Deer Harvest 2012

Two deer gave their lives for us this past week and we will honor their lives by using as much as possible of them to nourish us and give their hides to Lions International.  I married into a hunting family.  When I was growing up in Chicago and Milwaukee, I didn't know what venison was and I never ate any wild game.  Bing's mother and father's families were hunters and fishermen and rabbits, pheasant and venison were common foodstuffs with them.  Bing introduced hunting to our three sons and schooled them in the ways of the hunt.  Each of them participated from about the age of twelve or thirteen.  Back then, with the busyness of raising the three sons and working part time, I really didn't pay too much attention to the maturation process that obviously occurred with the awesome responsibilities involving life and death, the handling of weapons and the learning the rules and regulations and customs of the hunting shack men.  Now that life is so much less hectic and there is time to observe, it is incredible to watch as our grandson, Jamie, has joined the hunting traditions.  Jamie is 14 now and he and his dad, Bernie, and Bing, went out opening day, together but each in their own territory and on their own, silently scouting and hoping for a sighting.  Jamie was the one to whom a deer destined upon him.  All these years of living up here in deer territory, around hunting season, any socialization brings myriad stories about the monster deer slain or the mighty ones that got away, but to hear Jamie's personal story of his exploit, was so much more interesting and charming.  He proudly told of the magnificent eight point buck in his sights and how, even though trembling, he managed to pull himself together, aim and shoot and down the animal humanely and without wasting too much meat.  He called his dad on the cell phone and Bernie showed how to gut the animal.  Jamie then dragged the beast to the road by himself to wait to go register it.  That afternoon, Bing and Bernie and Jamie skinned, quartered and boned it and my part of the work is to trim it and package it.  Back to DePere went Jamie and Bernie but back up here for the second weekend of the hunt this past weekend.  This time Jamie's 17 year old sister, kayla, came along so we could celebrate Thanksgiving and her birthday.  The hunting trio went out again Saturday. No luck.  Then Sunday morn they tried again and Bing got a nice big doe.  They skinned, quartered and boned again and our venison supply is plentiful.  So many lessons learned - cooperation, confidence in oneself, biology, butchering, nature's bounty.  Thanks deer.

Grandkids are Greatkids!

How can you describe a love so deep and so pure and so joyous that just thinking about the objects of that love makes you smile with warm delight?  Words cannot adequately convey the love of this grandma toward each and every one of our six grandchildren.  They blow me away with their distinct little personalities, their talents and their ability to love unconditionally.  Our 6 range from almost seventeen to two years old and we have our seventh on the way.  Today we enjoyed a visit from the 14 year old, Jamie, and he has now successfully passed me in height.  He and his dad, Bernie, did some partridge hunting and he practiced throwing the discus for next Spring's track season.  His happy smile is evident in the half face included in the attached pictures.  Later today, when Bing and Bernie were fishing and Jamie was on the way to a Halloween corn maze with old friends, I went to get the mail.  Wow, what a thrill.  There was a letter to Grandpa and Grandma from the two little granddaughters that moved with their mom and dad and little brother from here in Rhinelander to Medford, Or.  They each wrote such loving words about missing us and our special days, about how they love their new neighborhood and how they're already looking forward to our visit next year.  Oh my, my weepy little eyes gushed forth with happy tears!  They're in the accompanying picture with their dad and brother.  The girl on the right in the picture of the three girls, is Kayla, seventeen in another month.  She led the way for the younger ones and has been a fine role model.  And then, the other picture is of the little two year old and his dad, Dan.  We know Ben vicariously through the little vignettes and pictures sent by e-mail and i phones.  We've also had two precious in person visits and will get out to Washington state next year  to get to know him better and to welcome and meet his little brother,  name so far, unknown.  The other picture is our grandcat, Bungee..................Thanks so much, God, for setting up such a complicated, complex, confusing but oh so wondrous system by which we are born into, live with, and get to love our family members.  May your light continue to shine on all of us.

Juxtaposition

Here's another lovely word, juxtaposition.  It means placing things side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.  As I meandered I noticed that Mother Nature has placed Summer and Fall in juxtaposition.  I snapped some pictures to demonstrate.  It's a beautiful time of year but the cool nights have arrived and riotous colors of Autumn are springing forth.

Crescendo

Crescendo is a good word.  It means a gradual increase in volume or intensity.  In music, a crescendo moves from a gentle sound that builds and builds until crushing sound envelopes you.  In our little part of the world, a crescendo of sadness is building and building and will soon culminate as our third son, Tony, his wife, Carmen,  and their three wonderful children, 13, 9 and 7, move away to follow a dream out in the state of Oregon.  We wish them well and hope and pray that it will be a great move and they will build a beautiful life out there.  We know we've been unusually blessed to have had their lives so entwined with ours these past few years.  But still the sadness looms.  The children have been our playmates and gateway back to the innocence of childhood.  We've watched them blossom and learn and establish personalities, likes and dislikes, and show glimpses of special talents. We know them all well now and can be confident that our connection is forever but we also know that our relationship will be changing.  Hopefully, we'll be able to travel the 2000 miles annually, especially since our second son, Dan, his wife, Cori and son, Ben, are out there too, in Vancouver, Wa.  We'll try to utilize all the hi tech communication devices that we can master but in our heart of hearts know that it won't be the same.  But that is life, ever changing and not always exactly as you'd like.  So, we're savoring  every one of these last days we have, swimming and laughing and singing.

We'll let them go and wish them well, let the cescendo of sadness envelope us and then exit the other side, delighting in the every day pleasures of our life, looking forward to the visits of our 1st son and his children who only live 130 miles away, and start to plan next year's trip out west................The pictures I've included are showing how our apple trees are faring this year.  Bing had to put seven foot fences around some of them because last year we saw deer standing on their hind legs to reach the low hanging apples.  We've heard that apples are scarce this year and two different ladies from town are asking to buy our apples.  And then a picture of a cucumber inserted itself.  Enjoy!

Summer Scenes

Summer whips by and sometimes I wonder where it goes.  It's a marvelous season for so many reasons.  I walked my path this morning and captured these summer moments:  Bing in the garden, not a Master Gardener by education, but definitely a MASTER gardener.  Then I said good morning to Mother Mary, silently keeping company with our family members who have left us.  I strolled past the wagon of wood that Bing brought home from the neighbor's woods.  He cuts up their fallen trees and splits and dries it for the winter fires.  Then came a close up look at the almost ripe raspberries.  Yum yum!

Another Perk of Aging

Aging is pretty well disdained in our culture.  Grey hair and wrinkles are hidden from sight as long as possible.  Money buys new body parts, new teeth, new knees and new hips.  But aging is fun too as far as I'm concerned.  One thing that I didn't expect was the feeling of understanding so much more.  One area where this wisdom shines through is the deeper, wider appreciation of children.  I see and appreciate children so much more than I did when I was younger.  Oh, I loved our children dearly and would have died for any of them if necessary but I never had the perspective that comes from moving through the stages of life.  Part of it, I'm sure, is the fact that in retirement there is so much more time to sit back and observe and think instead of rushing about trying to keep the family fed and clothed and all the juggled balls in the air.  I now have seen our children and the children of family and friends grow from darling infants into capable adults.  I've seen those babies bring forth babies of their own.  I've seen how each little child is so much an individual - each a very unique soul and full of so much potential.  I understand the cycle of life so much more after moving through most of the stages.  Now when I'm privileged to go help out at our son and daughter-in-law's day care, I marvel at the thought that each of the little beings in attendance will someday be the parents and then the grandparents and, God willing, the great grandparents.  Each of these little personalities will grow and learn and hopefully make the world a better place for having been here.  Their journey is just beginning and each journey will be unique.  If only our world would unite in the task of insuring that every child would have a kind and joy filled journey................The pictures are of the beautiful clematis on our wall and some beautiful children.  Look at their faces and try to imagine what they will be as adults.

Tears are Meant to Wash the Pain Away

It's been quite a while since I last placed my thoughts here in cyberspace.  No, I didn't die.  I've just been living a life filled with activity and I lack the self discipline to sit myself down and gather my thoughts and share them with my fellow journeyers.  It's quite awesome to know that anyone out there in the world can read this and some do.  Some from other countries and states and even our own state, have commented on various entries and I love it when they do..  It reinforces my strong belief that we people of the earth are fellow travelers and much more alike than different.  I mentioned dying earlier because death has been a steady visitor over the past year.  First we lost Ann, the 93 year old mother-in-law of my brother.  Ann was love-personified.  She laughed and smiled through pain filled days and helped wherever she could.  Janice was next. She was only 62 and had lived since age 18 with only one lung.  She was the wife of one of Bing's best friends and we raised our kids together.  Alice was next, my oldest brother's wife, she was 69.  Her five children and a deep deep respect for life were her legacies.  Then, on March 29th,  Milli died.  Milli was Bing's mom and she made it to age 99.  She was a strong feisty woman and a lover of God right through to her peaceful death.  Reminders of each of these people pop in and out of mind in the days after their demise and there is a blank space where there used to be vibrancy.  I often think, why couldn't I have been wiser sooner?  Why didn't I take the time to be more loving or to acknowledge the importance of all those who have gone before me?  Why do I make so many good intentions and not follow through?  But, luckily I remember the biblical saying that says there is a season for everything under heaven.  I believe there will be a season for doing everything right!  Won't that be nice!..............  The pictures are from a Spring visit from a mama bear and her two cubs.  They spend their afternoons in the corn field near our mail box.