AUNTIE'S BIRTHDAY

A week has gone by already since I went to Connecticut to celebrate my aunt's 70th birthday! My Dad and Mom, Deb and I ( and of course Mikey) drove down to wish her a "Happy Birthday". The ride was great. My Dad took some back roads. The countryside is beautiful. Old houses and farmland, horses and streams, my kind of place. Mikey is such a good little traveler, he slept the whole way down and back. It was really good to see my aunt and cousins and their wives and children. The boys have grown so much since I saw them last.  We had food and 2 cakes as you can see. Mikey ran around trying to get scraps from anyone who was eating.lol  He was great with the boys. He can be a little nippy but he had a great time and was fine with everyone. My aunt looked great and I know she was very happy to have all her family with her.( I love and miss you, Auntie.) She is such a wonderful person, a great cook, as I have mentioned in earlier posts.She   has made sets of napkins for every day of the year! I find that incredible, and she made them all by hand! She also makes cards, beautiful cards. I always enjoy getting one from her. We have all had some wonderful times visiting her in the past and hopefully we will continue to.
 After the party Mom, Dad, Deb and I ( Mikey too.) went back to Elizabeth's( my cousin) house to spend the night. Elizabeth, Steven( her son, and my 2nd cousin) stayed up with us for a little while and talked. We were all so tired so we didn't stay up long. In the morning Elizabeth had gone off to work and Steven to school. We packed up and headed home. Too little time. I miss them all and would have really liked to visit longer.
 Calvin and Sophie( the cats) were so cute with Mikey. Calvin seemed interested and just followed Mikey around and stared at him. Sophie on the other hand kept her distance but made sure he was always in her sight. Her eyes were as big as Owls eyes. Anyway they kept the peace and all was well.
 Back on the road. We stopped to get some coffee and breakfast and we saw this adorable little baby bunny.

Finally got home that afternoon. We had a great time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE!!!! Here is your rainbow!

MORNINGS

I just saw a very beautiful thing, a male Cardinal feeding his female. Just didn't have my camera this time. So sweet. Brought tears to my eyes. Scenes like this are almost too sacred to capture on camera. A gift only for your eyes.

 I love getting up early in the morning. I usually get up at 6. The sun is just coming up and everything has a magical quality to it. The birds start coming one by one. I can count on certain birds to arrive first. I can hear someones rooster crowing in the distance. The squirrels start meandering in, stretching and yawning as they make it down the tree to the bird feeder, where they hang upside down and feed on the sunflower seeds. Some mornings the leaves of the Iris and Daylilies are tipped with little round droplets of dew that shimmer in the suns light.   The birds are singing; there are no other sounds, the quiet from human life and the solitude is mesmerizing. I sit and watch the interaction of the birds and squirrels. Its amazing what you'll see. They have all gotten used to me and my camera and come close to feed without fear. A little English Sparrow has taken up residence in a hole in the tree where the feeders hang. He has been working on this new home for a few days now. He is so busy and proud, singing as he cleans out the hole. I haven't seen a female yet unless shes in the hole sitting on eggs.
  The air is so fresh in the morning. Everything has a newness about it. The night has erased all the mistakes of yesterday and the day is a new slate to put your mark upon. I cherish the morning muses, new beginnings, new thoughts and ideas. Each morning is a new experience, filled with wonder and anticipation of whats to come.  I'm grateful to be able to get up in the morning and rise with the Sun. 

TARTAN DAY

Justin spent the weekend with me. He came over later Friday afternoon. We were both pretty excited because Saturday we were going to see the Scottish Highland Light Pipe Band! I absolutely LOVE the bagpipes! I think that the feeling I get when I hear them is in my DNA somewhere. The sound brings tears to my eyes. My Mom and son went too.
 I learned a lot about Scottish history ( part of my heritage besides English and Irish) and the bagpipes. 2 yrs ago on an archeology expedition in Egypt they found a tomb of an Egyptian princess over 3000 yrs old. Inside they found that she was entombed with a set of bagpipes. Bagpipes are such an ancient instrument that they really don't know how old or how far back they go. Ohhh, that sound, that sound resonates through my whole being! There was some dancing and fiddling, which was really beautiful. And the food, yes, real Scottish food. Bridies ( which are flaky pastry filled with a meat mixture. The BEST!), meat pies, sausage rolls, and real homemade shortbread that melted in your mouth. All of it was homemade.

 I also learned that you never call plaid, plaid. Its called tartan. It is the outcome of what is available in dyes and weaving material. Each clan has its own tartan. The plaid ( which is pronounced plaaad, long A) is a long, wide piece of tartan material that they wrapped around themselves and threw over the shoulder.
  Tartan day is now a national holiday celebrated on April 6th.
We all had a great time. We stayed quite awhile, about 4 hours. After I got home I felt like watching " Braveheart"again.lol. I loved the end of the movie when William Wallace yelled out FREEEDOOOMMM!!!!

EASTER

Its been awhile since I've posted. Medical issues and back problems. Thats over and I'm feeling great! April Fools day..gone...Sarah's birthday went by. Easter was fun. My grandson came over the day before and helped me get ready. We had fun out in the back yard. He set up stunts to preform while I used my sport mode on my camera.We had so much fun. Then later Michelle(my daughter-in-law) came over and we dyed some eggs.Later, after Michelle went home Justin and I went out back and had a fire in my little fire pit. It got so smokey that we had to put it out and go back in.lol.
Easter Sunday was nice. We(my family) had a great dinner and sat around afterward and relaxed and talked. Now its all over and I'm back to getting the yard in shape and taking photos of course. Today my Mom and I are going to get our lettuce plants............

MORE SPRING RAIN

Rain, rain, rain. I guess we are in for it for a few days. I really don't mind, gives me a chance to clean the house. And I love to take photos of the rain drops left on the flowers, trees, and leaves after its over.What would Spring be anyway, without the showers? The Snowdrops, Mini Iiris are past blooming, and thanks to my pesky little squirrels, the crocus have had their blooms bit off! Arrrrrggg. But they can really be soooo cute, as you can see.!
 Debbie is finally making it to Boston to have the screws removed form the last surgery she had to repair her knee, or should I say, whats left of it. I was going to go but the car was to filled to fit me. I just wish her well and hope things go the way they are supposed to, and she returns home safely.

 Sunday I will be having Easter (Ostara) dinner here with all my family. Ham, yams and Asparagus casserole(YUM! you can thank my Aunt Alice for that one.) I'll probably decorate now that I have the house to myself. A rainy day is a puttering day. Its fun..............

Asparagus Casserole

1c.buttered crumbs
3 tall cans choice asparagus
1 sm. jar pimentos
6 hard boiled eggs
White Sauce:
4 T. buter
4 T. flour
1 t. salt
dash of pepper
2 c. milk
2 c. grated sharp cheddar
grease casserole dish. Put 1/2crumbs in bottom, 1/2 of the asparagus, 1/2 jar pimentos, 3 of the eggs(sliced)
1/2 of the white sauce, repeat, ending with crumbs. 350 degrees for 30 min. Best chilled overnight before cooking.

FEATHERS IN THE WIND

Our lives are as feathers buffeted here and there by the winds of fate; never really knowing where we are going or where we will land. We think that we seem to have total control over our lives, but be assured , we don't.  We may have some control over some things but when fate comes in to hand there is no control. Only the Universe can control that. When the winds blow hard and gusty and we are snagged by the obstacles that crop up in the way of our journey, we are stopped in our tracks. These obstacles may be grief over a loved ones death, a sudden illness, or the loss of a long time friendship. Whatever it may be, you  may find yourself with your hands tied behind your back. No control. Then suddenly another gust of wind will free you from the situation, weather physically, mentally, and ,or spiritually and off you go ,on yet another journey and...... yes...... another snag.                                                                                            The point I'm trying to make is that we will always have obstacles to overcome in our lives. We have no control over that. It is knowing that they will appear and knowing that eventually , in the Universe's time and the Universe's way we will be freed from them. 

WHAT IS TRUE FRIENDSHIP?

MY WILD CHILD

 On a golden September day, my Wild Child was born. Rays of sunshine touched her hair and our eyes met. Then suddenly she was gone. Days grew into years and the hole in my heart grew larger. 25 yrs later, my Son answered a phone call. Instantly he knew he was talking with his Sister. So many years of wondering, searching, crying, had come to an end and my heart was mended. She had found us!  Emotions ran high as my wild haired beauty and I embraced for the first time.
 Tracy and I are so much alike, its uncanny. For two people who never knew each other, we both love and cherish  the same things. I just couldn't get enough of her.
 She lives out in Washington state, all the way across the country from me. We have visited each other at times and we talk on the phone. There's not a day that goes by that thoughts of her don't run through my mind.
 Her adventures have been incredible( I will go into some in another post). There are so many things about her that I'd like to put into words....but for now, this is her introduction......... I miss and love you, Baby.

Photos taken by my Son on his visit to see her.

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 Yes, the Vernal Equinox arrived today at 1:32, I believe. I am so glad. The weather is so appropriate. Warm days, chilly evenings. The air sparkles. The Sun is turning on his course. Daylight savings time has been put into affect... and life is full of magick and wonder. Bees are out and about on their errands to gather pollen and their back legs are bright orange. Every where you go the Crocus are out, spreading across lawns and hiding in nooks and crannies around houses and buildings. I've been working in the yard and Mikey comes out and sits in his tent and watches. I heard its going to rain tomorrow but who cares? There a plenty more of these days to come.

DODGING RAINDROPS

Female Bluebird  Still not in the right place. Will figure it out!

WET+WILD

 A Nor'easter has been raging for two days now. It will continue into tomorrow, also. Gusts have reached 60mph. The howling winds outside my windows calm my spirit.  I was able to do a walk-about Friday, before the storm started. While I was walking I could see the dark gray clouds looming up in the distance. I love these storms,but, I had a taste of the warmer weather and it has kinda stuck with me. I haven't done too much for the last 2 days and I need to GET OUT! Taking pictures of the birds through rain spotted windows is not exactly gratifying. lol. I can't believe the assortment of species that came during this weather. Flickas, chickadees, wrens, bluebirds( yes, they are sticking around), Red Bellied Woodpeckers, House Finch, Gold Finch, Downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, English sparrows, Song sparrows, and Grackles, its been wild.(literally).
 Justin, my Grandson spent Sat. and Sun with me. I always enjoy his company. We watched movies. He decided to make a card for his parents anniversary. He is very creative. And the great part is when hes done he puts all the stuff away. Without me asking! WOW! what a teenager!

PICASA3...GREAT FOR POSTING PICTURES

used my picasa3 to post this pic. Now I know how to use it ...This is GREAT! Next time it will appear in the correct place! LOL

MORE BIRDS......

Ok, I hope you don't get bored with the birds, but I've been a little obsessed with them. I have a pair of Red Bellied woodpeckers ( I don't get this as they have very red HEADS, lol) nesting in an old tree out back and they are adorable. I try not to bother them but I need that perfect photo!!! The female sits in the hole and the male brings her food and nesting material.

 Sarah and I went out back yesterday afternoon to see what there was out there to take photos of and I couldn't believe what I saw.....BLUEBIRDS....yes, they are living out back( where the road is being put in!!!), I will have to get some houses to try and keep them around.

 I have a little sanctuary out behind our shed, where I sit and contemplate or meditate or just plain get away from everything. I have a thistle feeder out there. I was sitting there yesterday and this beautiful song sparrow came and started feeding......
 Soon the hummingbirds will start to come. I need to start getting my feeders ready. They will always come back to a feeder that they are used to every year......I can't wait.

CATCHING UP!

I've got some catching up to do! Last Sat., my Mom and my grandson and I went to the Multicultural Fair at the Cape Cod Community Collage. It was a lot of fun. All kinds of ethnic dancing and food. The food was really good. I had a meatball and rice dish from Morocco, so did Justin and he liked it too. The dancing was beautiful and the costumes too. Took lots of photos, BUT....I can't get them off my camera! I used a different setting and I don't know how to get them on to picasa3!!! Bummer, some were really good. I will eventually get them on and post them.

 Sun., my son and grandson, and I went to take my niece, Sarah to her softball practice. While she was practicing, we went to Hochum Rock and took some photos.....we had fun and Justin and Justin practiced Akido, a marshall art that they like to do. I have some awesome photos of them both, but my son doesn't want me to post them...another bummer. I can post some of Justin on the rock. It was an Indian camp at one time. They say its haunted. It certainly does have a different energy about it. We had fun though and it was a great weekend!

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

At last, I've heard some good news about the weather! This weekend is going to get to the 50's!!! YAY! Now its choices I have to make to either work in the yard or go on a walk-about with my camera. Both sound good to me. I really want our yard to look incredible this year. There are so many different kinds of flowers here and I need to fertilize and the list goes on and on and on. I'm excited! But going for a long walk sounds really inviting too. What to do?! Well I guess I'll just have to wait and see what the weekend will bring me.I just finished reloading all my pictures from disks I had that were copied off of Picasa, copied to back into Picasa3 and now I have 8,000 photos on it. Wow!!!    
It was fun going back in time, seeing the changes in people and all that I did. I lost some of them during the copying and I don't know if I can ever get them back or if they are lost for good. I'll just have to get over that. Some were of my Mom and Dad, though. :-(  I'm posting some photos of some of my flowers so you can get an idea what my yard will look like..........                                                                                                  

MARCH

March came in like a LION!!!...and its still roaring. Yes, I'm going to say it....I am tired of the rain and cold. I need some sun at least. I know it won't start to warm up until May. I started raking the leaves yesterday. It didn't rain!!!...so I tried to take advantage of that. Didn't get too far, it started to get very cold and today it snowed all day. It didn't stick though, so no shoveling.
 We have a new baby Red Squirrel in the neighborhood now and it loves to sit in the squirrel proof bird feeder and eat. I named him or her "Pumpkin". It sure is cute.I've been watching the birds coming to the feeders. So many different kinds. I've been trying to get photos of them all.

  Things are starting to come up under the leaves, it will be nice to see the spring flowers. A little color would do me some good right about now. lol  Well, its getting late and I'm running out of  words so goodnight to all.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

  Moon lit nights.
  Peepers in the Spring
  Shooting stars
  Misty mornings
  Baby squirrels
  Rainbows
  Dogs
  Wild windy storms
  Icicles
  Dew drops
  Fog
  Twilight
  My mothers face
  Silence
  The smell of wood smoke
  My sons humor
  Rainy days
  Warm summer evenings
  Sunsets
  My grandsons grin
  Freesian horses

  Magick