A long time coming

For the first time since her scary but fortunately quickly-recovered-from accident, DD got out on a bike this weekend!

She said she felt like a 7-year old, but she quickly got right back into it.

I' m very proud of her!

Almost grown

Billie 2 is a full part of the chicken family. Isn't that quite the face?

I don't always hand feed them, but most every day they get leftover ends from tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, corn, and melons. They were walking all over me this day, and they kept pecking at a spot on my knee. I must have spilled something there!

And by the way, we'll be putting up more fencing soon to give them some room to roam around the yard.

This is Ella, who looks to me like a hawk. When she gets angry, those golden feathers around her neck fluff out like a lion's mane.

And this is Sarah, who is undoubtedly queen of the roost. Is she not the epitome of chicken-ness?



I tried to get a group shot...this was the best I could do. Chickens are faster than you think!

The Rochester City Chicken Club, of which I am a proud member, was featured in our local paper recently. Read about it here.

For starving college students

I'm just popping up to tell you about a cool idea...you can rent textbooks rather than buy them, for all levels from undergraduate through doctoral studies, at Chegg. Saves you money, saves resources by sharing books instead of printing new books, and on top of that, they plant a tree for every book you rent. You can even highlight in the book, a bonus for visual learners like me!

p.s. I have no stake in Chegg...just like to pass on a good deal when I see one!
p.p.s. Chicken updates coming soon!

A brief foray into electoral politics

I just had to share a post from Threading Water, a blog with my favorite subtitle ever..."knitting and politics. together at last."

The title? "The Trouble with Sarah." Read it here.

A moment of quiet

The beginning of the school year is always hectic here, so I decided to harken back to a quieter time. Last spring, I visited New York City to see my son's orchestra perform at Lincoln Center.

While there, we went to the Cloisters. What struck me was how much religiosity was once integrated into people's daily lives. Now, I am not really a religious person, although I do have a spiritual practice of yoga and meditation, and consider myself Buddhist'ish. But, it seems to me that reminders to be present, grateful, and mindful can be useful, and to that end, I have a small Buddha on my desk.

I need even more reminders to take time to breathe right now, so I went back to look at some of the photos from that visit (see them all here. )

I think everyone should have their own personal angel fly in at the right time, don't you? Here's a close-up...

What a beautiful spot...

This piece particularly got to me, what will all my mother-son angst that's come with my oldest growing into an adult...

And even Medieval monks had a sense of humor...

I hope you are finding a moment or two of quiet, as well...