Wednesday, October 29, 2014

This Hodgepodge is for the Birds

Backyard, December 3, 2013
It's coming, fellow Wisconsinites. You know it.

In looking through photo files for 'bird,' I came upon this one taken last winter (technically, last fall), taken of our backyard. It makes my blood run cold. And to think that December 3 is only a bit over a month away!

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1. My hubs spent last weekend pheasant hunting. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted-pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste?

There are a couple hunters in our family, for which I apologize annually to the deer in the area. Our woods is off limits. In spite of the fact that they hunt year after year, I will not let them hunt in our woods. It's a nice refuge for our deer and I don't want to betray them (the deer).

I've eaten pheasant, rabbit, venison, and duck. The pheasant was good. The others I would happily give my share to someone else. I would have to be assured that the venison was smothered in something delicious in order to kill the gamey taste. Yech.


My favorite hunter
He mostly hunts for candy.

Vegetarians keep calm and Hodgepodge on.

2. What high spot have you visited that gave you a wonderful 'bird's eye view' of something below?

 View from The London Eye

Along with the London Eye, there are a few others:
From the top of York Minster
Tower on Confederate Drive in Gettysburg
Tower (now gone) on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg
Our silo (50 feet - short by today's standards) that I climbed, only once, when I was a kid
From the top of the Ferris wheel at the fair 


 From York Minster

3.  Do you have any birds in your home? These could be either real live pets or decorative, as in bird prints, knickknacks, fabric or pottery.

 Almost in the house; just on the other side of the glass
Can you see the sunflower seed in his beak?

 Darling little ceramic S&P
Given to me by Judy of 20 North Ora
It was such a sweet delight to receive these cute birds in the mail!

 Love this little bird from my mom


4. Tell about a time you 'killed two birds with one stone'?

Canning green beans or carrots or tomatoes while doing crossword puzzles.
Going for a walk while getting photos for my blog.
Working in the garden while listening to a Rick Steves travel podcast.
Riding my recumbent exercise bike while watching YouTube videos - my favorites right now are N.T. Wright and Rick Steves.
Reading my Kindle while trying to go to sleep. :-)

I never claimed they were brilliant.

5. Your favorite song with a bird in it's title?

His Eye is on the Sparrow, sung by Ethel Waters.  I heard that song a lot when I was young. I think it was in the context of the Billy Graham Crusades on TV. 


From IMDB.com:

"The child of a teenage rape victim, Ethel Waters grew up in the slums of Philadelphia and neighboring cities, seldom living anywhere for more than a few weeks at a time. "No one raised me, " she recollected, "I just ran wild." She excelled not only at looking after herself, but also at singing and dancing; she began performing at church functions, and as a teenager was locally renowned for her "hip shimmy shake". In 1917 she made her debut on the black vaudeville circuit; billed as "Sweet Mama Stringbean" for her tall, lithe build, she broke through with her rendition of "St. Louis Blues", which Waters performed in a softer and subtler style than her rivals, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith..."  Read the rest of David Smith's mini bio of Ethel Waters HERE.

The joy that lit up her face because of what Jesus had done in her life was evident every time Ethel Waters sang 'His Eye is on the Sparrow.'

6. What most recently gave you goose bumps?

 I know he doesn't look very scary here, but...

I'm not really a goose bumps kind of person. I'm either not scared at all or scared to death. It's usually Mr. Cranberry that scares me by walking into the room I'm in when I don't know he's there. I suddenly see him and scream. I don't know why, exactly. It's not like he chases me with a chainsaw or anything. When I accuse him of scaring me, he always laughs and says, 'I didn't try to scare you. If I had TRIED to scare you...' and then he continues laughing while I try to get my heart rate to calm down. Sigh.

7. Halloween is this Friday...any plans? Did you trick or treat as a child? Carve pumpkins? Share your most memorable costume.

Well, we've got all this hazmat stuff around here, including Tyvek suits, helmets, booties, gloves, and respirators, so I thought I could go as...Oh nevermind.


It seems that when I was a child, back when the earth was young, it was warmer on Halloween night than it usually is now. I don't remember buying costumes, but making costumes out of whatever we had around the house - old clothes, maybe some makeup, etc. We walked the country neighborhood in the dark, going to the nearest neighbors within a mile or so. I don't remember having a flashlight. Usually the neighbors gave us homemade cookies, a homemade popcorn ball, or homemade candy, or if we were really lucky, a candy bar.  This was back in the day when making something 'from scratch' actually meant acquiring the ingredients and mixing them in a bowl. Today a tube of cookie dough or crescent rolls broken open and put on a cookie sheet is often considered 'from scratch.' Just sayin'.

Some of you have seen this before, but this is my favorite costume I made for one of our kids - back when. We had a Reformation Day party and Joe dressed up as...


Martin Luther

At school, the kids all walked to the nearby nursing home in their Halloween costumes. The other kids were Ninja turtles, Superman, and the like. I actually think the old Norwegian and German residents at the home would have recognized Martin Luther long before they would have recognized a Ninja turtle.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.



My random thought is that I hate daylight savings time, whether it's coming or going. Messes me up for about 2 weeks. It's just like jet lag without the fun of a vacation.  The only good thing about it is that it reminds me to put new batteries in the smoke alarms twice a year.

So what about you? Any thoughts on daylight saving time? Love it? Hate it? 

 
***


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39 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

Being retired, and wanting to do something 'against' our government, Bud and I decided we don't need to set and reset our clocks all the time...so we remain on 'regular' time year 'round. I hate it. Besides, it messes with my heart meds as I try to take 'em the same time each day as the Rx tells me....it just makes more sense for us. And statistics show that we use MORE energy during daylight savings time instead of conserving energy. The sun doesn't change, so why should we? I could go on and on...

Oh and Bud does the same to me sometimes....scaring me outta my pants [not literally of course ;-)]

Love the pumpkin image. And the costume you're using...rofl.

Arlene G said...

I love His Eye is on the Sparrow as well! And I agree with you about Halloween. It was much lower key then than now!

MadSnapper said...

love the pumpkin photo at the end, so beautiful.. and what a creative costume. he looks adorable. i only get goosebumps when a song touches me soul and that has been a long time ago.
no hunter here, but hubs did back before we got married.. i would love to see the Gettsburg from the two towers.. not a single bird in the house.. and only a few in the yard due to the Hawk that eats them.

Joyce said...

I remember it being chilly on Halloween when I was a child. Having to wear a coat over my costume was always disappointing. We may have snow flurries Friday night-ugh! I love His Eye is On the Sparrow. Sandi Patti has a pretty version too.

Debbie said...

Oh I dislike it for sure. Takes too long to get used to every time, and for days you find yourself saying, "It's really only 3 or 4 or whatever" lol. Plus I REALLY dislike it being soo dark soo early. Halloween is just like everything else anymore. We ALWAYS just made our costumes out of whatever we had. Even when MY kids were growing up I seldom spent actual money on costumes. Kids today have such elaborate costumes it seems they are way too expensive. Just sayin...

retired not tired said...

Not a big fan of Daylight Savings Time either although it is better now that I am retired. I hated driving to work the first few weeks after the change.

Lynne said...

I am not a fan of DST . . . "Sets " me off in the wrong direction in the spring and in the fall. I think we need to "do away with it!

I do that screaming thing too when I am "in my own little world" and someone else decides to walk in. I scream like crazy!

Barbara said...

You made me smile, chuckle and outright LAUGH with your responses to these questions. I can truly relate to screaming when the hubby walks into the room! Why are we like that?!! Bless you for sheltering the deer on your property. I know hunting is necessary to balance out everything but still ...

Anonymous said...

My thoughts are the same as yours concerning Daylight Savings Time. Ugh!

His Eye Is On the Sparrow brings back some old memories :)

Susie said...

Love your pictures. My bird's eye view was Empire State building, St. Louis arch, and Golden Gate bridge. Oh I almost forgot the Sears Tower in Chicago..I think it's Willis now. I love those kinds of views. xoxo,Susie

Linda Kay said...

Judy, enjoyed your post with all the commentary and pictures. Ethel Waters was a great singer, for sure. Our clocks fall back this coming Saturday night, so it will throw me off for a bit, but not as bad as when we spring forward.

TexWisGirl said...

love your scary mr. cranberry. the snow is scarier, though. :)

September Violets said...

A nice read this morning of your hodgepodge. I used to love Halloween and made my own costumes too (witch, Green Sprout, voodoo warrier with huge paper mache mask, goat herder with live goat, bee keeper in Dad's suit). We walked the country roads too, down to our little village and back. Everyone waited till it got dark before going out, and parents didn't go with us, and no flashlight either. It took us hours! But the candy was better. I think the neighbours understood what effort we all went to that night and gave out full-sized chocolate bars and homemade candy apples. It was such fun to make the costumes, and I did the same when my kids were little. Now I'll have to wait till I'm a grandmother to get back into it. We lock up the house and go out for dinner now since we don't get more then 5 kids on our street. Wendy x

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

1. Love the little bird your mom gave you.

2. The tower at Cemetery Ridge is GONE???

3. Ray scares me same way. When I scream he asks: Who else would it be? Oh, I don't know...An axe murderer??

4. Two high up/looking down. Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater. That was even cooler than GC.

5. You must go stand in the corner now for 5 minutes for posting a photo with snow! Saw the photo before reading the words and thought it had snowed overnight at your place. Five minutes. Start now. LOL!

:) m & jb

Elizabeth "Libby" Day said...

I can't believe I didn't think about "His Eye is on the Sparrow!" I have sung that song since I was a child and have sung it as solos many times. Thank you for sharing the video. That gave me goosebumps.

VandyJ said...

Hate, hate, hate daylight savings time. Wish they would pick one time and leave it there.

Heide at ApronHistory said...

Yes, I wish we could stop moving our clocks around. My body can tell on it's own that it is time to hibernate! And now since they have moved the dates, it messes me up even more. Since I am a very scheduled eater, it also messes my meals up for weeks, I never know if I am suppose to be hungry or not!

Maybe we should start a campaign to get Wisconsin off of Daylight Savings. Doesn't Indiana refuse to mess with it?

Deborah Montgomery said...

I love your little Martin Luther nailing up his 95 theses!
I'm always so confused when we change times; it always makes me feel stupid and disoriented. And I can hardly go up on a ferris wheel; I am scared of heights. My husband scares me all the time!
And as long as I can stay home I don't mind snow. But I'm not in a hurry for it either.
Fun hodgepodge.
(I'm over visiting partly b/c of Diane's nice review of your soaps. Going to go look now!)

Primitive Stars said...

Morning, sweet little birdie your mom gave...so happy you don't let the hunters hunt the deer, good for you.... Beautiful pumpkin picture, oh yes, daylight savings time and winter, oh well.Blessings Francine.

Terri D said...

Well, we both thought of Eye on the Sparrow. Your version is much prettier than mine. Ethel Waters has an amazing story and a wonderful voice.

I hate the time changes too. It doesn't matter which way we go, it messes me up for at least a week if not more. Sigh.

That's an adorable Martin Luther!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love reading all of your answers and finding out so much about you. It's one of the most fun posts to read...makes me wonder why I never join in. I HATE daylight savings time. Why can't they just leave it alone? If it gets light earlier...get up earlier. The shorter days are bad enough...why fall forward and backward all the time! haha! I mentioned you on my blog today! Sweet hugs, Diane

Carla from The River said...

Hi Judy,
Love the photos today and reading your answers.
I HATE daylight savings time. Our entire family HATES daylight savings time...do not get us started. ;-)
Jeremy says he is going to write someone and ask to put an end to it, but he never does.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I love the shadows on this pumpkin! Your birds are so pretty. We have a few here and there because we are bird watchers. I am a huge scardy cat. In fact, one time Phil's battery charger went off, and it sent my heart out of rhythm, requiring a visit to the cardiologist. I love this song and had no idea about the life of Ethel waters! I remember it used to be the thee song for the cop show Baretta. I hate it getting dark early. HATE! I want light and flowers!

Jeanne said...

Well, Iv'e had venison, duck and rabbit. Mom used to make hasenpfeffer with rabbits she got at the butcher.
Enjoyed your post. Very nice.

L. D. said...

What a great read! I enjoyed your different takes on many things.

Tori Leslie said...

What a fun bunch of stuff! Your photos are great. I love the first snowy one.
We changed time last week and many people we're early for church on Sunday. I guess early is better than late.

Marla said...

You had a Martin Luther costume for your child! I love it! You must be a fellow Lutheran. I am a born & raised one… it's in the blood. Happy Reformation Day to you and yours!

Susan said...

I loved your "Hodgepodge!" Lots of fun subjects (old-style Halloween -yes!) and one not so fun subject (daylight savings -hate it!). I am definitely enjoying these days before our snow starts to pile up. I hope that you are enjoying yours~

Nonnie said...

Your pic of your backyard from last year was beautiful. So cheerful seeing that red birdhouse in the middle of all the white.
Your little hunter is very cute. So is Martin Luther!
Our costumes as a kid were like yours. I don't think we ever had a "store bought" costume. And my favorites were the popcorn balls.
Beautiful pumpkin pic at the end.
I. Don't. Like. Daylight Savings Time. It really messes with me and I am always tired for about a week.

Anonymous said...

His Eye Is On The Sparrow is a beautiful hymn. You have some lovely bird figures. I dislike the time change too. The pets (all 7) drive us crazy for a week or two about eating!!!

podso said...

Several things to comment on here, one being the being startled by your husband. I am the same way. He's just quiet so I don't hear him and just shriek. Then we laugh. "Don you know I live here too?" Or some comment like that. Halloween, yes we threw something together. Our dad's old shirt, an old hat, our bluejeans, and a pillowcase for the loot. But we lived in the suburbs so got candy bars and such, which we would spread out on the living room floor to organize it and then filed it in a shoebox. We were only allowed one piece each day and eventually I'm sure my mom threw the stale candy away. As for Ethel Waters, thanks for the memory, That's exactly like I remember her singing that song. I think she was Beulah on TV before my time, but not on the radio show of that name.

Empty Nester said...

It used to be standard time that messed me up, now it seems that daylight savings time does. Maybe I'm just getting old. I know all about cooking from scratch. Luckily, I watch my grandmothers' cook all the time and learned from an early age that nothing good comes from a box. I realize what a true blessing my time spent in their kitchens was. No high spots for this scaredy cat. I tend to hunt for candy as well. Did you ever watch Reba? I loved that episode when BJ and Brock come over to Reba's on Halloween and when asked where Henry, their son is, BJ says, "Oh, he's at the church. They went dressed as their favorite bible character. Henry went as Charlton Heston." I nearly wet myself every time I think of that!

Pamela Gordon said...

Great sharing today Judy. As for Daylight Saving Time, I don't like the shorter daylight hours at all but I seem to settle in better in the fall change more than the springtime one. Sometimes I wonder if I'm an opposite seasonal affective disorder person. :) Did you get home made candy apples as a kid? My friends mum made them. Candy kisses in wrappers were probably the worst candy and the most popular to get. I never liked them.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Thinking about snow and winter is scary to me! Nice Hodgepodge!

20 North Ora said...

Hi Judy - Love His Eye is on the Sparrow also. Beautiful song. Thanks for mentioning 20 North Ora. Glad you enjoy the birds.

Judy

Lorrie said...

Fun hodgepodge, Judy. I wish the time would not change but stay the same year round. The older I get the longer it takes to adjust.
We had a little pre-Halloween at our house tonight. Such fun to see the little ones in the costumes made by their mothers.
My neighbour across the back fence succeeds in scaring me several times a year. I'll be working hard in the garden and he comes to dump his compost and scares me to death. He's begun giving me warning!

Michelle said...

Hi, Judy!

Perfect song! I didn't think of that one.
It's been such a long time since I've heard it.
Our church plays more contemporary music.
I do miss those traditional songs.
Thank you for the bio on Ethel Waters.
I never knew that about her.

What a beautiful picture of the snow and the birdfeeder.

I used to enjoy riding on ferris wheels. Now just thinking about them gives me the heeby-jeeby. I've heard of people falling out of them. I haven't personally seen it, but heard more times than I care to know about.

Not to be a downer, but I also dislike daylight saving time coming or going. I wish we could set it and leave it alone.

Have a great day!
I am headed to play UNO with a group of ladies.

Denise said...

I liked your hodgepodge.

J_on_tour said...

Love how your post progresses.
1) me ... new places, photo hunter LoL and hunt in the fridge in the evening whilst commenting on blogs :-)
2) Only high place this year was Hallsfell ridge, Blencathra Mountain.
Eiffel Tower, Paris and Table Mountain Cape Town are pretty spectacular.
3) Wooden carved Owl and Balsa wood pained parrot both in the lounge.
4)Went for a bike ride whilst collecting photos, learning about local history I didn't know about... took twice as long ... nice day though
5) Got somewhere the song His eye is on the sparrow by Ron Kenoly and also Brentwood Jazz quartet. Difficult finding something with birds in and a bit suspicious about the imagery of it shown on album covers of musical artists. Found a few mainly instrumental tracks by Iona - Bird of Heaven, Flight of the wild Goose. Imperials - Wild Geese. Led here by an Eagle - Rippingtons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6PrzeTo2TQ ) and loosely connected Columcille meaning Dove of the Church.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6QeAupIub4
6) Seeing the band mentioned in the previous question play live.
7) Was at work so missed it all. Had a turnip as a child that my Dad cut out.

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