Still More Fun at the Loyd Place

These pictures are from the same afternoon

as the previous blog. Be sure to check it out, too.

Evan and Hunter spent quite a while racing

balls and cars down this track.  Uh-oh.

Hunter, didn't anyone ever tell you it's bad

luck to crawl under a race track?!

Calamity of calamities.The giant Easter egg 

won't fit in the basketball goal. 

When Hunter pulled up a chair to drink

his juice, Evan dragged one right alongside.

Judy and I thought this looked like a couple

of old men sitting around a barber shop.

They sure do want to be grown up.

Have shovel, will dig.

Evan hit the ball so hard Grandpa

had to resort to duct tape on the bat.

We have never, ever run out of things to do.

Grandma Judy starts up a game of "Hide

in the Sheet." Claire's disappearing.

Bri is practicing her new skipping.

This sheet is a moving target.  It was a very

 windy day, which made the game more fun.

Aha!  I've got you AGAIN!

Will Hunter become the hunted?

Only if Evan would rather chase him than

play in that big hole.

The fascination of "the hole" wins out and 

Bri joins him.  Hunter says, "Well, if you're

not going to chase me, I'm coming back in."

Free-for-all!  3 on 3.

As far as Kitty Cat is concerned, the children

can wrestle an tumble all afternoon.  Just

don't interrupt his nap, please.

Nope, this still isn't the end.  Another 

post full of pictures coming up.

All Over the Place

This blog contains a little of everything.

Hunter is working on "She'll Be Coming

'Round the Mountain."  And that's his

cousin, baby Kaleb, in Judy's lap.  He's

not ours-- we're not keeping any secrets.

Evan performs on his family's new piano.

We've all got a little music in us--

God put it there!

When all four kids were at our house at 

the same time, Kitty Cat got a real workout.

You've heard the expression "herding cats."

That's what these kids have in mind.

Sometimes Kitty Cat allows himself to be

caught.  Just sometimes.

A variation on chasing Kitty Cat is

"Chasing Evan." Note the grin on Hunter's

face as he's about to join in.

Bri is determined to tickle Evan and he

doesn't mind a bit.  Hunter's glad it's

someone else for a change.

We're gaining on him!

GOTCHA!  Finally.

Tickle, tickle.  Now what?

Tickle time's over. Now let's drink and drive.

(Where have we gone wrong?)

This swing set is into its fourth decade of

use and holding up pretty well.

Compared to the girls, the boys are

"swingers-in-training."  But their day will come.

Maybe they're not the Flying Wallendas,

but they're an entertaining, happy crew.

When the girls head inside for awhile,

the boys have some "guy time."  Featuring

BALLS, of course.

And CARS, of course.

And both balls AND cars are more fun when

they're zooming down a racetrack.

(This track is a piece of vinyl I found at 

the dump.  Durable, weatherproof, and light.)

Bri is about to defy gravity.

And we have LIFTOFF!

And we have another blog post in the can.

With more to follow.  Hang in there (like Bri).

A Little Game of Catch-Up: Claire and Evan

If time permits, I'm about to do some bigtime

catching up on blogging.  Pleasurable activities

have diverted my attention outdoors for the past

several days, and I have no regrets.  But I've got

some great stuff to share, and it begins here.

We have adopted a cowbird.  A rather annoying

sort, but very entertaining to the grandkids.  He's

very reliable, pecking on our window (when he's

not eating our FREE birdseed buffet).  He keeps

pecking even if we or the kids tap back at him.

We read that they are very territorial and are

reacting to their own reflection.  Maybe, but it's

more complicated than that.

No, these aren't cowbird eggs.  They're 

Easter eggs.  This particular hunt was before

Easter.  Why wait?  There's fun to be had.

Claire uses her psychic powers to deduce 

where the next egg will be found.

Evan wonders: "Okay, who stole the chocolate?"

"Maybe it just isn't ready to hatch-- I'll 

just put it back together."

The old '73 Mercury Montego station wagon

has become a regular and favorite playspot

for Evan and Hunter.  Not so much for the girls.

With wood-hauling over for a while, I cleaned

out the back, laid out a quilt (from sister Caryn),

and added a couple of toys.  With windows 

down, doors open, parked in the shade, it's a

nice option for spring and summer.  We can 

also drive around the yard if Grandma's free

to hold onto the kids.

"Thanks, Grandpa!"

Who knows, maybe one of these kids will

be driving it when it rolls over 300,000 miles.

It's on 279,000 now and running smoothly.

Change of scenery.  We took Evan and 

Claire to nearby Camelot.  They come to

a cheerful impasse in the tunnel

(compare to Robin Hood and Little John).

Simple solution: both go the same direction.

As the weather warms, vigorous activity

must be balanced with quiet relaxation.

And the porch has recently been cleared

of firewood, with our comfortable, inviting

swing restored to its place.  That porch will

really come in handy from now until fall.

Next blog will follow quickly on the heels

of this one.  Check back soon.

Easter and Resurrection Fern

Today is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter.

God in His wisdom has filled nature with

images of Christ's resurrection, a miracle

the human mind has difficulty comprehending.

One of the most beautiful pictures of rebirth

I have found is that of Resurrection Fern.

Here are some shriveled, dried fronds of

this fern that I obtained by setting up a 

ladder on an ancient tree on our property.

After a few hours without life-giving water,

the ferns seemingly "give up the ghost."

Their former beauty is gone; they

lose their appeal.

In recent blogs I showed you abundant

arrays of this unique plant at Raven 

Rock State Park.

This delicate plant does no harm to its host,

contrary to what one might expect.  It is an

epiphyte, drawing its moisture from the air

as well as from the moist crevices of the tree.

This amazing plant has even been taken on

a space shuttle mission so that its remarkable

regeneration could be observed.

Scientists estimate that the fern could go

one hundred years without water and fully

revive with just one soaking.  At the end of

this blog, take a peek to see if the ferns in

the very first pictures can come back to life.

Of course, the season of spring in its entirety

also pictures Christ's resurrection.  Seeds,

which can only be utilized, not created by man,

germinate and become adult plants in God's time.

Trees which lay bare in the harsh winter are

found not to be dead, merely dormant.  I

pointed this out over and over again to children

on the Farm Life Nature Trail yesterday.

It never ceases to amaze me, and I hope they

grasp the importance of the miracles that abound.

In the picture below, a Cinnamon Fern is in the

background, while the little "fiddletops" of more

ferns appear in the foreground.  Yet even this

magnificent display can't match the rebirth trick

of Resurrection Fern.  So hurry along to my 

final pictures.

Here are the same ferns that were dry

and shriveled in my first pictures.  They were

immersed in water for three hours. They 

have been given the gift of new life.

And Easter reminds us that the same 

gift has been offered to us all.  It's the

greatest gift I've ever received.