Photo of the Week - Week 45 - SNOW DAY!!!

Week 45 of 52

Location:  Mecosta, MI
Subject:  Warm Snow Day

As has been discussed, we did not have any "real" snow in November or December.  January on the other hand, has given us plenty.  So much so that the kids had three snow days in a row with a weekend and a holiday thrown in between so they were off school Friday through Wednesday.  Whew - thank goodness for snow plows and salt!  Thursday they were off to school.

One of the snow days turned out to be pretty warm.  Well warm as far as a Michigan winter is concerned.  We got all the way up to a balmy 40°.  All the beautiful snow covered trees dropped their white blankets and we headed out to play in the white stuff.

J. and Z. had been working on a sled run and finished it off with a jump or two so the could catch some air.

Which they did.  Then they decided two would go down much faster than one so they gave that a whirl.

Then A. finally decided to come out and join us.  No sledding down hills for her however.  She said she would have until they added the jumps.  Our goal this year is to get her to discover the thrill of flying down the hill on a sled.  So far mission goes unaccomplished.

Probably because she saw too much of this:

Anyway they had a ball on their snow days and were not too happy to be headed back to school.  But soon enough they will be tired of all the snow and be whining about when it will be gone and summer here so they can head out to the lake.

Photo of the Week - Week 29 - Country Roads and Bumpkins

Week 29 of 52

Location:  Remus, MI
Subject:  Country Road in Fog

This is the road we take to get to the Kingdom Hall for meetings.  This photo was taken this past week as Z and I headed out for service in the fog.  It was beautiful.  Wait till you see this road in the fall.  Actually, I love this road in every season.  This is Rachel's favorite road.  It is tied with the next road down for my favorites.  The next road down has more hills.  I love these country roads.

Now for those country bumpkins.



These are my city kids turned country bumpkins.  This was from last weekend when we headed over to Klackle Orchards in Greenville, MI.  This was taken about 15 minutes before I killed my lens.  Poor, poor lens.  It served me well.  They are laughing because the sign was slightly off and they are worried people will think they are really short.  It is actually only off about half a foot or so.  But you know how kids are - every inch counts.  Really J and A are about as tall as me now.  It really is so sad.  What happened to those little kids I left Arizona with?

And one more, just cause I love it.  This is across the road from where we meet for service on Saturdays.  I used to come to this house as a little one so it is fun to be coming here again and telling the kids about when I was younger.  Also the lady of the house is like an encyclopedia.  I always go to her with all my Michigan questions.  She is awesome!

Canadian geese.  They have been flying around the past couple of weeks.  We are calling it their practice runs.  Today as we were out in the garden a line of them flew over very high.  I think that means they are outta here.

Love ya all and miss you immensly!!!!

Whew! What a Weekend!

Such a busy, great weekend that it has taken me all the way to Thursday to recuperate and have a few minutes to sit down and chat with you.

The camping was great.  We were camping for our convention.  The boys were dissapointed that it wasn't out in the middle of the forest somewhere, but there was a pool so I guess that was compensation enough for them.  I love camping.  Camping in a pop-up for the convention though, hmmm, it wasn't horrible and I would do it again, but my plea for a regular camper has now made its point.  Yeah!  We camped with 4 other families from our congregation and the rest of the camp was full of brothers and sisters from all over Michigan.  Saturday some of us sat around the campfire and studied our Watchtowers together.

There are my cute kiddos along with a couple of their cousins.  The convention was awesome as always.

When we got home we had to get to work on the garden.  Amazing what happens when you aren't here to tend to it for 4 or 5 days.  The weeds went crazy mad and the deer, of course, ate more things, and the stupid potato bugs went haywire.

hard at work

J.'s job was to try and get as many of those potato bugs and eggs and larvae off of the potato plants as he could.  They stripped down like three or four plants while we were away.  GRRRRR

The enemy!  They are pretty cool looking though.

He was pretty happy he finally got a tomato off his grape tomato plant that is just for him.

Showing off what they were picking.

And as always we had some flying visitors.

Damselfly

 

dragonfly

We also had a very pretty little butterfly but she refused to be still so I could snap a photo.

Busy time never seems to end around here.  But I must be off.  I am being dragged to a Taylor Swift concert tonight.  The girls are all so excited.  They have been planning for weeks.  They each have little binders and notebooks filled with lists of every little thing imaginable that they need to do to prepare for the concert.  So cute.

Rain!

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby."    - Langston Hughes

Finally today it rained.  It's funny how you can come from a place where it hardly ever rained and you think, if it would only rain.  Then we move here and for a little while it rained every day or every other day and I would think - please can we go at least two or three days with no rain.  Then it doesn't rain for a couple of weeks and then I start to think, come on already, I miss the rain!  Fickle we humans are, fickle!

So today, it rained!  It actually started last night.  I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder.  It is always greeted with mixed reactions.  I love the sound of a good thunderstorm and I always think I am going to lay here and listen to it all night.  But mostly it lulls me to sleep and I wake up feeling disappointed that I missed it.

But everything outside is happy that it rained.  The garden is happy, the little singing birds are happy, the kids are happy because it cooled things off, and I am happy because I got to watch the rain for a little while.  We are camping this weekend and guess what the forecast is for this weekend.  Yep, rain!  So now my fickle little self is hoping it rains but not too much because rain and camping are not a good mix, generally speaking.

Other than the rain, not much happening around here.  This weekend was sort of blah, with people not feeling well, and it was hot.  Yes I have given up saying it is just warm - it was really hot this weekend.  It must have been hot because my little teenager actually went fishing with her Dad.  Something she said she would never do.

And she actually caught fish so she was very happy.  But firmly announced that she would NOT be helping to clean or fillet the fish, so there!  Then she marched into the house without further argument.  Cameron was just happy that she finally went fishing with him so he had no complaints.

Tonight I get to go pick up my bike.  It finally arrived.  So happy to finally have a bike I can ride.  One that is mine and I don't have to adjust the seat so it fits me.  One with a nice seat and not one of those crazy ones that Cameron keeps telling me my "rear" will get used to.  No thanks, give me a big ol' seat that is filled with gel and I am a happy girl.  My "rear" is not getting used to anything that I think may have originally been designed as a torture device!

More Yummy From the Garden

More yummy goodness is coming out of the garden.  Over at Reuben's the spinach is huge so we have to help them eat it all.  Ours are still little baby spinach so we gladly helped them out.  Dad doesn't know it yet but these lovely leaves are going to be in his salad tonight.

We also got a couple more jalapeño's and radishes.  So many radishes.  They were getting a little too big and starting to split so A. and I pulled them all today.  Dad is pretty much the only one that eats them so he should be good and sick of them by the end of the week.  I looked up some recipes today so we are going to try grilled radishes and see what they taste like.  Sounds interesting anyway.

This has been a super busy weekend.  Saturday we went to Anderson & Girls to pick some more strawberries.  All we ended up doing is going through the petting zoo they have.  We thought we could go through it quickly but it ended up being larger than we thought.  Lots of neat animals though.  And the kids had a ball.

Cameron and the kiddos and a sister from the hall with her little one



The peacock gave us a little show



After the zoo we headed to school section lake to meet some others from the hall for BBQ, a swim, and some volleyball.



Little Lady C and her buddy



The Osprey's now have little ones.  This pole they built their nest on was built just for them.  Apparently they kept building a nest on the telephone pole so they built this pole just for them so they would be safer.  I tried to get as close as I could but it was freaking them out a little bit.  But those little guys are getting a bite to eat from Mom or Dad.  They are really awesome to see in person.

And then today A. and I worked in the garden for a little bit then Little Lady C came over to make some cookies.

Thanks for helping A, I love you.

Their creations

I think more frosting went into a certain little mouth than actually went on the cookies but I was forewarned.  They had lots of fun.

Busy, fun weekend.  Trying new things with new friends.  Oh, and I even made strawberry jam.  Coming soon to some of you this winter.  Love and miss you all.

Pickin' Strawberries - Week 15



Zack and Little Lady C picking strawberries

Week 15 of 52

Location:  Mt. Pleasant, Mi
Subject:  Strawberry Picking

The strawberries are finally ready!  Last friday we took the kids to a place called Papa's Pumpkin Patch.  Turns out they have way more than pumpkins.  Kids had a lot of fun filling their buckets with yummy strawberries.  We talked to them the whole way there about making sure they only put the strawberries in their buckets and not in their mouths.  When we arrive and are receiving instructions and tips the guy tells all the kiddos:  "If you come back here without red stuff around your mouths I will send you back out."  I told him that may have been a mistake.  We might all come back with red stuff around our mouths but nothing in our buckets.

It was interesting to taste all the different varieties and see the different shapes of all the strawberries.  We also picked some asparagus while we were there and grilled them up that night.  Very yummy.  In a couple of weeks they will have rasperries ready so we are going to head back.  Lots of fun and now we are enjoying lots of strawberry shortcake and Cameron even whipped us up some strawberry margaritas!  YUMMM!!!



Little Lady C stopping to enjoy some daisies

 

The Beauty and Fun of Fireflies





Picture from this blog 

Tonight we finally had the opportunity to catch fireflies.  I have been waiting patiently since we got here.  I remember doing this as a kid when we were here.  Then we moved to Tucson and I never saw another firefly until probably 6 years ago or more.

We headed down to Amado, Arizona to visit with some good friends and we were all sitting around outside by the fire and I saw something flashing in the shadows.  I was as giddy as the little kids to see them.

So tonight we went out with Z.'s little bug catcher and caught a bunch and watched them light up.  Totally not the same affect as when you catch them in jars.  So maybe this weekend we will have to round up some old glass jars and hunt again.  Of course we let them go so they can continue on their merry way.

And shock of shocks, I am posting a photo that is not mine.  But catching a photo of fireflies doing their thing requires much time and patience of which I am completely out of tonight.  Maybe this weekend.  Maybe.  In the mean time, in searching the wonders of the internet for a photo to use I found this blog.  She has a great link to an article on fireflies.

The kids and I have decided that we are going to join in the counting.  They probably agreed so readily because it means they get to stay up late since it doesn't get dark until 10 around here.

A. and her friend L. want to do a big shout out to all their friends in the big wide world so here it is:  SHOUT OUT!  :o)  They had lots of fun catching the lightning bugs until the mosquitos overwhelmed us and we gave up.

Gardening Creates Laughter and Stupid Sunburns!

Sunday afternoon all the troops headed out to do some gardening.  It was in serious need of weeding!  Serious need - it looked like we were growing grass and not vegetables.

It was a perfect day for it though.  Weather was in the high 60's so we were not sweating to death like I did last week.  Perfectly beautiful day for gardening.  Here, let me describe it for you:

It was the most beautiful kind of day.  You know where the sky is an unbelievably brilliant shade of blue and there are clouds hanging about.  Big, bright, fluffy, white clouds that are in not a hurry to be anywhere and so slowly drift about.  Birds were chirping.  Neighbors were busy out on the lake so you could hear the hum of boats and the laughter of people as they went buzzing by.  Bumble bees buzzed about from flower to flower, a turtle mosied behind the garden in the cool shade and tall grass.  <Insert sound of screeching record here as this comes to a stop :o)>  Enter the Richie/Ranshaw clan and this is what is mixed in with all that buzzing:

various children:  this row is too long, why do I have to do this row?

a certain City Girl Grown Up:  EEEK!, wait 2 minutes - EEEK!, wait another 2 minutes - EEEEEEKKK!!  you're getting the picture right - then SSSSHHHHHRRREEEEEEKKKK, now the bugs are in my hair!  Where is the mall when I need it!

various parent/grandparent:  when we were younger (insert typical grown up story about how hard they had it and how this next generation should be grateful it is not that bad)

a certain tiny little dog after it was locked away in the dog kennel:  bark!  wait half a minute - bark!
various gardeners:  Shut Up!  Go Lay Down!

All in all it was a relaxing afternoon and pretty hilarious.  I am sure if there were any neighbors within earshot they had a pretty good chuckle over us.  The garden looks a million times better now.  Some rows did not get weeded, only because what is growing in those rows are not big enough yet and we would risk pulling them out with the weeds.  Oh, which brings up another funny moment.  You know how you take your kids to meeting week after week, you do the family study, you prepare for all the meetings, and you wonder if they are learning.  In the midst of all the hullabaloo over which row to weed and to keep busy, and reminding them that we had to weed to keep the plants healthy, J. announces this:  "Jesus said we should not weed until the harvest so that we can tell the difference between the plants and the weeds."  Ahahahahaha so funny, not quite the right application but it got his dad quiet for a minute.

Which now brings us to stupid sunburns.  After our hours in the garden we went inside for snacks and for everyone to do whatever it was they wished.  Later that evening Rachel and I were watching a movie and Rach announces - my back hurts, I wonder if it got sunburned.  I say mine does too, so we lift up the back of our shirts for the others inspection - and yep.  Sunburns in the stupidest spot ever!  You know when you bend over and your shirt lifts up the tiniest bit in the back exposing an inch or two of skin.  Well apparently when you bend over in the garden for a couple of hours or so, it gets burned . . . . badly!  So stupid!

But all worth it.  Our garden is doing beautifully and plants are growing and starting to sprout whatever vegetable it is they are supposed to be.  Here are some pics - enjoy!




Jalapeños




Peppers and Jalapeños



Tomatillos

Red Onions

Red Potatoes marked by these cute little markers Aubrey and I made

Radishes - these are just about ready to pull up

Richie/Ranshaw Gang working away

P.S.  I almost forgot the worst part.  J. had a bad stomach this day and was spreading his ummmm, "love" around the garden.  So in between all that happening above you would hear a random - J. that is so gross, you smell bad - go weed somewhere else!  Funny stuff!

Photo Challenge

The Paper Mama

This blog is really cool and so many people with awesome talent participate in her cool challenges.  This week I couldn't resist entering because the subject is green!   The hardest part was picking which photo to enter.  I love, love, love this one of J. so here goes nothin!

This photo was taken during a Ranshaw Family Day up on Mt. Lemmon in Arizona.  Little did we know that by the next winter we would be in Michigan and surrounded by so much snow we didn't know what to do with it all.

SAVE THE TURTLES!!! Week 14

Turtles are now everywhere.  We do our best to avoid them and am happy to report we have remained innocent of turtle destruction.  We always swerve way around them.  But then we started noticing the people following behind us or coming from the opposite direction swerve TOWARD the turtles.  What?!?!?!?  Awful, mean, evil people!  What is wrong with you?  So since then we have become "Turtle Saviors" and where possible we stop and move those poor things off the road.  I won't even mention the reason we were told that people do this.  It makes me sick!

So this week's photo of the week is a picture Z. saved from the road when we went for a walk yesterday.  And also J. rescuing a turtle last week.



Painted Turtle

Week 14 of 52
Location:  Mecosta, MI
Subject:  Painted Turtle

Location:  Remus, MI

Subject:  Turtle saving



We have no idea what kind of turtle it was that J. saved.  Cars were coming in both directions so it was a save and dash kind of day.

HooooooWeeeeeee It's Warm Out There

Yes, warm - I am avoiding speaking that detestable "H" word.  But good grief it is getting sticky.  Today and tomorrow are supposed to be the worst days of the week.  Good news?  Thursday through Sunday are supposed to be unseasonably cool.

This my friends I can handle.  I can handle a few ho . . . . ummm warm days as long as there is relief in sight.

Thank goodness there is a lake a stones throw from the house.  The kids have been enjoying it.  Us adults are still to wimpy to get in the chilly water but every day it is a little warmer so maybe this weekend we will suck it up and jump on in.

Reuben came over with his little cutie bug and we headed down to the lake.  She found the tiniest turtle we have all ever seen.  Of course, my favorite friend in the world was lying on the desk at home, so, apologies for no photos of it's super cute and awesomeness.  We headed down there last night with Reuben and his family again.  This time Mr. Nikon was invited but alas, no tiny little turtles.

Besides trips to the lake, this is another busy week.  Yesterday we pulled out Lillies.  I know, I know, it sounds horrible.  It was actually sad to pull them out, but they are taking over the place.  We have lillies EVERYWHERE.  A sister from the hall told me Sunday that she thinks they are day lillies. That translates to - after a long, long time of looking at just green grassy looking plants, we get one day. . . ONE DAY. . . of a flower and it's done.  Hmmm, not too sure I like that idea.  Anyway, yesterday half the flower bed in front of the front window got de-lillied and new flowers planted.  Mostly anyway, we got interrupted by a lake visit.

Today involves a whole bunch of gardens.  We have to get over to Reuben's to till one more time and plant the remaining plants.  Some of which I had marked so carefully and managed somehow to not be home when they were planted here, are now unmarked so, Reuben will have a little bit of a surprise garden.

Then we head to Aunt Carols to plant a few more things over there and weed what is already there.  Everything is coming up great.  I think this weekend they will mostly be up enough to tell what is a plant and what is not so we can weed a little better and then I will take pics for you all.

In the meantime, you can enjoy my little friends that visited me yesterday and were enjoying a cool drink of water as I watered all the plants and flowers.

Oh, I almost forgot.  This week is new recipe week here at the crazy house.  Saturday after service a sister from the hall gave me some Rhubarb.  I have been wanting to try it and she has a ton of plants.  After service she made us Rhubarb/Apple juice with some Agave Nectar - yum.  So we brought home a bag full to test out before we get some plants from her.  I made Rhubarb/Strawberry crisp.  Oh so super yummy!

Before

After

Fun with the Kiddos - Week 11



Kiddos at Pretty Lake





Week 11 of 52

Location:  Pretty Lake, Mecosta, MI

Subject:  Kiddos

This week was hard to pick so you are getting two!  I know! Now try to contain your excitement.  This one was taken last Friday.  Little Miss Cutie Bug came to make cookies and while we were waiting for them to cool we headed down to throw rocks into the lake.  We managed to get her to hold still for a couple of seconds so we could get a group shot.  And no, Z. is NOT wearing tights.  He got new work boots so he could work "like a real man" with Dad and Grandpa and so he had to get long socks.  Well now he wants to wear those boots everywhere.  Silly kid!

And this one was taken the week before.  Z. and Little Miss Cutie Bug were getting a ride in the wagon.  They were having a blast!  Two of the 13 cutest kids on the planet!