Hearts Full of Joy

cahokia indian mounds

cahokia indian mounds is a fascinating and little known world heritage site in illinois. other world heritage sites include the great wall of china and the pyramids in giza. we've been planning to go for 3 years, and have driven past it several times, but never made it a destination until a few weeks ago.

it was fascinating, and well worth braving the record-breaking heat wave that most of the central and eastern us was experiencing to explore. the photo above shows the largest mound, which has a foot print that is larger than the largest pyramids. there was once a huge, thriving, well-developed culture that built huge earthen structures here in north america. cahokia is just across the mississippi river (to the east) from st louis, missouri, near collinsville, illinois.

it was a much more strenuous climb to the top of monks mound than our kids make it look in this photo, especially in the extreme heat.

you can see the st. louis skyline, incuding the arch, in the distance from the top of monks mound.  but now that i've uploaded the photo, I'm not seeing the arch...., it's there, i promise!

we forgot to get a photo of one of the most interesting remains at this site, a giant lunar calendar that has been named "woodhenge". it wasn't discovered until excavation for a freeway project in the 60's. it is a huge circle of giant wooden tree poles that line up with the solstices and equinoxes. this trip has opened us up to the little-known, and even at least somewhat covered up, cultures in ancient north america. it is becoming quite a controversial topic, but there is quite a bit of evidence coming to light that there may have been a purposeful mid 1800s governemnt "cover-up" of the artifacts and evidences of how highly developed the ancient peoples here had once been, because it didn't fit in with the plans for american expansion and domination of the native peoples. john wesley powell figures prominently in this supposed cover-up. i can't say for certain if it is true, but it is interesting.

grandma & grandpa came with us, and seemed to enjoy the day as much as we did.

we finished up at the st louis arch, and finally made the trip to the top. (here are the kids at the base of the arch.)

view of downtown st. louis from teh top of the arch.

"i think the world is beautiful and lovley as can be"

i was so excited when i saw the first buds appear on our blackberry bushes!

just because they meant berries to me.....i had no idea they would be so beautiful!

 

they are huge!....2 to 3 inches across. i took these photos on lexi's graduation day.

i am so grateful for the wonders and beauty of nature, and my yard.

asiatic lilies and blue hydrangeas

shasta daisies...from free starts that a friend dug out of her garden last summer - one of the very best types of gifts.

loving the yard

i am so in love with our yard and neighborhood in the spring.....and really all year long, other than january and february. this spring we have planted a dogwood, almond, and white peach trees, more rhubarb, wisteria, summer daffodils, clematis, more asiatic lilies, more peonies, toad lilies, blue pearl polemonium, red coral bells, lily of the valley, more hydrangeas, caladium, and gladiolus.....maybe more? next week a fig tree, kiwi vines, and 2 replacement grapes are coming, which will bring our total number of fruit trees to 16, plus 5 nut trees, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and 4 types of grapes....so excited for them to keep growing and producing!

 

our crabapple

close-up

our neighbors' redbuds blooming

our early garden starts - tomatoes, peppers, mums, zinnias, scabiosa, foxglove, basil, etc.

we've made big changes in our garden this year, which we are excited about - putting in fencing and raising our beds, finally buying a composter. and i got all of our early planting finished yesterday - lettuce, spinach, snow peas, regular peas, kale, candy onions, green onions, pak choi, potatoes, carrots, and beets.....jus tin time for torrential rainfall. i'm afraid to go out and investigate - afraid all of the little seeds were washed away.

nauvoo in the spring

tashi took the littles to the temple grounds for a photo shoot in early april.

i love her photo skills.

 

redbud ready to bloom

 

 

magnolias

 

the typical state of susie-q's shoes - on the wrong feet.

 

more redbud

 

and a photo by mia, show is showing some surprising photo skills.

it's a miracle

as far as i'm aware, spring has occured regularly every year of my lifetime, and yet every year i am swept away by the wonder of it. this photo was taken in early march. the large snow fort was complete before the snow started melting. we kept putting off pruning our fruit trees, because the snow was too deep to tromp out into.

mid-march the snow started to recede, and to my utter amazement, crocus and daffodils were pushing their way up through the snow. perhaps i shouldn't have been surprised, but in the deep of winter, my imagination could not stretch far enough to imagine that anything in our yard had survived and would be alive in the spring. dramatic thoughts, i know, but it was a dramatic winter.

 

crocus - on of the most beautiful sights after an intense winter.

daffodils

and by the end of the month....

it truly is a yearly miracle. we have lived places - phoenix, tokyo - with less dramatic winters, which is nice, but then the miracle of spring is lessened...still appreciated and enjoyed, but not as dramatic. i can't get enough of spring here. i keep finding myself outside throughout the day, wandering around the  yard, watching things grow, marveling that they are alive, and breathing in the miracle of spring.

still snowing

another snow day, school canceled. everyone was sent home from church in a rush yesterday, because the hills were becoming impassable. we have had so many snow days that they no longer need to be made up, we are into what they call "act of God" territory. we have only completed one or two full weeks of school since christmas vacation. these cozy days with everyone at home have become the new norm.

endless winter

we have had perpetual snow since december. it has melted twice, i believe, only to snow again the next day. we have had snow falling for 4 days at a time without stopping. not typical weather for these parts. in some ways it has been cozy and peaceful, but what has affected me the most is the complete lack of sunshine. the sun has only come out about 5 times since christmas. i'm very aware of this because i need the sun to take photos for my shop. so things pile up, awaiting photos, and then i scramble, hoping to get as many things photographed as i can before the cloud cover comes again. but i feel so energized whent eh sun does show itself that i fell as if i could accomplish anything! it's almost time to prune our fruit trees, and to be honest, i'm having difficulty believing that our trees, or anything else in our yard, could still be alive after this winter. quite dramatic feelings, but there it is.

icing

school was canceled and we were iced in without internet (gasp!) on wednesday. we have yet to complete a full week of school since christmas - snow days, stomach flu, four day holiday weekends, ice storms. i feel like my kids are school drop-outs. but we've enjoyed playing family games, especially two that we have recently discovered: ticket to ride and ligretto. i'm wanting to make the most of the time that we have left with lexi. and now we are heading into two months of musical rehearsals....so i'm glad we've had this relaxed time together, even though i'm still craving some sunlight.

 

 

notice the rows of icicles on the railing.

from the bounty of the earth

one of my most delightful experiences this fall was discovering the dutchman general store in cantril, iowa. a friend took me to this mennonite store (where you can watch happy rosy cheeked children playing in their traditional clothing. we drove through scenic, rolling, autumn farmland, and i repeated this magical journey for my in-laws when they visited.

i came home with boxes of apples, pears, and tomatoes, delicious and decorative squash, bulk spices and other goodies that i haven't been able to find here in the midwest, like millet, flax seed, unrefined sugar. oh! and unbelievably yummy dark dutch cocoa. and all at great prices! dreamy!  

i am enjoying a continuing love affair with canning this fall. the apples and pears combined made scrumptious juice, apple/pear sauce, and my favorite sauce that i discovered last year by accident: follow the apple pie filling recipe on the minute tapioca box (using both pears and apples), cut the sugar by 1/3, and cook until very juicy, then can it to put over pancakes, waffles, etc. so yummy!

i used the tomatoes to make surprisingly delicious fresh chunky past sauce and salsa.

we had fun with crabapples again.

and have been canning more chicken and beans with the new pressure canner.

we've picked apples at baxter's vineyards down the street more than once this fall, and on our first visit found 10 old blue glass canning jars waiting for a new owner. here they are with spices and goodies from the dutchman's store.

now they are full of apple/pear juice. somehow so much funner than clear glass jars.

i'm still drying apples from our last apple picking at baxter's last week.

i thrill at the bounties of autumn.

life on the mississippi

the flora along the river has been so lovely that i stuck my camera in the car last week so that i could stop and snap some photos when i got the chance.

across from davids chamber:

behind the red brick store:

where warsaw st meets highway 96: