Independence Road

I'm back from Iowa and it is time to do some blogging! Jan and Mike have satellite, and I found photos didn't upload very well. Of course I was busy watching a little boy run (and run, and run, and run...) so blogging was put on the back burner. Now that I'm caught up at home it's time to post!

My trip to Iowa was wonderful of course. It can't be otherwise when you are seeing your grandkids. I am very fortunate in that my children both want me to stay for long visits. The first year I wasn't sure how it would work. After living in Florida and getting company that stayed for several days I was well acquainted with the comparison between fish and relatives...! I always enjoyed our company, but during the first year we lived in Florida the quantity of it became overwhelming.

Much to my delight, I have discovered that my girls and I get along very well when I visit. I also think their husbands are the best ever. After I go I think they must be relieved that they finally have their house back, but they have never indicated that this ever crosses their minds. Getting along with family is such a treasure. I am so lucky for it! I had parents that taught our family well, because family conflict has always taken a back burner to family cohesiveness.

One thing that does set our family apart from many others is the ease with which we travel and separate from one another. This may not be a very good thing, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. People are often amazed that I drive alone from PA to Iowa or Florida. 30 years ago I would have been amazed as well. In thinking about it, I realize how living in Florida really shaped my sense of independence. Larry was a salesman and he traveled a good bit. I was accustomed to doing things with the girls.

The biggest problem with Florida was that it was so far away from PA. Worse yet--it was very far away from Connecticut, our family vacation spot. Larry's job was often hitting it's peak in August, right when I wanted to go to Connecticut. We missed a year or two until, one spring, I found myself very restless. I would wake up in the middle of the night and wander around the house. One afternoon I suddenly 'saw the cabins' in my mind. I was homesick. I had the southern version of cabin fever. Maybe I wasn't cooped up in the house all winter, but I had to get out of the state. I told Larry that evening, "If you come home some day and the kids, the dog and I are gone, wait 3 days and call Connecticut." And so it began. He couldn't take the time to drive, and we couldn't afford to fly everyone. That summer I packed the kids, and dog into the car, outfitted with a CB radio (and don't tell anyone, but a gun under the seat--I was scared doing this alone) and we took off. I visited family on the way, and once we got to Connecticut I drove to the airport and picked up Larry. Our family vacation pattern had begun. You'll be happy to know that after that first trip, I never took the gun.

The girls were both great travelers. We had a few interesting adventures, but mostly the trips were very uneventful. Even so they left an indelible impact on us. When our oldest daughter, Jen, was in college and needed to get away, the 90 minute drive home was too short. She didn't feel like she'd gotten away unless she was out of state, so she would go visit her cousin in Atlanta. At least that's how she explained it to us! As for me, I don't think twice about the distance anymore. Larry travels and is gone a good bit. It just seems natural for me to go when I need to.

That's how I became a long distance traveler and I am so glad I did. I may not live near my grandchildren but for a week a few times a year, I get to hang out with them anyway.

Pick Up Sticks

The blizzards and ice storms in Iowa were brutal this year. Janice gave us updates that went from scary to hard-to-imagine. From Mike finding his way home at 5am in a blizzard, or the January ice storm, to the 10 foot drifts down the road the recounts reminded me of stories I've read about growing up in a mid-western winter. There were pictures of Warren looking at the sliding glass door obliterated by snow in the first blizzard and snuggled in bed with daddy when there was no reason to get up for work. The snow storms were bad, but the ice storm was worse.


I'm in Iowa now and I have a new appreciation for the devastation the ice storm caused. The yard is still littered with branches. Janice compares it to the Florida hurricanes of '04 which is a good comparison. Everywhere you look the trees have lost their tops. Trunks have been split. The trees show the scars of dismemberment where large branches have broken off. The graceful rounded tops of the trees have been altered to a blunt cut across the top. The towns have been busy with cleanup, but those who live in the country must deal with the mess on their own. Now that the snows have melted the work can be done, but it is also time for the farmers to get busy in the fields.


Mike has obviously been busy here. There are several 'burn sites' where he has burned the debris in the front yard. But the back yard and the wooded area still show the effects. Warren looks forward to the work and any reason to get outside. "Pick - Up - Sticks?" he asks in his little 2 year-old voice. And we do. A game I remember playing as a child,with long toothpick sized colored sticks, is a big grown up chore here. But in this game the reward comes if you put a stick ON the pile. Some day when this little boy is older, maybe I'll teach him the other version.

And the winner is....

It seems official. I've been watching my feeder for the last few days and I haven't seen my Bluebirds. Today is my official "Feederwatch" day, and I hoped to get up early enough to catch them, but I haven't seen one all morning. The sparrows are definitely in control of the bird house and peace seems to be reigning in the yard.

The species of birds visiting the feeder have changed a lot as well. I have seen several Cowbirds, Goldfinches, Grackles, and Red-Winged Blackbirds. The Mourning Doves still visit, but in reduced numbers. With Spring comes fresh food for most of the birds and the number of visitors shows it. The Juncos, Chickadees and Woodpeckers are seen much less frequently. I haven't seen the first Cardinal this morning.

It is fun to see the nests pop up. Today, I had an "AHA!" moment as I looked at the pieces of grass on the stoop in front of the front door. I had noticed them before. It looked as though someone had recently mowed, but that wasn't the case. Then, I checked behind the wreath on the door, and there was the cause! The House Finches have built a nest in my wreath, just like they did last year!

It always surprises me that a door that is opened at least a few times each day seems like a suitable place to raise their young! As I faced the nest I couldn't see the birds at all so it makes a very nice hiding place for them.

When I open the door they fly off and watch me from the nearby Pear tree. Once the eggs hatch, we'll be careful not to use that door if possible.

Feederwatch officially ends next week, but I'll be watching all summer long. I learned so much from watching them. I can now identify some by flight, some by shape, and I'm beginning to pick out their songs. And sing they do! Their songs start early. With the windows open at night I may find my mornings start earlier too!