On My Walk This Morning

This morning when I started my walk, I noticed that the black birds were back. They must
be very sociable birds. One of them I noticed only had one leg. As he hobbled along, I
saw that there was a light brown female, who never really left his side. As I stood and watched,

I noticed the watchman duty. He watched me while the others ate, they must have had a long
flight as they were very hungry. The water came on in the tree wells and they wanted me out
so they could take baths in the fresh water. Black birds really enjoy bathing.

Then a bit later as I was walking. I was aware of the lovely smell of the fallen leaves. The
air had this lovely, brown crunchy smell. There was the smell of the cold and the damp air,
but then the perfume that comes from the ground that is changing day to day. I read once
about a woman in the 20s that got cancer. She had these gardens and she knew that if she
could just crawl to the garden each day and lay on the ground the earth would heal her.
It did and she went on to come to the west coast and catalog every wild flower in the mountains
around on west coast so they wouldn't be forgotten. I wish I could remember her name.
I always think about that especially, after being sick for so long then to have my health return.
being so sick to not be able to walk and observe and listen and smell, is always harder on me than
anything. I do receive strength from being outside. No wonder I was such a poor student in school,
real life was outside.

Last night I must have forgot to latch my chicken coop. So this morning when I came outside
the girls had a jail break. They busted out and ran to me. I laughed and laughed to see the shocked
look on their faces, as if to say, " How did we get here." Yesterday, we ended up with a 82 degree
day. It was wonderful to open the doors and windows and have some fresh air. We broke a record
that was set in 1905.
I am hoping that we won't have a year like Texas did in 2011, I am starting to get a bit jumpy. With
no rain in December, and no snow pack in the Sierras it makes you wonder. Then I read this today.
" The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.(Isa. 58:11)
I hope you have wonderful day this day January  3rd.

~Kim~

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

It is time to stop in for another Chats with Patrice. Today our weather is beautiful. 75 degrees.
It is trying to lull us into thinking that we are having spring already.
This is our first Chat of 2012 It is nice to be back.

Now on with the questions:

1.   What's your favorite kind of tree?
My husband grows trees, it would be hard to say which kind I like best. I feel like all our trees are our friends so I don't think I could pick just one.

2.    How did you celebrate the New Year?
The kids had their friends over, they ate and played Scatagories the current favorite game for right now. I went to bed at 10:18 and slept  like a log.

3.    Do you have any family traditions for the New Year?
When all of the kids lived at home, I would get lots of food and they would network computers and they would have these huge lan parties. They would be playing different shoot em up games and lots of yelling as there were people in every room in the house. It was fun but I think I like this stage pretty well too.

 4.   I'm so glad I____________ in 2011.
Made so many new friends in 2011.

5.    Did you have a nickname as a child?

Well yes, My Dad called me my baby Kim Sue. I had others but I don't want to go there and my husband and I have pet names for each other but I don't think I will share that. Lets just say if I say his name, he knows I am made or upset because we call each other names and they aren't dear or the normal kind. :) Just names we have made up.

Winter Work and Hobbies

 We have started our winter work with our race against nature. Living in California like we do,
means we have winter in January. So far we haven't even had much winter and no rain. None,
at all. Everything is so dry. We have to start getting the trees trimmed because by February, buds
start appearing and blooms and then we get lots and lots of wind. Well in a normal year, so far
this hasn't been normal. My husband got a new chainsaw and he had been happily trimming trees.
This is the piles that he ran out of room to put in the green trash cans.

 This is the first batch of rocks he tumbled. They came out yesterday. They look so pretty.
I was telling him yesterday that when I was kid, I always wished my Dad would have a rock
polisher and would polish rocks. So after my husband got these out of the tumbler, I remembered
that dream of long ago and I can say it was so nice to have it. My husband spent some time yesterday
with a three pound sledge hammer breaking up more rock to polish. He broke one open and inside
was a geode. I have always wanted to find a geode and to think we had one in a container of rocks
all of the time.

This is a close up of some of the quartz. We are already making plans to go rock hunting.
I can't wait. As my husband always says, " Just keep your eyes open, there is treasure everywhere."

He goes back to work tomorrow. Life will be lots quieter and then I will have to feed myself.
He had fed me the whole time he has been home. It has been so nice. Omeletts in the morning and
these great salads at lunch. Coffee in the afternoons.
I hope your New Year is off to a great start.
~Kim~

Happy New Year 2012

 

I am off to a good start. I was cleaning out my old blog posts that

I had not posted and I deleted this one for the New Year.

So here we go again.

Thank you for making my life such a wonderful dream. Thank you for allowing

me to share my life with you and thank you for reading this piffle I try to write each day.

I am more grateful than you will ever know.

Thank you for letting me share in your lives too. 

I look forward to sharing more of your life as well as mine

in the New Year. 

Happy New Year 2012