RIVER DAY - MORE than just a swimming venture

so this afternoon after kind of twitchin' around we decided to take a trip upriver...now you might think this is just about hopping in Daria and taking off but hey...taking off's just for sissies...
first, brother went out and found Daria had a sore foot so he had to bandage her with the spare...Clarence watched and kind of chuckled at our plight for he had seen it coming and then he took off to go share the hilarity with Bunny Tree.
off we go upriver...
you know of course, that wild horses are by far the Elders of humans and not to be trifled with. they show themselves only when they choose to, much as legendary unicorns but with more intense and colorful powers:-) we saw a bunch of them on our way upriver and this made us smile for surely we were going to have an Adventure of the Most Amazing Sort.
the world was in full "show off" mode and every bush and tree and fruit laden berry patch sang loudly with stickgame fervor "hey!!! LOOK AT ME!!!!" and we did...we admired some rich ruby chokecherries, complimented the beautiful purple blackberries for their graceful sturdiness and chuckled at the dancing poplars as we drove upriver. there were flowers in abundance showing off in every imaginable hue my favorite of course the purples and yellows...
i worked on a weaving project as we drove because it just seemed fitting...
we got there - the most perfect little spot on the entire umatilla river! there in the midst of a private cove was a deep little cave just for us to swim in and we did however it must be told that brother wasn't quite as wildly excited about the water as i..."come on in!" i shouted (yes, i was hiding my chattering teeth) "it's not that bad" "NO" he said determinedly..."come ON! that's what we're HERE for!" "NO" he said with resoluteness to be admired..."come on brother it will be FUN" he never answered me...he just started taking off his sox and wading in...
our swim was accompanied by polite crawdads asking after our family's health and promising not to bite our feet...oh how polite those crawdads are! as we walked back to find Daria we suddenly realized that we were RIGHT in the middle of a baby tree playground! baby pines, cuddly baby poplars, baby fir trees...all BABIES...they were cooing and clucking at us so i told them how cute they were and i won't lie to you, i even tickled the pine tree a little...
so off we go home...more wild horses, some wooly kind of cows with long horns who wouldn't be bothered with our presence and brother drove the long way home...okay let me tell you...the long way home is up a steep steep STEEP winding road and if you look down it makes your legs hurt! no jokes!!!! so i just mentioned that to brother and he said "oh really...look down NOW" and as i did he swerved the wheel...my toes are just now uncurling from the fright of this hilarity!
our last miles home we were accompanied by a ladybug who just wanted to hear us sing, and we drove right by a little patch of hair medicine which we gathered a little bit...
ahhhhhhhh such fun we had!!!! amazing day with auntie umatilla!!!!

August 18 - River day...these pictures accompany the above blog...

RELAXED!!!!

the new kid... Current mood: ahhhhh....it’s FRIDYA!!!
so you now know that the toads have gone...driven hither by the din of teenage pheasants - right?
they stopped by whilst i was At The Place Of Many Papers where the Humdrum Becomes Drama and Insanity Prevails (work) and left a token of their love. brother and i came home early today (i will share why soon) and i went to the door to look out and WHOOP! i thought i saw a brown toad sitting on our doorstep! nope...just a piece of bark but WHO may i ask you would put a toadshaped piece of bark there??? ONLY MR AND MRS TOAD - thank you by the way, we're doing fine and Mr. Man sends along his salutations and wishes you many happy returns of the day!
Our Watcher Hawk Clarence sharply glared as Daria fancy danced her way into the Wide Path of Entry to Hidiness (oh dang those pheasants listened WAY TOO MUCH to Sonny and Chunxy Mama!) and surely you know that when Daria fancy dances it's because Mr. Man is at her wheel! Back to Clarence who asked us sternly just what we were about returning to Hidiness so early in the day (apparently he knows our schedule) and out of Daria we emerged with what?
The New Kid. Our tiny black kitten with sparkly eyes and a mighty hiss of defiance!
So out there this evening in the cool summer wheat sunset Clarence is hunting and the pheasants are dust bathing in the garding (the corn is long gone with woeful stalks chewed to the core...) and settling down with some quiet stickgame songs (yeah...okay we ALL know stickgame songs are never quiet!); the beetles are gathering on the front porch for council - i've asked them politely time and again to meet elsewhere, but what are ya gonna do? The New Kid is gathering information with which to make himself at home and it's FRIDAY...
Mr. Man is resting up for jollifications and here i am...
RELAXED!!!!

rose colored glasses are for breaking!

whose rose colored glasses did i find in the dirt

i know they weren't mine

cuz that didn't hurt

i shattered my frames

last time that i drove

down dark windy roads in those glasses i loathe

grinding my heel

on the softly pink lens

cuts into my foot and today i don't care

importance it is just to stay aware...

don't get too busy believing the best

remember to question and never let rest

be wary and careful and don't ever trust

that leaves you open to sharp dagger thrust

and yet know this, hope will prevail

it's okay to believe

have faith and don't fear

and make sure the glass that you're using is CLEAR...

a lesson in weaving...

my brother - petumyanon yos yos - taught me how to weave - well, first my nephew Poop (lol yeah...we're pretty big into the nickname game here at home) taught me one saturday morning while everyone was sleeping...i'll never forget that day, i'd had a rough weekend...issues better left alone today and was feeling all raw and hurt and broken...Poop came out of his room and started working on his weaving project. i asked him "whatcha doin' Poop?" and he chuckled and gave me a hug "oh tautsmaywee Auntie" and then he showed me how to weave...that was lesson number one...

when i came home, my brother would go down to Cuzints house and give weaving lessons twice a week sometimes...i would go there and listen but got into watching Cuzint and listening to his incredible moments shared over cutting and measuring twine and yarn...my brother is so patient...he never failed to give encouragement "yay niecey that's really GOOD" and "well, let's just fix this a little bit" (that of course was with mine which seemed to always be a little bit wobbly looking).

i never could grasp the concept of changing colors until one day it just WORKED - OMG!!!! YAY!!!! i learned that you don't necessarily use colors that "match" per se and you DO use colors that you feel right about...i learned that the story of your weaving will show itself and each piece done with your heart is beautiful...i learned that the weft (twine) isn't supposed to show but where would a weaving be without it? a ball of yarn...

sometimes i wonder if i am the weft...and if i am, then happy and honored i should be to be covered with brightly colored richly storied yarn... I want to be resilient and sturdy and worthy of my role...

if not then OH HOW I HOPE to be purple and yellow and red and sometimes turquoise!!!!

ya know?

oh so much home...

i spent the day at home by myself today...it was fun and i didn't for one minute feel alone...those dang pheasants kept trying to visit with me, the teenagers were on their own today, mom had gone somewhere and here's the deal - all they wanted to talk about was what kind of beetles i like...you know what? i totally think they were makin' fun of me because i am not kidding, last week this huge beetle came lumbering into the house while my brother was off with jollifications. the beetle stopped on the floor and looked at me "so, little missy, how's it going tonight? harrrumph, ahem, well, now i think i'd like to take a minute and just hang out for a bit here errr harrumph eh???" i won't lie to you, i was a little taken aback not having met in person a beetle of such proportions. i texted my brother on the phone and told him and he thought i was maybe having perception problems but when he got home and picked up the towel i'd thrown over the beetle (sorry, Mr. Beetle, i know this may have been rude but DANG you were big!) and there he was about 6 inches long!!!!! anyway the trauma was a lot to overcome and i KNOW those pheasants heard all about it...so THAT'S why i think the teenage pheasants were makin' fun of me today!!!

but i'm sewing now and i cleaned out my fabric box so i don't REALLY care:-)

...what jet li said

"...you can beat up the body, but that does not change the heart..." this is something jet li said in an interview about his final action movie "fearless"

i've pondered this for the last day and a half or so and that's why i opened up with that thought HOWEVER

this blog's about my garding...and more activity goes on in THERE than you can possibly imagine!

Entire communities of tiny black ants have taken up tipi livin' in my cornstalks...they were invited I believe first, by the mice, who smelling the sweet silk as it developed climbed up with all their brazenness and opened up the ears on the bottom...then followed the pheasant teenagers who for some reason even though they know it makes me mad have to always announce themselves "hey INSIDE THE BIG BOX OF HIDINESS (yes, HIDINESS, they think me and Brother are HIDING FROM THEM when we're inside the house) WE ARE HERE TO EAT YOUR CORN, SMASH YOUR SQUASH, MAKE LOUD NOISES, ANNOY THE SWALLOWS AND STEP ON THE TOADS!" Brother and I usually ignore them for rather than HIDING, we are usually Doing Important Home Things and don't really care what the teenage pheasants are up to...

We also have a Hawk who has taken on the assignment of "Looking After Them" and who peers at us sternly in all our doings..."hm, are you going to DO that?" "hmmmm, did you really GO THERE?" "ahem...did you WASH THAT FIRST?" and such strict guidance of our activities. We listen respectfully to him for we are pretty sure he's been sent there by Sonny or Mama or any one of our beloved who has left us out here...a couple times I found myself even ASKING him..."Sir Hawk, do you think this color goes with THIS ribbon?" to which he chuckles amiably and tries to pat me on the back "yes little one...go ahead with your little project"

Mr. & Mrs. Toad have moved out for they just couldn't stomach the din created by the entire pheasant community moving in after their wheat field home had been pillaged by the Enemy Farmers. That's very well and good, for between you and me, they were an ugly little couple and I never could quite get used to having them come out and greet me every dang morning!

So there it is. My garding has become a place of refuge for the tired...(ants); the poor...(idiot pheasants); the lame (the mice) and is no longer the lush green it started out as HOWEVER the good thing is, all of these creatures have seen fit to leave my tomatoes alone! So when it's time to pick them I'll most definitely share!!!