Very Early Spring Color Wheel

 
I'm searching hard for color. Not surprisingly, these are pretty much the same things that have color early in the season every year. Even so, they are welcome.

RED
Red osier dogwood- I think I pictured this very same patch last year, but it's so vibrant!



ORANGE
A beech leaf looking like a dragonish boat in some miniature world.



YELLOW
A dried up polypore fungus. More creamy than yellow, but still interesting



GREEN
I know, moss is so trite. But it's looking very green and little else is yet.



BLUE
Yes, the blue sky is even more trite. But it was also a treat, since the forecast for the day was cloudy skies. One of the best parts of the leafless seasons is interesting branches against the blue. (And I dried clothes outside again!)



PURPLE
Black raspberry canes always look so purple in the spring!



And now for a story, for free.

While I was taking this walk, I stopped briefly beside a small wetland to look for any life that might be popping up. Something came up behind me and began snuffling at my legs. I turned to find a reddish golden retriever there at my side.

I petted her and she took my hand in her mouth and tugged as if to lead me somewhere. She was being very gentle, but had a tooth between the tendons on the back of my hand so it hurt anyway. I extricated my hand and told her she was a good dog. She did not try to follow me, and when I came back down the road she was no where to be seen.

Because she was a reddish color, like Irene's former Sandy Fe, it almost seemed like a visit from Sandy's spirit. I don't really believe in that stuff, but it felt odd anyway.

And I grew up on TV classics like Rin-Tin-Tin and Lassie. There was a small piece of my consciousness that felt guilty for not letting the dog lead me where she wanted to take me. Perhaps some child had fallen down a well and must be rescued, or Timmy was in trouble, or...

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Handbells - Hard Version

 
We played handbells in the service this morning- two really hard pieces. These are the hardest we've done since Gospel Rags last year, and we did them both on the same Sunday!

The first piece is Genesis. I never did really get it right (I'm the weakest member of the choir... it's OK, I'm not being modest, just honest), but at least I didn't play any glaring wrong notes. The video has a couple of issues too, beginning with...not the beginning. The first two measures are missing.



Then we played How Majestic is Your Name. Better playing, better video. Enjoy or not. I had fun and feel like I offered praises either way.

Yeah, I'm hidden behind the podium. There really isn't anywhere to get a good angle on the entire group.

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Back to Fundamentals

 
We have three strapping machines at work. We need two that are operating to work efficiently. For the past week, we've had one (our least favorite) that was running. That ended last night. Now we have none.

Back to fundamentals. It's called a bale of twine.





As I said to Alicia, "Can you tie a square knot?"


Actually, I think this was an accidental selfie while she was taking the above pictures. She'll probably shoot me for using it.

She wasn't appalled at all. I showed her how to tie a square knot that won't slip, and in two seconds she understood. Alicia's no slouch.

As I said, "Can you tie a square knot?"

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Sprouting Off

 
What happens when you lop off the main branches of some trees? The weeping willow just grows new sprouts.



You know what I "see" when I run across something like this?



I'll be off to work for the night in a little bit. I need to retain the good humor.

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All I Have to Share is Food

 
Tomorrow is a St. Patrick's Day pot luck at work. I'm taking Irish Soda Bread (whole wheat- sorry Beth & Terrie) and Broccoli Salad.

Do recipes bring back memories of how you acquired them? The salad was a staple at church potlucks brought by our pastor's wife, Esther Lloyd-Jones. She shared the recipe with me, and it's always a hit when I make it. The bread recipe was found in a magazine when we were searching for different recipes after Omer's heart attack. We really love it.



Speaking of work; it's been nuts. The paper lost a key employee this week and everyone's been scrambling to cover the position. A lot of the tasks have been temporarily (we hope) assigned to us in the mailroom. Since no one knew all the parts of the job we've been making a lot of mistakes. The lady from the front office who's been fielding all the calls about things that aren't being done right came back to tell us of another item late this afternoon. She said, "There aren't enough drugs to make this job tolerable."

And, the big truck is in the shop, so we are short on tubs, and deliveries (to other warehouses) are difficult. We are shuffling things to make it all work, but the plan changes minute by minute.

So, it will be another fun day tomorrow. Well, the food will be fun. The rest will get done somehow or other, hopefully with fewer mistakes.

I'm surprisingly tired, and we are starting at 9 am, so I'm winding down for the night.

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