A lesson in nature

Today the kids decided to go out and clean the garage for me since they are trying very hard to convince me to let them have a garage sale.

Unbeknownst to us, a mama Robin had decided to build a nest in the rafters of the garage. The sudden activity in our normally neglected garage startled her and she flew into the closed window.

Several times.

Sadly, she injured herself beyond recovery and took her last breath after hoping lop-sided outdoors. She left behind 6 beautiful unhatched eggs.

We have spent the last hour doing research on the Internet and while it's a long shot, we are doing what we can to give them the slightest chance at survival.

They are now sitting snugly in our cotton ball and washcloth nest waiting under the living room lamp to be gently turned in 3 hours.

Sis and Bug are waiting anxiously to gather some juicy night crawlers this evening in hopes to mash them up for the hungry babies on the slim chance that they will hatch.

If they do hatch we will turn them over to the Humane Society in hopes that they will not imprint on us humans and possibly have some sort of chance for survival.

If anyone has any other tips please let us know! Sadly, from our research, the chances of them even hatching under such circumstances are very slim.

Fruit, vegetable, or mineral?

It was a little too rainy here tonight for me to get the mowing done. Instead, I had the kids go out back and cut some rhubarb so I could make rhubarb cobbler for dessert. As we were enjoying our Midwestern delicacy, Bug asked me a question that I wasn't quite certain the answer to.

Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?

My first inclination was that it was a vegetable as it is a stalk and and bears seeds apart from the eatable portion. I wasn't exactly sure though, so we decided to do some research on the Internet. We found out quite a few fascinating facts.

Rhubarb is indeed a vegetable. The leaves are toxic to humans, but it would take consuming approximately 11 pounds of sour leaves to do any harm (who in the world would attempt such a thing?). The roots are a strong laxative. In the UK the first harvest of the year is cut in dark sheds by candlelight. This supposedly makes the stalks more tender and sweeter (I'll take their word for it). Rhubarb was first introduced to the United States in the 1820's.

Some of those little factoids might flit through my head the next time I'm out there cutting stalks. I'm pretty sure I'll be thinking mostly about the following recipe:

Rhubarb Cobbler

Preheat oven to 350

In an ungreased 9x13 pan toss together:

3 cups rhubarb

2 cups mini marshmallows

3/4 cup sugar

Set aside.

Cream together:

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

Add 2 beaten eggs

Alternate 1/2 cup milk with:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

spread mixture over rhubarb. Bake 40 minutes or until done. serve with whipped cream or half & half.

A Mediterranean Day Dream

Today is Mother's Day, so I should be doing a motherish type post. Nope, not gonna do it. I already posted one for the family on A Glimpse of Us anyway*. Right now I'm in that day dreamy mood.

You see, a while back I was having one of those "getting to know you" chats with Coach. I believe the subject at the time was something along the lines of where I would like to travel in the United States. Really, I'm happy to travel anywhere that I get the opportunity to, I'm not picky (which I think was slightly frustrating for him). I would like to see the ocean and Yellowstone though, but nothing so pressing that it's a must-see.

Then Saturday night a friend mentioned about how he had the strong desire for international travel some time soon. At that point he was leaning towards South America.

Couple that with the facts that I have been casually flipping through a book I purchased from the clearance bin on great philosophers and I love the performing arts.

I have been researching and playing on the Internet all evening (yes, this has been a relaxing Mother's Day!)

Hmmm.... have you figured out yet where I want to go?

Yep, you guessed it (the picture above didn't give it away at all, did it?)

Athens amazes me. It is one of the oldest continually inhibited cities in our world. Known as the cradle of our civilization it is the birthplace of philosophy, democracy, and of course, the Olympics. Not to mention the strong influences on literature and the performing arts.

Which brings us to tonight's interesting little tidbit that I picked up along the way

Thespis of Icaria

Thespis, a Greek poet, is assumed to be the world's first on-stage actor in a written play, basically inventing theatre as we know it today. Thespis won the first documented competition for best tragedy in 534 BC and is now often credited as being the "inventor of tragedy" in the performing arts.

* By the way, Bug, Sis, and I did have a fabulous day wandering through Reiman Gardens in Ames. Bug was especially amazed by the new Dinosaur exhibit and Sis by the Butterfly House.

Life's little joys

These last two weeks have been entirely too rough on me. I started this blog to celebrate my joys in being a mostly happy and quite random person. It would be too easy to let myself slip into a depression due to circumstance and insecurity.

Instead, being normal me, I chose to look for small joys to make myself happy.

Such as...

A lovely afternoon spent traipsing through the woods in hunt of early morel mushrooms. The kids and I didn't have much luck. The baby you see poking out of the moss above, was in fact, the only mushroom we saw in four hours and two locations. We left him to grown a little bigger for the next hunters that follow our path.

It doesn't mater though. I enjoyed spending four uninterrupted hours with my children, enjoying the silence of the woods.

Those are the moments I love the most. The moments that God gives me in between all our daily struggles and heartaches, to enjoy a moment of peace with the ones I love in the settings I love.