Giant Window Star

Every July and August, it is county fair time. Whether it is 4-H projects or open class projects, the girls and I have been competing in two local fairs now since Sophia was six years old - so 2007. 

For the past few years, I have chosen a complex window star from one of the pattern books I used to use when I sold window stars on Etsy. I haven't sold anything on Etsy since I was in a car accident several years ago and had serious neck and upper-shoulder issues which resulted in surgery.

At any rate, I looked at Pinterest to get some ideas for another window star pattern. I came across this pin which led to Conscious Craft. 

Window star I made. 

It took 512 folds to make this star!

There are quite a few window stars that are unique and beautiful on that website. The one that caught my eye is made up of 8 stars of varying sizes: 3 stars in the smallest size, 3 stars in the medium size, and 3 stars in the largest size. 

Each point of the stars uses the same pattern that has 8 folds. 

With 8 points (per star) multiplied by 8 folds per point multiplied by the number of stars in each grouping (see table below), it took a total of 512 folds to make this star. 

Paper Size      Number of Stars        8 Points x 8 Folds x The Number of Stars 

0.75”x1.5”                 3                                                192 

1.5”x3”                      3                                                192 

3”x6”                         2                                                128 

                                                                      Total folds: 512 

The smallest paper size is very challenging to fold. I have never folded anything that small - much less eight times. Needless to say, I was relieved when those 24 points were done. The medium paper size is easier to work with, yet still smaller than that with which I normally fold. The larger paper size is very easy to fold. 

To best see the folds and pattern of this star, hold it up towards the light.

5x5

There is a swap on Swap-Bot that I thought looked intriguing. It's called 5x5 and there are five prompts that each require five answers.

5 people in your life that you think of as heroes

I saw this description on Everyday Heroes that I like: "The Everyday Hero, is the person who smiles at you on an off day. It is the war veteran fighting for freedom and equality for all. As well, it's your friend, parent, or mentor sacrificing for your happiness. The Everyday Hero is within every single human being on this planet, and is expressed by simple, ordinary actions. Heroes do simple acts; of kindness, courage, and love."

1. Sophia - she can make anyone feel listened to and appreciated. She connects with strangers and can always find a compliment to give to others. She is adventuresome and courageous and is navigating living in a foreign country for four months where she does not know the native language there. 

2. Olivia - is passionate about the environment and wildlife, and has and wants to continue to make a positive difference with both. She is a motivated and hard worker, especially with these topics. She has a creative eye for photography and loves to look at things from a different perspective.  

3. Paige - has used his career in radio to inspire others in radio in different markets to help those in need, especially after disasters (natural and man-made). 

He works so hard to provide for his family and wants what is best for everyone.

  

4. Mary - became a widow in her 30s when her husband died unexpectedly the day after Christmas. She raised two sons, both who had the same medical condition that her husband did. She has persevered through so many challenges in the past 18 years, yet still maintains a positive, generous, and compassionate spirit. 

5. Jim - has raised four children on his own after his girlfriend decided that she missed out on her "party years" and wanted to go her own way. He has provided a stable and loving home, ensured that his children have worked hard in school, gave his children countless opportunities for after-school activities and lessons, and more. 

5 books you want to read

I have quite a few books on my bookshelf that I have checked out of the library. The next five that I will be reading include: 

1. Yes Man by Danny Wallace. The description from the back cover says, "Recently single, Danny Wallace was falling into loneliness and isolation. Until one day, when a stranger on a bus advised, 'Say yes more.' At that moment, Wallace vowed to say yes to every offer, invitation, challenge, and chance. For a year. Soon after resolving to be more open to what the universe had to offer, Danny wins $45,000 and becomes a television executive...and a minister. He gives spare change to anyone who asks. Invents things. Travels the globe. Nods a lot. And finds that romance isn't as complicated as it seems."

2. Hurry Spring by Sterling North. This is actually a children's book. However, as the cover insert says, "it is a book for readers of all ages...it has the thoughtful substance to intrigue the adult mind. It also has the swift excitement to entrance the young. From the first clangor of wild geese wedging northward to their Arctic nesting ground, through the arrival of red-winged blackbirds and wood ducks, this poetic and expert narrative brings you the urge and the surge of Spring."

3. The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. I'm on page 107 out of 192 pages. The short stories are well-written, but a little on the sad side. I needed to take a break from reading them. The description on the back cover says, "In her heralded first novel, Gloria Naylor weaves together the stories of seven women living in Brewster Place, a bleak inner-city sanctuary, creating a powerful, moving portrait of the strengths, struggles, and hopes of black women in America. Vulnerable and resilient, openhanded and openhearted, these women forge their lives in a place that in turn threatens and protects - a common prison and a shared home."

4. Get the Hell out of Debt by Erin Skye Kelly. The author wrote this book "after her own struggle to become consumer-debt free. She was tired of listening to middle-aged men in suits tell her to consolidate and refinance her debt when all that seemed to happen was she'd end up in more of it while they profited from it. When Kelly figured out the two most important tools to money management - and started achieving massive results - other women wanted to join in on the debt-free journey."

5. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margaret A. Magnusson. This book was mentioned by a pastor of a local church who highly recommended it. The book cover says, "In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called dostadning, do meaning "death" and stadning meaning "cleaning." This surprisingly invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner rather than later, before others have to do it for you." The artist encourages readers "to embrace minimalism" and suggests things to "easily get rid of (unworn clothing, unwanted presents, more plates than you'd ever use)" and which items "to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children's art projects." 

5 fragrances that remind you of happy times

1. Apple blossoms combined with freshly-mown grass - the smell of spring each year here at the farm.

  

So many memories of the girls when they were little come back...then playing in the backyard, swinging on the swings, all the animals we've had either roaming or playing in the backyard or pastures...just so many wonderful things to think about.

2. Maja soap and C.O. Bigelow Barber Elixir Blue No. 1620 - the soap is one my mom used to use when I was growing up. I remember it distinctly when she and my dad would go out for the evening. My dad wore Bigelow body spray in his 60s and 70s. I still have the container with some of the cologne in it. Maja is still being made. The only place I can find No. 1620 is on Ebay. 

3. Old Spice - my grandpa on my dad's side used to wear this cologne. He lived in Illinois, so we didn't see him as much as I would have liked to see him. Every time, though, he wore Old Spice. No other colognes. 

4. Home-baked cinnamon rolls, parker house rolls, and caramel rolls - smells that filled the house when my grandma on my mom's side came over to bake. 

She used to be a professional baker, so these rolls were ones we looked forward to having.

5. Wood fires - reminds me of campfires when camping with the girls, roasting hotdogs and marshmallows in my parents' backyard as a child and well into adulthood (early 2010s), fires in our backyard, the woodstove in our home now, and the fireplace in the home growing up.  

5 activities for a rainy day

1. Sewing or quilting. I have plenty of fabric and sewing projects to keep me busy for weeks, if not months.

  

2. Baking or cooking. It's a good excuse to try a new recipe or use some ingredients that I have on hand.

3. Cleaning the house. I might as well spend some time cleaning where I'm going to spending time while it rains.

4. Reading. There's nothing like getting under some blankets, having a hot chocolate, and reading when there's a thunderstorm or just raining heavily.

5. Getting caught up with things that I've wanted to get done indoors. I always have a long list of things I want to get done. If I have a lot of time indoors because of bad weather, I seem to be able to get at least a few things marked off my "to do" list. 

5 jobs you've had or hope to have in the future

1. (Had) Founder/Executive Director/Artist Director of a non-profit organization I founded. At our farm, we offered art and farm camps for kids, and gave them hands-on experiences to see the connection between the arts, nature, and agriculture. We had a great staff of teen camp counselors, talented artist-educators, amazing volunteers, and a restorative justice program. There was nothing like it at the time, and people drove 50+ miles one way just to bring their kids to the day camp. 

2. (Had/Have) Homeschool Educator. I have homeschooled my daughters since 2003 - when Sophia was 2 1/2 years old. Both she and Olivia have always been homeschooled, and it was the most rewarding "job" I've ever had. 

Although I was the teacher/guide, they also introduced me to interests that they had, and we learned a tremendous amount together. 

3. (Hope) Todder to 3 1/2 year old Teacher - When the girls were little, we did the Growing Together program at the Minnesota Waldorf School. They and I loved going to this program. It was calming and in a beautiful location; there were high-quality, natural toys; we enjoyed a healthy snack together; the children and adults all worked to clean up together; and there was time for outdoor play. The mothers also made natural toys and talked about parenting. 

4. (Hope) Work with animals, especially dogs. 

I would like to do something that involves rescuing dogs - whether it is from high-kill shelters or getting senior dogs out of shelters and living out the rest of their days in a type of "senior sanctuary."

5. (Hope) Working with seniors and doing a type of community center/adult daycare type program. There is nothing for seniors in my community and I would like to see some type of educational, artistic/creative, recreational, exercise, and food program for those who are 55+ years old. 

Adults with no cognitive impairment to mild- or mid-level impairment could be involved. Beyond that, it would require a whole other level of staffing, nursing, and services that I wouldn't be ready for handling. It would be out of what I would consider my scope of abilities. It would be ideal, though, to have programs that help those with mid- to late-stages of cognitive impairment. 

Enjoying Winter and the Natural World - Outdoor Hour Challenge

This week's challenge includes a variety of different activities that focus on enjoying winter and the natural world. We also explored ways that we could enjoy the outdoors when it was too cold and it was better to be inside.

We have been having many days and nights with double-digit below zero temperatures or "feels like" temperatures. Needless to say, it's not pleasant weather to be outside in. However, we did have a break in Wednesday's weather with it being in the mid-20s. So, Olivia and I went outside to gather some snow for experiments and went on a walk around part of our farm.

We did a couple of different experiments with snow:

Filtering Snow

We gathered some snow in two clean mixing bowls and brought them inside the house to melt. 

After the snow melted, we looked at the items that were left in the water. 

There was a lot of dirt - more so than we anticipated - both particles and a film of dirt on the bowl and on the surface of the water. There was a box elder seed pod in my bowl. We also saw a lot of small pieces of vegetation in the melted snow.

We noticed that my bowl of water - which also had ice in it - had more dirt and debris in it than Olivia's bowl which was all light, fluffy snow. 

We could have taken this a step further by filtering the water through a coffee filter and then using a hand lens to examine the particles left in the filter. However, we were satisfied with what we were seeing by just observing the water. 

One thing that Olivia noticed was that her bowl of water had quite a few bubbles in the bottom of the bowl. Taking a toothpick, she moved the bubbles around. They would float to the top of bowl. They were trapped air or air pockets! 

After we were done observing the contents in the bowl and popping air bubbles, we measured the water from the melted snow. Each bowl had 3 cups of water. 

Although one bowl was bigger than the other, the smaller bowl had ice which would have had a higher water content than snow.

Snow Produces Water

We filled a two-cup measuring cup with fresh snow and let it melt. 

It resulted in 2/3 cup of water.

I looked up how much water a deer needs to survive during the winter. For every 100 pounds, a deer needs to consume 6 cups of water. We figured out that 12 cups of snow equals 4 cups of water. So, a deer would need to eat 18 cups of snow to equal 6 cups of water...and that's just one day! Without reliable water sources during the winter, deer would have to really look for snow to get enough water. 

Snowflakes 

Next, we talked a bit about snowflakes. We realized that we had done a snowflake nature study back on December 19, 2013. This was Sophia's nature journal entry:

This was Olivia's nature journal entry: 

“Water in its various changing forms, liquid, gas, and solid,

 is an example of another overlooked miracle - 

so common that we fail to see the miraculous in it.”

~ The Handbook of Nature Study, page 808 ~

I read about the geometry of a snowflake - page 809 - of The Handbook of Nature Study. A six-rayed snowflake has angles of 60 degrees. If a snowflake only has three rays, the angles between the rays are 120 degrees. 

What also is fascinating about snowflakes is their symmetry. In The Handbook of Nature Study it says, "If one ray of the six is ornamented with additional crystals the other five are decorated likewise."

Also of interest is where the snowflakes form. Those that form in the higher clouds where it is cooler, will be more solid in form and "the spaces in the angles being built out to the tips of the rays." 

Snow crystals that are "formed in the lower currents of air, and therefore in warmer regions, on the other hand, show their six rays marvelously ornamented. The reason why the snow crystals are so much more beautiful and perfect than the crystals of hoar frost or ice, is that they are formed from water vapor, and grow feeling in the regions of the upper area."

Mr. W.A. Bentley, who we read about when the girls were younger, identified nearly 5,000 distinct snowflake designs! 

Bird Watching

When Sophia and Olivia were younger, they would count how many birds they would see at the feeder during a set period of time. It was interesting to track which ones frequented the feeder more often.

On Wednesday, January 26th, we looked at the tracks that the birds are making by our home where the feeders are located. There are several more highly-visited feeder areas including this one by the dining room. There's 1 suet feeder, an open feeder on the ground, a round seed feeder in the tree and another one on the post, an open feeder near the propane tank, and an area to put seeds on top of the roosting box.

Another thing that Olivia noticed in the pasture were pheasant tracks. They are very distinctive because not only can you see the feet, but the tail leaves a trail as well.

On Thursday, January 27th, when we started observing birds around 1:30 p.m. (5 minutes per feeding station), there were NO birds that came to any of the feeding areas. It was the strangest thing. About 10 minutes later, the birds came back and were feeding at them. 

The dining room feeder (partially pictured above with the platform feeder) was so busy with activity that I couldn't keep up with counting the birds! Roughly, in five minutes, there were: 

- 19 dark-eyed juncos

- 6 American tree sparrows

- 4 black-capped chickadees

I then did bird watching at the backyard feeders. At those three stations, there are 3 suet feeders, a hanging round seed feeder from a post, a column seed feeder, 2 finch feeders, and an open tray feeder with a cover. I saw the following birds in a five-minute time period:

- 14 dark-eyed juncos (male and female)

- 2 nuthatches

- 2 black-capped chickadees

- 1 American tree sparrow

The female dark-eyed juncos are gray and white and super cute. They are all fluffed up to keep warm on these cold days. 

The nuthatch alternates between feeding at the suet feeder and searching the pine tree for food.

The American tree sparrow has a cute brown cap and two bright-white wing bars. It also has a stripe leading from the corner of its eye towards its neck.  

Brief Time Outside and Finding Winter Colors

We spent some time outside even though it was cold to see some things that had changed since the fall when we were regularly going out to explore the land.

Even though initially Sophia and Olivia felt the landscape was rather bland with only shades of brown and dull green, there ended up to be much more color and texture than we anticipated.

“There is enough to see outside in winter to satisfy any poet.

 In fact, winter may be even better because 

there aren’t so many things going on in nature 

that they crowd each other out.

It’s easier to notice what’s there.”

~ Charlotte Mason volume 1, page 86 ~

I was curious if we could find most of the colors of the rainbow - plus the neutral colors - during our time outside on January 26th. Here's how we did:

Green - pine trees. The pine trees don't look green, but they are. I happened to look up and see a hawk flying overhead. Was surprised that when I took the picture that the hawk was in between the tops of the pine trees. 

Brown - weeds and dead pine needles; pine cone; and cattails. This cattail was on the back part of the property, to the north of the mini-pine tree forest. The pine cones were under some trees that are in the west pasture. There were lots of rabbit tracks under the trees and around the pine cones. 

  

Looking at the birds, I saw many American Tree Sparrows. 

White - snow. These are some tracks in the snow that are leading to a branch that is partially-buried. The tracks went to the side of the branch where there was some shelter from the weather.

Gray 

The gray squirrels are prolific this year. They like the corn that I put out. The goal is to keep them away from the more expensive birdseed. In concept, it works...in real life, not so much.

Black

While bird watching, I saw many black-capped chickadees and dark-eyed juncos. The male juncos have the darker coloring - more of a black than the gray-colored females. The black-capped chickadees, like the one below, always seem to be the first birds to find the new birdseed when I fill the feeders.

The colors we didn't find were red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, and purple - all the vibrant colors we would see in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. That being said, on other days we will see red on male cardinals, orange on the beaks of female cardinals, and blue in the sky and on blue jays. Sunrises and sunsets would show any of the colors we didn't see also. 

That wraps up our nature study about winter, snow, snowflakes, birds, and colors during the winter.

Alone Together - Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19

 Who would have thought in March 2020 that one year later COVID-19 would still be around, we would be wearing masks, and over 500,000 people would have died it? It is not surprising that books about COVID-19 have been added to the library collection. A new book that I found at the library is Alone Together - Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 which is edited by Jennifer Haupt.

 This book is a collection of short stories, poems, and reflections by a variety of writers. There is such a diversity of writing styles and content which makes it an interesting book. With so many perspectives on the pandemic and its impact on people, it is reassuring to know that I'm not alone in feeling the way that I do. 

Some things that stood out from the various poems and stories include: 

- Part of the tremendous unease during the pandemic has been recognizing that we are in the midst of transformation, with no clear sense of where it will lead and little reassuring guidance along the way. 

- We're doing these things we didn't have time for in the past because we were so busy with our lives.

Olivia making a barn quilt. She was commissioned to do a 

custom-designed barn quilt which is exciting!

- What's the new normal now? I'm finding that we're going back to some of the things that we used to do growing up and my kid is enjoying it!  

Enjoying watching and photographing birds during the pandemic.

- These shared experiences are bringing us closer together, and I think that's one of the gifts of this time, that we're going to develop some new old ways of interacting with each other. 

Making food for holidays and other special days.

- That's when I saw something I'd missed for a long time. Smiles. 

- Only when I noticed others doing errands in their pajamas did I realize that...people were going outside wearing the clothes they'd just slept in. It wasn't exhibitionism. Dressing had become as blurry as the days of the week.

- Our faces became armored with masks. When people approached it was impossible to determine if they were happy or threatening. 

Some of our Lions Club members packaging food for 

other members before a Zoom club meeting.

- Each week I spend triple (on groceries) what I did pre-virus and still feel like I do not have enough.

- The virus sheds and we shed what doesn't serve us so we can focus on what matters.

Enjoying a meal together on New Year's Day.

- In times like these, trying to produce any kind of art feels a bit frivolous. But when we're stuck in our homes and told only to go out when absolutely needed, making art is probably the best way to combat anxiety and atrophy.

Made window stars for Olivia's 18th birthday which 

also was her golden birthday.

- We can treat our pain and create change when we turn our grief and anger into action.

- The plans that had been the tent poles for my illusion of control were pulled right out of the ground. I had to make new plans, live by new rules, which took some doing.

- For the first time in her life, she must do nothing at all. 

- Somewhere in the past year, she has stopped waking up more beautiful each day. Something has shifted in her face and she sees age flicker between her brows then dive down to the two crevices on the sides of her mouth. 

- Grace is finding your own unique strengths and developing those as best you can. Grace is doing what you love and loving what you do.

  

One of the things I love is taking photos of nature - plants and wildlife.

- You want to keep arguing for those things you were passionate about fifty days ago, but you cannot remember what day of the week itis, you cannot remember the month.

- You see your family and friends via cell phone, via computer. Your hair is grayer. There are circles under everyone's eyes, there are worry lines accenting the corners of mouths. 

 

Conducting meetings on Zoom has become the new normal.

At this particular one, we had a speaker and bald eagle from The Raptor Center 

join us for a presentation.