A Little More To The Story

          Despite the fact that y'all think I know a lot about critters and flowers and stuff, there is still a lot I don't know. Case in point, the wren family.

          The more I looked at the picture of the wren going into the house with a bug and coming out with one that looked so different, my first thought was that it was a different bug. One of those fat, white, juicy, slugs with black heads. You know the ones I mean? Well, it bothered me and kept rattling around in my head.

          Could it be poop? I wondered and then dismissed the idea. Since when does poop come in neat little packages that the mama bird could pick up? Well, it seems to me that I may have seen this at some point in my life, maybe on one of those wildlife shows I like to watch. But time was pressing in on me and I had to get my letter blog finished and sent.

          "Patti wondered if you were going to post a blog this week or wait until next week?" Momma asked me during our daily call on Tuesday.

          "I'm getting ready to post it right now," I told her.

          "That's what I told Patti; that I thought you intended to post something."

          I do try to keep Momma up-to-date on the status of my jibber-jabber. She loves me and looks forward to them and now I find out my oldest sister looks forward to them too! So I was under the pressure of missing my self-imposed deadline and rather than do any fact-checking, I posted it. Days later, if I re-read my blog, I'll find my mistakes. I know that daddy's refers to one daddy and daddies is all daddies but did I do it right? No! I can fix my blog, after it's been seen by a dozen people or so, but the rest of you are stuck with my mistakes.

          And the bug thing with the wrens bothered me so I did a little research. As it turns out, and would you believe, that baby wrens do produce a fecal sac! Other birds do too. It allows the parents to keep the nest clean thereby reducing the chances of disease and predators smelling the nest. But here's something you may not know — something I didn't know — is that sometimes the parents eat it! Ewww! Gross! But the guess is that it replaces lost nutrients to the mama bird who is more likely to display this behavior and who's more stressed than the male. Ain't that the truth!

          Momma knew what it was and told me about it the next day. I'm not surprised that she knew and I'm wondering if anyone else knew about it too.

          I could have done a better job of telling you when Andrew's goodie box arrived at his house. I know when it got there but after I re-read what I'd written I realized it was a little ambiguous. Momma got her box in Phoenix, Arizona two days after I sent it. Andrew's box didn't have as far to go and he got it three days after I sent it, the day after Momma got hers.

          Now aren't you glad we got that all straightened up?

          I ended last time having shown you 61 of the 94 pictures I'd picked out to show you. That means I'm starting this time with 33 pictures and I haven't even downloaded my camera yet. I expect I'll have to skip over some of the pictures just because you've seen Hawkweed...

         ...and Multiflora Roses before — even if the pictures are pretty.          

          Mike and I finally took a day and ran out to the greenhouse to pick up some garden plants. I got regular tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cherry tomatoes, yellow squash, lavender, and pansies. They sat for a couple of days before I got around to getting them planted but they're all in and I have my mouth set for tomatoes and cottage cheese, one of my favorite summertime eats.

          The greenhouse is out in the middle of the country and I took some road pictures for you.

          No open barn or garage door is safe from this girl and her camera!

         This wagon is almost swallowed up by the brush. I didn't get out to take its picture, just shot it through Mike's window.

          At home, I'm enjoying hanging my clothes out to dry for the summer. I love the way they smell when they come off the line; full of sunshine and fresh air.

          "That's all well and good, Peg," you say, "but I hate how stiff and rough they are."

          That's true. If you don't have a nice breeze, things will dry a little stiffer but it's never bothered me or Mike. If you like your bath towels to be a little softer, tumble them in the dryer for a few minutes as per my mother's sage advice.

          "Has Mike gotten his mower stuck again?" you wonder.

          No. At least not lately. However, he did tangle with some old phone wire. He lost. He had to get under there and take the blade off the mower to get the wire out.

          Last time I talked about the mama deer and her fawn. There was another event took place that week with another fawn and I wanted to circle around, pick it up, and tie it in with that other story but I didn't do it. No matter. I'll just tell you about it now.

          Mike and I had gone for a short ride on the golf cart. We were going past the Kipps and heard the mower running. "Wanna stop and say hello?" Mike asked.

          "Sure."

          Lamar was mowing down by the creek and Mike drove the cart right down there to visit. Lamar shut his mower off, removed his hearing protection, and visited with us for a while.

          This is the single-lane open-grate bridge as seen from the Kipps yard.

          We had Itsy and Ginger with us and I let them run around without leashes on. They've been so good about staying with their people. That means us, you know.

          The beavers aren't taking care of the dam by the Kipps house anymore. "They've got another one a little further up the creek," Lamar told me. I got off the cart and moseyed around while Mike and Lamar talked about boy stuff.

          I saw raspberries coming on and then I spotted this. "Hey! You've got one of those plants here!" I exclaimed.

          "What plant?" Lamar asked.

          "False Hellebore!"

          "That skunk cabbage?"

          "Yeah!" And skunk cabbage and False Hellebore look very similar. "That's the plant I was going to take Rosie down to the other bridge and show her, and here she has some right in her own backyard!"

          "Lamar, can you see the other dam from your yard?" I asked.

          "Yeah, if you go further up in the yard."

          We were making our way to where Lamar pointed when all of a sudden Ginger starts barking. "GINGER!" I yelled. She looks so innocent here.

          She kept barking and I spotted her running across the yard chasing a fawn.

          "GINGER STOP!" I demanded. But did she listen to me? No! She didn't stop until she hit the tall weeds at the edge of the yard.

          Lamar took her side. "She's a dog. If it's in her yard, she's going to chase it."

          "Yeah, but I'd rather she wasn't chasing baby deer."

          At the upper edge of the Kipp yard, I could see the new beaver dam.

          

          Mike and I spent part of one afternoon driving around the little town of Monroeton and Mike wanted to visit the furniture store again. While he talked recliners with Connie... 

....I wandered around to areas of the store I'd not visited before. They have a great selection of... what? Early American, rustic, upcycled, reclaimed, country charm, stuff. I don't know what you call it. But I was tickled when I went around a corner and came face to face with the stairs leading to the upper floor.

          When I was done looking around I joined Mike and Connie. It wasn't long before Connie said something that grabbed my interest.

          "I'd love to put you on my People's Page with that quote."

          "What's that?" Connie asked.

          "It's just a web page I do. When I meet interesting people — like you — I take their picture and put their quote on my page."

          Connie agreed.

          After we left the furniture store we drove around a little and...

          "WAIT! Wait, wait. Peg, aren't you going to tell us what Connie said?"

          Well, I should make you go to my page and check it out but some of you aren't on the internet so I will tell you. Connie said, "I'm just so afraid to drive anymore! People pass me all the time and they'll tell me, 'I waved at you but you were stuck up.' And I'm not! The thing is, when I'm driving I have like, tunnel vision. I'm just so focused on the road, I don't see anything else. I have to drive everyone else's car for them because they're not driving them!"

          After we left the furniture store we drove around a little and I took some pictures for you.

          Hmmm. This house has a lot of different angles.

          

          "Look at the pallets stacked up there," Mike said.

          

          "They probably do pallet art," I guessed. Then when we passed the front of the house I knew it was true.

          The mill in Monroeton.

          Hinges.

         Another day Mike saw a mobile office go past on the flatbed of a truck — oh! That reminds me. The Kipps lost another mailbox. That's five in the past year! I saw a full-size semi come down our road on Friday while they were gone to Lancaster but I didn't think anything about it. Mike said because of the way the road curves, they can make it coming in, it's going back out where they run into trouble.

          But, I digress. Mike saw a mobile office go past our house so he decided we'd go for a ride and see if we could see where it ended up. I took a few road pictures.

          "There it is," Mike said.

          Out near the compressor station, a whole big lot was cleared and there were mobile offices and trucks and generators and a bunch of other stuff parked in there.

          "What are they doing?" I asked.

          "I don't know."

          A little further down the road, I see a friend of mine; a lady I met at my church. "There's Jenny."

          "Want to stop and say hello?" Mike asked.

          "Sure! Why not."

          We visited with Jenny and her daughter Gracelyn for a few minutes and Mike found out what was going on down by the compressor station.

          "They're putting in a new compressor," Jenny told us.

          On the way out, I got a picture of two more of Jenny's kids while they were raking hay. Alison was riding while Caleb drove the tractor.

          Last weekend was the second of two busy weekends in a row. Although I spent Sunday going to church and working on my letter blog, we went down into town on Saturday for the arts festival and that's why my letter blog was two days late.

          Mike went for the food, I went to hear two of my church family sing. Linda and Shawn (clapping in the back row) both have fabulous voices and I love to hear them sing. 

         A third person was to join them and that would be the pastor of Steph's church. I don't know if that's the only reason Jon and Steph Robinson came but I'll tell you what. Shawn hit the nail on the head when he said, "Robinson Road is well represented here."

          Mike and me, the Kipps, the Robinsons, and down on the end are Sally Kyle and her brother Dean Robinson, they live across the road from me.

          As we waited for Linda, Shawn, and Barry to take the stage, I spotted an eagle gliding overhead.

          "Hey Peg," Jon said. "There's a lady up on Second Street that has a box of glass she just wants to give away."

          "Really?" I have a bit of a glass fetish. I love glass — and copper. Especially together. I love glass and copper. "Mike, let's go get the glass and come back."

          So, Mike and I left — and didn't go back. Once in the car, we just wanted to go home.

          Now you're all caught up (except for a few critter pictures) so let's call this one done!

Beautiful Things

          Sometimes, when I know the weekend is going to be busy, I work on my blog early, finish and post it early too, as I did last week.

          This week has slinked past, like a fox trying to get in the henhouse, and despite my best intentions (and knowing it's going to be another busy weekend), I didn't get a head start on my letter blog. I fear it will be late but there is no help for it.

          "Why was last weekend so busy?" I know you want to know.

          Last Saturday was our local Relay for Life event at the high school. It's a fundraiser for cancer research. This beautiful, awesome, neighbor of mine is the Community Chairperson for our area. Steph's in charge of organizing teams and events and she emceed the Gong Show, which was so much fun.

          The dancing Little People won the event and I grinned the whole way through their performance.

          There wasn't a lot of seating and I found myself sitting next to this beautiful lady. It wasn't long until we were engaged in conversation.

          "Move down closer to me so someone else can sit down if they want to," I heard her tell her son.

          I touched her arm. "That is such a nice thing to teach him," I told her and from there the conversation went on.

          "My daughter's going to sing today," she told us.

          "What's her name?" Mike asked.

          "Alexis. I didn't even know this was going on today. She came home from school and told me she signed up for a talent contest. She loves to sing. She had a whole song prepared and didn't know she was to sing for only 90 seconds."

          They let Alexis sing for longer than 90 seconds but she didn't get to sing the whole song.

          The more we talked, the more convinced I became that I knew her. Not possible, I told myself. She must just remind me of someone. But I did get around to asking her, "What's your name?"

          "Jen."

          "Jen what?"

          "Sykes," she answered.

          I'm sure the surprise showed on my face. "I do know you! Your mom took care of my mom."

          We had a nice conversation and when Alexis got up to sing, we sat back and listened. She was really good and took second place when Mike and I thought she should have won.

          My best girl, Joanie, had a bake sale stand and we bought a few things— you know, just for support. That's all. Not that I needed banana bread or no-bake cookies or anything like that. Don't get me wrong, it was all very good, just a little off my diet.

          "Yeah, Peg, how's your diet going?" you ask.

          Don't ask. Some days are better than others are and let's leave it at that.

          I love this photo of Joanie. Can't you just see her heart shining through her eyes? She's beautiful, just beautiful, both inside and out! Yeah, you can tell that I love this lady.

          Sunday the 10th, Mike and I went to a graduation celebration. Kyleigh's grandfather Vince and I are first cousins. That makes Stacey, Kyleigh's mom, my first cousin once removed. Kyleigh's my first cousin, twice removed. The removed part of a relationship denotes generations.

          "What's a second cousin?" Stacey asked.

          "Children of first cousins are second cousins to each other, so you and my children are second cousins," I told her. Gosh, I hope I've got all of that straight. If I'm wrong, and someone tells me I'm wrong, I'll be sure to let you know.

          Some of my favorite pictures of the day are these. Stacey and her mother Bonnie.

          Stephanie and her husband Spencer. Stephanie and Stacey are first cousins to each other. But just like Stacey, Stephanie is my first cousin once removed.

          Three of my first cousins were there. The very handsome Justin....

          His brother Joe and sister Lorraine.

          You've met Stpeh and Lorraine, the tall handsome men are Jon and Jordan, twin sons of Jessica, another first cousin once removed. So, one last time, the twins are my first cousin, twice removed.

          I want to take a moment to remember Jessica here. She's Joe's daughter and gone three years now, much too soon, home to be with our Lord. This picture was taken in April of 2004 when I was here for a visit. The twins were four, almost five years old. Jess was so proud of her sons, I'm sure she would be even more proud of the fine young men they've grown into today.

          Saturday, here in Pennsylvania, the weather was beautiful! We were all in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. Overnight the temps cooled, it started to rain and stayed that way for Kyleigh's graduation party. Jackets in mid-June... who'd have thunk it?

          Look what I saw this week! Isn't he gorgeous! This is a Cedar Waxwing.

         

          We had a doe and her fawn show up at our pond while we were out on the golf cart. We watched as they made their way around the pond, mama stopping to graze while Bambi romped and played.

          Mama turned her head the whole way across her back trying to keep an eye on him and it made me laugh.

          Then she grazed her way back along the pond. Bambi made his way around to our side and we sat and watched. 

           Mike and I weren't the only ones watching. We had Itsy and Ginger with us. The girls were so good and never barked; they just watched.

          But Mike, me, Itsy, and Ginger weren't the only ones watching the doe and her fawn. Smudge sat in the grass a little ways from us and he was watching too. I wondered if he'd chase the fawn and what the heck would he do with it if he caught it.

          The fawn stopped and studied us. He must have decided we weren't a threat and he moseyed on for a few more steps, steadily moving away from Mom, who was still on the other side of the pond.

          Then something happened... Did he get a whiff of Smudge or us or was he running with youthful exuberance? I wondered because he took off. Then Mama came on the run looking for him. 

         Pretty quick the fawn came back, joined up with his mother, and they went through the brush line and were gone.

          We all enjoyed watching them and I'm hoping we'll get to see them again.

          I put together another goodie box for my mother and you know I can't make her something and not taste it. I wouldn't want to send her anything bad, that's for sure. I made Dream Bars, Date Nut Bread, and Sugar Cookies, which I happen to know that she loves. These sugar cookies are a rolled cookie and have just a hint of almond in them. Cutting shapes and re-rolling the dough can be a pain so I don't do it. I just roll the dough and cut it into squares. Momma doesn't care about the shape of the cookie anyway. I thought I'd make them a little fancier by rolling a design on top.

          "Peg, that's a Christmas roller," you say.

          I know, right! I thought if I went back and forth a few times, it would obliterate the distinctive Christmas pattern and just leave a series of lines and curves. It worked pretty well. After pulling the first tray from the oven, I quit. You couldn't see the design once they were baked.

          Momma doesn't like a cookie that's too sweet so I don't frost these.

          I also made her a batch of Mexican Wedding Cakes; at least that's what my recipe book calls them. Archway sells a version of these at Christmastime and they call them simply Wedding Cakes. I tend to call them Pecan Wedding Cakes. There are all kinds of names for this buttery cookie that just melts in your mouth.

          I had a SNAFU when I baked them. My oven is running hot. I could smell the cookies burning before the timer went off. I pulled them out three minutes early. For the second and last tray, I raised the oven rack thinking it would be less hot on the bottom of the cookie if I got it away from the heating element. Yeah. It didn't work out so well. The second tray was still burnt on the bottom only now they were brown on top as well.

          Sigh.

          "So, do I reduce the temperature or the cooking time, or do I raise the rack?" I asked Mike throwing all my options on the table.

          "I'd lower the temperature," he responded.

          "Here taste these and tell me if you think they're too burnt to send to Momma."

          Mike is a good husband and tried a cookie. "They're not too bad," he said reaching for another cookie. "Oh! Now this one is a little too burnt."

          "Should I send them to Momma anyway?"

          "No. You should not. You should make her a new batch — and don't burn them this time."

          "What are we going to do with these?"

          "We could share them with the Kipps," Mike suggested.

          "Yeah! Lamar is used to burnt stuff!"

          The Kipps had gone off to visit their daughters for the weekend and when they got back, we took the cookies down and shared them. "These aren't bad," Rosie said. "They taste a lot like the Pecan Crescents I make at Christmas time."

           While in Lancaster County, the Kipps did some antiquing. "Wanna see my new treasure?" Rosie asked as Mike and I were leaving.

          "Absolutely!"

          "It's out here on the porch," Rosie said leading the way.

          "It's beautiful! What are you going to do with it."

          "It's my new jewelry box."

          I laughed.

          I use the flat rate boxes from the post office. "This would cost you $33 to send if you didn't use the flat rate box," Todd informed me.

          I guess my date nut bread was heavier than I thought! I sent Andrew, our grandson, a goodie box at the same time too. With the flat rate boxes you get tracking and every day I checked to see where the boxes were. Momma's box arrived in Phoenix and was delivered two days after I sent it. Andrew's box didn't have to go as far, only to Missouri, right in the middle of our country and his box was still sitting in Lancaster, PA. Go figure that one out. Andrew got his box the next day.

          "Peggy, those sugar cookies are so good!" Momma told me the day after she got her goodie box. "They're such a delicate cookie that they got broken up in the mail and I have to eat them with a spoon."

          "Oh, I'm so sorry," I was disappointed in my packing abilities. But in my defense, I had the box so full there was little room for the packing.

          "What for?" she questioned. "I don't have any problem eating them off a spoon, in fact, I rather like it. And they didn't all get broken anyway."

          "How were the Pecan Wedding Cakes?" I asked.

          "The powdered sugar didn't fare so well. It kind of melted and it's more like a glaze now instead of a dusting. They're still good but next time you send them, don't use the powdered sugar." Then she went on to tell me, "Patti's housekeeper says they're a lot like the Russian Tea Cookie that she makes."

          See! Lots of names for this cookie!

          Monday the 11th, after Sunday's rain, Mike went out early and burned our new brush pile. Then we were ready to get back to pulling.

          "Well, did the mama bird ever come back to take care of her babies?" my oldest and much-adored sister asked me after my last letter.

          "I think so," I told her but I intentionally had only alluded to it in my last letter blog because I just wasn't sure if she was or not. She was certainly acting different. When we went back to work on Monday I checked the nest. All the babies were dead. One of two things happened. Either there was too much activity in the area or we've changed the habitat so much that it was no longer suitable to raise babies. I lean towards the latter.

          I was sad.

          Then, when we went back to the house after working, I heard such a ruckus! A mama bird was upset because there were cats in the vicinity of her nest and she couldn't get in to feed her babies. 

            And the babies knew she was there and were peeping so loud that Smudge wanted to see them. 

          We have baby birds in the birdhouse my Miss Rosie painted for me!

          That made me happy.

          "Is it a sparrow?" Momma asked when I told her about them.

          "I don't know yet, I haven't downloaded the pictures."

          When I had a few minutes to spare, I made myself comfortable on the patio and watched the comings and goings of the mama bird. I was surprised when a bird went in with food....

...and came right back out with the bug still in her beak.

          Her mate must be in there feeding the babies, I thought. And she flew away to wait her turn.

          Once I downloaded my camera and got a better look, I'd say this is a wren family. The daddies help to feed the babies. These two pictures were taken one right after the other and now that I see it on the computer, I'd say the bug that went in isn't the same bug that came right back out. What's the deal? Was he in there feeding the babies and she chased him out?

          As I sat there, bug... 

 ...after bug...

...after bug disappeared into the nest.

          We'll see what happens when the babies fledge and land on a patio full of cats.

          You know something? My cherry tree had blossoms all over it and it even had a bunch of green cherries. Now there are only two! Two! I didn't think they had ripened and the birds got them, but maybe they did. That's what Mike thinks happened to them. Next time I go look I bet those last two will be gone too!

          Two frogs in one shot — I'm getting better at spotting them before they take off.

          Twelve-spotted Skimmer. 

          Wolf spider. They're big and beautiful — don't you think?

          Daisies! I love the daisies.

          This is Black Medic. It has three leaves like clover does. It's in the alfalfa family and is sometimes used as a fodder plant because it grows in poor soil and has a tendency to fix nitrogen in the soil. Its fodder value is limited; it's grazed by sheep but is not very palatable to cattle.

          I haven't found out what this is. I suspect it's a wetland grass, but I kinda liked the way it grows so I took its picture.

          This guy is a moth called a False Crocus Geometer. Just kinda rolls right off the tongue, don't you think?

          This is a Black Swallowtail. The difference between her and a Spicebush Swallowtail are the two rows of yellow dots. The Spicebush only has one row on the edge of the wings.

          Pearl Crescent.

          This is the first time I've seen this one and I spent some time Googling her. This is a Milbert's Tortoiseshell.

          I don't know. I only got this picture of him peeking around at me then he was gone. Just gone.

          This is a Scape Moth.

          This is Yellow Wood Sorrel.

          The Catalpa Trees are blooming.

Rough-fruited Cinquefoil.

          Yarrow.

          I found a Yellow Pond Iris growing in my pond! I don't know how he got here, I didn't plant him, but the neighbor has tons of these around her pond.

          A Painted Turtle.

          A Blue Heron. We were crossing the Susquehanna when I spotted him and I barely got two shots of him. This one is the best.

         

          Road pictures anyone?

          I have a lot more pictures to show you. A lot more. Some of the things are things you've already seen this year. Things like Hawkweed, Multiflora Roses, a couple of dragonflies, and a damselfly. I can't help but take pictures of the beautiful things I see, even if I already have 10,000 pictures of them. But with another busy weekend behind me — and I'll tell you a little about that next time — and today being Tuesday, time has gotten away from me. I know I've been busy— and I don't even take naps! — but where has the time gone?

          Let's end this one with a couple of pictures of the Luby's beautiful Mountain Home.