I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Sick Days
JJ is feeling much better. He went back to work on Wednesday. I don’t think he has worked since because we’ve had enough rain that he wasn’t needed. He can’t clean out campsites in the rain.
EJ also went back to work on Wednesday even though he was still suffering back pain. He came home a couple of hours later and said that his company made an appointment for him that afternoon with an occupational doctor. I went with EJ just in case he needed me to drive him home–although I’m not sure I would have been much use since my brain was getting fuzzy with the sinus infection JJ gave me. I waited in the waiting room with EJ until he was called back to the exam room–then I went and sat in the sub to wait for him. The wind was strong and blew clouds of dust across the parking lot.
The doctor put EJ on a restriction until Monday of not lifting more than 15 pounds. That’s not much. EJ went to work on Thursday, but the company told him to just stay home until Monday.
Meanwhile, I have gotten sicker and sicker with the stupid sinus infection. I could feel my sinuses pounding, I’ve shivered with a fever, I have a deep hacking cough, and all I want to do is sleep. I am sleeping a lot! I don’t think that I have been this sick since before JJ was diagnosed with cancer. JJ said, “Maybe you should go to the doctor!” but I replied that all I have to do is follow the instructions the doctor gave JJ. They include drinking a hot lemon drink with honey and OTC sinus medicine. The only thing I don’t have is flonase (spelling?) but I don’t need that.
Thursday night EJ and I tried to put the ducks and chickens in their coop early so I could go to bed early. Usually I don’t shut them up for the night until the chickens go into the coop. They always settle themselves in their coop at twilight so all I have to do is count them to make sure they are all in and then shut their little door. The ducks are usually still outside at twilight, but they quickly waddle into their coop when I start to herd them. Well, although the chickens put themselves into their coop, they don’t go until they are good and ready, and they refuse to be “herded.” I waited inside the coop while EJ tried to nudge them into the coop, but they refused to go. So we had to give up and wait until twilight. As soon as they were settled down, I herded the ducks in and then went to bed.
It’s a good thing EJ has a few days off because he is coming down with the sinus infection. Hopefully he will be mostly over it by Monday. Mostly I am praying that his back stops hurting him. He has been in such agony.
Another Busy Day
My guys both stayed home from work again today.
EJ’s back was S-shaped, which means his back was complete out and he was in much pain. As soon as the pharmacy was opened, we went to pick up the prescription that his doctor had ordered for him. I told EJ that I was willing to go get it, but he wanted to go with me. I think that when people live with chronic pain or illness, they want to do as much as they can. While we were at the pharmacy, I asked about JJ’s prescription but I wasn’t surprised when I was told that it wouldn’t get there until early afternoon. I would have waited to get EJ meds so I could combined trips, but EJ really needed the medication asap.
We drove home and acouple of hours later, I was back on the road again. This time I insisted that EJ stay home and rest his back.
I went to TSC and bought a new duck pool. Actually it is a dog pool, but the ducks don’t know the difference.
Then I drove to the locally-owned farm store and bought some more Michigan Roadside Mix and Wildlife Habitat Mix seed. I am waiting for another rainy day before I scatter it about.
The I drove to the pharmacy to pick up JJ’s prescription. Our pharmacy is in a grocery store, so I picked up some bananas for EJ and another watermelon for the poultry. The pharmacy was in a different town than the feed/seed stores but I never mind driving around here in Northern Michigan because it is so beautiful with so many forests and lakes.
I would have picked up JJ’s medication first, before TSC and the farm store, but I know the way from the farm store to the pharmacy better than I know the way from the pharmacy to the farm store. That sound silly, but from the farm store I just have to keep driving straight–not turning on the road that leads home–until I get to the town. Once in the town, I can easily find the pharmacy. However, while I know which road leads home, I’m not sure exactly which road leads from the town to the farm store. People who are directionally challenged will understand this. Those who don’t get easily lost just have no idea what the world looks like for people like me.
Then I went home. I unloaded the suburban and took the new duck pool to their pen. I filled it up for them. I did see a couple of them in the new pool, but mostly they stuck to the old one. Ducks and chickens are really funny because they are so suspicious of anything new.
JJ took his medication and a bit later he said he was feeling much better. He’s still not completely well, but I suspect he will feel well enough to go to work tomorrow. Hopefully EJ will too. Poor EJ has been in so much pain. He can’t get comfortable anywhere.
Poor EJ has been in so much pain that he hasn’t been able to work on my lawn mower. The grass is getting longer and longer. If he can’t work on it this weekend, I am tempted to buy a mower. If he gets the old one going, we can always use it for back up–or two of us can mow the lawn at the same time and get it done double fast.
I was so busy today that I didn’t have a chance to take any photos. But here is a photo I took on May 11th. I pass this lake every time I drive to the farm store. I never get tired of it:
Watermelon is for the Birds
Both my guys stayed home from work today.
EJ suffers from chronic back pain because of an injury years ago. He always has pain, but sometimes it is tolerable and sometimes not. He’s been experiencing worse than normal pain for several weeks. Although he had fun fishing with his friend on Saturday, the bumpy road to the lake and the boat pounding across the waves was not good for his back. Sunday he was in agony and this morning he could barely walk. He was going to try to make it to work anyway, but I recommended that he stay home, so he did. I also suggested it might be time for him to call his doctor to see if she could help him with the pain. I think he has suffered long enough. So he called his doctor today and she called in a prescription but by the time her office notified EJ, the pharmacy was already closed for the day. I will have to go pick it up tomorrow.
JJ is sick. He went to work yesterday, but his boss sent him home because he looked so terrible. He stayed home today and fortunately he was able to get an appointment with his doctor today at 12:45 p.m. I drove him to the appointment. The doctor said he has a sinus infection. He also took a culture to see if JJ has strep throat. After the doctor appointment, we drove to the pharmacy to pick up his prescriptions. He was able to get one filled, but they had to order the other, which will come in tomorrow. So I will be picking up prescriptions for both EJ and JJ tomorrow.
In between caring for my guys, I got a couple loads of laundry washed. As I was coming back in the house after hanging the clothes on the clothesline, I saw a big wolf spider lurking on the threshold. If I opened the door, it could very easy scramble into the house. So I found a shoe on the porch and smashed it.
Later EJ walked down with me to get the mail. Sometimes it helps his back if he can walk a little. As we left the house, I saw a wolf spider on the pavement in front of the garage. I stepped on it. EJ thinks I am a horrible spider serial killer…which I sort of am. But the wolf spiders and I are at war. My guys don’t realize that each spider has billions of babies, and the babies grow up and have billions of babies. My stepping on a few of them will prevent all those spiders having billions an billions and billions of descendants. I will help save our world from being overrun by spiders. I think I should be given a medal.
Yesterday I had to go to the store to get JJ some medicine. JJ was sleeping when I got home, so I put the medicine aside and began cutting up the watermelon. Later I cut it up. EJ was talking to his friend as he walked out to the kitchen. I saw him looking at the watermelon, so I said, “I bought this for the chickens and ducks.” He said to his friend, “TJ bought a watermelon and I thought she was cutting up some for me, but she just told me that she bought it for the ducks and chickens.” I said, “Yes, because this is Mother’s Day and most of the chickens and ducks are mothers–well, sort of…they lay eggs.” So he told that to his friend and they started joking that I valued EJ less than the chickens and ducks, and less than Danny, and don’t forget that he’s less priority than the cats. I told him that he was maybe a little higher than the ducks, but not the chickens, dog, or cats. Silly guy–he knows how much I love him. He doesn’t even like watermelon all that much. But I did cut him and JJ up a small bowl of watermelon. I took the rest out to poultry. They loved it.
This afternoon I gave the birds the rest of the watermelon. I noticed that the ducks food bucket was a little low so I went into the garage to get more…and discovered that all the food buckets were empty. I decided to drive in to the farm store to get more. I really didn’t want to go to the farm store, but today I didn’t think I had enough food to last until next weekend. Unlike the schedule JJ had at the grocery store–he usually worked from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.–his work hours at the new job are similar to EJ’s, which means with both of them at work, I don’t have transportation during the day. So I had to get the food today. JJ begged me to fill the Buggy up at the gas station. I sighed, but I took his debit card and got him gas and then drove on to the farm store. I got three bags of poultry feed and one bag of “feather fixer” feed to give the chickens extra nutrition while they are molting. They are looking really ugly right now and I’m eager for them to get back their feathers. I also bought some straw.
When I got home, I lugged the four 50 pound bags into the garage. I left the straw in the buggy for now because it is super heavy and I was getting tired.
When I got into the house, my guys were hungry, so I fixed them supper, washed the dishes, then sat and watched a program on Netflix. It’s a new series that I’ve begun watching. I’m up to the sixth episode, but EJ grew interested in it, so I started the series over so he could watch it with me.
After we watched the pilot episode, I went outside and scattered the Wildlife Habitat seed on our hills. EJ wanted to come outside with me, so I divided the seed so he could scatter some too. It’s supposed to rain tonight, so I thought it would be a good time to plant it. I hope we get a good amount of rain because the lilies are very thirsty. When our seed bags were emptied, we came inside and watched episode 2 of the Netflix program. Then it was time to go out and put my birdies into the coop.
Today was a super busy day.
I’m tired.
Let Our Joy Last
JJ started his new job as a park ranger yesterday. Before he left home, he was both excited and nervous. I told him that he would do fine…and, of course, he did. He told us later that he loves the job. He said that the park is really quite large with many campground areas. His duties include signing arriving campers in, selling fishing licenses, collecting boater fees, delivering bundles of firewood, and all the other tasks that staff do at campgrounds. He gets to drive around in the little golf cart, which he thinks is a blast.
Tonight when he returned home, he said that he will be alternating a six-day week with a five day week. He said the job keeps him busy and is quite physical. The fresh air and hard work in the beautiful surroundings will be good for him.
Today EJ went fishing with a new friend and they had a great time. He said the guy is a nice guy and they have a lot in common. At the end of the day, the guy stopped in at our house because he is considering getting some poultry and wanted to see my set up and ask me questions about my ducks and chickens. I proudly showed off my birds and coop and answered the questions as best I could.
I’m really glad that EJ and JJ are having wonderful days. After all we have been through, I think they deserve some good times. Sometimes I pray Psalms 90:15 for my family:
Let our joy last as long as the time you made us suffer,
for as many years as we experienced trouble. (Ps 90:15 CJB)
I spent the day without my guys, but it was still good. It rained a little this morning–not downpour or steady long-lasting rain, but enough to give all the plants a drink. I had been waiting for it to rain before scattering my seeds. I took the bag of Michigan Roadside Mix and scattered it down one side of the driveway and back up the other. I could use another bag. EJ said that we could get more.
I didn’t scatter the Wildlife Habitat seed yet because I wanted time to consider where I want it. I don’t want to plant it along the driveway because I don’t want the deer to hinder my erosion control efforts by munching on the plants. I want to plant the seeds to attract deer, turkeys, or other wildlife within sight of the house so we can watch them. Buying this seed was probably unnecessary, but I really love attracting wildlife.
The other day I commented on a couple of things at an abuse site with a ministry that seeks to educate churches about child predators and to support victims. The founders of the ministry thought I have a real gift of communicating truth. They offered me the opportunity to work with them. I feel very passionate about supporting abuse victims and educating the church/Christians about abuse, but….Yikes. It’s a big step and I don’t want to bit off more than I can chew. I will consider it and probably talk on the phone to the co-founder of the ministry this next week.
Yikes.
Life is full of surprises.
Curiosity
Yesterday the temperatures warmed up again–into the 60s–so I was able to open the windows. Yay! We are supposed to have sunshine and nice temperatures for the next several days. I like these temps because it’s warm enough to not have to wear coats, but it’s cool enough to enjoy working outside without overheating. The only negative thing about the sunshine is that my lilies along the driveway are getting a little droopy with thirst. The problem with sandy soil is that it doesn’t hold moisture so we need frequent rain to keep plants watered. I’m hoping for more rain soon. I can’t exactly water both sides of our 500 foot driveway with a hose.
This morning, as I always do, I drank a cup of coffee to make myself halfway functional and then I went outside to feed Annie, our outside cat, and release the ducks and chickens from their coop. They are always so happy to get outside! I filled the ducks’ swimming pool, filled the ducks and chickens’ water buckets, and made sure everyone had food.
Usually when I come back inside, I enjoy more cups of coffee and FB and sometimes talk to EJ until he goes to work. Sometimes we are both too drowsy for conversation so we sit together in comfortable silence. This morning I started laundry before I sat down. I wanted it get it done early and hung out on the clothesline because JJ and I had errands to do this afternoon.
Several hours later JJ came “whooping” out of his room. (He is a night owl so he sleeps late.) He had been getting nervous because he hadn’t yet heard from his new employers about when he was supposed to begin working. But they called today and he begins his new park ranger job tomorrow. Whoo hoo!
JJ wanted to buy some new hiking boots and a few other things so as soon as he was ready, we drove off. The road he had to turn on to reach the park where he will be working was on the way so we decided to drive there first so he will know exactly where the park is. The route was beautiful. We went past orchards filled with thousands of cherry trees all in bloom. Our whole region of Michigan is filled with cherry orchards, which is why it’s called the “Cherry Capital of the World.” In the Spring all those cherry trees blossom, and its breathtaking.
I took a few photos on our way to the park, but I mostly had to focus helping JJ find the park. I was able to take more photos on the way home. JJ exclaimed, “I get to drive this beautiful route every day!” When we saw the beautiful park where he will be working, he said, “I’m actually getting paid to work here!” I think he will be taking park fees, selling fishing licenses, and keeping the park clean.
After supper I went back to the store with EJ because he needed to buy a fishing license. He’s going fishing with a friend on Saturday. We had told him how beautiful the park is so on the way home, he detoured to take a look. I hadn’t realized until then that there is camping at the park as well as boating, fishing, and picnicking.
After we left the park this afternoon, JJ and I drove to Meijers so JJ could buy some shoes, foods for his work lunch, and a few other items. I bought a couple of items too. As we were walking up to the checkout lanes, we passed refrigerated shelves with various drinks in them. One cola caught our eye: It’s name was “Curiosity Cola.” “What do you think it tastes like?” we asked each other curiously. “I don’t know. Should we buy a couple of bottles and try it?” JJ decided that he would buy us each a bottle. I told him, “You know this will probably kill us, right?” He asked, “Why do you say that?” I replied, “Because everyone knows that ‘Curiosity killed the cat.'” He stated, “But we aren’t cats.” True, but we are very cat-ish. Well, curiosity might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back. We opened the bottles of Curiosity when we got out to the buggy and both took a swig. We looked at each other in amazement. Oh, my goodness! It was absolutely delicious! The best ever! We drank it down but with great self-control I saved a little bit of mine so EJ could have a taste when he got home. He loved it too! The stores in our area have such interesting items that I’ve seen no other place!
On the way home, we stopped at the little feed store and I bought a bag of “Michigan Roadside Mix” seeds and “Wildlife Habitat Mix” seeds. This little locally own store grows its own seed. The seeds are in bins and we scoop out the amount we want into bags they provide. I can’t wait to plant the seeds. I will probably scatter the Roadside mix along the driveway because I don’t exactly want to encourage deer to eat my erosion control plants. I haven’t decided where to scatter the Wildlife Habitat Mix. I would like to have it grow somewhere where I can watch the deer, turkeys, and other wildlife feast.
Yesterday a relative shared a video of her dog, Maggie. Apparently, Maggie loves to watch the videos I make of my ducks and chickens. Maggie’s owner said that “She’ll watch them as long as I will! She is such a sweet dog, but she is a herder so she wants to be involved in everything that’s going on.” Later she added, “I just sat down on the couch and brought my laptop over here with me and Maggie’s so excited! She thinks she’s going to see the ducks again! It’s closed and on the end table and she just keeps staring at it.” I thought the video (and photo) was so adorable that I asked if I could share it and was given permission. Here is Maggie watching one of my videos:
Isn’t Maggie adorable? She is my biggest fan. 🙂
Nancy Drew and The Matrix
![Nancy Drew 06: The Secret of Red Gate Farm by [Keene, Carolyn]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BcRcnPjOL.jpg)
I loved the Nancy Drew book series when I was a child. When I outgrew the books, I put all my Nancy Drew books in a large box to save for my daughter. I still have the books but I never had a daughter so I guess I’m now saving them for a future granddaughter(s). Years ago when we were talking about the books we loved as children, I told EJ about Nancy Drew and her incredible ability to discover a mystery in the most common events and situations. For example, in one book–I think it was called The Secret of Red Gate Farm–a clerk refused to sell Nancy Drew the last bottle of a beautifully scented perfume. Nancy found this odd, suspected a mystery, and investigated it. She discovered a ring of counterfeiters, and she brought it down. Yay, Nancy!
Over the years I have occasionally stated to EJ that I am absolutely NOT like Nancy Drew because I would not find something trivial–like a clerk refusing to sell me the last bottle of perfume–to be odd, mysterious, or worth investigating. I would just assume something normal and innocent–like that it was promised to another customer who was coming later to pick it up. Sometimes when I realized that I had not noticed something important or had been deceived, I’ve exclaimed, “Ugh! Unlike me, Nancy Drew would have suspected this and investigated it! I am SO not Nancy Drew.”
Why am I telling you about Nancy Drew?
It has to do with ignorance, knowledge, and denial. (In this post I’m not talking about the wicked people themselves, but those who are ignorant or in denial. If you want to learn about the wicked–the wolves in sheep’s clothing–click on the title of this excellent podcast from Church Protect: “The Wolves Among Us“)
In recent months, I’ve read articles about people who noticed odd situations, realized something was not right, and did something about it. One article was about a flight attendant who noticed a teenage girl with greasy blonde hair sitting next to a well dressed older man. Not being Nancy Drew, I probably would have assumed that the girl was being a surly teen who liked the “grunge” look. However, the flight attendant said the difference in age and appearance between the traveling companions seemed suspicious to her at the time. The flight attendant was especially struck by the demeanor of the girl who looked like “she had been through pure hell.” The man became defensive when the flight attendant tried to talk to the girl, so she managed to convince the girl to go to the bathroom where she had left her a note stuck to the mirror. The girl wrote on the back of the note that she needed help. The flight attendant immediately reported the man to the pilot who then alerted police. By the time the flight touched down in San Francisco, cops were waiting at the terminal. It was then revealed that the girl was the victim of human trafficking and the flight attendant had just saved her life.
The other article was about an Uber driver who picked up a girl and two women. He became concerned when he overheard their conversation. “They started like talking, like saying everything that was going on. Like what they’re doing, child sex trafficking,” the driver said. After dropping them off at a Holiday Inn, he called the police and this girl also was saved from sex trafficking.
Both these people were like Nancy Drew. They sensed something wrong, acted upon it, and saved a life. Amazing.
I think many of us start out very ignorant about abuse. There is nothing particularly wrong with ignorance. “Ignorance” merely means that we lack information or knowledge. Since none of us knows everything about everything there is to know, we are all ignorant about things. Like…I’m ignorant about quantum physics, how to play a musical instrument, how to sew (although I can crochet), and how to fix evil decepticon lawn mowers, to name just a few things. I can choose to learn about things that I am ignorant about–and I often do because I like to learn–but there are many things I am uninterested in learning. I think it would be awesome to learn to play the violin, for example, but I am actually more content to listen to violin music rather than learn to play it. Same with sewing. Although I think quantum physics could be interesting, I’m not interested in learning it because its technical language and equations would either give me a headache or put me to sleep. I think I would rather beat up the decepticon lawn mower than learn to fix it. This ignorance is ok–although I probably shouldn’t beat up the mower. However, some things that we are ignorant about can do much harm. Like not knowing the difference between true and fake morel mushrooms. Fake ones can kill. EJ really wants to go morel hunting, but I’m a bit anxious about it because I’m aware of my ignorance. I don’t know how to tell the difference between which are yummy and which would kill us. I’d prefer not to die from mushrooms.
I only started to learn about abuse when it happened to me. The abuse was always there, but I didn’t see it because I was mostly ignorant of it. When it happened to me, I found myself confused and hurting so I began doing research and learning about abuse.
As I wrote the other day, I think that learning about abuse is sort of like the science fiction movie “The Matrix.” In the movie, Neo is offered a choice: He can take the blue pill which would allow him, like most others, to remain in the comfortable fantasy world of the Matrix. Or he could take the red pill which would show him the reality that most of humanity had been captured by a race of machines that lived off of the humans’ body heat and electrochemical energy and who imprison their minds within an artificial reality known as the Matrix. From birth to death humans existed in sort of embiotic sacks, plugged into the Matrix. They weren’t really living, they just thought they were.
There can be sort of positives and negatives to both ignorance and knowledge. When ignorant about abuse, it’s easy for a person to believe that the world is a very good place, life is fair, people are always as nice as they appear to be, families will always love you, and our unconditional love and forgiveness can always transform an evil person into a good one. However, ignorance is also dangerous. Evil doesn’t cease to exist simply because someone isn’t aware of it. It’s always been there lurking unnoticed in the shadows, and even in public places in the middle of the day–like on an airplane flight or in an Uber car. Abusers can appear very charming and they are extremely skilled at deception and manipulation. Ignorant people can be easily deceived into believing the abuser’s mask is real. Being ignorant of their tactics makes a person potential prey. Ignorant people can lack knowledge of who is actually the abuser and who is the prey and end up supporting the abuser in his oppression of the victim. Not good.
I think that as people’s knowledge of abuse increases, so does their sorrow as they discover the reality that monsters really do exist and that they cause great damage and suffering to their victims. Increased knowledge reveals how common abuse is, even within the church, the family, and a group of friends. They who increase in knowledge often experience misunderstanding and insults from others who–ignorantly or wickedly–accuse them of being negative, judgmental, and bitter because they spoke out.
In many ways I can’t really say that there are “positives” to gaining knowledge about abuse because the experience has caused damage that I wish I didn’t have and knowledge that causes heartache. However, a person who doesn’t realize she is a prisoner is still a prisoner, and I’m glad that experiences have taught me wisdom and helped me escape. I’m glad that I am developing the skill to recognize abusers and their tactics, which enables me to avoid their traps. I’m glad that I’m learning to set boundaries and stand up to bullies. And I’m glad when I can help other victims escape and/or heal.
There is another character in The Matrix who is significant. His name was Cypher. He knew the truth, but he didn’t like it and he didn’t want to see it so he deliberately chose to close his eyes and believe the delusion. He ended up betraying his friends so he could return to the fantasy of the Matrix. Because of his denial, he actively helped the machines and caused the death of many people.
I think there are many people like this. People who are ignorant can gain knowledge, but people who deliberately choose to believe a lie are in denial. In choosing not to see, they refuse to believe that abuse is occurring or they stay silent because they don’t want to get involved. Such people allow monsters to devour the innocent. They would rather believe the delusion that they have a loving, supportive family than deal with the reality that one of them might be a molester. They would rather silence the truth-tellers than deal with the problem. They shut their eyes to suffering and refuse to hear the cry of the needy. They are the ones who justify the wicked and accuse the righteous. They twist and misrepresent what God says and tell victims that it’s wrong to try to escape. They make me angry.
In regards to this topic, one of my friends said something very profound and true:
Ignorance and denial are not the same thing.
Ignorance is innocent.
Denial is chosen.
I think that the choices we make matter. I sometimes cringe at memories of my past ignorance and get frustrated when I see ways in which I am still ignorant, but I know it’s not wrong to lack knowledge. When we know we are ignorant, we can seek to grow more knowledgeable. It is wrong to choose to be willingly blind. Our choices to see or not see, to hear or not hear, to know or not know changes who we become. If we could know the truth and deliberately choose not to, I think we can become a person who is a friend of monsters–or even a monster himself. I agree with C.S. Lewis, who said:
Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.
Once upon a time, I was ignorant about abuse. But when I encountered it, I chose not to close my eyes. When given a choice between being comforted by lies or hurt with the truth, I choose the truth even if it is scary, or sad, or hurts. I choose to open my eyes to reality so someday I can be a Nancy Drew who notices that something is not right and acts, and maybe saves a life or two. This is why I read about and research abuse, and why I speak out against it, and why I vow so firmly,
“I will not be a friend of monsters,
no matter who they are!”
Decepticon
The night-time temperatures in our area have not consistently risen above the high 30s. The last couple of nights the temperatures dipped–into the low 30s and even the 20s. We’ve had had frost/freeze warnings. We turned our furnace back on. Although the overnight temperatures have been low, we had been enjoying warmer temperatures during the day–into the 50s, 60s, and a couple of times even into the 70s. However, yesterday the day-time high was in the low 40s and there was a strong breeze and the weather today is much the same. I don’t mind the colder temps at night, but the cooler temps during the day makes it a bit unpleasant to work outside. Brrrrr. I’m feeling more affected by the Spring chill than by Winter’s cold. I think it’s because the weather is warmer one day and colder the next and I don’t have time to mentally adjust. Or maybe it’s because I am working outside more in the Spring than the Winter. Whatever. I’ve been wearing my coat and hat and shivering a bit.
However, despite the chill and wind, yesterday was sunny so I hung laundry out on the clothesline. When I brought them back in the house at the end of the day, I inhaled their fragrance. Ahhhhh! They smelled like a cool, breezy early Spring day in Northern Michigan.
EJ was planning to spend the day building a rack to hold all the bits and pieces of wood he brings home from work. He works in shipping building boxes to ship parts in. He is able to bring home any leftover bits of lumber, which he can use to create projects around home. He has quite a supply of wood, and if he can get them in a rack, he can finish organizing his garage.
Before working on his rack, EJ decided to work on the stupid lawn mower that won’t start. We both thought he could just clean the spark plugs and air filter and “voila!” the lawn mower would be ready to use. However, it didn’t go as planned. Of course, it didn’t. EJ spent the whole afternoon working on the stupid mower. He finally got it to start, but it always died after a few seconds. He suspects it could have “bad gas” in it. He will continue to try to fix the stupid mower, but if he can’t find the problem we might end up having to buy a new one. Grrrr. I have a hostile relationship with lawn mowers. My “super-power” is my amazing ability to find lost items, my kryptonite is that I can find lost items but I can’t find myself (I get easily lost), and I told EJ yesterday that I’m quite sure my arch-nemeses are lawn mowers. I sometimes suspect that my lawn mowers are actually Decepticons, sent to earth to destroy me. For those who never had little boys who watched the Transformers cartoons, the Decepticons are an organization of villainous machines. They can disguise themselves as normal looking machines…like lawn mowers.
Poor EJ was never able to get to his project because he worked on the evil Decepticon lawn mower all afternoon.
Besides bringing home bits and pieces of wood, EJ also brings home various-sized wooden boxes that for one reason or another weren’t quite “right.” I took some of these boxes to the outside duck pen to use as raised garden beds. With the beds in the duck pens, the ducks can patrol them and eat insects that menace our crops. That’s the plan.
However, I’m sort of in a stuck place right now. I know EJ wants to make sure the beds have proper drainage. The old raised beds the previous owner left behind do not have drainage so we have to remove the dirt and put holes in the bottom. Then EJ wants to put in a layer of stones or something, and then refill with fresh dirt. We will probably dig up the dirt from where the old dog pen used to be. That is one of the few places on our property that isn’t sand. Our whole area is mostly sand. In fact, our official Michigan state soil is named after the type of sand in our area. Anyway, I can dig the dirt out of the raised beds, but I don’t know exactly how EJ plans to put holes in the bottom of the raised beds, or where we will get the stones, so I’m rapidly reaching the a point where I can’t make a lot of progress without his help. But at least I could move the boxes to the duck pen.
I’m hoping we can get the raised beds all prepared in time to have a garden this year. This will be the first year we will have the time to care for a garden. We moved here on June 1, 2015 and were busy most of that summer moving our possessions from the old house to our new house. When we weren’t driving hundreds of miles between houses, we were busy working on the driveway, which had deep gullies caused by erosion along–and in one place across–our driveway. Some of the gullies were knee deep! We put in drainage tile and shoveled 90 tons of gravel, stones, and dirt into the gullies. Here are photos of our driveway in 2015 and this year:
We spent June 2016 making repeated trips downstate to finish removing our possessions from the old house–mostly the garage and basement–in final preparation of selling the house. It was such a relief to get rid of the old house! After we signed the final papers, I told EJ that I never want to travel below highway US-10 ever again. US-10 is where most residents–including me–believe that Northern Michigan really begins. It’s where there is noticeably fewer fields and more forests.
This is the first year we will not be taking all those long trips downstate. I look forward to staying home! I’m not sure if we will get all the raised beds prepared in time to plant, but we can at least grow a few things in the hot tub garden. Something is better than nothing, and we can keep expanding our garden beds each year.
Yesterday was JJ’s last day working at the grocery store. He came home whooping with joy! He is really looking forward to starting his new job as a park ranger. I thought his first day on the job was going to be May 12th, but apparently he will start on May 16th. That means he has a week off with no school and no work. If it warms up enough, he hopes to go kayaking.
JJ’s shift ended at 8 p.m. last night. Shortly afterwards, a friend he met at college came over and they set off a few fireworks out in the yard. JJ was thrilled when he learned that our area has fireworks stores. Our first year in Northern Michigan, he would stop at the store quite often to buy fireworks. He has quite a stash. He loves setting them off especially during our Independence holiday and on also New Year’s Eve. I always tell him, “Don’t set our forest on fire.”
Last year we needed a garden hose. Money was tight, so we bought the cheapest one we could find. We would have done better to get a more expensive hose because the one we bought is not flexible and keeps getting kinks in it. The other day one section that often kinks wore into a hole that sprays water. The ducks love the spray and played in it when I turn on the water to refill their pool and water buckets (for drinking). They are like little children. However, yesterday evening when I refilled the water buckets, the hole grew bigger and sprayed out so much water that not much came out of the end where I needed it. Frustrated, this morning I cut off the hose just before the leak so I could fill up the pool and the water buckets. I don’t need such a long hose anyway–and if I do, EJ has thingys that connect two pieces of hose together. My shortened hose has other kinks in it, though, so we are probably going to have to invest in a better hose at some point.
While I was writing this post, Danny came into the room to let me know that he was very anxious to eat the rest of the canned cat food before the cats ate it all. He is such a lovable mooch. He stood there until I went out to the kitchen, saw that the cats had eaten most of it, and gave him the rest. Who could resist his pleading eyes?
The Matrix
The view out our window constantly changes and is always beautiful. I always feel as if the windows frame a living painting. Yesterday morning there was a wisp of morning fog circling the hills. It was awesome.
The chickens always lay their eggs in a nesting box. Our nesting box is actually an enclosed kitty litter box. The ducks sometimes lay their eggs in a nest-like swirl of straw, but many times they lay their eggs wherever. Sometimes I find their eggs in the middle of the coop floor and sometimes just outside in the open, as if they paused to drop the egg and then continued on their way. This morning I looked out the bedroom window and saw an egg next to their little pool. I went outside to retrieve it so it wouldn’t attract any predators.
I do a lot of reading about abuse. I’ve read that most abuse victims begin to do research in order to learn what is happening to them. Then they do research to help them recover from abuse, and to enable them to recognize abusers so they avoid them in the future. While many victims don’t tell people about their abuse–for many reasons, including having to deal with the misunderstanding, misconceptions, shame, and blame they encounter–some go on to become advocates about abuse. I’m not really as skilled as many advocates are, but I do try to speak out about abuse in order to support victims and educate others. I know that I’ve written about these things several times before, but it’s important to understand this.
Because of the abuse that I have personally experienced, I have a special interest in abuse that occurs within the family and the church. In both groups abusers are often defended and protected while their victims are vilified. I find abuse by those within the church to be particularly heinous because such people distort God’s truth, misrepresent Him, and oppress people in His Name. Many people who speak out about abuse are labeled “bitter, judgmental, or negative” but I believe that rather than deny or cover it up, we must recognize it, acknowledge it, expose it, and confront it (Eph 5:11). To do otherwise allows evil to grow.
The more I research abuse, the more it feels like we are offered the same choice offered to Neo in the movie The Matrix. Many of us start out ignorant about abuse, but eventually we will either experience abuse or encounter those who have been abused. At that point we have a choice:
Once I began to research abuse, I began to see how very terrible it is, and how common it is even in the church, how many pastors and leaders are abusive, and how often family members and Christians support abusers. The rabbit hole is indeed very deep.
Through my research I have learned that predators will always go where they can find their prey. So, for example, a child molester will go where he can find children–in the church, schools, children’s ministries, camps and clubs, and so on. Molesters often know their victims and can be relatives, trusted family friends, or church leaders. EJ says that he has read that molesters have the the highest rate of recividism (the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend) of any other crime. I’ve learned that 93% of molesters claim to be religious, which means they are very much in the church. In fact, churches/religious organizations are a favorite “hunting ground” for abusers of all sorts because they find there people who are willing to “not judge” and give them unconditional love and forgiveness without any need for repentance. The Bible warns that “wolves in sheep’s clothing” will infiltrate the church, appearing to be “workers of righteousness” who are very charming with words “smoother than butter” (Matt. 7:15, 2 Cor 11:13-15; Ps 55:21).
One of my favorite abuse sites is A Cry for Justice. The senior admin of the site has been a pastor for about 30 years. Before that he was a police officer, which I think gave him practical knowledge about abusers and abuse. He and his fellow admins are very supportive of victims and attempt to educate the evangelical church about various forms of abuse in its midst. I say “attempt” because most churches refuse to hear.
ACFJ sometimes shares links to other abuse sites. Through them, I recently learned of Church Protect, which is an organization which tries to educate churches on how to protect themselves from sexual predators who target children. They do “walk-throughs” in churches to show them how easy it is for a predator to find places to abuse children in the church, and they try to help churches increase security. One of the co-founders is a pastor who discovered that his dad, also a pastor, had been molesting many children for several decades. He and his mother turned the dad in to authorities to prevent more victims. The dad was convicted and sentenced to 30-60 years in prison.
Church Protect posted that there is a strong link between pornography and child sexual predators. In response to a question I asked, Church Protect said that:
…Given the addictive nature of porn, it is clear that some people who view porn will inevitably progress into harder and darker stuff. The path can vary, as will the “interest,” but the one thing that is undeniable for anyone knowledgeable and experienced in the forensic treatment field working with sex offenders is that it will progress. For those men who have perpetrated, 100% are into some degree of hard core porn. This is beyond dispute, and anyone who does try to dispute that is either ignorant, in denial, or into porn himself… and wants to try to justify his own use of porn.
It is important to add that the child predator is always involved in pornography. It progressed from a wide range of material that will permit him to objectify women, then progresses (degenerates) to “barely legal,” then to more vile material involving S&M/bondage (which is why all sex offenders love that 50 Shade of Grey has become a best seller, for it makes their task much easier, in terms of women believing that is acceptable, and will end in “love” instead of degradation and worse). Then, they will begin frequenting online “fantasy role playing” and character role playing, where they can develop the taste for deviant arousal (e.g. Portraying himself as an animal as his character, and “interacting” with other animal characters). Then, he will begin developing a taste for heinous porn, where he is able to watch children being raped by single individuals, then gang raped. This is who these monsters are behind the scenes! The Super Predator [those who target young children] takes this even further by mastering the art of looking, appearing, and sounding religious, for the express purpose of targeting churches. That is the Super Predator, who always has many victims to his “credit”… often in the hundreds by the time he is ever found out. So, it is not that every person viewing porn will descend lower, but EVERY person who has descended lower has become immersed in and saturated his mind with porn… yet, they will never voluntarily admit it. And, now with IPhones and other devices, there is complete access to all the most horrific material. That should make any parent think twice before allowing unfettered access to the internet on their kids’ phones. And, the days of slumber parties I believe are past, for there is simply too much danger lurking in those situations.
In other posts, Church Protect wrote:
…Having clinically treated well over 3000 sex offenders in prison during my 11+ years as part of the PA prison system, I can tell you that WITHOUT EXCEPTION, every incarcerated sex offender has fed his deviance and perversion with pornography. Those who want to debate that fact are either dangerously ill-informed, or are trying to defend current dark activities and secrets in their own lives.
…Child pornographers never just “happen upon” graphic images and videos of children. I’ve beat this drum before but somehow we find ourselves still trying to convince churches that the “brother” who got caught with child porn was actively seeking it, was interacting with other pedophiles online, and almost certainly has victims.
I told Church Protect that the reason I asked questions was because the month that EJ’s relative lived with us–when JJ was about 9 years old–he watched porn on our computer. EJ used to come home from work and find porn websites left open on the computer. We also received emails with porn pictures in them. I remember seeing one photo of a young woman (I believe she was a teen) which has haunted me all these years. She looked very uncomfortable and her eyes were very sad. This was the family computer which we–including JJ–used every day. (I will never again allow anyone to use my computer.)
I said to Church Protect: “At the time a relative had an encounter with our then 9-year-old son that, while our son said the relative didn’t touch him, abuse experts told us was typical victim-grooming behavior of molesters. Afterwards, we had no contact with him but the family was upset and defended him while calling us unloving, unforgiving, and unChristlike because, he was, after all, family. I know this is a common response. We refuse to allow an unsafe person into our lives no matter who he is.” Church Protect replied:
TJ, good for you for putting the safety of your son above “family unity.” Yep, your relative was indeed grooming your son. If anyone doubts that, think about the temerity of looking at porn on some other family member’s computer! That is not an accident. He was starting the process of targeting your son. It is all too typical that family members will rally to his support, as opposed to supporting you and going after him. The predator knows how to play such dysfunctional and warped family dynamics to help provide him with all the cover he needs in the event he is caught.
This is the third expert who has told us that EJ’s relative was definitely victim grooming JJ. I have talked with two of them–A Cry for Justice and Church Protect. EJ discussed his relative’s behavior with his doctor who is also an abuse victim. She said that according to the Center for Exploited and Missing Children, EJ’s relative had definitely been victim grooming JJ. She was so upset by what EJ told her that she was prepared to report his relative to the authorities. EJ told her that this had happened years ago and that JJ had told us that the relative had not touched him (although he was so close that it alarmed me). We really don’t have enough evidence to go to the authorities but we have warned the family and if ever EJ’s relative is arrested for molestation, we will volunteer to testify against him.
It makes me angry–justifiably angry because I think we should be angry about things like this–that EJ’s siblings tried to pressure us into allowing unlimited contact with their relative when we have several strong reasons for believing him to be unsafe. In their defense of their relative, they cared nothing for JJ’s safety or the damage that could have been done to him. I know that it is extremely typical that family members and Christians support the abuser and vilify the victims. Even when a predator confesses to sexual abuse, family members and churches support them. Many Christians seem to think that they are very godly in supporting/defending/protecting the unrepentant abuser, describing their support as giving grace and unconditional love and forgiveness. This is not of God in any way. As Church Protect wrote when they posted the following meme:
“WARNING… this is a complete distortion of truth; and, comes from a VERY DANGEROUS type of lie, cloaked in sentimental sloppy pop-religious psychological garb, which is as bad as it gets in terms of a belief that will only result in keeping anyone, especially survivors of sexual abuse, emotionally stuck and forever in chains! This is NOT what forgiveness looks like, and you CANNOT ‘accept an apology that was never given’! The only thing this does is ensure that oppressors can continue to hurt people, and that wolves will continue to have their way with sheep. The Podcast about ‘Do survivors need to forgive their abuser’ can be found at www.ChurchProtect.org, under the Podcast tab.”
The Bible is filled with verses describing wicked people, how God views them, how He responds to them, and how He tells us to respond to them. The Bible also always ties forgiveness in with repentance. Repentance means to change your behavior and involves restitution. I would urge everyone to study what the Bible says about these things. Here are a few verses:
God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back,
He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready.
He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. (Ps 7:11-13)
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)
He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord. (Prov. 17:15)
To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment. (Prov. 18:5)
Then [Jesus] said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” (Luke 17:1-4)
Notice that the Luke 17 says we are to forgive IF A PERSON REPENTS. I just read yesterday that a millstone is extremely heavy and it would break the neck of a person if hung around his neck. Jesus was saying it would be better if a person’s neck was broken and then he drown. This is double dead. It’s pretty brutal.
Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don’t allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice. (Ex 23:2)
Justice is perverted when the wicked are supported and the innocent are accused.
What I wrote you was not to associate with anyone who is supposedly a brother but who also engages in sexual immorality, is greedy, worships idols, is abusive, gets drunk or steals. With such a person you shouldn’t even eat! For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Isn’t it those who are part of the community that you should be judging? God will judge those who are outside. Just expel the evildoer from among yourselves. (1 Cor. 5:11-13)
How long will you go on judging unfairly,
favoring the wicked? (Selah)
Give justice to the weak and fatherless!
Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor!
Rescue the destitute and needy;
deliver them from the power of the wicked!” (Ps. 82:2-4)
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. (Isaiah 1:17)
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? (Prov. 24:11-12)
I believe that those who support an abusive person shares in his guilt. EJ, JJ, and I will not “join hands” with a wicked person or with those who support him. Neither will we be pressured into doing so.
Rain-Soggied Straw
Yesterday I waited until the ground had a chance to dry a little, and then I went outside to work.
I shovel some of the dirt from the raised bed into the wheelbarrow. When I had a generous amount, I mixed in the two bags of wildflower seeds. Each bag was 2 pounds of seed–one was a wildflower mix and the other was a butterfly/bee mix. I scattered the mixture along the driveway. I could have used several more pounds of seed, but I can always buy more later.
After I scattered the seed, I found an empty poultry feed bag, put it on the ground in front of the coop, and lay on it while I shone a flashlight under the shed to see if the ducks had laid any eggs under there. I didn’t see any, so I found two long old boards and laid them along the front of the shed so the ducks can’t get under it.
I dragged out the lawn mower. It took a few pulls to get it started. When it started, it sounded rather sluggish and after about a minute it died. EJ will have to figure out what is wrong with it…probably this weekend. I have a hostile relationship with lawn mowers and sometimes they make me so frustrated that I have to take deep breaths so I don’t beat them into scrap metal. We have had multiple mowers refuse to start–or even die. I don’t know how to fix them when they won’t start, which means that I have to wait for EJ to work on them–or until we can buy another mower. At the village where we used to live, there was an ordinance that said grass couldn’t grow more than 6 inches tall. If it did, the Village would mow it and then charge the homeowner $50. Whenever the mower didn’t start down there, I got nervous because I didn’t want to pay $50. At least I don’t have to worry about that up here–but I have read that one way to prevent ticks is to keep the grass short. So although I don’t have to worry about living in a village that charges $50 for mowing too-long grass, I do have to worry about ticks hiding in long grass. I’m not sure which I hate more.
Yesterday I saw an ugly black spider right next to the light switch in the garage. It was large, but not as huge as the wolf spiders. I considered spraying it with spider killer spray, but it was right above the poultry feed and I didn’t want to risk poisoning the ducks and chickens. So I grabbed a handful of diatomaceous earth and threw it at the spider. It covered the spider in gray dust. Later I went in the garage and saw it was still next to the light switch, so I threw another handful of diatomaceous earth on it. This morning it was gone. I’m hoping it died. I used to feel–and even taught JJ–that spiders must die if they are in the house, but we shouldn’t kill them if they are outside. However, my sentiments have changed since we moved north where there are giant wolf spiders. I taught JJ too well when he was younger so he tries to protect the spiders, but he doesn’t understand that giant spiders in Enchanted Forests are always evil. I kill them when he and his Dad aren’t around. Sometimes they see dead wolf spiders on the pavement in front of the garage and they suspect–and rightly so–that I have killed it. Sometimes I use spider killer spray but many times I grab a nearby shovel or rake and pulverize it. We are at war.
Today was another beautiful day. The temperature was both warm and cool enough to make working pleasant. Every day there is more and more green in the forest. I guess we can officially say that we have survived our second winter in Northern Michigan.
When I remove the dirty straw from the ducks’ side of the coop, I just rake it into their outside pen. Today I spent the afternoon raking up the winter’s accumulation of rain-soggied straw from their outside pen, putting it in the wheelbarrow, taking it down the driveway, and placing it on the wildflower seed and the lilies along the driveway to hold in moisture. Our driveway is about 500 feet long and it took me four–maybe five (I lost count)–wheelbarrow loads to make sure the seeds and lilies had a bit of straw on or around them. I would like to have put more straw on them, but I had to stop to fix supper. Plus, I was very tired and my feet really hurt. It was time to call it quits for the day.
Later, after EJ and I had eaten supper, I looked out our bedroom window and saw that one of the Pekin Ducks (the white ones) had fallen asleep with its head resting on the edge of the pool. I thought, “Awwww!” and ran to get my camera. I really enjoy watching the ducks and chickens.
JJ finished most of his classes on Tuesday and has his final exam for his last class today. The class ends at 7 p.m. so he’s not home yet. He is excited about the semester ending and his new job beginning. He starts his new job on May 12th.
Wildflower Seeds…and Stuff
We have had multiple days of chilly rain that soaked the ground. I raked the old straw from the coop into the pens and it was so waterlogged that it was springy. The temperatures were cold–down into the 30s at night and only into the 40s during the day. We even had periods of snow yesterday. I really enjoy the variety of weather, but snow is a bit unwelcome at this time of year. However, I remember years when we’ve had snowstorms in the middle of May so I endure it patiently. Changeable weather is to be expected in Northern Michigan.
The rain makes me drowsy–especially when it’s cold and I just want to sip hot coffee or tea and wrap myself in a comforter. However, I did a few things done.
I want to plant wildflowers among the tiger lilies alongside the driveway. I envision a beautiful garden lining both sides of the driveway. I know that a local farm store sells a variety of bulk grass seeds that they grow themselves and I thought they also had wildflower seeds, so since JJ was home on Monday and I had access to the Xterra, I decided to go get some. Since TSC is only a short distance from the local farm store, I decided that I might as well go there as well and buy some poultry feed. I stopped there first since it was a right turn. The road that the farm stores are on is busy so it’s easier to plan our routes so that we make right turns whenever we can. I had to turn left out of TSC, but I could make another right turn into the local feed store. Disappointingly, the local feed store didn’t have bulk wildflower seeds, but the clerk suggested that I could perhaps stop at McG’s or a plant nursery. McG’s is another favorite local farm store, but it is in the middle of the city and I didn’t feel like driving all the way there. However, there is a wonderful plant nursery on my way home so I decided to stop.
The plant nursery is huge; I think BC is the largest plant nursery in Northern Michigan. Its large property is very magical. It goes back and back to a very beautiful immense lake. Walking through the nursery feels like going into Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory–or maybe like walking further up and further in to Narnia. I think I could easily spend years and thousands of dollars there if I lost control of myself. I try not to lose control. It helps that I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend. These are photos from their website:
There was a sign at the service counter that said that employees were in the greenhouse behind the little pool. The greenhouse was quite a ways back, so I wandered a bit and then headed back to the service counter. I figured that sooner or later someone would see me and I really didn’t want to tempt myself too much by wandering through the grounds. Walking through BC and trying to resist temptation is like an alcoholic going to a bar and trying to resist buying drinks. I tried to remain focused on my goal and not to look to closely at the thousands of plants. The only wildflowers I saw were packages that I see in many stores–TSC, Lowes, Meijers, etc. When a clerk finally did come up front, I asked her if those were all the wildflower seeds they had, and she said yes. Bummer. But any wildflower seeds is better than none, so I asked her if the flowers did well in sandy soil, because that’s all we really have. She was like, “Yeah, tell me about it,” because our whole area is mostly all sand. She said the seeds did well in sand, and then she told me that the best thing to do is mix the seeds in topsoil and spread it along my driveway and then cover it with straw to hold the moisture in while they germinate. If the seeds dry out, the germination will stop. I have plenty of old straw from the ducks and chickens so that’s good. The clerk also told me not to expect spectacular results this year–it will take a year or two–and she suggested that in the fall I walk on the flowers to help the seeds fall off into the ground. The clerks at this nursery is always so very knowledgeable and helpful. I bought two packages of seeds–one of a wildflower mix and the other a butterfly/bee mix.
If the soaked ground dries out enough, I’ve got outside projects I want to work on. The grass is getting long so I want to mow it. I’d also like to get my wildflower seeds planted. EJ wants the dirt from the raised garden beds replaced with fresh dirt, so I might use that dirt to mix with the wildflower seeds. The other morning I saw two of the rouen ducks squeeze under the shed and I suspect they are laying eggs under there. Those eggs will attract predators so I need to get them out, but I’m not thrilled about lying on the soggy spongy straw so I’d like to give it a chance to dry out first. I placed old boards in front of the shed so the ducks don’t have enough room to squeeze under it. Lily seemed a bit upset this morning that she wasn’t able to get under the shed. Oh, well, she’ll get over it.
I like letting the ducks and chickens out in the morning because they are always so excited to be released from the coop. Here is video I took this morning:
Sunsets are really always very pretty here. We can’t really see sunrises or sunsets in the warmer months because the trees hide them once their leaves come out. However, in both winter and summer the sunsets touch the hills to the south with a band of light. Depending on the colors of the sunset, the trees turn gold or red. Yesterday evening the band of light was a vibrant gold. The trees almost looked like they were wearing their autumn leaves, but it’s actually early Spring and the trees are still mostly bare; it’s really only the sun coloring them with light:
Monday afternoon JJ gave his two-week’s notice at the grocery store. He is really excited about the park ranger job. He also was very happy when he came home from college yesterday. This is his last week of school–he had finals for all of his classes except for math, which will be on Thursday. He said that he is getting 4.0s (the highest grade) for most of his classes.
EJ is still suffering greatly from back pain. Sometimes it’s not too bad, but then I think pain meds wear off and the pain returns. I feel bad for him. 😦
There’s time for another cup of coffee before I get busy….
Shades of Spring
Today it is rainy. It is a steady all day soaking sort of rain. It is supposed to rain through Tuesday, I think. We could get a couple of inches. I’m thankful we are not getting as much rain as states like Oklahoma are getting. I’ve heard that some areas over there are getting 8 inches of rain, and experiencing a lot of flooding.
I love watching Spring “happen.” It’s fun and amazing to see a tint of green on the landscape, so slight that I have to strain to see it. And then watch day-by-day as the green grows more visible and vibrant. I love all the various shades of green as well. Spring is exciting.
I had all sort of tasks to work on today, but they were all outside and I can’t work on them in the rain. I like rainy days, but they make me drowsy and I have trouble getting motivated. Today was actually a “pot and a half” day. We drank down one pot of coffee and needed another half pot to wake us up. The ducks love the rainy day.
We did a few things outside. EJ burned the papers. Rainy days are good for burning because the world is wet and won’t set fire to our forest. After asking EJ if he intended the wooden boxes sitting outside the garage to be raised beds, I moved two of them into the garden area, which is inside the duck pen, and EJ moved the other two. Two are to the right and two are in front of the hot tub garden. We have to fill them with gravel and then dirt, but we can’t do that on a rainy day.
EJ fixed the towel rack in the bathroom and I’ve been doing laundry. I won’t be drying the clothes outside today!
My two cactus plants were outgrowing their pots so I transplanted them into larger pots. I’m always afraid when I transplant them into larger pots that they won’t make it. It was tricky transplanting them this time because they have grown so big. I had to be careful that they didn’t break off as I removed them from their old pots. I wore gloves but the gloves were not thick enough to prevent needles from poking me so I ran and got a thick hot pad to hold them and after I transplanted them, I had to pull many tiny needles out of my hand. It’s hard to believe that my cacti were just tiny little nubs when I bought them at Walmart years ago. The cactus will no longer be moved outside with the other house plants in the summer because the pots are now too big and heavy to move. I had a hard enough time moving them last year.
Our cat Kee-Kee thinks he is a dog. We put our burnable trash in grocery bags and just burn the whole thing in the burning barrel. Kee-Kee keeps getting into the burnable trash and spilling it on the floor so usually we have to keep the bags on top of the unburnable trash can. I’ve been wanting to get a photo of him and finally accomplished it this morning. This way I can “cat shame” him. Kee-Kee is a bad cat-dog when he tips over the trash. But he’s adorable in every other way. He likes to sleep on my pillow at night–above my head. Sometimes he sleeps on my face.
Odd Jobs
We have had some very nice weather with temperatures up in the low to mid-70s. EJ tells me that people in other states don’t talk about the weather very much, but in Michigan the weather can change from day to day–or even moment to moment–and it affects our activities. For example, the recent nice weather enabled me to get some odd jobs done outside.
On Tuesday I finally moved the large rock–actually a small boulder–from one side of the driveway to the other. Last autumn I had moved it from near the old dog pen to the side of the driveway, but both EJ and JJ had complained about it being there where, they said, they could easily slide into it. So I moved it to the other side of the driveway where it’s farther from the edge and where there are a lot of other large rocks. Rocks of all sizes are an important part of our anti-erosion efforts. They slow the rush of water that would carry the soil with it. The rock was heavy so I rolled it and slid it across the driveway.
Since we weren’t expecting any rain on Tuesday, I washed laundry and hung it out to dry on the clothesline. There was a strong breeze so the clothes dried quickly. I love drying the clothes outside because I drink in the beauty around me and listen to the symphony of birds as I work. And the clothes smell wonderfully when they are air-dried.
I decided to move the wooden planter box that EJ had emptied on Sunday, even though he told me to wait until we could do it together. With the horrible back pain EJ has been suffering for the last few days, I didn’t want him to try to lift anything heavy. The box was much heavier than I expected. I could barely budge it. So instead of moving it where I had planned, I simply moved it inch by inch next to the other box. It’s good enough. It will allow us access to three sides of the hot tub garden and we can still easily access the two wooden boxes. The ducks were interested in my work and as soon as I moved the box, they came in to quickly eat the insects that had been under it.
I dug up and moved a few more lilies. I think I’m mostly done transplanting lilies, although there are a few more that I could re-locate if I choose. As I moved the wheelbarrow of lilies down the driveway I slipped on the gravel and fell. This was the second time I have fallen–the first was on Sunday. I was wearing my regular sneakers this time so I can’t blame my shoes. I bruised my elbow but otherwise suffered no damage.
I didn’t think I’d be able to work outside yesterday because rain was forecasted. There were some dramatic clouds and the wind was very strong, but other than a couple sprinkles now and then, the rain held off so I was able to get a few more odd jobs done.
I decided to fix a sort of trellis for the climbing roses in the little flower garden at the front of the house. I decided to use t-posts and chicken fencing. I found some short lengths of chicken fencing in the back of the old pickup truck. We have been putting old junk in the back of the pickup until we can dispose of it. We can either take it to the drop off site on the county Cleanup Day on May 6th or EJ can drop it off at the dumpsters at work. One of the perks of his company is that employees can dispose of their trash in the dumpsters for free. Once I freed the chicken fencing, I took it, the t-posts, and some tools to the flower garden. I pounded in the t-posts and fastened the fencing to them. EJ said the roses will climb 15 feet high so the t-posts aren’t really tall enough but they are good enough until we can get taller wooden posts. At least the roses will have something to climb up.
In the process of trying to get the chicken fencing out of the back of the pickup, I found a piece of junk that I thought would work wonderfully for a roost for the chickens. Later I asked EJ what it was and he said it had been the frame for a basketball hoop. I put it on top of the small coop inside of the big coop, and last night when I put the poultry to bed, I saw Sassy and a couple hens on it. I’m proud of my repurposing.
I also found our little metal flower windmill and fastened it to a post at the corner of the outside chicken pen as an anti-flying predator device–serving the same purpose as a scarecrow. Besides, it’s cute. The strong wind has really set it whirling.
It is very windy again today. Originally heavy rain was forecasted, but now the meteorologists are saying that the heaviest rain will remain west of us. If it rains I will work inside the house. If it doesn’t rain, I will find more outside tasks to do. I would like to finish burying the end of the drainage tile at the top of the driveway and also prepare the raised beds. However, I want EJ’s input about how he wants them done. I’m sure I can find other tasks though.
The warm weather has made the landscape noticeably more green. I love watching the progression of green in the Spring. You can see the difference in the photos below. One was taken on April 25 and the other on April 27. It won’t be long before the leaves completely hide our neighbor’s house.
JJ’s classes end next week. He said that all his college professors have told him how much they’ve enjoyed having him in their classes. They’ve said that he is intelligent and adds a lot to class discussions. That made him feel good.
Danny the Thief
My dear friend sent me some adorable cat slippers that she had come across and bought for me. The slippers are have hard soles–very important because I hate stepping in spilled liquid or melted snow and getting my socks wet. In the winter, I end up changing my socks about 4-5 times a day because snow gets tracked in. So these hard soled slippers are perfect! And they are warm and fuzzy and will keep my feet warm in the winter. AND they are adorable.
Poor EJ has been suffering with intense back pain over the last several days. Yesterday he drove to work but he didn’t think he would make it through the day so he took a sick day and came back home. His usual pain meds weren’t helping so he contacted his doctor and she called in some stronger meds. I drove him to the pharmacy and he seemed to do better after taking the meds, although he’s still in great pain. He went to work this morning and I’m praying the inflammation goes down, and the pain goes away, so his work day isn’t torturous.
Yesterday morning the temperature was in the low 30s, but steadily rose through the day to the 60s. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted to. I couldn’t seem to get warm and felt colder than I do even in the cold winters. It’s hard to work when I just want to wrap myself in a blanket, wear my comfy cat slippers, and warm my hands and insides with hot cups of coffee or tea. Finally, though, I warmed up and got moving. I poured the poultry feed from their bags into buckets that had once held kitty litter–we use the kitty litter buckets for everything around here.
Our cat Tesla died last autumn. She was very old–so old that she had lost most of her teeth. In the last year or so before her death, I had been buying canned food for her because I didn’t think she could handle the dry food. After her death, I kept buying it for our cat Annie, who lives in the garage. I felt sorry for her because she lost her companion, Tesla, and I think she is lonely–so I give her an extra treat. I noticed that Annie didn’t eat most of the can so I started to give her half of the can–along with a scoop of dry food–and I bring in the rest of the can for the inside cats. I put it on our bench in the entrance hallway next to their dish of dry food until I noticed that Danny would sneak through the pet door and steal the can of food. Now I put the can on the table. Danny still gets the rest of the can when the cats knock it off onto the floor.
Danny also steals Annie’s food. He is such a mooch hound! I usually feed Annie in the garage on my way out to care for the ducks and chickens in the morning. Danny always wants outside just after I come back into the house and he slowly, and seemingly randomly–but not!–meanders around the house, through the pet door in the garage, and steals Annie’s food. I’ve been trying to figure out a good place to put her food that Danny can’t reach. Yesterday I decided to put it on top of a table in the garage.
In the afternoon, I went outside and dug up another wheelbarrow of tiger lilies to plant along the driveway. I’ve lost count of how many wheelbarrow loads I’ve transplanted. We still have many lilies near the boulders at the top of the hill. I’m not going to remove them all, but we don’t need so many spreading over the hill and we do need them along the driveway. My first few wheelbarrow loads of lilies I spaced down the driveway and every additional load I fill in gaps between lilies. I would like to get wildflower seeds to sprinkle along the driveway too to make a magical path up to our house.
I heard that the likelihood of Northern Lights is strong, so yesterday evening I started keeping an eye on the sky. I think I saw the Lights just before sunset when the sky was still light. I saw faint pillars in the northern sky. I showed EJ and he said, yup, those are the Northern Lights. I kept going outside after dark to see if I could see them, but I am not as good at recognizing them as EJ is, and he was in too much pain to keep coming outside with me to check. I think we could see the Northern Lights more often if we had a clearer view of the horizon, but the trees and hills block a lot of our view so we can only see the Lights if they are very intense and overhead. After EJ went to bed, I went outside a few more times to look for the Lights, but it was very dark, and I kept hearing odd creaks in the forest. I think it was the strong breeze making the trees creak, but it wasn spooky and I kept imaging bears creeping up on me…or maybe the Dogman.
The Dogman is a dog-man creature who supposedly roams my area of Northern Michigan. It originated as a ballad written years ago by a couple of radio personalities as an April Fool’s Day joke, but it has grown into a legend. People declare they’ve seen him. We like to joke about “being careful of the Dogman” when any of us leaves the house at night, but when the forest creaks eerily in the dark, when my flashlight can’t penetrate the darkness…well. I thought that with EJ asleep and JJ inattentive, I could go outside and disappear and no one would miss me until morning. So I decided that it was best to stay inside, safe from the dark creaky forest.
This morning as I finish my final cup of coffee, I am contemplating the tasks I would like to accomplish today. Tomorrow it is supposed to storm but today the temperatures will reach into the mid-70s–a perfect day to work outside.
The Old Hot Tub
I had a list of chores I wanted to get done today. I had laundry to wash today. Since the day was beautifully sunny, I decided to hang them on the clothesline to drive. I got a little chilled hanging up wet clothes. The high temperatures reached only into the low 50s and the slight breeze made it a feel a litter colder. When I finished hanging the first load, I came in the house and warmed my hands with a hot cup of coffee.
When we got our ducks and chickens last year, we moved them into the garage when they were old enough. We put their coop in the garage surrounded by a dog cage to keep them contained. We got the shed build for them last autumn because we felt they would be warmer–and so EJ could have his garage back. When we got them settled nicely in their coop, we dismantled the dog cage and shoveled out the used straw. I used the dismantled dog cage panels for my expanded chicken pen that I put up last week.
The straw remained in a pile outside all winter. Today I shoveled it into our wheelbarrow and took it to the hot tub inside the duck pen. The hot tub was left here by the previous owners. It is unfixable. For more than a year we discussed how to get rid of it. We decided that probably our best option was breaking it up and discarding it, but we were too busy with other projects to get it done. Plus there were difficulties: We didn’t want to risk breaking it apart in summer when it might be buzzing with bees, but in winter it is cold and snowy. Last autumn EJ decided that he might as well use it as a raised bed so he pulled it into the back yard next to the other raised beds that the previous owner had made. EJ said that the old straw would be good for the garden so today’s chore was moving the straw to the hot tub raised garden. It took a lot of wheelbarrow loads and trips–maybe a dozen?–to move the old straw, but I got it done.
While I worked, I enjoyed listening to the birds singing in the forest. I can hear their songs echoing through the forest as they call to each other. It’s really very pretty.
This weekend EJ had a lot of back pain so he rested as much as he could. Well, almost as much as he could. He helped with the last two loads of straw, and he shoveled dirt from one of the wooden raised beds into the hot tub. He emptied the wooden raised bed because it doesn’t have adequate drainage. He will put in drainage and fill it with new dirt. EJ also fixed the gate into the ducks outside pen.
While we worked, the ducks just wandered around, enjoying life and their pool, as they always do.
EJ wanted to move some of the trout lilies into the little flower garden at the front of the house. I went with him down to Deer Meadow. He shoveled up three or four lilies, which I put in the bucket we carried with us. I wore my pair of old ratty slip on shoes–like sneakers but without a back. I like slip on shoes so I can quickly get them on and off without the need to tie and untie them. When EJ handed me the first trout lily with a clump of dirt, it was just heavy enough that I slid backwards out of my shoes–and I even slid out of my socks!–and I fell on the grassy meadow. I laughed. EJ thought it was pretty funny too.
I had planned to get other chores down today: I wanted to dig up more tiger lilies to plant along the driveway, I wanted to get the dog food and poultry feed from the bags into mouse-proof buckets with lids, and a bunch of other things. However, I was so tired from moving the old straw and doing laundry–and cooking, and vacuuming, and taking care of poultry–that I decided that that was enough work today. The next few days are supposed to be even nicer than today, so I can gradually work through my list.
Spring Blessings
Yesterday evening after supper I went to the store where JJ works to buy groceries. JJ was working and, as he often does, he noticed that I was in the store so he can up to say “hi!” I noticed that he had a mask–the type used when doing things like sanding dry wall mud–pushed up onto his forehead. “Why are do you have a mask on your forehead?” I asked, amused. He told me that the restroom in the store was plugged so they had put a sign on the door that it was closed. Someone had taken down the sign and used the toilet and flushed it repeatedly. Apparently, it caused sewage in drains throughout the store to bubble up. JJ was assigned the task of cleaning it up. “So you are telling me that you have had a very crappy day,” I laughed. One of JJ’s co-workers was standing nearby and we all laughed. JJ got to leave work early so he could go home and get cleaned up. Yuck.
EJ had an interesting drive home from work last night. He was at an intersection and saw an iphone fall from a boat as the vehicle pulling it turned the corner. The phone had been set on the boat and forgotten–you know how that goes, I’m sure. EJ later learned that it had ridden on the boat for over an hour before it fell off. EJ turned around and retrieved the phone. He drove around a little bit to see if he could find the owner, but wasn’t able to locate the vehicle so he brought it home. When the phone rang, he answered it and told the caller that he had found the phone and wanted to return it. They decided to meet at the parking lot of JJ’s store this morning. I went with EJ. The people arrived to get their phone. The owner repeatedly and profusely thanked EJ and kept shaking his hand. He offered to give EJ a reward, but EJ refused. Being able to help others is rewarding enough.
JJ had a physical for his new job on Wednesday. It included a TB test, which he had to get checked today. So we all drove to the clinic in the Emerald City. We enjoyed the drive through incredible scenery and past beautiful lakes. The water of the Bay was very still today, and it looked as if the sky and water blended together. We never get tired of the scenery here.
EJ and I waited in the Suburban while JJ went into the clinic. He was only gone for about 5 minutes, tops, because all they had to do was look at it. JJ exclaimed that this was his shortest visit to a medical place EVER.
We try not to do any business on Shabbat, but since we had to go to the clinic anyway, we stopped at the farm store afterwards. We try to combine errands whenever possible to save gas and money. I bought Danny some dog food because he is almost out, and we bought cat food, scratch grains for the chickens, and straw for the poultry’s bedding.
After JJ left for work, EJ, Danny, and I walked down to the mailbox to get the mail. We took a slight detour through our meadow, which we have named “Deer Meadow” because the deer like to bed down there. We found a few golf balls in the meadow. EJ enjoys hitting golf balls with his golf club. He leaves them wherever they land and hits them again at a future time–sometimes weeks or months later.
On the way back from the mailbox, we took another detour through our forest. I kept a sharp eye out for snakes, ticks, and giant spiders. I saw a giant spider crawl across the forest floor, but no snakes or ticks. Eric found some flowers, which he learned are called “trout lilies” and also a lot of wild leeks.
The temperature was 28 degrees when I got up this morning, and there was a skim of ice in the ducks’ pool and in the water buckets. However, after days of rain and clouds, we had cloudless blue skies. The highs reached about 60s–warm but with a refreshing chill. Just perfect.
We opened the windows to let the fresh air in. I enjoy having the windows open. I not only enjoy the fresh air, but with the windows open I am able to clearly hear the roosters crowing. Rooster crows make me feel happy. Every time I hear them, a beautiful “warm fuzzy” imagine comes to mind of early mornings in the country. Sort of like this:
With the Spring rains and warmer temps, the grass is getting green and there is a faint haze of green on the trees as the leaves begin to bud. I’m beginning to crave buying wildflower seeds and vegetable plants.
I Love To Go A Gardening 
