Rosie the Chicken

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live. - Ezekiel 18:32


So I have this chicken…

My dog is a known lover of chickens.  His name is Lucky, but occasionally he turns into his alter-ego, El Diablo, and kills and eats one of my chickens that has gotten out.  Or my ducks.  Or random bunnies.  He’s a meat eater by nature.  It’s no fault of his own that they are delicious.

So we keep the dog separate from the chickens at all possible moments and keep the chickens’ wings trimmed to minimize their flying over the fence and into enemy territory. 

But…

A couple of months ago I noticed we had a regularly out black hen.  Her morning trek takes her over her own fence, across the backyard, over the dog’s fence and into his pen, where she looks for a morning snack of june bugs that have drown in his swimming pool overnight.  Several times we’ve come home to find the chicken and dog in the dog pen.  So far, El Diablo has been ignoring the deliciousness of said chicken.

This morning she was perusing the selection of my garden and its fallen tomatoes and was selecting her breakfast from bugs under the oak tree. 

Our chicken reminds me of the hen from the children’s book Rosie’s Walk.  Our dog is the fox.  In the book Rosie takes quite a perilous walk about the farm with the fox always hiding in the bushes watching the chicken. 

Our chicken is brave.

And bold. 

And perhaps a little oblivious.
 

Just like Rosie...  So that shall be her name. 

My Garden

My garden has things I did not plant.  Things I try to keep out of the garden. 

It is full of sunflowers, mint, and children.

Today I am planting hope. 

We dream of ripe tomatoes, cucumbers from the vine, and potatoes deep beneath the soil.

We search for the perfect plants at greenhouses near and far.  We choose them by how healthy they look.   

But the ground is not good. 

So the plants wither. 

We add compost, manure, leaves.  We till and hoe until we think there is not one weed left. 

But we always miss one.  And from one come many.

And the plants die. 

We water, water, water, but it is never enough.  We pray for rain.

Then the rain comes and the potatoes rot. 

The cucumbers yellow. 

The tomatoes die. 

Let’s plant something else say the children.

So we plant flowers.  It is too late in the season to expect that any vegetable will grow before it gets too hot.

Then we water, water, water, but it is never enough. 

Then it becomes a water fight. 

Then it becomes a slip and slide.

Then we are muddy. 

Then we all have sunburn. 

And the flowers die.
 

But the sunflowers, mint, and children grow.

Being Related

..."Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."  Mark 5:19

We took a trip to Portland, Oregon over the summer.  I was amazed at their greenness.  I was wowed by snow in July.  I was aghast when I returned home to 111 degree temperature.  But, what has stuck with me, besides a secret longing to move there and never have 100 degree summers again, was how me and my distant cousins were definitely all RELATED.

My great-aunt Norma (my mom’s dad’s sister) had come to Oklahoma to visit several times throughout my life, as had my great-uncle Don, my cousin Kari, and my cousin Erik.  But, they have another “kid” I’d never met.  His name is Mark, and he’s 50, so he’s hardly a kid, but the last time he’d stepped foot in Oklahoma was in 1973 before I was born.

He told stories of putting a toad in my grandma’s drinking water and how she was going to beat his butt.  We exchanged grandma stories and related quite well, right off the bat.

Did I mention that I run a small toad farm here, and that my kids love toads?

Mark’s family and mine took a trip out to Multnomah Falls and hiked all the way to the top.  On the way through the pedestrian tunnel we bought bags of rainier cherries that we stowed away in the minivan and then returned to after our hike.  We all sat out in the parking lot with the windows down blowing seeds out our mouths like uncouth cannons into the parking lot the exact same way.  I said it was like we were all related or something!

And then he said those fateful words that led me to believe that some ties must be genetic.  He told my kids, “You betta check yourself, before you wreck yourself.”  I tell my kids this all the time, but I hadn’t yet said it in front of the Oregon folks.  I told Mark that I tell them that all the time.  He said, “Those exact same words?” and I said yes.  Funny how an affinity for Ice Cube quotes could be common halfway across the country.  Coincidence?  I think not!

So then the other day, I was out rinsing off the crystals we got at the Great Salt Plain with the hub and I wondered if they’d lost their saltiness.  So I licked one.  Yep.  Tasted just like a rock.  My husband looked at me like I was nuts. 

A few weeks later, I was sitting out at the picnic table with the hub going through the crystals and our youngest son came over to see what we were doing.  He picked up one of the crystals and licked it.  Again my husband rolled his eyes and looked at us both like we were nuts. 

Then a couple of weeks ago, my dad came to visit.  We were sitting at my kitchen table showing him the crystals we’d dug up when he picked one up and licked it!  I died laughing because that made three generations of rock lickers!  Good grief!  My stepmother was quick to note that SHE did not lick the rock.  I said it must be a Taylor thing.

So the next time you’re thinking “why did I do that?” you might look no further than the people you’re related to. 

And for the record, I don’t lick ALL rocks.  I think that’s an entirely different syndrome altogether and I am (so far) undiagnosed.

Hug your family today.  You’ll need them to blame later!

The Great Salt Plains

"You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."  Matthew 5:13

After driving approximately 267 miles from home, with a detour to Ponca City to see the Marland Mansion, and another stop in Enid to see Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse, and find a hotel room since the Little League World Series was in town, we finally made it to the Great Salt Plains of Oklahoma.  Unfortunately, we had no idea where we were going and went east when we should have went west and ended up on the east side of the lake where there is actually water.  There wasn't a whole lot of scenery in the area.  Apparently the wheat harvest is just getting started. 

We asked several people where to dig crystals by the lake, but they'd only heard of it and had never been there themselves.  Okay, we drove 267 miles and these people had never been there?  Anyway, we found a bathroom and vowed to press on and find the salt plains before sundown.  We also conveniently found a water hydrant outside the bathroom with a hose so we filled up our two water containers with lids that we had in my trunk. 

Things you need to know #1 - you'll need jugs for transporting water, possibly long distances, so you'd better have a lid for it unless you want a wet trunk. 

The outside of the bathroom also had a map of the lake area, so we figured out we were on the wrong side of the lake.  We were approximately 20 miles from where we needed to be.  And we were burning daylight! 

Thing you need to know #2 - The digging area is located on the west side of the lake, west of Jet, Oklahoma.  There is a dirt road cutoff that we took that takes you to the salt plains.  There is a large sign on the right-hand side of the road for the cutoff.  3 miles on dirt road, 1 mile on pavement.  My car can take it!

We finally arrived about 8:00pm, but I'd forgotten my camera at the hotel and so there is no photographic evidence of our maiden entrance into the great salt plain.  I will tell you, it looked a lot like this.  Only I was totally freaked out driving out into it.  There were no other people there.  The bathroom and "scenic" overlook greeted us at the gate and then let us out into the white plains ahead.  It was probably a quarter-mile to the parking area from the gate/bathrooms and it was completely white and sandy.  To me, it felt like we were driving out onto ice, or snow, or water, none of which I am a fan of driving out onto.  I felt a bit claustrophobic or something. 

Then we arrived at the designated digging site and our excitement was only briefly squelched when all four doors of my car were nearly ripped off their hinges from the constant wind gust we experienced while we were there.  I instructed the children to "hang onto your doors" and then we tried again.  This time, no doors were nearly damaged.  Unfortunately, I had to pop my trunk and the wind tried to take off with it too.  It bent the hinges of the trunk so that it closed funny until we got home and my husband took a board to it.  Now it is as good as new.  Well, close.

Things you need to know #3 - It may be quite windy out on the salt plain.  Hang onto your doors, even if it doesn't sound windy to you from inside the car.

We dug about 30 minutes before the sun turned a deep red color that was warning me to get the heck out of there before it was pitch black.  So we heeded its warning and vowed to return in the morning.

The hub was so excited.  He said he'd never done anything like this in his life.  I told him that made sense since this was the only place in the world you could do anything like this.     

  

  

This is us the next morning.  We arrived at 8:00am.  We were the last ones out on Saturday night, and the first ones in on Sunday morning.  We began to wonder if very many people visit here or not?  Anyway, that's the hub and children up there with visual examples of our water jugs, and our digging gear.  We wore pool shoes and brought along regular shoes to change into after the digging was over.

Things to know #4 - you'll need a shovel, and possibly a change of clothes/shoes.  Oh, and sunscreen, definitely going to need sunscreen!    

Yes, the wind was blowing 999 mph on Sunday too!  

  

Obviously people had been here before, but it really is quite deserted.  We felt like we were at the end of the earth or the surface of the moon.  I wonder why more Hollywood Armageddon movies aren't filmed here?  Apparently the military used it as a test bombing site during WWII.  There is a sign when you first go in instructing you what to do if you find any leftover bomb paraphernalia.  *Call 911!!*

  

The salt plain is also home to the Least Tern, whom we saw several times.  Kind of like a killdeer, but smaller and faster and tougher.  Most killdeers I know make there homes in cemeteries, where there is at least grass.  These guys have NOTHING!  I don't know how they do it. 

  

 It goes without saying, but it is very salty - hence the name, I suppose.  Salt crystals actually form at the top of the abandoned holes after the water evaporates.  I was apparently the only one in the family that was fascinated by this because.... 

...  the "boys" all headed straight to work.  I told the kids, "Stay where we can see you" which by all accounts was approximately 10 miles in any direction.

Here they are digging the hole.  It is just sand, so it goes pretty quickly.  The hub decided the best bet was to find the clay "bottom" and start there.  He had quite a bit of luck with this theory. 

  

After digging the hole, we filled it up with water and then started scooping through the sandy soup with our hands.  If you find something hard that almost cuts your finger off, then you've found a crystal.  We worked for about 2 1/2 hours this day and finally..... 

More people showed up!  Some were ill-equipped.  Some dropped their buckets and they immediately flew right to Kansas.  Some probably had their doors ripped off like I did.

  

And this is what we found.  Singles, clusters, all shapes and sizes.  Selenite crystals!  And no fingers were even lost in the process. 

When we got back in the car and began to dry out.  Even my jeans began to crystallize from all the salt on the ground.  I was glad that I'd asked for a late check-out from the hotel and that we could all go back and take a shower before we headed home. 

Things you need to know, #5 - You're going to need a shower.  Sand is not my friend. 

I suspect that our ease and success of finding so many crystals in such a short period of time was based on the fact that we were there relatively early in the season.  The Great Salt Plains open on April 1st and I suspect are quite picked over by October when they close.  So, if you're planning a road trip, here's my advice:

• Secure a hotel room in advance (just in case the World Series is going on or something).
• Take bags for dirty clothes.
• Take large sealable containers for water.
• Take small containers for rinsing/transporting crystals.
• Don't forget your shovel and spade.
• Wear clothes you don't mind ruining (although miraculously it appears everything came out of the clothes we wore) .
• Take extra shoes, sunscreen, and water to drink.
• Make sure you go to the west side of the lake instead of the east, unless you need water and don't want to drive all the way back to Jet. 
• Fuel up before that last strip of highway through Nash and Jet.  Gas was 30 cents higher there per gallon than in Enid!     
• Get ready to get dirty!!   

The kids are already asking when we can go back.  I am not a road warrior by any means, but I suspect we'll visit again.  Probably not this season, but perhaps when we run out of crystals. 

Now, what to do with them all??? 

Dirty Fun

One of my favorite things to do in the summer when I was a kid was to dig out in the yard with my friend Keith and play GI Joes.  We built trenches and bunkers and had rivers when we could get the hose out.  We had them climb on the clothesline and maybe even parachuted them a few times out of the second story window of Keith's house. 

Now my kids have never really been into GI Joes, but my cousin, Jeremy, went to a garage sale a year or so ago and bought my boys a whole box of them for $1.00.  Several weeks ago, I suggested that they take a few toys outside and play with them there.  They took the GI Joe guys. 

Here's what the scene was today.

A terrible wreck and everyone inside fell out because they weren't wearing their seatbelts.

They all landed in the water, but then decided it could be fun because they could go swimming.

This guy was probably not having much fun.  Kind of looks like a reoccuring dream of mine.

Somebody fell in a hole. 

After swimming, there was a dogpile on the shore. 

Now they didn't quite have down the elaborate story lines that Keith and I mastered over the years.  They've not learned yet how to dig an underground tunnel, or that spoons can be used for more intricate digging. 

But I'd say they've got the getting dirty part down!

Frying Eggs

"...The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day."  Joshua 4:13

It is no secret that it has been HOT here for several weeks.  The newsman was so excited that today we quite possibly had a chance to break the all-time hottest ever record in the state of Oklahoma of 115 degrees.  I think we may have hit 111 or 112 officially, so there goes the record, but nevertheless it was one HOT day. 

And so, lacking anything else truly exciting to do, I decided to try to fry an egg outside. 

One of my friends on Facebook tried it yesterday when it was 112 on brand new asphalt and got nothing, so I was thinking I had to change my strategy rather than try it on the bare sidewalk.  My best idea was pre-heating...



Notice:  black, non-stick, all metal.  I'm no dummy.  I know what gets hot.  I've also strategically placed it on the roof of my well house, tipped toward the sun.  I left it for 30 minutes to pre-heat. 

Then I took the kids out to witness what I was sure would be an ever so spectacular example of just how hot it truly was.

I had the egg.

I had a potholder so my delicate fingers wouldn't be burned by what appeared to be quite the red-hot pan.

I took my pre-heated pan over to a patch of concrete that is fairly level and would have more exposure to the rest of the afternoon sun. 

I cracked the egg.

Poured it into the pan. 

And...

Nothing.

Not the fabulous egg frying experience the kids and I were hoping for! 

Maybe it takes time, I thought.

Maybe I should leave it out here in the sun for a little longer.

So I put it back on the concrete and decided to check on it later.  Then I went back to my friend the air conditioner and read myself into a nap. 

On my way out to pick up pizza, (it's too hot to cook, you know) I remembered to check on the egg. 

And guess what?

The neighbor dog had eaten it! 

But in all fairness, it does not appear to have shown any signs of cooking before it was consumed. 

I guess the old cliche is false.  It is NOT hot enough to fry an egg. 

I guess I'll quit complaining now. 

Grasshoppers

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - my great army that I sent among you."  Joel 2:25

The locusts are happily singing all day long in my trees in the backyard, and I seem to have an abundance of these guys this year. 

 Takes me back to when we used to run trot lines on the Neosho River and in the evenings we would go out along the highway and collect big yellow and black grasshoppers in 2-liter pop bottles and put them in the refrigerator. 

Now how many of you have ever had pop bottles of grasshoppers in your refrigerator? 

Raise your hands... 

Anyway, I seem to have quite the abundance of grasshoppers this year.  Lots of different kinds. 

I've got big ones and little ones. 

Green ones and brown ones.

But the common denominator is...  They are eating everything in sight! 

Maybe I should go fishing. 

H-O-T!

"It rises at one end of the heavens and make it circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat."  Psalm 19:6

How hot is it? 

It is so hot that everyone is heading to the pool, including this June bug and his Styrofoam floaty I found today.

It is so hot that I barely can remember being up to my thighs in snow only five months ago. 

It is so hot that I don't want to do anything that involves being outside for more than a couple of minutes.  Unfortunately the horses needed water, so I had to tend to them.  Hey, Scooter, why the long face? 

Get it?  It's our long-standing joke.  Today's answer is "Because I need water, Dummy, and I won't fit in the pool!" 

So since I had to go outside for more than a minute, I thought I'd take you on a tour of what is left of my yard. 

I have three developing tomatoes and this one just might make it. 

The sunflower seeds are nice and dry and ready for snacking on by the hub...  or birds...  first come, first served. 

The basil is going to seed.  It still smells good.  I plant it every year with the intention of eating it, but I really only smell it.  I like the smell.  Makes my mouth water.  But I never eat it.  It might ruin it for me.  I like how fancy the seeds are though.  I'll bet I have more than one plant next year!  More smelliness!

The black-eyed susans don't appear to care if it is 105.  I think I only had about six plants last year and this year, I have a gazillion.  Looks like the crispy ones are all ready to make me a flower plot for next year too.  I love perennials!  Oh, and look at the little butterfly too.  I must be more dainty than a butterfly. 

Another not-so-dainty butterfly out catching some rays.  And guess what happens to spent coneflowers??

Yep!  More seeds.  Had one plant last year, eight this year, so next year??  There looks to be several hundred chances right up there alone!  Did I mention that I love heat-loving perennials?  

The milkweed is beginning to bloom too.  Won't be long before we're raising caterpillars again! 

And last but not least, the sunflowers are still seeing some pollination action on new blooms.  And to think I didn't even plant any sunflower seeds this year! 

The seeds I did plant - cucumbers, broccoli, turnips, radishes, etc. - didn't hold a candle to the seeds I didn't plant!  Maybe next year I'll have a no-plant garden and just see what shows up! 

Hope you're staying cool today and that all your days are sunny.  Personally, I think we're due for a few clouds and some rain!  And maybe a second dose of deodorant! 

Happy and the Freezer

"Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me for you are good, O Lord."  Psalm 25:7

This morning the children were particularly unruly in the house, slamming doors, screaming, throwing things, slamming doors, laughing, stomping on the stairs. You should know that my central nervous system is directly tied to the slamming of doors and it then elicits a “fight” response in me that gives me visions of becoming a professional lady wrestler and body slamming someone. That someone being whoever slammed the door!

However, this morning, I was barely out of bed and I was too sleepy to jump off the top turnbuckle, so I yelled (we’re down to yelling at this point in the summer), “GO OUTSIDE!!”


They must have sensed the desperation in my voice because for one of the few times in the past couple of weeks, they listened to me on the first try! They decided to go swimming. Usually, I don’t condone children swimming without direct adult supervision, and I definitely don’t recommend it for other people’s children, however the threat of drowning in our three foot deep pool was a stark contrast to the threat of Darth Mother this morning.


I watch them through the window, after all.


After they’d been out there a little while, Mother Guilt began to set in as I realized I’d sent my half-naked children out to swim without their sunscreen on a 100 degree day. I headed out, spray and towel in hand.


My oldest had three big scratches on his rib cage that were quite red, but were from the night before.


“What happened?” I asked.


Huge sigh.


“I hope you don’t say the same thing as Daddy,” he said.


“What did Daddy say?” I asked.


“Well, I was playing with Happy (see cat above), and thought I would just hold the lid of the freezer up and put him in the freezer for just a minute, but then let him right back out, but…”


“WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF SOMEONE PUT YOU IN THE FREEZER?” I interrupted.


Huge sigh.


“That’s what Daddy said.”


Thank God for consistent parenting, teachable moments, and cats with mind reading abilities who are fast enough to get away!

Invasion of the Goats

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."  Matthew 25:31-33

After a wild night on the town in Bartlesville, Oklahoma - three games of bowling, eating at Taco Bueno, and visiting the Kiddie Park for what could possibly be the last time due to tall children - I was rudely awakened at 6:30 am by the incessant barking of my neighbor's dog, Sugar, right out in front of my house. 

I'd gone to sleep with wet hair.  Wet short hair.  Thank goodness for elderly neighbors who don't see so well. 

I opened the door. 

"Shut up, Sugar!" I said. 

She lowered her head and looked at me like she was guilty. 

"Git," I said. 

But she didn't move. 

I threw my shoe at her and she decided to go home.  And I went back to sleep. 

Then we all got up at a more decent hour and got ready to go to church where I would be covering Sunday school, so we couldn't be late. 

Woman who says things like "shut up" to a dog and occasionally her own children covering Sunday school.  What will they think of next? 

Anyway, headed to the car, I look around the corner and see this.

So I run and grab the camera before it gets away.  I'm believing this to be the guilty party for the early morning barkfest. 

Then I see the other two.  Mama up by the house, other baby already in the dog pen. 

Very cute, but I don't really have time for a band of rogue goats before church. 

I grab a bucket with a little horse feed in it and try to get them to come over to me.  They weren't interested, but as soon as I walked toward them, they went into the dog pen through the gate.  Our dog was still in the barn and barked from that gate at the intruders who were stepping onto his turf. 

I shut both gates and headed off to church, leaving them the bucket of horse feed.  I was sure when we returned, someone would have come for them and taken them home.  But I was wrong.  I had three goats taking an afternoon snooze in the shade under the tree after church. 

We figured out that they probably belonged to the new neighbors, so we went over and told them we had their goats.  Judging by the escaping frequency of the horses who lived there last year, I expect this to happen no fewer than 25 times in the next 6 months.  Especially if I keep feeding them.   

The oldest boy came over and herded them home. 

I thought it was kind of a funny site. 

Three goats heading home down the street. 

Stampede!!

Not something you see everyday. 

Hope your day too was filled with surprises, or laughter, or little flopping goat ears!