~ Leedle Yawcob Strauss ~

I haf von funny leedle poy
Vot gomes shust to my knee,--
Der queerest schap, der queerest rouge
As efer you dit see.
He runs, und schumps, und schmashes
Dings
In all barts off der house.
But vot off dot? He vas my son,
Mine leedle Yawcob Strauss.

He gets der measles und der mumbs,
Und eferyding dot’s oudt;
He sbills mine glass off lager bier,
Poots schnuff indo mine kraut;
He fills mine pipe mit Limburg cheese--
Dot vas der roughest chouse;
I’d dake dot vrom no oder poy
But leedle Yawcob Strauss.

He dakes der milkban for a dhrum,
Und cuts mine cane in dwo
To make der schticks to beat it mit--
Mine cracious, dot vas drue!
I dinks mine hed vas schplit abart
He kicks oup sooch a touse;
But nefer mind, der poys vas few
Like dot young Yawcob Strauss.

He asks me questions sooch as dese:
Who baints mine nose so red?
Who vas it cuts dot schmoodth blace
Oudt
Vroom der hair ubon my head?
Und vhere der plaze goes vroom der
Lamp
Vene’er der glim I douse?
How gan I all dese dings eggsplain
To dot schmall Yawcob Strauss?

I somedimes dink I schall go vild
Mit sooch a grazy poy,
Und vish vonce more I gould haf rest
Und beaceful dimes enshoy.
But ven he vas asleep in ped,
So quiet as a mouse,
I prays der Lord, “Dake anydings,
But leaf dot Yawcob Strauss.”

~ Charles F. Adams



This is by far one of my favorite poems and I felt the need to share. :)

~ Castles In The Air ~

We all have a castle in the air of some sort. It’s built on dreams, surrounded by wishes, and kept up with hopes. Our castles are always under construction, as each day brings a new idea of what we want for our future.

As we mature we find that not everything in life is perfect; sometimes it’s going to be a little rough and sometimes we’ll feel like we’re walking on clouds. But no matter what happens, we still have our castles. So we lie in the grass looking up at the stars while we build on our dreams . . .

Love & Marriage ~ When two people know for sure they are ready to give their heart to the other for life and take that big step towards marriage. The love of a family is grand, and the love of friends is comforting, but the love of that special someone is worth so much more - even more so when the love of God envelopes them all. The two become one, stay true and faithful, and never say goodbye until death parts their ways.

Home ~ We all have our ideas of what we want home to be like. It’s a haven and no matter if we live in a tiny apartment, or a grand old mansion, it’s our castle. My castle is a large white farm house on a hill, overlooking brilliant green pastures dotted with tree stumps and grey rocks, and a creek winding through the midst. Gardens here, fruit trees there; a perfect picture of peace.

Children ~ They are a blessing sent straight from God. A gift of love from above, a gift to teach us patience, and a gift to remind us that we have a great purpose in life; to teach our children right from wrong and watch them grow to build castles of their own.


Now that I have explained to you my ideas of a castle, do tell me yours for I would dearly love to hear!



<3 Meanwhile we keep building those turrets high, stretching hopes beyond the sky. <3

~ Mara

~ 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

~ 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

~ 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

~ 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

~ 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