The Snow Goose and Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

It is so thrilling for me when my children and I read books together that I loved as a child.  It's even more exciting when I see that the story has captured them in the same magic weave that I felt at their age.  One such story is The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico, written in 1940.  It is the story of a deformed artist living alone in England, a young girl and a lost and injured snow goose that brings them together.  The sad ending of the story impacted me so that I can still remember my mother reading it to me, late one night on a family camping trip in Freeport, while my father was out fishing for flounder.

I had been wanting to visit Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in Sherman, and this was an excellent opportunity, since about 30,000 wild snow geese make it their winter home each year, from November to the end of February.  The massive waters of Lake Texoma attract the birds, and the refuge annually plants agricultural crops, such as wheat, as a food source for the birds.  As we arrived, we immediately saw a small flock flying low above us! I frantically took pictures as quickly as I could, fearing that this would be our only opportunity.  We drove on to the visitor center, and just this side of the iron gate sat about seven wild geese, posing for pictures!  We then looked in front of us, and saw thousands of white geese fillng the skies and pastures down toward the shores of the lake!  We were able to pull along side the road, amidst other cars and watch the birds from a very short distance.  They are simply amazing!   We did make time to drive around the numerous roads around the refuge, tour the visitor center and hike along the trails, but my heart was back watching the geese! 

Visit the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge website for more information on this fascinating place, and to see all that they offer, including interactive children's classes each month.  http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/hagerman/index.html

Paul Gallico is the author of The Snow Goose, and other books, including The Poseidon Adventure.  For more information on his books; http://www.paulgallico.info/notitle.html

A Texas Connection - The Snow Goose won the O. Henry award in 1941.  This short story award is named for the American writer, William Sydney Porter, who wrote under the pen name, O. Henry.  Early in his career, Porter worked in Austin for the Texas General Land Office, and maps he drew, bearing his signature, are on display at the state capital.  Hmmm.... an idea for another road trip?

Caddoan Mounds State Historical Site

I wonder if any of the Texas Paranormal Groups have ever visited the Caddoan Mounds State Historical Site?  Because even a hard core disbeliever such as myself will tell you that there are ghost here.  You feel them as you drive along the El Camino Real de los Tejas, the oldest road in Texas; they call out from the pine trees that line the road.  You can feel them as you walk along the trail to the mounds themselves.  These ghost are not going to say boo, pose for any pictures, or slam any doors.  But you feel that they are there just the same.  Those of children playing in the woods and along the stream that runs just beyond the mounds.  Ghost of the women who made baskets from the long grasses that grow there, and from the men that farmed the fertile earth.  This was there home.

The Historical Site offers an interpretive museum of the Caddoan culture, with some artifacts that have been recovered from mounds.  From the El Camino Real, the mounds aren't very impressive, time and erosion has taken much away, but it's a nice walk around the two mounds along the 0.7 mile trail.  We went on a lovely, partly sunny day and our children ran and played in the grass and among the trees leading to the stream.  It was fun to imagine life at this spot, so long ago. 

I recommend that you read over their website before going, the Caddoan culture was such a vast and complex one, and you need a little foundation. For all the historical information, as well as current prices, times and upcoming events, please visit their website; http://www.visitcaddomounds.com/index.aspx?page=2

For more information regarding the El Camino Real de los Tejas;  http://www.elcaminorealtx.com/

Just down the El Camino Real is Mission Tejas State Park, for information on the park; http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/mission_tejas/

paint by numbers

When I was a little girl, I loved the paint by number sets sold at our local craft store.  It was such a huge treat when my mom would surprise me with one!  I would immediately run outside and sit under the huge oak tree in our backyard, and paint until dinner!  I remember always trying to be very careful, and occassionally painting the wrong the space, and getting angry with myself, because I wanted it to be as perfect as the picture on the box, which was usually my favorite thing in the whole world... a horse! 

Yesterday, I decided to surprise my daughter with a paint by numbers kit, also of a horse.  I had given her one a few years before, but she didn't have the patience to complete it.  Under the barren limbs of our Bradford Pear, she and I painted for about an hour and a half, until it was time to come in and for me to fix dinner.  For a little while, I was a young girl again, painting with a friend.  It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, and a quality project for us.  I want to frame it for her, not because it's great art, but to remind us of our time together.

washing dishes with God

I recently read The Shack, by William P. Young, which was loaned to me by a friend.  I really enjoyed the book, and one of the images that really stood out to me was that of Mac and God (Papa in the story), standing in the kitchen, hand washing and drying the dishes after dinner.  The rich conversation that ensued, and the quiet, easy, open and casual way which doing something as mundane as dishes allowed them to "speak" was a reccuring thought, days after I had laid the book down. 

I have always had a dishwasher, and only seldom ever hand washed dishes when there were too many to fit, or if we were camping, etc..  While my chidren now load and unload the dishwasher, I would do my pans, etc. by myself, and usually alone.  Craving those moments of closeness that God and His child shared in the book, I made the very unpopular decision that the week of Thanksgiving Break we would hand wash and dry our dishes.  As expected, I met alot of opposition at first, and in the middle, and especially after Thanksgiving Dinner, when every dish in the house was piled in the sink and along the counters, waiting to be cleaned!  But we did it, after each meal that week we gathered in the kitchen, instead of in front of the television, or going off to their own rooms, and we washed and dried and talked, and listened to each other.  My three year old even begged to be included, and was put in charge of drying and putting away the silverware.  There were no mouths overfilled with food, or sibling arguments that usually define our nightly dinners.  We just spoke and occasionally laughed with one another, and even after the dishes were finally finished on Thanksgiving, they each said how good it felt to have completed what seemed an impossible job.  By mommy standards, it was a good experiment, and true to my word, we will again resume use of our dishwasher......... unless it should "accidentally" break. 

For more information on The Shack by William P. Young;  http://theshackbook.com/

Fossil Rim in November, Glen Rose

Before we basted the Thanksgiving bird, I wanted to take my kids to see some wild turkeys.  I think it's important that they understand where our food comes from, in it's native, wild state.  Not the ones at the petting zoo.   

We went with some friends to Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, because the turkeys are friendly there, just as you would expect Texas Turkeys to be! The fact that no one hunts them, and every car just stops to feed them has nothing to do with it!

Plus, we all wanted to see the baby giraffe, born just a couple of months ago!

The sky was gray and cloudy, and the air was chilly.  I was afraid the animals would be too cold to want to come eat. Yeah, right!

They have all sorts of wild hoofstock from Africa and Asia, roaming around the Texas brush.  It's really beautiful.  The hometown whitetail deer aren't stupid, either.  They are all over the place, eating right along side the antelope and fallow deer. 

We saw about 5 little jackrabbits, well, by rabbit standards they aren't little, they are BIG!  They were so cute, running and chasing each other everywhere!  The cool weather had them excited!

We kept looking for some turkeys.  As we entered a big pasture, an emu came running towards our car!  My little 3 year old points and says, a turkey!!  Now that would be some drumstick!!

Once back in a treed area, we found six turkeys sitting on a log!  They were just out of range for my crummy little camera, but we sat and watched them for some time, while they did..... nothing.  But it was great to find them!

And we found the baby giraffe!! It was precious!

To plan your own visit to Fossil Rim, check out their website. They have lots of really great family camps and workshops!    http://www.fossilrim.org/index.php

Brownie Bites with Pumpkin Pie Spice Frosting

My oldest son's Boy Scout Troop had a Thanksgiving Feast, and everyone was asked to bring something.   He was assigned dessert, and choose brownie bites.

He made them himself, with me in the next room in case he needed help.

He made pumpkin pie spice cream cheese frosting, and I put it in the pastry bag, and showed him how to top the brownies.

After a couple, they were looking pretty good.  But the first few, like the one in the picture, looked a little like dog poo.  We had a good laugh about it, as we packed them all up for his feast!

It's sometimes hard not to step in and "correct"  your children's works when they are learning something new.  But the pride he felt from taking HIS brownie bites was more important than taking picture perfect dessert for his friends and their families.

Come to think of it, I think this picture is perfect!

Brownie Bites:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat for 4 minutes, use a timer because the beating time is important.
Spray or butter a mini muffin pan, or use mini muffin cups. 
Cook for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Pumpkin Pie Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. package cheese cheese
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (adjust to taste). 

Beat until incorporated.  Frost as desired.

Veteran's Day

On Veterans Day, after we raised the flag and watched some local coverage on television, I took my 3 year old outside and we played with his little toy soldiers. 

While I am a big believer in taking just about every toy outside, toy soldiers are a natural for outdoor play.  We set up the soldiers in the grass and along the rocks, bringing in a few more rocks from around our garden. 

He also has several army trucks, which we ran back and forth between the platoons.  I added some water and made mud for them to run through, which really excited my little boy!  

He flew planes around the yard, and I made a mental note to find him some of those little guys with parachutes on their backs. 

I watched as he collected leaves, small sticks and other natural things from around the yard, and used them to build a bridge and beds for his "men".  He sorted the leaves, using big ones for the mattresses and blankets, and little ones for pillows.  He even attempted to make a small tent with a few of the largest leaves, but it wouldn't stay up.  I was tempted to help with that, but realized he was learning more from his failtures than he would from my assistance. 

He also has a few boats, and had it been warmer, we would have set up his small wading pool to sail the boats across the "ocean".  I plan to remember that on the Fourth of July. 

Under our oak tree, we set up a camp and brought out our lunch to eat while he played.  Some of the "G I Joes", as he calls them, were brought over, and they sat under the tree with us to eat. 

He's only three, and doesn't understand the workings of war, but I'm much older, and don't either.  As we played, with the sun shining on us while we laid in the grass, I talked to him about his grandfathers, who both served, and his great grandfather, who was a paratrooper in Germany during World War II.  I also talked about the idea of freedom, and how the men and women these toys represent fight for us.

His older siblings came home from school, and immediately joined in with him.  The innocent game my son was playing, where none of the toy soldiers had died, and were much more concerned with jumping from the tall rock towers he had built, was over.  The plastic men now battled one another, in hand to hand combat and decisive battles where recovered acorns served as cannons balls, knocking down entire troops. Medics rushed the injured off the field, to a make shift hospital fashioned from a spiral notebook from my older son's backpack.  Even our NuNu Kitty, who had spent the afternoon lazily watching us from under a bush, was transformed into a battle cat, carrying men to war on her back.  True to any war, both sides claimed to be "the good guys", and were not exactly sure why they were fighting.

I know some friends who don't let their children play with toy soldiers, claiming the violence associated with them, and that most of them are holding guns.  I understand and respect their opinions on the matter, but I also appreciate the lessons my children learned, playing with these simple toys, that don't use batteries, make noises or, thankfully, involve any kind of "screen". 

The game ended shortly after I went in to begin dinner, as the sky was turning.  I stood in the kitchen, browning the ground beef for our chili, listening as our children recounted for their dad and me the different ways Veteran's Day was observed during their school day. My son's school had an assembly, and my daughter's class took turns telling about the Veterans who had served in their family.  We then sat together at the table, and thanked God for our food, and for the men and women who have served and sacrificed.