Every day there are new things to try and lessons to be learned…lessons that can be passed on to future generations.

For instance, today I learned not to give silly string to a moody three year old. Sure, it may seem like a good idea at the time,

but silly string soon runs out and a three year old doesn’t understand that.

Watching one cry while trying to put the string back in the can is just about the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.

 
 

 
 

We have actually had winter this year! Normally, it only snows here about every five years, but we have had three snows in a little over one year.

This season it snowed in November,

then again in February. We’ve also had a lot of really big frosts. Hudson and Denton have been very curious about “Scary Jack Frost”. (I’m not sure why they call him that.) One night when they were staying here, they asked me to sing them a song about Scary Jack Frost and Coco…our cat. So, I made up a song. They’ve learned it and we sing it together. These are the words.

Scary Jack Frost has icicles for his hair

Scary Jack Frost wears red long underwear

He sneaks around at night and paints the ground all white

He dances in the trees blowing frost on limbs and leaves

Then on our window panes he writes his silly name

And hurries home before the break of dawn

How do we know? Coco told us so

When she was hunting mice she said she saw him twice

That’s how we know, Coco told us so

That’s how we know about that old Jack Frost

 
 

Who knows? Maybe she has seen him.

 
 

  

During the last week of January, Joel and I traveled back to the Great Smokey Mountains. We try to stay away from crowds and mostly just hang out in the hills. One morning we drove through Cades Cove, one of our favorite places, to the trailhead for Abrams Falls.

We had never walked to this particular falls and decided that it was time. A man pulled in to the parking lot at the same time we did, but we went ahead of him on the trail. Before long, he caught up with us and accompanied us to the falls.

Turns out, he is a volunteer with the park service.

His name is Dan Lawson. He lives in Maryville and has hiked the trails in the park for forty years. We so enjoyed sharing the trail with him that day. Not only was he delightful company, he was able to answer our questions about hiking in the Smokeys.

When we reached the falls, we exchanged email information.

Then he took our picture and continued on his journey. He had eleven and a half more miles to go.

A year ago, Joel took my picture as I sat on the steps of a cabin in Cades Cove.

It was the Dan Lawson cabin and had belonged to the great grandfather of the Dan Lawson that shared our hike…. No matter where you go, there you are.

Since the end of September there has been a steady parade of nations through our home and property. The nations represented are:

 
 

China,

 
 

England,

Angola and

India.

On the 21^st of this month, we are expecting guests from Holland.

 
 

 
 

We are excited and can’t wait to share our home with them. It’s great getting to visit with folks from around the world without leaving the comfort of your own livingroom.

 
 

  

This morning when I went over to keep the boys, they were sitting at the table eating breakfast. They were having a banana that had been sliced and divided onto two plates.

They really weren’t much interested in their little meal, so when Josh told them to eat everything on their plate, Denton took everything off of his and put it on the table. I told him to put it back on his plate and eat it. Pointing to one piece of banana, Denton said, “I can’t eat that…it has mud on it!”

And he didn’t eat it.

Later we went outside. They went into the dog pen and I gave them orders NOT to play in the dog’s water. Of course, that was the first thing that Hudson did. I fussed, repeated the orders and walked back toward the house. Hudson went right back to the water. I fussed, repeated the orders a little louder and walked back toward the house. When I went back to check, this is what I saw.

And I overheard Denton saying, “Hudson, you know what you Mammy said!”

 

 

In China I think that it’s actually the year of the tiger, but on my little farm, I have proclaimed 2010 as the year of the chicken. Why? Because, this is the year that I’m going to put my little flock to work for me. Movable chicken runs, free range, organic eggs; these words are now a part of my vocabulary. No more emptying my bank account at the feed store. I’m not set up yet, but I’m heading in that direction. I’ve relocated a rooster and five hens to the garden where their assignment is to pull grass, loosen up the soil and do a little fertilizing. So far, so good. As a matter of fact, there’s no grass left.

I scatter their feed where I want the ground loosened up and they go to work.

 

They’ve even started laying again.

Matilda is in charge of hunting eggs.

This spring, when it’s time to plant I’ll give this little group of chickens another job.

Friday is my birthday. I was born in 1957, so do the math. It just so happens that in China, 1957 was…you guessed it…the year of the chicken.

Yesterday our family got together for lunch and to exchange gifts.

We had sandwiches and French-fries

 

cut into holiday shapes.

After we ate, we opened gifts. Hudson and Denton went first because we all figured that the whole gift exchange experience would be more pleasant that way.

One of their gifts included gardening tools and a wheelbarrow, which came unassembled.

While the boys were outside trying out their new tools, Adam and Laura put the wheelbarrow together. Then came the test. You see, there was only one wheelbarrow, which meant they would have to share. (You know what’s coming, don’t you?)

 

Denton got his turn first.

 

Then it came time to swap,

 

which made Denton so mad that he jumped up and down

 

till his pants fell off.

Last Friday the boys turned three years old. But, like someone once said, “Don’t you know that three is the new two?” I think that perhaps they were right.

 

This morning they came over, and since it was raining, they watched a little television.

Last night I taped off a section of one of the laundry room walls and painted it with chalkboard paint.

So, while they were here, they did a little chalk drawing.

 

Denton was so pleased with his work that he took a picture of it. And, bless their little hearts,

 

they even drew a chicken!

When it came time for lunch, I fixed them some rice with a red gravy.

Hudson ate his. But Denton said,

 

“I don’t like orange gravy, o.k. Orange gravy is for big people, not for little people. I’m not going to eat it.”

“I don’t like orange gravy, I only like white.” Guess what…he didn’t have lunch.

We woke up this morning to a snow covered landscape and twenty nine degrees. It was a little cool, but very beautiful. I think that our mayhaw orchard was most spectacular…and that’s where we went to play.

Denton and Joel came to the house to get me, which caused the boys to be separated for a good five minutes.

But you would have thought it had been days.

Hudson and Denton worked at making a snowman

who wasn’t much interested in cooperating with them.

As usual, Nikki took a lot of pictures.

There was golf cart riding

and, of course, texting. I think everyone had a ball…

even Matilda.

They’ve been here as long as I can remember, standing guard on either side of the driveway. I feared that someday they would have to go, but hoped that day would never come. On moonlit nights their shadows looked like huge abstract drawings in the dirt. They helped define our yard and served as somewhat of ascreen between our house and passers by. They gave shade and southern charm.

Then, on Sunday, it happened. One of them split and crashed into the other and I knew the time had come. So, Monday morning I made the call that I had been dreading. It was less painful than I thought it would be. On Tuesday, some nice men came with a lot of equipment.

They hung around ,

 

and made an even bigger mess…one that took them four days to clean up.

They did a good job. I just hope that the one that almost cut off his ear is o.k.