barn chores & the state of my shoes

If you've never tried shoving a cow...well...it's kind of like shoving a wall. It doesn't move willingly.
Last weekend, I stayed with friends in rural NY. They have a cow barn, and I wanted to try doing some chores.
"What time do you start barn chores?" I asked Bobby on Friday night.
"We roll out of bed at 5, coffee's at 5:05, and chores start about 5:10. I'll wake you up!"
His older sister Kate, protested, "Don't listen to him! You don't have to feel obligated to help!" But I had made up my mind.
At 5:30 the next morning, I pulled on a barn outfit: a bandanna, jeans, and a long sleeved shirt under a cotton jumper. Someone found a pair of rubber boots for me, and I tromped off to the barn. It was still dark outside, and the stars were sparkling for miles...but the air was too chilly for me to spend much time in awe. I spent over an hour in the cozy barn, doing the 'small chores'--feeding the calves, refilling the grain tubs, giving the cows their grain, cleaning & disassembling the milking equipment, and letting the cows out.
The last job involved convincing the cows to leave the barn for the day. Kate and I hollered, smacked, and shoved the cows out the door. Allegedly, the cows don't feel a thing when you hit them, so don't worry about cruelty to animals. Finally, they were all out, and we went in to shower & change for breakfast.

On a mostly unrelated note,

I've often mentally bemoaned the sate of my shoes, wondering why mine never look as clean & tidy as everyone else's.
Today I realized the answer. I was walking back to my dormitory after having grabbed my camera to chase a gaggle of turkeys through the woods. Afterwords, my shoes were muddy around the toes, scratched at the heel, and soggy inside from landing in a puddle.
My problem is that I am impulsive! I don't take the time to change my shoes before riding my bicycle, jumping in leaf piles, building a reed hut in the swamp, racing someone, or chasing turkeys through the woods. Ergo, I am constantly repairing and cleaning them. Just think of the seconds of adventure I could waste by changing my shoes!
So, I have decided: I can either wear nice shoes and just not care about messing them up, or I can wear sneakers 24-7, which I choose not to do for silly aesthetic reasons. For now, I'd rather be ready for adventure no matter what I'm wearing. (Except barn chores)

October 2010

I've been inspired by all the awesome bloggers out there to do a better job at regular posting. Nevermind that I haven't posted in two years--you can always start over. Fresh pages shouldn't be such a rarity.

all of that

Let's just pretend that I haven't been gone forever.

As I've mentioned before, I've been painting sets for CYT. It's been a great experience.
The last show, Willy Wonka, was so much fun. The sets were huge, colorful, and bizarre.
I'm hoping to help out with costumes on the next show. Seussical, here I come!

















Thanksgiving went well. I baked the pumpkin pie and made the cranberry sauce.
Both came out well, and I haven't felt very hungry since Thanksgiving.















It's really gotten cold around here.

This Friday, I'll be watching the 5-hour Pride & Prejudice with some friends.

I need to get my Christmas shopping done!

oh dear

not again

small amusements

• Last weekend, I went to Belmont, home of the talented local artist Gari Melchers. We toured his house, grounds, and studio. Check out some of his artwork here.
  
• Earlier this week, we went to the circus. I hadn't been for years, and I loved it!
  My favorite things: the blindfolded tightwalker, the guys on the rotating wheel, and the acrobats on the red swing.

I'm going to see Prince Caspian today w/ the boys & Bianca!

Also today, I'll be helping to paint sets for the next CYT performace. I'm looking forward to getting all paint-ey and messy!

If today were a macaroon, it would melt in my mouth. Whatever that means...

• The neighbors' new parrot hangs in a large bird cage on their porch and makes odd squacks and caws. It's an annoying yet amusing creature.
• The neighbor girl (same house) and her friend practice their cheerleading in their front yard (sans pom poms--it took me a while to figure out WHAT they were doing).
• An old lady getting her mail said 'hi' to me while I was riding my bike. It was so unexpected that I nearly steered myself off of the sidewalk.
• The too-helpful employee at 'Schmiant' Grocery Store tried to show me how to use the self-checkout machine (yes! I scanned my items! I'm a big girl & I can check my own groceries! Argghh...)
• I did a 'happy pony' dance in my front yard. Our neighbors aren't the only kooky ones.
• My marigolds!!!
• Mom's irises!!!
• Monsoon season took a break today to let in some sunshine & generally gorgeous weather.
• SATs are over baby! OVER!!!

Partial Compensation

Why can't I talk to you
Just when I most want to?
I keep my thoughts fears mind
shut up inside. Like a small
box hidden in the back of a
dark closet, shoved under
too many things, I clamp
my trueness in my throat,
never leaking what I'm dying
to say and only saying to hide
what I can't say. The pain is in the not saying but
somehow I don't have the courage
to speak.

Pictures

This is to let y'all know that I'll be deleting my webshots account. Instead, I'm going to dust off my ancient and unused flickr account for future use.

Things I Love Thursday, part I

1. red vintage dress

2. nanowrimo

3. chorus

4. Fridays

5. Autumn leaves

6. saris

7. sewing projects

more soon.

color for sore eyes

click for larger images

Another Summer Picture

Taken during a long and windy and beautiful nature walk we took at the park this summer.


























I always miss the green.

A Good Summer

It's hard to admit that one more summer is finally over.

I've abandoned you, and I apologise with a wink and a smile.

vacationing

My family has sent me off to stay with my lovely cousins (Frances & Jonathan) in Baltimore, MD for a few days--sooo pleasant. I PROMISE I will post something when I get back!

filling in the gaps

I photographed the luminaria on Memorial Day.
















I went to a friend's graduation party...and realized it'll be my turn in two years.


I attended Timothy's bridging over--translation, he went from wolf scout to Webelos (the final level before he becomes a boy scout)


I found out that Lloyd Alexander had died on May 17th. It was a sad discovery.
When I was about 12, I read nearly all of his books. I've always loved fantasy. My dad read The Hobbit to me at age seven (Thanks, Dad!), and I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia at age eight. I was hooked. Lloyd Alexander's books only assured me that my love of fantasy was not to go unrewarded. Now I get to watch my brothers read them.


And finally, I entered two pieces in the teen art show at our library.

I'm It, apparently.

Claire tagged me.

The rules of the game: List seven random facts about yourself, as well as the rules of the game on your blog. Then tag seven other people and listtheir names on your blog. Leave a comment on their blog so they know they've been tagged and have to read your blog.

1. Our volleyball team won the tournament!!!

2. I want to paint like Van Gogh and write like Robin McKinley.

3. I scream like a girl.

4. I like the smell of the rubber soles of new shoes.

5. All but two of my pea plants died. The beans are very happy.

6. I usually mispronounce 'calculator'.

7. I'll study for my learner's permit this summer.

I tag...

...dad, mom, Laura, Melissa, Rachel C., Frances, and Aunt Susan.

Three Poems

"Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees."
-Karle Wilson Baker
(1878-1960) U.S. poet

************************
A poem about the stars
Written at midnight
With no lights on.

Oak tree has caught
stars in her arms,
gathering them
like diamond chips
in the hem
of an evening gown.
She weaves them
into her branches
with practiced ease,
and her fingers point to
the moon as it
illuminates her
handiwork.

**************

It was snowing by two.
The pale, nervous flakes
fluttering down like the
insides of a feather pillow.
A sheet of grey cloud
shuddered across the sky,
and bare tree branches
trembled at the coming of snow.

********************************

One day the leaves grew restless—
They murmured and shivered and hung.
They naturally,finally,decided to fly,
And silently cheered as their bodies were flung.
They fell with a whispering crash below—
They were colorful, lively, and free.
They rustled and swirled as they tickled the street,
And danced through the wind with glee.

Oak Tree

There is an oak tree
in our yard.
Forgive her.
She likes making
poetic appearances.

National Poetry Month

Welcome to it! I'll be posting some of mine soon, but here's another's for now.

Advice to Writers
by Billy Collins

Even if it keeps you up all night,
Wash down the walls and scrub the floor
of your study before composing a syllable.
Clean the place as if the Pope were on his way.
Spotlessness is the niece of inspiration.

The more you clean, the more brilliant
your writing will be, so do not hesitate to take
to the open fields to scour the undersides
of rocks or swab in the dark forest
upper branches, nests full of eggs.

When you find your way back home
and stow the sponges and brushes under the sink,
you will behold in the light of dawn
the immaculate alter of your desk,
a clean surface in the middle of a clean world.

From a small vase, sparkling blue, lift
a yellow pencil, the sharpest of the bouquet,
and cover the pages with sentences
like long rows of devoted antsthat followed you in from the woods.

five pictures

black & white--three because I liked all of them

















































Inside looking out--at spring!















Stranger--boy home from school

Life is pain, or something like that.

So I took the pictures for photo week, then I was too busy/lazy to post them on their proper dates. Now it is Friday, and Blogger refuses to let me post any pictures. ARGGGHHH!