Bald Eagle

The Eagle 

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,

Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

                                             -Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

 

The neighbor called to let us know there was an eagle in the field across the road. We grabbed our coats and camera and quickly, but quietly snuck up on this beautiful young eagle. We sat quietly, trying not to disturb her. Unmoved by cars stopping to watch and children sitting under trees, she kept to her business of nourishing herself for the cold days ahead.

We've never been so close to an eagle before. We were far enough away, though, that we couldn't see her details. Once the wind blew us into the house, we looked at our pictures, and were able to see just how beautiful she truly was. God made an amazing bird of prey when He created the eagle.

Snap-Shots of Samuel..He's 10! and What is Stickler's Syndrome?

It's amazing how time flies. Samuel has grown so quickly into his double-digits. I never notice how quickly my children grow, until looking at photos. The kids and I sat snuggled on the floor, flipping through pictures and remembering Samuel as he's grown into a handsome 10 year old.

He certainly has a story to tell. Samuel was born a big 9 pounds, with a head full of brown hair. He had a very small chin and was fussy. We soon learned,  he had a hole in the roof of his mouth....a cleft palate. With a bit of learning how to care for him, we got to bring him home and begin a journey of learning and loving.

Samuel was born with Pierre Robin Sequence and later diagnosed with Stickler's Syndrome. Pierre Robin is named for children with a small chin and nose. Many of these children are born with a cleft palate, like Samuel. Pierre Robin can be a characteristic of Sticklers. Sticklers is a connective tissue disorder that effects the soft tissues within the body. Samuel's eyes, palate, joints, and ears are effected.

At six months, Samuel got his first pair of glasses. His world opened up and his big beautiful eyes shone bright. He began to explore the world around him.

At 14 months, Samuel had his first surgery to close his palate. He no longer had food and drink coming out of his little nose while he ate. He's had several surgeries since, to revise his palate and tube his ears. His surgeries have not slowed him down one bit.

He's always loved reading and gardening.....

 Nature and playing.

 

 

He's good at improvising. When he was a baby, Samuel would hold his pacifier in his mouth with the palm of his hand, since he didn't have suction. When he would blow, he held his nose to help more air flow from his mouth, instead of nose and mouth at once.

A couple of palate revisions helped him to push more air out of his mouth and close the space between his mouth and nose.  

This inquisitive young man is such a joy to be around. I'm excited to see what he chooses to be in life. He loves God, his family, music, math, gardening, rocks, and minerals. The world is his canvas.

How can we forget......this was the year Samuel accidently sliced his pinky while cutting a home-made garden fountain. Did I mention....he's fearless....except for heights. 

 

He loves life. And, we love him. Happy Birthday Samuel. I hope you enjoy your 10th year exploring this beautiful world God has shared with you. 

Breakfast with the Sheep

If you're feeling stressed and need some relaxation, a good remedy is to sit in the pasture and watch the sheep eat. Tiptoe and Felix are quiet and curious and enjoy a little nose rub. Since they are timid and won't eat with the other animals, we separate them during feeding.
Hannah spent time with them this morning, and took a few shots of Breakfast with the Sheep.

 

 

 

 

Goodnight Garden

It amazes me, how quickly the leaves change from green to colorful to ground. The garden goes from productive to slimy leaves overnight. We had so much fun in our garden this year. We're still having fun prepping for winter and pulling the last bits of turnips and onions from the ground. It's November and work is still happening. We've been closing the garden down the past few weeks. We have lots more work to do, but are fine with stopping our work and moving onto winterizing the animals and playing inside.

 

While the grass was green and the leaves brown, we were able to pull sweet potatoes,

 

white potatoes, and

pumpkins from the garden.

There were beautiful bell peppers growing and enjoying the cool air.

We gathered leaves

and smelled the flowers, one last time.......

before, it was time to rake and put the garden to bed. We like to deep mulch our garden to help prevent weeds from growing and to keep the ground warm as spring rolls around again.

That was a few weeks ago. Today looks quite different. The peppers are wilted - the flowers soggy. We've picked the last of our veggies.

We will continue to cover the raised beds and ground beds with leaves, straw, haw, manure, and any other compost material we can find. The corn bed will be tilled and manure spread. The tools will be put away and the focus moved to the barnyard. We had a lovely garden season. I'm happy to put it away.....

and start focusing on organizing seeds and making our list for the next planting season. I'm excited to look over how much we planted and what we were able to store and freeze.

Goodnight garden, until next year.