Learning patience via guitar...

You know, when I was about 16 years old I prayed for patience. I knew I really had a problem in this area and also knew that God would surely deliver this request quickly. After all, patience is a good thing, right?

Well, I'm still working on it 36 years later. Does it seem strange that it would require patience to learn patience? Hmmm...

So here I am...relearning the guitar. I originally began playing the guitar at the same age I prayed for patience. I played, in a mediocre, self-taught fashion for about 7 years, using it as accompaniment when I sang at church. Then I got married, became an instant mom of four kids at the age of 23, and for some odd reason, the guitar playing went by the wayside. Now that those four kids, plus three more that I gave birth to, are all grown and have flown the nest, I'm ready to try again.

At the age of 52 I look at this learning experience differently than I've looked at learning in the past. I've always had the feeling that I should just pick things up in no time flat or I would give up and try something else. I think this came from watching too many musicals. You know, the type where a bunch of people start singing and dancing spontaneously and they all know the words and the steps without ever having to learn them.

Over the years I've watched other people learn things and I've realized that one of my problems is that I over-analyze everything. I have to know the "why" behind everything before trying to do it. There comes a time for rote learning; blind faith in the teacher. That's what I'm trying to do now with the guitar. I'm just practicing all of the little pieces and believing that eventually it will all come together into a whole, at which time I'll be able to accompany myself in a better way than I did years ago. So, I'm learning patience once again. One guitar practice session at at time.

If you were looking for a deep spiritual lesson here...maybe next time...I'm just rambling...=0)

3 Mile Nature Walk...

Went for a 3 mile walk. The first 1-1/2 miles I kept to the asphalt biking trail, then at the halfway point I decided to walk back on the horse trail. More shade and more flowers to pick for a bouquet!

About half a mile from home there is an old cemetery which I mentioned in another post recently. I've never walked into it because I wasn't sure if it was private or not. I decided since the gates are always open and it's not posted, it might be okay. As it turns out, it's the old Catholic cemetery.



As you can see from the picture, there is a large open lawn area with a cross and a large headstone toward the back of the property. You can see it better if you click on the photo to enlarge it. To the right of the cross you can see a small white object. That's a deer's tail! It's running away from me with it's large white flag up.

I walked to where the cross and headstone are and saw that there was a small roped off area just beyond them. It contained 20-30 very old graves marked by little stones which were flush with the grass and almost covered over. The exception was one large stone next to the border fence. It looked like it had been carved using very primitive tools and the letters carved in it were very crude. It looked like something you would see in an old Irish churchyard. Very interesting. The large new headstone you can see from the trail was apparently placed there fairly recently and lists the names of all of the people buried in the little plot. It also bore the name of Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church, which is the local Catholic church which has two larger plots, one adjacent to our land and the other across the road from us, next to the lake.

Most of the graves in the little cemetery were from the 1920's and 30's. I thought it was really interesting. I wonder if it's okay for me to go into the roped off area and take a closer look at the headstones? I'll have to check into that. There is an open space in the rope and I'm sure they go in there with a lawnmower so maybe it would be okay. I'd like to get a photo of that big stone. I never knew I was so interested in cemeteries!

Ghost plant...ooo....

I found a cool little plant which I think I've only seen in my field guide before this. It's called an Indian pipe or Ghost plant. Well, I'll let you read the description below:

The Indian Pipe plant or Ghost plant is a forest floor dwelling plant that feeds upon a parasitic fungus which in turn feeds off the roots of a spruce tree. This interrelationship gives the Ghost Plant some interesting qualities. It contains no chlorophyll and appears translucent in sunlight. Once plucked the plant immediately starts to wither or melt in your hand and necrosis occurs in minutes. The prepared roots of the plant are rumored to have an opiate quality and have been used in the suppression of pain during surgery.

Here are a couple of pictures:






I picked mine a good hour ago and they haven't "melted" yet! We must make a hardier version here in the northwoods! I found it while doing my 2 mile walk on the trail. This was the only spot I saw them, and it fits the description above as far as being in a woodland setting with lots of spruce trees to feed off of.

It's one of those little discoveries that makes you feel like, "God put that there just for me to find and wonder over." One of those "suprised by joy" moments C.S. Lewis talks about.

Life is a treasure hunt!

Nature walk...yesterday.

Went for a brisk two-mile nature walk down the horse trail. Up and down; down and back. I took quite a few pictures. I'll post some of them here.





There was quite a variety of speeds on this walk. I had to stop and take pictures a LOT. Then my memory card was full, so I had to stand there and delete a few so I could take more.

At the half-mile mark there is a small private cemetary plot with a large white cross. Two fawns, which had been laying in the brush to the right of the trail, heard me coming and jumped up. They went bounding across the cemetery lawn and stopped to the right of the cross where they turned and watched me curiously. You probably can't see them in the photo, but I thought I'd try. (You can see them if you click on the photo to enlarge it.) On the return trip they were still there, browsing around the edges of the lawn. They raced away with their tall white tails waving an alarm when I lifted my camera to take a shot. (Hey, that must be where the expression to "high-tail it out of here" came from!)


It's a very pretty place to walk.

Oh, my aching legs!

Yeah, overdoing in the kitchen on my day off, as usual!

Today I:

peeled, diced, boiled and mashed 4 large turnips

pureed zucchini and made two loaves of zucchini bread

browned hamburger and made chili

made two loaves of honey whole wheat bread

made chocolate chip cookies

I tried to be a smart cook and wear shoes so my legs and feet wouldn't get so tired, but only stuck to that resolve for part of my kitchen time. I did take frequent breaks to put my feet up and watch Home and Garden TV. Unfortunately, I ate during all those breaks. =0)


I know. They're a little too brown.


Bob's outside working on a new chicken coop. I will go out and help him relocate the chickens when it's all ready. Hey, I'm doing my part in the kitchen, remember?

Now I'm off to practice my guitar for a while. Check my "Practice Time" blog to see if I actually got a round tuit!

Vaya con dios!

Harvesting again...

Got home from work about 4:00 and after a bite to eat I helped my husband catch one of our young goats. He is giving it to a 4-H gal who has been dreaming (literally, she had a dream) of getting a goat and her parents finally said it was okay. We're cutting back on our goats, so we're glad she'll have a good home! I'm the hoof trimmer for the goats, so I gave her a quick pedicure. Then we put her in the back of the pickup, locked the topper and off she went.

After that, I grubbed around in the garden, pulling a lot of weeds. I fed a large armful to the goats, but most just got dumped over the pasture fence.

My garden doesn't have a lot of variety, but I'm getting a lot out of it for the little effort I'm putting in. With all the cool weather the lettuce is still producing like crazy. I've also gotten lots of turnips and spinach and picked some peas today, as well. Of course, there is more zucchini, but I think it's finally slowing down!

Well, I'm off to do some dishes and wash up my produce. I'll give the lettuce a soaking to plump it up and probably cook the spinach and turnips. On Wednesday maybe I'll make more zucchini bread. Some of it will go to son Jordan. Gotta fatten him up a little!

Ciao!

Nature walk...

I haven't been walking for a few days. Okay, closer to a week. I've been trying to get over a cold and I've finally outrun it!

Today I went for a brisk two-mile walk down the Heartland Trail, which runs adjacent to our land. I walked down the horse trail for a mile. It's lush, green, hilly, bumpy and lined with woods. In short, it makes for a pretty walk.

I kept a running tab of the plants and animals I encountered, just to see how many I could name by sight.

I did the return mile on the asphalt bike trail that runs parallel to the horse trail. Then I walked a short distance back on the horse trail to pick a small bouquet of flowers which I hope to use for drawing practice. Don't tell the Dept. of Natural Resources!



Flora and fauna I saw:
goldenrod
black-eyed susan
bee balm (purple)
wild mint
yarrow
poison ivy
sumac
harebells
columbine
red and white clover
plantain
raspberries
white pine
oak
maple
poplar
spruce
norway pine
daisies
jackpine
vetch
chickweed
wild rose
hoary allysum
mushrooms
catpaws (?)
2 white-tail deer

And a partridge in a pear treeeeee....