Expectations

Our family toured a commercial greenhouse yesterday viewing their display of over 6,500 poinsettias they raise from plugs to sell over the holiday season. I had planned this tour over a month ago and in the last week had been gearing up the kids to see such an amazing display normally not open to the public. After the tour I had planned to visit the retail division with one of the largest Christmas displays in Maryland. We all were excited and the kids had gathered their wallets and money to purchase that special something at the retail center.

I pulled into the wholesale parking parking lot and while turning off the car Daniel(6) asked in a grumpy voice "where in the world are we...I thought we were going to Homestead Gardens." I preceded to tell him that we first would do the poinsettia tour of the five acre greenhouse then go the to retail center. "Oh drats, that is not what I want to do" was his reply. Now granted he missed his nap yesterday because he and dad had an afternoon of fishing and being tired was a viable excuse. He grumbled the entire tour and carried a scowl that I thought might wilt the poinsettias. It was unusual for him not to enjoy the poinsettias and see the workings of the 5 acre mechanical and glass greenhouse. At the end of the tour his only response was "good lets get out of here!" In the car all three of the kids received my lecture of appreciation and gratitude...not that it really helped!

At the retail center we watched the display of trains and ate our bagged lunch. It gave me an opportunity to talk with the other home school moms that came a long on the tour and sip on a latte. Daniels rumblings followed me around. He kept pestering my to walk around and look for something to buy. The group disbanded and me and the kids walked around. We started with the flowers and another grumble came from Daniel "This is not what I want to do." "What do you want to do!" I asked. "I want to go look at the Christmas trees and ornaments." We eventually made our way to that division and to my surprise he did not spy anything to purchase. Jonathan wanted to buy a cactus or pansy and I ignored his pleas. My reprise for the day was Hannah who just enjoyed looking. At the check out register as I finished paying Daniel snuck a little red bird ornament on the check out platform. "This is what I want to buy" he said. "Why do you have to buy something? I swear that money is burning a hole in your pocket!"I retorted. Of course this set Jonathan into a rage. "I want a bird ornament!" Jonathan screamed. Jonathan continued his screaming and threats all the way to the car. "I am going to get out of this car and go back in there"! he yelled. "Go ahead," I said " we are leaving and daddy will pick you up on his way home from work!" "Noooo! he yelled. Driving seemed to settle the raging storm.

At the end of the day I laid in bed wondering 'what happened'. Why was Daniel such a Grinch on that day. The word that came back to me time and again was 'Expectation'. He had a different expectation of the day than what was planned - what a let down for him! Some where he misunderstood that our trip would include touring the poinsettia greenhouse first and then shop the retail center. He had played in his mind what we would do...he established his expectations of the beautiful ornament he would purchase with his crisp 10 dollar bill stuffed in his deep pockets.
Expectation can sure form havoc on ones life, even if you are not a 6 year old. There has been numerous times I have held expectations of loved ones behavior, family vacations, restaurant experiences and even work related issues and been let down with the outcome. Ah, I say then why plan...no that is not the point. I just have to tell my self not to be caught up with the outcome. When you expect something it leaves little room for surprise and the workings of spirit in your life in miraculous ways. So my lesson....allow spirit to work miracles in my day even if it is not going the way I had planned :)

I Visited My Garden Today

I visited my garden today, the first time in over a week. I was not looking forward to seeing the perennial grasses popping up all over the vegetable and flower beds. To my surprise the grass, I believe it to be Kentucky blue grass, is throughout all the beds and is forming a nice turf in all the wrong places. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Oh, well, it will wait until spring.”

The weeks prior I had spent endless hours pulling and hoeing the grass. With the cool damp weather upon us, hoeing would not kill it. It resprouted everywhere I hoed it to. With the grass barely one quarter inch high, pulling was like plucking your eyebrows with your fingers.

Walking through the garden gate, I peered to the north where the tomatoes had wilted with the last few nights of frost. To the south, the blooming white alyssum throughout the pathways were sending forth their brilliant snow like color. The gourd, pumpkin, sunflower and sweet corn plots stood bare and quiet. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the solitude before me. I exhaled all my expectations of the perfect garden. At the end of the breath I became one with the stillness, one with the eternal cycle of life.

Walking through the garden, I found myself tip-toeing and whispering so as not to wake anyone up. I laughed outright and enjoyed the splendor before me. The pumpkins and gourds had battled the squash bugs and cucumber beetles and yet were able to produce a fruit for harvest and seeds to carry on the cycle. The sunflowers sat withered with an abundance of seed heads to feed the gold finches throughout the winter. The tomatoes produced an endless crop of sweet juicy fruit until Thursday, our first hard frost. Of course they are exhausted, withered and dead! During summer, the peak of the season, the plants were alive with color and vitality. It is now their time to breath deeply and slowly, to lie down and rest, heal and rejuvenate; to die and send forth their seeds. It is time to sleep the winter away.

I no longer enter my garden with the fervor to battle the bugs and weeds, the eagerness to harvest the fruits and vegetables or the excitement to pick a bouquet of flowers. I now retreat to my garden to rest.

SNAP SHOTS
OF
AUTUMN

Meadows & Monarchs

Jonathan's New Kitten, Mingo

Homeschool suprises

Hannah's new kitten Crystal

Horse'n around

Fall Rockfish

Visit from Grandpa & Grandma
sister Mary and her husband Marty.

Apple cobbler & warm fires.

Did we tell you, daddy wants to be a cowboy :o

I Love Summertime!

Where do I Begin? We often ask ourselves this question. We have many on going projects and and a long list of projects to accomplish. The projects are best tackled by simply napping on the porch swing.
















We adopted two kittens this summer, Ben and Jerry. Ben keeps us amused with his fun loving, tantalizing personality. He follows Daniel around like a dog. He warmed up to the chickens in no time. His stunt is to run up to them and pretend he is going to attack. The chickens flutter in all directions and Ben stands laughing his cat laugh:) Ben even took it upon himself to stalk a deer. Ben remained crouched in the grass with the doe stomping the ground repeatedly. Ben slowly crept closer until the doe decided she did not like the look of the black blob stalking her and her fawn. It was comical. Jerry is Hannah's proud prince. He loves to be held and carried everywhere.

Wild blackberries were a treat this summer. Daniel and Jonathan dressed for winter so as to keep the thorns at bay. Needless to say their picking diminished rather quickly. Mom ended up doing most of the picking. We froze most of them for ice cream treats in the heat of summer.

We have concluded; It is easier raising

two cats rather than one :) One foal is all we can

handle for now. Jenny remains a sweetie!

Hannah loves to ride and has a passion to jump. She is trotting over jumps for now until she can better control Lady at the canter. Lady gets very excited when she canters over the jumps and is a handful to handle even for mommy! With practice, we are hopeing Lady will learn to contain herself :) Top rated judge, Daniel inspects Olympic rider Hannah and her mount Lady.

Summer is not summer without puddles.

Rosie having her teeth filed (floated). unlike human teeth, horses teeth grow. We have them filed once to twice a year. And I thought braces were bad!















It is wonderful being the center of attention!

What is summer without fishing and horse shows!

Kevin and Jamie brought to our farm a pair of Kestrels that were trapped at BWI airport. The birds posed a danger to airplanes. The bird pictured here is a male. Hannah released both birds. We had sightings of them a couple of times over the summer passing over our farm. Thank you Jamie and Kevin for thinking of us! We will never forget the Kestrels!