Another rich-colored tropical leaf in the Mitchell Park Domes
photo by A. Graf

Under gigantic leaves in the Mitchell Park Domes
photo by A. Graf

Survival

Today is Thanksgiving and as we were all home together, I decided to get out my Kid Surveys. I created this simple survey for my children years ago when the oldest was still young, just to track changes in their opinions and ideas as the years pass. When they were smaller, I used to give the surveys a couple times a year, but it has been over a year now since the last one. I ask things like, "What is your favorite color, song, movie, food?" "Who is your best friend and why?" "How would you describe God?" "If you were stranded alone on an island and could only have five things, what would they be?" "What do you want to do or be when you grow up?"

One question is, "What are you the most proud of?" Sam answered: "That I have survived this far in such company."

When I asked him the desert island question, he gave these five things he'd like to have with him: 1. A large ship 2. Enough fuel to get to the mainland 3. Six months rations of food and water 4. A map to the mainland 5. A guy who knows how to sail the ship.

They are definitely growing up.

We have a lot to be thankful for. I hope you see this in your own lives as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tread Carefully

I am struggling with how to put today's thoughts into words. As I walked home from the auto repair shop this afternoon, I chanted to myself: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."

What have I learned?

Trusting, leaning on and acknowledging God aren't always easy, but they are much more effective than chanting.

Super thin ice on Kangaroo Lake, Baileys Harbor, WI
photo by A. Graf

Beach at sunrise, Whitefish Dunes State Park, Jacksonport, WI
photo by A. Graf

Listening to our Money

According to a recent spate of lengthy forwarded e-mails, our money may be speaking to us in ways we never imagined. After folding and refolding my daughter's $20 bill this morning, I came up with a new message:

"America is being taken for all it's worth."

Also - "God is important. So is rust. Take more photos."

Stay tuned for more rusty, God-inspired photographs. Hang onto your wallets. This blog is a free service.

Some folks simply have too much time, and MONEY, on their hands.
photo by A. Graf

Hill and Sky, Retzer Nature Center, Waukesha, WI - sort of reflects my mood today.
photo by A. Graf

Reflections in a Menomonee Falls, WI river.
photo by A. Graf

Milkweed beetles and seeds, Havenwoods State Forest
photo by A. Graf

Oak leaves against a blue sky, taken this afternoon in Havenwoods State Forest here in town.
photo by A. Graf

Oak Savannah Panorama in Natural Bridge State Park
photo by A. Graf

Boerner Botanic Gardens
photo by A. Graf

Synecdochically Speaking, the Dictionary Walks

My two daughters spent some time with Grandpa yesterday. When they got home the older one got me aside in the hallway and said that Grandpa had forgotten the younger sibling's name. She was concerned. Grandpa's mother faded into Alzheimer's for a decade and a half before she died, so my own stomach did a few flip flops as I listened. I asked her if he had been teasing, but she didn't think so. She thought he had really forgotten and was trying to cover it up by pretending to tease.

I called my Dad this morning and asked him how it went with the girls yesterday, careful not to use Sarah's name, waiting to see if he'd remember it on his own. Finally, I told him outright what Laura had told me the night before.

He just laughed and said, "I'm not that far gone yet!" He had been about five steps ahead of her, teasing her all along. Well, that being cleared up, I started to tell him about the new word I had just learned: synecdoche. This is one of those words that I come across every so often - I have no memory of ever even seeing it in print. When I punched it into MerriamWebster.com's dictionary and heard it pronounced, it was totally foreign. Like the true living dictionary that he is, Dad whipped out the definition off the top of his head. (You'll have to look it up yourself!)

Gee whiz! I should have known better than to doubt that man's ginormous mental database.

Knife-Throwing in the Dark

Oops.

Post Post Post

My husband keeps telling me to post, post, post. I just haven't got the time or the energy these days. I am taking this writing class and all my literary efforts are being forced out in that direction. Someone at the gym today mentioned the Pakistan earthquake and I didn't know what they were referring to. I was so sad to hear about the suffering, then sad that I had missed two days of grieving and praying for those poor Pakistanis. They already had it hard and here I am in one of the most developed nations in the world with way too much news coverage and I hadn't even heard of it!

Actually, I can tell you where I was over the past two days. I found this absolutely wonderful website called whatsthatbug.com. You can identify bugs by looking at the myriads of categories with photos and descriptions. Or, you can send in your own photo, like I just did (my dad's photo) and find out which specific dragonfly you have, for instance. It was a red saddlebags, a relatively rare species, that perched on my parents' sidewalk last week - Tramea onusta. Wow. I spent a good bit of time looking at all the photos of various creepy crawlies, and loved it. Even the centipede section.

I should have been an entymologist. Either that or a neurosurgeon. Something that involves lots of little details. The neurosurgeon probably makes scads more money, but the bug person gets to work outdoors.

More colorful oak savannah in Natural Bridge State Park
photo by A. Graf

Corn stalk left standing after the harvest, Spring Green, WI
photo by A. Graf

Blue windows in brickwork on 35th and St. Paul
photo by A. Graf