Clothesline

I hung up a clothesline today. I decided to see if there was an estimate on how much money we could save this way and found this. Too funny!!

Reminds of a story one of my teachers once said:

For only $80, you can buy instructions off the Internet for a solar-powered clothes dryer. You will save hundreds of dollars each year on your electric bill. When the instructions arrive, this is what you get:

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
she's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo)
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek a boo)
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my roo
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo)

Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
but children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Joke with a moral

A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection with him. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping the guy off in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."


“People with a hot temper do foolish things; wiser people remain calm.” “If you stay calm, you are wise, but if you have a hot temper, you only show how stupid you are.” (17,29). The terms “stupid” and “fool” in Proverbs refer to sin and error, not mental ability. Proverbs 14

YUCCA

Yucca roots contain the compound saponin, which contains foaming
properties that are particularly beneficial on hair fiber. It is the saponin found
in the yucca plant that creates foamy suds when agitated in water. Saponins,
which help to bind toxins in the intestines and prevent their release, are also
produced naturally in the body by the adrenal glands. Saponin is a cleanser
- inside and out.
In a totally different application, yucca is widely used at sanitation plants. In
this situa-tion, the saponin accelerates the breakdown of organic waste. This
happens when saponin directly influences the development of microscopic
plants (bacteria) which are vital to the waste disposal process.
Because of the saponin’s ability to “clean” externally, and the fact that it can be con-sumed internally, people began to try yucca as an internal cleansing




I have started planting Yucca in my yard and am very excited to start using it as food, tea,shampoo and medicine!

Our fun and educational walk

This was a very fun afternoon. We are taking pictures and samples home to study. I even ended up taking plants home to transplant. YAY!
I have always wanted to know about plants. I am starting from scratch and learning with Isaiah! I was very excited to find out that we have bunches of Yucca growing across the street!


?? ANYBODY HAVE A NAME FOR THESE?












WHEN THE ROAD GETS ROUGH EMMA CARRIES THE STROLLER




Black-eyed Susan




Emma doesn't want the walk to end!


I still haven't found out what this is. Anybody know?


YUCCA



PURPLE POPPY-MALLOW


Prairie spiderwort

MORE BACK YARD SCIENCE

Here are a few more of the fascinating critters that we've seen in our yard lately.


AMERICAN TOAD


WESTERN MEADOWLARK


CARDINAL


MOURNING DOVE


NORTHERN SHRIKE

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF WONDERFUL SITES THAT WE FOUND. YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF THE BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS. FUN!
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recnum=AR0006

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Western_Meadowlark.html

My handsome sweety

My pretty girl playing with playdough

Cooking out and bird watching

Teymoor got me a charcoal grill for a late anniversary gift. He has been treating us to something grilled for three days in a row! YUM!
Rocky seems to agree. LOL
Isaiah is enjoying the birds and Emma just seemed happy to hang out on her chair.

Our wimpy dog

Rocky is ferocious with trespassing strangers but thunder sends him running to us in a panic! He had to cuddle during last nights storm.

New pet of the week

This is the toad Isaiah found today. He named him Todd.
Last week we had a box turtle but he escaped befor I got a picture.

What God does the Cherokee worship?

The American Cherokee Indians worship the Supreme Being, Ye ho waah or Yo ho wah, which is very similar to the Hebrew name of God (Yahweh or Yahoveh).



The Cherokee Indians believe in one Supreme Being--the Creator-- and have surprising connections to Christianity.

Ancient Cherokee Indians believed before 1750 that God was going to appear on Earth as a man and they called this person by five different Old Testament (Hebrew) names for Jesus.

The Cherokees have three actual cities of refuge, they have the stories of the great flood, and many other Old Testament stories.

They also adhere to the prohibitions found within the Ten Commandments.

Cherokees keep one day without work for prayer.

http://www.cherokeediscovery.com/religion.html

The name for Cherokee People is “A ni yun wi yah”, which in English means “The Principle People” or akin to “The People of God.” The devotion of the Cherokee people was to the Supreme Holy Spirit who could not be looked upon and whose energy was the fire of all creation and the fire of all life and who resided in the heavens and on earth through purified people. They were rigidly non idolaters and neither would they observe any religious images among them or keep idolatrous religious ceremonies. Instead the Cherokee people adored the one Great Spirit, God, who they described as “the only Giver and Taker of life.” They were devoted to a higher principled way of living according to their ancient religious beliefs of the one benevolent God.

The Cherokees believed this sole Author of creation was with them and they with God by His blessing of mankind with animals and all plant and vegetable life. Their religious worship very closely paralleled the Mosiac institution in the Old Testament of the Bible. They were not pagans and were warned each year by their priests, just as the Old Testament warned about “...giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1,2).

When we look as far back as the 1600s, there still existed one minority sect of the Cherokee people who declared there existed three entities above, who were always joined together in action and spirit, and were of the same mind. It was said that these three entities were always one in sentiment, in thought and action. They created all things and governed all things. The three entities sat on white seats above and all prayers were to be directed toward them. They had helpers and messengers known as angels who came to earth to help attend to the affairs of men. The Cherokees believed that in the beginning this trinity of entities created all creatures and creation to be harmless, as in Eden

THE COMMANDS OF YE HO WAAH

The Cherokee people were obedient to Ye ho waah (Jehovah God) and assembled for worship at the structures they were commanded to erect. They met early in the morning. When the people were all seated and silent, the priest known as U ku wi a hi (Uku), would commence his speech. The Uku would command the Cherokees to obey Ye ho waah in every respect, telling people they must do all that He directed them to do and to never disobey Him secretly because they were never alone because Ye ho waah was with them. They were never to indulge in idle or vain conversation, or call anyone wicked names. They were to abstain from all lewdness and polygamy. Children were to be hardworking and obedient to their parents


This and many more fascinating facts about the history of the Cherokee people can be found at this link. http://www.cherokeediscovery.com/religion.html

Guns,boys and... oh boy!

Red Winged Black Bird ( I had one as a pet once, they are SO smart!)


Robin

Swollow

“Discipline is not just a matter of punishment for wrongdoing, but of teaching our youth not to do wrong in the first place.” – Gordon B. Hinckley


Boys love guns! The noise, the power, the challenge! Teymoor and Isaiah have hours and hours of fun shooting their BB and pellet guns together.
With so much shooting going on,of course the subject of killing quickly became a common one. We had to make some clear rules and lay down the laws. We do not shoot or kill anything that we aren't going to eat, unless it was a danger to us! As tempting as all the flying and jumping targets may be, they are absolutely off limits!
We thought everything was fine until Isaiah came in one day,looking guilty,and confessed to shooting a squirrel. Writing this it sounds so funny. I mean a boy, with a gun...... duh. Well, as annoyed as I was about the squirrel ( I have a buddy hopping around out there without his tail and I like watching him) the #1 issue was HE DISOBEYED. So, the first thing that had to happen was punishment. The gun went out to the shed. :( Then my poor boy was so mortified at how much he had shocked and disappointed me that he cried for most of an hour and vowed to never shoot a gun again. ( Obviously a promise of passion, with no true future.) Tears, talking, hugging.... telling daddy... O.K. done.
Now what? Dad and Mom had to talk ,alone, and decide on a better plan.
We obviously believe in hunting for our food. Father and son talk about it often and are looking foreword to it!
I thought about Steve Erwin, he may get nutty with his croc-kissing and snake loving, but I love his passion and how his kids love animals. They would never even THINK of hurting one!
I though about my Cherokee ancestors. I was not raised to know about them but I have learned a lot more,as an adult, and agree with and respect their beliefs on the subject of animals and nature.
So.. We decided that just putting down the rules isn't a real answer. Information is power. For the last week, we have been learning about these animals. The more you know about and respect something, the more you want to protect it.
Isaiah spent hours watching birds with binoculars yesterday. He kept running in and calling "mom, come quick! You gotta see this!"
He has also decided that he wants to build a squirrel house and maybe catch one for a pet ( yeah,right...I'll let him keep dreaming).
By the way, I know many people who eat squirrels. We don't. The idea of eating ANY kind of RODENT makes me nauseated!!(Literally...while I'm typing!)Isaiah knew we don't... gulp...eat them, so no excuses there!
So now, he is back to enjoying his gun, plans to hunt someday, AND loving and learning about the local wildlife. In fact, when daddy tossed out a comment about going to shoot a bird Isaiah got quite upset about his new pals getting hurt.
This is how I want it. The way of the Indian. The way of history.
It must have been so very hard for Adam to spent the beginning of his life with the animals as companions and then have to kill them. It was a SACRIFICE.
I want my kids to be thinkers. I want them to have empathy and compassion mixed right in with their skill and courage.
This has turned out to be great for our homeschooling!
Above are some of the beautiful critters that we are enjoying learning about.

A Cherokee Legend

A Cherokee Legend
Back when the world was young, the humans and the animal people could speak to each other.

At first they lived in peace. The humans hunted the animals only when they needed food or skins to make clothing. Then the humans discovered the bow and arrow. With this weapon they could kill many animals quickly and with great ease. They began to kill animals when they did not need them for food or clothing. It seemed as if all the animals in the world would soon be exterminated. So the various animals met in council.

When the bears came together and talked about what the humans were doing, they decided they would have to fight back. "How can we do that?" said one of the bear warriors. "The humans will shoot us with their arrows before we come close to them."

Old Bear, their chief, agreed. "That is true. We must learn how to use the same weapons they use."

Then the bears made a very strong bow and fashioned arrows for it. But whenever they tried to use the bow, their long claws got in the way.

"I will cut off my claws," said one of the bear warriors. He did so and then he was able to use the bow and arrow. His aim was good and he hit the mark every time.

"That is good," said Old Bear. "Now can you climb this tree?" The bear without claws tried to climb the tree, but he failed. Old Bear shook his head.

"This will not do. Without our claws we cannot climb trees. Without our claws we will not be able to hunt or dig for food. We must give up this idea of using the same weapons the humans use."

So the bears gave up their idea of fighting back against the humans with weapons.

One by one each of the animal groups met. One by one they came to no conclusion. It seemed there was no way to fight back. But the last group to meet was the deer.

Awi Usdi, Little Deer, was their leader. When all were gathered together, he spoke.

"I see what we must do," he said. "'We cannot stop the humans from hunting animals. That is the way it was meant to be. However, the humans are not doing things in the right way. If they do not respect us and hunt us only when there is real need, they may kill us all.

I shall go now and tell the hunters what they must do. Whenever they wish to kill a deer, they must prepare in a ceremonial way. They must ask me for permission to kill one of us. Then, after they kill a deer, they must show respect to its spirit and ask for pardon. If the hunters do not do this, then I shall track them down. With my magic I will make their limbs crippled. Then they will no longer be able to walk or shoot a bow and arrow."

Then Awi Usdi, Little Deer, did as he said. He went at night and whispered into the ears of the hunters, telling them what they must do.

The next morning, when they awoke, some of the hunters thought they had been dreaming and they were not sure that the dream was a true one.

Others, though, realized that Little Deer, Awi Usdi, had truely spoken to them. They tried to do as he told them. They hunted for the deer and other animals only when they needed food or clothing. They remembered to prepare in a ceremonial way, to ask permission before killing an animal and to ask pardon when an animal was killed.

Some of the hunters, though, paid no attention. They continued to kill animals for no reason. But Awi Usdi, Little Deer, came to them and, using his magic, crippled them with rheumatism. Before long, all of the hunters began to treat the animals with respect and to follow Little Deer's teachings.

So it is that the animals have survived to this day. Because of Awi Usdi, Little Deer, the Indian people show respect. To this day, even though the animals and people no longer can speak to each other as in the old days, the people still show respect and give thanks to the animals they must hunt.

Today

Today Teymoor took both of our kiddos to visit a new church. I think that this is a good way for us to church hunt. I have strong opinions and memories of churches and types of churches. He has only gone to a couple. This way, the man of the house can decide what he thinks without any input from me( including non-verbal input). If he feel at home there we will all go next time. I feel very good about my mans leading us in this endeavor!