Just When We Thought Spring was on the Way…

Winter just won’t give up the ghost this year! We had to deal with this today!

That’s it….I think I’ll move to Florida! Ugh!

♥Miriam

A Clean Sweep

Eastern Bluebird

We are seeing many signs of Spring. I saw a bluebird this week and to me that means Spring more than seeing robins. Today was as good as any to start Spring housecleaning! That’s what we did for most of the day!

I started in my bedroom. Now, I’m not a typical cleaner. I’m sort of an obsessive cleaner (once I get started). To me, cleaning is not just getting rid of the dust and dirt, but it’s also organizing and thinning out things you don’t want or need any longer. I spent quite a bit of time just on my nightstand, which seems to collect multiple items that I don’t have any other place for. Everyone has one of those “junk drawers” in their house (admit it, you do!). My top nightstand drawer happens to be one of three (yes, three!) junk drawers in my house. But it is a junk drawer no longer!! I’m happy to say that it now houses things that I use on a regular basis! Some of the junk found new homes (some of it in other junk drawers) and some it made a journey to the trash. I straightened out my closet, cleaned out dresser drawers and put fresh linens on the bed. Then I tackled a real mess….the computer and it’s desk.

Katie is the main user of this computer. Lately, when she’s on this computer and I’m on my laptop, both computers run so slowly that it’s about pointless to even try. This afternoon, I spent 4 hours cleaning the computer itself. I pulled off literally thousands of photos and put them on discs, I removed programs we no longer used, and I cleaned out “cookies” and temporary files. I ran an in-depth virus scan and “defragmented” the computer. It runs like lightning now!! Another afternoon, I’ll do the same with my laptop, but 4 hours of computer clean-up today was more than enough for one week!

I was rather excited as well to complete a task I’d been wanting to do for some time as well. I cataloged all of my accompaniment CD’s and organized them in a CD wallet, eliminating dozens of jewel cases that really take up space. I even created a file to keep track of what songs I’ve sung and where I sang them at. I feel a great sense of accomplishment for getting that done!

The bedroom looks good….at least my side of the room does (Dave still has some cleaning to do of his dresser). It still needs swept and the curtains washed, but other than that….immaculate! Katie even worked on her bedroom today and also tackled her nightstand drawer!

Spring cleaning has never been my favorite thing. I really don’t like to clean….I have to be “in the mood” to do it. But, once I get started, I sometimes have trouble stopping. I didn’t have trouble stopping today….my brain was a bit fried after messing with cleaning up the computer all afternoon.

I did get to walk around outside for a while today. The signs of Spring are definitely there! The first thing I noticed was the hyacinths at my back door. The leaves are up and they’re in bud! I love the sweet smell they give when they bloom (that’s why they’re at my back door….so I smell them first when I go outside). We’re starting to see buds on the trees. Birds are gathering things to make nests. I saw a wren checking out our birdhouse this week too (I love the wrens that visit our house…they like to perch and hop around on our porch!).

Wren

As I see the signs of Spring and begin my Spring housecleaning, I can’t help but think that this would be a good time to do some personal “cleansing” as well. In Psalm 51:10, David writes, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” That is my prayer as we go into this season of the year. I want all those “cobwebs” in my soul to be swept out and God’s love to “cleanse” my spirit. Spring is a time for beginnings and renewal. Our desire should be to be renewed and revived with God as the focus of our lives.

Happy Spring!

♥Miriam

Aaaah…the first robin of spring! Ooops! Or not!

This evening on my way home from work, I saw my first robin of spring. In fact, I saw two of them bobbing along the road. Aaah, yes! One of the first signs that spring is truly on the way. I smiled as I saw them hopping along. And then it happened. It was so quick, so unexpected. Just as I reached the happy little pair, they lifted off ready to fly.

I didn’t mean to do it. It just sort of happened. I heard a little “thump”, and when I looked in the rearview mirror, there was nothing but feathers in sight. I had killed the first robin of spring!! (At least the first one I saw this year.) This can’t be good! It must mean something like a year of bad luck or something. I feel terrible. Poor robin! I feel sorry for your widow or widower that I left behind. Hopefully, they will find another robin just like you!

I’m quite proficient in hitting birds with my van. Perhaps I need to get a big fake owl for the grill to warn birds to get out of my way!

Oh well! Spring will come even though I killed the robin. This morning was proof of that as all the snow we got yesterday was already melted and gone and I was comfy going to work in a light jacket.

Come on Spring! Come with your flowers, your warmer weather, your longer days…..and I’ll try not to kill any more of your robins!

♥Miriam

Snow Days and Hot Chocolate

We are having a snow day today, if you can call it that. It started to warm up during the midst of the storm and started to melt nearly as quickly as it laid. We did get enough (maybe about 6-8 inches) of the white stuff that Katie was able to go outside, sled for a while, and build a snow fort.

It was nearly lunch time and so I started heating a pot of water to make instant cocoa to warm her up when she came inside. I started hearing a scraping noise outside and realized that she was cleaning off the back porch! Wow! Without being asked? Unbelievable! (Sorry for the poor quality picture, but if she would have seen me taking this, she would have stopped shoveling!)

Katie clears snow from our back porch.

I realized that her coat was absolutely soaked as well as her snow pants. I waited until she was done cleaning the porch to call her inside. She stripped out of her wet things and it brought back memories of snow days gone by. I guess I had one of those “far away” looks, because she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” I replied. “I’m just remembering when I was your age what it was like to be out in the snow.”

“Tell me about it,” she said.

So, while we made turkey sandwiches for lunch and stirred our hot chocolate, I recalled memories of snow days gone by.

When I was her age, it seemed like we got so much more snow than we do now. I remember large drifts in my backyard that would get as high as me. There was one year, and I can’t remember what year it was, we had an abundance of snow. There was a large drift that formed in our side yard and it packed down quite tightly. I had recently seen a movie or TV show that had a St. Bernard on it rescuing people and found it fascinating! I decided there “had” to be some sort of lost victim in that snow pile. I found an old broom handle and went to work searching for victims by poking the stick down into the snow bank.  The giant drift was deep enough that it nearly covered the entire handle! The neighbor boy happened to see me doing this and wondered what I was doing. I soon explained that there were “victims” trapped under the snow and I was poking the stick down to find them. He quickly produces some sort of stick and began to search with me. Needless to say, we didn’t actually discover anyone, but our efforts were good!

Sledding at my house was awesome!! There was a field beside us that was hilly (we lived at the top of a big hill….one of the highest points of Peters Township, PA!) If you got the sled going just right, you could fly down the hill about 250 feet. If there was some ice involved, you went even further and could sometimes land in the stream at the bottom of the hill. The neighbor boy and me and my mom and dad would spend hours out there sledding and sledding until we couldn’t feel our hands, feet or faces. Then we’d decide we had enough and go inside for hot chocolate. We’d warm up long enough to thaw out and get dry clothes on and then we’d go out again. We’d sled until it was dark.

We lived in a quiet area. There was one point on our property where our land met with the farmer’s field that had two huge cedar trees . I loved to go back there at night in the snow and sit in a spot I’d create between the two trees, and look out over the snowy countryside and gaze at the stars. I felt very close to God in those moments. I’d often sing as I sat there with nothing but the moon and starlight to illuminate the night. It made me feel like I was the only person in the whole world. I haven’t felt that type of solitude in years. It was wonderful.

Katie and I finished our sandwiches and cocoa and she went off to play.  I sat looking out the window at the birds in the back yard pecking at the suet in the feeders and thought how lucky they were. They could fly off and find that solitude I once experienced any time they wanted to.  Suddenly, I felt very warm and fuzzy inside. I think it was a combination of hot cocoa and good memories.

I was happy as well to be home in my nice warm house. I didn’t have to go out and drive in the bad weather with all those crazy people who don’t know how to drive in snow. I felt blessed to have a job that I could do from home and yet enjoy a little quiet time with Katie. God had kept us safe in this “biggest storm of 2013” (so they said) and we were having a great day.

I remembered a scripture that would often come to mind when I would have those moments of solitude in the snow. It’s always been one of my favorite passages and has been a passage I’ve turned to many times in times of distress or fear. Psalm 121 says – “I lift up my eyes to the mountains–where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip–he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you–the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm–he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forever more.”

Cardinal in our backyard.

♥Miriam

Better Than the Birds

When some people see something they normally don’t see, they will sometimes think it’s a “sign” or an “omen” that somthing is going to happen. I remember growing up the old wive’s tales that my grandmother often would quote, and quite frankly, I think she believed a lot of them. One of those old wives tales was that if a bird hit your house window, there would be a death. There was also one about if a bird got into your house, you’d have good luck. If we really believed these things, we’d leave our windows wide open to allow every bird to enter the house for unlimited good luck.

I love to watch birds! I love to feed the birds! I enjoy sitting at my kitchen table with a hot cup of tea and looking out into my back yard and watching blue jays come in to my large platform feeder for peanuts. They’re really silly looking as they pick up peanut after peanut, shake them, and then finally fly off with one. In a matter of moments, the blue jays can carry off a rather large amount of peanuts!

Blue jays sure love peanuts!

Recently, I’ve been able to add a few birds to my list of sightings. These are birds that I never dreamed I’d ever see in any other setting other than a zoo. Now, whether or not you believe in old wive’s tales or not, I felt mighty lucky to see these birds. It didn’t make any difference in my life, other than to make me happy.

My first recent sighting was on my way to work one snowy morning. Imagine my surprise when I discoverd a barred owl in the trees above me. He/she watched me as a I slowly drove by (and I was watching them too!)  What a thrill to see an owl in the daylight! (Disclaimer: the photos were not taken by me, but used from the internet.)

I cannot take credit for this photo, but the barred owl I saw was in a very similar setting like this one.

A few days later, I saw something I never dreamed I see. A huge American eagle!! They really are a big bird! With the fact that at one point, these national birds faced near extinction, I was more than thrilled to actually see one live close to where I work! (Surely, that must mean there’s a nest somewhere close by!)

Again the photo is not mine, but the setting is the same.

On another day, I saw a few birds that I had seen before, but seeing them all in one day, just thrilled me as well! First, a red tailed hawk. Dave and I often search for these as we drive to and from various places. We see so many of them along the road in trees. I recall once seeing three of them in the same tree!

Red tailed hawk

Then there was this smaller red shouldered hawk I spied at our babysitter’s house sitting in a tree. I also saw a rabbit there that morning that Katie and I chased out of the bushes in front of the house, close to where this hawk was sitting. Incidently, I haven’t seen that rabbit since! Hmmm……perhaps we helped provide breakfast that day????

Red shouldered hawk

And then there was a another common sighting that we often see sitting on road signs and electric wires….an American kestrel. What a pretty bird!

American kestrel

And this particular day, I also got to see a beautiful blue heron come in for a landing on a nearby stream.

Great Blue Heron

There was one other bird I saw just this week. Again, it’s one of my favorites. It’s the “woody woodpecker” – a pileated woodpecker.

Pileated Woodpecker

Now I’m sure there are probably plenty of old wive’s tales about seeing these particular birds, but you can keep them. I DO think they are God sightings. It seems when I’m having a blah day, just down in the dumps, or even when I’m deep down and depressed, I’ll see some of these favorite birds of mine. I think it’s God’s way of reminding me that He’s there for me. He lets me see these birds so that my spirit gets lifted. It reminds me of Matthew 6:26 – “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (ESV) Yes, Lord, I am of more value than a bird; thanks for the reminder. Even when I don’t think I’m worth anything, You remind me that I am worth something to You!

♥Miriam