Month: September 2017

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Sunny Day Work

ellenparkerwrites

Growing up on a farm had advantages. (Also disadvantages, but we’ll save those for another time.)

We raised dairy cows. Cattle have a large appetite. And since Wisconsin has a season called WINTER, much of the year hay was included in their diet. Raking was one of the jobs I was frequently given during haying season. (Beginning in late June and continuing to two, sometimes three cuttings.)

My father, or sometimes an older brother, would mow the alfalfa (or clover) and it would dry as it laid in the field for one, two, or three days. They I would be assigned to rake it. It one of these:

This was a job for sunny days. I’d drive the tractor and putt along the field from one end to the other, the rake swishing the hay into a long, loose windrow ready for the baler. A large straw hat, long sleeves, and long pants protected me from the hazard of sunburn. Bumping over gopher holes made me thankful for a padded seat. But it was fun! Time to think. Sing. Daydream about the future.

Did you have a favorite chore or job while growing up?

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Cat-o-phalge

ellenparkerwrites

Have you ever gotten the feeling you’re being watched?

You glance around but don’t see anyone. So you look again.

There she is. Minding her own business. If you accept the fact her business is to inspect and approve any visitors.

She’ll listen to your conversation. Appear to nod off as the humans talk. Don’t let the closed eyes fool you. She’s listening. Gathering every sound in the room via her sensitive years.

Thinks to be thankful for. Calicos have not mastered speaking English.

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A Tick-Tock in Time

ellenparkerwrites

This summer I’ve visited several historical houses and sites. Part of this if due to a love of history. The other part is the writer in me doing research for a future project.

A great number of houses on the frontier contained a clock. It makes sense. American clock makers knew their customers. And produced a sturdy, quality product. They also knew that as settlers moved West – into the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri river valleys – telling time would be important. Here the villages would be small, farms isolated, and the tower clocks of churches and town halls non-existent.

As they tick-tocked day and night in a place of honor on the mantle, they provided a pleasant view and perhaps a bit of a status symbol.

This wooden movement shelf clock was built prior to 1835

by one of America’s best – Seth Thomas.

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Urban Entertainer

ellenparkerwrites

Do you enjoy watching acrobats?

Then you’ll love today’s featured animal.

He’s plentiful in St. Louis. I’m not sure, but they may outnumber the humans. Very difficult to get accurate census figures for the critters.

Without humans, they would do very well in trees. Trees provide them with home building materials, home sites, and food. However, when humans are added to the mix they have no qualms about stealing fruits and vegetables from the branch or vine to supplement their diet. Like wise if you put up a bird feeder. Most of them see this as a challenge — a problem to be solved. It makes for good entertainment but a messy patch of ground under an empty bird feeder.

I’ll admit it. The times my father had a successful hunt, I ate the meat with the rest of the family. Prepare more than one per person. Not much meat per squirrel.

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Old-Fashioned Laptop

ellenparkerwrites

You may be reading this on a laptop. Some days I write the blog on one. The modern, electronic version.

But the need for a portable, secure writing desk has been around for some time. The first time I saw one — more elaborate than the one below — was in a display of Napoleon’s mobile headquarters.

This portable desk held all the necessary supplies: paper, ink, quill, and blotter. And while this did not follow a general on the battlefield, it enabled the Justice of the Peace to write decisions and letters while away from home. And in Missouri during the early decades of the 1800’s you could not always depend on your boarding house, inn, or host to have these items available.

From my brief inspection. I believe if it was filled with modern pens and pencils, and paper and folded to it’s compact position — you could use it as an airline carry-on. Imagine the other passengers as you unfold it and work while waiting at the gate.

 

 

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Delicate Worker

ellenparkerwrites

They enchant humans of all ages. A burst of color if you disturb them on a path. The flight from one welcoming blossom to another.

They don’t loiter at their work. Sip. Fly. Land. Sip.

It would be wise for us humans to pause in our own work long enough to notice them. Relax. Let them bring a smile to your face as they dance in the air on a sunny day.

These yellow flowers attracted delicate workers.

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Neighbor’s Favorite

ellenparkerwrites

It’s the sort of thing her friends check for each spring.

Did she plant them again? Did last year’s crop reseed?

Either way, we all get an opportunity to enjoy. They begin, like most flowers, as tiny green things testing the spring temperatures. And then, if the spring rains cooperate, enjoy a burst of growth and stretch up, up, up.

Ah, they’ve reached it. Tendrils reach out and wrap around the wrought iron. Leaves expand.  And to the spectators, it appears that overnight the porch railing becomes a living, joyous statement.

Glory not limited to the morning.

 

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Home Sweet Hive

ellenparkerwrites

Is it a nest? Or a hive?

Layperson that I am, honeybees live in a hive. And others? It’s commonly called a hornet’s nest. And bumblebees “nest” in the ground.

So I was mildly surprised when preparing for this post and came across a more formal definition.

It’s a nest when the bees (any variety) construct it.

It’s a hive when men get involved. The below is a hive – man-made at first, second, and third glance.

Bees collect pollen and make honey to survive the winter (non-growing) season. Man enjoys the taste of honey and has been building hives, collecting the product, and caring for the insects at least back to the Ancient Egyptians.

Modern hives, like those above, use standard sizes and spacing for the frames. This makes the parts inter-changable and harvesting and care easier.

Think you see a lot of bees in the field or orchard or garden near the hive? To my surprise, I learned only 10% of the hive population will be outside at any one time. Think of it! For every bee you see pollinating and collecting — nine more are back at home when they are building the honeycomb, producing honey, and caring for the queen and her thousands of eggs.

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Hold with care.

ellenparkerwrites

Soft things. Tiny things. Delicate things.

When handed one of the above the natural reaction is to cradle it gently in your hand. You want to be kind. Avoid doing damage.

Consider a bird nest for a moment. They are designed to hold and protect soft, tiny, delicate birds. And while they vary in size, location, and building material, all of the parents are following instinct to do the best for the next generation.

The glass artist has captured the spirit of the nest in the shape of the glass as well as in the careful position in the tree.

Ready for the blue glass birds to move in.