April Flora

Note the thick rows of daffodils coming up. The long one is actually longer than what's in the picture -- it goes past where I was standing. Toby and Lynae spent a little time spiffing the yard this afternoon. Everywhere we step, we're stepping on something... seems it's mostly lilies, squill, and daffodils. They truly are everywhere! This place will soon be bursting with color. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!

Yesterday I ordered apple trees, lilacs, ferns, crocuses, snowdrops, and tulips. I'm beginning to wonder where I'll find bare spots to plant them all. Thankfully, most of the planting will be done in the fall for next spring, and by fall I should know where I want to put stuff.

We also got 4 bookcases delivered yesterday. So now we can finally unpack and sort our books -- woo-hoo!! We're taking our time, mostly because there's so much to do outside, and it's gorgeous out this week.

Birdberryforest.com is down indefinitely, but y'all can still email me at my yahoo address. If you don't have it, leave a comment and I'll get it to you.

More pics soon... thanks for stopping by!

Name That Plant

Some of my favorite posts have been those where I'm invited to identify stuff. I don't usually post the answer since someone else already has, but anyway...

Here are some of the plants I found today on my stroll around the house. I think I know some of them, but I could be wrong. Do you know what these are?

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

I've also found chives by my back door, tulips which are about to open, and another flower I will share with you later if I have time to get out my tripod.

Whew! I Passed!

Last night we completed the field walk and range test for our firearm safety class. It wasn't nearly as embarrassing as I thought it would be, but I did have to make a few modifications to get through it. Oh, to be young and thin and have good knees again! Toby and Lynae did very well last night as well as on the written test.

Now I'm fully prepared to accompany them when they go hunting, armed with my camera. I'm not coordinated enough to hunt waterfowl, and it's highly unlikely that I'll ever set myself up to have to field dress a deer and drag it through the woods. But if my kiddos want to, more power to 'em!

I will probably always wonder if I was kind of crazy to actually TAKE the class with the kids, rather than just stay and observe. But hey, I did it. It's done. And I've got the certificate to prove it.

Amused curiosity, that's all...

You're sitting near a man you used to know, occasionally making small talk during the lecture to which you are listening. He removes his wedding band and starts twirling it around on his pencil. You suppose he's:

a) making a statement.
b) bored.
c) got a weird habit, probably one his wife doesn't appreciate.

It was killing me not to ask him. LOL

About those birds

I must share with you this quote from a letter Toby wrote to a friend:

"We have a kestrel in *****. We saw it eat a junco who tried a stunt better than himself."

This is why I like to read all his letters before he sends them out. I'd hate to have missed such a lovely sentence!

Tax Season

Because I have nothing better to do love creating silly things on the computer, I have created tax return forms for my paycheck-receiving children. After figuring exemptions, income, adjustments, tax and credits, other taxes, and payments, they will each find that they are receiving a refund.

See, when we pay the kids, we withhold a percentage for the "family fund" which is used for trips and other fun stuff. That's their taxes.

Here are some of the highlights of this year's tax return:

They get to claim exemptions based on the expenses they're expected to cover. There are adjustments for college fund contributions and any expenses for eyeglasses, glass eyes, and prosthetic limbs. They could itemize deductions, but after wasting several minutes on Schedule D, they will find that they'd do better to simply claim the standard deduction.

They are free to donate money to their parents just for fun, which would be added to their tax. There are credits for helping old ladies cross the road, hauling wash water from a nearby aquifer, and correspondence via USPS (also hardly worth their time, since they would qualify except they can't prove it).

There is a self-hair-cutting tax, as calculated on Schedule SH. Poor Jon! There is also a tax on vehicles driven on public highways, complete with its own form. There is a bald eagle feather tax which requires one to attach the feather and form EGL.

We then figure their total payments by adding the tax withheld, price of family entertainment tickets or restaurant meals (with accompanying receipts), and a plane ticket credit if they are due one according to attached Schedule :P.

Finally, they can subtract their tax from their payments and find they are due a refund. They can even have it deposited electronically to their savings accounts.

I think this will give them a healthy dose of the fun and frustration we all experience each year.

So now you know why I haven't finished my to-do list lately!

Hey, I know her!

A portion of last night's gun safety class was taught by the local conservation officer. I recognized her right away, even though she was only in 3rd grade the last time I saw her. She and I were pretty good friends, which is weird for public school students four years apart. During a break, I convinced one of the kids to go ask her if she used to have a pony named King. Yup, she sure did. (I remember riding King with her, and falling off, too.) So Dusty and I had a nice little chat.

I told Toby that he can expect to see Dusty again, since he plans to do a lot of hunting and fishing around here.

Oh, and her husband, a state trooper, pulled my husband over for a speeding violation the other night. It was the friendliest warning Loren has ever received.

I still can't get over how much my world has shrunk!

Picture time again

The view from my back door

And my front door

And Lynae's new haircut