Good Friday

Yesterday I spent a wonderful afternoon with a friend that I haven't seen in years.  Lynn and I have known each other for nearly forty years, our story began when our husbands taught school together.

Life happened and they moved on to other places and we each had families to raise and homes to keep going.  Of course the guys would run into each other now and again and were able to keep up on farm things.  Lynn and I kept in touch through Christmas cards.  A year or so ago I found my friend on Facebook and we have been connected by the internet.

Out of the blue she calls me on our house phone a couple weeks ago.  I rarely answer the house phone, I figure if someone needs me, they know my cell phone number.  But on this day, in the middle of the afternoon, our house phone rings and something tells me to answer.  It was my friend Lynn.  I, of course, was a little surprised to hear from her and she was wondering if  I would be interested in putting some of my artwork in her little gift shop and greenhouse.  I thought is sounded like a fun idea and we got together, the four of us. 

After driving a couple hours we arrived at their beautiful country home sitting in the middle of Ohio's rich farmland.  Farmers on big tractors, pulling hugh discs were working in the fields, spring was certainly showing all signs of planting season in this flat farm country.  The guys immedately headed outside to do "farm" stuff.

Lynn and I were quickly catching up on years of family information, finding a common bond immediately.  We weren't together for thiry minutes before we discovered our other connection.  We were totally on the same page about the things many people don't talk about........  that would be the spiritual part of living on this earth.  We know that "accidents" don't just happen.  We know that things have happend that we could never have planned.  We know there are reasons and perfect timing for all things to happen, we call that Devine timing. We understand that our thoughts are the first action to bringing whatever it is we want into our lives.  We know there is a heaven above, that spirits live, angels surround us and they communicate with us on a daily basis, if we listen.  We know we have the power within ourselves to create what we want to happen.  We know that all things are connected!  We know it and shared our stories, our proof these things are true.  Our goosebump stories went back and forth for hours.  Who does this with someone they haven't seen and only shared Christmas cards with for forty years?

I don't often just put this out there for the world to see, because there are those that would tell me I am wrong or think I have an active imagination.  I have nothing to hide.  I have many stories of moments and happenings that have made me a believer in a higher power.  I have seen and experienced things that I couldn't make up, I have shared some of those "stories" in other blogs. 

Thanks Lynn for a wonderful day, I know we will be connecting soon,  there is much more we have to share with one another!  And so today, this Good Friday, 2012, I wish nothing but blessings and peace to all who come and read about my life.  It is real and amazing and I am filled with gratitude.

Spring And The Doors Are Open



Japanese Iris just starting to bloom, 2012

It is truly spring in Ohio.  Only a few days into April and flowers are blooming throughout the gardens.  I have been checking Bluebird boxes and two nests are started by bluebirds and sparrows have claimed several other boxes, even laid eggs.  Of course, sparrow nests are removed from the Bluebird boxes.  Of the seven boxes, two have bluebird nests and I'm so excited about that!

The frogs in my frog pond are too many to count, they slowly push their eyes above the water edge and watch me watching them.  Some sit bravely on the old decayed leaves and soak up the sunshine.  The water Iris are growing strong in the corner of this rather unsightly frog pond.  This used to be my fish pond, before a branch fell and punched a hole through the liner.  The pump was turned off and the quiet water was perfect for frogs to lay eggs.  Now I don't exactly know what to do with it, I don't want to upset the balance of this pond for the frogs.  So the fall leaves rot in the water and become the perfect place to raise frogs.  I have to let go of the idea of clean sparkeling water that the fish used live in before the hole.


front flower bed, 2012

I have already had to mow the yard several times and that started on my birthday on March 19th.  Never have I mowed the yard in March.  Records were set this year for temperatures above eighty degrees and the number of days in a row it has been that warm for the month of March.

The redbud trees have already bloomed and the tulip trees were stunning this year.  Forsythia have also bloomed their sunshine yellow flowers and the yellows are now fading away, the red and purple phase of the garden in taking over, with wild violets as well as tulips, lilacs and iris are blooming.



bluebird box.....

I love when it is warm enough to throw open the windows and doors.  Most of you will find this highly irregular, but I stopped putting screens in the windows and we have no screen/storm doors.  I find the there is only a brief time between the furnace running and when we turn on the air conditioning and screens are just not necessary.  I haven't used them for years and love that the views are not altered by screens, it's like being outside when I'm in the house.

I also love when the cleaning fairy comes and starts my spring house cleaning.  She climbs the step stool and cleans shelves above the windows, gets the nooks and crannies free of winter dust bunnies and whatever else lurks in those places.  She was just here and the house sparkled.  Everything dusted and swept and cleaned. 

So when I took a moment to sit in the back room that looks out to the barn, past the blooming flowers and the fresh mowed yard, I was content to just relax with a little coffee.  It was then that I notice a white spot of something on the table where the TV sits.  I was a little far away to determine what it was, but it looked like a paper had be laid down on a wet spot and when picked up, some of the white page was left behind.  I stopped worrying about it and made a mental note to check it out.  Of course I forgot and went on with my day. 

The next day, sitting in the same chair, still basking in how nice everything looked inside and outside and sipping my coffee, I again noticed the white stuff on the table.  This time I dragged myself from my comfy chair and forced my still new knees to get me up, yet again, and went to seriously look at the white stuff on the table. 

I was rather shocked to discover it was bird poop.  No doubt about it, a white splat of bird poop was on the table that was just cleaned a few days ago by the cleaning fairy.  I conclude that a bird came calling through my open door into the house.  He obviously found his way out of the maze and went back outside, but not before bringing me back to reality and noting why other people must use screens on their doors and windows. 

Ridin' A Harley

Mike and Cindy, March 2012

For my birthday my wonderful husband bought me a plane ticket to Texas, to visit with my DeRemer family. 

My brothers all ride bikes, my son rides a bike, I personally have felt the joy riding crazy hot blooded Arabians.  I have ridden horses since I was a kid, I rode fast and bareback, I rode through trees and raced in open meadows.  The joy that came from feeling that wind on my face, the freedom of traveling without being closed in, the power of the critter below me and sensing the world around me was intoxicating.  I was always on the lookout for the things on the trail that would jump out in front of us, so that I could be prepared when my wild eyed horse would spook.  Usually those monsters were things like a trash can that wasn't there the day before, it could have been a tree branch that was broken off and the dry leaves would rustle when you went past, he would react like he'd been shot out of a cannon.  Heaven forbid it would be a cow paddy or a person standing on the trail.  Goodness knows you always had to be on the lookout!

I haven't been on a horse for 10 years, our last ride was a quiet walk through the waterways of a big field.  My daughter was with me, she was pregnant and by this time my knees were reminding me why I stopped riding in the first place.  The joy we found that day was written all over our faces, there is nothing like riding a horse, it fills you up on the inside.  As Winston Churchill said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man."

Cait and Lizzy with Knipper and Bones 2011

My horses are gone now, we shared many happy trails together, I can't wait to race the wind with them again.  I know with every thunderstorm, it is them running down those wooded trails, their pounding feet making the earth rumble.  I smell them sometimes, that warm breath they blew at me from their nostrils.  My horse and I shared the same birthday month, he would have been 29 this year, I lost him a year ago and I miss him so much.  Sometimes I look into the pasture where he grazed with his buddies and think he is still out there, just waiting on me to bring him an apple.  Yes, it hurts to think that horses are not a part of our little farm now.  A friend told me not long ago, remember to ride your horse in your mind, find that balance again, just ride............

Oh dear, I am meandering again...........   I cry and smile at the memories, I will move on and tell you that I found that riding a Harley is almost like riding my horses.  My sweet brother took me for my first Harley ride last weekend.  (And yes, I did wear a helmet...)  We left the park on a sunny afternoon to ride on some back country roads in Texas.  I couldn't stop smiling, my face hurt from smiling!  It brought all the feelings back about riding my horses, the power, the freedom and the travel.  My senses were open to the spring air, the sounds and the feeling of power and speed.  I didn't want it to end, I loved every minute of it!  Thank you Mike for sharing your love with me, your bike is not so unlike my horses after all.    

Rain On My Window

Last night I was sleeping peacefully, and after my knee surgery that is quite a statement!  While lost in dreamland, I heard the rain hitting my bedroom window.  Out of nowhere I had a childhood flashback and wondered what I'd left out in the rain and would it be okay.........    I haven't had this thought in years.  I mentally went through my yesterday to see if I'd left something outside to get wet and possibly ruined. 

Well, I have nothing left outside from yesterday, all my dogs are accounted for and are snoring nearby.  I haven't been playing baseball with the neighbors, so my glove isn't sitting on the lawn chair at the back door.  My bike is no longer tied to the tree, as it was my horse before I got my first horse, and my exercise bike is in the living room taunting me now.  I haven't left my shoes at the door because I was to lazy to clean the mud off of them before coming in the house and all of my layers of clothing did find their way to the house as I slowly removed the scarf, the vest and sweatshirt because the day warmed up nicely.

So at 4:30 AM, I am awake, listening to the rain, watching the lightening and hearing the thunder.  I love spring rains!

This morning the sun is trying to shine, everything looks washed clean, green things are more abundant than they were last week.  Soon the daffodils will be blooming.  The robins have joined in the spring chorus of song birds that spend their winter in our back yard.  Everyday I watch for the red-winged blackbirds and listen for their song.  I have noticed the geese are paired up now, they are looking for the perfect nesting area and will start laying eggs very soon.  The sparrows are already trying to lay claim on the bluebird boxes and I am going to have to start cleaning out their nests in hopes of a bluebird pair moving in.

My goal this year is to round up all of my old bluebird boxes.  I had 50 out on neighbors fence posts throughout the years and I will need to repair them.  Then I am going to put them on posts in my empty horse pasture and begin to monitor them again on a weekly basis.  I am hoping to make the empty horse pasture a meadow filled with  birds nesting and a natural habitat for butterflies and other critters to enjoy.  Now I have to figure out how to explain this to my farmer husband..........

Seven Years Ago......

a few of my collection....

I LOVE the Native American style flute.  There, I have said it and now you will find that I am totally addicted to flutes, the sound of flutes, flute circles, and anything else that involves the Native American flute.  I am a fan of musicians that play and go to concerts all over the country to hear them play their songs.  Many of these players have taught classes and given personal one on one tips, and become friends.  I can't say that I am talented or amazing, but I love to play my songs, the ones from my heart and that is all that is necessary to make me happy.  I am honored to have many friends around the country that play the flute and we are all a big family, one that understands the need for flutes in our life.



The flute and I are coming on an anniversary of sorts.  It has been SEVEN years since I tried to play my first flute.  (the number seven is special alone)  I went to my first flute circle in February of 2005, only to listen to others play flute music.  At that circle they "just happened" to have some flutes that were made and brought to another to use for teaching students elsewhere.  Having those flutes available that day, we were ask (told) to pick one and would be taught to play.  I hesitated, I have no previous musical ability, played no instruments, could not read music, lacked any ability to carry a tune, I am totally rhythm challenged and someone thinks I can play a flute!

Well after discovering I could cover the finger holes and the right warm sweet breath blown into the air chamber of the flute would produce a wonderful full sound coming from the humble wooden flute I was holding was the most magical moment of my life.  I couldn't believe I made that sound.........   I was hooked immediately, I am sure my eyes were wide in disbelief, only because as I have since taught others, I have seen that look on their faces.  It is a moment of truth when your breath and the flute join together, you have music at your fingertips.   I believe with all my heart, if I can play, anyone can play!!!! 

Massie Creek Flute Circle.... 

I came home from that flute circle and ordered my first flute from a friend.   I'd know him from doing same art show and he makes and plays Native American style flutes.  From there the song inside me began to sing.  I began to hear notes, I didn't know where they were coming from, just notes of music in the air, in my dreams and I felt they were my musical notes slowing revealing themselves to me.  Later I would hear a song.  I still hear it, as real as if the cd player was on, I find myself looking around for where it might be coming.  It is there, surrounding me, tumbling through the leaves,  a thread of wonder around me, weaving its sound into my heart and connecting it to nature, to love and peacefulness. 

Many of my flutes are very special, they each have their own story, their own history.  The wood ranges from traditional cedar, to maple, walnut, oak or bamboo.  Some are crooked branches that were picked from the ground, one is a leg bone from a deer, another an antler.  I have classic plain flutes and beautiful carved end flutes that look like my favorite birds.  I have flutes made from men and from women.  Each flute has a story and as I play them I add to the story of that flute. 

My Elk Flute, Key F, it's all about the heart.....

The spirit in which these flutes were made by their maker, carries a part of that maker to me and becomes a part of my spirit songs.  Anyone who honors me with a song on my flute also adds to the spirit of my flute.  And so the history and spirit of the flute grows as it is played and shared with the public world or with the trees.  The song tumbles out into the universe creating peace as it ripples forward, touching the grasses, the tree leaves, and the flowing stream of water.  Can you hear the song?  Can you feel the peace coming to your heart?  It's there, take a moment, close your eyes and just listen.

The Six Senses and Fairies

Only a few days ago I wrote of winter and spring, the great battle between cold and warm.  Well, yesterday and today spring is winning big time.  Your senses are filled with the wonder. 

Just a breath deep, the earth is coming alive, like a wonderful perfume the earth has a special scent in the spring.  I inhale deeply and savor the earthy scent.

Listen, the songs of the birds is more exciting. I hear joyful new songs of birds flocking back after being gone all winter.  Yesterday I heard the killdeer as I took my walk.   You know of course with each changing season the birds also change their songs.  Spring is all about courting, song and plumage change to attract their mates for the coming season. 

Look at the flowers pushing their way toward sunlight.  My daffodils are pushing through leaves of fall to become the highlight of my early spring garden.  I see Iris leaves pushing up, the colors of the ground plants are changing their dormant dark green to a newer brighter green. 

Touch the soft catkins of the pussy willows, they are just starting to reveal themselves.  I love bringing branches into the house so that spring comes inside.
Touch the ground, still cold, but no longer ice cold.  If it snows now the earth is warmer and it melts off more quickly.

The last sense, little known or acknowledged is the kinesthetic sense........  this is the unconscious sense of knowledge.  You just know something, I call this instinct.  People lived with it long before there were clocks or calendars.  I know spring is closer than normal this year.  I feel it.  Sure we may still get some winter days, but they are fewer and fewer as we move quickly through February. 

My gardens sparkle in the sunshine this morning.  I have wonderful little strings with mirrors and stain glass shards hanging from branches and hooks.  I have beautiful crystals hanging in unusual places, catching the light of the sun they change colors as they spin on their string with the slightest breeze.  I can see the fairies dancing with the sparkles of light, their magic is already working in the gardens.  They gather around the plants and cheer them on, the cover the seeds that the milkweed scattered in the fall so the Monarchs have a place to lay their eggs.  The Fairies linger in the sunshine with their bright gossamer wings, their magic is renewed and the gardens are happy, and so am I, it is spring today.......... 

The Battle Has Begun

Rabbits enjoy greens and sunshine!

Is it winter?  Is it spring?





                                                                         




Sap is moving throug the trees.

Last week I worked in the studio with the garage door open, sunlight streamed into my space, birds were singing and my little dogs lay in the sun.  I walked past a clump of snowbells that were blooming and I heard the honeybees singing as they moved from bloom to bloom.  I also noticed as I drove through a forest of old trees that the ground was beginning to show green.  All the little signs of spring around the corner.  The trees are also coming alive as the sap slowly moves from the ground upward toward the branches.

Snowbells and no snow (this day)

deer are easier to see when snow is on the ground....

Then it happened, as sunrise came it revealed the tell tale sign that winter had visited in the night.  We were reminded that it is only February.  Snow lay on the ground, covering those tender signs of spring sprouts.  At last after a very mild winter, we have some measurable snow.  It is pretty as sunlight creates sparkles on the landscape. The wind blows across the open fields, causing momentary white outs.  And as the wind picks up it shakes the all snow from the pines and the needles whistle a haunting song of winter.  The birds are eagerly at the feeder, their activity makes the trees alive with fluttering movement.  I do love watching the birds.  While most were hungry for seeds, a larger bird came calling.  A Coopers Hawk came to sit in the tree branches near our back door, hoping for his own special breakfast this day.  All the little birds sounded an alert and took cover and they waited until he left, still hungry.


hungry birds....

I linger a little longer with a cup of coffee and pull my afghan around me, my fuzzy socks peeking out and think I would like to hibernate just a little longer.  I'll wait to see who wins today, winter or spring...................