Mom

I know I have written a lot about my dad's influence on the direction of my life...it has been great and significant and I love him for it. (BTW he is facing a serious health issue right now and your prayers would be much appreciated.)

However, I don't think I have ever said enough about my mom. Her influence was different. Rather than leading us to who we were going to be, she saw who we already were and supported us in our directions...helped us become who we needed to be.

Christmas was a big time for that. Mom always loved Christmas. I shudder to imagine how hard she had to look to find middle brother that first guitar...but he was and is and always will be a music guy and she helped him on his way there...didn't say too much...didn't take any bows for her cleverness, just did it.

And when we were small she worked at Sears. Thus, the natural sciences kid...that was me...got a microscope and dissecting kit one Christmas (along with life-sized ready to paint bird models...gold finch for me and barn swallow for brother I think.)

I can remember the kitchen table at the old house on 5S (another frigid farm house like this one where we learned all about cold too)with all that stuff spread out all over, probably making a huge mess that someone else (mom no doubt) had to clean up.

I can't remember which critter I dissected first...sloppy job, hadn't a clue...or what we peered at through that microscope...but they were part of a wide open door to today and meant a lot to me. And when it came time in college to dissect this and that I was the only girl in the class not bothered (of course working for a veterinarian from the time I was fifteen may have had something to do with that too.)

It was always thus. Mom did try a few dolls on me. Barbie mine rode Michael's race cars down the ramp in the garage. But mostly she got the whole horse thing and I had dozens of plastic ones to love.

I guess if dad was the rock star of our youth, then mom was the back up singer....and ever the rock...where we all were anchored. Love you mom and dad...hope everything turns out fine and happy.

Twin Cousins

Happy 80th Birthday

To the man who made me care for cardinals.

Notice red leaves.

And take stock of the heavy samara crop.

Along with all that reading and learning and making of things by hand.

I love you Dad.

Wings

Sheltering wings. Somehow it seems that they are always there when we need them most. Someone's word or touch or kindness beyond the call lends them when the challenges are the greatest and we take comfort in the care and caring.

Sometimes we are called to lend those wings ourselves...sometimes we are shielded beneath them.

I am most thankful in this month of Thanksgiving to all of you who have stretched out your wings over the rocky parts of my life. It has always meant more than I could say. I hope sometimes I do the same for you.

A Long, Long, Time Ago, On This Very Day

Folks said that they were much too young to fall in love.

It didn't matter to them. They knew better.

Folks didn't believe that they would make it, but they knew better.

My brothers and I thought that they didn't see what we got up to and maybe we sneaked something by them. They knew better.

And now, sixty years later, they are still in love and proud of it, glad of the family they have raised and delighted to be together still, despite all that life has thrown at them.

And I am proud and thankful to be their daughter.

Happy 60th anniversary, Mom and Dad.

Here is a quote from Mom's Facebook page (yeah, my mama does Facebook) "Tomorrow is our 60th Wedding Anniversary. I think we are going to make it!

They told us we were too young, but we are still in love, have three wonderful children, nine exceptional grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren."

You go mom!

From the Weekend

A Wee Guest who spent some time on the sitting porch...sitting...and chirping VERY loudly

My Aunt's fabulous water garden

Cousin Mark at the book signing, which was lots of fun, with cookies, punch, hugs and the signing of books.

He's Country

You know you are country when your school has a tractor day and this many tractors show up!

Go here to see my nephew, Kegan, driving his dad's tractor to school.

Dad Says

We have to call him George now, even though that isn't his name

Here is an interview with the folks about the gun show this past weekend. Very nice....except that his name's not George.

And aren't George and Alice a fine looking pair...with nearly sixty years of marriage behind them!

Gloom with Grackles

Ditch-dull grey outside with some kind of sleety stuff slotting clickety-clickety against the office windows. Ewww.....

Dog didn't waste any time getting back inside I can tell you. Reminds me of the winter when the next younger brother and I had measles. Lying in the darkened living room at the old farm house down the road from here (lost now to the ravages of northern weather and neglect)...no books allowed, which was worse than the disease for me. It is dark and wintry like that today...too wintry for March.

The birds don't care. Damn the snowbanks, full speed ahead. I heard the first red-winged black birds when coming over from the barn Monday and right behind them was a trio of silver-eyed common grackles. They clinked and clanked at me and whistled and whoo-whooed, then moved along to wherever they were going.

Back south maybe. Can't say as I would blame them.

Sick all week, but not sick enough not to work. This achy, drainage swamp of a flu-cold went through the whole family, including appending boyfriends, last month for Pete's sake. I nursed everybody else or worried about them or said kind things to them, but never got a sniffle myself. Which was odd.

Then weeks later, wham. Yeah, not sick enough to not work, just sick enough to not want to. Oh, well, I am sure the old immune system is getting a great boost.

Got the computer running at least. Took Keith's advice and ditched Zone Alarm, which according to the boards does this a lot (had to work in safe mode to do it) . Guess I will have to use the Windows firewall, which isn't supposed to be much good. However, a firewall, which locks the whole computer so I can't even type up the minutes of last month's Farm Bureau meeting (yeah, Johnny on the spot, that's me) is no good at all.

Anyhow, today I am thankful for daughters who bring cough drops, sons who milk most of my cows when they are home, another daughter who feeds calves early so she can help when the brother is at school, and shiny, black, spring birds (which I will hate when they start cruising the front pasture slurping up nestlings like canapés.) Have a good one!

So...

Found a brand new Jersey bull calf with Heather last night when we went out for chores. The boss had left the barn about ten minutes earlier and nothing was going on, so I guess the old girl didn't waste any time. Shame that it was a bull, as Heather is quite a well-bred critter and has nice daughters.

Then Liz's ongoing battle with bronchitis took a nasty turn. Poor kid looked terrible with eyes like bloodshot grapes and all red and sickly. Her BF took her to the emergency room around 8PM and they kept her all night. She is allergic to so many antibiotics that there are few possibilities for her. They put her on Zithromax and a lot of prescription cough stuff and sent her home to rest. Hope she feels better soon, poor kid.

And it is and has been snowing again, not too surprising for February but not much fun.

I am afraid I am going to have to send the peacocks back to the farmer who raised them. They simply do not want to eat anything I feed them. So far: sunflower seeds, cat chow, dog food, shelled corn, cow grain, puffed rice cereal, apples, alfalfa hay, everything I can think of or find suggested on the peafowl boards. They won't even look at it. If anybody knows any tricks for interesting them in food, please, please let me know. I love them...the most beautiful birds I have ever been around...I want the best for them.

So.....have a great day, and I hope to see you again tomorrow for another episode of fun on the dairy farm.

Christmas "Shopping"

Is just about done.

Driving Excellence

I cannot wait to buy this book. Imagine taking a failing public service, running at a severe deficit, and turning it around to become both functional and profitable. Imagine lowering costs while increasing services. Imagine businesses coming to a public...that is government-run entity for advice on how to function better. I am looking forward so much to reading it.

Partly because I am astonished by what this man has done....partly because I will think it will change my way of thinking. And partly because I can brag that I babysat for him and knew him when, because he is my dear, wonderful, talented cousin. I hope he sells millions of copies. I am so proud of him!

Yesterday

Was a medley of milk inspector, friends bringing things, Amishmen reporting poachers hunters who were trespassing tearing up a hay field with a 4-wheel drive, confronting the darned thugs, who have been confronted here before....next time the police get called...cows stuck in places where they don't belong...well, just one cow, but it was a big rescue project..... Cows out, cows in, feeding, milking, choring, bringing a little Thanksgiving to some family members who will enjoy it, and a small buck harvested for winter dining. Not to mention three roosters supplied for the same purpose, but placed up in the small chicken house for now.

Yeah, it's a wonder the door hinges didn't give up under the strain.

Today we ship the mean steer. Not looking forward to that, but it has to be done. Then writing the Farm Side, hopefully, and more getting ready for Thanksgiving...oh, yeah, Liz and I cleaned the fridge yesterday too and finally turned those Brussels sprouts into food.

Tomorrow, early hunting by Alan and friend and herd health. And cooking. And cleaning Thursday the dinner along with the usual chores and milking and a small prayer for nothing untoward.

Friday entertaining some hunters who take Alan hunting at their place every year. Saturday, who knows? Sunday...I hear that chair calling my name. Whoever called this a holiday week sure had a strange sense of humor.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

You are the greatest!

Amazement

Visiting the folks is always a great source of it. Becky bought this violin from her grandmother, who gave a short demonstration.

This instrument has tone and volume like you would never imagine. a note sounded from its strings made you feel as if you were in a concert hall.... I tried it at home and alas could only squeak.

Herkimer diamonds

Daguerreotypes.

And books, always books. We looked at several really cool ones........and that is not to mention all the wonderful love they hand out so freely. Sure was good to see them.

Frosty Mornings on the Farm

I 81 South to Cabela's

Alan took Becky and me along on his senior trip yesterday. He didn't choose to go on his actual class trip (to drink and party down in the Catskills) and, although the Cabela's trip was something he always wanted to do instead, cash and circumstances had never conspired to make it possible.




However, he and his sister pooled their money and planned this excursion to the Cabela's store in Hamburg PA for yesterday. And they invited me to join them.



There is a certain amount of choice in routes between here and there. And it is possible, nay probable, that Alan's choice of 476, the toll road that ambles off toward Allentown, may have been an improvement over my choice...I-81 that is....which is the one we took. I-81 is industrial strength ugly, make no mistake about it.




Some quotes from participants in the epic journey and others who heard of our woes:

"I-81 is one long rumble strip from the border to the exit for Hamburg."

"Hey, lookit that guy that went off on the median and is driving there! Wow, is he crazy or what???"

"No, it's probably smoother there."

And of Route 61, which was the one we took from 81 to Hamburg, "I think this road was laid out by a white-tailed deer on crack."

Yeah, the ride was rough.





However, the store is really, really, really cool. It is an amazing thing to actually see the mounts of deer you have read about in Outdoor Life or Field and Stream. I wish my feet had been up to more time in the deer room, where there are legions of legendary bucks for viewing. I didn't even take any pics there as the room is very dark and I am a poor student of flash photography.

There is so much stuff to see, and hear (such as folks who should stay away from turkey calls as they are going to scare away any turkeys they encounter...of course I couldn't get Alan, the terror of the stairwells at Coby...to demonstrate his stuff) smell, (I shudder to imagine the reaction of a deer that accidentally found itself in the deer lure department...just mind boggling...if I ever go again I am going AROUND that departement) and taste, (yeah cinnamon roasted pecans, what's not to like)



I took some photos, probably fewer than I should have, but if you can visit the place yourself, do.... just plan on buying ball joints, tie rods, shocks, and tranquilizers at the end of the trip..

My favorite part was the aquarium. I could have spent the whole time there!

More pics from our trip here.

Back to School Shopping

(Don't you just love these irrelevant pictures?
This is a Scottish Highlander Cow over at the fair.)

I am done with school shopping, what with the baby in college and all, and it is not a task that I will miss at all. If I never again have to compete with herds of other harried parents for the last pack of three by five cards in the state or spend money we don't have for expensive gadgets that could be replaced by lined paper and a pencil I will rejoice with hosannas. To never buy another five-inch binder (yeah, I know what they cost) or graphing calculator will make me a very happy woman.

However, a post by my friend Ann, had me remembering just how creative a terminally lazy very busy and harassed mother can be. Three kids, one husband, elderly inlaws, the farm etc. had me at a dead run all through the school years. Band, chorus, 4-H, Dairy Quiz Bowl, Dairy judging, Dairy Ambassadors, who had time to shop? As soon as our kids could count, read, and conceive of spending money (I think Alan might have been nine) we pointed them towards independence by giving them a certain amount of money at the beginning of each frantic fall pen, pencil and over-priced clothing round up. (One year it was two hundred dollars for clothes, books, three by five cards from Hell, calculators etc. Those were the days.......I can't imagine spending that now and am glad I don't have to).

They were then permitted to each take a shopping cart and buy exactly what they wanted-the catch being that it had to go them for the whole school year. If they had money left at the end of their initial shopping session (when the prices are lowest and the crowds most insane) they could put it away for school needs during the ensuing year. If they had any left come summer vacation it was theirs for whatever they wanted.

If the clothes they bought were poorly made or seriously ugly, they had to cope with the consequences. Skimping on things on the class lists brought the teacher down on their heads not mine. (Well actually I put my fingers in my ears and hummed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony while the teachers yelled at me on the phone but the offspring had to come up with a way to fulfill their commitments....)

You might expect that this would be fraught with comedy and tragedy and that they ended up short of needed funds, out of paper and bereft of pens.
It wasn't.
They weren't.
Maybe because they were farm kids and simply had to be practical and independent to get from day to day, they did just fine right from the very first year. Alan and Liz, the practical pair, had money left for summer. Becky the generous might have had to borrow paper from someone half way through the year, but she got by and got to choose clothes that she liked (I shuddered but she was happy).

It worked for me too. I was there in the store to offer advice if requested but I never had to fight over what color or price of notebook or tee shirt. If they wanted top of the line stuff they made do with less...willingly because they got to choose between five notebooks for a dollar or one for five dollars.

Today any one of them can take X number of carefully hoarded dollars to the store and come back with the maximum amount of appropriate products that those dollars can purchase. They can grocery shop for the whole family on an extremely tight budget, buy vehicles, animals, feed, or whatever and the oldest is only 24. I know I was a real mean mom, but most days I am quite glad of it.

Happy Father's Day

Thanks Dad for the love of learning and the curiosity that has and does drive me. My life will never be dull....and a happy day to all you fathers out there. You mean a lot to your wives and kids and this day is just one way of showing it.

***The folks are here this weekend with their amazing array of rare books. Stop by and visit if you are in the area. If you can't visit enjoy their month-long online book sale here.


A bit off topic, but by the way, I read some of the drivel that was printed about this show and I was embarrassed to live in NY state. Good grief what ignorance.


It's okay lady, we gun people don't want idiots like you near our guns, so it all evens out in the end I guess.

Happy Mother's Day

To my magnificent mom, who could always do anything. She and my dad have led a life of adventure, from running an antique store, adding a bookstore (the treasure cave or chain gang of my childhood depending...) to hosting the Clan Montgomery tent at Scottish games from here to Colorado. Touring Scotland, England and France. Carving fabulous art work from birds to King Tut, painting, digging incredible minerals, cutting stones, making jewelry...you name it...where their interests took them they followed. I have a lovely lost-wax process silver ring my mom made me with stones my father cut....one of my greatest treasures....An intricate quilt mom sewed with all my animals depicted it, that, although it is worn from keeping me warm for decades, is never put away.

Five days after radical cancer surgery Mom was panning for gold in the Carolinas....why ruin a good vacation over a little thing like a major operation. She is tough as a railroad spike, never mind your paltry little nails......

At least in part because of all those fascinations and wonders (and others too numerous to mention, from square dancing, in costumes mom designed and sewed to learning about area history from hunting fossils and Indian relics...even the whole bird watching thing) my two brothers and I are never bored. When you have parents that open your eyes to all the marvels of living in this world, up close and personal, you don't need television and you do revel in living in it. (In fact it was Mom's relentless nagging gentle pressure that got me to buy a computer and go online in the first place.)

So thanks Mom, for being all that you are, for marrying Dad almost sixty years ago, and for following his passions and yours wherever they led.

Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day and many more to follow.

And Happy Mother's Day to all who read who are mothers and to their mothers and all the mothers everywhere. This is your day. Enjoy the flowers and the cookouts and the company of the ones who love you....