Camp

Camp was loud and rowdy

(why is the expression on Erica's face so different from Moriah's???)

and fun and funny,

and sticky

and quiet and thoughtful

full of God and full of love.

That's why we came.

(This boy is helping his grandma raise her arms in praise to the Lord)

Too Many Horse Photos

The sky has been blue and the 4H shirts white in several years' worth of county fair photographs. Time for a change.

Which do you like better, the 100% silhouette, or the below shot with a little bit more of CowgirlE showing through?

Black Eyed Susans

When God is the architect, the photographer doesn't have to work very hard.

Midwest Miles

Two thousand midwestern miles slid past my minivan in July.

Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska.

Good to go, good to be home.

Playing with the Big Zoom - Chickens

What do you see in this magnificent eye?

My read is: 60% uncertainty, 30% suspicion, 10% curiosity.

That combination means the birds don't let me get too close. They walk and squawk if I try to get shots like these without a nice, long, optical zoom.

Who can blame them? Distance is probably a wise choice if your tiny little chicken brain can't settle for certain between a photographer and a fox.

Equine Athletes

Riding horses competitively looks easy when you watch someone who has practiced a lot. But, like every other sport, equine athletics require a lot of training detail which the casual observer may fail to appreciate.

Here Pam, the 4H leader, is coaching Erica through balancing exercises. Erica is building muscle for holding her body straight, while she learns to move it in rhythm with Oliver's loping motion. All without benefit of stirrups or handholds.

P.S. Did I mention that I love my new camera?

Pitcher Picture

My new camera has an 18x optical zoom. That means, at a bridal shower, I can focus on the artistic aspects of glassware across the room when shower games and bows on wire whisks lose their intrigue.

How Audrey Relaxes

The vet clinic where Audrey works treats small animals only. There she handles cats, dogs, hedgehogs, snakes, bald eagles, gerbils, parrots, and turtles, but no livestock. This week, sandwiched between days at her job, she found a chance to shadow our farm vet, who doctors on big animals as well as pampered poodles. So Audrey got to view livestock from a veterinary perspective, extracting wolf teeth from a stallion, cleaning a cow's abscessed hoof, inspecting a hundred pigs for health and happiness.

When she finally got a breather from vet work, I found her thinking about something else you can do with pigs and cows.

What's outside YOUR window?

I'll tell you where I took this photo, but you mustn't tell anyone:

shhhhhhhh.........The Krispy Kholesterol Donut store......

The "Fresh HOT Donuts" sign was lit in blazing pink neon as we drove past. It's like a siren song, causing many a good dieter to crash on the rocks.

Of course I was there strictly for the artistic photo opportunity.

Fourteen!

This girl grew up. Happy Birthday, Merrill.

First Shot

My eyes have been automatically focusing wherever I bid them for nearly half a century. But they're getting tired and a little balky. Vintage eyes using the tiny LCD screen on my camera means my photos are often not pretty....just pretty blurry.

Rachel and John solved the problem by surprising me with a new camera. Their timing couldn't have been more perfect---a few days later the old one died a quick and complete death. The new camera has a generous three-inch LCD. I hate to admit that I need the Large Print Edition camera, but apparently I do.






The camera had only been in my possession twenty minutes or so when Audrey and I headed into a fabric store. When my old eyes glimpsed our images in the storefront glass, I paused and took this shot.



The reflection of the cars outside, our silhouettes, and the bolts of colorful cloth beyond the glass intrigued me. With all three elements in proper focus, I'm pretty much liking the new toy.

It Must Be Horse Show Season

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

Asparagus Heaven

Planting an asparagus bed is a lot of work. You have to dig down twelve inches before setting the roots; you have to fertilize heavily. Then you have to wait a few years before you can even harvest more than a stalk or two.

But if you lay the groundwork correctly, the payback will be abundant and long-lasting. I'm eating asparagus nearly every day; I've even given away a few handfuls.

Growing asparagus reminds me of raising children: dig deep. Lay a good foundation. Fertilize well.

Though there is a season of waiting while the roots take hold, the fruit will be long-lasting, a rich blessing that spreads well beyond your own four walls.

And, while you may be glad that you put in the early labor, the credit for tasty asparagus and faithful children ultimately goes to God.

Incredibles at Home

Have characters from The Incredibles come to dwell in my home?

Or are these my children?

Relaxation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Photo by FAR

The Photo Road

I need to exercise. I need to lose some weight, and I need to keep the ol' ticker banging out its rhythm for the next several decades.

Yesterday, Merrill told me that she would be rising at 6:30 to sample the great outdoors with a little run/walk down the gravel. "I'll come with you," I volunteered. "I need to exercise."

We ventured out early into the cool grey, wearing our workout shoes and exercise pants. At the edge of the driveway, I spied morning's dew gathered into a single drop at the end of every blade of ditch grass. A thousand jewels, a thousand fleeting diamonds, crying out for permanance before lifting off into the sky, one molecule at a time.

I ran back to get my camera. Merrill ran ahead to get her exercise.

I spent the next half hour capturing water beads from every angle. Here are three of my favorites.

The road to flab is paved with good intentions.

Viola Performance

On the way in.

Dad helps the violist and accompanist laugh away pre-show jitters.

Cherry Blossoms

I'm not the only one who likes them.

Bubbles

Haiku

Wedged between my afternoon bowl of cereal and Leave It to Beaver, my mother used to ask me, "How was school today?"

I never ask my children "How was school today?" I usually know.

But now Rachel goes to school in another city, and sometimes tells me about the things she is learning. Like this profound haiku, beautiful Japanese poetry with a five syllable-seven syllable-five syllable line structure:

Haikus are easy

But sometimes they don't make sense.

Refrigerator.

Thank you for sharing your insight, Rachel. I'm glad to see that every penny of our investment in your "higher" education is paying off.

The Young and the Restless

Cyber Trouble

I wonder if John thinks this is funny.

One Hundreds

A lot of Nebraska farmers calve in January and February. It can be bitterly cold then, but farmers are usually busy with fieldwork in April and May. So they calve early, to have it over with before they disappear into a tractor cab for six months.

John and I are thankful to have excellent on-site, 24-7 help with the calving, even when John is busy in the fields. So we don't calve in the very teeth of winter, planning instead for our cows to give birth into the gentle zephyrs and soft green warmth of spring.

So why are these girls so muddy?


















Because we have no gentle zephyrs and soft green warmth. Instead, another calf has taken its first breath eye level to a world of cold mud slobber. The girls have hauled 100 pounds of slimy newborn for about 100 yards, out of the slop and into the barn, with its mama splashing through mud puddles and bellowing at the trot behind them.

This is the third calf in the last week that has needed extra attention: rubdowns, heaters, help nursing or standing.

The girls are getting pretty good at this routine. Their homeschool grade in bovine care: 100%.

The Penguin

Bad ugly floor.

Penguin standing guard -- no midnight refriger-raiders on fresh kitchen varnish.

Happy penguin, happy floor.

Happy Alice.

What To Do

Q: What should you do when your house is a torn-apart disaster, your wood floors are halfway refinished, cows calving in the slop need constant attention, it's two weeks until your big party, and strawberries go on sale?


A: Make strawberry jam with your daughter, of course.

My kitchen counter.

The last time we made jam - apricot - was before Audrey and I took up physics. I wrote then that we gave only a passing nod to the physical changes that went into preserving fruit jams. This time, armed with our newfound knowledge, we could actually discuss the process from a scientific standpoint. It was fun. Take physics if you get a chance!

Living Forever

I've heard it said that God doesn't let people die until their work here on the earth is finished. Given the present condition of this house, I'd say my immortality is pretty much assured.

The Outdoor Kitchen

We're living without a kitchen for a few days while I refinish the floor.

Yesterday we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Emphasis on grilled.