A Mother's Day Portrait

Why is it that my own kids are the hardest onest to photograph? I did my very best to insist that they sit for me in honor of Mother's Day, so I could send a portrait to each of their grandmothers. It was like herding cats to get the schedules of two working teenagers to coordinate with each other, my own availability, and the good graces of Mother Nature. A week late, I finally got them in front of my lens.

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Unfortunately, Tasha needed a very long lag time to get ready, and refused to take my first several suggestions for poses. Then Lucas got the giggles, and made a bunch of faces at the camera while I was trying to get the dog to smile. Then he kept trying to go deadpan to compensate.

And wasn't looking at the camera . . . And then the dog blinked . . .

By the time we finally got something I liked, I was ready to throw the camera!

But I keep reminding myself that we won't have too many more times when both kids are home and we're all together. We need to savor them, even if I felt like screaming once or twice.

New Neighbors and Carl's Award

I picked up this birdhouse a while back at Goodwill because it was cute, and because I wanted to hang something on that porch hook that would not shrivel if it didn't receive daily watering and attention all summer long. It didn't occur to me that it would actually go into use - I figured it was strictly decorative. Apparently the little brown bird twittering happily from inside didn't get the memo. And from the look of it, he also forgot to measure the door frame before trying to move in the "furniture."

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It must be the season for such things, because I've also got two hens (the white one I bought last spring and one of her daughters) industriously incubating eggs. It seems I'm going to have a pile of chicks on my hands in about 5 weeks, most of which will probably have to be given away. Actually, one of my older brown hens went missing about the same time, probably to incubate her own batch of eggs in some little corner of the field or woods. The chances are not great that she will survive 6 weeks without nightly predator protection, but I've had independent-thinking hens beat those odds before. We'll see if we get any Father's Day surprises.

Meanwhile, I took a trip over the weekend up to Green Bay to see Carl receive his award for driving 100,000 miles without incident. The event included a tasty buffet (even by vegetarian standards), and the chance to get to know a really nice group of people. I have always been convinced that truckers are some of the nicest, friendliest people around. This crowd certainly proved the point; our dining companions were a husband and wife pair who drove truck for the pleasure of being paid to explore the continent in what might have been their retirement years, after careers as an engineer (her) and businessman (him). I never did get my hands on the adorable baby two tables over, but had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with one of the trainers and the driver manager after the event itself was over. (In true Carl fashion, we were the last ones out the door, and there were still plenty of stories being saved for next time.)

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I have to say that I was also impressed with the company itself. Gordon

Trucking seems to hold its drivers and its safety record in equally high regard, and the younger Mr. Gordon himself had flown in from the West Coast to personally congratulate Carl and the others on their performance.

Carl walked away with a gold tie tack and a clipboard inscribed with his accomplishment. Others in the crowd were being celebrated for higher accident-free mileage milestones - you got an embroidered jacket for 250,000 miles, and I saw a very snazzy watch which the owner had earned for his impressive safety record. The guy with the 4,000,000 accident free miles wasn't there, so I don't know what he got; but Carl was looking carefully at that list of milestones and calculating what it would take to get him to the top of the list someday.

Time to Reflect

Today I spent some time being aware of my surroundings. Appreciating the rain which has so kindly stepped in to water the poor blueberry bush we planted last night. Appreciating how funny the chickens can look, with "the boys" strutting across the field during a random break in the rain and their ladies scurrying behind - and how amazing it is that at least two goldfish survived the winter in my sorry neglected little excuse for a water garden. Appreciating that even though I somehow have developed poison ivy on the web between the index and middle fingers of my dominant hand, I had the experience to know what would help. Even more, I can offer knowledgeable advice to the confused-looking young couple who were in the same drugstore aisle for the same reason. (Ivy Dry, if you're wondering. Some years it's the only thing to preserve my sanity.)

I love quiet rainy days.

Catching Up

Today was a busy day - among other things, I rescued an unwanted blueberry bush from a dairy farmer friend and planted it alongside my Mother's Day blueberry twig from Luc. I have killed a fairly broad assortment of small and large fruit producing flora, but am willing to try again. (On the other hand, the arctic apricot bushes look pretty good, even though Rick ran over the Southernmost one - twice - with the mower a few years ago. And I notice the gooseberries and currents are looking enthusiastic already. Maybe someday they'll grow something besides leaves?)

I did a whole lot of other stuff today as well. I'm not sure why I can't make a nice tidy list of it, since I felt as though I was relatively productive. And despite my best intentions, I got nowhere near my violin, my knitting or even my laundry. But rain is forecasted for the next several days, so I did at least get in a 2 mile walk with the dog.

When we got home, her bed was occupied. The cat believes that this is the proper and natural order of things.

A Fistful of Dandelions

Yesterday, Tasha told me tersely that Mother's Day was a "Hallmark Holiday" and that she didn't intend to recognize it. Today, I was called to teach second grade and an 8 year old admirer brought me a gift.

Thanks, kid. They're beautiful.

I Owe You

For a woman who is officially without a job, I'm managing to keep busy. I taught 3 days of high school and one day of middle school in the Cognitively Disabled room last week, filling the remaining weekday by catching up on my household chores and pitching dried manure for the church's community garden. I also found the time to take a nice long walk with the puppy, cutting through my neighbor's woodlands on the way back. The mist was coming off the river, and my shoes were in constant danger of mud, and it was just breath-taking. The whole place looked like an elfin bower.

I took these special for you, and have been meaning to share them ever since. Enjoy!







P.S. Apparently it's hunting season for something. I heard a not-so-distant shotgun blast and decided to get my dark-blue-clothed self out of the dim blue mist. Sybil has given permission for us to walk her woods anytime, but she gives such permission to others as well. I got a phone message from her later that I should maybe stay out of the woods in the mornings for the next couple of weeks.

Semi-Glamourous

Today I am delivering discs and prints for the "Glamour Shots" session from last Saturday. The funny thing is, Pam (no, not that Pam) and I started this project for women who might enjoy the chance to get dolled up for the camera. A brighter shade of lipstick than normal, the confidence of knowing you have a professional on hand to make sure your hair is just right, maybe a cute little lacy thing to wear . . . you get the idea. But more and more, our work is geared towards taking photos of children before they have time to get messed up. It's a whole different attitude, but I'm loving the chance to work with the kids.

This time around, someone even brought in a baby! I didn't have the right kind of stuff to get a baby positioned correctly (and safely), but I found a big old wooden wire spool in the salon's basement. Throw a length of velvet over it, and voila! We took some shots that way, and some with his big sister or his grandmother holding him.I always knew those old hats and scarfs in my collection would come in handy!