A Shine to The Porch

Last year, on one of Mom and Dad’s trips to town, they brought back ten beautiful ferns. We hung them on the porch so that it would look nice and peaceful. It did! The shiny leaves hanging up high made it restful to sit outside.

Autumn 2021

After the growing season was over, we took the ferns to the back of the shop for the winter. When they were in the shop, we would take them out to water them, and on the days above freezing, we let them sit in the sun for a while. On the first days of spring, we got them out of the shop. They did not look particularly good. They seemed almost dead. Mom watered them with Miracle Grow, a plant food with lots of essential nutrients, to help the ferns grow bigger and more beautiful.

We watered them about once a week. We lifted them up and if they were heavy, we left them up and if they were not heavy then we took them off their hook and watered them. Little by little they began to turn green. They started looking better every day. Sadly, one of the ferns died, so Jayla went to the woods where there were a lot of ferns growing in the wild. She got about six or seven of them. We took out the dead fern and put in the new one. The rest of them, we planted in front of the porch area.

Ferns are plants that do not have flowers. Like flowering plants, they have roots, leaves, and stems. The leaves are often called fronds. The frond is the fern leaf, blade, and stalk. Then there is a fiddlehead. It will be a new frond after about a week of growing. Then there is the stalk. It is below the blade. The blade is the leafy part of the frond. It sure looks like a blade. The fern reproduces by spores, which look like little dots on the back of the frond.

Not long ago, we went to Fern Clyffe to hike. It is known as one of the most scenic places in Illinois. Two brothers purchased it a long time ago and called it Ferne Clyffe because of the abundance of ferns that lived there. 

We saw lots of ferns. The ferns that grow in the wild are a different kind than ours that we have on the porch. 

We have southern sword ferns, but one hundred ten types of ferns grow wild in Illinois.

It has been a fun experience watching the ferns grow. They did take a long time to look very pretty. The house has been beautiful with ferns hanging around. The plant has made a shine to the porch. We might keep the ferns in the shop again until next year, but if we don’t, then we will get new plants with big glossy fronds to hang up and make the porch look magnificent.

Our ferns today- 2022

~Isaac

One Of the Reasons

This summer the boys planted flowers in the garden. Now there are a bunch of them, and they are very colorful. The name of this beautiful flower is called the zinnia.

When I wake up early in the morning to go down to the garden, I pick one of the flowers to bring to Mama. The colors I mostly pick are the orange, pink, white, and red ones. We often have a bouquet of them on the table.

Zinnias are annuals, so they'll grow for only one season to produce flowers and seeds. The original plant will not come back in subsequent years. They have bright, solitary, daisy-like flowerheads which makes them great for use as a cutting flower or as food for butterflies. I have seen some butterflies around our flowers. They are eating nectar.

Zinnias are so lovely, and they are a prefect flower to just pick. They are perfect for gardens. We also have tall roses in front of the garden, and climbing on the arbor we have morning glories, that only bloom in the mornings. Zinnias, on the other hand, stay open all day. That is one of the reasons why I like them.

~ Unique

An Evening Of Song

It was on September seventh of this year, that a gathering of local residents attended Cartwright Christian church for a concert. 

The audience of around thirty people were treated to a delightful evening of song and fellowship. It was the first concert held in the little white church since we reopened its doors as a house of worship.

The evening was arranged for by Dad and the rest of us. Dad shares Cartwright’s pulpit with two other gentlemen of the church. 

It was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, earlier this year that our family became friends with the performing group, The Diggles Family Ministries. We had kept in touch since that time, and after a cancellation of another singing engagement in the area, Cartwright Christian church was delighted to have them perform in their little building, which sits atop Pleasant Hill.

The Diggles Family Ministry is a Christian singing group traveling the country, sharing their musical talent. Doug, the group’s leader, and familial patriarch, sings and plays the keyboard, and is married to Diane, who controls the sound system. She also performed sign language on one of the family’s selections. Christina, their daughter, adds a diverse flavor to the singing duo by playing a wide variety of stringed and woodwind instruments. Another daughter, Katie, has been pursuing other interests, but her harmonizing tones and mandolin playing can still be enjoyed on the many CD’s the family offers for purchase.

A sincere applause rounded out the night’s concert. Smiles were seen on every face. An enjoyable time was had by all that September evening. I am glad we were able to visit our friends, plus, listen to a concert by Diggles Family Ministries.

~Halayah

A Nest for Thousands

A few months ago, while I was walking around our pond, I heard a buzzing sound coming from a tree along the wood line. After investigating, I found that there was a hornet’s nest located in the base of a hollow dead tree! European hornets can build a paper nest containing 1,500-3,000 cells!

As I watched, the European hornets flew back and forth from the nest, I noticed that they were dropping little pieces of wood and sawdust! I figured the wood chips and sawdust came from the work they were doing in the dead tree. I wanted to get a closer look at the stuff surrounding the entrance of the nest, so I advance towards the nest hoping to get a better view. The European hornets’ workers can grow up to an inch long, while the queen grows slightly bigger- 1.3 inches long. The biggest hornet is the Vespa Mandarinia hornet. It is about two inches long and was introduced from Asia! Its common name is the northern giant hornet.

As I moved forward, a few hornets that had previously landed on the tree came flying at me! I don’t know what they were doing, but I did not wait to find out! I ran as fast as I could, hoping to out-speed them, but the hornets were fast flying close to 14 mph! These hornets can fly backwards and also at night! I ran a far distance before stopping, after the hornets had stopped chasing me. I then went to the house and warned everyone to stay away from the tree containing the nest.

I had been thinking about how to defeat the hornets when an idea came to mind. If we were to make it as hard as possible to live in the tree, maybe the hornets would get so tired of it and leave! I immediately went out and gathered a handful of good throwing rock, about the size of baseballs and headed for the hornets. When I arrived, I saw no hornets around so I got into throwing range and then threw each rock as hard and as fast as I could! After that, I ran fast because hundreds of hornets came buzzing from the home and I thought it wise to run before they saw me. I took off! I heard the buzzing sound slowly get louder as more hornets came pouring out from the hole I had made! When I thought I was a good safe distance away from enraged hornets, I stopped and slowly and cautiously returned to the spot where I had thrown the rocks. The hornets were going crazy! To me, this was very good, but for the hornets it must have looked like a disaster.

Every day, I go out and throw a few rocks at the nest and every day the hornets go crazy! If I can’t get the hornets to leave, at least I know that they will all freeze in the winter. Most bees, wasps, and hornets can’t survive the first hard freeze. But my battle won’t be over, though. The mated queen will bury herself or look for a hiding spot to hibernate until spring. And then she’ll make a new nest for thousands.

 ~Samuel

The Big Red Machine

1971

Ranked amongst the greatest Major League baseball teams of all time were the 1975 and 1976 Cincinnati Reds, appraised 28th and 23rd respectively as all-time best teams. Therefore, growing up as a teen boy near Cincinnati in the 1970’s, there was no other team to root for that could come close to the excitement produced by that lineup. Hall of fame names such as Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey, and Manager- Sparky Anderson, along with other huge names such as Pete Rose, George Foster, Caesar Geronimo, and Dave Concepcion made up the heart of the Big Red Machine. Collectively referred to as the "great eight," they played 88 games together during the 1975 and 1976 seasons, losing only 19.

I remember listening to or watching as many games as possible on media outlets, even holding a transistor radio to my ear while mowing the lawn! I knew the stats, schedule, and the personalities of each individual. 

Isaac wearing my Tony Perez t-shirt from the 70's 

I was enthralled with many players, but 1st baseman Tony Perez (Doggie), was who I looked up to most. I mimicked his batting stance and admired his calm, cool, and collected personality. He could always come through in a clutch and save the day! And then I would hear Joe Nuxhall with Marty Brennaman exclaiming, "And this one belongs to the Reds!" What an exhilarating feeling!

Moving to Southern Illinois twenty-five years ago, I thought maybe I could root for the Chicago Cubs. It would be a stretch for me, but since this was Illinois, it seemed logical that I would try to root for a team in the same state. I was in shock, however, when I learned that I had moved into Cardinal country!!!! The Cardinals, the enemy of the Reds!! I felt this would be a hurdle I would never be able to overcome!

Cardinals/Reds Game at Busch Stadium 2022

While still a Reds fan, I have over the years come to appreciate the exceptional organization that the Cardinals have, and the fact that they are a great and exciting team. I can even go to a Reds/Cardinals game at Busch stadium wearing red and root for both teams and always feel good about which ever team wins! Roots do run deep however, especially when the team of your youth was one of the most amazing teams baseball has ever produced. The Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds), will probably always have that special place in my heart, bringing good memories to share and pass on to my children, (and my children's children☺).

~Mark

Smile- Not Just For the Camera

Smiling and laughing have been a subject of curiosity that has been worth studying extensively for centuries. The French anatomist Guillaume Duchenne studied it in the 1800’s and discovered that two muscles are mainly involved in the act of a genuine smile. One of the muscles is the zygomatic major which controls the corners of the mouth. This muscle can be activated at will. The other, the orbicularis oculi, controls the area around our eyes. This muscle cannot truly be activated just anytime. Therefore, a genuine smile has been dubbed a Duchenne smile and it involves using both our mouth and eyes.

Americans mostly associate smiling with the mouth, whereas Japanese mostly correlate smiling with the eyes. The emoticon represents a happy person :) and, of course, :( is a sad person. The Japanese depict it in this way more so with ^_^ having happy eyes, and ;_; representing a person crying. Emojis were designed to add emotion to the text being written - to depict the feeling going on behind the words. If you cannot see the person you are speaking to, sending a smile indicates how you feel. Smiles mean a lot.

Smiling makes the people around you feel better. When you smile it makes you a more approachable person. Have you noticed that even when a perfect stranger smiles a genuine smile and says hello, that you automatically want to share the same kindness back to them? 

Smiling is contagious, so when you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours, because your supply is unlimited! A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. It is such a simple way of brightening someone’s day, so why be stingy with it? Smile!

Smiling makes everyone feel better, including yourself. It may be very difficult to do, but when you are in a bad mood even a pretend smile can trigger your brain into feeling happier. When things in life are all awry, a smile is the curve that sets everything straight. The world always looks brighter from behind a smile, too. You see things differently when you face them with a smile.

Spanky Hank can even smile!

Smiling not only makes you feel good, but studies show that smiling and laughter can also protect you from the common cold. It helps to boost the immune system by lowering the level of stress. That increases your white blood cell count and releases helpful antibodies. Those antibodies have the ability to help fight infection and disease. Smiling is good for the heart, laughing is good for the soul, and loving will keep you living, laughing and smiling. Who could’ve guessed there are scientifically researched health benefits to such a simple act as a smile?

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles.

It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.

                                       -H, Jackson Brown, Jr.

~Jayla

Building Character and Strength

Every year, we go out and cut wood for the season. Cutting wood and chopping it makes you stronger. We have a wood stove in the living room to keep us warm all winter long. We must cut enough wood to last us till March or until the weather warms up. That takes a lot of wood cutting.

When it comes time to cut, we hook the trailer to the truck or tractor, load up the chain saw, and head out to get a trailer load of wood. We cut dead trees that have fallen or are about to fall. Sometimes we cut the trees that have been blown over in a storm, and they still are alive. That’s the wood we use for the next year, because it’s still green and needs to be seasoned. The logs that are too big to fit in the wood stove, we put in a pile to split later.

After we get a load of wood, we take the load back to the house and start stacking it. The wood that’s still green we put in a different stack. The wood that’s dry we put in a stack to burn that year. The best wood to burn is seasoned hard wood like oak and ash. The difference between hard and soft wood is, hardwood trees have broad leaves and usually bear fruit or nuts. Soft wood trees usually have needles instead of large leaves and are extremely sappy and sticky. Hardwoods are normally denser than soft wood, and easily burn longer. Softwood may burn for an hour, but a hardwood log about the same size may possibly burn for quite a few hours.

A couple of days ago, Trey brought over a log splitter he had borrowed, so we could split our wood the easier way. While Isaac used the log splitter, I got a maul and started splitting some smaller logs by hand. I started to warm up, so I took off my jacket. Wood cutting gives lots of exercise. Some of the pieces of wood were easy, and I could split them in half with one chop. But some were tough and took more time to do. The logs I couldn’t split, I let Isaac split with the log splitter.

When you split wood by hand, it builds character and strength. It’s fun to see how many chops it takes to split the log, and how many logs you can split. Sometimes we have a contest to see who can split the most wood. I enjoy splitting wood. When winter times comes, we will come into the house from out of the cold and be nice and toasty and warm, thanks to the trees that gave us warmth.

~Jonah