Empty swing musings

        My backyard is large and given to much activity.  I have two swing sets.  One is very tall, large with heavy, black tire seats.  It is out in the open and the snow level often reaches the bottom of the seats. The tires are still and stay in place. The other set is the variety you see advertized in spring and summer flyers from your local stores.  Small, a couple of seats, a glider and a slide attached to one side.  This one is somewhat sheltered by a large pine tree and some fruit trees, so the snow generally doesn't get quite so deep. 
        When we have a winter wind the small seats move back and forth.  I know they are wishing for the return of those laughing children, for the pleas of "push me more," "higher."  Lonely, a word that fits the feeling with the gentle empty movement.  This set is bereft of the life it enjoys in the warmer months, but it is willing to wait.  There is no choice.  Winter birds, chickadees, sparrows may perch on the frame of the set, a squirrel might streak across the top on its way to a pine cone from the sheltering tree. The magpies in residence in the pine tree often put on a show.  But still the set says empty.
         After a time the snow level decreases, the dry grass beneath shows through, and children arrive. The laughter begins again.  It isn't just a gently moving, it is pumping, back and forth, so much that the whole set threatens to tip.  But there is action, life, wonderful.
       Life brings people many situations that are similar.  Loneliness may be one of them. Distress that seems insurmountable. There is the time of waiting, hoping for change for the better. Waiting can be very difficult.  But there are moments that ease the waiting, just as the chickadees and sparrows break up the bleak winter days. The magpies are always nearby, supporting all year round, even if they are unable to sit and swing. 
       I am not sure why I have felt the need to write about the backyard swing, but it has been pushing me, perhaps it is giving me a lesson in patience.  Or acceptance of change, dealing with things over which I have no control. My human magpies, friends to help... Or....I just know there are many lessons to be learned yet in my life.

Ups and Downs of Holidays

I love holidays, always have.  I decorate my home for holidays, at least most of them.  I think of foods appropriate for the special day.  I grew up in a household where this was an addition to the normalcy of life.  My mother's philosophy was to have as many days to celebrate as possible.   She advised me not to get married or engaged on a normal holiday, to arrange those occasions so that there was one more day to celebrate out of the yearly 365.

Think about it, most holidays have foods that go along.  For those extra ones that are your family tradition  alone you can always dream up some delectable item for the day.  And who doesn't appreciate good food, especially if it is for some special reason?   So, is it the food or the reason that makes it a holiday?   Who cares!

Family games and activities go along with the holiday.  It doesn't matter whether it is a game of Mah-Jong, or a baseball game, ping pong, or Monopoly.  The spirit of fun and being together is what is needed.  The competitive spirit is great, up to a certain point, but it can get beyond reasonable boundaries and cause feelings.  Wish that weren't the case, but reality knows it is.

The down side of holidays is that they involve more work attached to our daily chores.  The decorating, putting it out, taking it down, finding a place to store it until a year later when the holiday bug bites again for that season, or reason.  The food preparation, making the effort to make it more festive, finding just the right thing to appeal to those enjoying.  And, of course, after the preparation, the cooking, and the eating, comes the ever present cleaning up.

There may be extra cleaning to go with a holiday.  Pumpkin carving isn't known for tidiness.Halloween is one that may carry extra cleanup as the treats get carried throughout the house and are hidden under couch cushions, etc.  You know how kids are. If you have a live tree at Christmas there is the taking care of the tree, keeping it alive so you can enjoy the pine scent---but after the season getting it out of the house with a trail of dry pine needles stuck in the carpet.  No fun.  Dying Easter eggs---slopping the dye, breaking the eggs.  I am sure you can think of others.  How about getting burned by the firecrackers on the fourth of July?
A definite downer!

If there are guests for any holiday....well, there is extra everything when there are guests.  General cleaning,  more laundry,  more food prep.... on and on.  And of course there is always risk with us humans, we don't all get along.  I have been in the middle of a holiday and had individuals end up in fist fights, or even worse, jail.

One must always ask oneself, is it worth it?   For me, I have found that it is.  The stress is present, but it is for a limited time that is recognized before, knowing there will be an end soon.  I have to remind myself of that from time to time when I am in the middle of a big holiday celebration.  "This too, shall pass,"   "hang in there"  "keep my mouth shut."  Faults and tempers need to be overlooked, controlled.  Nerves get frayed.

 Regardless of the human frailties I maintain that holidays are good. It is the good memories, the caring for each other, that can come during these special times  that make them of value.  Call if bonding if you like, it is something that people need.  Even those who resist it and complain about it, need it.  Holidays can be one means establishing this.  Yep, I still love holidays, ups and downs included.  Do you?  I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and are looking forward to December, then January, then February, March, April, May...and aall those possible holidays with those you care about.

Living with Wildlife

This past week one of our local citizens hit a deer not too far down the highway from our home.  It was near ten  o'clock at night, plenty dark, and up she comes out of lower field, smack into the vehicle.  There is very little warning when these things occur.  Yes, it was a fatality! Of course it was taken care of, according to the laws, etc, by the proper authorities.  The dented car, that is something the driver must handle.  This is a frequent occurrence for those who live next door to deer and other wildlife. It is ingrained into driving habits to watch for deer, racoons, skunks, pheasants, even elk. 

We recently had an article in our local paper warning motorists that the "deer are now down from the mountains."   Obviously the writer doesn't live in local deer country.  The deer haven't been "up" in the mountains.  Up in the mountains there are cougars and wolves that consider venison a good part of their weekly menu.   These critters are protected by laws.  Some of our residents who live up on the mountainsides have found they can't keep  outdoor cats to combat mice because the cougars wipe out the cat population. The deer have gotten so that they stay close to human habitat, it is a form of protection, better to take their chances crossing the highways than being brought down by their natural predators.  There are coyotes down here, but they must not be  quite as threatening.

The deer have discovered that,contrary to the wildlife experts, they can eat hay, green or dry.  Our orchards offer fruit, on the ground and as far up as their necks will reach, apples, pears.   During the winter they also have the plus of salt that builds up next to those highways, used to clear the road of ice and snow.  Salt is a good thing, and this is an easy source.

I love living among the wildlife, but it has its challenges.  Just let's get the real picture of how it is.  It is fun to see a deer reaching up to pluck an apple off your tree, but only if there are lots of apples.  It isn't fun when they eat all your strawberries, tomatoes,  whatever they develop a taste for.  It is always necessary to "watch out for the deer" when driving, day or night, no matter what season it is. Sometimes watching out isn't enough! We share the homeland, all year round.

Color in My Life

At this time of year our part of the world is aware of the colors of nature, perhaps more than at any other time.  Fall is the vibrant season in this area.  The greens of spring are welcomed, but it is a different sort of feeling gendered.  The colors of fall are like the fireworks announcing the coming of a more restful season, at least in color, winter.

Today some friends were visiting and we were talking about the beautiful place in which we live.  Yes, it is picture postcard lovely nearly 365 days a year.  We have mountains, streams, wildlife, a certain amount of privacy.  No, I am not trying to put out an ad to attract anyone, it is just a great place to be in the environmental sense.

All this made me think of how much color has always been a major thing in my way of thinking.   Many of my memories are connected to color.  I remember the color of an aunt's wedding outfit that I saw when I was seven, and I include the groom's military uniform.  My cousin, on the other hand, remembers the party following.  I had pneumonia,  very high fever, when I was 5 and my delirium dreams were (nutty of course) but in a color.  Always after that experience I knew when I was sick because my dreaming would be in that color.

When I meet someone, for years following that introduction,  I associate the color of the person's clothes worn at that time with who they are.   To me they are the person "in the yellow flowered skirt" along with their name.

I had surgery on an eye a few years ago, the kind where the recovery requires you to keep your face down, parallel to the floor for the next two weeks, 24/7.   During that uncomfortable time something that fascinated me were the colors I saw as my eye healed, and how they changed in shaped and intensity.  It caused me to wonder if Van Gogh and Picasso might have had vision problems that caused them to paint in their particular styles that were so different from their peers.

Anyway,  I have wondered about other people's experiences with color.  Am I weird, well, maybe that is the wrong question.   Do any of you who read this see things this way, with color always a part of the mental connection?  I love color,  it gives so much to my life,  indoors, outdoors, moving, stable, no matter where or when.  What a wonderful  gift God gave us, when He created the world in technicolor!   For me, while I think I could manage black and white, it wouldn't be nearly so interesting.

Weeding rewards

  Yesterday we had a good soaking rain, most of the day.  It made the  perfect situation for attacking the thistles and noxious weeds that permeate my yard.  So, after canning apple-pie-in-a-bottle during the morning hours I donned my gloves, grabbed my wheeled garden stool, my root digger and headed out, pulling the wagon to serve as my trash collector.   We are not talking dandelions. I am after snarling, evil, menacing green stuff
   First was the garden area where there have been two tall thistles, firmly imbedded in my spearmint, along with a burdock that I fight yearly.  These thistles are a fairly recent variety to my yard, painfully barbed, with a sting that lasts and lasts.  I need to look in my noxious weed pamphlet to see what their name truly is.  What I call them is not fit for a blog!  They came out easily, provided I pulled from the base.  The burdock was more tenacious, as I knew it would be.  Roots are still there but I did manage to bust if off low down and toss it over the fence.  This plant and I are enemies from the past---it chose to grow just underneath the back wooden fence, backed up by a pile of oil drums.  I innocently placed my large, heavy containers just in front of that fence.  Thus, every year we have a struggle, even the Roundup treatment has been insufficient to totally discourage this weed of weeds!
    I love my good leather gloves.   When I first started into the art of weeding some 50 years past I bought myself a good pair of leather gloves, none of those flimsy gardening gloves for me.  The attitude is probably another evidence of my growing up years. There are lots of instances in my life as a farm wife where gloves that are worth something are needed!  Leather makes it possible for me to dislodge thistles, minus shovels, if the dirt is just right, and today it was.  Not only did I get those in my spearmint, but I went all around my yard fence ( we have a big yard) and also around the foundation of the house, and around the root of every tree in the yard.  It seemed that thistles of one description or another were trying their best to get a good start.
    Of course I didn't just pull the thorny variety.  I felt great when up came button/marshmallow weeds with their long roots, one after another. One root system was over a foot long!  Not all came zipping right out, my little digger had to help dislodge some roots after my yanking had broken off the greenery.  Either way I felt exultant!  Even those roots that refused to budge did not mar the hours spent. Weeding can be rewarding, not my favorite task, but one that is necessary.
      All thorny plants came up---Milk weed, Russian, Canadian, whatever their ethnicity. There are with some nice velvety leaves. I always wonder why these plants have such attractive flowers,  lavender, yellow, white, with glossy curling leaves, yet with such blackened hearts.
      Guess weeds are much like other things in life.   Enticing on the outside, tempting in beauty.  But if they can get their hooks into you, pain might be inflicted that lasts, and lasts, until we get someone to help pull out the barbs and make it better.

Border crossers

About a month ago I wrote thoughts about our mourning dove.  I have received new light on this subject, not sure about its authenticity.  Recently when we were enjoying the sounds of this dove  I made some off-hand comment about the call being a tad different from most of our mourning doves.  My husband responded that he had heard this might be a slightly different breed of dove---not one found in our North American Wildlife book that I use often for identifying such things.  He elaborated that south of the border, in Mexico, the doves there were over-populated and that their call was a little different from those to which we were accustomed.
       I listened to this, noting that his expression was serious, knowledgeable, etc.  Inside my head, I was thinking that the birds are crossing the Rio Grande just as the citizens, for a better life.  I was also inwardly smiling.  Hmmm, maybe our dove just has a Spanish accent.  Hola or hello, works for me!  Still love to know the bird likes our neighborhood.

The Nesting Enemy

Most of my readers will have memories of the little song "Robin in a Cherry Tree, sing a little song for me"  or something similar.   A harbinger of spring, we always look forward to seeing the red breasted bird arrive.  He is so intent when pulling out worms, listening intently and never giving up, pulling, pulling until there teh earthworm dangles from his beak.  Or maybe only a portion of the worm, but no matter, the bird won the fight.  So cute and clever!
        My feelings about robins now are much different than in those unknowing days of singing.  Yes, I have robins in my cherry tree, and I intend to clear out the nest!  Again! I thought I had done this last fall, but this year I can see that they are very good at home restoration.
       These feathered thieves are worse than any camp robber jay.  We have three cherry trees in our orchard and it is very seldom we get to eat any of the cherries they produce.  The birds are gobbling the fruit before it has a chance to  fully ripen. I have even tried to pick early, but that doesn't work either. They consume the sour pie cherries just as rapidly.  I always hope their stomachs ache.  The pit is left on the tree, totally bare, stripped clean, still hanging from the stem attached to the tree.  A symbol I see each time I mow the lawn.
        Robins devour strawberries just as rapidly, maybe even faster.  They don't have to worry about the pit and who cares about a little green leaf in an aviary diet.   Yes, I have tried the covering with a net "prevention."  All that means is that the owner of the fruit has to clear out the bodies of the birds who get trapped beneath the net, stomachs full of the produce, and they can't get out.  Maybe they are too bottom heavy for takeoff!  I just know I have had my share of bird fatalities with nets.  It stinks, in more ways than one!
        We have gone through the cherry war for this current year. Now they have moved on to my ripening black currants.   My source of jam, jelly and rich purple syrup that is such a treat for the whole neighborhood!   I watched the birds fly from the nuded cherry tree to the currant bushes,  diving in, sweeping out.  So I commenced to mow the lawn in that area---no bird action.  I no more than turned off the machine and entered my kitchen to prepare a meal, turning to look through the patio doors into the backyard and the
creatures were back in action.
        I wish I could convince my mamma cat to sit by the currants.  That fiesty little lady would make a very good guard.  I have seen her in action with birds she has nabbed.  But she has business elsewhere and cats aren't much for guard duty.  I am having wishes for my BB gun of yore, or even a 22.
      In the meantime I pick whatever berries are ready, as fast as I can.  I know the enemy has the berry patch in its sights, in fact I just saw one sitting within 3 yards above me on a stack of oil cans behind the bushes.  Arrogant creature, not even needing the protection of the cherry leaves, just waiting for my departure! Smug features, greedy appetites intact!