THE DUST WILL WAIT

The other day I was feeling as if I was just in a survival mode. I wasn't in the mood to be thankful for our cozy home, beautiful yard, lovely children and grandchildren, numerous friends, and plenty. Nope! I wasn't thinking about those things at all. I sat myself down to read the comments on my blog. When I see someone new has dusted me, I follow his/her link, because I'm nosy. That's how I happened to visit MoziEsmé (an American toddler growing up in Mozambique. Her mommy and daddy are volunteers with Maranatha Volunteers International.) I smiled at the cute pictures and stories (yes, grandmothers are suckers for little dimples and curls.) But I quit smiling when I got to her post entitled Zimbabwe Again . I think I've heard little bits and pieces about Zimbabwe in the news. But I had not paid attention long enough to actually understand the truth about what is happening there. Please take a moment to read her post. She quotes an E-mail from Paula, a...

Yesterday I spotted this hawk alight in an old pine tree on the street behind our house. This picture taken with my little photo lens turned out quite well, considering my shaky puddin'. TH (the hubby) thought the tree reached about 30 feet, but I think it was taller. I couldn't identify the raptor - so I sent the photo by E-mail to my Audubon friend. He and his wife happily informed us that it is a Swainson's Hawk. This bird winters in Argentina and, after one of the longest migrations of all hawks, summers in the central and northwest United States and Canada. Apparently there are several mating pairs that are nesting in our valley. This one must have stopped to rest during his search for a meal. This hawk is endangered because of loss of habitat in the United States, and because of DDT usage in South America. I read that the population had decreased by 90% in Central California alone. What a coincidence to see an article in the local AGRI-TIMES today pointing to Wi...

My parents did not know that they "recycled." They were frugal out of need and found a second use for nearly everything. I could tell you stories - but I won't today. People who survived the depression lived by the motto, "Use it up, wear it out; Make it do, or do without." When our children were growing, we did not adhere to the philosophy. With two full time working parents, our household took the convenient route more often. The girls had school and extra curricular activities and so did we. We didn't include recycling. Now that the hubby and I are older and wiser, (I'm mostly older) we are more aw are of the things we use. Earlier this year, Swamptwitch and Robin began a recycling challenge for 2007 ( S.P.E.A.R. Challenge 2007 ) that I am revisiting; Swampy introduced it on her post Talkin ' Trash. Robins entry can be found at Me -Talk- Dirty- One- Day. This month, D (Kelly's home schooled daughter at Pass The Torch ) is writing gue...