Planting Trees and Psalm 148

On Friday night we were able to plant 18 trees in Grandpa Ferguson's pasture under indecisive clouds. I took these pictures shortly before watering the black hills spruce trees and wrapping the aspens so the deer won't eat them. It will be interesting to see if they survive, and if we can water them enough during a possibly dry summer.

I was inspired by both the clouds, which look like waves of water, and the prairie grass and my brother BJ's corn (which apparently is dying because it needs water), which both echo and contrasted the sky. Then Saturday afternoon, while the boys were napping, I found these words from Psalm 148 which reflect the the visual inspiration with scripture.

If you click on the picture, it should enlarge so you can read the words better.

Here is the blog post with pictures of my brothers building the ponds in December 2010. 
http://www.ochsnerfamily.blogspot.com/2010/12/building-pond.html

Easter Pictures

Easter weekend was full of activity: a Good Friday service, two services Sunday, Easter dinner and  sunny Sunday afternoon at Grandpa Steve and Grandma Jan's cabin with family. 

I love these little Levi's jeans and cowboy boots on Elliot.  The jeans were hand-me-downs from somewhere.

A bunch of first and second cousins fishing together. 

JD, a rather wild dog, taking in the scenery.  She's probably resting from trying to herd up the kids.

Three Boender girls fishing together, from three different families.  I remember an old time family rule (circa 1980s) used to be that we could go on four wheeler rides on Sundays, but not fishing.  Funny how each family had their own boundaries, and how they change as families change.

Unlce Mike keeping Elliot happy by taking him to see the tractors.  The sign says "Over sized Load" in the background, but it belongs in a different picture.  Elliot is just a little punk yet.

This is an over sized load.

A shot from Brian and I's ranger (an atv) ride together.  It was still pretty muddy out from all the rain.  It looks like we are in the middle of the crick because we are.

Sunday afternoon atv rides are one of my favorite traditions of living in the country. They can create a mess of a job for a gal's hair, especially if you have to look presentable for a Sunday evening service. Four wheeler ride on Sunday afternoon = pony tail.

Honey Bees

Last week while looking out the kitchen window I noticed an unusually large amount of bugs swarming underneath our grove of trees. I went outside to see what they were and couldn't believe how loud the buzzing was - they were honey bees! It was a little intimidating at first, but was able to get close enough to take some pictures (Don't worry, I have a great zoom).

I did a little research online to figure out what this unusual happening was. Honey bee "swarming" happens when a single colony of bees divide in two. The new colony finds a replacement queen bee and sends out a few worker bees to find a new nesting place. This usually happens in the spring, but occasionally happens throughout the summer season. Beekeepers often catch swarms and relocate them. Honey bees are highly valued for their aid in pollination (corn and blueberry farmers, etc). An old poem says,

A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July isn't worth a fly.

After swarming, they settled in the branch of our tree and were there a few days and nights, all tightly balled up. Eventually they must have found a new nest, because they left.

Iowa

Ezra and I are spending the week in Iowa and are enjoying the great April weather. Spring planting has started, and so Ezra got to ride in the tractor. He's having a lot of fun playing with cousins and learning things that Iowa kids do. My three year old nephew John rode home with us from riding with his dad (my brother) in the tractor last night. He explained that he was going to get to come to my house in Michigan this summer, and had a lot of questions about my house and going swimming at the big lake. He asked where my brothers and sisters were and if they lived in Michigan. When I explained that his dad was my brother and he said, "no, really?" This was quite humorous to me, but also frustrating. Someday I will have to tell him about how mean his dad was.

Here are some pictures of our time so far...

Cousins Ethan, Amelia and John playing on the equipment during suppertime.

Uncle Mark and John checking the seed depth.

Ezra loves the kittens.



Getting muddy.Uncle Karl power washing off our boots before going inside for the night.