tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46942670542263343722024-02-20T01:09:43.257-08:00Farm Girl Rosiemehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-57702780046124598422012-05-08T10:49:00.001-07:002012-05-08T10:49:57.995-07:00Six Little Goslings<div style="text-align: center;">
Surprise! The geese had goslings!!! Here are some pictures I took of the happy family:</div>
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<br />mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-59720404795889992352012-04-20T10:14:00.000-07:002012-04-20T10:17:19.671-07:00Colorful Creatures: Sandhill Cranes & Canada Geese<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;">Lately I have had the good fortune to observe Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese in action. They have been checking out the ponds on our farm. The geese in particular have been enjoying swimming in the ponds, and the Sandhill Cranes have been merely onlookers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75;">I was able to get pictures of both kinds of beautiful birds:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Sandhill Crane & Canada Goose together</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Sandhill Cranes getting ready to fly</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Sandhill Cranes in flight</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Canada Goose</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Canada Goose preparing to flap wings</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">A pair of Canada Geese</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Happy Birdwatching!</span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #351c75;">All photos copyright 2012 Farm Girl Rosie.</span></em></div>
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<br />mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-803144940713326602012-01-09T09:17:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:17:41.296-08:00A Scarf for Gracie <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">A very sleepy Gracie</span></td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">I've been working on knitting a scarf for our Whippet puppy, Gracie, and it's coming along very well. I am using a special kind of yarn, as you can see from the picture, but it's harder to use than you'd think. If it's not handled just so, it can get messy. The good part is, the fluffiness of the yarn covers up most of the mistakes. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span>Just kidding. It's really not looking so bad. I think Gracie will look nice in it. While she was sleeping yesterday, I measured her neck to see if the scarf would be long enough. She hardly noticed. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-20781466148188090202012-01-05T12:43:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:19:22.027-08:00Gymnastics Books<span style="color: #990000;">Lately I have been reading three books about gymnastics. They are called <em>Dominique Moceanu: A Gymnastics Sensation</em> (1997); <em>Shannon Miller: America's Most Decorated Gymnast</em> (1997); and <em>Kim Zmeskal: Determination to Win</em> (1995). They are all written by Krista Quiner.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Each book is highly entertaining and provides a good look into each gymnast’s life. Often I have found that biographies of gymnasts only discuss the meets they competed in, but these books are more interesting and give you a better picture of what the girls were really like.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Another gymnastics book I have enjoyed is <em>Going for Gold: 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics</em> by Leigh Olsen (2008). It discusses each of the best gymnasts from the time right before the Beijing Summer Olympics. This book is wonderful for fans who want to learn about each of the 2008 Olympians, the alternates, and the gymnasts who almost made the team.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"></span>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-74502356285099486652012-01-04T11:15:00.000-08:002012-01-04T11:15:01.039-08:00Welcome to the New Look!<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Happy New Year!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I'm pleased to announce that <em>Farm Girl Rosie</em> has a new look for 2012. I have created a new blog header, and I plan to begin posting more regularly during the winter months. I will be posting book reviews, updates on projects, and much more. I'll also be writing about my favorite sport, women's artistic gymnastics, especially during the Summer Olympics.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Thank you!</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Farm Girl Rosie</span>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-43876493759739160952011-12-15T14:08:00.000-08:002011-12-15T14:08:57.602-08:00More News<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's only 10 days until Christmas . . . ooh! It's hard to believe that the holiday is so close. It seems like just my last post when I was talking about Thanksgiving . . . oh, wait, maybe it was! :)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our new Whippet puppy, Gracie, is happily chewing on one of her toys as I write this. She is quite curious about everything, and seems to think it's her business to steal socks and then chew on them. She is so cute!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lately, I've been working on memorizing the first sixteen lines of the <em>Twas the Night Before Christmas</em> poem in French. It's difficult---I've got ten lines down well but the rest are still evading me. I'll keep trying!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-77240277973338836902011-11-24T14:26:00.000-08:002011-11-24T14:26:49.543-08:00Happy Thanksgiving!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Happy Thanksgiving!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I’m pleased to say that it’s Thanksgiving once again. The snow had been on the ground here at the farm, but has melted considerably due to a welcomed warm-weather period.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I watched the National Dog Show on television today and was pleased that the Whippet made it to the finals in Best of Show. Since the arrival of our new Whippet puppy, I have fallen in love with the breed!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wish you all a happy and peaceful day.</span></div><span style="color: #990000;"><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"></span>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-7175645696743099372011-11-03T12:09:00.000-07:002011-11-03T12:10:11.363-07:00Squirrels Galore!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Lately I have been watching squirrels run around in the great outdoors, trying desperately to gather enough pinecones for winter. They are so cute. One red squirrel in particular seems to think that it is necessary to bury pinecones in multiple nests and then transport them back and forth as she sees fit!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Here's a photo I took of a red squirrel who has decided to live near our house.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZCQzgXVIgJGxMhNV1D7an7e1wBETUph0M1z5ifibjMQB3ZMalrjLpXso_NxGwbsh1DxaetxrPEoGQSeVNJajctOlxQpzOetY3M4AK6wq9p9t_KSGh8XR7Kl3jx0tpO3HtjtSap8JbDUH/s1600/AJ-169-71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZCQzgXVIgJGxMhNV1D7an7e1wBETUph0M1z5ifibjMQB3ZMalrjLpXso_NxGwbsh1DxaetxrPEoGQSeVNJajctOlxQpzOetY3M4AK6wq9p9t_KSGh8XR7Kl3jx0tpO3HtjtSap8JbDUH/s320/AJ-169-71.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-29793616281155449082011-10-24T09:58:00.000-07:002011-10-24T09:58:22.846-07:00Recap of the World Championships<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This post is a little belated, but a late post is better than no post at all, so . . . </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm happy to say that the USA went home (on the women's side) with three gold medals and two bronze medals. Not bad! The U.S. won the team gold, the all-around gold with Jordyn Wieber, and the vault gold with McKayla Maroney. The bronzes were for Jordyn Wieber on balance beam, and Alexandra Raisman on floor exercise. What a group of talented girls!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This afternoon marks the first day of gymnastics competition at the Pan-American Games. I can't wait to see Shawn Johnson perform in an international competition for the first time since 2008! Good luck USA!</span>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-54641798245316558452011-09-30T15:03:00.000-07:002011-09-30T15:05:53.322-07:00Guest Post<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out my new guest blog post at <em>Fresh from the Farm, </em>Fox Hill Farm's official blog!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.foxhillphoto.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.foxhillphoto.blogspot.com</span></a></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-18892096797938368582011-09-30T14:50:00.000-07:002011-09-30T14:51:29.710-07:00Update on the World Championships!<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">The World Championships are approaching rapidly . . . 6 days to go!! The U.S. women's team is in Tokyo, Japan, where the championships are being held; and aside from the team, 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion Nastia Liukin will be attending the highly anticipated event. In fact, Nastia was on the U.S. Worlds team selection commitee.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've been looking forward to this competition for a long time, and it's really exciting that it's finally getting close.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">As for the Pan-American Games, which will be held after the World Championships, there has been a setback for the U.S. team. Chellsie Memmel, 2008 Olympic veteran, was forced to withdraw from the competition due to her shoulder injury (which occured at the 2011 Visa Championships). Chellsie had surgery on September 23rd, and we all hope she will have a safe recovery.</span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-41731172411387830752011-09-24T10:55:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:55:46.048-07:00News from the Farm<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I made some ponies happy this morning by offering sugar cubes. They were snatched up most delightedly.</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It makes my day to make a pony's day! </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">I also have some exciting news. My family is looking for a new puppy! Among my favorite breeds are Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Italian Greyhounds, and Whippets. Right now we are considering a female Whippet puppy, although we haven't found Little Miss Perfect yet. We'll keep trying! :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-86227908937915477142011-09-22T16:43:00.000-07:002011-09-23T06:47:58.997-07:00The 43rd Gymnastics World Championships<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every year, the gymnastics World Championships is held in October, and I look forward to watching the intense competition and amazing athletics. Gymnastics (especially the women’s, which I’m more interested in) is a wonderful sport, and I have been following it for quite some time now. My favorite gymnast is Alicia Sacramone, a 2008 Olympian and 2010 World Championships medalist on vault---and she made this year’s Worlds team!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The list of the women who made the team was announced last night via USA Gymnastics on Facebook. The members are:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Alicia Sacramone</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Jordyn Wieber</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Anna Li</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Gabrielle Douglas</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Alexandra Raisman</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. McKayla Maroney</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was very pleased with this list. Jordyn Wieber won the all-around at the 2011 American Cup (over 2010 World all-around gold medalist Aliya Mustafina of Russia), and she definitely deserves to be on the team. I sent Jordyn a fan letter congratulating her on her American Cup win this year, and, to my surprise, she sent me a signed photo of herself! So it’s extra nice for me seeing her reach such a great height.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, the list of the women who made the Pan American Games team was also announced last night. The members are:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Bridgette Caquatto</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Jessie DeZiel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Brandi Jay</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Shawn Johnson</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Chellsie Memmel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Bridget Sloan</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is also a fantastic list. I’m so glad for the new American stars (Bridgette, Jessie, and Brandie), and also thrilled for the 2008 Olympic team veterans (Shawn, Chellsie, and Bridget), who have been making successful comebacks.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until very recently, I did not know that Bridget Sloan was returning to the sport this quickly, but I’d seen Shawn Johnson and Chellsie Memmel at the Visa Championships, where they both looked incredible. I hope that all four Olympic teammates (including Alicia Sacramone) can be seriously considered for next year’s Olympic Games. I think this is highly possible, if they keep improving from where they are now.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Congratulations to all the gymnasts! And I hope that Mackenzie Caquatto, (who most likely would have made the Worlds team if not for her injury), gets better soon. :-)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t wait for the competitions to begin!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-35858974070642310312011-09-05T13:21:00.000-07:002011-09-05T13:22:17.742-07:00Wildflowers & Apples<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I went for a walk today, and saw purple and white asters, tansy, fleabane, goldenrod, and other wildflowers. The apples are just about ready to be picked, because I opened a few that had already fallen off, and the seeds were brown. Yes!!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I hope everyone is having as pleasant a Labor Day as I am. <strong><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></strong></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-36905133564403818932011-08-15T16:08:00.000-07:002011-08-15T16:12:20.349-07:0012 Projects---Continued<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I am so thrilled about how my projects did at the county fair last week! These are the results:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">1. Poem about horses (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">2. Poster on wildflowers (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">3. Knitted pillow (3rd place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">4. Pencil sketch (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">5. Crayon picture (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">6. Story sequence of 5 pictures (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">7. 5 pictures of animals (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">8. My best photograph (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">9. Another poem (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">10. Poster on my top 10 favorite books (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">11. Book review (1st place)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">My book review, on "Katie John," originally appeared on this blog.</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">12. A display showing project work (1st place, and Best of Show!!)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">My display was of the ribbon bookmarks I make. This was the description I gave for my display, along with the bookmarks I set out:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">For my self-determined project this year, I've been making ribbon bookmarks.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">To make my bookmarks, I bought velvet ribbons, clamps, and jump rings from online shops. I constructed them by cutting out about 10" of ribbon and then attaching clamps to each end. I did this with pliers.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Then, I collected vintage charms and fastened these onto the clamp by using a jump ring, and securing it with the pliers.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I showcased my bookmarks at the Land O' Lakes Art Impressions show on July 23rd. I sold a few, and it was an interesting experience.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Thank you!</span></strong></div><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I'm really happy with how well my projects did. I look forward to entering more at next year's fair.</span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-31888131549352963272011-08-13T07:20:00.000-07:002011-08-13T07:20:08.801-07:0012 Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF177x6GfNsfuHoxrZkNaErrV0JyfXY-B6OlUzx_UwdYOVkyYVp-XEYe_PTBPJXLZwaWKI9kmWYjfKNnhnDCsj5QA93HBrXji8mCKn6N5xbZULYXJN2ELA1ZLRj-ooRO-xW46CntZF02c/s1600/VID00094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF177x6GfNsfuHoxrZkNaErrV0JyfXY-B6OlUzx_UwdYOVkyYVp-XEYe_PTBPJXLZwaWKI9kmWYjfKNnhnDCsj5QA93HBrXji8mCKn6N5xbZULYXJN2ELA1ZLRj-ooRO-xW46CntZF02c/s320/VID00094.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">I finished my county fair projects yesterday. This is what I ended up doing:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">1. A poem about horses</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">2. A poster on wildflowers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">3. A knitted pillow</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">4. A pencil sketch</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">5. A crayon picture</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">6. A story sequence of 5 pictures</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">7. 5 pictures of animals</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">8. My best photograph</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">9. Another poem</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">10. A poster on my top 10 favorite books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">11. A book review</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">12. A display showing project work.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">I am pleased with how my entries turned out!</span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-54120086061921084832011-08-01T10:24:00.000-07:002011-08-01T10:24:17.791-07:00County Fair<span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ooooohh.......the county fair is August 13th. I'm not ready yet!! :)</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I plan to work on my various projects today. My goal is to finish every single project by August 10th. That gives me just a little over a week . . . . can I make it?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll keep posting updates on my progress. I hope I can reach my goal. Fingers crossed! &</span>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-25746347812449037192011-07-31T11:35:00.000-07:002011-07-31T11:36:19.223-07:00Writing Update<span style="color: #660000;">A while back on my blog, I posted about having written 3,000 words on a writing project. Then I checked back later and said that I'd written 6,000 words.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">I completed the project on June 11th (finally!) and it ended up being approximately 15,008 words. I'm so pleased!</span>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-34081933609768398452011-07-31T09:53:00.000-07:002011-08-02T14:23:04.960-07:00Piper Reed Book Review #5<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">TITLE: Piper Reed, Rodeo Star</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">AUTHOR: Kimberly Willis Holt</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">COPYRIGHT: 2011</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: Henry Holt and Company, LLC</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">NUMBER OF PAGES: 149</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">PLOTLINE: Piper Reed gets a surprise one day: her parents are going on a second honeymoon to France! Piper and her sisters, Sam and Tori, will have to stay with their two sets of grandparents in the little town of Piney Woods, Louisiana.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Even though it might be lonely spending winter break---and Christmas---without her parents, Piper comes up with a surefire way to have fun. She’s going to have four adventures while she’s in Piney Woods.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">It turns out that Piper and her family have several adventures together, not counting when they have to trek to Uncle Leo’s house to check their e-mail (why don’t their grandparents have a computer?)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">But the biggest adventure of all comes when Piper’s parents arrive home with a surprise . . . and this time, it’s a good one!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">*****</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">“ ‘Zero plus five equals five,’ Sam said.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75;">‘That’s right, Einstein,’ I said.” - <em>Piper Reed, Rodeo Star</em></span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-45464872261134631872011-07-30T10:30:00.000-07:002011-07-31T11:38:12.684-07:00Hummingbirds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrJOpFw7ok6dORXt7Cvl3gi12jMnf210rA_bpz1gyOzpebVhpyKE3lAM2eguVbYVSuYpv_z3KTHkNILIt616CmG1NErbOwy8eDD_DZeH15ffYZygcGUok2DUC2io5yDALZWEgVedfWqkD/s1600/DJ-PR11-264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrJOpFw7ok6dORXt7Cvl3gi12jMnf210rA_bpz1gyOzpebVhpyKE3lAM2eguVbYVSuYpv_z3KTHkNILIt616CmG1NErbOwy8eDD_DZeH15ffYZygcGUok2DUC2io5yDALZWEgVedfWqkD/s320/DJ-PR11-264.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">In the past week, I've sighted three hummingbirds in our garden. Two of them hardly ever come by, but one female bird has been quite busy in bee balm, lilac, and rosebushes.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I think she must be inspecting possible nest locations. I read in <em>Birds's Nests</em>, by Hal H. Harrison (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1975) that male ruby-throated hummingbirds do not take part in nesting activity, so it would make sense that this female hummingbird is searching for a spot by herself. She's been active in many places around here, I think this must be the case.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">I'm very certain that she's not a rufous hummingbird, since she appears to have no spots on her chest, and the other birds I've seen her with have identical green coats. (Male rufous hummingbirds have reddish-brownish coats.)</span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-35129396895756845652011-06-14T10:36:00.000-07:002011-06-14T10:37:08.151-07:00Lilacs & Butterflies<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I took some pictures yesterday of a few swallowtail butterflies. They were flying near some lilac bushes, and I managed to get a few decent photos . . . I discovered later that my favorite picture was out of focus!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCruTkxE4Wrd8mRxUsrrBXCmoghbUA_pa6KkVrmMtCAosTmIEp29l6HXhJh4m4axVPdYUY5u9WpwL4bIFxgcn0QKhKkTzS1BtjjKH66jCl0mOAQ6HSe-mXMbfuy66As3xiAFIDODZcTQY-/s1600/_DJ10063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCruTkxE4Wrd8mRxUsrrBXCmoghbUA_pa6KkVrmMtCAosTmIEp29l6HXhJh4m4axVPdYUY5u9WpwL4bIFxgcn0QKhKkTzS1BtjjKH66jCl0mOAQ6HSe-mXMbfuy66As3xiAFIDODZcTQY-/s320/_DJ10063.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50KJsc_9n4If7YyfctTVRPFfg7aj_FL2eJCfjvd6u8c-F1-LP_1VefvRwEqSmlRCPVw1rUWjqqO6dX_7WwoMj5idmIEmEt-R0ohr2hrI_bSbxMJW-Z1Vene-SU97T_kUPToVvdXZUr-w0/s1600/_DJ10061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50KJsc_9n4If7YyfctTVRPFfg7aj_FL2eJCfjvd6u8c-F1-LP_1VefvRwEqSmlRCPVw1rUWjqqO6dX_7WwoMj5idmIEmEt-R0ohr2hrI_bSbxMJW-Z1Vene-SU97T_kUPToVvdXZUr-w0/s320/_DJ10061.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWx5vWrcfxkGb1qmfcC8YQlMckNH2UETRJO6VNix4V7xN6_vgNrTe_sp23IxUI0Gxjpig_bPks69x5OVENhqvLX70XNLJFXThrulGVRERCqhfAUZuUXrgtxwW8hF0AArrlYq0_oV_pcxWU/s1600/_DJ10056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWx5vWrcfxkGb1qmfcC8YQlMckNH2UETRJO6VNix4V7xN6_vgNrTe_sp23IxUI0Gxjpig_bPks69x5OVENhqvLX70XNLJFXThrulGVRERCqhfAUZuUXrgtxwW8hF0AArrlYq0_oV_pcxWU/s320/_DJ10056.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-64557632096479114632011-06-12T10:44:00.000-07:002011-06-12T10:44:30.306-07:00Early Summer SightsEarly summer is always a beautiful time of year, and some of the prettiest things to see are nature's cute creatures. Here are some attractions I've been seeing lately:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Swallowtail butterflies</li>
<li>Dragonflies</li>
<li>Bumblebees and honey bees</li>
<li>Baby red squirrels</li>
<li>Whitetail deer</li>
<li>Birds, including</li>
<ul><li>sparrows</li>
<li>red-winged blackbirds</li>
<li>robins</li>
<li>bluebirds</li>
<li>goldfinch</li>
<li>osprey</li>
<li>bluejays</li>
<li>vultures</li>
<li>eagles</li>
</ul></ul>I also saw a large pink-and-white spider this morning . . . but it wasn't exactly a "cute creature." :-)mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-86303404723956146522011-04-01T13:40:00.000-07:002011-06-16T10:51:16.480-07:00Other Favorites<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBtwvTycfFwt-O-N6ubWA73qvqrb86P_i3f2sN1SYqxRHhu5jqr_NFoyZONaIFYMLstOm-3egQOo3D6mZH8KFo_ABfKf8Nxrh7Niq9Tb3UpZWhi3KOapM_rmuf5dHX1d47otBESoMmM-i/s1600/AJ-SDC14336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBtwvTycfFwt-O-N6ubWA73qvqrb86P_i3f2sN1SYqxRHhu5jqr_NFoyZONaIFYMLstOm-3egQOo3D6mZH8KFo_ABfKf8Nxrh7Niq9Tb3UpZWhi3KOapM_rmuf5dHX1d47otBESoMmM-i/s320/AJ-SDC14336.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There’s a page on this blog called “Farm Girl Rosie’s Favorite Books” and it lists my top ten favorite novels ever. They are <em>Anne of Green Gables</em> by Lucy Maud Montgomery, <em>Ballet Shoes</em> by Noel Streatfeild, <em>The Family at Caldicott Place</em> by Noel Streatfeild, <em>Friendly Gables</em> by Hilda van Stockum, <em>From Anna</em> by Jean Little, <em>Gemma and Sisters</em> by Noel Streatfeild, <em>Hitty: Her First Hundred Years</em> by Rachel Field, <em>Jill’s Story</em> by Jean Fielder, <em>Ramona Forever</em> by Beverly Cleary, and <em>What Katy Did at School</em> by Susan Coolidge.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But there are several other books that were right out of my top ten, and I decided to list them here. Enjoy!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1. <em>Patty Fairfield</em> by Carolyn Wells</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Patty Fairfield, age fourteen, visits her four aunts in turn to see how she wants to run her own home someday---with some funny results.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://farmgirlrosie.blogspot.com/2011/01/another-book-review.html">2. <em>Katie John</em> by Mary Calhoun</a></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At first, Katie John Tucker doesn’t want to live in a boring little town in Missouri, but she changes her mind by the end of the summer because of some highly interesting adventures that she gets into!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3. <em>Rebecca and Ana</em> by Jacqueline Dembar Greene</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rebecca Rubin’s cousin, Ana, has just arrived from Russia to live in New York City! Rebecca is excited to begin with, but soon she begins to wonder how to cope with the change.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4. <em>Dancing Shoes</em> by Noel Streatfeild</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rachel and her sister Hilary are sent to their Aunt Cora, who is a renowned dancing teacher. Immediately, problems arise when the girls can’t get along with spoiled cousin Dulcie.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">5<em>. The Cricket in Times Square</em> by George Selden</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Through a series of wild circumstances, a cricket named Chester ends up in a bustling New York subway station. He’s not sure how to ever get back to Connecticut, until new friends help him out.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">6. <em>Theater Shoes</em> by Noel Streatfeild</span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sorrel, Mark, and Holly Forbes are siblings who are uprooted to a new home with their actress grandmother. After the eccentric lady decides the children must learn to act as well, they find it difficult to adjust to their amazing new lifestyle.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-71980465076310418652011-03-22T15:10:00.000-07:002011-03-22T15:11:47.432-07:00The Saddle Club - A Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnYTbWJ8uEMrkC3ltaULRKCVg81Xglh__R4wTtHu-aYoMEly9kY76VALFYAnTqSpztr_gtApVwQf08yKi-UHJVM08G5U5MLVPuncv38SLjOGCfka-vftP-t-Yqm70hNBnBeYR_XAMPLfm/s1600/AJ-SDC14322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: blue;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnYTbWJ8uEMrkC3ltaULRKCVg81Xglh__R4wTtHu-aYoMEly9kY76VALFYAnTqSpztr_gtApVwQf08yKi-UHJVM08G5U5MLVPuncv38SLjOGCfka-vftP-t-Yqm70hNBnBeYR_XAMPLfm/s320/AJ-SDC14322.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">One of my all-time favorite series of books is <em>The Saddle Club</em>, a collection of novels chronicling the adventures of a trio of best friends: Carole, Stevie, and Lisa. They all love horses, and decide to form a club that honors this love.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">There are 101 books in this series (wow!) and 7 Super Editions (which are longer than an average Saddle Club book). The more I read them, the more I appreciate how well-written they are.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Here are some brief reviews on my three favorite books:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">TITLE: #1, Horse Crazy</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">AUTHOR: Bonnie Bryant</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">NUMBER OF PAGES: 135</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">YEAR PUBLISHED: 1988</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">PLOTLINE: Lisa Atwood is a new rider at Pine Hollow Stables. She doesn’t know anyone there, and honestly, she doesn’t want to learn how to ride. But Lisa does want to make friends with Carole Hanson, a no-nonsense girl who loves horses. There’s only one problem: Carole is friends with Stevie Lake, who pulled a dangerous trick on Lisa at her first riding lesson. Maybe the answer is to avoid them both, and start hanging out with the rich Veronica diAngelo . . .</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">*****</span><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">TITLE: #3, Horse Sense</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">AUTHOR: Bonnie Bryant</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">NUMBER OF PAGES: 135</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">YEAR PUBLISHED: 1989</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">PLOTLINE: Carole, Stevie, and Lisa have only been friends for a little while, and their club, The Saddle Club, is still a very small organization. That’s when Lisa gets the idea to change it into a big club, with rules and a constitution and everything. But Stevie and Carole seem to be ignoring her, because they have projects of their own. Lisa gets upset, and decides to hold meetings without her friends. Could this be the end of The Saddle Club---when it’s hardly even the beginning?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">*****</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">TITLE: #101, Best Friends</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">AUTHOR: Bonnie Bryant</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">NUMBER OF PAGES: 149</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">YEAR PUBLISHED: 2001</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">PLOTLINE: The Saddle Club is busy preparing for the upcoming horse show in South Carolina, and it’s also very close to Christmas. Carole, Stevie, and Lisa have enough trouble getting money for Christmas presents, but how can they all pay for the horse show entry fee, too? None of the girls wants to let each other know about the situation, but it’s hard to keep it a secret, especially when Stevie needs new riding boots, Carole needs a new halter for her horse, and Lisa’s parents are struggling to pay bills. Can the girls help each other in time? Or is it too late?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">*****</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">These are the three best books in the entire series, in my opinion. Bonnie Bryant is an excellent writer, and they’re great stories.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><em>The Saddle Club</em> was also made into a television series, and Seasons 1 and 2 are on DVD available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com./">http://www.amazon.com./</a> I highly enjoy watching them, although they are quite a bit different from the books. I recommend both the novels and the TV episodes!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694267054226334372.post-20509081551775342232011-03-18T09:38:00.000-07:002011-03-21T15:19:22.948-07:00Fair Projects<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">Lately I've been browsing through our county fair book, trying to decide what to enter this year. These are some of the things I'm thinking about entering:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">1. A poem about horses</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">2. Two red peppers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">3. Two green peppers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">4. Cut daisies</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">5. A poster on wildflowers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">6. A yarn craft</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">7. A pencil sketch</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">8. A felt tip drawing</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">9. A book review</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">10. A poster on my top ten favorite books</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">Hopefully I'll be able to put a few more ribbons into my scrapbook!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>mehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01279304586332275345noreply@blogger.com0