All posts by laurahinnj

Whatever

Weekend plans

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“The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing birds is come.”
– Song of Solomon
Yes, they’re metal flowers and metal birds, but we can make do, can’t we?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m glad it’s Friday! I only wish the weather predictions were a bit brighter for the weekend. Tomorrow will be the day to be out and about. I only need to decide where I’ll spend it. Oh the possibilities!

Sunday into Monday we’re supposed to have a nasty storm – a Nor’easter – which might provide the time to veg out on the couch and make some sort of a dent in watching the boxed set of the whole 7 years of The West Wing series that the Easter Bunny left me. I’m not much for tv and totally spaced this show for all the years it was on, but I like the reruns that I catch and will enjoy the gift for many rainy days to come.

It might also be fun to head down to the beach and see the surf churned up with the storm, assuming I can get there and the roads aren’t flooded out. Might make for some interesting pics anyway. Which reminds me that the Good Planets Show is happening tomorrow at Vicki’s place – be sure to stop by and have a look. Vicki’s toying with the idea of having *water* as a theme when the show reappears in two weeks – maybe I’ll manage a decent photo to submit by then.


I would love to hear what you all have planned, especially if you live someplace where it’s warm and sunny and spring-like!

Whatever

Laura the thinker (lol!)

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Vicki at Outside In tagged me as a *thinking blogger* – imagine that! On the off chance that you haven’t seen this meme a thousand times already, the idea is that once you’re tagged, you’re supposed to pass the fun along by linking to five other blogs that make you *think*.

I wouldn’t really consider myself a *thinker* – more like an occasional ponderer or idea tinkerer. The practice of writing something here each day formalizes my thinking process and offers me the opportunity to engage the thinking of you all, which is what I really enjoy. I think we’re a pretty *thoughtful* bunch, even if prone to occasional silliness.

In an effort to avoid what very much feels like a popularity contest I won’t choose five blogs from my sidebar to highlight. Most of you read them all anyway and know how delightful they are. Besides, most of you have already been tagged, I think! Instead, I’ve chosen a few blogs that I read regularly, but haven’t ever linked to. Most are blogs where I don’t comment often or at all, but lurk and think and quietly enjoy for one reason or another. They’re all *thinking bloggers* for sure, but there’s more. Have a look and find out for yourself.

Kelly at Kikipotamus the Hobo is a new friend from the Finding Water reading group. She is creative and whimsical and complex. Her writing is generous and her topics wide-ranging.

Lyn at Wandermuse is an artist/painter/photographer. She doesn’t post often; she’s too busy wandering around big sky country, but once in a while I peruse her archives and am inspired by her honesty and deep respect for the outdoors.

e4 at Green, Blue, Brown writes about farming, gardening, and parenting in Ohio. He’s always got something interesting going on with the goats, chickens or his errant children. He writes a great blog for *thinking green*.

A Tree Grower’s Diary has been a favorite for some time now, but Julie who blogs from NJ recently moved it into her other blog called A City of Nouns. Great photos and interesting tree stuff – have a look.
Another beautiful blog, Graf Nature Photography offers thoughts on nature and the environment as seen through the lens of a talented nature photographer. Good photo tips, too!
So that’s my five and that means I’ve finally finished the homework, Vicki! Thanks again for the compliment.
In the neighborhood

Coyote wisdom

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Trickster, Shape-Changer, keep me from danger.
Cunning magician, teach me your ways
Of magical fire, powers much higher.
Lead me to new life. Brighten my days.

The big news here locally is that a toddler was attacked by a coyote, from the Asbury Park Press (links to full story):

“As a group of children played in the backyard of a Middletown home, an animal, believed to be one of two or three coyotes that emerged from the woods, ran to and grabbed a 20-month-old boy, township officials said.

The family managed to scare the animal away, and the toddler was treated at a local hospital for scratches and teeth marks, in what wildlife experts said is probably the first coyote attack on a child in state history.

After the animal attack Friday off Kings Highway East, near Chapel Hill Road, local officials took a second look at six to eight other recent reported sightings and incidents involving pets that were attacked by what were initially thought to be stray dogs.

And while officials have not yet received independent confirmation, because of Friday’s attack, and based on the description and behavior of the animals, it appears coyotes are roaming in the neighborhood near Normandy Road, the private thoroughfare that connects the main base of the Earle Naval Weapons Station with the weapons station’s pier on Sandy Hook Bay, Township Administrator Robert Czech said.

“They didn’t think they were dealing with a pattern, or series of incidents that related to a pack of coyotes, until we put pieces together (after) Friday evening,” he said.

The other cases include four puppies that were killed and a pet cat that was attacked, he said.”

My initial reaction was of disbelief that a coyote would be so bold. While I’ve read that they’re present throughout the state of NJ, I’d never seen one myself nor knew of anyone who had seen one. Then I talked to a few people who roam the woods regularly or who live in less-developed areas and sure enough, they’d seen a few over the years.

I know nothing of the nature of coyotes, but this story leaves me feeling very skeptical. Would a coyote be so daring as to try and grab a little child? Anyone with coyote wisdom to share?

Remembering, Small truths

Mom’s vase

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Even after 13+ years of marriage, it’s still sort of awkward-feeling for me to call my mother-in-law *mom*, but I’m getting better about it. I never felt comfortable calling my father-in-law *dad* or even *Hank* as he would have preferred it, instead it was always the formal Mr. followed by our family name. That was just as well, I guess; he couldn’t often seem to even remember my name, and instead called me *girl* with the sweetest Southern drawl. The rest of his daughters-in-law were not so tenderly regarded as I.

She’s been bugging me for the last year or so to choose a piece of crystal from her china cabinet that I’d like to have. I’ve avoided doing so, partly because I have no need of any crystal, but more because I understand the thinking that’s behind her wanting to give away these treasured things. She’s been thinking and talking that way for a few years now since my father-in-law passed away. For a very long time she was depressed and talked of wanting to go be with her dear Hank. Her first great-grandchild seems to have turned her around and I’m glad for that, but still she has this need to give away her things.

So I relented yesterday and took this Waterford crystal vase and filled it with roses. It’s the perfect size for a small bouquet of very short-stemmed flowers, yet seems out of place in my no frills early americana style dining room. I like that sort of contrast and how it reminds me of her and how different our lives are. I chose it because rather than being something to be treasured and tucked away, it’s a beautiful thing that I can put to use. And my taking it made her happy.

Bunnies, Whatever

Cranky bunnies

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It’s been a full day – full of relatives and food and too many sweets. The bunnies are in cranky moods for being left alone all day to fend for themselves. Missy is hunched up in a corner and doesn’t want to eat. I’ve got 10 different things to do before bed, but won’t do any of them until the bunny is feeling better. Can’t have a sick bunny on Easter!

I’ll leave you with this pic of Cricket who was not interested in playing with the giant Easter egg. Her tummy was full of salad and she just wanted a nap.

Goodnight!

Remembering

Easter memories

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Here’s a silly Easter photo from 1973. Maybe I just finished tramping through my mother’s tulips and that accounts for why I look so gleeful! Although it’s probably hard to be anything but merry when you’re not quite 3 and full of candy.

Looking through old photo albums, most Easter photos were posed on this side of the house with a few bedraggled tulips in the background or my brothers and I were posed beneath the blooming crabapple that was on the other side of the house. There’s not much blooming here in NJ now besides daffodils, so I wonder what parents will do in the morning after church for photos.

Growing up, the night before Easter was when we did eggs. I remember my mother had a particular pot she always used to boil eggs in – it had some type of white coating on it – and I remember the house filled with the smell of vinegar. We were always very anxious to get started, but she never was and now that I’ve colored eggs with little kids a few times, I understand her reluctance to have to clean up afterwards. By that time we were bored with eggs and she had the mess to contend with.

The Easter Bunny always brought baskets of candy and hid our colored eggs. There was usually an egg hidden in my slippers and the baskets were usually hidden behind the drapes in the dining room. The rest of the eggs might be hidden anyhere in the house and I wonder how my parents kept track of all of them in case we didn’t find a few. After our Easter egg hunt we got dressed and went to church, came home for photos and then made the long trip to my grandparent’s in North Jersey for dinner with the relatives.

If you click on the little pic at right, you ought to be able to read a letter I wrote to the Easter Bunny when I was nine. My brother Brian found it when we were cleaning out my dad’s house and thought I should save it. I get a laugh from reading my not so subtle suggestions about how much I liked candy on Easter!

Wishing a joyful Easter to all. What will you be doing? Feel like sharing any Easter memories?

Snapshots

Just a minute

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“Just a minute,” said a voice in the weeds.
So I stood still
in the day’s exquisite early morning light
and so I didn’t crush with my great feet
any small or unusual thing just happening to pass by
where I was passing by
on my way to the blueberry fields,
and maybe it was the toad
and maybe it was the June beetle
and maybe it was the pink and tender worm
who does his work without limbs or eyes
and does it well
or maybe it was the walking stick, still frail
and walking humbly by, looking for a tree,
or maybe, like Blake’s wondrous meeting, it was
the elves, carrying one of their own
on a rose-petal coffin away, away
into the deep grasses. After awhile
the quaintest voice said, “Thank you.” And then there was silence.
For the rest, I would keep you wondering.”

— Mary Oliver
Birds, In the neighborhood

Spring surprises

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Two weeks or so ago, back when it felt like spring and I was inspired by the sunshine and its gentle warmth, I spent a Saturday afternoon wandering down some of the back roads that surround one of my favorite parks. There’s a few scenic farms and some great trees that I like to keep track of. There are also some beautiful horse farms and ridiculously large estate homes, but these are tucked away at the end of wooded roads that are marked *Dead End* even though they may go on for miles. Clearly, they don’t want visitors. I sort of appreciate that those folks aren’t flaunting their wealth the way some do.

I ended up back at the park with the idea that I might find a few phoebes or some bluebirds and I was hoping for my first mourning cloak butterfly of the season. I visit this park pretty often, so know what to expect there, but it’s large and there are many trails and different habitats. Usually a surprise or two somewhere if I walk far enough. I walked through the wet bottomlands near the lake, drawn by the screaming of the peepers and flushed a few woodcock along the way. Not so much a surprise because I go there to see their courtship displays, but I was surprised with how easily they flushed! Each few steps flushed a new bird, who would fly just a bit further ahead, only to be flushed again as I walked along the wet trail. Woodcock are very colorful birds when you see them in the light of day. I also managed to flush a deer without realizing it until I saw it bounding across the cornfield uphill and towards the road.

The peepers that I went looking for went silent with my approach.

I visited a favorite tree and walked along the grass pathways that surround the farm fields here. There were no bluebirds, but I did hear a familiar song that I couldn’t put a name to right away. The song seemed to be drifting from every direction, but I wasn’t able to spot the birds singing. I’ve become very lazy lately and head out with just my camera and without binoculars. My ears are much better than my eyes, anyway. After listening for a while the words to the song I was hearing finally popped into my head, “spring of the year” and I realized there were meadowlarks in the fields surrounding me. I couldn’t see them, of course, but I knew they were out there because I recognized their song.

A hawk caught my eye drifting low and lazy over the fields and the meadowlarks flushed ahead of it. If I’d had my binoculars I might have been able to appreciate their lemon yellow and black markings as they finally made themselves visible above the stubble. Instead I watched the harrier as it flew gracefully over the field, pausing briefly and hovering for a longer look here and there, or whirling on a dipped wing to backtrack. I didn’t see it land, so guess it didn’t catch anything and finally it roamed out of my view. Before very long the meadowlarks were singing again and I went on to look for other surprises.

I think there’s a lot to be learned from visiting a place repeatedly and at different times of year. We might think we’ve seen all a place has to offer, but really, one or two visits give just a snapshot of what may be. The same can be said for our own backyards, because only by knowing what’s usual and normal can we get a sense for how special the unexpected is. Of course, the usual may be special too, but it’s nice to be surprised once in a while.