More Jumps

You'd think that jumping on the trampoline would involve....um, jumping.

But half the time on the trampoline actually involves lying down.  They are recovering from strenuous activity, or they are plotting the rules for the next round of jumping games. Or sometimes they have just argued and now are lying there trying to work out their differences before resuming their jumping-with-the-ball games.

Then they are back up, on their feet, and resuming footballish manuevers, which involve blocking, grabbing, jumping and bouncing.

And if there's a camera nearby, everyone wants me to take a picture of them in mid-air, leaping and diving.

The more spectacular the dive, the better the photo.   They dive, I take the picture, they look at it instantly and decide if it's good, or if they need to do another take.

I'm so glad they have found a good way to exercise in all this cold weather!

Bird Photo Experiment

Yep, photos of birds again.  In my defense, I was in the mood to post something cheerful and cute about the boys this afternoon. But let's just say that didn't happen, and it was not a particularly cheerful or cute afternoon for myself and one boy in particular who shall remain nameless.

So I will share some bird pics for all three of my (loved and appreciated and treasured) readers.

We have a bird blind set up near the feeder.  And I love to get out there and get really great, close-up shots like this:

That just knocks my socks off every time.  I love, love, love, the clarity and sharpness and detail. Love seeing their feet gripping things, their beaks open, their eyes, the patterns on their wings......

But anyway.  Even fun bird feeder photos get old after a while.  They all start to look the same.  What I really wanted was a more "natural" looking shot of a bird OFF the feeder.  Preferably on a branch rather than on the ground.  So I made this:

It's some dead logs from our brush pile, coated with peanut butter and sprinkled with seeds.  I set it up, took down the real feeder, and waited in the blind.

I was excited to get a shot of TWO chickadees in the same frame, both mostly in focus.  (That is so hard for me to do...get both birds in focus.)

And through the magic of photoshop I am able to zoom in and make the picture tighter and sharper.

Soon after they left, one returned for this shot.  Then they took off and Mr. Titmouse came to the log.  And he ruined everything.

He kept giving me the eye.  He finally reached for a seed and when he heard the shutter snap, he took off, sounding the alarm.

Nobody would come feed after that, and I gave up for the day.  I put the regular feeder back up and within seconds got this:

Mr. Fussy Pants got his way.

I'll get them next time!

Winter Sunset in the Country

Driving home last night, we had a beautiful sunset.  I love winter sunsets.  They are cold and harsh in a way, but so brilliant and saturated.  The best part of winter sunsets are the dramatic skies...such cold blue and such sweeping, stretching wisps of clouds.

I grabbed the camera and took several shots as we drove.  It was already a bit too dark to catch a really good photo. But I like these anyway.  This is the view I look at each and every day, driving home, past the cows, past the church, pastures, and small gas stations.

Thanks for looking!

Birds on the Feeder

We have had a few days of beautiful, sunny weather and blue skies.  I went out to our bird blind and took some pictures.

The finches arrived today.  They are not as bright as they will be later on, but they are still very pretty.

Love the wings on this bird, I wish I had caught him all the way in frame.

We had a red bird today that we don't often see.  I think it's a kind of finch.

He was very intent on sitting and eating steadily, while the other birds flew in and out.

A great day for pictures!

Flowers in February

We went to the Botanical Gardens recently to see their Orchid Show.  We'd never been to the ABG, and we were impressed.  What a lovely place!! And of course, it will be even lovelier this spring and summer when the gardens are in bloom.

We toured the orchid show, which was amazing.  I'm not especially a flower person, but even I enjoyed taking in all the many varieties of orchids.  They are so beautiful!!

It was even more fun to bring our cameras and take pictures.  I took a bunch, Marty took a bunch, and for whatever reason I can't get mine to upload to the blog.  So these photos are all taken by Marty and aren't they spectacular?  His pictures came out way better than mine anyway.

The orchids remind me of silk parasols...they come in so many brilliant colors and are so delicately shaded and shaped.

We plan to go back this summer and take more pictures.  I want to take the boys, too, and have them see the children's garden and take their own cameras for some photo fun.

The show was great.  It was a refreshing reminder of flowers, spring, and beauty!

Our Deer

We think we are so lucky to have a small family of deer living nearby.  This spring we were adopted by a mother who came with two new babies (one boy, one girl) with their wobbly legs, white spots and big, wondering eyes. She also had her fawns from last season with her at the time, one boy and one girl.

The older fawns have moved on but Mom still comes to the yard each night with her two little ones, who are growing fast.  We put corn out for them and they have come to look for us in the evenings.  In fact, if we forget about them, they sometimes plant themselves in Marty's parking spot in the driveway, as if waiting for him to come home.  Other times they stand in the yard, patiently waiting, often creeping closer and closer to the house.  I've joked that the day will come when they walk up the porch steps and knock on the door.

The last month or two with the weather being so cold, our little three member family has been joined by a handful of other deer, who randomly pop in for feeding time.  Usually we have seven deer in the yard in the evenings now, other times we have ten!

Once I looked out on a warm winter day and saw the mom and one fawn grazing nearby, and the second fawn curled up in a pile of leaves Marty had raked up, just soaking in the rays.  It was so cute.

It's hard to get really good pictures of them, as they tend to arrive at dusk when the light is not the greatest.  But we keep trying.

We are looking forward to spring, and seeing the new babies arrive and venture into the mix!

Making The Ride Worthwhile

It's Valentine's Day!  A day to let the people you love know that....well, that you love them. Still. And that you always will.

Isn't Valetine's great? It's so fun to look at all the little cards and bags of candy the boys bring home. I like walking into the grocery store for weeks and seeing rows of pink heart shaped cookies, piles of gorgeous roses, and glittery cards and plates in a sea of red and pink and white. I get a kick out of displays of jewelry and perfume and chocolates in big red boxes. It's wonderful that we set aside a day just to celebrate the thing that makes everything matter: Our loved ones.

Some quotes for your blog viewing pleasure..........


"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction."
         --Antoine de Saint-Exupery


"Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle."  --Amy Bloom


"Whoso loves, believes the impossible." --Elizabeth Barrett Browning


And these quotes made me think of my wonderful husband, my best friend:


"All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon sand."  E.W. Wilcox


"Marriage is not merely sharing the fettucini, but sharing the burden of finding the fettucini restaurant in the first place."  --Calvin Trillin



"Grow old with me, the best is yet to be."  Elizabeth Barrett Browning



You know a quote you won't hear me celebrating? "Love means never having to say you're sorry."  Uh...what?  I don't THINK so.  Love means having to say you're sorry many, many times.  And it also means occasionally having to say, "Of course I love that sweater," and, "You don't LOOK fat," and "I DID like that thing you made," and, "No, that doesn't bother me at all." 

I am so fortunate to have so many people to love.  For my family and loved ones out there.....thank you for being part of my life.  I love you.


This one says it best:

"Love doesn't make the world go round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile."   --F.P. Jones

SuperBowl!

Mom and Dad came up last Sunday for Superbowl. (As usual, I am a little late with photos.)

We had a great time. 

First step, buy decorations.  Second, decorate.  Third, plan and buy and make food.  Four:  Eat, eat, and eat!

Our lovely table.

I contributed the football looking cream cheese ball.  Are you amazed? I know I was.  I didn't even ruin it or drop it or anything.

My marvy husband helped decorate, clean house, and prep for the party.  Mom and Dad provided a ton of food....pizza, wings (wangs, in the south), a huge bag of candy, and a football cake.

A very cute, very knowledgeable, and very invested football fan.  (And possible future wide receiver or safety, if Mom lets him play football this summer, which he is desperate to do.)

Benny and Mom were rooting heavily for Peyton.

However, the game began to pale in comparison to the thrill of slapping baloons all over the living room, particularly in front of the TV.

We did our own little version of a gambling pool, and Marty won the first half prize of ten bucks.  Mom took home second prize.  Thank you to Grandad for providing the jackpot!!

Better luck next year, Colts fans!

Eleven

Yesterday was Sam's birthday.

I started to write a sappy post about him growing up, growing older, etc, etc....but then I deleted it.  Yep, he's getting older. And he thinks it's pretty cool, he said so himself.

So no whining on my part. At least, not here.

Instead, details:

 

Sam's birthday started with a five-thirty a.m. recorded phone call from school stating school would start two hours late. Later we got another call saying school was closed altogether. A snow day is just what Sam wanted for his birthay. After sleeping late, we kicked around most of the day, then went to Walmart where Sam selected a Triple Chocolate Birthday cake and two kinds of pizza for dinner. We had silly string, we had presents, we had balloons. It was fun and I think he enjoyed himself.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Mr. Literal

Sitting here going through all my documents, I found this "interview with Benny," that I did five years ago.  Keep in mind he was four years old at the time, and we'd just moved to Georgia.

I laughed re-reading it, because it just reminds me how literal my youngest is.  And how practical.



An Interview With Ben



June, 2005



Ben, what is your favorite color?

Red.



Favorite TV show?

The things I like. (mommy note: Blue’s Clues, Higgleytown Heroes, Jo-Jo’s Circus.



What are your favorite things to eat?

The things I like. (mommy note: Mac-n-cheese, cheese, ice cream and cake, oranges.)



What is the moon made of?

White stuff?



Why do birds sing?

Because they like to sing.



Why is the sky blue?

Because that’s what it does in the morning.



If you could be any animal, what would it be?

I don’t want to be an animal.



Will you be a daddy when you grow up?

I don’t want to grow up.

Why?

Because I think it might hurt. All that growing.



Do you like karate?

Yeah. You know why I like karate?

Why?

Because sometimes I get stripes. (Mom note:  Stripes are rewards for moving onto the next level. They come in all colors and each one is a major promotion, recognized and envied by all.)


Why do bunnies hop?

Because that’s how they’re made.


**********

The interview ends abruptly, but isn't he wise?  I agree, who wants to grow up. 

And here's a little artwork from back then.

Today was SAM'S BIRTHDAY and this post should be all about him, but I have been too lazy to download my photos this evening.  So I will give him a proper birthday post tomorrow!  

Winter Doldrums amd Hearing Things

My guy is home sick from school again today.  He had one of his giant nonstop coughing attacks last night. He gets these in the winter.  Very frustrating for all involved.  Sam will be fine, everything is great, then he lays down to go to sleep and about thirty minutes later it's nonstop violent hacking. For a long time.

We have prescription meds and we know the drill....prop him up, run the mister, apply Vicks and give meds.  And wait.  And eventually the meds kick in and he sleeps.  But the next day is iffy.  He may bounce back feeling great, or he may be somewhat hungover, as he is today.  So, he is home, and is listlessly playing computer games. 

Benny pleaded to stay home today too, of course.  But it didn't work.

On a seperate note, does this happen to anyone else?  Every time I run the vaccuumn cleaner...I mean EVERYtime, I think I hear the phone ringing.  All the thousands of years I've been vaccumming, all the millions of times I've run that thing, I almost always stop in mid-vacuumn, switch it off, and listen.

All the times I've done this, only once was the phone actually, truly ringing.  But that one time just kind of validated all the other "Is that the phone?" moments. 

Weird, isn't it?

And with the hair dryer.  Most times I run the hair dryer, I keep thinking I hear a voice nearby, talking.  Today, for example, I was drying my hair just around the corner from Sam, with the door open, and I could have sworn I heard him talking to me.  I stopped, checked, but no Sam.  The minute I turned the dryer on again, I thought I heard his voice once more.

I think I may be losing my mind.  Oh well, considering how long that phenomenon has been going on, I guess I can't blame it on the winter doldrums.

Speaking of which, we are looking at a big storm moving in today, and three days worth of rain.  I'm so tired of rain.  And coughing.  And illness. And such.  But still. I know I have so much to be thankful for.  The kids aren't really that sick.  What a huge blessing to have healthy children.  My husband is really making his mark in the community with his wonderful photography, so much so that he was just interviewed and put in the paper!  The deer are back, the bear is gone.  Life is good, all is well.  And the sun will shine again.

And I will be sure to post it here when it does!