It didn't take long...

Sheets drying on the clothesline

for the sheets to get dry today!  It was a brisk and breezy perfect spring day. I prefer to dry my bedding outdoors on the clothesline whenever possible, even in winter when they freeze stiff and I have to bring them in to thaw.  I love the fragrance that they bring in with them.  Good 100%-cotton sheets dried outdoors and I have my own little touch of Heaven. :)

Kamikaze bird

 This yellow-bellied sapsucker tried to commit suicide-by-picture-window last week.  It happens here with some frequency, but this is a really LARGE bird and he made quite a SPLAT!!! when he hit the window.  I think I may have said a really bad word...

Beautiful plumage

His plumage was quite lovely, bright yellow on the edges of his feathers and on his underbelly.  He was so stunned, he let Rich pick him up and extend his wing for this picture, but you really can't see how beautiful he was.

We left him resting in the grass to gather himself.  He had flown away within thirty minutes. 

I'm BATMAN!

More happy toes

 I love my hand-knit socks! These are my latest, the Cascading Leaves pattern.

  Inch by inch, step by step...the house gets closer to being finished.  This is the beautiful hardwood floor in the upstairs landing.  The wood is a mixture of oak, maple, ash, poplar.  We left it unstained and Rich finished it with three coats of gloss polyurethane and one coat of satin poly.  It is glorious!
That cabinet at the end of the hall will have doors on it and will hold all of my sewing supplies.  I brought home an old store counter from my shop and it will sit in front of the cabinet.  My sewing machine will be up here, and maybe my treadmill.  I need to get the treadmill into the house! It has been stored in the barn, and I am ready to start walking. There is really no good place to walk along our road, the shoulder is uneven and the traffic moves quite quickly. I like to walk on a treadmill, looking out of the window and listening to a book-on-CD as I walk. I need to get more active.  The weight does not go away as quickly as I'd like, and it's time to get healthier.

Natural gems

 These are a clam shell and a wild-goose egg that were found in the woods across the road from the house.  

A very good egg!

I punctured the ends of the egg and blew out the contents.  I had hoped to take it to a Pysanky class that was being offered at the township library, but I was too late and had missed the class by the time the egg was discovered.  
On being a grandparent...
I have mentioned the German singer, Reinhard Mey, in previous posts. More than anything else, his music makes me wish that I were fluent in German, as my Google and Bing translations are just barely sufficient to show me how much I am missing in his lyrics.  I had planned to buy some of his recordings while I was visiting his country, but I spent too much money on yarn and had to come home without them.

"Es ist wie mit dem Fahrradfahren, manche Dinge verlernt man einfach nie ;-)"

He has recently become a grandfather and posted this image on his newsletter, of taking a walk with his son and pushing his new grandson in a stroller.  The caption translates roughly as "Like riding a bicycle, there are some things that one never forgets how to do." It is such an endearing image of being a grandparent, and a perfect image of a stroll in a German city, with its broad sidewalks and tree-lined avenues.  I loved my time in Germany and France.  I felt immediately 'home' there, as I never have before, I think.  
He also posted this German lullabye for anyone to download.

The title is "Die Blümelein, sie schlafen"

Die Blümelein, sie schlafen
schon längst im Mondenschein.
Sie nicken mit den Köpfen auf ihren Stengelein.
Es rütteln sich der Blütenbaum,
er säuselt wie im Traum.
Schlafe, schlafe, schlaf du, mein Kindelein!

2. Die Vögelein, sie sangen
so süß im Sonnenschein.
Sie sind zur Ruh’ gegangen
in ihre Nestchen klein.
Das Heimchen in dem Ährengrund,
es tut allein sich kund.
Schlafe, schlafe, schlafe du, mein Kindelein!

3. Sandmännchen kommt geschlichen
und guckt durchs Fensterlein,
ob irgend noch ein Liebchen
nicht mag zu Bette sein.
Und wo es nur ein Kindchen fand,
streut es ins Aug’ ihm Sand.
Schlafe, schlafe, schlaf du, mein Kindelein!


and here is my very poor Internet translation of the lyrics that I found for this instrumental piece.  Some of my brothers-in-law may remember some Deutsch from their Amish childhood. Perhaps one of you might help me with my German?


The little flowers are sleeping



The little flowers are sleeping 
long ago in the moonlight. 
They nod their heads on their little stems. 
Shake the flowering tree, 
he whispers like a dream. 
Sleep, sleep, you sleep, my little child! 
 

The birds, they sang so sweetly in the sunshine

They have gone to rest
small in their nest.
The crickets in the cornfield,
make themselves heard.
Sleep, sleep, you sleep, my little child!

The sandman comes creeping
and looks through the window,
to see if any little sweetheart
may not be in bed.
And where there was a wakeful child,
scatters his sand into its eye.
Sleep, sleep, you sleep, my little child! 


The latest update on Jared was not encouraging. Keep his family in your hearts.