Be true to who you are…..

And the family name you bear……


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Safe in His hands.

Grace brought me her writing assignment this morning. She refuses to use first grade paper, she wants "normal" paper for her lessons just like her older siblings. But that isn't why I'm posting today. Today at the bottom of her lesson she had drawn a picture...When I questioned her why she was drawing when there was other school work that needed to be done she replied that she had been thinking of all the ways God protects us and this was her picture of God's hand on our home.............I have to agree, that is the most important lesson we could have learned today.
Except the Lord build the house,
they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain.

Monday, October 26, 2009

To heal a heart..

"Christ heals with more ease than any other. Christ makes the devil go out with a word (Mark 9:25). Nay, he can cure with a look: Christ's look melted Peter into repentance; it was a healing look. If Christ doth but cast a look upon the soul he can recover it. Therefore David prays to have a look from God, 'Look Thou upon me, and be merciful unto me' (Psalm 119:132)."
THOMAS WATSON

Behold, her mighty Oak!

I'll share a little tid-bit about myself here, I'm solar powered.
I need heat and warmth to keep this old body moving. Winter is hard, hard, hard on me. If given the option I would curl up and sleep all winter long. For this reason I have often longed to move South... send me hurricanes and flooding, give me twisters and chiggers, I'll take what ever may come but give me Heat! I know how Sam MaGee feels. However, I will never leave, the Rockies have carved themselves too deep into the hearts of my family. But if I could, oh, if I could.

One day while watching a hunting video with my guys I listened to Will Primos with his southern drawl talk about deer feeding on "A kerns" which is southern for acorns. He was in a tree stand with the sun shining warm on his back, it was Thanksgiving day!!! Suddenly I had to have an "A kern" tree, because by all common reason, it HAD to be what was causing the sun to shine in November.

The next spring when my shipment of trees came from the U of I, nestled somewhere in the box were five little oak trees.... including the roots they were no taller than my hand and as Shane held one up for inspection he said "Woman, I hope you got a good deal on these." My boys took some good natured jabs at me and my oaks. Grace, felt sorry for me and kissed their little bare branches.

I told them that when they bury me under them, they will look up to the towering branches and with a tear in their eye cry out "Behold, her mighty Oaks." And then they will tell their children about a granny who planted an oak for them to enjoy, for the deer to feed beneath, a testimony that my thoughts were with the generations to come....

I did not plant a fast growing Poplar for my immediate gratification but a tree that would live and bless my prodigy as well. Today, four years later, my Oaks are seven foot high. They are starting to be beautiful. And, we only have forty six more years before they actually start producing "A kerns"!





My vision for my future family does not end with giving them Oak trees to sit beneath however, this vision is one that I have prayed over and struggled with for almost a decade now. I want a line of Holversons that stand before God, ever ready for the battle that lay ahead. I see a work from Him that will not end with me but carry on for generations to come. If I fail to pass my vision on to my children the day will be lost ~all my effort will be in vain.

One of my favorite movies is Pendragon. It is a low budget film, hard to watch if you are only watching it to be entertained but if you are watching it to be inspired you will not be disappointed. In it there is a comment made ~ God does not call men to futility.

Futility... God does not call men to merely survive the daily grind... To struggle with bills or health or that dryer that breaks for the 20th time... He calls us to battle! On our knees, with our swords, with our mouths and hearts and CHILDREN!!!

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is that man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3~5
Shelly, is nothing. I come from one of the filthiest heritages you can imagine. I, however, pray constantly that starting at me the line will change... I am preparing a people for battle who will prepare their people for battle. My constant prayer is that one day, one day, my linage will cause Satan to turn tail and run at the mention of our name.... My arrows are being formed to reach across generations and penetrate the hearts of men long after my body has returned to the dust.
So, when you see me walk totally contrary to what the world expects or accepts. Smile, for that is the way it should be. The bible tells us we cannot serve two masters.
When you see me do crazy things like planting a four inch tree that grows so slow one questions if it is still alive. Know that I do not shine for today, and unless today matters two hundred years from now or five hundred years from now if the Lord tarries, if it doesn't matter that far ahead, it is not worth the energy I'm putting into it.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Reluctance

Out through the field and the woods
And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view
And looked at the world and descended;
I have come by the highway home,
And lo, it has ended.
The leaves are all dead on the ground,
Save those that the oak is keeping
To ravel them one by one
And let them go scraping and creeping
Out over the crusted snow,
When others are sleeping.
And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,
No longer blown hither and thither;
The last lone aster is gone;
The flowers of the witch hazel wither;
The heart is still aching to seek,
But the feet question "Whither?"
Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?
~Robert Frost

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Fall Colors

Fall Colors are really hard to get pictures of around here... Not that we don't have them, it's just they are usually buried under a blanket of snow. Or the storm clouds stop the sun from showing off their brilliance. The Cottonwoods in the river bottoms are on fire but don't show up in the picture. I forgot to take one of the oak trees. It's okay, they need a post of their own anyway.







Saturday, October 3, 2009

The Magic of a Tree

There is tree, out in the back yard that never has been broken by the wind..... but by a swing set? Now that's another story. Our neighbor tells of a small tornado that ripped through our back yard about two years before we moved in. The tornado picked up the old owners swing set and landed it right in the middle of our tree. I think it is wonderful because as the tree healed it left a huge crotch in the middle. Perfect for a youngsters hide away. With the help of twine, clothes pins, blankets and a little imagination. The tree becomes a hiding place for a tea party, a civil war brigade, persecuted Christians or simply reading a good book.
I guess I should also mention that animals have been "hunted" with rubber band guns from the hidden limbs as well. One day as I passed under it on my way to the garden I heard in Andrew's best twang "Hold it right there little lady, I've got ya in my cross hairs."
To which I respond. "Well, go ahead and shoot if you think you can run fast enough."
Again from the hidden voice in the leaves " Yes, ma'am I see here you are allowed to pass by order of the King, you may proceed." Smart boy.

Sigh, I wish I trusted myself to climb up there and spend an afternoon with them.. I guess it isn't the climb up that I fear but the trip down. If I fell, they'd just have to dig a hole right there and roll me into it.


Hearthsong sells a pulley with a bucket for an ungodly amount of money....I have always wanted them to have one but could never justify the price..... I felt a twinge of guilt when my girls created their own for free.


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Brave Hearts and Fair Madiens

The view out the left side of the tree.

The view out of the right.


Summer has left us. With the rain, snow and frost the tree
is no longer safe to climb this year.
So the blankets must be taken down.
I wonder by the time the snow melts next spring
how many of the younger ones will join
the older ones in feeling "too old" to play in the tree.




I guess next year I should add "shake the blankets"
and then bring them in to the wash room......
Oh well, a small price to pay for a
summers worth of fun.





Monday, September 28, 2009

On a Velvet Pillow.

We were working out in the garden this weekend. Our tomatoes have been covered since Aug 30th and we go out everyday to uncover and harvest anything red then recover. Zac was bent over in the row picking from the plants in front of him. As I walk by I playfully bump him to see if he can balance himself before he lands head first into the tomato bush.

He doesn't even budge, just puts out a hand, steadies himself and says "Momma, you'd think with as much money as you've had to put into me this summer, you'd be a little more careful of me.... you know like set me up and display me on a velvet pillow." he straightens and continues his daydreaming "I'll lounge their all day and you could show me off saying "see, here is my million dollar child" or something."

I answer that back in the day if a man owed more money than he could pay they put him in a debtor's prison to work at hard labor until he could pay it off....

You could almost see the dream bubble burst over his head.

He follows with "Really? Well, my arms going to be all messed up again so I guess it will be you and dad that would have to do the hard labor."

"Boy, you have no sympathy.."

"I know, makes my idea of the velvet pillow sound better all the time doesn't it?"

"Pick boy, before I break the other arm..."

"Yes, 'em. You're harsh."

That part comes naturally when you're raising four boys.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Today is the 25th..

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous:
but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

So I suppose your wondering.....

I tried to tell God this wasn't going to reflect very good on Him. I've done a lot of bragging. Funny how he doesn't worry about our opinions.
Zachary is scheduled for surgery December 28th in the Boise Hospital.

They will be damaging the growth plate on his healthy bone and also cutting it to remove a section to bring it back down to the other bones length, fusing it together with a plate.
Dr. Showwalter has chosen to go with Dr. Mills' first assessment and not the second.

This song has been running through my head all day:


Life is easy when your up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known
But things change when your down in the valley
don't lose faith because your never alone!
You talk of faith when your up on the mountain
But faith is easy when life's at it's best.
Now it's down in the valley of trials and temptations.
That's where your faith's really put to the test.
For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
When things go wrong He'll make them right.
And the God of the good times, He's still God in the bad times.
And the God of the day, He's still God in the night....

I was out in my truck after the appointment and my tears were fussing with me a little. I am worried about him going through surgery again. He gets so sick and was in so much pain last time. And here, poor Zac, turns to me and says "momma, I'm sorry I give you so much trouble." Then I really did cry. All I could say was "No, Zac" and shake my head.

Over the course of my life, I have seen other parents go through hell with their children. Mine have been nothing but a blessing to me. They love and serve their Savior with all their heart. I don't have any unwed fathers, My children preach constantly against drugs and alcohol, they don't lie or steal. They don't even know what P.O. stands for. My boys love and protect me like I was some treasure.
No, Zacky~D ...... my children do not give me trouble. Not even when they ~ and I are broken.

In fact, son, I don't know what true grief is.....


And fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear Him which is able to destroy
both the soul and body in hell.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Autumn Blessings

Blessed Autumn and harvest to all of you... Autumn is a very pretty time of year here in the river bottoms. Leaves are changing and everything is preparing for the long winter rest. The frost has been hitting so hard that the pumpkins are no longer safe in the field and must be stored. We had a great harvest of them in spite of my whining two months ago that there wasn't a single pumpkin on the vine.. and the weather was never really pumpkin friendly. You need warm weather at night to grow big pumpkins, we didn't have warm anything this summer.

This pumpkin was my favorite for the year.... it just about grew into the "perfect" pumpkin shape. Did you notice I am missing a boy..... it is a cruel part of life that children grow up.
For the past sixteen years we have spent maybe a handful of days apart and now this summer I rarely see him.

Ah, back to the squash. We grow a lot of squash and beets for the livestock. They keep well and provide good roughage during the winter. We strive for the biggest production in the smallest amount of space. Often running vines through the corn patch as well. This year a banana squash grew up a corn stalk. It made for easy picking and someone jokingly stated we grew a banana tree in Idaho.


After a full day of harvesting we ate hamburgers and headed to the reservoir. The air was crisp and the spray refreshing. It was something to see how much the water had gone down over the course of the summer. The fish were frisky ~ jumping completely out of the water to show off their shiny scales. Eagles and Hawks were soaring searching for dinner while the pickings were still easy. It was pleasant. As we started to turn the boat back toward home we noticed another boat up a cove sending out a distress signal. There had been maybe seven boats on the lake the entire night. We went over to see if we could help. They needed towed to land. Rire reservoir has two docking ports, one on each side. The stranded boat needed to go to the Blacktail dock and we had put in on the dam side.... but what do you do? We were the last two boats out there.



The boat was Heavy, and the going slow... Darkness was settling in and we hadn't even docked the other boat yet. Even the ducks had settled in for the night. Finally, just as my mind was threatening to panic.... we docked the other boat, there was no time for proper introductions or thanks. We waved as the other boater offered to pay us. Shane said "No, you'll need to tow me some day..." We took off as we still had a 15 to 20 minute drive to get to our dock and there was little daylight left. As we sped away a wad of money landed in the bottom of our boat. There was no time to argue, we just kept driving. There was $25 ~enough money to pay for an entire tank of gas in the boat. I can't believe him.





About half way across the reservoir, the sun was gone, our daylight has shortened tremendously. Praise God for the moon, calm weather and a running motor. The water was like glass as we cut across it. Pretty if I could have just relaxed. Slowing when the reservoir narrowed we picked our way home. I am thankful that they are familiar with the reservoir..
David, sitting in the bow acting as lookout sees the lights of our dock. All ended well.


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Make Hay While The Sun Shines

I was starting to think our hay was not coming. We usually have our hay bought and stacked by the time fair rolls around. I guess with spring being so cold and wet, first crop was late and so it stands to reason that second crop would be too. But this was really late.
The farmer I buy hay from teases me quite often because I am picky about what I feed my animals. I won't buy first crop. False Tansy grows in the spring, once it has been cut it stays down for the rest of the year so it doesn't show up in the second cutting. False Tansy ruins the reproductive ability of a goat. It leaches all the iodine out of their system and ruins them. It's a yearly conversation between Gary and I....it always ends with him saying " Like I said ..what's wrong with that?" He's a cowboy .... he's above goats.

Gary's hay hauler it too big to get into where I want the hay stacked so we have him deliver it in the field and then stack it by hand... all eleven tons. This year we used a hay lift when the stack got high. It is a TRUE piece of farm equipment. We spent more time putting it back together than we did running it.


Almost done.....
The energy level always picks up when your on your last ton.
I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude
when the hay is safely stacked. And the food stored in the cellar,
Shane calls it my "warm and fuzzy"
To see the Lord provide once again is a very blessed feeling.

Will you people go to bed now?
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Deut 28 :5




Saturday, September 19, 2009

Boy, Can you skin Grizz?

....sure are cocky, for a starving Pilgrim................

David and Cody have both killed a bear. This year it is Andrew and Zachary's turn to try. So far they have had a lot of hits at their bear bait sites but have not harvested one... Their Uncle Dan, however, did. And He brought it to me~e! I don't like bear meat. They are scavengers. And by all reasonable assessment what they eat...you eat. Yuck! Not to mention it is greasy and sticks to the roof of your mouth. No~ part of the pig family or no, I'll stick with the original white meat. But what is good on the bear is the hide. Soft, warm and pretty. Dan didn't bring me the hide though. Darn 'im. He brought me the carcass. So I did what any woman would do~ cry.

Alright, I made it into dog food. My dog food recipe calls for two pounds of ground meat per batch and after the boys and I had it all butchered, ground and wrapped up we had enough for over 25 batches of dog food. And that's why I'm singing!! Chief and General's grub was getting low and I don't know how you look into those big brown eyes or stare at all that slop chop drool and tell them there just isn't any thing left except fish. They don't like puppy food made from fish, so times are pretty desperate when I make it that way. Here's the recipe they swear by:

2lbs ground meat
( I use what ever we have at the time.. wild whatever, duck, chicken,fish,goat,rabbit, left over roast or taco meat etc.)
4 cups rice
12 cups water ~ sometimes if I have extra milk I will add it.
veggies
( again whatever, zuc, crookneck, a quart jar of beans, carrots or corn.) DO NOT use onions~ they are toxic to dogs. Thanks, Cody, for setting momma straight.

Put the meat, rice and water into a dutch oven and bring to a boil, simmer until meat is cooked and all water is absorbed. I add a little salt to this.

If veggies are raw cook them in a little water otherwise dump the jar into the blender and puree (stealth health) If I leave them chopped the dogs kick them out of the bowl.
Add puree to rice mixture and stir. Store covered in the fridge.

***My disclaimer*** I am not a nutritionist. I have only been feeding my boys this way for about eight months and only time will tell if my way of thinking is truly healthy for my dogs... some nutrition deficiencies would not show up until my dogs are old men. BUT people managed to keep their dogs alive and fed for years and years before Purina came along. There has to be a way of doing it for ones self.
The only draw back I see to this food is ~it is soft therefore will not clean their teeth like a dry kibble would. I give them bones to keep their teeth healthy.

I make this batch about every 4 to 5 days for my two Newfies... if you have a disposable dog ( you know.. the flushable size) you may want to cut it in half so it doesn't go bad in the fridge.
Let me know if you try it.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Check Your Trap Line Daily....

First you need the history.....My boys are trappers. Trappers to the core. But they are also boys who tend to get careless on occasion. Some traps do not kill instantly and I feel it is cruel to let animals sit in them without being disposed of as quickly as possible. So I am a broken record around here during the winter.. "Check your trap lines daily..."

Now, in our main bathroom there has been a smell.... a horrible smell for the past two days. I have scrubbed everything in it from the toilet to the walls and I cannot get rid of the smell. My man keeps asking me when I am going to clean the bathroom because the smell is terrible. I was almost in tears because I HAD cleaned it~ many times over!

Well, last night I was getting all the trash ready to be hauled and when I opened the cabinet for the bathroom trash.........oh! the smell. Behind the trash can was a mouse trap that I had set... and forgot.

There was my smell... a dead mouse at that stage where....where your eyelids curl in and your lungs send out an involuntary "Cease and Desist" order because the pain of breathing in is just more than your nose can handle. Oh, it was AWFUL!!!

I was down in the cabinet cleaning up the mess when one of the boys (he's lucky I didn't turn around to find out who.) walks by and says "Hey mom, check your trap lines daily!"

If my lungs would have been working he'd have gotten an ear full. But as it was they weren't.
And, after all, it was good advice from his mother.....

Monday, September 14, 2009

Bloom where you are planted

We have rocks at the entrance to our drive way. In front of those rocks is road base. tons and tons of road base. My mind refused to comprehend road base..... The dirt around our home has spoiled me to the point I do not understand the statement
"soil too poor to grow anything."
So this spring I planted some of my favorite sunflowers right down in the road base in front of the entrance rocks and waited patiently for them to bring me a smile.
I was not disappointed. Today as I left to take Bethany to piano lessons I looked at the bare spot in front of my entrance rocks and to my surprise one stubborn, stubborn, stunted sunflower had made his way into the world and bloomed to brighten my day.
Don't get me wrong, I have fifty plus other sunflowers in a patch sharing their beauty with all who pass, I love them ...... but they will never be as beautiful as this little flower.
For they have lived a life of ease...
He grew when he shouldn't have.
He grew in spite of his surroundings.
He didn't care how hard it was.
He grew anyway.
He did well.

Friday, September 11, 2009

The Human Jack

If a tire needs changing and no jack doth appear..
Find the Holverson boys and harbor no fear...
With two on the front and two in behind
You'll have it all changed in a moment of time.
Then off you will go, be it sage brush or snow
hunting deer, elk, and rabbit or even buffalo.
For what is bred in the bone will come out in the flesh
Fall is for hunting and not for rest.
They will fill up our larder, as full as can be.........
But I prefer beef ~ Shhh, don't tell on me.
Not really, I am very blessed to have so many skilled men in my life, who provide plenty of meat for their family. And it is good.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Thieving Wolves....


Idaho hunters are being bad mouthed for killing wolves in Idaho. Connecticut based "Friends of Animals" (I'm not actually sure "what" animals they are friends with~ obviously nothing the wolf eats...) But Friends of the Animals is encouraging everyone to boycott Idaho potatoes as long as wolf hunting is allowed. Would you like a little piece of sad history? In 1990 a bill lay on the desk of then Gov. Cecil Andrus that if passed would become the most restrictive state abortion law in the nation. If he signed it, guess what everyone was threatening to do? Boycott Idaho potatoes. Andrus caved and vetoed the bill.
I don't claim to be a very smart person and I am far from a Saint. But there is something seriously askew in a culture that will boycott potatoes for killing a thieving mangy dog AND boycott potatoes for allowing a human being to live.
Hunting is part of Idaho's heritage, a heritage that includes wiping the wolves out to protect ourselves the first time. If you don't like it ~you should have picked a different state to put them in. With a family of ten people, we eat a lot of potatoes. We will be standing in line this fall, to hunt wolves and buy potatoes. And we will apologize to no one.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

This is Good.

My summer has been an emotional roller coaster. Starting with Zachary's accident on Mother's day down to last week when Dr. Mills told us Zachary would need a second surgery. It has been two days since our CT follow up and I have not written the results. The truth is........ I don't know how to. I don't know how to put into words the emotion.

First I want you to know that I do not believe in "Faith Healing".
I do not believe that a preacher or anyone for that matter can slap someone on the head with an oily palm screaming "Be healed in Jesus!" and when that person rises up he is wonderfully healed.

What I do believe in is fervent prayer.
I believe in God's love.
I believe in God's goodness.
and I believe that God has healed my son.

On Tuesday morning we went to Dr. Mills office. Now, Dr. Mills is a steady Eddie, no emotion, no drama, no personality......... it's what bugs me about him because when I am upset everyone else should be too.

But today he was struggling, talking in circles, using words that were so far over my head.....
The CT scan was on his computer. He kept zooming in and out on different pictures and bone fragment and then he would point to the x~ray and shake his head. The way he was acting just made me sick and honestly for the first five minutes I thought my son was dead in the water. Finally he leans back and says "I just don't know what to tell you but the damage is not showing where I saw it first in the x-ray............

Then it hits me, he is upset because he thinks he was wrong not because something is wrong...



So I stutter out "This is good?"

He is agitated because I am stupid. "Yes, it's good, but obviously I have two conflicting reports so you will need to see a specialist out of Boise to confirm what I am saying."
The second opinion I didn't even have to ask for.....
He continues "If he concludes that the damage is on the inner part of the arm instead of the outer part where originally shown then we will do another follow up in three months and postpone surgery, at least for now........". I didn't here the rest.
My mind just kept screaming "This is good!" "God is good!"
I was so distracted that when I left the office I left everything there.... the disk with the CT scan, the copy of the x-rays, everything I needed to take to Dr. Showwalters. I guess I will need to pick that up the next time I am in town.
We see Dr. Showwalters on September 25.

God is good. To Him be the glory.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Blue Skies never fade...


Sorry, I don't even know what to call it but I thought the clouds looked pretty.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Of Books and Learning


A house is not a home, unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.
~Benjamin Franklin

This morning after chores we all gathered in the class room to sort books for our lessons this winter. I love the smell of old books. I love the smell of new books for that matter. Solomon declared "Of the making of books there is no end..." I couldn't agree more. In the past ten years of homeschooling I have bought and traded and read and scrapped more books than I can count. It is one of the heaviest responsibilities I have as a mother. I know the brain food I set in front of them will make or break them for the rest of their lives. And I take that serious. Most of our books could never be resold because a portion of them have lines drawn through the text and a handwritten note saying "your parents do not want you to read this because God's word says....."
Or " read this part but look up this verse afterward and see how the author has strayed from the teachings of Christ." I am not afraid to ruin a book regardless of the price.



My children are allowed much freedom in choosing what they want to learn for the year. Very rarely do I have to rewrite their lessons. The one exception is the Civil War. They are Civil War buffs. If given the chance they would study it and only it every single year!
I know, it is unbelievable that any child of mine would love to hear how private citizens stood up to the Government and said "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!!" Just call me Johnny Reb.
What I have done is compromised....and you though that was impossible for me?

~ Quit picking on me would ya?

Anyway, I get them one new book to read about the Civil war per year, that way it doesn't consume the entire time but they still get their fix.


The two older boys have read through most of G.A. Henty's historical fiction and Cody is starting on Ballantyne. This year I will turn their reading to more of a serious matter and have them read from leading Preachers like John R. Rice, Voddie Baucham, Mike Pearl and others on topics of home life and home leadership. It's time for that I guess. The younger boys will start in on historical fiction toward the end of this year.



One thing I noticed about my girls especially Grace, she has kind of been slighted. I have catered to the older ones in our group reading ~she had learned to sit through adult stories, biographies and classics. Even her bedtime books are geared toward Bethany. Chapter books like Elsie Dinsmore and such. She has missed out on children's books like Alice in Bibleland and Seuss.

They are all still on the shelf but I have not read them to her... she pulled one out while we were there .. "Oh, the thinks you can think.." So I sat down to read to her, part way through she said "Momma, what's a Zong?" as in ~You can wonder how long is the tail of a Zong? I said "Well, a Zong is an imaginary creature that the author made up."
"Yeah, but that's silly, I'm done with this book..." and back on the shelf it went.

I've ruined her.

Some books are bound in our hearts such as "All the places to love", when a new baby is coming. "Blueberries for Sal" at huckleberry time. "Pickin' Pea's" is read in July. "Burt Dow deep water man".... they named our boat the Tidly Idly II. "Summer of the Monkeys"...~ Often when calling everyone to dinner you will hear...Come an' get it or I'll feed it to the chickens!!!
"Christies Old Organ"....My favorite one for fall is "The Oxcart man". Thanksgiving is rounded off with "The Little Pilgrims" and "America's Lost Dream". Or "William Bradford~Plymouth's Faithful Pilgrim." There are still remainders of tree houses out front after we read "Robinson Crusoe". And I could go on and on... in fact I did didn't I?
Well, I'll quit now but what a blessing to live in a time where so many books are available to anyone who will take the time to pick one up.

You get a Line....

I'll get a pole.
We'll go fishing in the crawfish hole...........................
I love this time of year.... yeah, I know I keep saying that. I promise ~about the end of November you will get a reprieve for about four months. Bear with me okay? But this time of year there is so much food at my fingertips. And crawdads are one of them.
I don't know how many times I have to tell Cody not to play with his food.
Mmmmmmm they were good.