Barnyard

Death of a Pet

December 2, 2015 4 Comments

Lucy

Well, my cat died yesterday evening and I’ve been a big cranky mess all day. Lucy was the sweetest kitty I ever had or knew. She was the only cat that would let anyone flip her over and stroke her belly, and she was there for the arrival of many of our babies. She survived many toddlerhoods around here, too. She never bit at or thrashed about when these small people tried to “pet” her head a little too strongly or pull her tail. Instead, she would quickly withdraw and retreat into my room, her safe place away from children, noise, and even other adults. We bonded over our shared introvert personalities.

I picked her up at a rescue center when she was three. She was thin and recovering from surgery after a bad bout of mastitis. I remember looking at all of the kitties there and immediately was drawn to this shy calico. I told the woman in charge that I’d like to take Lucy home. She took one look at my cart full of four children aged 6 and under and said, “Well…maybe…” I promised to keep her safe. I promised to keep her indoors. I told her of our experience with cats. She must have known that I had bonded to the cat already and relented.

Lucy was a love. I miss her purr. She caught the one and only mouse I ever saw in my house, and she was good about staying off of my counters and table tops. She liked to nestle on my feet, and every time I tried to move her off she became Liquid Kitty.

It was sad to see her decline so fast, to stop eating and lose bowel function. She waited until we arrived home from our day out, and then we just knew she was going. We sat around her by the woodstove, stroking her fur and telling her what a good kitty she had been and that everything was going to be all right. We watched her breathe her last few breaths. And then she was gone.

I hated wrapping her up, and putting her in a box. It was just wrong. I kept stroking her cooling ear. And I remember thinking how much I hate death, and how I hate the stupid “circle of life” nonsense, like death is “just a part of life” and so on. Like it’s a light thing, “dignified” even, to “return to the earth”. No, no it’s not. But I guess making up stuff or lying about death is all people have when they have no hope.

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Even the animals know that death is the enemy, that it is a result of the fall of man and that everything unraveled from God’s perfect creation because of it. It’s so ridiculously obvious that everything is in a state of decay, of decline, and that death is a sorrowful thing, a thing to grieve. So, no, I don’t “celebrate life” when death comes. I grieve the loss, even if my memories are full of happiness, treasure and love. I don’t want a party when I bury a pet or a person I love. I want to cry and be angry and stomp my feet and call out to Jesus, please, please, Lord, come, and put death away forever and ever amen.

I have no doubt that God can bring my Lucy to me when I get to heaven. I’m thankful for the 13 years she had here, but it just feels a little bit empty around here now. It was hard to wash and put away her dishes and it’s hard to see the empty spot where she used to sleep. I’m looking ever more forward to going Home as I get older and I thank God (who cares for even the sparrows that fall) that He has my place secured and waiting.

As an aside, if you’re subscribed to my RSS feed and got a weird email today with tons of old blog links, I’m sorry. Some things are still a bit wonky from the website change.

Blessings (and sadly),

A Downsizing Tip: Consolidate

March 31, 2015 4 Comments

When nothing is sure, everything is possible.

Margaret Drabble

Downsizing isn’t finished around here and has become more difficult. What to keep? What to get rid of? I crave the space but cling to the craziest things…like my lesson plan books I used when I was teaching 17+ years ago! But they were so good, I think, it was so fun… But I have never used any of those things in homeschooling, and even if I were to go back to teaching in a public school (not likely), I would do things differently.

But there they were: notebooks of photos, lesson plans, schedules, etc. and etc. (and etc.) I thought about giving them to someone and I thought about making up some nifty ebook about *whatever* from it all, but I finally just chucked them. I’ve also been going through all of our homeschooling books and curriculum. I have used so many different approaches, different books, different work texts…it just made up for a lot of books and things that not only took up space, but collected dust (literally). A friend taught me how to sell books on Amazon and woo-whee have I been making a lot of trips to the post office to mail books! I tell you what: it doesn’t hurt as bad to get paid to downsize! Slowly, slowly, I am consolidating my books to the ones I reference often, or reread. I figure if it’s just attracting more dust, I am blessing my children ahead of time with less to deal with later when I die.

Here are some other areas I am consolidating. Consider this a “7 Tips To Downsize!” with “BONUS 3 more for free!” without the annoying ads or pleadings to join my email list. (You’re welcome. But do join my email list :))

recipes: I know I don’t need 50 cookbooks, but that is what I’ve downsized to at this point (I know…it’s a sickness…). Any cookbook I kept for only one or two recipes went buh-bye and those recipes got copied into my recipe box. Someday I will go through that recipe box and flick out every card that hasn’t seen the light of kitchen workspace into the garbage can. And someday I will then downsize my cookbooks again (and again) until I can happily have…I dunno…five? I am finding that the library has a bazillion cookbooks I can try out, so that’s my plan for fresh inspiration when I need it. And then–wouldn’t it be cool?–I can type up all of my consolidated recipes into a personal cookbook!
art/craft/sewing instructions: so.many.tutorials. All just waiting for the nebulous time I’ll get to it “later” but you know what? Whenever I get that “later” time, I always find something else I’d rather do. But just looking at all of this stuff makes me long to make this or create that and promise myself (again and again and again) that I will get to it. So now I *am* getting to it…by letting most of it get-to-gone.
art supplies: I love art journaling and have started my second book. But I find that I am using the same materials over and over again, and I have a whole lotta of maybe-someday-meh things that are pretty to look at but I’m tired of maintaining and organizing. In fact, I am sick of “organizing”. I don’t care how well I do it; it still means s.t.u.f.f. I’m tired of plastic bins, shelves, binders, and drawers. Most of my art things happily went to an artsy friend of mine.
herbal recipes: I am an herbalist and have scraps of paper everywhere with recipes and notes on them. I am consolidating them all into two books: one for recipes and my own materia medica, and one for lecture and class notes. Once my lectures notebook is full (it’s almost there), I will just use the other one for everything.
photographs: I love Shutterfly, and manage all of our photographs there. One day I’d like to consolidate all of the old photographs into a digital book, but spending time on the computer is definitely not my thing (I’ll forgo the rabbit trail of where I see this blog going for right now…). What I’ve done with my loose photographs is gone through various stacks and tossed the extras. For example, when I came across photos for a holiday event, I tossed all of the repetitive or otherwise unworthy-to-be-saved pictures. Do I need 15 photographs of a child in various poses in a single outfit? I think not.
clothing: I am terrible with my closet. It’s not that I have too many clothes; I have very little. I’ve been trying to gather clothes according to some mathematical number (have so-many shirts, etc.) but I’ve since decided that I need *outfits* for certain days. I need a “going out” outfit, a “gardening” outfit, a “clean the house” outfit, etc. This is easier for me to manage; I can just grab Monday’s clothes. Mathematically, I guess that means like “ten outfits”, giving some flexibility to the week.
time: I’m always trying to arrange my time to give priority to what I feel is most important, letting go of *extra* tasks and outings that are not fueling my main purpose at this season in my life.
homeschooling: From many different curriculums, to joining together as one group. Finally. My oldest is 17 and I feel like I’ve finally come to peace with how we homeschool. Combining grammar with Bible with reading with writing with history and so on. Everyone working at their own levels, and with time to pursue their own interests. I know….because you’ve been asking…I need to write a homeschooling post or do a podcast on it. But I’m too busy homeschooling 😉
gardening: Well, it’s certainly easier to consolidate my gardening when there isn’t much to do! The old house we were in had never-ending (although satisfying) garden work, and this current house has kept us so busy with repairs and upgrades that I haven’t been able to spend time OR money outside in the kitchen garden. The raised beds desperately need to be weeded of morning glory and buttercup, and it seems so daunting. Furthermore, I need dirt and compost but seriously cannot find anyone to bring me $50 worth of soil. So do I want a dump truck delivered with a tremendous amount of extra for $364? I am soooooo thankful for our CSA down the street and cannot wait for the first box this upcoming weekend.
kitchen: One drawer or shelf at a time, that’s how it’s done. Do I really use 12 wooden spoons? No, I use the same 3 all of the time. Do I use my soup tureen? No, I just use the pot, even with guests. And so on…

One thing we just consolidated was the time we spend on our hens. I get the great idea of a chicken tractor and we’ve used one for many, many years. But it is falling apart, and it is daily work that takes time. I was ready for a simple coop with access to the outside pasture. Thankfully, we were blessed with a gentleman that gave us his labor and time in exchange for playing with his baby (and such a sweet baby!). So, he put up some gates in our yards to keep our toddlers safe and then built us a small coop to put the hens in at night. He also relieved us of our wasted feed problem. I am immensely grateful to him and wish he could continue to work for us, but he has his own homestead to work on.

Here is our easier chicken work load; isn’t it pretty? The duck house is in front of it; we brought that from our old house. The ducks free range, too. Having a livestock guardian dog is a very nice way to keep predators away.

The inside has crates for the nest boxes which will be far easier to clean than the wooden ones we had in the tractor. And there is PVC pipe for a continuous, clean, non-waste feed source, and branches for the roosts. We still need to set up a watering system, reinforce the bottom to discourage digging varmints, and put in bedding for the bottom.

blog2

I can’t say I love downsizing. The *idea* is great, but the work is hard. It’s not the difficulty of taking stuff out, although there is work in that. It is more of a mind and heart work, and a very stimulating and provoking challenge to where my treasures really are. I’m keeping my eye on the prize.

Blessings,

Owning a Livestock Guardian Dog

January 28, 2015 2 Comments

maremma

We’ve owned our Maremma Sheepdog since he was a puppy, born 5 1/2 years ago. He has been a good dog, and a worthy investment for our family. Today he got into a rather loud and angry fight with two dogs that ignored his warnings to stay off our property. The dogs’ owner lazily biked by, calling for them above the din. I watched as they ran off, my dog nipping further at their heels. I guess I half expected a limp apology but the owner calmly agreed with me, maintaining his peddle, when I told him my dog was “just doing his job.”

Thankfully, my maremma wasn’t hurt. I gave him handfuls of treats and lots of love, “that’s a good boy.”

Raising a livestock guardian dog is not easy. It’s not like you can just bring a puppy home, and suddenly he knows your rules and what he’s supposed to guard and do. If anything, because he has a guarding instinct, you have to pay attention and take the time and care to train him further. Otherwise, he may just decide that your goat (or child or cow or whatever) is his ultimate responsibility and will fight to the death anyone that dares to approach said goat (or child or cow or whatever).

Before we picked up our dog, I took great pains to read up on the breed and chatted with the farmers raising these dogs. I even joined the yahoo group specific to his breed, and eavesdropped. Livestock guardian dogs are not for everyone. They are very possessive and like to make up their own minds. This is a great benefit when you want that guarding ability, because you’re not always around to tell him what to do. In fact, he will balk if you tell him what to do. These dogs don’t want an “owner”. They want a “partner”. And they don’t need (or want) your lovey-dovey-kissy-smoochie talk either. What they want–and will demand, if they don’t get it easily–is your respect.

Respect is a two-way street, of course. I taught my puppy to respect ME first. I used (and highly recommend) Leerburg’s dog training videos. Not everything was applicable, but I learned a great deal and used much of it. Everything my dog failed to learn (where to poop, not to jump up on people as a puppy, etc) was my fault and lack of follow through. But he learned to respect me, and to this day I can–if I wanted to–reach under his nose and take his supper dish away while he’s eating.

Any dog, especially a livestock guardian dog, needs to know where the boundaries lie. My dog had to earn the right to be off a lead, and we took many, many walks around the perimeter of his jurisdiction. We put up, and still use, an electric invisible fence, mainly because the cost of fencing for five acres was beyond our budget and then some. But, again, you can’t just put up an electric fence and go about your way. The dog needs to be trained to it.

Livestock guardian dogs need to be socialized to many people, too. They need to know that when strangers come onto the property, YOU can tell that dog that “it’s all right” and the dog will leave ’em be. Sometimes I think my dog would cheerfully greet any stranger, but I also know that he can read “something’s wrong here” very well. When he was a young dog, I made the mistake of trying to have my neighbor feed him so we could take a vacation. I made many mistakes there that led to her getting a nip (thankfully, she was understanding).

What were the mistakes? First, my young dog was still in training and still highly sensitive to wanting to guard anything. So, because he was in the barn with the goats at the time, his (wrong) understanding was that any person approaching was suspect. Second, my neighbor had his food in hand–highly unusual. And, third, she admitted she didn’t like big dogs and was a bit nervous–which of course, all led to my dog’s reading “something’s wrong here”. What *I* failed to do was read the situation from HIS eyes.

So, be prepared to spend time training your dog. If you don’t want to put in the time, then please get a breed that is much more easy-going. I don’t know what, maybe a lab or some such. Although…our lab helped to train our maremma how to chase off coyotes, black bears, and bald eagles, so maybe you can teach other breeds of dogs new tricks.

Also, you need to know that in our culture of treating dogs like….I dunno….royalty? humans with their own bill of rights?…some folks can be downright….um…clueless…about how to act around a strange dog, much less a livestock guardian. I had one person march right up to my big white dog, while he was in the goat pen, ignored his (and my) warning, and grabbed his face with both hands to give him a smoochy-smoochy-poochie kiss. Of course he snarled at that person who then went on to decry what a dangerous dog I had. Another stranger tried grabbing his collar to discipline him as he was sniffing the man’s calves and waiting for me to tell him “it’s good, shove off”. And then there is the bicyclist who didn’t seem to understand that my dog could have ripped off his own dog’s heads if he had wanted to. Thankfully, my dog doesn’t “want to” really harm anyone; even strangers (with me) are able to pat him if they are so inclined. But, sometimes, “dog lovers” are the most dangerous people to approach such a dog. You’ve got to really know your dog and decide whether he’s better off staying within the livestock pen, or if he’s safe enough to have run of the property where other people may come and go.

Again, owning a livestock guardian dog is not for everyone. Know that owning one has its challenges, but if you can train him up and give him the respect he needs while doing so, he will faithfully and loyally watch over you, your family and your livestock. And yes, he’ll even roll over for you to rub his belly. Want more information? I found this book very helpful (although at the time I was *stuck* with the last puppy available and didn’t get to compare him to his siblings as the book suggests). Find whatever breed’s association internet page, and connect with breeders and owners to ask questions of. Yahoo groups are another good place to look. Ultimately, a good breeder will interview YOU and make sure you are well prepared for this kind of dog…and take the dog back if you cannot work with him.

Have you ever considered owning a livestock guardian dog? Or do you already have one and can relate?

Why I’ve Been Quiet

March 3, 2014 5 Comments

Oh, where oh where to begin….

This is going to be equal to about a dozen blog posts, but I’m going to just dump them all here. You can attend to the subtitles and read to your interest(s).

MARRIAGE: Twenty-two years later, we’re still in the ebb and flow of relationship. That happens, doesn’t it? It’s been good to reassess what the big picture is and what our goals are. I like having two decades plus behind us; we’ve learned a lot and are stronger because of everything we have to row through.

DOWNSIZING: This is one of our goals right now. I know I’m speaking to a whole lot of people when I say the economy hasn’t been kind the last half-dozen years. I got tired of griping about it and am now putting up what seems like half of our goods onto Craig’s List, and working to get the house onto the market (again). We are trusting the Lord to provide our next home. In addition to CL, I have a massive pile of stuff for a garage sale coming up. I’m even decluttering our book shelves, which I know, feels so wrong for any homeschooling mama. But I have seven BAGS of Christian living books to offer and relieve myself of, and that’s just one subject! I admit that with every bag of *whatever* I manage to get out of my house, I feel lighter. It’s a slow process.

WRITING: I’m currently reviewing the editor’s notes for my upcoming book, Present, and I’ve written a study guide to go along with it. I am hoping to release it in May, but my stubbornness for quality means that it will be ready when it’s ready. I’m also reviewing a friend’s book. If that weren’t enough, I have the rough draft to another book on Hospitality (no title yet) almost finished and third and fourth offerings begun.

update

HOMESCHOOLING: Of course, I’m still homeschooling, although at this point it feels more like “homeschool managing”. Most of my children are able to manage their own schoolwork; the young ones are the only ones I really “sit down and teach”. This is the first year I’ve been more hands-off, and my older children are going further than if I had tried to (typically) micro-manage them. My eldest daughter is apprenticing with a tailor, and my eldest son is heading to a mission aviation camp this summer to see if that’s where the Lord leads him. It’s such a privilege to homeschool!

homeschooling

SCHOOLWORK: Speaking of schoolwork, I have my own, too. I’m working through the Clinical Master Herbalist certification through Vintage Remedies. I’m liking it, but in truth am growing weary of online and long-distance courses. There are definitely pro’s and con’s; I’ve done them for fifteen years now. But I’m ready to meet up with some real people, real mentors, in real life. In the meantime, I’m still plugging away here.

schoolwork

ART: I’m still art journaling every day. I really enjoy it. Some days it’s a little doodle, some days it’s a timely watercolor. I also like incorporating herbs into my artwork, too.

I don’t know why these pictures came out dark. I do know I have children that like to play with the settings on my camera though!

art herbs

GARDEN: It’s hard to get real excited about gardening when I’m fairly confident I won’t be here to harvest. Well, I *think* I won’t be. Last time we put our house on the market, I was wishy-washy then, too, about planting. I’m sure glad I did, because we ended up eating the green beans, salads, and garlic ourselves! Instead, I continue to plan and plant, asking the Lord to bless it all so that the next family will be blessed by it. Hopefully, someone is planting something for ME to harvest in a new house!

seedlings

BARNYARD: As you may remember, I gave my last two dairy goats to a friend, and one of them recently had kids! It is another thing I am hoping for: a home where I can have goats again. My neighbor’s husband came home with chicks that the wife said, “no way” to, so we are going to at least raise some chicks again. One thing I’ve discovered is that NOT having fresh eggs is a rotten state of affairs! I hope to take my layers with me.

kid

PODCAST: Yes, we’ll be returning soon! We have a couple of guests to line up, but we are looking forward to getting back to it.

FRIENDS: I’m thankful for my friends! We are currently going through Discipline by Elizabeth Elliot together and have a cabin retreat planned. I’m looking forward to that!

HANDWORK: Still plugging along on my beaded scarf for Easter, and now onto the second silk scarf on the loom.

silk scarf weave

FAMILY: Still blessed to be home raising up my children. It is a delight to celebrate birthdays and just enjoy life and friends together. Someday when my years come to an end, I hope to have the blessing of looking upon many, many grandchildren, all walking with the Lord Jesus Christ.

birthday party

I hope you are all well as winter huffs and puffs the way out. By God’s grace, I am persevering.

If There’s an Empty Barn, Rejoice

November 11, 2013 Leave a Comment

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The last of our goats left last weekend.

Kinder goats

They went to a lovely home,

one where I may be able to regain some dairy goats someday.

If.

It’s awfully quiet around here though. No hooves on the feeders.

No maa-aaa’s in the morning. Or milk.

My second daughter said my dog was whimpering in the barn.

I think he misses his herd. I need to give him lots of reassurance.

maremma dog

I rejoice that I had the opportunity to raise and use our dairy goats. The empty barn stings, but I remain steadfast in my trust in the Lord to lead me to what is next.

Blessings,

Summer Break

August 19, 2013 Leave a Comment

Very much enjoying my August blog break. It’s given me opportunity to play with my camera more, work on schoolwork, do some other writing, and read a lot of books. Oh, and sleep 🙂 I hope you’re giving yourself some time through the year to pull back and rest a bit, too. (Wait, was that a blog post?)

STILLNESS

stillness

FLORAL

floral

MIDDAY

midday

Blessings,

More of August

August 12, 2013 1 Comment

More of August Break

SKYLINE

skyline

HOME

home

SOMETHING OLD

somethingold

SAVOR

savor

Blessings,

Photographing an August Break

August 9, 2013 Leave a Comment

I was intrigued by Susanna Conway’s August Break. Basically, it is an opportunity to take a break from writing and just use pictures for the month of August. I can’t promise I won’t have anything to say all month, but I thought I’d jump in, try to catch up, and practice with my camera a little. Enjoy.

BREAKFAST

breakfast

CIRCLES

circles

YELLOW

yellow

LOVE

love

CLOSE UP

closeup

Blessings,

Full Hands, Emptying Farm-ette

July 28, 2013 1 Comment

Seems like I hear that often enough, how my hands are full. And they are. And they are full of blessings and I’m sure I could fill books with gratitudes. But sometimes I am restless anyway, eager to cultivate and create and concoct some other persona than the one I am. But who does that, really, other than people in hiding?

I’ll tell you who. People who have kept things hidden in order to meet the needs and demands and expectations of everyone else. How to bring them out, however, when I’m busy with eternal matters such as motherhood and pressing needs such as laundry? Furthermore, ought I to even care for those things, those talents, those latent dreams? After all, anything less in importance than things eternal are, honestly, fodder for idolatry and we all know (either by wisdom or experience) where that road goes. But still…there must be a way to glorify God in the travel while driving those dreams in some way…

Currently I’m going through a half-dozen boxes, and I do mean BOXES, of writing I’ve done since I was about 11 years old. Piles and piles of poetry, short stories, journals, essays, reports, letters….all in worn hefty cardboard boxes with lids. I had in my mind that I would create some sort of mixed media art with at least bits of it, sort of a *this was/is me* buried under ModPodge and acrylic paint. The truth is, though, that much of it has ended in the garbage or recycling and *special* portions are reserved for a nice, hot bonfire. I read enough of it to realize that I wasn’t ready to read/relive it, and more importantly, I didn’t need anyone else reading either. I used to think my children and grands would like to, eventually, to see my spiritual growth and all of the good, bad and ugly. However, it wasn’t ever my intention or reason for writing, so it seems a little dishonest. Mainly it was me working things out with the One who already knew and knows. I still write to do that, and I don’t need to prove to myself or anyone else anymore that “I am a writer” by pointing to an abundance of paper. I just hope someone stronger emerges when the ashes from the past cool, because right now, it feels a bit blistery.

In the meantime, I’m keeping this little blog going. I don’t know why. Perhaps someone else out in ether world shares the same struggles with managing their lives with real purpose and meaning in this age of distractions. The worst part is the death of real relationships; who needs to talk and share coffee or write letters when we can “just” text or “just” post on Facebook or “just” update our status? And heavens, don’t even get me started with folks that do that sort of nonsense in the presence of real, live, breathing people! Anyhow, before my pondering gets pontiferous…

Just a few things to share.

One, it is totally worth dehydrating your favorite seasonings and tis the season to do it. I have lots of favorites, but garlic and oregano are tops in my kitchen so I make sure I have those. Here is a perfect example about why to make your own. This is dried oregano. The really nice green leafy greens on top are from my garden. The bottom faded dried out little pieces are from the market, and yes it was specialty organic seasoning to boot (and not from China). Guess which one smells and tastes better? And NO, don’t add this as “one more thing to do”. You don’t have to do it “all”; I gave up making laundry soap long ago 🙂

Oh and we are the worst tooth fairies ever. We ALWAYS forget to exchange a dollar per tooth and we end up adding extra dollars for every night we forget (don’t want to disappoint anyone at this point anyhow by being on time!). I got this note on the kitchen counter along with some *change*.

Annnnnnd, speaking of letting things go, a whole lot of animals have been tearfully sold around here to make room and time for I don’t know what but husband wants a break and so there we are. Our farm-ette is emptying at a fast clip and it does look real lonely in empty fenced-in pastures. Half of our ducks got picked off this year by foxes, too. At this rate, this guy will be the only animal left once it’s all said and done. As I said in a previous post, sometimes dreams need to die. It’s pretty hard, though, to imagine what’s coming.

That’s all for now.

Blessings,

It’s Kidding Season (No Joke!)

March 29, 2013 2 Comments

Spring is definitely here. Between the heavy frost and the warm sunny days, the buds beginning to unfurl and the weeds waking with a vengeance, the whole atmosphere around here says, “It’s spring!” The quietness of winter is gone, too. The robins are singing, the hummingbirds zipping…and then there’s our dairy goat herd queen, Splat. If she hears any of us outside, she begins bellowing. “Foooood!!! I want some more fooooooooooooooood!” Yes, we’ve taken to hushing our way out to the kitchen garden if we want to work on schoolwork at the picnic table in peace.

We have three girls to milk for our family’s supply, and what comes before that are, of course, the kids. Two of our does have kidded, and we have one more to go next month. Tomorrow we’ll be disbudding the babies (the job I hate the very, very most!). I say “we” in the loosest sense: my husband and son actually do the job and I am VERY thankful for that.

Anyhow, here are some photos. They are tagged with my other blog’s website, so if you’re interested in dairy goats, feel free to check out that site, too!

Enjoy your spring!