Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

Thank goodness for an older sister who has accepted that pictures will be an occasional evil to endure–and who is willing to tease her younger brother into cooperating.  Katherine (17) and Nathaniel (15) before an evening out:

Erin

Just before Kentucky became encased in ice by winter storms, the kids attended a dance held by their school.

Since I apparently missed first-day-of-school pictures this year, I might as well report that Katherine is 16 and a junior, and Nathaniel is 14 and a sophomore.

Erin

I know, I know: very few pictures of the kids this year.  But the older one at least acknowledges the need for such things on occasion.  So, with everyone dressed up for the spring formal, I got in quick photos before I took them to the dance:

I got one to laugh.  We’re still working on the other one, who is not as serious as he looks:

Erin

Katherine (age 15, 10th grade) and Nathaniel (age 13, 9th grade) were off to school this past week.  After a whole series of goof-off pictures I was not allowed to post (but that I will keep forever!), we did manage to get Nathaniel to smile this time.

Erin

Katherine (9th grade) and Nathaniel (8th grade) are one week into the new year at their new school.  So far, so good: they are enjoying swapping Chromebooks and phone-use issues for much smaller classes and textbooks.  And they’re getting pretty good at tying Windsor knots!

Erin

Our kids’ school year hasn’t formally started; the new school they’ll be attending doesn’t start up until after Labor Day.  But they’ve had a few summer Latin lessons and orchestra rehearsals, and this coming week they’ll go on an outdoor retreat with their new classmates . . . with temperatures nearing 100.

Sydney and I, meanwhile, will be juggling our first week of classes at Asbury, and hoping the A/C holds up under such demands.  This is Sydney’s first academic year as a full-time, tenure-track professor, so he has to march in academic regalia for the opening ceremony.  We’ll be two overly warm people in black velvet and red at the front of the hall!

We are also juggling life with a new cat, after our black-and-white one, Domino, died earlier this summer.  Dusty is a young, springy cat who is making sure Dexter gets some exercise.  But both, as you see below, are treacherous on the carpeted stairs.

Katherine maintains a spotless pollinator garden, and her flowers have done beautifully this year.  She has three hummingbirds visit regularly.  She has also had real success with basil (of four different varieties), and we try to talk her into trimming it occasionally so that the insects are happy and we get to use some of it in the kitchen.

Erin

Thanks to Lisa Weaver Swartz, we have family pictures to share this year as we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  After nearly three years of minimal travel, we hosted the Birdsong clan for Thanksgiving, and we’re currently in Nova Scotia for Christmas with the Penners.  We hope you’re able to step away from your usual routines, too, and gather with family.

Erin

We’re still here!

This past year has been a busy one, but we’ve taken plenty of pictures.  Sydney got a fancy new Nikon . . . but he’s mostly using a lens that allows him to take close-ups of tiny, tiny insects and plant life.  He has become an avid poster on iNaturalist: you can see all of the species he’s documented at our farm here.  He’s also keeping up weekly posts on his farm blog here.

And the kids have taken over the other cameras in the house, which lead to a lot of cat pictures, and photograph records of Lego edifices, farm flowers, and the like.

Did I mention that the kids have become allergic to having their picture taken?  I did finally catch them on a generous day, so here you are, with Katherine (13) and Nathaniel (11) snuggling with Dexter.  Domino didn’t want to be left out, though:

Erin

Seventeen months after last getting off a school bus, our kids climbed back on one again.  The last time they were in public school, Katherine was in fifth grade and Nathaniel in third.  Now ages 12 and 10, respectively, she’s taking the bus to middle school to start seventh grade, and he’s taking the elementary-school bus to start fifth grade.

Sydney installed a desktop in our kitchen, and yesterday Katherine emailed back and forth with various friends from school, comparing schedules and getting updates from those who have joined her in the world of braces.  Since her school doesn’t dismiss until 4, she got up early this morning to practice piano; she knew she wouldn’t have much energy left after the bus drops her off at home in the afternoon.

Nathaniel, meanwhile, reported that the chickens loved being let out so early (6:05, he proudly announced to me), and he enjoyed a cup of tea with the oatmeal he cooked for himself.  Although he’s been the baby of the household for this past year at home, he now gets to learn how to be responsible as one of the biggest people in his school.  I tried to refrain from calling after him, “Don’t squash the first graders!”

Erin

The kids just spent a week at Choral Camp in Ohio at Sydney’s alma mater, Rosedale.  Outdoor singing sessions under the tent, shaving cream fights, slippery water slides, and beginner solfege training: it’s a really fun combination of music and field day games.  The kids came home tired (Nathaniel slept much of the drive home) and eager to commit to going again next year.  This was Nathaniel’s first year, and Katherine’s fourth.

We also spent an easy evening at the farm on Sunday:

The habit of climbing a cattle gate and enjoying the breeze and the view hasn’t gotten old.  Katherine’s even wearing one of her old Choral Camp t-shirts.

Nathaniel is intent on gathering the small patch of wheat that the combine left in our part of the field, so that he can dry, thresh, sort, and grind his own wheat for bread.  Once he has a project in mind, he can think of nothing else, so we were glad to leave him to it.

Much to our surprise, a cluster of hollyhocks shot up at the back of the equipment shed.  We don’t know who planted them or how many years ago they did so, but it’s a lovely addition.

This big black walnut is our favorite place to rest in camp chairs (yesterday we ate Sydney’s tasty experimental watermelon curry there).

Katherine and Sydney took their binoculars with them as we walked the path Sydney mowed on the back of the property.

Erin