Tuesday, August 16, 2011

~ Sounds of the Night ~

This post has moved!


This post, Sounds of The Night, has been moved to my new blog.


~ Mara The Ornery Biologist

Saturday, August 13, 2011

~ The Beauty of it All ~

This blog post has been moved!


This post, The Beauty of it All, has been moved to my new blog.


~ Mara

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

~ Country Life ~

Country life is a life of satisfaction.

To wake up in the morning with chickens clucking softly, kittens playing in the grass, and the Pileated Woodpecker crying it’s haunting call through the misty pines. Walking through the dewy grass on your way to feed the ducks, strolling down the drive with the early morning warblers cheeping as you go by, and fresh animal tracks telling tales from the night gone past.

Country mornings are like a different world, far away from the noisy vehicles and the hum of the city life.

By late morning into the early afternoon, picking fresh blackberries, blueberries and wild strawberries is a peaceful job. Then comes deciding whether or not to attempt jam or pie first. Or perhaps a juice of some kind, though how to do that I do not yet know.

The warm, sunny afternoon shows all the beautiful wild flowers in bloom. A large bouquet of these in hand, strolling through the enchanted forest and meeting a handsome prince who lives only in my imagination. Perhaps I was wrong when I said people over-romanticized country living. There is a romantic sort of feeling when you pick your own fruits and vegetables, tend to your very own animals, and chop your own wood to feed your fire on the coldest winter nights.

On summer nights when the moon is shining bright through the oaks, and the breeze causes the leaves to cast dancing shadows on the ground, sitting on the front steps listening to the tree frogs and crickets is the best kind of lullaby ever created.

Sleeping with the window open, listening to the far-off train whistle and the “who cooks for you all” owl sitting in the tall fir right outside… sleep comes quickly and refreshes you for the next dewy morning when the romantic country routine starts over again.



~ Mara

Monday, August 8, 2011

~ Life is a Beautiful Thing ~

God gave us life. Life to live, free as birds and not puppets on strings. We can choose to follow Him or we can choose to follow the world. Life is more beautiful when we choose to follow Him. Far more beautiful than when we choose to walk the path of sin, sadness and despair. When we meet with the bad things in life and we don’t know God, everything falls to pieces. When we meet those same things as a Christian, we can ask for peace and it will be given.

God gave us love. Love enough to give to him and the people in this world. There are different kinds of love; love for the Savior is sweeter than anything. Love for our family members and friends is gratefully received and more given in return. And the love for that one important person in our life is something different from the others. We love that person with all our heart, through the good times and the bad. When we have love for God and love for that one person, life can throw all of those bad things at us and we won’t budge.

God gave us hard work. We weren’t made to sit around and have things done for us. God created souls inside of machines and those machines are our bodies. We take care of them, both physically and spiritually, and they’ll run just fine. Men work to take care of their women and children, the women work to take care of their men and children, and the children work in their own little way to make this world a happier place to be.

~ Mara

Monday, August 1, 2011

~ Happenings Here ~

Oh, how often I neglect my poor Cranberry Crane. Allow me to go over some things that have happened as of late . . .

We have had some gorgeous sunsets ~



I found the biggest snails I have ever seen. They were very neat ~



Our ducks are now full-grown and should soon produce eggs ~



Our chickens are almost as big as our ducks now and should also soon produce eggs ~



Right now we are attending VBS at our church. It is lots of fun! :)


~ Mara