The Return of the Bouncer

Around twenty years ago we purchased a trampoline for our children to reward them for some hard work performed on our farm here on Providence Prairie. I can still see Trey, Amanda and Rachel springing high into the sky doing stunts and bounding with laughter. The highest trampoline bounce ever recorded launched a man 22 feet in the air. Thankfully, their double bounces didn’t quite launch their companion that high! As time went on, the newness wore off as other avenues of life filled their time and the trampoline fell into disrepair.

When God blessed us with additional children, the trampoline once again became a point of interest and excitement. Statistically, trampolines are safer than you think, and they improve coordination, range of motion, and balance. As jumping shifts your center of gravity, it requires you to coordinate your landing so as not to lose your balance. NASA was said to have used trampolines to train future astronauts, since it helped them to get used to the constant bouncing on zero gravity flights. Time and frequent bouncing resumed the device’s inevitable demise, as one leg then another broke off the frame. Safety concerns made it unusable.

When the children recently spent time visiting with Ryan and Amanda for a few days, Rhonda and I were able to surprise the kids by moving the trampoline to the playground. I made the necessary welds to restore the bouncer to its old self. Boy, were they surprised!

I believe that the joy of bouncing has returned to Providence Prairie!

~Mark

Spoiled Dinner!

About a year ago, I went outside to play with Willow our dog, and I saw all the chickens running scared into the chicken house. I went down to check and see why the chickens where so afraid. When I got down to the chicken house, I looked around and saw nothing right away.

I was about to turn around and go back to the house, when I saw a red-tailed hawk fly from the ground in the orchard. Red-tailed hawks are common throughout Illinois and especially here at Providence Prairie. A hawk can fly at a speed of 45 mph. Then I knew why the chickens were so scared! I ran down to the bottom of the orchard, and there lying on the ground was one of our white roosters, dead. Hawks eat snakes, birds, mammals, lizards, and chickens. I thought he must have been out hunting and decided to have our white rooster for dinner!

I think red-tailed is one of the prettiest hawks. It has a cream-colored chest and a dark-red tail. A red-tailed hawk can weigh up to four pounds and can grow a wingspan to 25 inches.  That is almost two feet long!  I really like the red-tailed hawk, even if they do get chickens. Without the hawk we would have a lot of mice getting into everything.   

~Jonah

A Mutt Named Pepper

Nearly a week ago while Mom and Dad were out jogging, they noticed a little dog on the side of the road! When the pup saw Mom and Dad, he ran off a little way then stopped and looked at them. Mom and Dad finished their jog, then walked back to the house. A few days later, on the way to a Preaching Rally, we all got to see the dog! It was black and small and looked like a puppy. We all felt sorry for the canine and were sad that it didn’t have a home.

The next day, when we got back from the Preaching Rally, Mom and Dad went on a jog again. When they got back, the little black puppy was with them! When it saw us, it came running up to us and licked us all over. Mom and Dad said we could keep it! After we all got to pet the new dog, we went in and got some milk for it. The pooch was so happy it didn’t drink the milk but kept licking us! After the milk was finally gone, we went down to the barn and gave it some dog food.

Willow, our original dog, was having a hard time dealing with another hound in the family and showed her dislike by growling whenever it got to close to her face. She has since become friends with the little puppy and plays with it a lot. She will still occasionally growl at it when it comes to food or beds, but they are getting along okay.

Whenever we went inside, the pup followed us! We caught it and took it back outside. It began to howl and paw the door! It was sad to hear it howl, but we were glad to know the puppy was missing us.

The next day, Sunday, when we all got up, we ran downstairs to see if the whelp was still there. When we went outside, the little puppy came running up to us! We all were so happy it decided to stay. When we kids were ready, we walked to church while Dad distracted the dog, so it wouldn’t follow us. When Mom and Dad arrived at church with the car a little later, there was the little puppy following them! We were shocked when we saw it and were surprised that it could keep up with the car! When Church started, we all went inside and took our seats. Halfway through the service, the little pooch began whining and pawing at the door! We all laughed a little at its interruption of our worship service.

When the church service was over, we took the little puppy back home and gave it a bath while Mom and Dad went into town to buy a dog collar! Arriving home, they showed us the bright red collar they had gotten and told us the dog’s new name! Since he was a boy, we named him Pepper! Pepper is a good name for the puppy because he is black and looks like pepper.

We all love Pepper and are glad he is happy living here on Providence Prairie. Even though Pepper came from along the road, we don’t think of him as just a mutt. We love him just the same.

~Samuel

Indications of Fall

Each day lately that I walk outside to do the feeding, I feel the chilly breeze blow on my face. It tells me that is winter is on its way. I walk down the driveway to feed the cats and dogs and I notice the red, orange, and the yellow leaves that have fallen. I stop to admire them and then I go about my way.

When we take a drive to town, I spot that the farmers’ corn and beans are being harvested before the plants die. I enjoy watching them combine it down. It is very dusty work. Our corn here at Providence Prairie was harvested about two weeks ago. I got to ride in the combine when they were harvesting it.

As we drive along, I see pumpkins, gourds, and mums are being put out for decoration. We have gourds and corn in front of our house. It is fun to decorate for fall. It is exciting to know that fall is here because it is such a pretty time of year.

~Isaac

A Celery Encounter

One time while Mom was cutting up celery, she cut off the bottom of the vegetable and asked me if I wanted it to plant it. I said yes and got to work transplanting it in the playground by the spit rail fence. I put a container around it so the chickens could not get it. Then soon it began to grow. Little by little it got bigger.

The ancient Greeks valued celery highly and awarded it as a prize to winners in many of their sport contests. The vegetable was grown in France in 1623, and in 1776 celery seed was sold in England for the growing of plants to be used in flavoring soups and stews.

I kept checking my plant every day. Finally, it was ready to harvest. It was not a big celery.  It was quite small, but we put it in the fridge anyway. I had fun with the experience of growing my own celery to eat.

Celery has been grown commercially in the United States since about 1880. California and Florida are the two-leading celery-producing states, but it is also grown in many other states in the eastern and western United States.

The leaves of celery are rich in potassium, sodium, and sulfur. They have a bunch of Vitamin A and C which is very good for your body. I like to eat celery in soups. I like it with peanut butter and raisins. It is delicious!

~Unique

Travertine Creek

“Everyone put on their swimsuits and shoes that can get wet!” This statement caused a murmur of excitement to run through all eleven children spread throughout Ryan and Amanda’s Oklahoman home. Where could we be going?  The suspense made everyone lose no time in getting ready, and when finally, everyone and everything we needed was packed into the fifteen-passenger van, we headed off on our venture. Our destination we learned, as we pulled into a parking space, was Little Niagara, the head of our trek down Travertine Creek, in Sulphur, Oklahoma. 

It was beautiful. The cold water, which came from an unseen spring further up, dashed over rocks creating a sloping waterfall. Quickly we unloaded and headed down the path to the creek. A sort of rock stairway led into the deep clear pool, and most of us hastened down to feel the water. Brrrr! Being spring fed, the water stayed a constant sixty-five-degree temperature and being only a fairly warm day, it was freezing! Samuel took the first full plunge, and then one by one everyone else followed. We played at Little Niagara, clambering over the rocks and attempting to slip down the fall like a slide.

After getting thoroughly wet there, we moved further down the creek, heading toward Lost Cave Falls. On the way, we discovered an amazing waterfall slide that many of us went on several times.  We also passed a bridge and a little island in the middle of the stream before we arrived at the waterfalls. Here, bamboo grew thickly and the water laying in still, murky pools, gave an eerie feel to the place. The cave or caves, for there were two, lay higher up on the opposite bank from us, and with the frequency of rattlesnakes in the area, no one wanted to cross the cloudy mysterious water, so we did not travel up to them. 

Going on, we came upon another fall. Quickly flowing water, made it impossible to see very far in the cave nestled beneath it. Jayla rested over the small dip in which the water flowed, successfully cutting off the water supply to that spot! Using a flashlight, we saw that the sides of the cave were perfectly square. Looking then on the other side of the falls, we discovered a huge stone block with a large metal handle, placed to seal that side’s opening. Perhaps it was once an underflow so that the falls could be crossed from above? Once we learned the safeness of it, Samuel crawled into the cave. It was not a very big one, long, but very short so that there was only enough room for one person at a time. When he had safely emerged, several others wanted a turn in the cave. 

Traveling down the creek was very challenging in some places. Rocks hidden in the watery depths made slipping and falling much more frequent, adding to the fun and excitement! Everyone had a blast and so many great memories were made! Our final destination was reached for the day, as it was getting late.  We headed toward the van and on the road home. Before the day was finished however, we stopped at Brahms’ and had supper topped off with their delicious ice cream. What a wonderfully fun-filled day.

(Photo Credit Ryan and Amanda Cox)

~ Halayah

Gone Milking

It is early in the morning as I step outside, milk pail in hand, and breathe in the fresh country air of a brand new day.  I walk down toward the barnyard admiring the morning glory covered arbor in full bloom, and I hear the roosters crow to tell the whole farm that morning has arrived.  More often than not, by the time I reach the stanchion, the cow, Wilma, is standing there ready to be milked.

We raise Dexters, which are a smaller breed and a great dual-purpose cow.  The cow we are currently milking has been the sole milk supply for our family for the last several months, now.  There are times when the milk gets a little ahead of us and that is when you may find yogurt, butter, cottage cheese, or ice-cream in our refrigerator or freezer.  Farm fresh milk.  Mmm!

When family is visiting, there are quite often some young nieces and nephews who love to accompany me on my morning chore.  “Aunt Jayla, please can you wake me up early in the morning so I can help you milk?”  That is often a question asked before bed.  It is such a sweet thing to watch as a young one tries their hand at milking a cow.  It does not come easy to bring the milk out in the first place, but then making it into the pail as well.  It takes practice.  A lot of the time at first, the warm stream of milk lands on me rather than in the pail.  That brings on the laughter, then I take over when their hands get tired.

Milking is my favorite chore on the farm.  There is something so peaceful about sitting on that old bucket, resting my head on the cow, and softly singing to the rhythm of the milk landing in the pail.

You want to know the best way to start the new day?  Here is how I do it.  Wake up at six o’clock in the morning, read the Bible, then off to the barnyard milk pail in hand.

~Jayla McDaniel