Summertide Daybook

For today… Monday, June 8, 2009

Outside my window… one of Tommy Thrasher’s youngsters has just come up to kick around the mulch for bugs. We were missing Tommy for a little while, but it appears Tommy (or Tomasita mayhaps?) has been nesting. It’s a joy to see all these juvenile birds at our feeders.

We think the hummingbirds may be nesting in our pussy willows – we have a huge population of hummingbirds this season! AND…Mama Killdeer has decided that she will set about to nesting down on the far Eastern side of our property, almost down by the Leland Cypress. She is protectively sitting on 3 tiny eggs. You may rest assured that the Mackintosh clan has done everything short of erecting a 12 foot electric fence to protect her and her future brood. Sweet Pea has the best vantage point from her upstairs window. We’re thrilled and waiting and watching!

I won’t bore you with any more of our bird family news…ok…maybe one more bit of news to say that we’re overjoyed that the Bluebird family has returned. Dearest Rob tried for many years to lure Purple Martins to his purple martin house to no avail…because our little Bluebird family always beat the Purple Martins to the house, setting up a nesting space and happily claiming the entire upper suite for themselves. Well, the sparrows took it this spring, and it touched Rob’s protective nerve. He discovered that he was sad that Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird would not be back in his purple martin house – they have been faithfully residing on our land for the entire time we have lived here – almost 7 years now. So, after the sparrows were done nesting and all the fledglings were gone, Rob removed their nest and do you know that Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird moved in the next day. It’s as if they were saying, “Thank-you-very-much.” Welcome back to our breezy hill, Bluebird family!

I am thankful for… the lull in outside the home activities that is almost here. This busy season has been challenging, and I miss the quiet rhythms of daily home life. You cannot imagine how I am looking forward to it!

From the kitchen… well, I was going to make meatballs, rice and gravy with fresh cabbage because I was inspired by some fresh cabbage I picked up at the Farmer’s Market…but then I remembered we’re not into quieter rhythms yet…tonight is a tournament game. So, I guess meatballs, rice and gravy will have to wait and ballpark hot dogs, it is. Ugh. It will take me a month to correct some of the eating habits developed over the last couple of months.

I am wearing… a spring green cotton shirt with 3/4 sleeves, a nice tulip flared denim skirt, and bare feet. It’s summer in Alabama – no shoes unless it’s absolutely necessary. My hair is already up in a pony tail.

I am reading… nothing but scoreboards lately. I can’t wait for that to change – I have some books I’m dying to get into.

I am hearing… the slow, steady trickle of the little pond waterfall outside the kitchen window. It’s so nice when the house is this quiet that that’s all I hear. Soon, the house will be full of the sounds of the morning chorus.

Looking to the rhythm of the liturgical year… wow! June is packed! Later today, I’ll be posting a craft we did for the Sacred Heart as June is devoted to the Sacred Heart. There are 5 Solemnities, 1 Memorial of the Immaculate Heart, and some extraordinary feast days – Our Lady of Perpetual Help, to whom we have a great devotion, is on the 27th, St. Josemaria Escriva on the 26th, St. Anthony of Padua coming up on the 13th….whew! This will be a an extraordinary month liturgically! I hope to get some of our crafting up here as posts for you to see.

In our learning spaces… can you hear my sigh of relief? Somehow, someway…I managed to do my annual tidying in there – removing everything from the shelves, dusting, rearranging, making ready for the new year. I removed all the file folders from last year, reviewed them, submitted records, bound up the old file folders and moved them on. The children and I added a bit to our nature study and science area because it gets a lot of use and there were some everyday tools we wanted more at our finger tips. I devoted a great deal of time and organizational effort on the art center after consulting the children. They felt art items weren’t as accessible as they’d like them. I remedied that with a few lovely glass jars and glass desert cups – I can’t tell you how inviting it all looks now – a post will simply have to be forthcoming! The art center is beckoning now, and I’m pleased with the effort there. I moved my desk back by the windows…I missed seeing the sunshine dance across my desk mid-afternoon. And, I set up summer baskets for the children. There is a great feeling of relief and renewal now that all of this is accomplished. I have spaces to plan and ponder the upcoming year now.

Around the house… ummm…I cannot report similar successes. I can only say that at long last, my couch is no longer a holding zone for clean laundry and the living room is no longer the family dressing room. It has been so busy, that I’ve really only been keeping up with the basics – and some of those not so well. I’m not in need of a new checklist, or plan, or routine…I just need to re-focus myself and **do** the jobs that must be done again on a daily basis…right after baseball season!

I will claim a moment for myself… right now! 🙂 I have missed blogging, but this weekend of chores and laundry and now this quiet morning has afforded me a few moments to journal here. There are so many things I’m aching to share though – the lovely art center, the helpful nature center, the summer baskets, tidied side-bars on my blog, liturgical crafting for the month of June…. Here’s hoping I will be able to carve a few moments out of my days to share it all with you and record some of these treasures here for myself and my family! 🙂

A few plans for the rest of the week… at this point, I’m hoping to just keep up…that in itself will be a success for me! Beyond that, I’m hoping to help my oldest son complete the weeding of the front gardens – a job he is doing as a way of making reparation for the hole he put in my closet ceiling with his foot. sigh. My front gardens are gigantic…and full of weeds after all the great rains of the spring…this is no small task for him!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing… of our little Sparkly at the beginning of baseball season. I’ve harumphed about the busy schedule, but truly, we’ve enjoyed watching him play. He’s a great baseball player and I’d better learn to cope better with the busy-ness of baseball seasons because judging from his love of the game and talent, we have several seasons in our future! I love you my little baseball lovin’ Sparkly!

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