Mommy's baby chicks, ducks, and geese

I mentioned in my last post about how Mommy and her fellow first grade teachers at Silver Creek Elementary School hatched chicks, ducklings and goslings in incubators from eggs supplied by our friend Frank Jenkins. We got to keep the new babies overnight the Friday before Easter. I was at my house and got a call from Daddy that Hazel and Sage were there, and Mommy was about to take the new babies home from school and take Easter pictures out in the front yard. I was awaiting that call, but before I went over, I hurriedly took my own Easter outdoor pictures with my New Lanark stuffed bunny, which I got published in my last post. By the time I reached my family's house, the pictures were already taking place. I'm posting some of the ones that were taken, both before and after I arrived.


Sage enjoyed seeing the goslings, ducklings, and chicks wandering around on the blanket that was set outside.

Emma got in the pictures.

This next picture is funny, with one of the baby geese perched on Hazel's very pregnant belly.

Sage wanted to see how the gosling was perched.

It is cute how she made a pouch for two of the chicks.

This gosling was on Emma's lap.

I really wanted to get into the pictures, but Sage had an unfortunate accident, and everything was taken inside, with the chicks, ducks and goslings put back into their boxes. Mommy talked about taking more pictures, but then she and Hazel got engaged in cooking supper. I begged Mommy to let me have some pictures, and she finally let me go outside for pictures, though she only got three of the chicks for me to hold, and not the basket or ducklings and baby geese. I thought it was nice to hold the chicks in my hands anyway. This first picture is my favorite, with my big smile. I like the flowers in the background.

It is neat how the orange chick is looking towards the camera in this next picture.

The dark chick and the light colored chick look cute together in the picture below.

I was quickly made to go back inside, but that night I took my own pictures of the chicks, ducklings, and goslings in their boxes. The chicks were first. I noticed how the chicks loved to perch on top of their food dishes. I managed to get a picture with both the food dishes being occupied.

I then turned to the box housing the ducklings and goslings. The four goslings were eager for water, while the baby ducks enjoyed resting with each other. I like their close companionship. It is funny that in this photo, it looks like the woman featured in the newspaper photograph is lying down and holding a giant duckling on her chest. The duckling seems to be looking into her face.

There kept being lots of scampering around in the box, and I managed to get a close-up picture of one of the ducklings resting all alone. Since the word "College" happens to be right beside the duckling, I like to imagine that the duckling is dreaming of attending college.

The duckling had a friend come join it, causing it to rouse up again.

The water dish proved to be a big gathering place. One of the ducklings is hard to see in this picture. It is in the very bottom of the picture in the shadows by the dish and the geese.

This duckling and gosling were a sweet pair at the food dish.

I wanted to get more close up photos of the chicks perched on their food dishes, and I took this picture just as one of the other chicks was sticking its head completely through a hole in this dish, making for a rather funny picture.

I thought this chick that perched on the other food dish is a beautiful chick with its stripes running down its back.

The chicks were snuggled up with one another, dozing off as I took the last photo of the night.

Frank Jenkins wasn't coming to collect the chicks, ducklings, and goslings until the following evening, so I had more time to spend with my new friends before he came. After arriving from my house, I noticed the ducklings and geese were in a different box with sides more of an even length all around. The goslings were busy pecking holes along the cardboard.

I thought this was a nice example of ducklings and goslings lying down together.

This duckling looked cute in between two goslings, lined up in a row.

I turned to the chicks once again, with the food dishes now side by side. The chick perched on the left food dish remained there for a long time.

When Mommy got home, Frank was already here, but he was sitting with Daddy at our outdoor fireplace, where Daddy likes to grill food. Mommy led Frank in and showed him the ducklings and the goslings first, since they were right next to the door. Mommy explained to him that a baby goose and a chick had hatched just that day. I had forgotten about what Mommy had said the day before about them still being unhatched in the incubators at school. From what Mommy said, both the baby goose and the chick could have easily died unhatched. I managed to take a picture of the chick before Mommy set it into the box again. Mommy was naming it Lucky, along with the baby goose that just hatched.

I looked back at the newly hatched gosling in its box. This gosling was so much smaller than its peers. I was rather confused when I first saw it that day. After having heard its story about its late hatching, I took a rather sweet picture of it lying with three of its bigger siblings. I like how one of the other goslings is looking right at it as they rest.

Later on all of the ducklings and goslings decided to rest together, making for a very cute group picture.

I remained fascinated with the tiny gosling that almost didn't hatch, and watched it walking along the box with a duckling friend, before the two of them decided to rest together.

Just shortly after I took that picture, Mommy took out their food and water, removed the heat lamps, and totally shut the box up, so Frank could take it away. It was time to say goodbye to my new friends, and I was rather sad. I imagined the ducklings and goslings weren't very happy, with their peace being disrupted and being shut up in the dark. Mommy then took the food and water away from the chicks and I hurriedly took one last picture of them before Mommy removed their heat lamps as well. They were clearly running around and talking to each other, wondering what's going on. I knew they would ultimately get to live on a farm, but they would have to have a long and miserable car ride before that.

I met Frank's wife, Deborah Thompson at the Berea College Country Dancer convocation the following Tuesday, and she shared the very sad news that the tiny gosling that was born late had in fact died. I had gotten so attached to that gosling and had taken such sweet pictures of it with the others, and now I found out that it was no longer alive. I had admired its ability to get along and socialize with the others despite its tiny size. Now I felt that I had truly lost a friend. At least the chick that almost didn't hatch is still doing fine. As I mourned the little gosling, I knew I still have Hazel's new baby boy to look forward to. My nephew can be born any time now, and I've been anticipating spending my first moments with him. I really hope he has a good birth and turns out healthy. I think he will be happy with his new family.

A couple of Easter pictures that I took

I hope everybody had a happy Easter! Mommy's first grade class and the other first grade classes at Silver Creek Elementary School hatched baby chicks, ducklings, and goslings as they do every year. The eggs are supplied by our friend Frank Jenkins. I love keeping them overnight before they are taken to Frank's farm. Before I left to go to my family's house to see the new babies and hopefully get my picture taken with them, I took a couple of photos of my stuffed bunny that I got in New Lanark when I travelled to Scotland with my family and the Berea Festival Dancers in 1995. I wanted a couple of Easter pictures showing the beauty of my yard and the daffodils growing. I love how it is now spring, and I think my bunny adds a nice touch, like the Easter Bunny.

Photos of the chicks, ducks and geese will come later when I have more time.

My Pumpkin Shaped Birthday Cake

My 28th birthday was February the 28th, and after the traditional pumpkin cake was served at my party, my friend Mary Harrell gave me pumpkin pie a week later, and I had just finished it when my friend Debby Gray gave me another birthday party over at her house two weeks after my birthday! Debby made me two pumpkin cakes that look like actual pumpkins! We ate one at that party, and Debby gave me the other one to take home. Before eating any of it, I decided to take a picture of it to share with others, making sure to include a nice home setting in the photo. It's been pretty slow progress eating this cake, since I'm the only one eating it! It seems kind of weird to eat a whole birthday cake by myself, though it's quite tasty. Any friends are welcome to come and eat it with me! It's been a month since my birthday, and I'm still eating birthday cake! It has felt like a long birthday.



The evening that I took a picture of the cake, I was sitting on the couch and started admiring Pippin sleeping on his favorite spot on my armchair pillow. I have taking quite a few daytime photos in this location, but no nighttime photos, so I took this picture of Pippin illuminated by lamplight, with the shadow of my indoor pine tree revealing itself onto my pillow.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I thought I would take a special photo for Saint Patrick's Day by combining together these three souvenirs I bought in Ireland on two separate Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble trips that Daddy led. I bought the miniature Blarney Castle portrait first, when we went to the Blarney Woolen Mills after touring Blarney Castle on the 2004 trip. It was my second time to visit Blarney Castle, the first being on a Berea Festival Dancer trip to Ireland, Scotland, and Denmark in 1998. I've been to other castles, such as Windsor Castle and Edinburgh Castle, but Blarney Castle remains my favorite, even though it's in ruins and I have no desires to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is supposed to bring eloquent speech. (I'm satisfied with my own form of writing.) The area around the castle is so beautiful, and I have fun memories of exploring the castle, braving the challenging stairs. On the Festival Dancer trip, I got to take a peek in the cave like dungeon, and on the 2004 trip, we loved wandering around the gardens.

The leprechaun and fairy are more recent souvenirs that I bought on the 2007 Bluegrass Ensemble trip to Ireland. We didn't get to visit Blarney Castle this time, but I got the leprechaun at another Blarney Woolen Mills shop which is at Bunratty Castle. Bunratty Castle is a highly restored and well decorated castle, but there now happens to be a modern day highway full of cars right beside the castle. It was funny to brave another challenging set of stairs and reach the topmost tower, and not only see medieval buildings, but also modern day cars zooming along the highway below. The fairy is from the beginning of the same trip, bought in a shop right after we got to Ireland and drove into the city we were visiting. I love all three of these souvenirs, and I think they match each other pretty well.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all who view my blog. I thought of drawing this heart and flowers together for a Valentine card. Every single friend blooms within me.

I Designed the Cover of Union Church's Long Night Service Bulletin in December

This past December, my friend Steve Rhodes asked me to design the cover of the bulletin for Union Church's Long Night Service. The Long Night Service is always held on the night of December 20, and is meant for those who grieve or otherwise are having a very hard time just before Christmas. I accepted his request, having myself experienced deaths of loved ones at Christmastime. My friend Charlie Howard died on Christmas Day in 2004 after having ruptured his colon when he was just 34 years old, and then my family's 16 year old toy poodle Missy was put to sleep on the night before Christmas of 2006 following seizures that day. Those deaths were very hard for me to bear, and I've been remembering them each Christmas. I had Charlie and Missy in mind as I designed the bulletin cover. I took this picture of it so I could share with everyone. The photo is actually a copy of a copy of my original drawing, so some of the lines are not very clear. You can click on it for a up close look. The bottom corner is dark because of the shadow of my camera. You should be able to read my poem well enough on the bulletin, but here it is in print anyway.

May our loved ones who die before us
Find a welcoming place in Heaven to be.
May we eventually get to join them up there
And enjoy each other's presence for eternity.


It meant so much to do this bulletin, and I got nice praise for it. It helps knowing I can comfort others who are grieving. I attended the Long Night Service myself, and was touched by what was being said. Sometimes, I just like to sit in my house with the bulletin and look at the angels and read the prayers inside the bulletin, while remembering those such as Charlie and Missy.

Pippin with Bedside Stuffed Animals and Mickey Mouse

Lately, I've been rearranging stuff from my childhood bedroom into my newer house. I took my old stuffed animals that sat in a crate beside my bed and organized them in a row on my loft bed. Among my stuff is a Mickey Mouse clock that Grandma Rose had sent to me for Christmas from Carnegie, Oklahoma. I think I was in sixth or seventh grade at the time, because I remember earlier getting a Minnie Mouse watch from her in fifth grade. I came back to school after Christmas Vacation, and found out that so many classmates had also gotten Mickey or Minnie Mouse watches for Christmas. They were a very popular present that year. This Mickey Mouse clock in the pictures below complemented my Minnie Mouse watch. Both quit operating eventually, but I loved having my Mickey Mouse clock on my bedroom wall. I'd think of Grandma Rose every time I'd see it. After Grandma Rose died on October 9, 2000, I told myself that her spirit is still smiling down from me from the Mickey Mouse clock.

It was rather hard for me when Daddy dismounted it from the wall where I had always known it to be in my childhood bedroom. I did not really know where to put it in my house now that I was on my own, but it was nice to hold Mickey Mouse in my lap a few nights ago and think of Grandma Rose. Pippin sniffed it before lying right beside me on the floor that night. I decided to take Mickey Mouse upstairs, even though there was no mount for me to hang it on right now. I thought of above the window ridge, but that was too narrow. I then discovered a nice place on the window sill right above my stuffed animals. Mickey seemed to be a very nice addition to my stuffed animals. Pippin had hurried upstairs with me, and was now resting right in front of my stuffed animals and my Mickey Mouse clock. I thought they would make a good photograph together. I had to go downstairs for my camera and thankfully Pippin remained on my bed. It was rather a challenge to take pictures without a flash without getting them too blurry or too dark, but I wanted to keep the nighttime effect. Looking at Mickey's position on my windowsill, I now imagine that Mickey was alive and whole, and had climbed up a ladder outside my house to peer into my second story window. He seemed to be enjoying having Pippin and me right there.

Back on the computer, I did plenty of photo editing to try to make the pictures light enough so people could see them better without making them too bright and changing the cozy mood of the pictures. I noticed that the brightness of the pictures changes from computer to computer, depending on the computers' brightness settings. The pictures also would appear darker in the daytime than they did at night. That has made editing a challenge. I hope the results are satisfactory. The third picture is my favorite. I think Grandma Rose would have enjoyed this scene. She had a cat of her own.