Thoughts for election day….
"…it's not our politics that will save us, but our humanity and the smaller more beautiful worlds in which we love each other,"
"To make us love our country, our country ought to be lovely."
"…such loveliness begins within the simple ordinary customs and small affections,"
more here
Every year, come fall, they round up the bison on Antelope Island for a week-long process of inspection, medication, and culling. We did not get to the round up this year but had been planning this trip to see them working the herd for weeks. I was a little concerned when our normally sunny sky forecast called for rain that day but we moved forward with high hopes. When it still wasn't raining when we arrived I was positively giddy. Giddy still, as I swung that camera strap over my neck and went to adjust the settings on the camera. Giddy passed quickly when I saw that big "E" on the screen. Error message.
See, I was rocking this field trip thing. It was on the calendar way in advance. The little girls were up early packing lunches. We got gas. Camera card was downloaded and bag was packed. The misstep in there was forgetting to take the memory card back out of the computer. Insert sharp gasp and dramatic face palm. Not gonna lie, I almost cried actual tears. It takes 40 minutes to drive out from here to the island and they do this whole thing in a day or two.
Sooooo, I pulled myself together and pulled out the world's stupidest smartphone. You'll get the gist anyway. It's more important to just keep telling the story right?
Ok so bison are bovine and technically not buffalo which is apparently the term more correctly applied to the Asian water buffalo family. Nevertheless they ARE the same critter that roamed the open plains of the wild west. We've just been using the wrong name all this time.
These bison are part of a large herd that roam the island. In the fall they open up these feeding corrals to entice them in. When the medical staff and volunteers arrive they begin the sorting process. A few at a time are moved down the narrowing path towards the chute with this "turkey chaser" tractor.
One by one they are shuttled into the chute where the vet scans their chips (microchips, not buffalo chips ; )), assesses breeding status, and administers shots or meds as needed. This all happens in about 90seconds. I am not exaggerating. They actually move them through in less than 2 minutes each.
If the animal is not pregnant for two consecutive years or is not growing at a good rate or in some other way is not up to par they get routed to these holding pens to be sold. This year there was a fire started by lightning on the island that took out some 14k acres of grazing area so more stock than usual are being culled to prepare for winter.
Those that make the cut are sent on their way back out to the open range.
After watching for a while the children got to handle some artifacts from the ranch and roam around. Truly one of the best field trips we have done.
Even with a stupid-phone.
That's a wrap! Halloween 2016 was a good one. Given how hectic the last few months were Halloween loomed too large for me by late September. Big siblings we thought would be here also ended up with changed plans. We scaled back considerably though still mostly kept our family theme tradition. This year it was Grease, which is pretty funny really considering I haven't let the kids watch the movie lol. They've discovered Happy Days though and we just merged it all up. Our wonderful daughter in law's family loaned Tess her poodle skirt. Abbie desperately wanted poodle skirts this year. (expect to see an upcycle of her cheer outfit for her birthday next month)
It means the WORLD to me when big's are game to dress up.
You have to get into character if you want me to take pictures. It's just understood. Work it!
And Momma is NOT going to all this trouble and missing out on the fun. No wall flowers here! We had a fabulous block party at the neighbors' so there was some Pink Lady action goin' on. I realize I am waaaaaaay pushing the reality envelope as a Pink Lady but I am NOT ready to be the principal lady, ok? Just scroll quickly.
K-man had a costume party of his own this weekend. He was not game for dressing up initially til we landed on Clark Kent, who is sorta mid-century himself.
Back to the block party. So much fun! B shed his jacket to try that doughnut race.
What we brought. Candy Corn Cupcakes. A layer of brownie batter, a layer of cake batter, and frosting. Pretty sure the frosting comes out best when your 6yo neighbor girl is on hand to sprinkle for you.
Pumpkins. We got them more than a week ago. Maybe two. We can only be so awesome though and costumes and a block party funneled all I the awesome I had up until today. I think I may have grossly overestimated just how much awesome was left over however since it seemed like a good idea to start carving mid afternoon on Halloween day with Dad not available and, you know, a jillion costumes and people to match up and get out the door before dusk.
We pulled it off! Some people, however, thought pumpkin guts were really, really icky.
These two would be subtitled – Things that happen to you when your 11yo brother finds out you think pumpkin guts are really, really icky….. Gotta love 'em.
A healthy supply of Monster Munch is necessary for jobs like this. People, you don't getting a lot of recipes from me, but just know when I do share one it's good! Or at least hard to screw up.
Originally each kid got their own scoop. I also grossly overestimated how much gut scooping small humans can do. Abbie Rose really did give it a good shot. She caved early on though. When I pointed out she had been scooping for all of two minutes she said it was longer than she thought she'd make it because every other year she shows Daddy a picture and he does the rest.
It has been driven home to me why pumpkin carving has been so easy to date.
Dad.
Note to self: Do this job when Dad is off work.
A bigger brother got home in time to help finish design cutting which is really good because I had a bandaid by then and he was all fresh and enthusiastic still. : )
Look at her go.
And look at the empty Munch bowl. Sorry, I got distracted by the vintage-y bowl I found at the thrift shop.
And there they are on the steps. And probably still lit because I forgot to go check so am signing off and blowing out those candles. I hope you're having a wonderful, silly, and not too spooky Halloween.
Autumn has ushered in a season of renovation around here. There is probably a metaphor in there somewhere, at least for me who sees metaphor at every turn. I've been documenting the work but if I don't post early mornings that time does not materialize later in the day. Hence, the story has not been told here.
The project that got us into the swing of things again was the sconces. We had a lot of 70's/80's brass in the house when we moved in. Some was bright yellow gold and some was this greener oiled brass, not to be confused with the cottage or tuscan style brown oiled brass popular today. Children of the seventies will instantly recognize….
We have two large carriage lights in our entry which I wanted to keep but have been torn about finish options. We ended up going with dark brown-black oiled brass which goes with the English cottage vibe on the main floor.
The after, below. I am sure I love them yet, but they are improved considerably and the finish is consistent with what we have chosen for faucets and fixtures elsewhere in the house.
We got our toes wet beginning the main floor painting since we moved some large furniture into the space and didn't want to move it later if possible. It was a hair-pulling ordeal for me to find the perfect sand color. Who knew? We brought home a ridiculous number of samples (per my husband) and one after another had distinct undertones of yellow or gray. We finally settled on this:
From Valspar's National Historic Trust line this is Cliveden Sand. I heart it. So much! Morning, noon, and night it has me swooning. (I'm a little sensitive to color. ; ))
We have much more to paint in that room but had to break off while we tackle the lower level. Our walkout level was finished in early 80's rec room style when we moved in. It has seen a lot of teen party action in its day. There are currently three different carpets going on down there – a patch of commercial indoor/outdoor sort at one end, then a more recent beige, and finally orange shag. The whole space is a hot mess, let's just say. Needs help.
The trim was a low gloss red oak. Ish. We debated a long time about painting it but the decision was made and we are sooooo happy. The low ceiling space has visually opened right up as we have worked our way around the room.
Up next – that floor I mentioned. That's gonna be a big job. Big job.
Big. Stinkin'. Job.
We are getting back on track with telling the story though.
"I live my days in the in-betweens. In between heart-melting sweetness and meltdowns. In between racing and resting. In between letting them grow and internally pleading them to stop growing. My days take years to pass. My years flit by in what seems like days. In between it all, this life that we are building, is happening….that means the weariness that reaches to my marrow every day means something beautiful. Deep down, I know it does. It means something beautiful. The most beautiful of somethings. Being present to it all, right now, is the best time of our life. Hoping that Mercy will infuse it all, believing that it is infusing it all right now, is the best time of our life.
I know deep inside that there are more moments of exquisite magnificence packed into each day than I am aware of."
Carrie's words here said it better than I could. Do go read the rest and know, deep in your soul, that what you are doing – even if you feel you are doing it poorly – means something beautiful.
My husband packed us up last weekend and we drove down towards the lake to farm country for the day. The further west you go the more the land flattens out and the sky widens overhead. In the middle of that space there is a huge working farm that goes all out every autumn – rides, games, concessions, corn maze.
I admit I am no fun with the actual going through the corn maze. If I was a horse they'd sell me with the disclaimer "spooks easily." So, I sat under a tree and listened to the live music while they navigated. Win, win.
Speaking of horses. Or cowboys. Ok we weren't really but there was roping involved….
Let me just say here how much fun it is to have teens along on these day trips. I love that we can still hang out and have fun together. And who knew he could throw a lasso with such dead on accuracy?
side note: I was pretty excited to capture the wheel in motion. It's the little things, people
Like I said, age does not seem to be a deterrent…..
I was thinking when I saw this corn picture about an article about joy and why it matters which I read this week. The gist is that it isn't reality or circumstances that determine our happiness so much as the lens we view those through. Change your lens and you change your happiness. Different people look at days like this differently. I have looked at them differently at different times and places. You can see that corn in a small person's hair and know you'll be picking it out of pockets and dryer vent for days. (and we did ; )) You can think about overpriced concessions and the heat or wind or the 5000 things you aren't getting done at home or how annoyed you are with a spouse/child/coworker etc. All that impacts how you feel about a day like this.
So we mind the internal filter. We help each other view the world through a happy lens. We document joy and revisit it often.
End of my big thought. Back to pumpkins….
yessss! Day was a success.
“Life, within doors, has few pleasanter prospects than a neatly-arranged and well-provisioned breakfast-table.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne
I tend to start strong on the weekends. There is a bit of extra time to try something new or go the extra mile. Pans of biscuits and sausage gravy above.
Because Pinterest makes me happy and this looked super easy, we tried a plain yeast bread made in ziplock bags. It worked really well overall. Not too messy or frustrating. If you follow this recipe be mindful of how much flour you add. We added too much but it rose despite that.
Bread in a Bag here
While you wait, try this quick and easy experiment with video here
Since we had our Army son home this past weekend we decided to all head up to the ski resort for the last open air concert of the season.
We are nothing if not easily amused. With ourselves, half the time.
It was chilly on the top of the mountain. Auntumn is in full swing without a doubt.
Asher and Kym rode the gondola to the top. I've walked it but tend to pass on ride, especially once I watched them pause over and over to let folks on and off at the other ends.
We love the interior of the lodge as much as roaming around the outside. I want their decorator! The design is surprisingly English for a resort in the American West.
All the bands were great. My fave was the headline act - Leftover Cuties. They had a dixieland/old school vibe complete with honky tonk piano, horns and slide whistle.
I simply suggested maybe he throw his arm around his sister for picture. Yeah…not happening.
king of the mountain….
not mine but I couldn't resist.
Starry Sky Journal 