Josie's Wednesday

Finally! Meema remembered to buy pumpkin so we could make pumpkin bread. I helped stir. It took almost an hour to cook which is like forever but at last Meema took it out and then we had to wait for it to cool a little.

Meema said she used to help her grandmother make banana bread and they cooled it on these very same racks. Meema's grandmother was named Ruby and she is my great-great grandmother.

I wanted to put chocolate chips in the batter but Meema was out of chocolate chips. "How does it taste?" she asked me.

"Two thumbs up!" I said,

Then I got busy in my workbook.

I am going to be so ready for pre-school. 

Then we went up to Meema's workroom. There is a poster on the way up of a picture by a kid named William. I love this picture. Up in the workroom, Meema did some ironing and I found some things that I could play with. Then I put them in a box and hid them. Meema had to try to find them but she couldn't. 

Meema says I am pillaging her stuff but really I'm just playing with it. I will give it back, most of it.

Later, down in The Room, I put on a tall soldier hat. Then I marched on the bed.

We also painted and read books and did a puppet show and took a good nap. Then I had more banana bread.

Ohmigosh, it was another good day!

 

More Spring Beauties

 

Giving Thanks

False Solomon's Seal

I've been so cheered by the many positive ratings and reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and/or personal comments from folks who've read Crows.  It would be wiser, no doubt, simply never to look at reviews, as sometimes people can be ugly, but I can't resist and so far folks have been kind and even enthusiastic. 

Writing a book takes a lot of effort--something like birthing a child--and one wants that child to do well and for people to appreciate it.

And now, Crows has had more ratings (number of stars) and more reviews than any of my previous books. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who've taken the time to leave a rating and/or review for this child of mine.
 

Star of Bethlehem

So Many Things

Sunrise

Skink

Chilling with a snack

Rose Geranium

 

A Busy May Day

What a beautiful May Day it was! 

REMINDER: Get wet in the first rain of May for good health all year. (It's my family tradition and I interpret it loosely--get some rain on your hand and you're good.)

Josie and I made a start on Friday of moving stuff out of the greenhouse. There was a lot of potting soil on the floor and she helped by using a little trowel to scrape it up and put it in the bed. "This is the best day ever!" she said. She loves to help. And she loves being outside.

We lined up geraniums on the steps and did a bit of watering.

Yesterday I pulled weeds. It's particularly satisfying when I know the chickens (who are confined to the chicken yard for their own safety) will enjoy the greenery and reward us with deep orange yolks in their eggs.

The daffodils are all gone now but the iris are about to pop!

And the columbines! The original was a gift from my friend Candace many years ago and they have endured and spread--looking something like the flight of doves their name implies. (Columba is Latin for dove)

 

Black or Turkey? Vulture, That Is

Vultures are such majestic critters, patrolling the skies and riding the currents.  We have both the Black and the Turkey Vultures around here. It's easy to see the difference up close--the TV's head is featherless and red--like a turkey. 

But at this distance I can't see the red. Still, I think it's a Turkey Vulture rather than a Black --because of the shallow V of the wings, the 'fingers' at the wingtips, and the good- sized tail. What a beauty!

More about these birds HERE

 

Tree Peonies--Be Still My Heart

 

Josie and Dell

Do you like the tower I made? It is amazing. 

My dinosaurs and birds watched me build it.

I gave Bobadog my princess crown. He liked it.

And then I made a new friend. Her name is Dell and she is Meema's computer. We had a conversation and here it is. (Meema did the words I told her.)

D) HELLO JOSIE, I AM DELL. HOW ARE YOU? DO YOU LIKE APPLES?

J) YES, I DO! DELL, DO YOU LIKE APPLES?

D)I AM A COMPUTER. I DON’T EAT ANYTHING. WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE?

J) I LIKE MY MOM AND DAD.

D) THAT’S NICE. I DON’T HAVE A MOM AND DAD.

J) WHAT DO YOU LIKE, DELL?

D) I LIKE FINGERS ON MY KEYBOARD. THEY TICKLE. 

J) I LIKE WHEN MY MOM TICKLES ME. DELL, WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO?

D) HMMM, I LIKE TALKING TO YOU! ARE YOU MYFRIEND? 

J) YES, BUT I HAVE CHILDREN FRIENDS TOO. DELL, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

D) BLUE!!!! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR, JOSIE?

J) RED, PINK, BLUE, GOLDEN, SILVER, SPARKLY, AND PURPLE ARE MY FAVORITE COLORS. DELL, HOW MANY COLORS ARE YOUR FAVORITE?

D) HMMM…DARK BLUE, LIGHT BLUE, PURPLE, GREEN

J) DELL, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LETTER?

D) I LIKE Z BECAUSE IT IS LONELY—IT DOESN’T GET USED MUCH.

J) BUT WHAT ABOUT ZAP AND ZEBRA? AND ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ FOR SNORING?

D) JOSIE, GREAT IDEA! Z DOESN’T FEEL SO LONELY NOW.

J) HOW MANY LETTERS ARE YOUR FAVORITES?

D) HMMM…5, I THINK.

J) DELL, HOW ABOUT WE SPELL SOME MORE WORDS A LITTLE BIT LATER? I HAVE TO GO GET A SNACK.

D) THAT SOUNDS GREAT, JOSIE! SEE YOU LATER!

 

 

The First In-Person CROWS Event!

What joy! I spoke to the Marshall Library Book Club--outside and all of them masked-- about CROWS and they asked the best questions! They really seemed to understand what it was I was trying to accomplish.

I've done some Zoom events but in the beginning my old computer was a bit wonky and the conditions just weren't ideal. What a pleasure to be in person!

I even managed to ask them to post reviews. It seems so tacky to be doing that but it really helps the book to get more notice. And there's some kind of algorithm on Amazon that kicks in when a book reaches 100 ratings--CROWS is at 82, which is more than any of my other books, due, I suspect, to my periodical nagging.

Many thanks to the folks at the library and the readers who made this event possible. It felt like old times. Except for the masks.

 

Too Good Not to Share

"He told himself that he was not drunk at all, but that he had taken an unusual quantity of whisky, which seemed to produce much the same effect as intoxication."

From E.F.Benson's Miss Mapp

Green, Green, Green!

The spring greens are dazzling everywhere.

They really pop against the gray sky.

Yes, this is my favorite time of year.

 

Silent Sunday

 

An Existential Question

In attempting to deal with my ever over-flowing book shelves, I resolved to get rid of duplicates--mostly ancient paperbacks from the time when fifty cents was a high-end classic. Henry James's Washington Square and The Europeans, probably from my college days sixty years ago, appeared to be just such a candidate. The rubber band holding it together was a clue.

                                

Nope, can't even donate this one. What idiot reads Henry James these days, and especially in this condition?

Me, that's who. I couldn't let it go without one last perusal. (I actually like some of James's work.) And I really enjoyed The Europeans--in which a slightly predatory baroness with New England connections comes to visit her cousins and takes up residence in a nearby house. The culture clash is wittily presented and I loved the scene on the page below, with the existential question:

"What is life, indeed, without curtains?"

It should be embroidered on a pillow.  (Not t hat I agree--we have curtains only in our guest room and since Josie's coming, we have darkening curtains in The Room so she can nap. But there's something about that phrase that tickles me. Yes, I am easily entertained.)