Chicken Little

So...I have chickens, and after observing them for several years, I have come to understand a bit of chicken psychology:  A chicken's day pretty much revolves around its belly.  Chickens love food, and they love you if you have food.  They will come running when they see you, and cackle until you give them food.  If you want to lead a flock of chickens somewhere, shake a container of food, and they will follow you.  On the weekends in the summer, I let them free-range, and when I want to put them in for the evening, I lure them into the house with a bucket of food, and close the door, and they are ready to go.  However, in this particular batch of chickens, there is one chicken that stands out. 

 Her name is Dum-Dum. 

 I know, that is a very dumb name, but she is a very dumb chicken.  I have never seen one like her.

This is a picture of her:

She is an Easter Egger chicken...a very dumb, self-willed Easter Egger chicken.  When all the other chickens would blindly and willingly follow the food to the chicken house, Dum-Dum wanted her freedom.  She would stand outside with a blank look on her face, like she didn't know why all the others would go inside when there was so much of the world to explore outside the house.  She would take at least 15-20 minutes each day to convince to go inside, much to my consternation.  I actually thought about just leaving her to her demise several times, and then thought better of it, since I had already invested 5 months of food into her.  

 Well, a couple weeks ago, at the beginning of December, she decided to sneak out the door when I was feeding the other chickens.  There was some snow on the ground, and most of my chickens won't go outside when they see snow on the ground.  She thought it was some kind of adventure!  I tried to catch her, but she would have none of that!  She took off into the woods, so I just left her, and hoped she'd come back.  The next day, she was still there, by the hay shed.  That was pretty surprising, since the chicken-killing critters come out big time once it gets cold.  Hannah and Ruth were with me, so we all tried to catch her.  She took off, deep into the woods, and there was no getting her back.  Needless to say, she wasn't there the next day.

Fast forward a couple of weeks.  Like I said, when it's cold, the chicken-loving creatures come out.  "Chicken-loving" doesn't mean they like to be with chickens, it means they like to eat chickens!  I saw some pretty large possum tracks outside the chicken house, so I set a live trap

The only good possum is a dead one

The next day, I checked the trap, and there wasn't anything in it.  I was a little wary, since I really do not like possums, and didn't want to tangle with one.  As I was closing up the house, I heard animal footsteps coming through the snow.  Oh no!  Most possums and coons don't come out in the daytime, and if they do, 

they're usually sick!  I hid around the side of the house to see what it was.  

Lo, and behold, who should appear but Dum-Dum!  She had been out for two weeks!  I consider that pretty incredible, considering we had sub-zero temps and a large possum on the loose!  She was a little skinny, but otherwise fine.  She carefully picked her way through the snow.  I opened the door, and when she went to investigate what her chicken friends were doing, I booted her into the house and slammed the door.  

That made my day!  

I find an interesting human parallel here: 

How often do I think I know better than my Lord? 

How often do I wait to do what I should do now?  

How often do I go "off into the woods" to enjoy what they hold, instead of enjoying the safety of the boundaries God has set for me?

One thing I know: God is always ready to welcome wayward people when they come back to him with a repentant heart!

Learn from this dumb cluck!

My Little Flock

About a year ago, I became the owner of a small flock of egg-laying chickens.  I've been taking care of chickens for a few years, on and off, but they weren't mine until this year.  I started with a dozen barred rock chickens, the black and white mottled ones.  In the spring, I added 16 chirping, fuzzy chicks to the flocks.  The camp fellas dubbed them "chicken nuggets."  I don't have any pictures, but they, as any other baby is, were adorable.  I had my chance at mothering with these little cuties.  One of them had it's eyes closed, was kinda skinny, and wouldn't eat unless I forced it to.  So, I went to the trusty old computer and typed in "What do you do when a chick has it's eyes closed."  The site said sometimes when the chicks are hatched, the fluid dries on their eyes and makes them stick shut, so you have to open them.  Well, it worked!  I wiped the little thing's eyes with warm water, and they opened!  When I stuck it back in the box, it looked at the food, it's eyes got wide, and it quickly devoured all it could hold!  Then,...there was Tipsy.  One of the chicks came with some kind of disorder that made its head twitch.  It looked kinda funny, but that chick was fatter than all the rest, so I thought it was healthy enough.  Unfortunately, it's only method of transportation was running in circles until it got where it wanted to go.  It couldn't walk in a straight line.  We had to get rid of that one, which I had named Tipsy.  There were a couple of others that got out and got eaten, one was a rooster, so he had to go, and now, there are 12 of the 16 remaining.  

Chickens are fun to watch, and pretty easy to care for, and eggs are so yummy!  I enjoy walking down to the chicken house every day to take care of them.  This may sound kind of funny, but you can learn a lot from chickens.  Sometimes, they are a little like people.  Jesus, in the Bible, many times compared us humans to sheep-stubborn, easily led, needing a master.  In a lot of ways, chickens and all other animals are like that too.  They need someone to take care of them, to feed them, to keep them alive.  Left on their own, they would be devoured by wild animals.  We are like that-we need our Heavenly Master to take care of us, to fight off the attacks of the devil, to feed us, to watch over us.  

My Little Flock

The little ladies, peckin' and scratchin'

George the chicken.  I know 'George' isn't a good name for a girl, but she's a curious little thing, and George  just seemed like a good name for a curious chicken. ( Actually, I was going to name her Angie, but Angie wouldn't let me name a chicken after her :) )

Bobbie, the spastic Polish crested chicken.  She can only see what's right in front of her, so she gets scared easily!  Sometimes, she follows me around and eats snow off my boots.  Okay, chickens are not the smartest creatures on earth! :) 

Eggs from the hens.  The light brown ones are from Barred Rock chickens, the blue and sometimes green from Easter Egger chickens, and I also get dark brown ones from the Welsummers.

You have to watch out for predators.  Possums are one animal I can't find the least bit of affection for, not even the baby ones!  They are like overgrown rats-yuck!  We also had some problems with skunks this year- that was exciting.  DJ DuPree turned into the Skunk Hunter.  The skunk that we caught in this live trap took 13 shots to the head to kill!  Yikes!

"Fast", one good-looking rooster.  I got him off Craigslist when the old rooster perished after dueling with a critter that had bigger fangs and claws than he did!  Fast was a good rooster, until the end of summer, when he decided to attack and tried to spur me.  Uh,...he is no longer with us.  Roosters have an ego to beat the band!  They think they are invincible.  I've heard that roosters are one of the most confident and toughest animals there are!  I can believe it!

Footprints, from many, many treks to the chicken house. (Uphill...both ways...in the snow!)

Treacherous Beauty

A couple of days ago, we had an entire day of freezing mist.  I was struck with the beauty of everything covered in ice.  Every little object was covered with it, like a whole world coated in glass...

...Beautiful.

Ice-covered arbs

A winter wonderland

One lone, little frosty pinecone

so pretty!

The winter woods are gorgeous

Miniature icicles forming on the corral fence

The pump handle 

This all so beautiful.  

The treacherous part comes in when you try to walk across the parking lot, or drive anywhere.  These are good days to hole up inside with a warm blanket, fuzzy socks and a good book!

Makes it a little hard to understand all the uproar about global warming!

Camp Kitchen Christmas Cheer

This week, we've been getting ready for Christmas-lots of baking!  It's been especially fun this year, because Ruth, Hannah, and Natalie have all been able to help!

 Baker girls :)

Baker girls...silly shot ;D

Hannah made the sugar cookies...

...and we started decorating them about 6:30 the next morning!

This was a variation on the traditional angel and bell cookie shapes.  Unfortunately, the one on the right looks more like an octopus than a gray-bearded man! :(

Natalie, getting ready to dip buckeyes

Ruth made the buckeyes, and she and Natalie dipped all of them

My Favorite Buckeye Recipe

1 stick soft butter

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

12 oz. (1 pkg.) chocolate chips

You mix the first four ingredients together, then roll into balls and stick in the fridge until they're firm.  You melt the chocolate, and dip the balls using a toothpick.  Then, you just let them sit until the chocolate has hardened.
 De-lish!

We got a little carried away with the black frosting! :)

After we got done with all the baking, we went caroling to the our favorite bank ladies,  Melody and Cindy, our neighbor, Mr. Krahn, and Pastor and Mrs. Hatchett.  It was so nice to spend this laid back time with everyone!

Christmas at KMBC

We had our Christmas program at church tonight. Here are some pics of the evening:

 The high school choir sang a few numbers,

             led by Mr. Dan Bernschien

The elementary choir. 

 Mrs. Tricia Traxler led this group

The littlest kiddos-The shepherds and angels

(I wonder if their parents see this angelic side often :)

Savannah and Delia Bungert led them in "Away in a Manger", with the motions-too cute!

The adult choir, led by Mr. Swaffer.  Everyone put a lot of time and effort into this.  Ruth and I got to sing in choir (No solo parts this year :)) 

Mr. Landers and Beth read portions of the Christmas story in between choir songs

All the adult choir songs were played by the incredibly talented Miss Michelle Clater.  She is one gifted woman! (And, I'm sure she practices...a lot!)

What a blessing to know the Christ of Christmas, and to be able to publicly worship His name!

What a very fine day!

So,...you're having a bad day, and it's only 7:30...The stove goes out while you are trying to cook your breakfast oatmeal...You burn your forehead with the curling iron, again...The dog pukes on the floor, and you STEP in it!...and then,... you go out the front door, and you see...

This:

 Aaaaand,.... it brings a smile to your face, and you realize that somebody loves you, and you think, "Maybe it's not such a bad day after all!"

My point being : 

A little show of kindness or gesture of "I'm thinking about you today" can go a LOOOOOONG way towards making someone's day just a little bit brighter!

Here at camp, our thoughtful gestures are not expensive or time-consuming. They are simple, and they bring a smile to your face when you see them, like...

...a little orange guy.  So adorable, you can hardly resist the temptation to eat him up! :)

...a little "alligator" key chain a kid makes for you (You couldn't even tell it was homemade, could you?)

 ...writing on the fridge doors from the overactive imaginations of the Housekeeping staff

...or just a little handwritten letter someone leaves in your box...

It's all special!

Do something nice for someone today!  You'll never have this day to live again-make another person happy through a little, thoughtful gesture...you'll be glad you did!

A Relic to Relish

This is so cool!!!

A lady from Illinois donated an old pump organ to camp.  The manufacturer is J.G. Earhuff, who produced it in St. Paul, Minnesota.  There was no serial number or date, but an online site said that the specific place this one was made was in operation from 1888 to 1906, so it's a little over a hundred years old.  It still works fabulously.  We've been having fun tinkering around with it. :)

We parked it in the Heritage Room for the time being.

 



 

Only one of the keys sticks...the very lowest one. Pretty good for being over a century old.  It's refreshing to see something that wasn't made in China!

These little knobs pull out, and each one gives a slightly different sound.  This is probably where the expression "pull out all the stops" comes from!

 



You pump these pedals like a bicycle while you play.  That provides the air that the organ gets its sound from.  It serves double duty-you get a good workout while you are practicing!

 

Ruth, the virtuoso, playing our new favorite relic. :) It's so much fun!  And loud, too!

 

 

"Sun of My Soul"

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Guess What?...It's almost

CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!!

This Monday, I put up the tree and a few decorations.  I usually don't go gung-ho on Christmas decorations, cause then in a couple of weeks, you have to take them all down, and that is not fun!

 

This year, I made some homemade decorations

 

This is a paper snowflake, made out of an old book

For this tree-topper star, I cut 10 thin, straight twigs and tied the ends together with twine

 



 

This is just an old flat wooden box, filled with pine branches swiped from the motley array of evergreens growing behind the camp kitchen :) (They're especially motley now!) Then, you just stick a few candles in it and viola! Cheap Economical Christmas decorating at its finest!

I love this time of year!

 

Memories from Christmas's Past

 

I remember being a kid, anxiously awaiting Christmas, when we could run down the stairs, dash into the living room and tear open our presents.  Except,... in the Logan house, it didn't usually work that way.  Every year from the time we were little, our first present was a clear plastic candy cane filled with M&Ms or some other candy.  Dad would hide one for each of us, and we would spend the first part of the morning searching for it.  Looking back on it, I realize that Dad had ulterior motives...he wanted to sleep in!  I remember one year, he told us kids that if we all teamed up and lifted him off the bed, he would get up and come downstairs so we could open presents.  No matter how hard we tried, grunting and heaving, we just couldn't budge him! 

 

I also remember another "special" Christmas memory- when I was little, I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse.  One year, Dad got all of us girls those little plastic nursing kits, with the little plastic knives, syringes, sticker bandaids, etc.  Dad was sleeping on the couch, and as I watched him, I realized in my little kid mind that surely Dad would be much more healthy and better off if I gave him a shot!  Quietly, so as to not wake him up, I went up to the couch and jabbed that surprisingly sharp plastic syringe into his arm and gave my Daddy his vaccination!  For some reason, he was not as concerned with his health as I was.  I offered to remedy the pain by giving him one of the sticker bandaids that came with the kit, but he decided he needed that as much as he had needed the shot!  I never did become a nurse-maybe it had something to do with my bedside manner?

 

All that said, looking back now, I don't think I really realized the significance of Christmas when I was a kid.  I just got excited because I got to open presents and get more stuff.  When I got saved, I realized that Christmas is the celebration and remembrance of the beginning of Christ's life on earth.   The gifts are a symbol of the gifts the wisemen brought, and a symbol of generosity, not of covetousness.  We Americans are very commercialized in our outlook on Christmas, but though the gifts are nice, parties are fun, and the food is good, our main focus should be on Christ.  He is the perfect son of God, who put himself in the form of pathetic man and came to earth to die for us...to die for His very creation that would spit in his face and reject him. 

What will you do with the Lord Jesus Christ this Christmas season?

So Much Hurt

Every time I go out to town, anywhere where there is a lot of people, I am reminded...

 

There is so much hurt

 

People smile, try to act happy, accomplished, successful,

 

but...it's still there

 

In their eyes you can see their pain, though they try to mask it.

 

Going through a messy divorce, Losing your kid to drugs, Watching someone you deeply love waste away due to disease, Feeling your life spinning out of control...

 

It all contributes to the pain of your heart.

 

Some people try alchohol.  That helps for a while, but as the pain gets worse and worse, the alchohol consumed becomes more and more.  Some commit suicide.  That ends the misery here, but only opens a whole new world of misery for the ones left behind, and for the eternal soul who has chosen a real Hell over the hell of his life. 

 

 But, most endure it, experimenting with one thing after another,

 trying in vain to find meaning in life. 

 

What's the answer? Is there an answer? Will the pain I feel ever go away?

 Does life have any meaning? Why can't I find that meaning?

 

I humbly submit...God is the answer

 

He says "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and

I will give you rest..." (Matthew 11:28)

 

Jesus Christ is the answer for the sin sick soul.  There is no other rest,
no other refuge from the pain and the agony.

 

If I accept and follow Christ, will my life be easy and carefree?

 

There is a cost.  Verse 29 of Matthew 11 says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me..." There is a yoke for each Christian, but as the very next verse says, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The life of a child of God cannot exactly be called carefree.  There is a high price to pay.  Yet, in comparison to burdened life lived by the majority of the population, the Christian life is a life that can be lived victoriously.  The trials of every day life may still be there, but so is God. 

 

He will never, never leave or forsake you.  He will never let you down.  He will never fail you...ever.

 

My prayer as I go out and about is that God would help me to see and minister to these hurting hearts.

"...and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you...

a heart of flesh." -Ezekiel 36:26b

<3



The Janesville Jets

 

Saturday evening, some of us camp staff went to watch the Janesville Jets play the Eagles (don't remember where they were from)

 

 

The Eagles' Team

 

The Janesville Jets

A cute little fella, who skated out with the team and waved the flag for them :)

 



The Jets won the evening, 4-1. They had home court advantage, and a incredible goalie!  It's amazing to me how fast and gracefully these guys skate.  It takes so much energy, they only play a couple minutes at a time before they get a replacement.  Hockey can be a little brutal, but tonight there were only a couple of almost-fights! 

 



 

Robbie and Me.  Even though he doesn't know how to pose for pictures, he is nice to go to games with :) He answers my questions ("Why are they doing that? What's that line for? Why did he just get a penalty?" etc.) patiently, and doesn't get irate and yell at the refs!

Lefse is Beautiful

"Lefse is beautiful"...so says the lefse cloth

 



What is lefse? It is a traditional Norweigan flatbread made with potatoes. Aunt Carol has some Norweigan relatives and wanted to make lefse for them.  She also knows a few other people who like it, and somehow, ended up with orders for 9 dozen!

 



The table is ready to go. You use a pastry board and a grooved rolling pin with a cloth cover. There is also a special, thin wooden stick used to lift the dough onto the griddle.

 



 

Aunt Carol, ready to roll...She was the "cooker" of the day!

 

 

 You use a piece of dough only about the size of a golf ball...

 

to make a lefse this big! Ours were about 12 inches.  I've heard some people get them up to 14 inches. When the dough is rolled out, it is so thin you can read the writing on the cloth through it.

 



Then, you use the lefse stick and roll the dough onto the griddle.

 



 

This is what it looks like when it is almost done-just takes a couple of minutes to cook.  You roll it up, spread it with butter, and eat it.  Aunt Carol likes to sprinkle it with sugar.  I like to melt cheese on it.  One website I read said "It is an abomination to eat anything other than butter on lefse."  

Well, I guess I'll go and be abominable!  We Wisconsonites sure like our cheese!

 



 

Anvilarm! We rolled and cooked 9 dozen lefse!  (Aunt Carol declared that was about 4 dozen too many.)  It took us about 6 hours to finish it all, and boy, it was GOOD!

 

Lefse...is beautiful :)