Froggin'

The Man-Cub and his buddies went 'Froggin' - that is they went out into the field by our house and caught about seven pretty little green leopard frogs.

They originally caught them and kept them in my watering can (I guess it was the closest bucket-like object they could find without coming inside) - So I thanked them kindly for all the grass and mud they put in my watering can so the frogs would be happy...

They transferred them gently into his critter carrier and then they took them back out into the field and let them go.

The Duck Pond

We rode our bikes over to the Duck Pond for probably the last time this year. The ducks will be leaving soon you know...

We took all of our bread and the Man-Cub tossed it over the fence to the ducks.

They rush around trying to beat each other to each new piece that falls in - they're so funny quacking and pushing - the black ones are this year's babies - I should have gotten a picture when they were little and another one when they were feathering - they're so cute and funny looking then with half feathers and half fluffy down.

I think this is the very first time the geese have ever deigned to come over - they are so haughty...

The Man-Cub was thrilled with the geese.

He tossed them some bread too...

Summer Flowers

Hi - it's me - Frederick again - storing up some images for winter - when everything you see will be white for months and months...

You can remember this - the Man-Cub always picks the striped Petunias for some reasons - I guess he just likes them...

Some pretty Dianthus - which I like because it's so un-fussy...

More Petunias - I love Petunias - they remind me of the brick planter mid-way up the sledding hill at Mom's that she always filled with Petunias...

and some hardy Potentilia - I was unfamiliar with this bush before we moved up here - but it does survive the winters...

Raspberries

While we were gone on vacation, we missed the raspberries.

Never fear - one of our parishoners made sure we won't spend the winter raspberry-less.

I feel a bit like Karen who often enjoys the fruits of someone elses garden...

Barn Swallow

A barn swallow has built a nest under the eaves at the church. I can tell you the sexton is not thrilled.

I kept trying to get a picture of her on the nest but she is very skittish. As soon as I open the church door to snap a photo she's gone - so this fuzzy one is from inside.

Hopefully, I'll get a picture of the babies soon.

Another Misplaced Post

I found some more pictures from before vacation that should have already been posted.

I think the Man-Cub's favorite thing about swimming lessons is the last day when they let them jump off the lifeguard stands...

You can just see his joy...

He was thrilled to pass Level 4.

Even More Birthday Bounty

This is a pretty hand knit (by Amy) hat and scarf that my sweet Amy gave me for my birthday. It perfectly matches my brown jacket so I'll be wearing it a lot.

Donchyajusluv handmade! Thanks Amy.

Sad Morning

The little baby bird did not survive the night. The Man-Cub was pretty sad. We buried him in the field behind the garden.

Saving a Little Bird

As we were leaving for a bike ride we found this little guy in our driveway.

We think he's a Yellow Breasted Chat and we've never seen one here before - we walked around looking in all the trees and saw a Mama or a Papa in one of the trees by the church - too far up to get a good look though.

We can't tell if he's injured or just not quite ready to fly.

The Man-Cub gently picked him up and we made a nice bed for him in a box in the garage.

Scout Promotion Night

We have a family picnic each year to celebrate the scouts who are promoted to the next level - Tiger to Wolf - Wolf to Bear - Bear to Webelos 1 - and Webelos 1 to Webelo 2. This the the Man-Cub's last promotion in Cub Scouts - in February he'll receive the Arrow of Light and move to Boy Scouts. Since Webelos last for 2 years there's not really anything all that special about the change from 1 to 2 - so that's when we change to the olive/tan scout uniform and believe me that's a big deal.

This is the Man-Cub in his new Scout uniform. The socks are from his Auntie Karen - Thanks K.

A funny picture of me handing out awards.

The Man-Cub with his Webelos Badge.

Then we all went outside for some fun and games. A fast paced game of Dodgeball - the balls were really soft.

A potato sack race - so funny!

The Scout 'hand-cuff' trick - so easy once you know the trick.

And finally a watermelon eating contest - YUM!!

More Birthday Bounty

This is another set of pictures that I should have posted sooner. As soon as we got home from our vacation I unpacked all of this goodness.

My brother gave me a huge box of all kinds of vegan goodies and we've already tried a lot of them.

Mom gave me a huge bag of organic soy beans - hopefully it will last a whole year. For more on the Soy Controversy - check this out http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/soycontroversy.aspx I thought it was pretty sensible and I've been reading a lot on the subject (I guess most vegans have) .

My other brother gave me a sweet smelling potpourri and neat bamboo scent diffuser - we put some in each bathroom - so sweet. There's a little 'Gourdian Angel' too - she's sitting in my kitchen window now.

And a big box of spices - yum!!!

Happy Birthday!

My sweet sister-in-law had a birthday a few days ago - since she should have her card and little pressie by now I'll post about it...

First I stamped the butterfly on white card stock and colored it with colored pencils and then cut out around it and I stamped the Happy Birthday also on white card stock and colored in the flowers there too. Then I fixed the butterfly cutout to the Happy Birthday with a bit of foam tape so it would stand up slightly. Then I folded a piece of blue card stock and centered the white card on it and trimmed around it about 1/4 inch or so.

Then I cut a piece of thin paper to go inside the card folded it and only attached it on one side.

Then I wrote a little note on the inside wishing her a very happy birthday!

Brilliante Award

I am remiss in posting this. Super Rachel at http://cornflowerbluestudio.blogspot.com/ gave me this award while I was on vacation - Thank you so much Rachel - it was so nice of you to think of me!

Here are the rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs for the people you've nominated.

I'd like to pass on the award to these seven blogs:
NicolaKnits - http://nicolaknits.blogspot.com/
SoccerChic-Knits - http://soccerchic-knits.blogspot.com/
The Prodigal Pilgrim - http://prodigalpilgrim.blogspot.com/
MezzoDiva the Operatic Knitaholic - http://sockit-tome.blogspot.com/
Better Than Rubies - http://betterthanrubies.typepad.com/better_than_rubies/
A Sparkly Messy Life - http://asparklymessylife.blogspot.com/
and World of Karen - http://world-of-karen.blogspot.com/

I love reading each of these blogs and I miss them if they don't post Every Day!

Eddie's Story

This is my brother Eddie on You-Tube talking about his recent (ongoing) battle with lung cancer - probably caused by Radon gas in his home.

Watch the video and then get your house tested.

Notebook Experiment: Zebra Cake

Amy at http://www.momadvice.com/blog/ does a weekly post as an experiment and she gathers a lot of crafty posts together in a weekly notebook. We took on one of these notebook experiements - it was so much fun! It was so good and super cool looking that we didn't even wait until it was cool to cut into it - Oh My! - it was yummy warm - and oh so pretty!

Experiment: Bake a Zebra Cake

Experiment Taken from: Amy's Notebook 08.07.08

Materials Needed: Please see http://bakingbites.com/2008/07/zebra-cake/ for the directions and recipe - our only substitution were Ener-G Egg Replacer for the 4 eggs and soy milk for the milk.
The Man-Cub measured out all the ingredients.
More measuring - easier from the counter for some reason.
Stirring.
Pouring - this was the most fun - making the little rings.

Results: The cake was delicious and beautiful.
Before the oven.
After the oven.
Conclusion: We can't wait to make it again to take to a potluck or for a friend's supper. We had a lot of fun making the rings and dipping our fingers in the batter.

First Day

Yesterday was the Man-Cub's first day of school at the Middle School. A lot of people would ask if we were worried and honestly we were not - we always try to celebrate these transitions in a positive way and not make them seem scary to the Man-Cub. He had a great first day. He knew several people in his class and there are a lot of new and exciting things to do in this more grown up world of Middle School. He's excited about changing classes (they didn't do any of that on the first day and he was a little bit disappointed).

Opening the locker - he had practiced this a couple of times before we left for vacation - so I was surprised he was so adept at it when we got to school. His teacher even asked him to help other kids open their lockers...

His teacher said he could sit anywhere he wanted - so he chose the seat right in front of the window fan - it's still pretty warm here - high today is 86 and the school is not air conditioned - I love the neat stack of books - the Man-Cub wore the Pisgah Forest T-Shirt his grandmaw got him in NC...

Here's the schedule - he'll be taking both Band and Choir - it looks like a busy day - it's all good...

School Supplies

Just after we got home on Monday - the Man-Cub went through his newly purchased school supplies and packed up his new school bag. He chose a grey messenger bag this year instead of a backpack...

there's something exciting about new school supplies...