Happy 4th of July!
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07, 2024
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07, 2024
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07, 2024
My Red Dragonfly Visitor
This lovely creature has been hanging around our pond lately.
We have dragonflies all the time. I love them. They eat mosquitoes and gnats. So besides being lovely to look at, they eat those mosquitoes that love to eat on me.
That’s a win-win.
Curious about how common red dragonflies are, I went on a research dive. I discovered red is not the rarest. Dragonfly colors range from pink (the rarest) to grey/black with green being the most common.
There are around 3000 kinds of dragonflies on earth with about 350 species in the United States alone. Dragonflies and Damselfly are often confused. There are differences. Click here to see the differences.
As you can tell I fell down the rabbit hole of research, a frequent occurrence for me. I won’t bore you with all I learned. If you want to learn more about dragonflies, click here.
The thing that fascinated my Irish folklore-lover self the most was that red dragonflies are thought to be mystical creatures from the world of fairies and spirits, a spiritual totem.
Native Indian cultures of America and the Japanese culture view a red dragonfly as a symbol of happiness, courage, love, and strength. A visit from a red dragonfly is a sign of prosperity, good luck, and signals a life change.
We’ll have to see if my red dragonfly brings good luck and prosperity. Until that happens, it’s lovely to see it fluttering around the pond.
28
06, 2024
His Own Flock
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
A friend recently messaged that she was decreasing her flock and asked if we would like some more chickens. We didn’t hatch or raise any chicks this spring, so we took her up on the offer.
We brought home three Leghorns who are laying and four Wyandotte who are a little younger. We added them to our flock at night. We have found that to be the best way to integrate new birds. They wake up in a new place and think that is where they have been all along.
The four Wyandotte seemed a little timid at first. Then one of our roosters adopted them and showed them the ropes. He makes sure they get into the coop at night and protects them from the larger birds during the day.
He seems to enjoy having his own flock. And I don’t have to worry about the younger birds. It is a win-win situation.
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06, 2024
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06, 2024
Fires, Hurricanes, and Evacuations
CBS News reported fires burning in the Ruidoso, New Mexico area recently, which triggered memories for me.
Eleven years ago this month, the West Fork Complex East Zone FIRE erupted where we lived in southern Colorado.
As the name West Fork Complex implies, multiple fires surrounded our home in the Rio Grande National Forest. Lightning started all three fires that exploded into forests of heavy dead timber and pine bark beetle-infested pines.
That experience changed my whole outlook on the words we hear so often during hurricanes, fires, and floods: mandatory evacuation.
Our skies looked like this.
At first, there was no raised concern because forest fires in the summer are a common occurrence in Colorado. We lived with the smoke and kept going. Ashes landed on our decks and in our yards, on our houses and cars, and on us as the fire encroached upon our world.
That’s black ashes. It was everywhere, inside and outside.
At first, there was too much wind, too high elevations, and too much dead tree fuel to risk the lives of firefighters. Instead, they watched the West Fork fire closely.
Life became scary as we gathered in the Community Center to get details and updates.
We heard words I’d only heard applied to hurricanes – pre-evacuation notice. Reverse 911 calls began with updates on the status coming in. At six a.m. on Friday, June 21, 2013, the scary message came:
MANDATORY EVACUATION: be out by 10 a.m.
Thanks to Bob Mayer’s The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide we were prepared. It’s a super book with lists of what you need to have ready in case of any emergency. Buy a copy here.
We finished loading our cars with possessions we wanted to save and left not knowing if we’d have a house when we returned. From our rearview mirror:
By the time the fires were contained on July 15, 2013, a total of 109,049 acres of public and private land had been destroyed. Amazingly no deaths and only a few structures were lost. It was the third-largest wildfire in Colorado history and cost about $33 million to fight.
Hopefully, those affected by the Ruidoso, New Mexico fire left when their Mandatory Evacuation order came. We’ve been there, done that and it’s not easy.
21
06, 2024
Random Songs
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
Most things in life remind me of a song. If one does not readily come to mind, I make one up. Our children have grown up doing the same thing. Our middle daughter, who teaches kindergarten, has a whole repertoire of songs for use throughout her day. My husband even breaks out into random songs now. I consider myself wildly successful!
I get my musical randomness from my father. He knows even more songs than I do.
I remember listening to some of them on reel-to-reel tapes. Recently he sent me a video of the song “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd.”
It was new to me, and I instantly loved it.
I bought the sheet music and my choir made up verses and a video to go with it. The kids thought it was goofy, but I treasure that video.
When we last visited my father-in-law, Brian took him out to run errands. When I commented on their quick return, Brian jokingly said “Dad didn’t want to go roller skating.”
His dad’s response was “We couldn’t find a buffalo herd.”
I laughed and laughed.
As we were going through his dad’s vinyl records, we found this album:
It has the song “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd” on it.
I have added it to my collection of treasures.
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06, 2024
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06, 2024
I Celebrate Three Fathers on Father’s Day
For some celebrating Father’s Day might means a birth father. For others, it’s a stepfather or a relative or friend that serves the father’s role.
I’ve been blessed with three godly men who were notable examples of a father’s love, offering faith and wisdom and guidance along my way.
My daddy taught me how to fish, how to hunt, and how to dress out my bounty. He taught me how to build things, grow things, and cook around a campfire. He taught me raunchy songs and words as though a son, not a daughter, and then reminded me to always be a lady. =)
My second father was my beloved uncle who told me often he received word of my birth when he was on Ivo Jima. A Marine through and through, he taught me to shoot straight, with a firearm and with my words. He taught me the fun of antique auctions and old things. He showed unconditional love in the tough times and tough love when needed. He was a wise counselor.
I inherited my preacher father-in-love when I married his son. My third father shared his Bible wisdom and whetted my appetite for Bible study. Best of all he raised his only son to be a great husband and a godly father.
All three are gone so Father’s Day is a bit sad for me. Remembering them on their special day brings back fond memories and makes me smile.
As Holley Gerth says:
“One of the greatest blessings God can give us is a father whose faith passes on the heritage of the past, provides blessings in the present, and guides us with wisdom for the future.”
Do you have a father figure you count as a blessing? I’d love to hear about your daddy in the comments.
14
06, 2024
Final Project
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
I have been blessed to teach both private piano students and classroom music for the last 16 years. I’ve known that I could not keep both jobs forever. The schedule is too demanding. Every year I ask God what I should do.
This year, He made it clear to me that it is time for me to leave the classroom and focus on my family and my private students. It was a difficult year but there are always challenges in teaching. This year, however, the challenges began to overtake the joys. It is time to step away.
My principal asked me to reconsider and talk to him again at the end of June. I agreed although I do not anticipate changing plans. I did not say anything to the students. Perhaps that was cowardly, but I prefer to think of it as self-protection.
I am the only music teacher they have had for 6 years so saying goodbye would have been difficult.
I had an idea back in April for a project to celebrate Earth Day. The students were planting flowers in the flower beds along the sidewalk. I suggested we all paint rocks to put along the edge – like a caterpillar. It didn’t happen during April, and I was determined to get it done. I thought it would make a great memory for years to come.
So, on my last day of teaching music, I painted rocks with all 133 of my students. They each chose whether to paint the rock blue or yellow. When they dried, the students could write or draw on them with permanent markers. Then on their way to dismissal, they could put their rocks in the flower bed.
It turned out nice.
I had enough rocks for the teachers to paint one. When we left on the last day, 
I was the only one who added to the rock caterpillar.
It was important to me to leave a lasting memory as my final project.