Must be we made ourselves useful and didn’t cause too much trouble in 2014 because our daughter Keely and her husband Mark invited us to go with them on their annual spring Florida vacation again this year. Yeah! Of course, it is such a trial (wink, wink) for us to be with our two wonderful grandchildren, not to mention our daughter and son-in-law for a whole week!
We flew down and they rented a beach condo on the Gulf coast on Gasparillo Island in Southern Florida for a whole week (in the units behind my hat) (such severe hardships, I know). Thank you so much, Mark and Keely!
Annabelle and Sam love our attention (another tough break I know). Of course we thoroughly enjoy spoiling them a little too. Annabelle started learning to crawl on our vacation. We tried to allow Keely a little more rest as Annabelle is not much of a sleeper. JoAnne greatly enjoyed the pool, doing laps early every morning before others were awake. In the evening, she and I walked on the beach at sunset while Keely and Mark were putting the children to bed.
It is always a pleasure for me to watch birds in a different location. The only time while there that I took time away to specifically bird watch, I saw jungle but no birds. Yet, for example, while pushing Sam in the swing at the Community Center, I notched two new birds as they flew over. And as we walked on the beach, there were lots of shore birds to glass.
The attached gallery is a collection of pictures from vacation, some are taken with JoAnne’s camera and some with my phone.
As you know, I like to walk. When I walk, I look for beauty and joy. Today, on vacation, I walked out toward the beach, there was a wild yellow daisy flower in bloom in the sand dunes. It was beautiful! I learned by online research that its name is beach dune daisy (Helianthus debilis). Finding beauty in unexpected places is a habit I try to cultivate. When such a serendipity happens, it always makes me philosophical too because I think the experience confirms one of my maxims for life.
“Always be looking for and appreciate unexpected sparks of joy!”
One’s approach to a walk is a clue to how you live
I’ve observed in this regard that one can learn much about a person’s approach to life from the way they approach a trail walk.
I meet some people who are always walking with friends. That tells me that they are people-persons who are energized as much by the conversation as by the walk. I bet they appreciate connectedness in other areas of life too.
Other walkers and runners are always alone. There might be many reasons but at the very least they don’t mind being alone. More probably, like me, they relish it as a time for thinking or just drinking in from nature or perhaps praying, as I sometimes do. These kind of people find joy in times of quiet.
Some people out on the trails are out more to “get the job done,” the task of getting in their exercise, that is. They usually have earbuds and don’t want to even give you the time of day lest you delay them. I imagine they are very task oriented people in other phases of life as well. I always pity them in a way as they miss so much by seldom stopping to look or listen. I’ve observed that it is hard for very task-oriented people to find a rhythm in life that includes time for contemplation. But they might reply to me that they enjoy the physical high that comes from aerobic exercise.
Have you noticed that people view the conditions for walking differently too.
I comment to some about the day and they will always be enthusiastic about what a great day it is to walk, even on winter days. These have learned to enjoy the moment.
Other people find something wrong on the best of days; they may note the bugs or the heat or the cold or the rough trail or too many bicyclers or doggy dodo or whatever. Though, frankly, those kind are usually not consistent walkers.
There’s a difference in what is appreciated on the walk too.
Some are always observing whatever nature has to offer that day.
Others are not observant of nature at all.
Some may be only looking for deer and so most days they are disappointed as one only very occasionally sees one while on the trail.
Appreciate the joys the moment brings
It’s the same in life. Some are constantly discovering new blessings in different areas of their lives. Other people seem only to be able to focus on troubles; the bugs and poison ivy patches of life seem to be everywhere for them. Still others are looking only for one or two kinds of rewards in life so they are frequently disappointed as usually the kinds of things they look for are infrequent occurrences.
Michael Cannon Loehrer put it this way, “If people only allow their hearts to enjoy what delights them, they will soon become bored most of the time. If we train our hearts to find joy in drudgery, we will rest content with whatever comes our way and our lives will remain on an even keel. Complainers bounce between ever increasing extremes of delight and despair” (From the book “Porch Talk with Gramps on Parenting: A Framework for a Functional Family”).
For example, I love to observe birds. And thankfully spring days like we have been having in May are the peak of the season for that. But not every day or every walk is ideal for bird watching. For example, one day, I forgot the binoculars. Don’t ask me how, but it happened. So I watched for what I could see with the naked eye. I peeked over the bridge over Salmon Creek and thought I saw movement. So I moved to the other side and had the privilege of watching a young mink forage along the edge of the stream for five or ten minutes, a once in a lifetime event. If I had remembered the binoculars I probably would not have looked in the streambed. I chose to enjoy what was available and was rewarded.
Another day it was windy and my walk happened midday, neither of which is best for birding. But the sun was out and so were the reptiles. That day a tree frog hopped across my path and I saw a black snake sunning himself on the edge of the road. I took pictures of both. I chose to watch what was moving and enjoyed the walk more for it. Choosing to look for the joys a moment offers is a great habit to cultivate. As I say:
“Always be looking for and appreciate unexpected sparks of joy!”
I’m posting a few pictures of things I’ve seen on walks, especially flowers found in unlikely places or trees growing in unusual forms. I call this gallery “Serendipities.”
I love a good walk. It gets the heart pumping and fills the lungs with fresh air. It eases the tensions of to-do lists and day-to-day circumstances. Sometimes I pray aloud on my walks too. Here in Northern CT, we are blessed to live near the Granby Land Trust area as well as a rail trail. So I have places to walk. I walk for exercise first, but I love the fresh air and I love watching nature, especially birds, plants, rocks, animals and flowers and trees.
Today I walked farther than usual, hiking to Carpenter Falls, a beautiful hidden falls near the top of Broad Hill. Because of the rain last night the creek there was running a little more than usual too. One has to hike down into the small gorge to see it. The collage and the gallery with this post are from that spot today.
This spring the birds have seemed more abundant than usual. Probably I have just been walking at better times. I keep a journal of my bird walks, jotting down the species seen on each walk when I get home. In May I have seen about 36 species of birds on my walks, and I seldom stop just to bird watch for very long. I mostly just glass what moves.
I also had the unusual privilege of observing a small mink hunting up the shore line of our local creek just as I looked down from the Broad Hill Road Bridge. He darted in and out of holes in the rocks both above and below the water searching for prey. Once he swam across a section to a small group of rocks he wanted to check out.
One of my hobbies is model trains, specifically, O-gauge trains running around my Christmas tree. Yes we had a Lionel train which we three Jones brothers shared when I was a boy. But what really started me back in this hobby was the gift of a Lionel train much like the one we had which I received from Bill Quick while I was serving as Pastor at Kirkville Community Wesleyan Church. I promptly ran it around the tree the next Christmas and I’ve been running trains every Christmas since on increasingly more complex set-ups.
The first evolution
One big evolution happened when I moved the trainsets upstairs to the remodeled living room at Kirkville. I was already running two trains. I decided to build a second layer and started collecting ceramic buildings, little figures and antique car models. I had two long bridges too. Then I started inviting children from church over to see the trains. I let them run them too. Of course, they would wreck them occasionally, but I have only had to make major repairs on two cars in all the many years that I have been doing this.
Children in CT love it too
When I moved to Connecticut, God blessed us with a large parsonage living room and my set got even bigger. In the gallery you can see the first two steps in building the multilayer setup. I found my first Dept. 56 buildings (the Cadillac of ceramic Christmas buildings) on a yard sale in our own neighborhood. Again, I invited children from church to come and run the trains. They have so much fun and it is a joy to work with them. This set has only one bridge but it has more room for vignettes. In the gallery are pictures of Shannon and Sam playing with the trains. The Mandirola boys, Schantz family and the Griffin’s also stopped by to check it out but I didn’t have my camera going.
Sam went for hands on
My grandson, Sam, was much more interested in the train set this year too. But he had his own way of investigating it. He wanted to get right in it and touch things. I learned from the preschool teachers that this is a preschooler’s tactile way of learning so I tried to facilitate it as much as possible. It was great fun.
New this year
This year I purchased my first engine specifically decorated for Christmas, a Lionel Santa Flyer. I also added a city block of stores that I made from Ameri-town parts. I started it years ago but this year a change in configuration of the upper track made room for it for the first time. In addition, I purchased new track for the inner lower loop. Last year that loop was hardly operable. This year is was a star. The fastest engine did not derail on it even though it was the tighter loop. It was Lionel Fast Track. If it holds up to the wear and tear of being assembled and disassembled for a couple years I will be a fan for sure. Also new this year, and something I have been watching for, was a ceramic building train station. At last I have a train station for the upper level too.
My Grandson Sam is a hands-on guy. He was not very interested in running the trains, though he did that briefly once or twice. He liked the whistle on the train a little better, which is the main reason he might run a train at all. But the main thing he wanted to do this year was pick things up and look at them. So I tried hard to remember the story about the father whose wife kept complaining that he and the boys were destroying the lawn with their sports. The father had replied, “Right now we’re raising boys, not lawn.” So I let Sammie right into the middle of the trainset so he could touch some things. Of course, I had to supervise so he didn’t try to pick up things that were glued down or wired in. But he found plenty of things to touch.
His favorite spot was the left side access alley. I can barely fit in there as it is made just as a place to access electrical switches, position village items and retrieve derailed cars. But Sam found it a great corner, just a boy’s size with lots to touch. He loved the tunnel which he could reach from there. He took one car from the train and pushed it back into the dark. There was a little grade and it would roll back out. He liked the imitation pine trees too. It was pure joy having him visit, a highlight of the season.
Someone is way overdue for a Grandpa post. I am so much enjoying being a grandparent. And on November 17, 2014, our second grandchild was born, a little girl, Annabelle Jocelyn Stater, 6 lbs. 11 oz. One of the special moments over Christmas was being left in the Stater dining room holding Annabelle. I rocked her in my arm, looked at the tree and Sammie’s new oversize Melissa and Doug creation while listening to Christmas music playing from the iPhone on the table.
But back to the story. We were awakened in the wee hours on Nov. 17 by a call from Keely and Mark that they were going to the hospital. We left quickly. But Annabelle did not wait. She barely waited for the doctor to arrive. Mark accidentally dialed JoAnne as we were walking out of the hospital parking garage. JoAnne answered and heard the baby’s first cries. Keely and Annabelle were released from the hospital the next day.
JoAnne and I will also remember it for the very busy week that it was. I officiated at one funeral later that same day and met with two different families about funerals that I had yet to do. Besides that I ended up making at least three trips to the hospital in the first two days to visit and or pick up JoAnne. In addition, our choir was gearing up that week for a special presentation on the Sunday before Thanksgiving the next Sunday.
But we certainly had some very special blessing for which to give thanks the following week on Thanksgiving. The attached pictures are all from Annabelle’s first days.
I’ve been walking in our neighborhood for about 17 months now. I see lots of fascinating and beautiful things because I look for them. I’ve found picturesque stream crossings, a hidden falls, and a mountain overlook. Until today, the only large wildlife I’ve seen were deer. But nature has a way of surprising you.
I’m not particularly quiet as I use a walking stick and it clunks on the pavement or the snowy mountain path as I go. Today was no exception. I wasn’t even away from the houses yet on Broad Hill Rd. and there on my right just over the guardrail was a flock of turkeys. I stopped in my tracks, expecting the usually skittish birds to immediately fly away. But they did not. They just meandered in the other direction. So I took their pictures. Then, I tried to be quiet, and, assisted by the terrain, I walked back in the direction they were going, popping over to the creek bank to spy on them and taking more pictures. Two cars went by and still they did not spook. As both I and the flock approached the bridge, it became clear that they intended to cross in front of me. I just stopped and waited. After a few moments hesitation, they did just that. I took photos without scaring them.
I finished my walk up the hill and back down and then headed home. As I started up the knoll toward our house, there was the flock crossing Simsbury road in front of me again. Again I followed them without spooking them and took several more pictures.
Here is a selection from my unusual winter walk. I put in a couple in the middle of the snowy top of the hill, including a selfie of me.
The last daily bloom faded away one day this past week ending another season of daylily delight. Growing the flower technically called hemerocallis is a pastime I inherited from my grandmother, Jessie Isaman. Watch out! Growing daylilies is catching; my daughter has the bug as well.
How it started
I started growing daylilies while at my first church in Bentley Creek, PA. When I visited my parents, I would dig up a shovelful from the huge clumps on the farm and transport them to my parsonage in northern Pennsylvania. When I moved from there I took a shovelful from each clump and threw the daylilies in a crate in the back of the moving truck. In spite of being packed away in the closed up semi-body for a month, every plant lived. They are tough. I had the start for a new daylily garden at my second parsonage in Kirkville, New York.
How it grew
While in Kirkville, I discovered a daylily farm at Grace Gardens on Angus Road just off Route 14 south of Geneva, NY. Over the years that I lived in Kirkville I purchased many more daylily varieties and planted them around the property until I had more than 30 varieties. A few more came from Roots and Rhizomes by mail. When I moved to my third parsonage in West Granby Connecticut, my plan was to take a shovelful from each clump and pack them in the truck again. But this time, I was using a moving company and they would not do that. So, I clipped a double fan or so from each clump that I had dug and gave the rest away. I filled my car trunk and brought them with me. Some ended up at my daughter’s house. Most of them form the nucleus for my collection here.
My latest additions
This summer, I was meandering home from an Adirondack vacation when I drove by Jim’s daylily farm in Ticonderoga, New York. He has the healthiest daylilies I’ve ever seen and lots of them. Though his lot space is limited, every square foot was growing daylilies. I brought the car to a screeching halt, turned around and somehow found room for about six new varieties on top of all our camping goods. My wife was not so happy about some dirt that filtered down through. But then I’m not noted for keeping my car pristine. I’d rather carry some things that I need and clean up later. Anyway, with these new additions, I now have about 40 varieties of daylilies here at West Granby parsonage. Fortunately, there’s lots of room. Of course, the beds are young, so the displays are just getting started. Here are a few pictures from this summer.
On the last day of our recent week of vacation, my wife and I stopped at a Maple Syrup Museum on Route 7 just north of Rutland, Vermont. It was a fascinating stop for me as it brought back many childhood memories. The museum contains many artifacts from the production of maple syrup in the late 19th and 20th centuries. An entire wall mural was dedicated to telling the story of the production of syrup by the Native Americans of New England before settlers arrived. This fascinating dimension of the history of the maple syrup industry was new to me and I was glad to see it featured prominently. One of the most captivating displays was a hand-carved diorama depicting the gathering of maple sap using a team of horses and a sled with gathering tank on top. In the same diorama is a representation of a sap-boiling shanty in the woods. The first 3 pictures above are of this diorama. The last two pictures are from an even bigger diorama depicting lumbering before tractor power. The museum is a great stop for maple lovers and those who remember making syrup.
I have a very early childhood memory of assisting in the gathering of sap on the top of the hill above Twin Elms Farm. Deep in the woods plot, there was an old shed devoted to boiling sap in the spring. My father and grandfather had traded the horses for a tractor the year I was born. But, for the spring that I remember, it was too muddy in the woods to use the tractor for gathering sap. Early tractors were not the behemoths we are used to today. So my grandfather and father made arrangements to borrow a team of horses and use them to pull the sled and gathering tank. I remember riding the sled with its metal gathering tank on top from the house up to the top of the hill and into the woods. I recall the old wooden tank next to the boiling shed into which the gathered sap was dumped from the gathering tank. I remember the old arch, as it was called, inside the shed. It was simply two rows of concrete blocks, just wide enough apart to fit the large pans on the top. The two pans were placed end to end on the arch. The long slabs or poles of wood we burned were inserted into the arch underneath the pans at one end. The fire and heat traveled the length of the two pans– which must’ve been 10-12 feet — and the smoke exited through a stack at the far end. The freshest sap was inserted in the pan nearest the chimney, the cooler one; the boiled-down syrup was removed from the first pan, the hotter one. We did not use wooden buckets, as the diorama pictures, but galvanized metal ones instead.
This old syrup shanty on the hill was deserted before many years had passed. After that, my father continued boiling sap on a smaller scale in a single pan over a smaller arch. I remember helping and trying to keep it clean and light colored. I have many other memories that go with the traditions of maple syrup making at Twin Elms Farm too. I remember loving to drink the sap straight from the tree. I would go down to the maple tree in the front lawn and tip the sap bucket to get a drink. There was just a hint of delicious flavored sweetness.
After the sap had been boiled down in the pans over the arches, my mom would “finish off” the syrup over the kitchen stove. I don’t remember seeing it happen, but I was told that sometimes this released so much moisture that the wallpaper had come loose. She poured milk into the syrup to help boil out the impurities. I sometimes tasted the creamy, foamy skimmings, though I don’t think Mom approved of that. I remember each year we would have a contest at stirring maple sugar. Mom would boil down some syrup even further until it was just the right consistency for making sugar candy. I think it was right when it would spin a hair from the spoon. Then she would ladle it into bowls and we would begin stirring our bowlful. The faster you stirred, the lighter colored and finer textured your sugar would be. That was the goal. Of course, the most delightful part was eating it. I preferred eating it while it was soft and still do. JoAnne learned about stirring maple sugar while she was dating me. She learned to love eating it too and still does, much more than me. I bought her some at the museum.
At the Vermont museum they had taste samples of different grades of maple syrup. I checked them out! I remember during maple syrup season on the farm, once in a while, Mom would serve us a small dish of maple syrup for dessert– nothing with it — just served to eat with the spoon. I loved it and I still can eat maple syrup by itself. Mom also prepared syrup for us to pour on snow if the weather made snow available. This was also a delightful candy treat. We called it wax.
The museum had maple cream to sample also, which is the most delicious stuff ever, but correspondingly expensive. As we left the museum, JoAnne and I just wanted to find a restaurant that served pancakes with the real thing—maple syrup—for a topping! At home, we never ate pancakes any other way.
There is always a bright spot if you are looking for one.
This afternoon I took a walk up Broad Hill Road and on up the hill. I turned left into the Holcombe Farm trails and took the High Ridge Trail. I wasn’t feeling tops, but I have found that pushing myself to walk when I am not feeling spunky often helps me in the long run. There was not a lot to see in the early spring woods. I had to watch my footing as the trail was muddy in places from small springs. But I had my trusty hiking staff to keep me steady. I always keep my eyes open and today I was especially looking for spring flowers. After all, it is May and the old adage says, “April showers bring May flowers.” I was not disappointed. On my way to the woods, I had seen red trilliums in two different gardens but I did not find any yet in the woods. However I did find a beautiful little rock garden type plant growing in the path and among the mosses. It seemed to be a more dainty version of a plant I had recently planted in my own rock garden.
I was nearly back to the beginning of the High Ridge Trail when I almost stumbled over a fallen but still intact bird’s nest. It was too small to be a robin’s nest, built of different materials, and more neatly built too. I wasn’t sure if the white material in it was some kind of fine bark or lichen. I took its picture to record another find of interest on my path. Finds like this are why I prefer outside walks to inside treadmills any day, even though I might get rained on occasionally as I did today before I got home.
A well built nest at the base of a tall forest oak
I guess my walk is another illustration of how we seem to find things of interest if we are alert and looking. Just becoming an observer of nature would cure boredom for many people, I’m quite sure. I derive so much pleasure on my walks from observing different aspects of the natural world that I have taken time over the years to learn a little about –rocks, trees, birds, wildflowers, ferns, mushrooms, and animals all provide something fascinating regularly. I’m afraid many people don’t notice much. I haven’t always either.
I think the habit of looking for interesting and beautiful things in nature helps us also to get in the habit of looking for good things in all of life. We all know that if we look for trouble, we find it; and if we look for good things, we will find them too. Noticing things we can rejoice and give thanks for gives us a healthy sense of anticipation and keeps our spirits up every day.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (Jas 1:17 NIV).
