A Diamond Or A Coal by Christina Rossetti

A diamond or a coal?

A diamond if you please.

Who cares about a clumsy coal

Beneath the summer trees.

A diamond or a coal?

A coal sir, if you please;

One comes to care about the coal

At times when waters freeze.

Brown And Furry by Christina Rossetti

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

If A Pig Wore A Wig by Christina Rossetti

If a pig wore a wig,

What could we say?

Treat him as a gentleman,

And say, "Good day."

If his tail chanced to fail,

What could we do?

Send him to the tailoress

To get one new.

Easter

Well, we managed to have a completely secularized, non-religious Easter this year despite my best intentions to do otherwise.  <sad sigh>  I will do better next year.  Perhaps focusing more on the whole season of Lent and on Good Friday would help.  Then, there wouldn't be so much pressure to "be religious" on Easter Day.  Even though the day was a complete failure from a religious perspective, it was a perfect "favorite childhood memories" day.  Here are some highlights.

Hunting eggs at Nana's and Papa's

In the car and on the way, Claire stated that she was too old to hunt for eggs.  However, the sight of the brightly colored "spring spheres"made her forget she was too old, thankfully.

Cody faces a serious quandary.  Should I keep finding more eggs, or can I stop and satisfy my raging curiosity and see what is hidden inside each one?

Time to go riding!  Life in the country is great.  Clay has the governor set low.  They have a wide open wheat field.  No trees or obstacles to run into.  If they flip over, (worst case scenario), they will have <10mph momentum and a soft cushy bed of spring wheat.  I'm okay with this...I think I'm okay with this....uhhhh, there they go....I'm not so sure I'm okay with this!

One reason I LOVE attending a small country church:  watching the children go up and perform a song, with motions of course, every religious holiday.

After performing, the children were released to Children's Church which consisted of a mini carnival, eggs, prizes, rabbit shaped sugar cookies, etc. etc.  Okay, so our church may not score very high on religious edification, but from a parent's perspective, what I saw was a room full of ordinary people, volunteering their time and money with no expectations of pay back.

We may be guilty of glossing over the death/resurrection of Christ, but I think we nailed I Cor.13:4.  Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.

Let's Try Guineas

After losing our geese, we went back to Atwoods to buy replacements.  Unfortunately, they were out.  So instead, we decided to try our luck with guineas.  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of them when they first arrived!  We moved them to the outdoor barn around the first of May.  Here are pictures of them at around 3 weeks old.

A Sad Day

As Clay was leaving for work, he noticed a lifeless goose carcass beside the barn.  Upon further investigation, it was discovered that everything that slept in the barn that night had been massacred: all 3 geese and 3 Americauna chickens.  We were devastated!  I felt an unusual animosity towards the perpetrator--we're still unsure exactly who it was.  I understand the need to survive is what usually drives a predator to take one bird for an easy meal.  I don't like it, but I understand it.  However, whatever this was went beyond catching a good meal.  It didn't stop killing until it had killed every single thing leaving several uneaten carcasses behind, almost as if it had simply killed for sport.  That is deeply disturbing.

We did have 5 hens and our rooster locked in a different coop and they were unharmed.  So, we're down to only 6 poultry, our lowest number ever.

Teaching the Goslings to Swim

Follow mama!

That's right.  Come along little ones.

Now you've got the hang of it.

Hey guys, that was fun.  Let's do it again.