and they have repaid us daily with fresh eggs for our table. 

The Before & Afters

 Amber

 Wynnie

 Frisbee

 Maisie

 Lilith

Their gifts to us! 

 Jesse guarding her flock.

Or is she deciding on her dinner menu?

~The early days~

 Their postal shipping box home for a day.

This is Frisbee. She died, probably from the heat, during the summer of 2010. 

She was a little sweetie!

Maisie's Gone Broodie

What is it that, after months of laying an egg in the nest box, hopping down afterwards, and running out into the run to be with the other hens, causes one hen one day to decide it's time to sit on the egg or any others a dedicated maternal hen can find? Such was the way the day began for Maisie. After there were 2 eggs laid in the coop in a neatly formed nest of shavings, Maisie decided it was now her job to nestle them under her and add her own freshly laid egg to bunch and begin to sit in earnest in hopes of hatching baby chicks. It means nothing to her that her ordeal will meet with total failure. There is no rooster, there has been no rooster, and there will be no forthcoming hatched chicks. None the less, Maisie has a job to do. Panting in the summer heat, even with all the coop doors and windows open, Maisie is dedicated to and driven by nature to fulfill her role as a chicken. She does so without question and without grumbling. Maybe there's a lesson to be learned for us. What is your role and do you do it without question or grumbling?

Slow down and take time to enjoy the day.

The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are traveling for.

~Louis L'Amour

There's nothing like a solo hike in the woods to be able to slow down and enjoy the journey but it's so hard in our day to day, rushed lives to feel like we have time to enjoy the journey. I believe our journey is defined by many of our choices.  If you feel rushed and panicked in the morning trying to get out the door for your day (or getting the kids out the door), have you considered getting up a little earlier? Maybe try enjoying the journey rather than having 30 extra minutes in bed. Try leaving early and enjoy the drive instead of fretting about the traffic. Sitting in traffic for me is extra time to enjoy the scenery or an additional 30 minutes to listen to my favorite book. Getting to the office early means some quiet time to enjoy that cup of coffee rather than a hurried race to your desk to start the work day. It's amazing how crazy all the other drivers are out there when they are blocking your RACE to wherever you're going. Somehow they fade into the background when you aren't late and you feel you can just settle in with the flow.

There's nothing I like more than a quiet hike in one of our many available natural areas but even then it seems too many are out for the race. Their purpose seems to be how fast they can get back to the trail head or campsite. They miss so much of what's there to be seen. This Junco nest was less than a foot off the Appalachian Trail. If you travel quietly and in tune with your surroundings, you can spot them as the mother bird flies away as you approach. If she hears you coming from a mile away like a freight train, you'll never see the nests.

How much have you missed while barrelling through your life's journey? Slow down, take a walk with a toddler and see how wondrous life can be when you take the time to look.

I'm so bad!

It is so hard to be a Christian sometimes. I was laughed at all day at work today by several of my coworkers. I had told everyone including my boss that I was leaving when the first snowflake falls from our predicted winter storm - I left 45 minutes early and it was with the first snowflake. Twenty minutes later, all roads around the area were nothing but parking lots! Luckily my trip home was in the direction away from the approaching storm and my regular 40 minute drive had me clear of all traffic jams and turning into my driveway just as the snow began to accumulate. Now don't get me wrong, I am a hard worker and with the storm predicted a few days earlier, I had arrived at work 2 hours early so as to get my work done. I felt ok about leaving 45 minutes early (or whenever the first flake fell).  I just can't help it, I hope they all had a terrible time getting home!

I know, I know that's a terrible attitude and I feel bad about it. I'd hate to think how I'd react to a really serious temptation from my ol' friend Satan.

Please Father forgive me and teach me humility.

When did it become OK?

This morning on my way to work I came up on two school buses, only two. What struck me was that both of them were stopped with lights flashing and folding stop signs out but there were no kids in sight. We sat a moment and the buses each turned the flashing lights off, pulled in the stop signs and sat there waiting for me to go on or around them. As I moved on, they sat. I heard one honk the horn. And they sat. They were WAITING for kids to come out.

When did our schools start teaching that it is ok to be late? Used to be if you weren't waiting by the side of the road when the school bus came, you missed the ride! I notice more and more that people seem to consider it alright to be late - late to appointments, late to school, late to work, and late to meet up with friends. I don't know about you but I find this inconsiderate as seemingly small as it may be.