And It's "Goodbye" to the Chimneys

Monday, Loren had Melinda start tearing out the brick chimneys. She started on the one in the boys' room...

The attic was showing through until Loren put in a board.

Here is Melinda--with protective headware--tapping away, one floor below.

The boys have been carrying out bricks and loose mortar. Though some have to be regularly nagged re-encouraged to help.

Now there is a layer of dust all over the living room. Frustrating, even for a slob like me.

I raced around during supper preparation, sweeping up and then going over 3 rooms and a stairway with a wet rag.

And then more work was done after supper! 'Fraid I was a little miffed, but oh well...

This morning I did more summer school with the boys (45 min. to an hour) and then went out to mess with the garden a bit.

Other than putting in another 8.25 miles on the treadmill, I can't remember doing that much...

Yesterday evening, however, I was able to run down to Grundy Center for another 2 hours of continuing education.

A nice group of 4 ladies were there at the Extension Office, and it was free! So I'll be going back there for the next two classes, come the end of July and August.

One of the instructors was teaching about the relationship between Common Buckthorn and the soybean aphid. Pretty interesting stuff. And he started out by wearing bouncy antennae on his head...that's enough to make you want to become an etymologist.

Well, it is quiet time. The strawberries have been put to bed and the kids are stemmed.

I'm about kaput and ready for some Ma-time.
 

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In Which Ma Nearly Maims the Bag Boy

It wasn't my fault.

Really.

And he's probably not hurt...very much.

It all started with my having to take Our-Green-Dragon-Lady-Lincoln-of-Power shopping, instead of the more economical 22-year-old Toyota. So I guess we could place the blame on Loren, who is fixing something on the intrepid Corolla.

Of course, I would never do that.

Not only am I not a maimer of bag boys, I am also not a caster of blame.

One could almost say I am not a maimer-blamer.

ANY-way, I had just bought groceries for well under a c-note, $91.83, to be exact, and was congratulating myself while transferring milk to the cooler (for which foresight one might also deserve congratulatory thoughts), when I became vaguely aware that the bag boy had finished his trunk-loading duties. It was now time for him to close the lid.

Closing the trunk lid is always a bit dicey for the inexperienced, fresh-faced youth they hire at Fareway.

For Our-Green-Dragon-Lady-Lincoln-of-Power, despite being 16 years old, still has the noble feature of a power closing trunk.

You gently push the lid down, wherein the power mechanism takes over and the trunk lid very coolly and efficiently powers down the final two inches, locking into the closed position.

Many a time Ma has impressed various bag boys with this feature, leaving them slack-jawed in amazement.

And several times she has had to give the instruction, "Just leave it...it goes down by itself," as they keep trying to push it closed.

(I have to wonder if this trunk feature--not unlike high heels invented by men to torture women--was developed by a woman to annoy men who just have to smack things into place)

And SO, I was thinking to myself--as I struggled to arrange two gallons of milk amongst the cooler's ice packs, 5-quart container of ice cream, and bags of Dove's chocolate in the back seat, passenger side-- "Here's another one who's gonna need to be told, 'let it be.' "

"OW! My finger's caught in the trunk...."

"Are you kidding me?!"

Ma, having already tossed the keys into the front seat, was sans remote. There was nothing to do but dive over the front seat and into the driver's side, reaching desperately (nay...heroically), for the trunk release on the bottom of the driver side door.

She did this in approximately 1.84 seconds, no doubt saving the lad from a compressed finger, developing gangrene, and eventually a slow and humiliating death on a future episode of House.

"Oh my....ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?"

"Yeah...I'm fine."

"Are you sure."

"Yeah, really...it's fine."

In retrospect, I should have insisted, "Here, let me take a look at it...my daughter is studying to be a PA..."

I think he saw the trunk hadn't closed yet and was trying to pull it back up for a really good downward wham.

*sigh*

I really need to post a sign on the back. Something like, "Please...DO NOT TEASE THE LINCOLN!"

Maybe I'll come back next week in disguise...
 

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Slackerville

Apologies for the blog gathering dust. Ma has been working outside quite a bit, so extra hours have been logged in yard and garden

Then there is the whole preoccupation of scrubbing my hands and nails with lemon juice, in a vain attempt to remove dirt and black mulch stain from the whorls of my fingerprints.

Speaking of mulch, I finished the 27 bag job on my new bed by the house. Well...I may need just a few more, but it's looking semi-almost-finished, in a preliminary sort of way.

My hands, however, are beginning to resemble the texture of the wood chips.

Guess I'll have to postpone my fine embroidery work for a while, ha ha.

I took a "before" picture. I may snap one now and then another, after the border is completed. But sometime I'll have proof of my labors.
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On another note, a young father in our church met with a dirt bike accident on Saturday, and now has a broken leg with newly inserted rod, as a souvenir.

Also a concussion.

Caleb DeFord is the father of the twins in our church, so you can imagine that life will be tricky for his wife, Rebekah.

And he cannot put weight on his leg for 8 weeks.

Also, he is self-employed, so this is going to be difficult from the standpoint of his work situation.

Appreciate any prayers for the DeFord family.
 

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Birds Love it When I Mow :-)

I'd like to think it's my winsome personality, but probably it's the bugs.

The mower scares up insects and that is when the birds come a-swoopin'!

Barn swallows were zooming in and out as I mowed behind the garage, today.


But the one I really love to watch is the Eastern Kingbird :-)
So beautiful and so agile.

Last week I saw one hover in the air, just hang there, making adjustments and...
....*SNAP*...he got the moth that had flown away from my mower. Very cool!

(these kingbird pictures were taken last year. I couldn't get a shot of it grabbing the moth because I was mowing. So if you want to see this in person, you'll just have to come and help cut grass...)
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But there's much more going on at the Hoytstead, besides feeding the birds.

Loren got hold of a brand new heat pump, at 90% off. The next step was to get it into the basement.


By the time we got home from the library yesterday, all was completed..."We've got a winch, we might as well use it."


Trevor inspects the job while carting in his book haul.
Loren left it at the foot of the stairs until I could take a few pictures.

The mad engineer has struck again!

Not sure why, but every time I look at our basement I keep thinking...Field of Dreams.
 

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More Heart Stuff

Concerning brother-in-law Mark, he was released from the hospital today and sent home to await an ablation procedure on Monday. Assuming things remain quiet over the weekend. He is currently having some stability, compared to last week.

Moving on to son Derek, we received word that he is again in atrial fibrillation. This means another cardioversion will be in his future, probably sometime the end of 4th of July week.

Fireworks, all around.

Moving closer to home, we took our every-two-months library trip, this afternoon. It was quite the momentous occasion, as all the books were found, and with no hard-flung searching.

A small miracle of epic proportions.

Many is the time we've heard the cries,

"We still have 4 books missing from Iowa Falls!"

"Did you check in the boys' beds?"

"They already did."

"Please go check, yourself."

"....I found two!"

(or)

"Has anyone checked out in the car?"

"Which car...Daddy's?"

"No, the Green Dragon Lady Lincoln."

"What about the van? We haven't checked the van for a while..."

But not today. Today was a rather seamless preparation. In fact, the kids were waiting for me out in the car. Nolan, for a good ten minutes.

We stopped on the way to drop off Melinda for her TB test, per LeTourneau's requirements. She'll go back in two days for the reading.

Then on to the Hampton and Iowa Falls libraries.

I've discovered a new stage of library-book-huntingness...there aren't nearly as many picture books to choose from. Nolan and Trevor are at that age when so many of the books seem quite juvenile.

This is a first, since there was always someone younger for which to pick out kiddie books.

Guess I'll be reading more chapter books aloud, as well as larger volumes of an educational nature.

On the diet front, I've started a new 6-week stint to try and pare off another 5-7 pounds, two of which are regain pounds.

Today started out fairly well, but I hit a wall of fatigue on the treadmill, tonight, quickly downgrading my intentions from 5, to 4, to 3 to finally 2.75 miles.

Then I felt so weak that I decided to eat. Which led to more eating...

But tomorrow is another day, so I'll pop an iron pill and try to put more heart in my efforts.
 

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Five Minute Post?

Probably not, but we'll give it a go...

Very busy day.

But first, the tiniest of updates on Loren's brother, Mark. He has stabilized, somewhat. They plan to send him home and bring him back, providing he remains event-free, for an ablation procedure, in a few days or a week.

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Short night, last night.

Tornado warning around 1:00am. Followed by sleeping in and mowing the lawn.

Got call saying there were flowers to transplant to the Ackley Memorial garden, so Ma had to make plans to give up part of her afternoon, taking the boys to play in the park.

Got in 1.5 more hours of service time for Master Gardening, but I'm over the minimum requirement for the year, anyway...

Raced home ahead of a downpour. Ethan and I tried to rake up mulch from mowing, but there wasn't as much as anticipated. We'll have to try again on Thursday.

Missed my nap.

Will miss it again tomorrow, when we go to the library.

Missed it on Monday due to shopping.

Going to have to change my name to "No-Nap Ma."

:-(

Hmmmm....six minutes...not bad :-)
 

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Life in the Yard

As you may have guessed, Rob and Robette fledged and are presumed to be wandering around the yard, mooching off their parents. They were spotted up on the roof of the house, last week, but had disappeared from view by the time I had camera in hand.

Speaking of roofs, this enterprising Robin mother has built a nest atop the attic window :-)
After careful consideration, Ma decided not to include this nest as part of the summer "Cam" series.

Closer to the ground, we see a strange sight in one of the apple trees.
With this type of tender care, it's no wonder these shoes from Goodwill are lasting through a couple of kids.

At least I won't mow over them.

Oh hey...first hollyhock bloom of the season :-)


And now, introducing...

"Sparrow-CAM!"
Probably the nest of a House Sparrow. Only two feet off the ground, it is hoped these pretty eggs will escape the hungry clutches of marauding raccoons.

Oh how shall we stand the suspense?

Stay---tuned...
 

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Caterpillar-Cam!

Greetings from Cat-Cam Country, or as today's episode is named:

Emerging Tiger, Crouching Kids

We had noticed the monarch's chrysalis getting darker over the past few days. We could even glimpse the barred wings through the translucent, green, membrane.

But today it became apparent Tiger would emerge very soon...


And he did!
The boys were pleased that everything went according to plan, since a second caterpillar bit the dust soon after it was captured.

Tiger is indeed a "he." Though I couldn't catch it on camera, the breeze blew the wings apart just enough to detect the characteristic male black spot on the hind segment.
Nolan's close-up view allowed him to see the butterfly's proboscis.

We decided to let Tiger get himself acclimated on a hollyhock, tucked in a sheltered corner by the porch.


The whole chrysalis process took 11 days from formation to emergence, slightly faster than times past.

Fly safe, Tiger!
 

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Updating

First, a bit of news on Loren's brother, Mark: He's still in ICU and had only one shock, this morning.

As of now, I think they are going to increase his anti-arrhythmia med and hold him until he is clear for 24 hours. Then send him home and schedule more ablative surgery, soon. Ablation is where they go in and cauterize different spots in the heart that they have been identified as known origin points of arrhythmia.

Mark had this done last year and it bought him around 7 decent months. They are hoping for more of the same...
__________

Sounds pretty dumb to jump to weeding, but I was out in the raspberries again today, finishing up the last row just as Mr. Frey came by to mow the grass by the bins.

Oh boy...mulch for my raspberries! I love it when a non-plan comes together :-)

I also love weeding. There is just something so satisfying about making a spot look really super. Though I was dismayed to find myself dwelling too much on a recent heartache, because let's face it, weeding isn't terribly intellectual. There's plenty of opportunity to think about the stresses of life. However, hopefully I got that out of my system for a day or two.

Tomorrow, much rake-age and applying of the mulch!

And maybe more weeding.

And Nolan's birthday :-)

Nolan will be twelve years old and trust me....every year that goes by with him (and us) still intact, is a gift.

It's pretty obvious God knew I was smug with the first 3 or 4 kids.
 

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Concern

Loren's younger brother, Mark, has been having multiple episodes of tachycardia (racing ventricular heart rate) this past week.

His ICD (internal defibrillator) has given him an abundance of pacing treatments, as well as shocks.

Right now Mark is in the ICU at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital, though he might be moved to a step-down unit, soon.

With the terrific number of treatments coming from his device, the doctors are concerned and we wait to see what the next step will be.

There had been some talk about another ablation procedure, but also renewed plans to contact the transplant committee (I think).

Seems odd to us, as we think to when Loren went up for his initial evaluation at Mayo and was soon on the transplant list. Not the highest level, but still...

I guess every facility and every patient is different.

So we eagerly ask for any and all prayers on Mark's behalf, and also for his family.
 

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(weird) Life in the Yard

Big, BIG week, at the Hoytstead. Ma is excited to show several specimens unique to our experience.

"Mr. Peepers." Discovered at dusk by the outside faucet, as Ma was preparing to water her trees.
Splayed toes: gotta love 'em!

"Nutsy the Squirrel."
Glimpsed through the dining room window, this industrious critter was grabbing dead grass from underneath the tank and stuffing it into his cheeks.

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for....a never-before-seen animal at The Big House.

First, a little background (no peeking!)

It was 8:45pm and I thought I just had time to finish a little patch of weeding. I then took my bucket of weeds and dumped it beside the burn pile. As I was walking back to the house and passing the "dirt mountain," I heard a strange noise.

Not quite a bird. Not quite an animal. A very large insect, perhaps?

It was almost dark but I peered down, gently pulling the weeds back and looking for the source of the semi-piteous cries.

Very hard to see, but then it looked as though two mice were...well....I wasn't quite sure, but the words, "Oh get a room!" might have been appropriate. But something wasn't quite right...

....it was all one long body.

I went in for my camera and transferred the "it" to the turtle sandbox top, for closer inspection...
...some type of mutation...or...a weasel, perhaps?

A weasel! Wowee. That is a first !

Th boys had to see this. Trevor looked and said, "Is it a baby lion?"

heh heh

Ethan was the one who identified it (at least, we THINK it's a weasel).

Here's another shot. I call it, "Redundancy: Boys Observing Wildlife."


We decided to quickly put it back before some mad mother weasel attacked from the ash trees.
 

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Caterpillar-Cam!

This is the first time we've captured a monarch and been able to see all 5 instars (molts). To bad I didn't take a picture that very first night when it was around 3 millimeters, because it had molted by the next morning.

Almost every day the crazy thing was bigger. Very cool to observe.

Here we see "Tiger" hanging from the jar lid (last Tuesday evening), a sure sign that he will soon go into chrysalis.

And he did, by the next morning.

Trevor saw him hanging and notices that some of his white stripes were already thickening into green, so it was exciting for the kids to see a new aspect to the process.

(by the way, any chocolate mustache you see on Trevor is due having just eaten ice cream when this picture was taken)

We've already found another caterpillar, probably on its next to last molt, so that makes two butterflies in the Hoyt Monarch farm.
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In other news, with Bible school completed, I have no recourse but to start back with school for Trevor and Nolan. A few odds and ends to finish up from the school year, and then it's off to the summer schedule of review to keep them from forgetting what small progress we made over the school year.

I knew there was a reason I was filled with impending doom, this evening.

Sure was a nice week, though....*sigh*....accomplished a lot of weeding. Meaning Ma was out-of-doors. Meaning Ma was feeling good in the ol' sunshine and fresh air.

My best molts don't seem to last as long as I'd like.
 

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Robins and Roses and Yarrow, Oh My!

Not all that exciting, but I couldn't resist the play on words.

While the kids were off livin' it up at Bible School, Ma was working out in the yard before the rain hit.

Well, after eating the equivalent of two breakfasts. Still hungry from yesterday, I guess :-D

First though, a shot I snapped through the window, yesterday, Seems there was a fledgling robin, hopping around the side yard and cheeping continuously for it's mother to feed it.
Ma thought the young bird should be trying a little harder to fend for itself....

On out to the garden, where the overcast sky made it less necessary to lower the photo exposure. Here is my pink yarrow, with cool Scouring Rush as a backdrop.
Did I ever tell you I saw that same plant used as a window display in the fancy office of a high-powered TV lawyer show? Yes, the humble rush!

My roses all survived the mid-summer transplant of last year.
Oh I know they're not the biggest things in the world, but they are pretty to Ma :-)

Morden Blush Rose.
(every once in a while I like to experiment with the focal black & white feature)

Robin-Cam! Looks like Rob is pretty much hogging the nest.
And I noticed Mom and Pop Robin were out cavorting in the bean field, so the summer's just getting started...

Did more work on my special project beside the house. Reset the bird feeder in it's new position, laid down cardboard and more mulch, and transplanted a few wildflowers out in the garden.

And thanks to a nice rainfall, I was able to run out after supper and start on the grass north of the garage. Got all that pulled to expose my plants, before racing inside to put 5 more miles on the treadmill.

Makes 833.5 miles since January 10th....

...Oh MY (aching legs)!
 

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What a Day

I can't be-LIEVE how easy it is to work when you don't have child/home responsibilities.

I could really get into a month's worth of Vacation Bible School.

Just kidding, kids :-)

not kidding, actually

Ma packed up a cooler full of liquids, a small lunch, and headed off to the courthouse for a nice chunk of weeding.

On the way I stopped and got two bottles of Diet Coke, to insure staying awake for the drive.

What a gorgeous bunch of weeding Ma completed....six hours, baby!

Yes, it was hot, but I got the main garden finished and came home with two bunches of bi-colored hostas, to boot. They were putting in a drain and had to dig up some plants; it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Then I came home, stuck my pre-made casserole in the oven and went outside to start transplanting. Divided the hostas into 7 plants, though I could have gotten more.

Some day I'm gonna have a great shade garden, but for now, all the plants are cooling their heels north of the garage.

Then it was into the house for supper, followed by more work outside, followed by 4 miles on the treadmill.

That's probably enough exercise for one day.

Put the kids to bed and THEN it was back outside to water my poor trees. All the rain has been southeast of us, so I figured I'd better water them to insure it would rain here, tonight. Because if I hadn't, it wouldn't, right?

More busy-goodness with making brownies (dessert for Bible School lunches) and granola. The latter goes down faster now that I've discovered its cooling properties when combined with cold milk. Just the ticket after a hot day's work.

Two loads of laundry and I am definitely going to relax, soon, with a bowl of homegrown cherries on vanilla ice cream.

But first, though a bit late, the promised....

CATERPILLAR-CAM!

I found the wee-est Monarch caterpillar ever, on a Flocks plant, no less. Brought it in and by the next day it had already molted to a larger size.

Here is Trevor, keeping an eye on "Tiger" during breakfast.
Trevor wanted to bring Tiger into the living room to watch a movie that evening, but big sister Carolyn nixed that idea :-D

And then the next day, that crazy guy had jumped another size.


The boys are quite keen to observe him, and I have more pictures, but that's all for tonight.

Wouldn't want to spoil the suspense....
 

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The Robin-Cam, and More

I think Facebook hates me, as I could not post a picture despite multiple tries. So we default to ye olde bloge.

Taken yesterday, we see Rob and Robette on their 6h and 5th days after hatch-off...

Feed me.....FEEEEEED ME!!

Looks like they're growing some pinion feathers.

Mom Robin was sorta anxious, but sat for a stunning photo, nonetheless.
I gave her a break today and didn't look at the nest.


Speaking of birdies leaving the coop, this is Bible School week, and here goes the crew on the first day...they were excited...really.
Notice Trevor's humongous backpack? Half as big as himself?

It carries a small, paper bag lunch.

When you're the youngest, it's important to think big.

Ethan and Carolyn are helpers this year, so I guess that leaves Nolan and Trevor as students.

Ma is taking advantage of the alone time this week. Been out in the garden today and will be weeding at the courthouse for "several" hours, tomorrow.

Come Thursday, though, I think I'll just sit in the living room and bask in the enormous quiet of it all.
 

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How to Bake a Ma

Take your average almost 53-year-old woman.

Place her in a compact car, on the side where the sun shines.

Disengage air conditioner.

OR, simply buy old vehicles and wait for the AC to crash. No one will want to fix it since something really important on the car might go bad, and then they will have wasted all that effort and money fixing the air conditioning.

Pick a hot day to do the grocery shopping.

Preferably after you've already weeded nearly 2 hours in sunny courthouse garden.

Just before noon.

When the siren goes off and raises your blood pressure, making you hotter.

Drive for at least 25 minutes, so you can have a chance to almost fall asleep, 3 separate times.

This will give you an adrenaline rush, which can temporarily make you feel hotter.

Repeat, as necessary.
 

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Life in the Yard

June is bustin' out all over, as they say :-)

We have a pretty iris, in the front rock garden.

(I could have done a better crop-job, but then again, I don't wish to intimidate people with perfection, ha ha)

Robin-Cam!
Looks like the two little birdies are gaining some down feathers. I've named them Rob and Robette, hatched 3 and 2 days ago, respectively. You can probably figure out which one is Rob...

I know this is a flower repeat, but the Spiderwort and Rue Anenome look so lovely together...
...like twinkling jewels in the grass.

Just starting to bloom, Toadflax :-) otherwise known as Wild Spapdragon or Butter-n-Eggs.
True, it is the bane of farmers, being quite invasive, but it makes a lovely massing in that garden and is quite easy to pull.

Chipper the Chipping Sparrow.
Sure he is common, but very dapper, nonetheless. He's perched on the dead section of my Japanese Tree Lilac, which the deer tried to destroy but remains alive through basal shoots.

Nah, nah....you didn't beat me, deer.

Things that grow always give me hope.
 

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The Robin-Cam....Dramatic New Footage!

There have been some extraordinary developments since we last checked in with the Robin-Cam.

Ma went out yesterday morning and discovered, to her shock and dismay, that the nest had become detached from its metal base, and was (indeed) tilting at a 35° angle against the garage.

There would be a picture to illustrate this, but for my immediate sense of urgency and the distraction of uttering something incredibly intelligent, like, "Whaaa...?...but...oh NOOOOooo...."

First to see if the eggs/birds are OK....
...Alright. They seem fine, and one has even hatched!


Then Ma felt it her incumbent duty to secure the nest once more to the tank bracing, à la duct tape.
I think Red Green would have been proud.

True, it's not very pretty, but you have no idea how hard it was to (quickly) wind that sticky stuff about in close quarters.

The surrounding community expressed much concern.


The next morning--that would be today--Ma peeked her camera around the corner of the garage, the big question being...would the robins accept the renovation to their nest?
They would!

And it is also good to see that the second egg has hatched :-)

We wish the robin family well.

Stayed tuned for an upcoming series:

Caterpillar-Cam!
 

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Life in the Yard

When your heart needs healing, you can't go wrong by spending time (however brief) out in God's creation.

So Ma took a quick gander about the yard this morning, and this is what she saw:

A type of Canadian Rue Anenome (can't put my finger on the exact identity right this second) and one of my very favorite acquisitions from the roadside :-)


When grouped in larges bunches, they look like twinkling stars in the ditch.

A very simple but beautiful flower.

The Rugosa Rose is in bloom!


And here's the white version, with its masses of papery petals.


Another ditch rescue....Spiderwort.
They usually only bloom in the mornings, but are well worth the effort to see.

Also in progress, the robins are hatching! More pictures, later.
 

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