There, with the grace of God, went I: part III of III

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Wherein I explore a very big lake and discover I am ready to go home…

Having spent Saturday at the Bantam show, and on the road, I was glad for a lazy morning on Sunday.  But in no time at all we were back on the road with Jayme’s sister escorting us, and we had her nephew in tow.

Poor guy thought he was going to be home doing the normal boy in charge, teenager home alone shenanigans, and suddenly there was a carload of old ladies down in the parking lot demanding his presence!  (As seen through the 14 yr. old’s perspective.)

He has that effect on you.  You just want him around because he is so spontaneous and fun!

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Deja Vu?  No, you’ve seen this before… Jayme borrowed my cake picture, and I borrowed one of hers.. Turnabout is fair play they say!

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And then we were off to the Dunes, with a side trip to a very ancient barn complete with …

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Barn cats

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A carload of other old ladies showed up with a trunk load of cat food to feed them all.  I wondered at the time if this wasn’t the place where everyone came to dump unwanted kitties… lots of kitties…

I have this love of old barns.  I discovered them when I was eighteen and traveling from Southern California to my first duty station in Pensacola Florida.  As I entered the southern states they started popping up in the fields here and there and I wanted to draw every one of them.  Sadly, they are slowly being torn down and the wood repurposed for other projects like tables and shelving…

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I liked how the light came in through the window and lit up the angles on these beams.

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Old Barns Have Character

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It makes me sad to think of them no longer existing in their proper form as… barns.

Interesting observation here, the barns in Kentucky were for the most part painted a very dark charcoal black, and the barns in Indiana are mostly painted white.  Why is that? (A rhetorical question, but if you know the answer do tell!)

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Milking Room Deep Down Below

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Underneath it all there was a milking room.  I would have dearly loved to get inside to take pictures, but could not figure out how to get in there.  So we will all have to be content with pictures through a broken window… for which I gingerly got down on all fours in broken glass and balanced my camera on the ledge to get.  Be satisfied with the results, as they were the best to be had under these conditions.

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On the way to the dunes I saw this one and made poor Jayme’s sister pull over so I could get a picture of it…  I’m hating the blue tarp covered something on the side, but the sky and the whole effect are really beautiful.  It was just such a day!

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The Dunes, as they are called, is a beach on Lake Michigan.  Honey if you are from anywhere else in the country and you see the Great Lakes on a map, well you think “Yeah, wow, big lakes alright.”  But then you  get there and it’s like looking at the ocean… with the sun setting all wrong…

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Massive…

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It is a surrealistic sensation, causing introspection and a feeling of aloneness, yet comforting in a strange way…

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And then suddenly, all too soon,  our day was drawing to a close.  The sun was setting …

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And we were on the way back to The Coop Keeper’s  home.

My visit was almost over and I felt sad to think it.  Jayme had cared enough to open her home to me, a stranger.   She took me to see chickens in Ohio, and a Great Lake.  We went antique and thrift shopping (which my husband just will not do).  We talked, laughed, shared and did all the things that best friends do, and it was like we had known each other for years.

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I’d had a wonderful stay, and in the morning it would be time to go home.

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End Part III

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The Epilogue posts  tomorrow…

There, with the grace of God, went I: Part II of III

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My-Oh-My!  Before I begin part two in earnest I must share a vignette and a couple of photos with you!

On my first morning I awoke and looked up to see a lady bug nonchalantly walking on the ceiling.  Suddenly (s)he found another lady bug hunkered down in one of the spaces between the tiles and the chase was on!  The one chasing the other for a full 30 seconds which must have seemed a very long time to be pursued, for a lady bug at any rate!  The race came to an abrupt end when the bug being chased suddenly fell from the sky and landed somewhere within the folds of my covers.  Well at least her fall was padded!

I am one of those people who are prone to belly laughing.  I mean, after all, if it is worthy of laughter then go for the gusto I say!  Well, I began to laugh out loud at the ladybug race and then remembered where I was and the early state of the morning…  So I got up, donned my robe and slippers and quietly walked to the kitchen door to have a look at the day… when…

WHAPPA!!!

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This kitty just flat-footed it to face height and attached herself to the screen door!

Needless to say, I was a bit startled!

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Later in the day before Jayme, Peggy and I went shopping I took a little stroll down to the back forty of the property.  From there I found some delicious photos to take…

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Milkweed pods in the sunlight.

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The backside of the one hundred forty year old home where Jayme and Glenco reside.

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Now Jayme may go apoplectic when she sees I have posted this photo because the gardens have gone to seed.  But think of this!   All those seeds are feeding birds who stay for the winter and those just passing through on their way to see me in my gardens!  You know as well as I do that those smart birds have all the best winter seed stores marked out.

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Old friends sharing conversation.

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I imagine them either discussing the house’s eyebrows over the windows, or wondering what could be keeping me so long down here in the back forty.  Telephoto lenses get you great closeups, but do not teleport the conversations to go with… guess we’ll have to wonder.

Now where was I?  Oh yes, part two.  Wherein two friends partake of a little…

“:<>    !CHICKEN MADNESS!   <>:”

Now if you have read Jayme’s blog entry you will have seen the videos that let you in on just how NOISY it all was!  But if not, then you just have to go take a look, and a listen   –> HERE <–

Crazy but fun, yes?  No?  Well, we had a ball!

We met the Chicken Whisperer himself.

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Jayme and CW

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Saw so many chickens it was a blur,

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Oh wait, that was my camera malfunctioning.  But here are a few that did turn out…

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Ever wondered what would happen if you crossed a Chicken with a Chip Monk?

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and geese and turkeys,

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And hey, isn’t he a beaut?  And I hate turkeys, but could make an exception for him!

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and big-mouthed… er, billed ducks too!

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Darling, Just DARLING!

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So, Jayme fell in love with the Modern Bantams, and I fell in love with the little old style Bantams, and all that chickeness was just a bit overwhelming.  And wouldn’t you know that Jayme convinced one of the vendors to let her hold an itty-bitty-bantam girl and suddenly I had to have her…

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It was love at first sight...

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I heard this voice that sounded like me, but from a dream saying, “Jayme, I want her will you help me pick out a little Roo to go with her?” And bless her she just jumped at the chance, and the money exchanged hands, and I had two little bitty Bantams who would now need a box to ride home in!

Snapping into reality now, I realized that I needed a roomy cage that I could afford and ta-da!  There were two gentlemen, who being entrepreneurs with foresight, were building bantam cages right there on the spot, and they built one just for me!  Imagine that!

And so it was that I came back to Coop Keeper’s home with the “Duke” and “The Little Woman.”

It was an arranged marriage and they got to spend their honeymoon in Jayme and Glenco’s bedroom.  They are so thoughtful don’t you agree?

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Around the Farm

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The following are impressions from Jayme and Glen’s Home.  They are in no specific order, but I wanted to share with you the loveliness I found there even as the gardens prepared themselves for winter.

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Welcome

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The Friendly Kitty

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She gives tours daily!

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Old Eggs

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Jayme’s broody little hen was not going to give up!   So, Jayme removed her to bring her in to keep company with her other little hen while in hospital quarters.

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The Chicken Gang

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A One hundred year old (+ or –) Chicken Coop

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A tired scarecrow

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She sleeps for now but will be refurbished in spring to watch over all the loveliness that lies dormant till then.

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And finally…

A *Squirrel in hibernation

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End Part II

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*Squirrel, for those who do not know, is what Jayme calls the little trailer above.

There, with the grace of God, went I: Part I of III

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Having finally met Jayme for the first time I am just blown away by the girl!  She is so energetic!  But let me back up…

Driving from Hazel Green, Alabama to Crown Point Indiana , a distance of 523 miles, was a feat to be reckoned with.  I started out early in the day and drove ALL DAY and into the evening.  After the first 2oo miles of the trip I began to feel as though King Kong had my lower back in a pinch-like grip and feared it was my kidneys going on me.

I began drinking water in earnest, which made me have to make approximately ten extra pit stops, and that added yet another hour or more to my very long day!

By the time I was within thirty miles of Jayme’s home I was praying for teleportation and an end to my suffering.  I finally pulled into Jayme’s drive and just stopped the car… I couldn’t move.  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I was just so grateful to have made it to my destination.

Now you think me strange at this point I am sure, but the thing about it is this… I have killed two cars in two accidents (one here in Alabama and one in California) and only the grace of God saved me from being killed myself.  And so you see, getting to Jayme’s wasn’t just a long drive… it was a test of endurance and gaining control over my fear of going places with me behind the wheel.  Leave it to me to never do anything in a small way, huh?

Well, with Jayme at the truck’s door, and wondering out loud if I were about to cry I had to climb out and go in.  And there waiting for me were Jayme’s sister and her nephew.  I am afraid I wasn’t good company but I managed a smile and some tales of the journey and was given a chance later, on Sunday, to make up for it.  More about that day later!   Amazingly, my back was completely better within about half an hour… I guess it was stress!

On Thursday a long-lost friend of Jayme and her sisters arrived!  You see, I had met Peggy through Jayme on Face Book and when I found out that she only lived 20 miles away and that she and Jayme had not seen each other in over 25 years… well, I just had to try to make sure we all got together!  And so it was that Peggy arrived Thursday morning and we talked for hours me getting acquainted, and Peggy and Jayme reminiscing their old days in Chicago.  Later in the day we went out antiquing and thrift shopping in downtown Crown Point.  It was one of those rare days for me when I am having a great time and the day did not fly by… I was able to savor each moment.

The best part?  Sitting around the kitchen Island talking with new friends while Jayme just whipped up “… a Flourless Chocolate Cake in no time at all.”  And she did too!  Complete with raspberries from her summer garden!  Effortlessly!

There is no other word for it all but wonderful!

End Part I

 

It’s the little things in life

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Today I had a friend over, a new friend actually!  She is one of my egg customers.  Usually, I bring her eggs to her where she works, but this week she asked if she couldn’t come get them from me here and “…save me the trouble.”

My first reaction was to say no.  This is principally because I’m just not a good housekeeper.  Now my friend Jayme is an absolutely immaculate housekeeper.  She stresses about it and admits it freely!  Me?  Not so much.  It is not for lack of wanting a clean house, but it just seems that no matter how I try I just never get it all done.  That is of course unless company is coming!  Then I race about cleaning everything till it sparkles and make sure all is tidy and put away.  My guests arrive and always say how lovely everything is and I smile, and I’m stressed, wondering what horrid thing I may have forgotten to take care of…  I think I would actually die of mortification should someone find out what a slob I can really be.  Generally speaking I do not have a good time when friends come over because I stress too much.

Well, that was then, and this is now.  Now I live in the sticks, more or less, and I have this constant dust that seems to creep into every nook and cranny no matter how hard I try to keep it out.  My poor couch after traveling nearly three thousand miles cross-country has a rather large smudge on one arm that would not come out, not completely anyway.   Adding insult to injury it has been rather over loved by my then kitten Clause, who bared the corners by using it as a scratching post when no one was looking…  I cannot afford a new couch at the moment, so I am currently looking for something to cover it with, to make do, until it can be replaced.

And so it was that today I dusted and vacuumed the living room, made sure the guest bath (which is vintage early 60’s in decor and looks it) was clean and sanitized for visitors.   The rust stains in the sink remain, the two tiles I replaced with the mysterious, ever dirty looking caulking were cleaned and will return over the next few days to their ugly and dirty looking  patina, but hey, I made the effort!

And then Marie arrived bearing unexpected gifts!

She brought lovely flowers and a pumpkin spice loaf, and I was surprised that she would go to the trouble to do this,  for me.   We talked quite awhile over coffee about everything, and then we went out so she could meet the menagerie of the Farmlet.  I introduced her to my geese, pointed out my hennies in the field and then showed her the inner world of my beehive (via the safety of the window on the side, because she’s afraid of bees!) and then we went to see the little broody hen and looked into her nest …

And there was a broken egg, and just for a moment I was upset, but then I realized we’d arrived at a birth!  The egg was hatching!  That was a special gift for me and her.  I can’t tell you who was the more excited to see such a thing.  Peeking through the little hole we could see the baby chick moving and struggling to free itself, to be out and into the world at large.

Later, after Marie left, I went out with my camera to take pictures and found my new baby had made its arrival.  It was still wet under Momma Hen!

Isn’t it darling?

So, over the next few days I’ll watch and wait to see how many more will hatch!

Now just a moment ago I read a comment from Cindy, a long distance friend who commented on my blog today.  She shared:

“I think you live in a dreamworld.  Thank you for sharing it.”

And I tell you all that I share the little things in my life with you because I must.  Somehow, I feel that not sharing would make my life  a parallel to this age old philosophical question:

“If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Thus similarly…

If all the wonder and beauty that surrounds me is kept to myself and never shared… does it exist?

It’s the little things in the life I lead, the lessons learned, these daily gifts from God that are affirmations of his love for me, and I must share.  And along the way I learn to accept me, to make peace with dust and holey couch corners, and through the process of acceptance of my foibles…

I make new friends.