Sunday, September 24, 2006
Special Report for Lavs
Do you guys remember that brief discussion/suggestion about the boys not getting haircuts until you return back home? I noticed in Sherri’s blog that Jonah’s hair is looking rather . . . cool. : ) I thought I’d post a couple of pictures of Miles so that you can see how his hair is doing. It’s fluffy, but you can’t actually see how long it is. I wish it would fill in a little more for him, but I’m sure when it does, hair care is going to become a lot more challenging.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Personal Embarrassing Moment #8,248,986
Ok, this one will be better related to by the girls, so boys, move on to the next blog please!
Today at lunch time, we went to The Mandarin in Burlington to celebrate Grandma's birthday. The food was great, the service was great - I think we all had a great time.
On the way home, while driving, I glanced down and wondered why my seat belt seemed to be pushed away from my chest. What was going on? I know that sometimes my underwire bras don't sit right and tend to push out in front. Well, the problem was something along those lines. But it was worse. The wire, ON BOTH SIDES, had worked its way through the fabric of the bra and was actually poking out through the neckline of my shirt! What the!?!? I've had under wires break; both metal and plastic. I've had the wires bust through in the underarm area, which can be quite irritating. I've had straps break while out in public. But this was a new one for me. I took a picture. Don't worry - it's discreet.
Today at lunch time, we went to The Mandarin in Burlington to celebrate Grandma's birthday. The food was great, the service was great - I think we all had a great time.
On the way home, while driving, I glanced down and wondered why my seat belt seemed to be pushed away from my chest. What was going on? I know that sometimes my underwire bras don't sit right and tend to push out in front. Well, the problem was something along those lines. But it was worse. The wire, ON BOTH SIDES, had worked its way through the fabric of the bra and was actually poking out through the neckline of my shirt! What the!?!? I've had under wires break; both metal and plastic. I've had the wires bust through in the underarm area, which can be quite irritating. I've had straps break while out in public. But this was a new one for me. I took a picture. Don't worry - it's discreet.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Swinging as easily as a star . . .
"A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings there as easily as a star."
~ Edwin H. Chapin
I love the flow of these words.
But I have no idea whether or not I'm allowing nature to just take it's course. In some ways, I think I really am, and perhaps should even restrain it a bit! But in other ways, I'm afraid that I'm trying to be too controlling.
~ Edwin H. Chapin
I love the flow of these words.
But I have no idea whether or not I'm allowing nature to just take it's course. In some ways, I think I really am, and perhaps should even restrain it a bit! But in other ways, I'm afraid that I'm trying to be too controlling.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Love
"Happiness comes more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again - this is the brave and happy life."
~ J.E. Buchrose
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Monarch Days
This morning we visited Wings of Paradise. This is a special weekend at the butterfly conservatory – it’s Monarch Days! 
We were the first visitors in the doors at 10:00 a.m We were amazed at how active the butterflies were. It was either because it was early in the morning and there weren’t many people around, or because the sun was shining at that time, or because their nectar and fruit treats were just being put out. That was one of the bonuses of our visit. 
I don’t think I’ve seen that many butterflies flying around since my very first visit to Wings of Paradise.
The primary reason for this morning’s visit was for Monarch Days. They weren’t flying around in droves throughout the conservatory as I had thought they would. Instead, they were being collected from the wild in order to be tagged then re-released. We learned how to tell the difference between male and female Monarchs, and we watched a couple of them being tagged – a simple, tiny sticker printed with tracking information. We were told that several years ago, they were only able to collect 17 or 18 butterflies for Monarch Days. Last year, they collected around 200. This year they have collected around 500, and could easily collect 1000 if they had the manpower. Most of the butterflies were caught in the fields surrounding Wings of Paradise. Three times a day, the staff release tagged Monarchs back into the wild. We stayed to watch the first release at 11:30 a.m. We were pleased to learn that we would be able to release a butterfly ourselves!
We were given a little triangular cardboard folder with a butterfly inside. All we had to do was open the folder up and watch our butterfly fly away! We were surprised again when one of the staff brought us another butterfly to release! This one seemed to be quite cozy in his little folder, as he did not want to fly away for quite some time (both of our butterflies were males). 
After a little while, I was able to coax him onto a flower, and then he flew away.
How cool is that?
Why do they celebrate Monarch Days? Because the Monarch butterflies need our help. Their resources are declining. *Milkweeds and nectar sources are declining due to development and the widespread use of herbicides in croplands, pastures and roadsides. Because 90% of all milkweed/monarch habitats occur within the agricultural landscape, farm practices have the potential to strongly influence monarch populations. Why we are concerned:
• Farm and ranch land is disappearing at a rate of nearly 3,000 acres per day. In a 5-year period starting in 1992, 6 million acres of farmland (an area the size of the state of Maryland) were converted to subdivisions, factories, and other developments (www.farmland.org)
• Widespread adoption of herbicide-resistant corn and soybeans in the last 5 years has resulted in the loss of at least 80 million acres of monarch habitat
• Use of herbicides along roadsides continues to reduce milkweeds and nectar plants
* Information taken from a brochure provided by www.monarchwatch.org
If you would like to help contribute to Monarch conservation, you could consider creating a Monarch Waystation – an intermediate, resource-rich stop along the Monarch’s route through its annual fall and spring migrations. Check out the links at www.monarchwatch.org to find out how. You can even certify your waystation. Upon certification your site will be included in the International Monarch Waystation Registry, an online database of Monarch Waystations, and you will be awarded a certificate bearing your site’s Monarch Waystation ID number. Furthermore, you become eligible to display a weatherproof sign that identifies your Monarch habitat as an official Monarch Waystation. This display helps convey the conservation message to those who visit your Monarch Waystation and may encourage them to create their own Monarch habitat.
If you were looking for something new to do with your garden, I’ve got your answer right here!
We were the first visitors in the doors at 10:00 a.m We were amazed at how active the butterflies were. It was either because it was early in the morning and there weren’t many people around, or because the sun was shining at that time, or because their nectar and fruit treats were just being put out. That was one of the bonuses of our visit. I don’t think I’ve seen that many butterflies flying around since my very first visit to Wings of Paradise.The primary reason for this morning’s visit was for Monarch Days. They weren’t flying around in droves throughout the conservatory as I had thought they would. Instead, they were being collected from the wild in order to be tagged then re-released. We learned how to tell the difference between male and female Monarchs, and we watched a couple of them being tagged – a simple, tiny sticker printed with tracking information. We were told that several years ago, they were only able to collect 17 or 18 butterflies for Monarch Days. Last year, they collected around 200. This year they have collected around 500, and could easily collect 1000 if they had the manpower. Most of the butterflies were caught in the fields surrounding Wings of Paradise. Three times a day, the staff release tagged Monarchs back into the wild. We stayed to watch the first release at 11:30 a.m. We were pleased to learn that we would be able to release a butterfly ourselves!
We were given a little triangular cardboard folder with a butterfly inside. All we had to do was open the folder up and watch our butterfly fly away! We were surprised again when one of the staff brought us another butterfly to release! This one seemed to be quite cozy in his little folder, as he did not want to fly away for quite some time (both of our butterflies were males). After a little while, I was able to coax him onto a flower, and then he flew away.How cool is that?
Why do they celebrate Monarch Days? Because the Monarch butterflies need our help. Their resources are declining. *Milkweeds and nectar sources are declining due to development and the widespread use of herbicides in croplands, pastures and roadsides. Because 90% of all milkweed/monarch habitats occur within the agricultural landscape, farm practices have the potential to strongly influence monarch populations. Why we are concerned:
• Farm and ranch land is disappearing at a rate of nearly 3,000 acres per day. In a 5-year period starting in 1992, 6 million acres of farmland (an area the size of the state of Maryland) were converted to subdivisions, factories, and other developments (www.farmland.org)
• Widespread adoption of herbicide-resistant corn and soybeans in the last 5 years has resulted in the loss of at least 80 million acres of monarch habitat
• Use of herbicides along roadsides continues to reduce milkweeds and nectar plants
* Information taken from a brochure provided by www.monarchwatch.org
If you would like to help contribute to Monarch conservation, you could consider creating a Monarch Waystation – an intermediate, resource-rich stop along the Monarch’s route through its annual fall and spring migrations. Check out the links at www.monarchwatch.org to find out how. You can even certify your waystation. Upon certification your site will be included in the International Monarch Waystation Registry, an online database of Monarch Waystations, and you will be awarded a certificate bearing your site’s Monarch Waystation ID number. Furthermore, you become eligible to display a weatherproof sign that identifies your Monarch habitat as an official Monarch Waystation. This display helps convey the conservation message to those who visit your Monarch Waystation and may encourage them to create their own Monarch habitat.
If you were looking for something new to do with your garden, I’ve got your answer right here!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Age
I meant to post this on my birthday, but life got in the way . . .
"Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
~ Leroy "Satchel" Paige
"Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
~ Leroy "Satchel" Paige
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