Subtitle:  Summer’s End

Sub-Subtitle:  Where Have I Been for the Past Two Weeks?

New Beginnings….Summer’s End.  Seems like a bit of a contradiction there, doesn’t it?   The apparent paradox is best summed up by a phrase from the song Closing Time, by the band Semisonic; “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”.  That is how I feel about this time of year.  Summer is winding down, but I see new beginnings all around.  The flowers and plants are setting seed pods, readying for a new generation of life.  The nighttime air has a certain crispness to it that sends a shiver down my spine but adds spring to my step.  I feel invigorated by the lightness I feel in the air — leaving behind the heavy, torpid humidity of summer days and nights. 

Last week I was at Choirboy Music Camp with three of my sons.  For our family, choir camp always marks the end of the summer activities.  Once camp is over our focus turns to preparpations for school.  Mark and Grant both came to camp as junior counselors, having “graduated” from being choirboys (due to voice change).  Isaac is still in the choir and attended as a camper.  I was on the kitchen staff.  It was Isaac’s second year as a camper and my third year as a staffer.  Traditionally, camp is where the music staff (the choir directors) make their decisions about who will be placed in which choirs.  Within the choir structure, there are 7 different choirs: Prep Choir for the very youngest singers (ages 4 or 5 through age 7), Training Choir for boys ages 8 and up who are just entering the program and need to learn the basics of singing (breathing, note reading, tonal memory, etc.), Resident Choir for boys who have completed the basic requirements to move beyond the training program and be considered for a performing/touring choir (they perform in local concerts).  This year (because of the growth of the choir program) a new choir has been added, called the Voyager Choir.  Boys in this choir will perform in local concerts and will take two or three short tours lasting 2-4 days.  They will not venture far beyond the state of Minnesota and some neighboring states.  The two previously existing touring choirs are the Nordic Choir (nationally touring) and the Viking Choir (internationally touring).  The Nordic Choir typically takes about a 3 week tour and have been to every one of the 48 contiguous states during the choir’s 30+ year history.  The Viking Choir tours abroad and throughout the US, traveling to such places as Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Austria, France, Scotland, Norway, Canada, Mexico, etc..   Their tours can last from 4 to 5 weeks.

The turnover rate in a boys choir is quite high, as every year boys grow bigger, older, and more mature.  Once a boy’s voice changes (as happened with Mark and Grant) they can no longer sing in the “Boys” choir, but they can participate in the Alumni Choir.  Most boys experience their voice change at around age 14, and often this coincides with the time they are entering high school with all of it’s distractions, demands, and choices for extra-curricular activities.  The retention rate for the Alumni Choir is fairly low.  Out of the 10 to 15 boys that graduate from the choir each year, 2 or 3 may become regular members of the Alumni Choir.  Neither of my boys have chosen to sing in the alumni choir, although they have remained connected to the choir through their camp counseling and helping at other choir events throughout the year, and they are both active in our high school music programs, participating in both choir and band, as well as the annual school musical.

Losing so many boys every year means that other boys have a chance to move into those open spots.  Isaac has been in the choir program for 3 years, beginning in the prep choir.  This year he was selected for the Nordic Choir.  This is a huge step for him — a new beginning, if you will.  It will be the first time he will be going on tour.  Understand — I will not be going along on the tour.  Only paid choir staff accompany the boys on their tours — those staff including the choir director, accompanist, prefect, and often the choir founder (who doubles as the bus driver).  Isaac is both excited and scared about this new chapter of his choirboy adventure.  Excited because he will be learning and growing and improving as a choirboy, but scared because he has never been away from his home and family for such a long time.  I am trying to reassure him that in the 10 months between now and tour time, he will grow not only musically, but also emotionally, so that the separation will not be a daunting as it seems today.  Both of his older brothers have been on these long tours and can also reassure him that the tours are fun-filled and adventure-packed — so much so that homesickness will be the furthest thing from his mind (well…..almost).  I am also reminding Isaac that for the duration of the tour, his home is the tour bus and his family is the choir.  They will look after him with as much love and care as I would (well…..almost).   

After that long, drawn-out explanation, I hope you still have time to take a look at some pictures and watch some videos that I took at camp.  It was an exhausting week (for me), but so very rewarding.  I consider it a priviledge to be able to come to camp and be around this exceptionally talented, energetic, and well-behaved group of boys.  Here are some glimpses of what our week was like:

The Main Lodge.  The boys rehearse their music in this building, and the kitchen and dining hall are in the lower level.  I spent on average 14 hours a day in that kitchen! 

When I wasn’t working in the kitchen I was hanging out ove at Eagleview – just across the road and up the hill a bit from the main lodge. 

Here I am hard at work, demonstrating how to prepare toast for 110 people in under 10 minutes! (We have a toaster that continuously cycles the bread through and we melt the butter and “paint” it on.

One of the other cooks in our pantry.  We also had a wlk-in refrigerator and freezer stocked with food.

Relaxing on the porch of Eagleview.  We usually got about an hour break in the afternoon to put our feet up, while the boys were busy with their “activities” (everything besides eating, sleeping, and singing!)

The activities included (I don’t have pictures of everything)

Sailing;

Swimming;

(While swimming the boys would always try to manage to throw the counselor off the raft.  The poor counselors didn’t stand a chance, although they were bigger, they were usually outnumbered by about 20 to 1!)

Crafts;

Rocket building;

Other waterfront activities;

Paddleboats,

kayaks, fishing, canoes, waterbikes,

Archery;

BB guns (well supervised, of course), group games (basketball, soccer, wiffle ball, frisbee golf etc.)

Indoor games:  foosball, ping pong, bumper pool.

Then there is the MUSIC!!!!

The Viking Choir rehearses — these boys find out at the beginning of camp that they have been selected for this choir.

The rest of the boys practice together and find out at the end of the week which choir they have been placed in.

Most of them end up being selected for the Nordic Choir.  The rest are placed in the newly formed Voyager Choir.  All of them are experienced singers and will be performing and touring to some extent in the upcoming year.

A “Nordic” choir rehearsal:

Announcement time:

Isaac waits in nervous anticipation.

Hurray!  His name is called!!!

Waiting to see who else will be with him in the Nordic Choir.

Is these tears of relief or panic?  Probably a little of both.

The first official gathering of the new Nordic Choir.

These four boys have formed a special bond of friendship through the past year together in the Resident Choir.  They are all happy that they are moving to the Nordic Choir, and will be together strengthen their bonds of friendship and support each other through the demands and difficulties of this new choir.

Presenting the brand new Nordic choir in their first public performance.  Their sound is beginning to come together after only 4 days of rehearsal.  Some of these boys are singing in harmony for the first time.

Here is a bit of what more experienced boys can do with 4 days of rehearsal time.  Although this is sung in unison, don’t be fooled into thinking it is easy! 

New beginnings……tonight we attend our first regular Nordic Choir rehearsal of the season.   And so it goes.

Well, friends, I made it.  I’ve hit the half-century mark.  I can’t say I am excited, exactly, to be here, but really — why not?  Life is good, and I have been blessed in my life with love, health, friends, and family for 50 years now.  How could that not make me happy?  Every day brings me something new to be thankful for.  In days I am 18,280 days old.  If I had only one thing to be thankful for for each day of life, it would be quite a list — but there are many things that bring me to a sense of gratitude every single day.  My list stretches miles long. 

Being 50 is something that I am adjusting to.  I know it’s only a number.  I know that we are all getting older at the very same rate, that I am no older or younger than you than I was yesterday, or last month, or 10 years ago.  In fact, the older I get, the less the “age difference” seems to matter between me and my friends — some of whom are older and some who are younger.  (Some quite a bit older or younger.)  Among my closest friends I can name some who are nearing 60 and others who are barely past 30.  Age is not the most important determining factor in who is or is not my friend.  Shared interests, experiences, values — some sort of commonality– is what binds me to another person.  It has little to do with the number of sunrises and sunsets we have seen or the number of breaths drawn since birth, when speaking literally.  It’s more about how these measures of life are experienced that matters to me.  Someone who never looks up at the sky with a sense of wonder and imagination, who never takes a deep breath, holds it in and slowly lets it out in a mindful way, being thankful for the ability to breath and smell and for the scent of life in that breath (be it lilacs or baby poop) – that person could never understand me in a way that would allow us to become true friends. 

In celebration of the 50^th anniversary of my birth, I have decided to come up with my “Top 50” list – a list of things that make me happy to be who I am and where I am in this journey through life.  These are in no particular order.

1.  My parents – without them I wouldn’t be here.  They have loved me and guided me my whole life.  They gave me the proverbial “roots and wings” needed to become a happy, functional adult and parent to my own children.  They grounded in the Word of God and instilled in me a sense of wonder in the world, both physical and spiritual.

2.  My husband.  God raised up a wonderful man for me.  He is not perfect, but we are a good fit, perfect compliments to each other.  Our teamwork as parents is uncanny at times.  Where I am weak, he is strong and vice versa.  I love him with all my heart, even when he is driving me crazy. J

3.  My children.  Every day they amaze and delight me.  Sometimes they frustrate me.  They are an awesome responsibility and gift from God.  I am their biggest fan, in everything they do.  I support them in following whatever dreams God gives to them.

4.  My sisters.  What a great gift that they are not only part of my family, but also some of my very best friends. 

5.  My brother.  He is the strongest person I know, my inspiration.  The way he has dealt with adversity in his life is the example I turn to whenever I face it in mine.  His faith is incredible, his humor invincible. 

6.  Music.  Without it I couldn’t dance through life.  Sometimes it fires me up, sometimes it calms me down.  It colors my world.

7.  Flowers.  I love their colors, their scents, their variety.  I love them in greenhouses, in florist shops, in my yard, on my table, or growing wild in the ditch by the side of the road.  Who can look at a flower and not feel better?

8.  Coffee.  I love to wake up to the aroma of coffee brewing.  I love that first, freshly brewed cup in the morning.  I have many happy memories that are tied up with coffee, from waking up early in the morning at my Grandma’s house when I was a little girl, to late nights at college, to morning chats with my girlfriends, to coffee in bed delivered by my husband – his special way of showing me he loves me.

9.  Babies.  It doesn’t matter to me what species the babies are – puppies, kitties, bunnies, birds, or butterflies.  Of course, I love people babies the best (especially my own), but the miracle of birth and the innocence of babies never fails to bring me hope.

10.  Swings.  They make me feel like I can fly.  They rock me like a little child.  No matter how old I am, when I see a swingset, I can’t resist getting on and soaring through the air, the higher the better!  A porch swing or a lawn swing invites me to slow down, relax, contemplate.

11.  Girlfriends.  They do for me what my husband cannot.  They understand what it means to be a woman.  With them I can share the joys and frustrations of being female.

12.  Books.  They are my window into worlds both real and imagined that I could never get to on my own.  I read for knowledge and I read for pleasure.  I read to grow.

13.  Computers.  What a wonderful tool for communication.  What a helpful instrument for organization.  A modern marvel – probably the most revolutionary invention of my lifetime.

14.  Cameras.  How else could you so perfectly capture a memory? 

15.  Trees.  They provide oxygen for us to breath.  They provide shade on a hot summer day.  They provide shelter for lots of nature’s little creatures.  They provide wood for homes and furniture and beautiful works of art. They provide limbs to hang swings from (see #10). 

16.  Chocolate.  Dark, white, milk – I love it in all of it’s many varieties.  Mmmmmm!  Leave the nuts out, please!

17.  Hugs.  They speak when words cannot.

18.   Christmas.  A time to celebrate the giving and receiving of God’s greatest gift to us by giving and receiving gifts with those we love most.  The greatest gift of Christmas, aside from Jesus, is the gift of the memories and traditions we make with our families and friends.  It is a time of year that brings people together.  So many of my favorite things are wrapped up in the traditions of Christmas that I cannot help but love it!

19.  Sunsets and sunrises.  There is just something magical about them, I can never see one and not be moved.  They are a reminder to me that each day is a gift.

20.  The night sky.  I love to watch the moon in all of it’s phases.  I love the way the stars sparkle and wink.  I love to watch for shooting stars.  I love to identify familiar constellations. 

21.  Campfires.  The perfect way to enjoy the night sky, usually in the company of family and/or good friends.  Often involves chocolate, in the form of s’mores.

22.  Camping.  A way to reconnect with nature, a simpler way of life.  Reminds me not to take my “things” too seriously.

23.  My pets.  They add another dimension of caring to my life.

24.  Jigsaw puzzles.  At my house, a jigsaw puzzle is a people magnet. I can’t resist a jigsaw puzzle.  If one is on the table, I have to stop and work on it.  I am not alone – whenever I am working on one, others stop to see if they can place a piece or two (or more!).  Conversation usually ensues. 

25.  Clothes, sheets, towels, dried on the clothesline.  They smell so fresh and clean!

26.  My washing machine.  Washing clothes by hand is one chore I’m really grateful I don’t have to do.  My washing machine is probably the household appliance I use most often and am most thankful for.

27.  Freedom and the U.S.A.  Sometimes I complain about our government and taxes and the way our country is run, but I have to be thankful that I can complain without fear of retribution.  I can worship where and how I want to, and have a variety of good, solid educational options and opportunities for my children and for myself. So many people live in places where life is so harsh, where women are oppressed, where commodities are scarce, disease is rampant, healthcare & education unavailable and freedom non-existent. Life is fragile and precious.  To have been born in and to live in a land of freedom and abundance is something I should never take for granted.

28.  Sore muscles.  They remind me that I have a body that functions well (most of the time) and allows me to do some good, hard work.  Exercise and physical labor always creates in me a sense of accomplishment.

29.  A handwritten letter.  They are becoming so rare, that when I get one, I cherish it.  It means someone has taken time out their own busy life for me. 

 30.  Water.  I can swim in it, bathe in it, clean my clothes and my dishes in it.  I can drink it and be refreshed by it.  I can freeze it and use it to cool myself down or sooth my aches and pains.  The sound of water – the babbling brook, the gentle rain, the lapping of waves on a lakeshore or the crashing of ocean waves, are as pleasant to me as a symphony.  Water is miraculous and life-giving. 

31.  My husband’s hands.  He makes a living with his hands, and provides well for our family.  They are strong, but gentle.  He gives me wonderful back and foot rubs with them!  When he holds my hand in his, I know how much he loves me.   

32.  Singing.  Akin to music (# 6), but it is how I participate and become active in the gift of music.  I find a sense of connection in singing.  Singing brings me joy. 

33.  The local food co-op.  I can get the very best bread, granola, and produce, all from local sources.  It is clean, friendly, and cozy.  So much nicer than the mega-markets.

34.  Home-grown tomatoes.  Store-bought ones really can’t compare.  I love them best in BLT’s, in salads, or just sliced with salt and pepper.  (My husband prefers sugar on his.)

35.  Watching my children perform.  It doesn’t matter what they are doing.  It can be a musical concert, a sporting event, a school play, or they can even just be playing guitar hero – I simply love watching them learn and master a skill.  Isaac learned to ride a bike this summer, and I get so much pleasure watching him race up and down the cul-de-sac.  Little miracles.

36.  Birkenstock sandals.  The most comfortable footwear I own.  (And I own a lot of footwear!)

37.  No-sort recycling.  The best thing since sliced bread.  Truly.

38.  My iPod.  I love having almost my entire music library available in this tiny little device.  I’m still amazed that something so small can hold so much music! 

39.  Caller ID.  I don’t have to talk to those pesky tele-marketers.  (No offense to you if you are one, just know I won’t answer if you call me!)

40.  Cell phones.  It gives me much peace of mind to know I can always reach my children (because they always carry their phones, as opposed to my husband who only carries his sometimes, and then usually forgets to turn it on!—it’s a generational thing.)  I am also glad to have my own to call for help if ever I am in need of it.  The constant text messaging my kids do at times does drive me crazy though.

41.  Snow days.  They are few and far between, even here in Minnesota, but they are so fun just because they are so rare.  Nothing beats having an unexpected free day, especially when you can play out in the new snow – make snow angels, build snowmen, and dig snow forts.

42.  Eating out.  Sometimes it’s nice not to have to cook and clean-up.

43.  Worship.  Food for my soul.

44.  Yoga pants – as comfortable as sweatpants, but so much more attractive and flattering!  It is not necessary to do yoga to wear them (although yoga can be quite satisfying also).

45.  Magnifying mirrors, reading glasses, bifocals.  I find that for my 50-year-old eyes, these come in really handy!

46.  Early morning walks in the summer.  The sun is up, the air is cool(er), the birds are singing, the bugs are….well, let’s not mention the bugs.  Where I live I get to see a lot of wildlife, but the bugs are not my favorite.

47.  Prayer.  Quiet, contemplative, comforting, reassuring.  Sometimes I talk to God, sometimes I listen for His response.

48.  Church.  My community of faith.

49.  Service.  The ways in which I give back for all that I have been given.

50.  God.  Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, Comforter, Guide, Friend.  All I have comes from Him, all I do should be for Him.  Without Him, the rest of my list is pretty pointless.  I live by His amazing grace.             

Me at 2

Me at 5

Me at 50

Shalom, my friends!  May you be as blessed in your life as I am in mine!

Leah

Last Saturday (July 26), after we rushed home from our annual family vacation, we attended a “farewell” party for a man who has been an instrumental part of the Land of Lakes Choirboys organization since the very beginning. He is leaving the organization to take another job in southern MN, one that affords him the opportunity to build some security for retirement. He did not leave by choice, but by necessity. It is an unfortunate fact that a struggling non-profit organization like the choir cannot afford to provide retirement benefits for it’s employees. That being said, John Fitzgerald leaves a legacy at the Land of Lakes Choirboys second to none. While the music is arguably the most important component of the choir experience, in John’s eyes the boy always came first. To paraphrase P.J. Fanburg, a former choirboy and the young man who will be taking over many of John’s responsibilities with the choir, for John “the quality of the musician was more important than the quality of the music”.  As you can see from the pictures above, John took the time to visit with each and every choirboy who attended the party — and there were a lot of them! But that is John’s way — to make each and every boy feel special, feel important. He is genuinely interested in the boys as individuals, and not just as corporate members of a remarkable choir. Thanks, John!

In tribute to John, many current and former choirboys gathered to sing for him one last time (although I have no doubt that he will be a frequent visitor and will attend many Land of Lakes Choirboys concerts in the future). The song they sang is one of the choir’s “signature” songs — “Minnesota Morning”, by Jeff Brooks. Mr. Brooks has dedicated this song to the Land of Lakes Choirboys, and even attended the farewell party in person! Here is a video I took of the occasion. Grant and Mark both sang this song when they were in the choir, so they participated in the tribute.  Isaac attended the party, but because we were on vacation when the rehearsal for the song took place (and his choir has not learned this song) he did not feel comfortable singing, so he stayed in the audience and watched along with Art and myself. 

John Fitzgerald, you will be missed!

I am doing something I have never done before — writing a post to be submitted in the future.  I am doing this because I am going to be MIA for a week or so.  We are heading to our annual “family reunion” week up north (as we say here in Minnesota — which is pretty much “up north” to everyone else in the entire USA).  I just don’t want my old and new friends to think you have been abandoned!

I have never before called this annual trek a family reunion, but in truth, that is what it is.  My sisters and I gather at the same place, during the same week each summer, with as many of our children as can make it.  Most of the “kids” are grown to adulthood now, I have the only kids that are still truly kids.  All others of the generation we have borne are out of high school.  Some are married, some are even bearing their own children!  Our parents always join us for a few days, but never for the whole week.  We have our rituals.  We always exchange our birthday gifts for the year during this week in the summer, regardless of when our actual birthdays are.  My actual birthday DOES happen to always fall during this week, so I feel extra special.  I get to have a birthday party with my sisters every single year.  We always spend one day just shopping.  If we are lucky, we get to go shopping at “Crazy Days” in the nearest town to the resort where we stay.  It’s a highlight.  It’s the same junk you can find in nearly every tourist town across the country, but we love it because it is our tradition.  I always visit my favorite bookstore, Beagle Books, and ask the friendly and knowledgeable owner for her recommendation – and then I buy it.  We eat our evening meals together every night, each of the sisters taking a turn being the cook for the night.  The men take over for us one night, proving they are still “hunter-gatherers” by supplying a bountiful harvest of sunfish, crappie, northern, and walleye for our main course.  We go out to eat at Rocky’s Pizza on our first night there, because we are all too tired from packing and traveling to worry about cooking.  We go out for breakfast at the West 40 on our last morning together, at the end of a week that always seems too short. We trade books with each other.  We drink coffee in each other’s cabin every morning — whose cabin it is depends on who has the freshest pot.  We talk, and laugh, and sometimes cry.  Occasionally we get on each other’s nerves.  We bask in the summer sun and our sisterhood.

I am so blessed to have a family that enjoys being together.  I thank God and my parents for the environment of love and harmony that has always existed in our family.  I hope my own boys have the same kind of friendship with each other as they make their way in the world as my siblings and I have always enjoyed. 

I’ll see you all next week when we get back!  

(The next generation – taken 2 years ago, all but one were able to make it that year)

 

I don’t have much time for a lengthy post today so a few pictures will have to do it.  From my recent strawberry-picking outing.

And unrelated to strawberries, but still colorful and lovely:

(For those wondering what I will do with all the strawberries — right now they are all in my freezer — minus the ones we ate fresh, of course!  Eventually they will be used for freezer jam, strawberry shortcake & ice cream topping, smoothies and slushes.  Mmmmmmmmmmm!)

We have butterflies!

Sunday morning Isaac went out to the kitchen to check on the butterfly progress and was excited to discover that our first two butterflies had been “born”!  I was a little disappointed that we missed the big moment, but quickly realized that we had four more opportunities to catch the “big moment”.  After we returned home from church, we spent some time observing and playing with our newborn friends.  We brought them fresh cut flowers from our garden, hoping the feed them if they were hungry after their long sleep.  They didn’t seem much interested in the flowers, surprisingly, but they were docile and friendly and we were able to gently handle them. 

One of our first-born’s

An empty chrysalis.

Checking out the flowers.

It’s feet feel sticky!

Notice the two dots on the lower wings?  That tells us it’s a boy!

Making friends.

This chrysalis is nearly ready to hatch.  The walls are becoming more transparent and you can begin to see the familiar monarch wing pattern showing through.

In the morning (Monday) two more of the chrysalises were obviously about to hatch.

The chrysalis cases become almost as clear as glass!

We decided to release our first two butterflies (both males) to give the next butterflies more room.

We brought the cage outdoors and opened it.  Isaac says goodbye. 

At first the butterflies seemed reluctant to leave.  I turned the cage around so that the opening faced the morning sun….

One of the butterflies took flight!  It flew high up into a nearby oak tree where it alighted on a leaf and rested in the sun.

The second monarch followed suit, landing only a few feet away from the first one in the same tree.  They stayed there, sunning themselves, for over 1/2 hour!  When their wings were closed, they were almost impossible to see.  We could only glimpse them because we knew where to look, and occasionally they would open their splendid orange and black wings, almost like they were waving at us!

We closed up the cage with the remaining 4 chrysalises and brought it back inside.  I walked away to get a cup of coffee and Isaac announced “Another one is hatching!”  I rushed back and opened the screen for a better look, then grabbed my camera to record the action.  Because it happens so quickly, I missed most of the beginning and didn’t get very good video.  However, the next chrysalis (#4, if you are keeping count) began to open soon afterwards, and this time I was prepared!  Here is video of both “births”.  Naturally, I think the whole thing is fascinating, but it really doesn’t get “good” until about 3 minutes in, when the second butterfly begins to emerge.

Here are a few more pictures, showing the growth of the wings.

The first set (lower ones) of wings are covering the abdomen.

The tip of the second (upper) set of wings is just barely peeking out.

Now both sets of sings can be clearly seen.

Both butterflies are at full size.

Update this morning:  6:00 AM — I woke up and went to let the dogs out, then checked on our butterflies.  The 5th chrysalis was open and the newest butterfly had just slid out.  I watched it closely for exactly 11 minutes, seeing the wings grow to full size.  Watching with my eyes instead of through a camera lens gave me a better perspective.  I could really observe how the abdomen contracted while it was pumping up the wings.  I will never tire of watching this transformation miracle occur!  For me, it is a vivid illustration of how painful changes in our lives — places where we cannot see what the future holds, and cannot imagine what the next step is — are all a part of God’s great plan for us.  We just need to hang on, be patient, and trust God to bring us through the uncertainty and change into a beautiful new place.  It gives me hope.

LOOK THROUGH EYES OF HOPE AND SEE A BUTTERFLY INSIDE THE CATERPILLAR, HOPE KNOWS THAT BEAUTY IS WAITING TO BE BORN IN THE UNLIKELIEST PLACES … Thea Miller Ryan

 

Beauty is waiting to be born all around you, and even in you.  Especially in you.

 

We have had a fun summer project happening at our house. A retired couple from our church asked me if I thought Isaac would enjoy raising monarch butterflies. When I responded “Absolutely!” they generously made arrangements to bring us a butterfly cage they had constructed, fully loaded with 5 caterpillars, milkweed for the caterpillars to feed on and twigs for them to climb around on. After a couple of days, we noticed there were 6 caterpillars in our cage! Apparently there was an un-hatched egg on one of the milkweed leaves, and our “Late Bloomer” became our favorite caterpillar (mostly because we could easily distinguish him from the others since he was so much smaller). The summer schedule being what it is, we planned to head out to the lake over the 4th of July. We made sure there was plenty of fresh milkweed for our caterpillar friends, and just before we left on the evening of the 3rd, we noticed that one of the caterpillars was hanging from the roof of the cage in the tell-tale “J” formation that signals it is getting ready to shed it’s skin and move into the chrysalis stage. Indeed, when we arrived back home late Saturday night, the 5th of July, we discovered that 4 of our caterpillars had made the transformation, and the fifth had J’d up and was ready to change. By Sunday morning, there were 5 chrysalis’s in the cage. Our Late Bloomer continued munching and growing, however — as always, just a few days behind his cohorts. This morning, I discovered him hanging from the roof. He was ready to move on as well. I vowed I would not miss this moment, so I parked myself next to the cage with a good book and kept a close eye on Bloomer. At about 11:45 this morning, he seemed to get somewhat agitated, wiggling and struggling in an unusual way. Pretty soon he started to straighten out and what I can only describe as “contractions” began to occur along the entire length of his body. I quickly grabbed my camera, put it in video mode, and called the boys to come and watch! I have posted, for your viewing, the video I took of this incredible transforming process. It happened surprisingly fast, as you will see. I hope you enjoy it and find it as interesting as we did!

According to reading I have done, the chrysalis’s should be ready to hatch into butterflies about 10 to 14 days after they form. That means all but late bloomer should hatch before we leave on our annual vacation up north. We might have to bring Bloomer with us and release him up there, if he has not hatched by the time we leave. I don’t know how exactly we will transport a chrysalis that is only a few days (or perhaps hours) from hatching, but be assured, I will find a way!  Failing that (or if I discover that it is too hazardous to the butterfly) I will ask our neighbors to release Bloomer after he hatches.  (I keep calling Bloomer HE, but I won’t actually know his sex until after he hatches — you can tell if a monarch butterfly is male or female by it’s distinctive wing pattern.)

My sister, who homeschooled my nephew and now teaches at a small, private Christian school, suggested I make a “lapbook” about this project with Isaac.  I had never heard of a lapbook before, but after checking into it online, I can see that Isaac and I would LOVE this approach to documenting all that we are learning (because we are truly learning about this together).  Hopefully I can put some of my many scrapbooking skills and supplies to good use and make a lapbook that will be a permanent reminder of our butterfly adventure.

PICTURES:

 

 

 

 

The butterfly cage shortly after we got it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view of three of our caterpillars.  You can tell which one is Bloomer (the little one).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bloomer munching away at a milkweed leaf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac keeps a close eye on things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first caterpillar makes the move to become a chrysalis, while another caterpillar “looks on”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close-up of the first chrysalis.  You can faintly see the outline of what will become the butterfly’s wings through the chrysalis walls.  Eventually these walls will become more and more transparent, and the monarch colors, the well-known orange and black, will show through.

This is how I found Bloomer this morning.

You can see the difference between the new chrysalis and the one that formed two days ago.

 

 

 

 

 

The cast off caterpillar skin (and lots of caterpillar poop — who knew caterpillars pooped so much?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new chrysalis about 1/2 hour after forming.  It is already starting to look more like the others.

 

 

 

 

 

Six caterpillars-in-waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RESOURCES:

Monarch Watch

Making Lapbooks

It looks like I will be busy the rest of the summer.  I wonder if I will get through my reading list?

 

Youtube video about an amazing program for WWII vets called “Honor Flight” that my siblings and I are trying to get my Dad signed up for.  Here is the clip:

It would mean so much to my Dad to be able to do this.  The founder, Earl Morse, wants to honor the heroes from a past generation for what they did to protect the world and our way of life.  In my eyes, Mr. Morse is a hero as well.  More information about the Honor Flight program can be found here.

Thank you, heros of any generation, who have fought to protect and defend our freedoms.  I am grateful.

UPDATE:  My Dad went on the honor flight on April 17-18, 2009.  It was an AMAZING experience for him!

 I love all of the seasons, I really do.  Nothing compares to the splendor of blazing fall foliage.  A winter landscape that is covered with a newfallen blanket of snow makes the whole world look sparkling and refreshed.  Spring buds and blossoms are the harbinger of new life.  But summertime – sweet, sweet summertime.  In summertime my life takes on a different hue.  I spend more time with family, more time with friends, more time with the earth in general.  The pace of life does not slow down at all in the summertime, but my mindset does.  I drink in life more deeply.  I enjoy the moments, whether they are quiet ones or busy ones.  I plan less and yet somehow seem to do more. 

Since I last blogged, I have been immersed deeply at the waters of my life.  To try to briefly describe the past two weeks really will not do them justice, but I will  make an attempt, nonetheless.

On June 19-21 I had the great pleasure of spending time with my sisters.  Growing up, I barely knew my older sisters.  They were 10, 8 and 7 years older than me, and we didn’t have much in common.  My younger sister and I were like a second family, bookends on the other side of our only brother.  Our recollections of childhood mainly revolve around each other.  She and I did not always get along so well as little girls — and we had some especially rough moments as teenagers, but now all five of us sisters have grown up and grown into our sisterhood.  Our age differences don’t seem to matter anymore.  We have common ground now –we are all mothers, wives, and daughters of the same household and heritage.  We cherish our bonds that grow stronger with each passing year.  We spent our days together in Wisconsin Dells.  You may remember that about three weeks ago that particular area (along with many others in the midwest) was hit with torrential rainfall and subsequent flooding.  The town of Wisconsin Dells is situated along the Wisconsin River and what used to be Lake Delton, a lake that was created back in the 1927 when a local entrepeneur and construction company owner decided to create a resort area by excavating a shallow lake basin and building a dam to contain the waters of Dell Creek and control it’s flow into the Wisconsin River.  On June 9th, Mother Nature decided to undo what had been done nearly 81 years previously when the heavy rains washed away a portion of a road that separated the lake from the Wisonsin River and drained the lake within a matter of 4 hours.  The devastation of the lakeshore ecology and the local economy did not prevent us from having a wonderful time together, but it did serve as a reminder that we are not nearly as much in control of our fate as we would like to think we are.

 

   Five sisters enjoying dinner at a local restaurant.

 

 

 

  We went for a ride on a ferris wheel — something I haven’t done in perhaps 10 years!

 

 

 

  This used to be Lake Delton

 

 

 

One of the houses destroyed by the flooding.  The owners could not purchase flood insurance — they were told it was “unneccesary because the lake was dam-controlled.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning home from Wisconsin, it was time to turn my attention to Vacation Bible School.  Our church hosted five evening sessions, which ran Sunday night through Thursday night, from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, and included a dinner for all of the kids and staff.  My responsibility for the week was as music leader.  I taught the kids songs during opening exercies and sang with them again at the end of the evening.  In between times I helped out in the kitchen.  The theme for the week was “Beach Party – Surfin’ Through the Scriptures”.  Each day focused on a new “Beach Be-Attitude”, which included Be Obedient, Be Kind, Be Forgiving/Forgiven, Be Bold, and Believe.  The music reflected these “Be-Attitudes” with fun, singable tunes and lyrics, often with a Beach Boys or tropical “island” sound.  I’ve uploaded a couple of videos from our last night (the kids were full of energy and the staff was getting a little worn out by the end, as you may see in the videos).  I also have to include this cute picture of Isaac and some of the other 4th and 5th grade boys (they went by the grade they would be in during the next school year).  The little girl in the picture is the younger sister of the boy on the end in the red t-shirt.  She would really just like to be “one of the boys”.

 

 

The day after VBS ended was Art’s birthday (June 27th).  We decided to go away together for the weekend, using a gift certificate for a Lake Superior north shore resort that Art had been given by his office staff for Christmas in 2006 (it’s about time we used it!).  We invited our best friends and next-door-neighbors to join us.  We had a relaxing time together enjoying the natural wonders of our fair state. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent time at Gooseberry Falls and explored the small town located near our resort.  We marvelled at the lupines that grow in profusion and at the majesty of Lake Superior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was back to reality as I had to spend some time catching up on work at the office.  Today I am home, and I am acutally looking forward to spending time weeding in my flowers.  Tomorrow I begin preparations for the 4th of July weekend.  We are spending it at the lake, with friends and family, food and fireworks. 

Life is Good.

 

The last few days have been glorious here.  Sunny and warm, but not too hot.  Just the way I like them.  It gets cool at night, so that the mornings are crisp.  I have been getting up early and heading outside to walk some of the back roads near my home, breathe the fresh air, get my toes wet in the morning dew, and greet the day with my morning song.  Yesterday I saw three white-tail deer bounding across a field.  I felt like I wanted to bound right along with them.

We spent Father’s Day at the lake.  We grilled out and had a meal of hamburgers, grilled potatos and onions, and lots of fresh fruit.  My son’s girlfriend made us fresh rhubarb cake with whipped cream.  It was a blissful day.  I took a few pictures, but very few are post-worthy.  This one, however, pleased me greatly.  Just my guys.  They make me smile.