Happy Lines

Did you know that cows can get wrinkles? Well, they aren't actually wrinkles, but rather 'happy lines'. Happy lines are horizontal lines that appear on the cow's side and indicate she is content. Above is the picture of the bull I promised to post ages ago. If you look closely, you can see his 'happy lines' about halfway down his side. (It's not the best picture of these lines, I apologize.)

Since 'happy lines' prove the cow is content and they look an awful lot like wrinkles, I've decided I won't have wrinkles when I get older. I'm going to have 'happy lines' just like the cows.

Finnish Tree

This was taken during my recent camping trip to the North Shore. I just had to admire the tenacity (or perhaps stubborn-ness) of the tree growing out of solid rock. Perhaps it has some Finnish 'roots'?

Potpourri

-How come dishes always pile up despite the fact that I am only cook for one and a half people right now? (One and a half because Lanny isn't eating enough for a whole person yet. He's not eating much other than fruit and you don't need plate for that, so I suppose I am only cooking for me, really....)

-I want to move stuff into the house, out of the house, and around the house. I just need someone who's better at fitting alot of stuff into not alot of space to help.

-Never lament about not having a lawn when one lives alongside a pasture. I said something the other day about not having grass around the house and Lanny pointed out that I do to have a lawn. 90 acres of it in fact and I don't even need to mow.

-In a perfect world, the rain we got today would have been limited to the pasture, my garden, and my tomatoes. Too bad this isn't a perfect world.

-We finally named the puppy. I wasn't too thrilled with keeping her (and she's still up for adoption if anyone is interested) so her name isn't too imaginative. Next time you stop by, you will see Mindy and her progeny, Pups.

-I should have allowed more room for the pumpkins as they are starting to overtake the watermelon, the cantelope, and the cucumbers. I also planted way too much lettuce...again...Even with Lanny eating a raw foods diet, we still have too much. You think I would learn.

-Our barn cat is now a morning chores cat, too. He likes to come sit by the cows while we are milking in the morning and mew piteously in hopes of getting some milk. He's doing something right because the cows haven't pooped nearly as much when he's in the barn.

-Our tent claims to be a two-person backpacking tent. This translates as "the tent will fit two people only if they sleep on their sides and it's impossible for both to change at the same time." It also means that I spent an entire weekend with Lanny's campfire smoke smelling clothes in a very compact space.

-If there's one scent I CANNOT stand it's the smell of campfire smoke on clothing and in my hair. Don't ask me why this is, because I can't explain it. It permeates everything when you go camping.

-Why is it that you always manage to pack WAY more than you need when you go camping? I packed enough food to last a week and I was the only one eating it. We went camping on the North Shore last weekend and between the two of us, we filled our car. How is this possible?

Check the Fridge

I have fond memories of my parent's fridge door. It's a funny thing to admit but it's true. One could usually find my latest masterpiece among the artsy contributions of my younger siblings. There might also be a chore schedule (made with good intentions but rarely followed with such), a calendar of some kind, magnets of all shapes and sizes (including the requisite alphabet letters), and the odd A+ paper or two. However, my ffavorite part of the fridge door was the comics section. My mom had (and still does) this thing about cutting out particularly humorous comics from the newspaper and taping them to the fridge door. Family-based comics like Baby Blues, Hi and Lois, and (by far the best one of all) For Better or For Worse featured prominently as they so closely reflected family life . Calvin and Hobbes and Family Circle were other regulars. Occasionally, Beetle Bailey or Garfield might find a niche somewhere as well. Every time I walked past the fridge, I had to stop and see if anything new had replaced an 'oldie but a goodie'. She didn't throw out any of those old strips either. She has nearly filled her second photo album with those saved strips. It makes for a fun afternoon to sit and page through those old comics.

Looking at my fridge, I see that I am doing much the same thing. Since we don't regularly get a newspaper with comic strips in it, my fridge is a bit sparce in the funnies division, but I've got a few good ones there. They are joined by the grocery list, a calendar, pictures of family and friends, a variety of magnets, and my To-Do list that never seems to get smaller. Someday, I'll have my own albums of comic strips.