Family comes in all different ways....................
We had a sad day at the farm yesterday. We woke up to find that What-the-Duck must have been killed by a coyote or fox. Poor little Whosit was peeping and peeping, trying to find mom. Even though Whosit might not have known it, What-the-Duck died protecting her duckling.
And so in all the peeping and searching for mom, a new family was born. Walter came to the rescue -- giving his advice and protecting little Whosit. Walter (as many of you know) is spoiled and sleeps in a kennel on our porch. We were certain that Whosit would be difficult to catch and put in the kennel and that we would be conducting a Duck Rodeo, trying to wrangle our feathery friends.
Honey and I came home from supper to find Walter and Whosit, standing by the porch, ready to go to bed. Walter knew that Whosit needed protection to make it -- and his people could do it.
Walter is there --- with his bedhead and little Whosit behind him.
This whole weekend was filled with moments of "family".
Saturday afternoon, a wonderful family came out for eggs and flowers. Their two daughters were interesting, fun girls that cared about what they ate, the environment around them and their place in the world. They snapped pictures of garden spiders, cuddled kittens, discussed the nutritional superiority of locally grown veggies.
When they left, they gave me their CD. What talent!! The songs were reminiscent of coffee-house music of the sixties but with a fresh new sound. Deeply personal, the music shows a generation that cares about the world around them -- not just themselves. A generation of hope and change. I'll be playing the cd ......... a lot!
After a day of great and thoughtful customers, we had a fun evening with friends. Dave and Marcia recently moved from Rockford to the east coast of Iowa. A year ago, while visiting Rockford friends, they told them about "Miss Effie's". "Miss Effie's??" their friend Kathy said. "I've heard of Miss Effie's." Their friend Kathy was a 4-H House alum. Sisterhood!!!
Kathy and Mike visited Dave and Marcia this weekend. Saturday evening, we all had supper in the corn-zebo. Kathy and I have not seen each other since 1976. (So now you know my secret! I am not "29" ........ but 32!) We chatted and chatted and chatted and realized that we have so much in common. The bonds of sisterhood that were formed at 4-H House are strong, even decades later. We hoped to get together soon again. It was such a fun evening!
And the neighborhood family grows stronger. Sheepie Neighbor is friendly and fun and waves to all that go by -- a true country neighbor in a world that seems to encourage "strangers". Yesterday, Sheepie Neighbor and hubby, stopped by to return a canner that I had loaned her.
Now that Sheepie Neighbor has discovered her inner-food-hoarding tendencies, she has purchased her own canner. There are now two nutball survivalists in the neighborhood! I like having the company!! So she returned the canner with a large bag of green beans!! I picked a few beans from my garden (Very few!) and got 12 pints of green beans! If you are keeping track, that means there are 35 more pints to go! I just might make it!!
Well.............. I might with the help of my friends!
The weekend reminded me of one of my favorite lines from a favorite book. In the book Illusions, Richard Bach says "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."
And so in all the peeping and searching for mom, a new family was born. Walter came to the rescue -- giving his advice and protecting little Whosit. Walter (as many of you know) is spoiled and sleeps in a kennel on our porch. We were certain that Whosit would be difficult to catch and put in the kennel and that we would be conducting a Duck Rodeo, trying to wrangle our feathery friends.
Honey and I came home from supper to find Walter and Whosit, standing by the porch, ready to go to bed. Walter knew that Whosit needed protection to make it -- and his people could do it.
Walter is there --- with his bedhead and little Whosit behind him.This whole weekend was filled with moments of "family".
Saturday afternoon, a wonderful family came out for eggs and flowers. Their two daughters were interesting, fun girls that cared about what they ate, the environment around them and their place in the world. They snapped pictures of garden spiders, cuddled kittens, discussed the nutritional superiority of locally grown veggies.
When they left, they gave me their CD. What talent!! The songs were reminiscent of coffee-house music of the sixties but with a fresh new sound. Deeply personal, the music shows a generation that cares about the world around them -- not just themselves. A generation of hope and change. I'll be playing the cd ......... a lot!
After a day of great and thoughtful customers, we had a fun evening with friends. Dave and Marcia recently moved from Rockford to the east coast of Iowa. A year ago, while visiting Rockford friends, they told them about "Miss Effie's". "Miss Effie's??" their friend Kathy said. "I've heard of Miss Effie's." Their friend Kathy was a 4-H House alum. Sisterhood!!!
Kathy and Mike visited Dave and Marcia this weekend. Saturday evening, we all had supper in the corn-zebo. Kathy and I have not seen each other since 1976. (So now you know my secret! I am not "29" ........ but 32!) We chatted and chatted and chatted and realized that we have so much in common. The bonds of sisterhood that were formed at 4-H House are strong, even decades later. We hoped to get together soon again. It was such a fun evening!
And the neighborhood family grows stronger. Sheepie Neighbor is friendly and fun and waves to all that go by -- a true country neighbor in a world that seems to encourage "strangers". Yesterday, Sheepie Neighbor and hubby, stopped by to return a canner that I had loaned her.
Now that Sheepie Neighbor has discovered her inner-food-hoarding tendencies, she has purchased her own canner. There are now two nutball survivalists in the neighborhood! I like having the company!! So she returned the canner with a large bag of green beans!! I picked a few beans from my garden (Very few!) and got 12 pints of green beans! If you are keeping track, that means there are 35 more pints to go! I just might make it!!
Well.............. I might with the help of my friends!The weekend reminded me of one of my favorite lines from a favorite book. In the book Illusions, Richard Bach says "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."
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