Squirrelly Entertainment

You know that my favorite room is the library.   I see a lot of activity from the large picture window. I love the view of my flower garden, but those energetic squirrels are always a joy to watch. They perform the usual: climbing trees, quickly running from one safe place to another place, hanging upside down from the bird feeder while enjoying the bird seed meant for the sparrows and scrub jays. 

 

The brown tree squirrels must enjoy our front yard because they have very little freedom in the back yard. Dear Daisy Flower, our yellow lab, entertains herself by tracking down squirrels. I'm sorry to say, a few slow runners have not made it to safety in time. Therefore, the front yard is the squirrel’s safest abode.

The squirrels use their little paws to remove the outer covering from rose hips or nuts so they can eat what's inside. Watching squirrels flip their tails as they communicate with each other is fascinating. Flipping their tails is similar to dogs barking, but do you know what they are saying?

They chase each other around the yard and up the trees to their hiding places. They are constantly eating food, burying it, and then looking for what they buried yesterday.

This morning my eyes followed a curious squirrel.  A smaller, probably younger squirrel stopped in the middle of the dew-covered lawn, grabbed his tail, pulled it around in front of him and rubbed it for a long time. At first I thought he was drying his tail, but then he vigorously rubbed his chest. I decided he must have fleas. Never before have I seen squirrels touch their tails. Their tails are usually flying gracefully behind them as they run to their next adventure.

Their next adventure could be mine if I am in the library at the right moment. 

 

“. . .You are very precious to God. . .” Daniel 9:23 NLT

Juanita
folks7777@gmail.com

Never Again

Good morning, Friends!

Does this sound familiar: “We will never do that again”?

I have said “never again” to painting the house, never again to refinishing the hard wood floors.  This week we went through another “never again” experience.

We have over fifty gold fish swimming with our beautiful koi and you know what they do in the water. Let me tell you what happens when the pond filter isn't working properly. Sewer smell, sludge, and algae happens. This month the fish appeared to be in a stupor because they wouldn't leave the bottom of the pond. We could barely see them in the thick, dark water. That's a bad sign.

We knew their hours were numbered so we had to do something fast. Drain the pond and add fresh water. Doesn't that sound easy?

It took two hours to catch the fish. We stored them in a huge plastic fish tub which was so graciously loaned to us by the Eugene business, Downs By The Pond.

My husband Craig used our sump pump to drain the pond.  The pump eventually lost suction because of the shallow water, so the shop vac finished the job.

With the water removed, we could see the thick brown slim and green algae on the bottom of the pond, the walls, in the potted plants. It covered everything! This was a job for a pressure washer. So I was putting water in the pond with the pressure washing while Craig was pumping it out of the pond.  The pond is four and one-half feet deep and about eighteen by twenty feet wide.

Most of the plants needed more pea gravel and some had outgrown their pots and needed to be re-potted. So now was the time for that job as well.

All this was done between rain and a hail storm. As usual here in the valley, there was a little sunshine in between the storms.

We finished the twelve-hour cleaning job just before dark. We covered the fish in their temporary home with a net and took our tired bodies back to the house. Refilling the pond with water, which would take about four hours, would have to wait until morning .

The next day just after dawn, we returned to the garden to start filling the pond with fresh water. Guess what we saw on the ground by the plastic fish tub. Two five-pound koi fish. We think they decided to take a walk in the early morning hours. They were not flopping around or gasping for air. Their gills barely moved. Craig almost threw them in the garbage, but he decided to pray for them and put them back in the water. About fifteen minutes later, they were swimming around like nothing had happened.

If you have a sick cat or dog, Craig would be glad to pray for them.

Our aching backs and arms told us that cleaning the pond was one of those “never again” jobs. At least not for another twenty years.

Juanita

folks7777@gmail.com

Darkness and Light

Light changes our view immediately. When I rose early this morning, there was no view from the library window–just blackness. The lawn proved dark as the sky and I wondered how can I be inspired to write when I see nothing? In ten minutes, the scene changed to green grass and gray sky. 

 

The coming of daylight is so amazing and inspiring. How quickly the scene can change. Imaging watching the creation of the first day when God said, “Let there be light. . .” and seeing it dramatically appear.

If you and I rise early enough, we can watch light happen all over again. The word, quickly, reminds me of the last promise in the Bible: Jesus will come quickly. My goodness! Who says darkness can't be inspiring?

I'm so pleased you came for a visit, but I'm definitely not happy that two large hawks arrived for a visit today. When the boys were young, we enjoyed counting the hawks along the I-5 freeway as they perched in a tree or on a fence post waiting for a field mouse to leave its hiding place. There is no welcome sign here for hawks because they are not spying for mice, but fish. 

Today, one landed on the top branch of a cedar tree and the other one made a dive into the pond. The ugly fowl abruptly left with gold in its clutches. They can steal all the gold fish they want, but they better not even dream about the eighteen-inch koi or there will be “Trouble in River City”.

Your tip for the day: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It will take the edge off your appetite and you will eat less.

Juanita

Dew Drops Are Falling

Hello, friends!

  Today began cold and damp; time for Red Rose tea. Canada introduced us to this brand several years ago while on vacation. This one became one of my favorites because no matter how long it steeps, the tea doesn't become bitter. I declare Red Rose the ultimate summertime sun tea.

  Look closely and you can see large dew drops lined up on the bare branches of the red horse chestnut tree outside my library window. If you can benefit from a quiet time this morning, come and watch them with me. The large drops are all in a row like a string of precious white pearls. You better come soon because when a gentle breeze begins, the drops fall one by one, never to be seen again.

  He is running so fast his little stick legs are a blur! Watching this lone red robin reminds me of an old roadrunner cartoon. In my yard the robins usually hop, hop and pause as they look and listen for worms. But this little guy zips licketysplit across the yard. He must be going somewhere important. 

  Do you have something important on your list today? I'm having lunch with one of my best friends. I recommend the restaurant upstairs at Valley River Center. I declare their carrot bread moist and not too sweet. Just perfect.

Your friend,

Juanita

folks7777@gmail.com

Bright Sun, Painted Sun

This morning before dawn, our east security light illuminated the bedroom. I was already thinking of getting out of bed, so I quickly grabbed my glasses and peered out the window to see what creature was trespassing through our yard. Hop, hop, hop, then it disappeared quickly beyond the floodlight. One little black and white bunny returned this morning. 

Who would dare complain of being awakened by a bunny? I wish he or she would visit in the daytime so we could really enjoy the furry fellow. My husband and I first discovered our bunny visitors this year in February. 

Gazing through the library window right now, I see two colors: black and midnight blue. Midnight is long past and the sun will soon rise. 

Thirty minutes later the color black has yielded to the green of the lawn, and a new day has dawned. “This is the day the Lord has made; let's be glad” in whatever our circumstances.

My floral tea cup is empty and I have been reading my favorite book for an hour. Now the bright sun is making everything outside glow. I'm sure you have seen days like this. The green grass appears exceptionally bright and the yellow-tipped arborvitae shines. We need to enjoy the brightness while we can because, probably in two minutes, the sun will disappear behind a cloud as it has done all week.

Speaking of the sun, from my library window I can see the sun I painted. I spray-painted a colorful sun on the window of the neighbor's barn wall that borders my garden. The high window was the perfect location for my art work. Creating this picture last year was a delight and so easy to accomplish. A helpful on-line video demonstrated how to create this feat. Talent is not necessary in this style of painting. Rain or shine, I can always see the bright sun outside.

    I named the picture, "In the Beginning, God. . . ."

This Scripture seems an appropriate closing for this week:  "The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the word, and all the stars were born."  Psalm 33:6


Enjoy your view of the universe!


Juanita

Spring Colors

Hi! Please enter, my dear friends.
Jewel, your hot chocolate is ready. 

Just as promised, spring has arrived. Life has returned to the garden. What colors do you see? Bright yellow, white and medium purple are everywhere at my place and probably in your neighborhood as well.

The star magnolia has been covered with large pussies all winter, but now the flowers have finally opened. Since the tree is about sixty feet from my library window, the flowers look like cotton balls. I still think the tree looks unattractive at this stage without its leaves. But, guess what I did. I picked a branch with partially opened buds and put it in a vase by the kitchen sink. Now, that's the way the star flower of the magnolia should be enjoyed.

Another white I see is the pieris bush. They are completely covered with the little Lily of the Valley flowers. Next will come the new growth in bright red leaves on this bush which is another phase of spring.

The yellow I see are daffodils and forsythia, both are so bright and vivid, I'm not sure which is the brightest. I keep my forsythia tightly pruned so that it is a thick bush. You have probably seen those that look wild and not maintained or unkempt. That is a little pet peeve of mine.

 I see lonely daffodils in a vacant field across the street where a walnut orchard once stood. I think it is time someone picked a few. I promise I'll leave most of them for the neighbors to enjoy.

    The purple are heather, daphne and miniature rhodys. No comments here except I love the scent of daphne. Do you? It is so sweet. I put a branch of daphne flowers in the vase with the star magnolia. Great combination!

      I have a book in my library called, “Color Me Beautiful”. God has certainly given us so many beautiful colors to enjoy. Enjoy your view today!

Juanita

God Bless America

Welcome!  Afternoon tea is being served.  If you prefer, I'll be glad to fix coffee.  My husband buys great (expensive) coffee from Caribou Coffee on-line. 

Plaid!  Our American flag was red and white plaid this morning.  I had never seen it hang this way .  The wind had flipped it over the angled pole once, producing a bias fold.  It was soaking wet, making it look sewn that way.  But you know what happened when the wind came up again.  It will always fly!  "God bless America!  Our home, sweet home."

 A flock of European starlings just landed center-stage.  I grabbed my bird book to verify their name.  Every library needs the "Field Guide to Birds by the Stokes"  This husband and wife team likes to study birds together.  The starlings in my yard do not stay long, probably two minutes at the most.  They come by the dozens, eat everything in sight, then on signal it seems, they immediately depart.  On their list of food is weed seeds and snails.  I wish they came more often for that meal.  Wouldn't it be great if they ate moss too?

I have a new email address:  folks7777@gmail.com

Let's talk again next week.
Juanita

Jets and Filberts

 I'm so pleased you came for a visit today!

The Willamette Valley has very cold, but sunny weather this morning. I just finished reading chapter nine and my china tea cup is empty. 

Do you ever watch a jet stream?  I have seen them many times, but never watched them. There's a difference, you know.  I'm watching one right now from my library window.  The jet is flying south, probably to California.  There is not the slightest breeze in my front yard, but it must be windy high in the sky because the white stream has floated east and is almost blown to pieces.  All that happened in about two minutes. 

Keep looking up or you will miss something important!

If I were looking out my library window sixteen years ago (no library then), right now I would see our filbert orchard in full bloom with their soft, yellow tassels.  That is the closest they came to having flowers.  I can forgive them for that because I love the nuts, especially the sweeter male nuts.  We had one hundred trees all around our house, but in due time, the harvesters, our kids and the neighbor kids, grew up and moved away.  

It was time for a change and my husband just happened to have a back hoe.  Imagine that!  The filbert orchard became firewood for our Fisher stove.  We created a  lovely garden with a six-foot tall waterfall, meandering creek, and a fish pond that I can  always enjoy from the library window.  

How are your blueberries bushes?  Ours are red with new growth.
Another promise of spring!

See you next week! 

A Note from the Past

My mother-in-law passed away more than thirteen years ago, and today she gave me a note. She was proficient at keeping records. It is my quiet time in the library, and as I was fixing our tea this morning, I decided to use loose tea. I remembered seeing a 'tea ball' that belong to Thelma, so I decided it was about time I used it. I knew right where it was – in the camel-shaped teapot. When I took off the lid of the ball, there was her note to me. She said her mother gave it to her in 1937, and it had made a lot of tea for many people. Her little message brought a smile to my face. I wish she and I could have tea together today, but instead, you and I can.

Yesterday was a wonderful, warm day! Instead of looking out the window at yard work that needed to be done, I was doing it. The row of Lavender has grass growing in it, so guess who is going to transplant them? My dear husband and Daisy dog helped me. Do you want me to bring you up to date on Daisy's diet? Maybe you do not, because it is gross! Daisy was eating stuff in the bark dust. Craig proceeded to tell me that Daisy just loved to eat it. No, it was not carrot peelings this time. He said it was deer droppings, but he said Daisy thought it was chocolate-covered raisins. See, I told you it was gross!

Who or what is a “bird watcher”? Is it someone who hides in the bushes with his binoculars and takes close-up pictures of birds? I am not a bird watcher, but I enjoy watching the birds fly in the air, hop around the lawn and eat worms. Right now there is not a bird in sight and I miss watching them. It is relaxing to watch the birds do their thing. It is surprising how thirty minutes can pass so quickly in five minutes. I call it a great way to waste time or to stall doing what is 'important' such as dusting.

The other day in my library, I read this in the book of Numbers:

"May the LORD bless you and protect you.

May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace." (NLT)

See you next week!

Your friend,

Juanita

folks777@aol.com

Floats and Flowers

Tea time!   The water's boiling!  Speaking of hot water, we were at Belknap Springs this week.  The water was very hot, but a lovely place to visit especially when there are flowers to enjoy in the summer.
 

The weather man was correct this time. I woke up to snow on Thursday! How beautiful to watch the giant flakes drift down as I sat in the library, but I know it will not last long. It is getting brighter outside now, so maybe that is the end of the snow.  I was raised in snow country, but I prefer to watch it instead of be in it.

As the dried leaves fell off the Star Magnolia tree last fall, the flowers buds of the white spring flowers appeared immediately. I have enjoyed them all winter. The flower buds are covered with long hairs, but to me they look like giant pussies on a pussy willow tree. I can see this small tree from my library window. As I am relaxing in the library today, the buds look much bigger. It is not my favorite tree, but it speaks to me of the future. The flowers buds say, “Spring will come in spite of the seemingly long, cold winter.” It has been saying it every day this winter. Very encouraging!

This reminds me of all the promises of God that we have in the Bible. They are completely dependable just as spring follows winter. Keep your faith – the reward is great!

Just past this magnolia tree, I can see the bank of the meandering stream which empties into the fish pond. Just as some of us like to decorate our homes with art, I like to do the same in my garden. On this bank of the stream, I have placed the two large Japanese glass floats. They are the size of basketballs, so I can plainly see them from my library window. One is olive green, the other is bright aqua blue. You should see the blue one when the sun shines on it! In the summer, they are in the pond, floating around with the current.  I can barely see them from the library. When I took them out of the pond and cleaned them this winter, I decided to display the balls instead of storing them in the pump house. What a brilliant idea – now I can enjoy them all year. Can you guess where I put the five little ones for the winter? No, they are floating in the stone birdbath near the library #2 that I told you about last week.

The large olive green float mysteriously appeared in the pond about three years ago. We had put them all away for the winter and suddenly, there was one more floating around the pond. It was about a week later before our neighbor, Scott, said he wanted to give his float a new home. What a blessing!

So, what have you been inspired to do this winter? Please share with me on the 'comments' button or at folks777@aol.com.

See you next week!

Juanita

Brightness & Bunnies

Good morning!

If there was one thing I wish I could see from my big library window, it would be a direct view of our sun when it rises. What I can see is the colorful results in the scattered clouds above, but not the brilliant sun itself. Right now the sun has been “up” for a few hours and making an amazing picture in the front yard.

Let me explain. On the east side we have a row of ugly pine trees. I call them ugly because all the trimming I do will not improve their appearance. We have removed the lower branches, making it easier for my husband to mow under the trees. You should hear the noise when he mows in that area. It sounds like he is mowing rocks, but it is only little pine cones.

There are two advantages of these 20-foot, ugly trees. One, they make a tall privacy wall and two, the odd-shaped branches allow streaks of sunlight to fall across the lawn. I wish you could enjoy the scene with me now. There are long, black shadows on the lawn; but in other places the green lawn also glows with long, yellow stripes of sunlight. In the far background by the pond, the three white birch tree trunks are shining so very, very bright. It appears a spot light is on them. Right outside my library window, the red twig dogwood looks on fire because of the brightness of the sun. The effect isn't the same when the sun is high overhead.

Wow! What I just said would make good material for a sermon. Darkness, Son, Brightness, Sun.

My husband has always said he wished he had wild rabbits in our yard, but we know our dog wouldn't allow that very long. I wish you could have seen the two bunnies in the front yard last night. They were black and white with long, fluffy fur. We didn't get a second look because the mother rabbit and the bunnies hopped away very fast as soon as we saw them or they saw us, whatever happened first. I hope they come back again. It is strange to see rabbits after all the years we have lived here and never seen them before. Years ago we had a red fox with a long bushy tail living in the neighbor's barn. He wandered around our filbert orchard, but he only stayed for a couple weeks. That thought just reminded me of a lady in our church in the '50's who wore a 'dead' fox cape or stole. Poor fox! I guess I better not say that I have a mink jacket.

I hope you see something unusual this week that you can share with me.

Juanita

The Green Library

Welcome! Please come in.

Spending time in my library with the just-my-size red overstuffed chair, all my books neatly lined up on the shelves, and the brass overhead lamp is a pleasure indeed. Have I told you that I have another library? Where, you ask? Craig's greenhouse will make a great library. It has just now been designated as my second library. It is in the back yard, so it will give me a completely different view that I can share with you. I just love this idea! So when I'm there, I will tell you. It has four glass walls, heat lamps for freezing weather, and shelves for potted plants. Daisy and I just went outside for a tour of library #2. There are nine geranium plants still blooming, the tomato plants gave up the ghost, and the wild grass on the floor (ground) has dried up. Even though it is a sunny day, it is 32 F. degrees and no one would want to read in there today, but maybe I will in the early summer before it get too hot.

Oh, I just remembered that I have the perfect books to put in the Green Library. First, let me give you a warning. Never store old books in a shed or barn. They will smell very musty and you won't want them in your house. We have our smelly books that belonged to Grandma outside in the gazebo. Now I can put that bookcase in Craig's greenhouse. I wonder if I should ask him first?

One of those old musty books is, “The Furnace of Gold”, by Philip Verrill Mighels. It was written in 1909 and is an excellent romantic mystery book in the gold rush days. I'm so glad I didn't throw it away. I'm known for doing that from time to time. By the way, I just discovered you can read the complete book on-line for free.

Do you remember the old song, “What's Behind the Green Door?” Recently, I painted the door on the greenhouse a bright green color. That's appropriate, right? Now you know what's behind the green door - plants. I just thought of one thing I need in library #2. I need a chair and a foot stool. Our lawn furniture will work just fine in the greenhouse. It is a good thing Vic make the greenhouse as big as he did.

While I was in the mood of painting doors green and had the brush loaded with green paint, I found another door that needed painting. When the neighbors built their 70-foot barn wall down our east property line, they added a door to nowhere (like that bridge to nowhere), but without a doorknob. So, of course, that door had to be painted green also. Now when my friends ask what's behind that green door? I say, “I don't know because I can't open it.”

You already know about the White House; now you know about my Green Library.

I enjoyed your visit. See you next week...

Juanita