Until Laters

Clay is heading out to Utah for a new job and won't see Miss Hannah for a while. So we met for dinner in Port Huron last night. Of course, we walked down to the river and watched freighters slide under the Bluewater Bridge.

Earlier this week we visited with the Chicago Clark family and discovered that Miss Sophia really does not like to say goodbyes. So, in keeping with a child's wisdom, we say "until later" instead of goodbye to Clay and wish him loads of luck in his new job. May it be meaningful work with challenges that grow the mind and the spirit. Good luck, Clay!

In this photo: Hannah, Wendy, Peter, Clay, Ed

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler



July Nights

Fireflies scatter sparkles across the lawn. Trees stand in inky silhouette against the fading horizon touched by peach and navy. Stars poke gingerly, then boldly, in the heavenly dome overhead.

July nights -- warm with cricket creaks and the engine growls of an occasional car -- are a time to sit outside and savor the calm of the height of the summer.

Cellphone photo
Copyright 2011
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Tree Frog

Ed caught a photo of this little guy who came scritch-scratching on the screen in his upstairs office at the farmhouse on Wednesday night. The cellphone image is not as colorful as Ed says this frog actually is. Check out the feet! Quite a biological assembly of toes and webbing and feet, these little guys have.

Cellphone phone by Ed Eichler



Jolt

The Clark family was packing for their road trip to Wisconsin in the Chevy Volt which has a vanity plate named after a character (and a toy) that looks like a car but transforms into a movie cartoon character.

So, I asked Finny (left) and Max to pose with the Jolt. These two kids are growing up with a car that plugs in to the wall every night. A typewriter will be a vintage curiosity for them and, consequently, they will probably never have to use carbon paper or erasable bond. Lucky guys.

Photo ephemera:

++ Grandpa's weed whip is on the floor on the right of the Volt.

++ John and Liesl, in the shadows on the left.

++ The hatchback cover, raised high for packing.

++ The left door comes to a point in this view of the Volt.

++ No shoes on Finny -- pretty typical.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Hosta Trumpet

Often admired for its broad leaves, a hosta plant also sends up long wands of flowers. This flower is one of hundreds of trumpets now blossoming on the hostas at Cedar Bluff this July.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Champions

I took three children -- my two grandsons and their Chicago cousin -- into the show ring yesterday at the Huron Community Fair. Together we presented the Grand Champion Pen of Lambs trophy to Ashley Glaza.

With wood shavings at our feet, the bleating of the lambs, and the parade of 4H and FFA kids showing their sheep, it was a day to think about where meat comes from and how lambs are raised. These kids can tell you about rate of gain and alfalfa and body contour. They know about feeding twice a day. They know how to exercise and train a lamb.

My company, Graywood Designs, has presented the trophy for Grand Champion Pen for quite a few years now. It's an honor and pleasure to support the future of agriculture. Plus, its fun to be with these kids year after year.

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In this photo: Left to right, Ashley's helper, Max Clark, Ashley Glaza, Wanda Eichler, Sophia Clark (the Chicago cousin), Finn Clark.

Previous post: Presenting the Lamb Trophy -- 2008

Photo by Ed Eichler

Storm Coming

A classic summer thunderstorm passed over the Thumb last night. Seen from Nugent Road west of Ubly around 9 pm, the storm crept across the landscape with its power and might displayed in this cloud wedge. Thunder and lightning started well after midnight over at the shoreline. The rain gauge registered .75 inches at Cedar Bluff; at Graywood Farm, the storm left over 2 inches of rainfall.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Panorama mode on Sony pocket camera