Ominous but Beautiful

This evening we had beautiful weather here, cool, but not cold. We gathered with close friends to partake of grilled burgers and more trimmings than the counter could hold, talking about grandchildren, and grandparents and quilts, flowers, furniture, llamas, and the weather...always the weather.

To the south was brilliant, sunlight sky...just a few loose puffs of cloud. But to the north a storm was brewing. I stood in the same spot to take these pictures. Quite a difference, I would say. Thankfully, this storm missed us, but I hear
there was baseball sized hail not far from here.

Tomorrow I depart for senior trip--and the lovely hills of southern Missouri.
I pray for no storms...of any kind.

More Good Intentions

Because of "end of the year" school activities, I've not had enough time with the grandchildren, so they came over yesterday for a while. We strolled up to see the goats at the edge of town. Last year they approached the fence and ate the weeds we offered them. This year they just kept munching grass and ignored us. Zaya and Mim were patient for a while, but they finally gave up, so disappointed they came straight back to the house and retreated to their toy buckets. We only stopped a few times along the way for important stuff--like catching bugs for the bug jar, and playing with the helicopter seeds under somebody's mimosa tree.

Well at least we had good intentions.

For our "end of the year" party yesterday we had planned to go to Norman and help the Salvation Army clean up after the recent tornado. We arrived at school in boots, jackets, old jeans, work gloves and baseball caps--all swathed in sunscreen, carrying crowbars and magnets. We were ready to work. We were prepared for tetanus shots. They called all the teachers into the workroom at 8:15.

Problems. It was pouring rain in the city and nobody wanted a crew of kids and their chainsaw-wielding dads to descend upon the wreckage in the slippery mud...especially if there was a chance of lightening. So we all came up with ideas. Surely somebody needed us. But every phone call we made led to a dead end. It was frustrating, to say the least...especially for the students, who had been excited about helping.

There was another problem also: Lightening had struck the pumps at the COOP and there was no gas for the bus. We would probably be able to make it to the next town for fueling, but there was no guarantee of that. Do we risk it and go to the park?

So the students watched a movie and played in the gym. I worked on the senior slide show for the graduation and finished averaging all my grades for the year. This is the earliest I've ever finished them. Good thing though, because I'm going on senior trip Monday. Yikes, I need to do all my laundry!

Anyway, I was proud of the students. They took it all in stride, and with all those boots it was some stride!

Sophomores and a Seven Mile Hike

This is what they looked like at the beginning of the hike--almost running. It's a lovely day, cool, brisk, perfect for a long hike and so preferable to sitting in desks...















Halfway through the hike. Some took the wrong trail, but they arrived here in time for the all important class picture.
















The trip home. I think the hike was a little more strenuous than they thought it would be. Ah well. They are young. This little nap will restore all the energy they lost.

I feel spoiled...

Long hours at school without a break...the year is almost over.
Just when I was feeling harried, harassed and haggard, three great blessings came my way:

First, a good friend and the mother of a couple of my students volunteered to help me catch up with my pile of ungraded papers...which has been going through an untidy and unmanageable growth spurt. She worked for hours and inspired me to get everything graded--up to today's turn-ins. Blessings on her!

Second, the home economics class invited us to eat a home-baked lasagna meal in the library. Since it was their quarter test, they outdid themselves: settings! candles! waitstaff!

Third, when I finally straggled home, my husband had grilled a steak for me. It was just perfect--not too done. I felt like a grand dame.

Only one unfortunate thing happened today. I had a bad fall.

I fell off the top of my "no sugar" diet and landed in a chocolate cheesecake.
Alas!

Yesterday the Wheat was Green...Today it Started Golding.

I couldn't believe it, but sure enough, this morning on the way to school I saw the sun break forth in golden promises and coax the wheat to glimmer back. This evening as I meandered home--late and tired, but not too weary for wonder--I stopped to take some pictures of this gilded overglow.

Tornado Watch?

We're supposed to be under a tornado watch until 10:00 p.m. but there really isn't much to watch. The horizons are foggy with dust. The sun still shines on the rippling wheat.
What you can't see, however, is the wind. It was lifting me off my feet as I took these pictures, and driving home today was not very easy, as the wide side of the suburban kept getting buffeted. Our plan for tonight was to visit our son's music program...but that county is under a watch also, and the miles between here and there, while beautiful, are also desolate so we are not going to brave it. I guess we will sit here at home, wash clothes, and grade piles of papers...unless, of course a tornado swoops in and blows them all into the next county, which, at this point, would probably not be too unwelcome.





I tried to take a video of rippling wheat--green and supple. If it makes you seasick to watch, I apologize in advance. Believe me, I had to have "sea legs" to stand there filming it.

...For a Mom Who Read to Us

Thanks God,
for a Mom who read to us--
showed us Daniel, fearless in Babylon;
Jorli, alone in the white, cold Alps;
read us Little Pilgrim's Progress,
Christian and Faithful on the perilous path.

We heard about Ruth and Esther and Joseph
About Joan of Arc and Pollyanna, the glad girl.

"Oh Please," we'd cry, "Just one more chapter!"
thus begging our way through many a book--
through Hiawatha's lyrical childhood,
down the Highwayman's "ribbon of moonlight" road,
into dark Sherwood with Robin Hood.

We listened to songs of Arabian Nights,
Heard about King Arthur and his friends:
Lancelot, Merlin, and righteous Galahad!
Dragons! Damsels! Mighty Men!

She taught us courage!
Our slumber was brave,
and our dreams intrepid!

Thanks, God.
Thanks, Mom.

Kids and Sailboats= Tears and Trophies

Turtle and I went out this evening to watch our grandchildren participate in the award ceremony for their AWANA Wednesday night classes. The main event was a sailboat competition. This was followed by presentation of T-shirts for those who had memorized at least 45 verses and a special "pie-throwing" prize for those who had memorized the most in each class.

Mim is a cubbie and doesn't handle people screaming very well. She managed the boat well until about midway down the canal, when the roar of the crowd got loud. Then, as she said: "You can't blow hard when you're crying."

For a little while Mim seemed to be devastated by the incident, but in three or four minutes she was running around the gym acting crazy with another little girl her age and had forgotten all about coming in last with her nicely crafted little boat.I don't think it scarred her for life anyway.



























Zaya fared somewhat better. He bounced all over the gym with great glee, but managed to settle down enough to furnish a strong sailing wind for his ship and sail it through several races into first place.



After all the other awards were given, Zaya was allowed to throw a pie into the face of one AWANA leader. He chose the event emcee...who reacted as he did to everything--with cheerful melodrama. I'm pretty sure I would have felt let down to receive that prize instead of something of substance...like a book or a game...but Zaya seemed to think it a wonderful reward. Ah well. I'm just glad we didn't try something like that at our AWANA fun fair. I'm trying to go without sugar.

Wordless Wednesday

Uneventful

We took a group of twelve children to fish last night at a farmer's pond nearby; most of them caught a fish. I only caught a nibble with the fishing rod and reel but I caught a lot of pictures with my trusty little camera.

The sun went down slowly.
The wind kept the gnats away.
Delighted children squealed.
Nobody got hurt, or mad, or lost, or exposed to poison ivy. Nobody got sick on the hot dogs.
Thank goodness it was an uneventful evening!

Out on the Country Roads

You never know what you might find at the end of a country road. We pulled off the main highway so I could take some pictures of the clouds and suddenly, just over a hill, we found this barn almost swaying in the wind. The farmer was kind enough to see us taking pictures and opened the gate for us to get closer. He said "sure, go ahead and take some pictures before it falls down." From the looks of it, I suspect that day is coming soon.

The sun was really bright so I stood in the shade for this second shot. Notice the sunbeams at the corner of the barn.

April Skies

I took these pictures within a twenty-four hour period Friday to Saturday evening. I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at the sky.

Running in Circles

Clay got a new job and a new apartment in a town about an hour from here. She doesn't drive yet, so we found an apartment close to work and close to church. Moving furniture wasn't too bad, but I've been down there now four times in the last three weeks.



Today, Turtle and I, Art and Carina, and Zaya and Mim all went for a visit. There was a rattlesnake festival up town, and cowboys everywhere in the streets...a little too exciting for my taste--since I had come to help out with laundry. (she doesn't have a washer or dryer yet) and the only laundromat was closed so the owners could go have their pictures taken with a rattlesnake, eat rattlesnake meat, or participate in the "snake of the day" contest. Anyway, I drove for about twenty five miles looking for a laundromat and finally gave up, so I could go spend some time with the grandchildren.




When I got back to the apartment they were exploring with their father and had discovered a tunnel under the street nearby. It was really an enchanted looking place, and perfect for taking pictures--the graffiti and cement making the door at the other end look like an inner city exit to Narnia, so I explored a while with them, but, being a proper grandmother, I became a little nervous and afraid they would stick their hand up through a crack onto the highway, so I steered them gently back toward the little park and apartment complex.

Zaya and Mim told me they had made two major discoveries on their field trip with their father:

First, that large mound of black stuff they were standing on in the tunnel was safe to stand on as it was really just hardened asphalt, and second, that horse poop floats. That's how it got all along the grassy ditch. Recent rains had washed it down from the stables up the street.

Interesting stuff.

Snowball Bush

For a week or so in April, this bush bears snowballs. They start out small and greenish, then suddenly flower into round dripping white blossoms. For a few days, or until the next high wind...they are gorgeous.

She's at that Age

If you get her picture before she sees the camera, she looks like this:





















but if you wait until she sees you...she looks like this:
















See, here it is again:
Before she realized I had the camera out:













After she saw the camera: