Planting Fruit Trees

Today we started planting our orchard. We have the holes for the trees and trenches for irrigation dug, and most of our 19 fruit trees purchased. Now we have to lay the irrigation lines and plant the trees. I am looking forward to having fruit on my own trees to pick when they are ripe instead of getting green-picked fruit at the grocery store. There's nothing like freshly picked, tree-ripened fruit. Yum!

Rainbows

One of the advantages of living on a hill where we do is that we frequently see rainbows when it rains. This afternoon as the sun shone through the clouds, we saw a beautiful, complete rainbow that was even double on one end. I couldn't get the whole rainbow in the picture, but this is what one end looked like.

Tidepool Update

The ultra-low tides will soon be gone during daytime hours until late fall and winter. So we have to try to get in as many visits as possible before they are gone. Over the weekend, we had opportunity to visit again.

We found our octopus again, although this time she was very shy and reluctant to show herself and not very hungry. Perhaps she had already been fed before we got there, or perhaps she is guarding some eggs back in her lair. We suspect the second octopus we saw last time was there to breed. If indeed that is the case, she may well have some eggs, and unfortunately it also means that her days are numbered. Octopuses only breed once in their lifetime, and once the eggs hatch (about two months later), the female dies. While guarding her eggs, they typically don't eat very much, if at all. Their lifespan is only around two years or less. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

We did find two sea hares.

We also found another sea slug (navanax inermis) like the little one we found last time.

We found a shell that a lobster molted. It was amazing to see how wonderfully designed a lobster's exoskeleton is! It's perfectly designed with tiny little hairs along the joints to keep sand and other debris out so the joints move smoothly. It's also amazing how the lobster can pull itself out of the old skin without hurting itself.

Wildflowers in Winter

A friend of mine has started a "Wildfowers in Winter" project on her blog. She has invited people to put their favorite wildflower pictures on their blogs while we wait for Spring to spring.

For me, it's a little different. Winters in Southern California are my favorite time of year. The hills are finally green, the skies are clear with very little smog or haze, and temperatures are cool instead of deathly hot. So I'm not anxious for winter to end - here anyway. Having lived in the north for several years, I can relate to the longing for Spring, the browsing through flower catalogs and dreaming about what new posies I would add to my flower gardens. Here, I still have flowers blooming in my garden. But I thought I would add a few of my favorite wildflower pictures I took back in 2005 when California had so much rain everything bloomed profusely. We took a trip to Death Valley and saw the once-in-a-lifetime wildflower show. Incredible!

Gravel Ghost - Atrichoseris platyphylla
Desert gold - Gerea canescens
Purple mat - Nama demissum

Some sort of evening primrose - not sure which kind

This picture was taken in King's Canyon. I'm not sure what type of lilies these were, but they were beautiful backlit. The picture at the top of my blog was also taken in King's Canyon. The flowers are a penstamon and some sort of mustard-looking flower. Not sure of either name.

Another Visit to the Tidepools

Yesterday was another ultra-low tide in early afternoon, so we joined some other family and friends for another visit to the tidepools. Again, the weather was fabulous - sunny, fairly warm (60's) and hardly windy at all down on the beach. We were anxious to see if we could find our octopus friend again. We easily found the hideout, broke open a mussel, and dangled a small piece in the water. Nothing happened. I moved it closer to the opening and waited. Again nothing. I pushed it just inside the opening, wondering if maybe nobody was home. Then I saw about four inches of tenticle reach out and grab the piece with lightening quickness. I knew we were in luck, and now the octopus knew food was around. We just had to be patient and try to lure it out so everyone could see it. I again dangled a piece in the water and wiggled it around with a stick. It started to come out, reaching with two tentacles. We could even see the body and its eyes. I moved the mussel farther away to see if I could lure it out further. It just reached further with its tentacles. But then we got the surprise of our lives. Just to the right, another tentacle reached out from under another rock! We had found another octopus! We were so excited! The second one was in a hole only about two feet away from the first one. We got pretty good looks at both of them. In this picture the first octopus is visible at the top. You can see three tentacles curled around and one eye. Because no suction cups are visible, she is really camouflaged, but maybe you can make it out just above the sandy area. We also saw the usuals like sea stars and sea anemones. We also saw a school of dolphins out a ways swimming north along the coast.

I also saw a tiny sea slug that was very pretty. He was only about an inch long. When I got home, I looked on the computer to find what kind he was. He is a navanax inermis. (If you want to see what he looked like, you can visit this website.)

Jonathan went to sleep in the wagon.

The sunset was beautiful. God has made such amazing and interesting beauty for us to enjoy.

Christmas Lights

One reason I love the Christmas season is the beauty of it. I love the lights people use to decorate their houses and buildings. Beginning after Thanksgiving, whenever we drive at night Alyssa also enjoys looking for them. It's one of our favorite things to do this time of year. Last week we drove down to the historic Mission Inn in downtown Riverside to take a look at their lights and other decorations. They go all out with thousands of lights, moving figures, carolers on each balcony, and other decorations. We were joined by many hundreds of other people, so it was hard to get around, but Alyssa and Jonathan were fascinated by it all.
Alyssa takes her doll Celine with her everywhere.

Our Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is one of our Christmas traditions we started a couple of years ago. All the ornaments on the tree represent Bible stories or verses. Beginning on December 1 when we put up the tree, we read a story or verse or two for our family worships and then the kids - Alyssa at this point - put the ornaments on the tree to represent what we read. She loves it, and it makes our Christmas tree both beautiful and meaningful while keeping our focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Many of the ornaments can represent more than story or verse. Every year when I go shopping I keep my eyes open for a few new ornaments, and I have a list of things I want to look for. If you have any ideas, leave me a comment below. Here is a picture of our tree this year.

Tidepool Visit

This past Saturday, our family and some friends went to Crystal Cove State Park to enjoy an afternoon at the tidepools. It was a perfect day for tidepooling: warm and sunny with a light breeze and a minus 2.8 tide which means the water was 2.8 feet lower than the average low tide. Because the water level was so low, we were able to see things that hide farther out like sea urchins and starfish.

This starfish was about 12 inches across. A purple sea urchin is to the right

There were lots of sea anemones. In places there were so many it was hard not to step on them.

Alyssa had fun playing with the hermit crabs. The most exciting thing we saw was an octopus. It was hiding back under a rock, but we got a pretty good view of its tentacles. The man that showed us the octopus found it in that same hole under the rock about a year ago. He lives in the area and comes to visit it frequently. It’s always in the same spot. He breaks open a mussel or two to feed it. Now that we know where to find it, we’ll look for it next time we go, too. In this picture two of its tenticals are visible as well as its two eyes. The orange at the bottom of the picture is the mussel they were using to try to lure it out. The octopus was probably about two feet long.

The sunset was a beautiful end to a lovely afternoon.

Pilgrim & Indian Party

Last week Alyssa, Jonathan, and I attended a Pilgrim & Indian Party put on by our homeschooling friends.
Our friends put on a little program about the Mayflower, pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.

It was a dress-up party, so I made Alyssa a pilgrim dress at her request. I made a matching doll dress for her favorite doll.
Pilgrim Jonathan had just awakened from a nap and still wanted his pacifier.
The kids played together, ate a delicious meal, and had a wonderful time.
Alyssa's favorite thing about the whole party was a little fluffy kitten who was quite content to be carried everywhere. Alyssa was happy to oblige it.

Thanksgiving Traditions

This Thanksgiving I had opportunity to try out a couple ideas for leading children to develop attitudes of thankfulness which I learned at the recent seminars I attended. In the process, our family began a new Thanksgiving activity I hope will become a family tradition. It's called the "Thanksgiving Box." Before Thanksgiving I purchased some tiny maple leaf candies which I individually wrapped and attached a Bible verse card. Then I placed the candies in a box which I wrapped in several autumn-themed papers (one wrapping paper for each person who would be at our Thanksgiving dinner.) Included in each wrapping was a slip of paper with some instructions on it, such as, "Tell something that has happened this past year for which you are thankful," "Share a childhood memory of Thanksgiving or invite someone at the table to do so," "Offer the blessing for our Thanksgiving dinner," "Share something you have seen or heard for which you are thankful," "Lead the group in reciting Psalm 100," and so on. Once the box was wrapped and re-wrapped, I placed it on the table. When everyone was seated I invited someone to begin by taking off the first wrapping and doing what the paper said inside. Then they passed it to the next person who took off the next paper. We continued passing the box around the table while we ate until everyone had taken off one wrapping and followed the instructions inside. The last person passed the box around and everyone took a little maple leaf candy for dessert. The whole meal was spent in praise to God and thanksgiving for His leading throughout the past year. Many at our table, including the children commented how much they enjoyed the activity. We'll definitely do it again next year!

Another idea I adapted was to have Alyssa take two tiny baskets and fill it with as many little things as she could that represent things for which she is thankful. I hung the little baskets on an ornament hanger (in picture above on right side) and put hanger on the Thanksgiving dinner table. During the meal let her tell our guests what things she had found. She really seemed to like this activity. In the other two baskets I put little magnetic alphabet letters. As part of the box activity described above, a guest was to pick a letter from the baskets and tell something beginning with that letter for which they were thankful. This activity worked well for both children and adults at our table.

Children's Ministry Convention

I just finished a wonderful weekend at the North American Division Children's Ministry Convention in Loma Linda, CA. I came away with new purpose and many useful resources to help my children and the children I work with at church to develop their own relationships with Jesus beginning now.

The most fascinating seminars I attended were presented by Karen Holford. Karen is from England and is an author of children's books and material for those who work with children. I found her seminars most refreshing and very practical. She presented ideas of how to teach kids in a concrete way some of the abstract ideas of spirituality, specifically prayer, praise, intercession, and thankfulness. She also gave some Bible memorization techniques especially for kids. I am planning to post the ideas I learned as I try them out at home or Sabbath School.

My greatest desire is to see Alyssa and Jonathan walk with Jesus. What I learned opened my eyes to ways of looking at the little things all around me to illustrate how to walk with Jesus from an early age.

My Clean Shed

My shed is clean and organized at last. It took my husband and me all Sunday afternoon and evening to complete the job, but now everything has a place, and we even know where that place is! It will be wonderful to know exactly where to find the tool or item we need for jobs around the house. And, as an added bonus, when our friends come over, I won’t be embarrassed if they happen to see inside.

We had two small helpers on the job. Alyssa got her own little broom and helped sweep off shelves and the floor. Jonathan kept coming in with his little hands full of rocks. Then he took them out again to drop in the bucket of water for the dogs. A bit later, he picked up the little hand broom and tried to sweep, too.

A good bit of dirt never made it to the trash can – it ended up on us instead. But the job is done, and I have a feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction, and joy to have a clean, organized shed.

Is that how God feels when I let him clean out the dirt in my life and organize it so that I function as the person He created me to be? It’s a work that will take Him my lifetime, not just a day, but I hope that even along the way I glorify Him when others see inside. Perhaps He will even find a useful talent in me which He can use to accomplish His will and to bless others. And I pray He will make me a good example for my two little helpers who copy everything I do.