Been a While

Hey! I love the smell of school! The pencils, and paper, and books! And especially crayons! mmm
We have been busy at work, H loves to do the school work, although she still doesn't want to draw!!!! I need to work on that.
hey, some interesting news!! We will finally be getting our wood stove installed!!! yes, our stove pipe will be put in our roof this Sunday!!!!! I have my fire stick all ready to go! And we have wood!!!!!
Just thought you'd want to know!

And of course...

You can't have a fire without S'MORES!!! especially when you make them with homemade marshmallows!

I Love Camping!

Now, this is a fire! Went camping in August and it rained, rained, rained!!! Did I ever mention that i hate camping in the rain? Everything is damp, and the fire is not so cozy when you're holding an umbrella! But we had some fun in spite of it all :o) We have yet another camping trip planned and by golly! it better not rain!!! When we got home it rained, the next day it rained and the next. We didn't get to put our tent up again till Wed. to dry it out! I hate camping in the rain!

Can You Smell The Smoke?

Ahhh, I can just hear the cracklin' and I can smell the smoke! I just love a good camp fire!! Where are those SUPERLINKS and marshmallows??

Ahhh, Summer! I miss it already. Although I must admit, I like Autumn better. Cooler nights for sitting around a fire, smelling the wood smoke. Crisp mornings, the smell of the leaves. I guess I like it better than Summer? I am waiting to get busy in the kitchen baking! I like anything with pumpkin or apples. I like to make applsauce, especially. It is so tasty when it's warm. And then there's the smell of homemade bread in the oven, can you just smell it now?
I like to wear sweaters, too. And courderoy, and jackets. I like to take walks along dirt roads, and take in all the trees showing off their new outfits that all too quickly fade away.
Camping in the fall is great! Perfect sleeping weather and the fires! m, m, m, and you can;t go camping without taking along homemade marshmallows! Toasted over the fire, placed ever so gently on a graham cracker fitted with a square of (dare i say it?) chocolate, then down the hatch! Followed by a warm mug of spiced cider. Oh, I better stop, before I get depressed and wish Summer to hurry along. I don't want the seasons to hurry, Hannah is growing too fast, and soon she will be out the door :o( I am a bit anxious about homeschooling her, excited too. It just seems like so much stuff to teacher. Her stuff came in the mail this week, and I can't believe it's kindergarten curriculum??? Imean, what happened to fingerpainting, and drawing, and playing!!! Those are the things I did in kindergarten for half the day I might add! Now it looks like it will be a whole day of stuff! They are even expecting the kid to learn to read!!!! C'mon! when can kids be kids???? There is plenty of time to learn to read!!! Oh, I guess I am getting up on my soap-box, sorry. I am looking into other avenues of homeschooling, in case I decide to continue with it. Like a Christian-based curriculum, instead of the public school kind. I really don't like the books they sent for her to read!!! Fairy Tales, etc. I don't wanna read untrue fantasy stuff to her. She likes real stories about animals, and people. NOw don't tell me she won't develop an imagination! She has a very healthy one right now! She seems to be fascinated with science, using a magnifying glass, and watching birds, and digging in the garden, stuff like that. She loves to look thru the binoculars, too.
Well, I have come to an end, if I don't stop now, I will run out of sleep time. Until we meet again, ta ta...

Time waits for NO ONE!

Well, sorry that I have been away from here for so long. I just can't believe that SUMMER is almost over! I am starting a new venture, I will be homeschooling my daughter this year in Kindergarten and I am quite nervous about it. Not just the fact that all my spare time will now be pushed to the back burner, which is going to be hard for me, but that I will be my little one's TEACHER! I am praying that I can make school fun for her. So far, she is excited about "doing school stuff". We started to do some "school papers" to wet her appetite, and she seems to enjoy it. We are planning a camping trip with some friends, and then school begins!!!
Well, I need to go, I have things to dooooo! I ask for your prayers!

Look what dropped down right in front of meeeee!!

This Cicada was HUGE! it almost knocked me over!!!

Pooches!

Here is the best little dog ever!! I call her Pooches. This kind of dog I could handle!
No poopit!!

Summer Sunflowers!

I just love sunflowers! Don't you? I plant lots and lots of them every year, only for half of them to be dug up by hungry critters! I just like to look at the way the flowers open up , and then watch the busy honeybees crawl all over them! Did you ever notice how the flower follows the sun, even on cloudy days? Watch one next time, it's uncanny!
Then when it's time to harvest the seeds! If I can get to them before the squirrels do, then we have seeds! But those critters are quick and they are up way before me in the mornings.
They remind me that Fall is right around the corner and cool crisp days are ahead. I think Fall is my favorites time of year with Spring close behind. Fall is when I can start baking again, and my family unit loves apple pies and homemade applesauce.
Well, that's all for now, keep checking back for more interesting stuff!! :o)

Here's a cute little craft I have been working on. They're called "yoyo flowers". Aren't they cute?? I have yoyo's all over my house. They are so easy to sew, and you can take them anywhere and work on them, so compact!

Tadpole Cake

A tasty dessert for all you tadople fans!!!

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 bag chocolate chips
1 can vanilla icing

Prepare cake as per directions, but add half bag of choc. chips to batter and bake in a 9x13 pan.
After cake is done, ice cake while still warm and scatter choc. chips on top of icing. Smooth icing carefully, don't try to mix chips into icing, just smear them. This is the tadpole part!

Tadpole Salad

Here is a tasty! salad for you to try!

1 cup rice cooked in 2 cups water
mix with:
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp. capers drained (tadpoles)
olive oil and lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving. What a great salad for the summer picnincs!

Here is the parent frog. We were unable to determine if this was mommy or daddy. They are quite agile in the water!!

Stay tuned for MORE interesting posts about tadpoles.

Oh! My Stars!! Here are some fabulous tadpole specimens! These were found, caught and released on May 20, 2006.

A group of about 50 or more were seen in a small pond in the Jim Thorpe region of Pa. A small expedition team found them along with a parent watching ever so closly.

The tadpoles were swimming around a rather large egg sac which had many unhatched eggs. I only hope that a prditor doesn't find them before they can mature!

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! What more can I say? they were the best dancing duo in history. Yes, I love the old musicals! And if Fred and Ginger are in them, even better!
In this photo, they are dancing to "The Picolino" in the movie "Top Hat". Fabulously funny and full of song and dance!

Now, dare I say it?
Oh! My stars!!! That just takes the cake!
I have enough trouble with these pesky critters!
I guess they take peanuts any way they can get them!
Do you have any funny stories that involve squirrels? Share them here!

"Oh My Stars!" she says with a twinkle in her eye! Here is my little mascot (until I change it).

Let's call her Annie!!

Check this out!

Here is a blog that you MUST check out! It is maintained by a good friend of mine.
www.scaredofstorms.blogspot.com
She obviously has MORE time on her hands than I do :o)

Ha ha!!! for all of us that LOVE tadpoles! here is an excellent example of an american bulfrog tadpole. Note the wonderful form and coloring. This is an excellent specimen.
Stay tuned, I shall share with you my recipe for tadpole Salad!!

Ok, I have entered the 21st century! I hope all of you are happy!!! That means you! RUTH!
I don't know when I will have the time to use this thing, but, I will give it the ol' girl scout try!