Skyline Caverns

The Homeschool Co-Op we belong to is studying Earth Science this year. The kids have been learning about mountains and rock formations. We recently went on a very fitting trip as a group to Skyline Caverns.

Our leader negotiated an unbelieveable price to attend at four dollars per person. The Caverns folks were happy to offer it as our group brought 53 people on a Monday morning! That was a win-win situation. Equally fun was that fact that after a month of dry weather, we had heavy rains begin early that morning which would in fact last for over a week. That was no trouble because our Field trip was to take place undergroud and the rain was a non-issue!

This picture taken with the camera pointed straight up is where the caverns begin. This ledge is where the first person to find them, deduced from seeing a sink hole over limestone next to it, that he should start digging in 1937.

The first gathering place we stopped at as you go into the caverns contains this fireplace which has a natural flue in it. They used to build fires in this to warm guests as they began the tours. The entire caverns maintains the temperature of 54 degrees year round. We were dressed for that and were very comfortable.

Some lights were used to accent different rock formations but I found this Caverns to be more natural than some of the others I have seen. We are very blessed to live in an area that has an abundance of this very interesting phenomena open to the public.

Our Tour Guide was a wonderful young woman who instructed us about that types of rock formations we were seeing and answered our questions.

Since it was really raining, we asked about the possibility of flooding. She explained that only a few times, during some of the larger hurricanes we have had, has flooding been a problem. Apparently, during the earthquake we experienced two years ago, tourist groups were down in the caverns and didn't even know that there had been an earthquake! They didn't feel a thing! That is good because some of the passage ways we traveled along our 1 mile figure 8 tour were quite narrow. The formation above they described as "The Eagle", the wings and tail can be imagined.

Our Tour Guide turned out the lights, after warning the kids, to show us what "Cave Blackness" is. That is the absence of any light at all and you cannot see your hand right in front of your eyes. She explained that scientists believe that after one week of cave blackness, an individual would go blind ( from the eyes continually searching for light), after two weeks one would go crazy and after three weeks, that person would become a tour guide for Skyline Caverns!

These Anthodites ( rock flowers) were discovered and named in this cave. They are found in only a handful of places in the world. They were discovered in a part of the cavern  in which deep thick mud had formed an airtight vacuum.
This was a terrific Field Trip. It made no difference that instead of the planned picnic, we ate our lunch in the car as we drove home in the pouring down rain.

The Living Rosary

Our homeschool group met for the Noon Mass, and then traveled 16 miles to our Diocesan Retreat Center for what we called A Spiritual Pilgrimage and  Nature Hike. This day was the First Friday in October and the Feast of St. Francis. We were aware of the fact that  St. Francis of Assisi was told by our Lord to  "Rebuild My Church."  Our new pope chose the name Francis. Father Sam stopped by to talk to our group while we were there. After enjoying a picnic lunch, we gathered around the  Mary Garden to pray the Rosary together.

The Living Rosary is prayed by having each person stand on one of the stones laid out in the shape of  Rosary beads to say the prayer that the stone represents. We had ten people with us, six children and four adults. That conveniently made up a "decade" of the Rosary. We prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries in which one meditates upon Jesus' Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross and Jesus' Crucifixion and Death. After all ten of us prayed our prayer aloud, we moved forward ten stepping stones to pray the next decade.
The Living Rosary stones were placed here as part of an Eagle Scout project by a young man in our parish.
Another Eagle Scout project located here is the Outdoor Stations of the Cross. These we did as well, in an abbreviated way

Then we went hiking on mowed paths around the 200 acres here. We visited as we walked along enjoying the beginnings of fall color. It was warm and sunny- probably in the high eighties! I really enjoyed the combination of the Mass, The Rosary  and the splendor of nature on this Feast Day.
St. Francis, Pray for us!

Powder Puff Football

Natalie was excited to play the Powder Puff Football game in which the senior girls verse the junior girls. The Varsity football team coaches and officiates. The seniors' shirts were a gorgeous shade of pink, the juniors were black and the coaches wore grey.

We all paid the money to attend and watch the game.

I was praying that Natalie wouldn't get hurt. This is a "flag " game not tackle, and she was fine throughout. Many girls played and I think that everyone got out there at some point during the game.

Juby got into the spirit by making a sign ahead of time and blackening under her eyes.

To our delight, Meg, Jon and the kids, as well as  Tori joined us so it was very special. We knew how much it meant to Natalie to be a part of this "School Tradition".

The boys were with us and saw many of their friends there.

By the end of the game it was dark out. The Juniors won, and all of us had fun!

Youth Hunting Day

John is thirteen and has taken both the NRA Safe Hunting Class and an Archery Class. Those things make him eligible to be an Apprentice Hunter with Larry. Uncle Tom passed onto him a great bow and they went out to hunt on Youth Day which I think is only for young people with their teachers.

I am thrilled that they can spend some special time in the great outdoors together.

The Hunting magazine published by the Fish and Game Dept has on its cover " It takes a hunter to make a hunter."  That it does. There is a lot to know and do to hunt well and safely. It is a skill- an art and a science. It can be a hobby for a lifetime. I am very happy that Larry is passing on his passion for hunting to John who is eager to learn. We need more hunters- fewer folks are hunting each year as the average age of hunters creeps up. Deer are a terrific source of lean meat for families.  Conversely, when they overpopulate an area, they are a real danger to motorists. We need hunters.
John, welcome to a long tradition in Dad's family. Good luck this year!

Telescope

Chelsea gave to John the telescope she received when she was fifteen. He and Larry assembled it one evening.

It was challenging but they got the job done. The telescope works and they used it for a couple of nights in a row.

Because of its size, it is tucked into a corner in John's room. We forgot that we had a telescope last night during the extremely bright Full Moon and partial Lunar Eclipse. We will need to develop the habit of getting it out and setting it up to view the sky during these cool , clear fall nights.

Apple Picking

Our homeschool group went on a fun field trip to a local apple orchard. It was a glorious fall day and we were all delighted to be outside together!

One of the owners of this farm that has been in her family for over a hundred years read the children a story about the life cycle of an apple seed.

Then each child was invited to pick five apples each.

The trees were small and the apples large!

We went on a wonderful Hay Ride together. Our whole group could fit and the moms had a great time talking and chatting and seeing the beautiful farm sights on such a pretty morning.

Like these hogs which we could smell before we could see!

Then the kids picked their own little pumpkin from the patch.

This orchard has a busy produce market and is well known locally for its spectacular playground. The Moms and Dads ( uncle Trent was able to join us!), purchased some Apple Cider Donuts made fresh that morning and continued to visit under a large pavilion while watching the kids play with their friends. We all had so much fun, we agreed that one of the best parts of homeschooling is the fabulous field trips we go on. There must be a market for putting on field trips for moms whose kids go to school!

Wildlife Abounds

Good morning, Dear, I mean "Deer" is what Larry and I could say to each other often.

Back when we lived to read Real Estate adds, one of our favorite adjectives they used was "Wildlife Abounds". It does, indeed. There are more deer in the front yard (and along the roads), than in the woods.

We recently had the pleasure of seeing four Wild Turkeys in the yard as well. We saw them through the window and ran outside to get a better look.

They high tailed it behind the bushes and followed the fence line to get back to the woods. They gobbled as they went and walked in a row. Deer are very commonplace but  it is always a treat to see and hear Wild Turkeys!

Candle "Cents"

Meg and I share an addiction to these wonderful candles from Wal-Mart. We had a great laugh when my grand-daughter, Heather, admitted that she loved them too. It seems that her budget conscious fellow tried to discourage her from purchasing one by saying "You don't "need" that." She had to tell him while putting it back into the cart " Oh yes I do!" We know what she means. These candles are of terrific quality, yet cost only five dollars. Their competitor, Yankee Candles, cost over 25 dollars for almost the same thing! I love Yankee Candles but can't afford them. These Wal-Mart Candles bring so much warm, scented joy and make us ladies feel a sense of "Home".

Before lighting the candle for the day, I "trim the wick" by using my fingers to "pinch" the old black wick off leaving 1/3 inch to light. I remove that long piece of wick and throw it away so that 1) it doesn't drop into the candle wax and make it black and ugly and 2) The flame will be smaller and under better control. It won't burn crazy.

I keep a box of wooden kitchen matches in a high cabinet and Juby is allowed to light the candle which she enjoys. Matches are a lot more fun than a lighter and easier to deal with.

We bought this metal candle "topper" from the Yankee Candle store but saw them at Michaels Crafts as well. This lid fits all the jarred candles well and creates some protection around the flame. We keep our daily newspaper in this same area and I think the "lid" (with a hole in the middle of it) makes things safer. This lid gets hot, so I use a butter knife to hook inside the top edge to remove it before the flame is extinguished.

To protect our countertop, we burn our candle on a small placemat the kids made on a plastic loom. I LOVE to light a candle when I am cooking or when we are doing our schoolwork. Meg lights hers when she is cleaning the house. Here is a hint: The first time you light your candle- make sure that you will be home for three hours while it burns. It seems that the FIRST time a candle is lit, the future burn pattern is set up. If you have to blow it out after only an hour or so, it may burn down into a skinny tube to the bottom when lit for all future times. You want it to turn to liquid across the entire top layer before you blow it out.

We use the lid to help snuff the candle out. It keeps all the smoke inside which dissipates without making the house smell bad. Every season brings its own colors and scents for these economical candles. We look forward to enjoying each one while it burns.  Mine last for two weeks to a month depending on how much I am using it. They are particularly nice on grey days and in the evenings, but not needed at all when it is 95 degrees out! The fall colors and scents are wonderful. Enjoy!

Four Eyes

Juby woke up one morning and found that she could not read well unless the book was held out front a few feet. Natalie's glasses had broken a long time ago and she needs them to drive! We scheduled an appointment for the girls and found one to be "far"sighted and the other "near". They had already noticed this at the horse farm when Natalie asked Juby if a certain big animal in the field was a pony and Juby said No, that's a donkey.

We happened to be blessed by scheduling these appointments in September while there was a "Buy one pair of glasses, get one free sale going on. Both girls were able to select two different styled frames with lenses for the price of one pair.

That has worked out well since our little lady has already misplaced one of her pairs. We are so unused to her wearing glasses, that neither she nor I noticed that she had lost them.
St. Anthony, Please help us to find them, if that be in accord with God's Will. Amen.

Update: The glasses were found in my totebag, a week after they were put there.
Thank you, St. Anthony! Thank you, Lord Jesus!

How Sweet It Is!

We bought this large watermelon at the farm where we buy apples and Sam wanted to cut it up when we got home.

I had mixed feelings about that. It was a Monday. Aren't big watermelons supposed to be for the weekend when extra folks are coming over? It seemed like a big splurge on a regular day for just us.

 I had to admit it looked pretty tasty- probably just picked that morning at the little market it was grown at.

While thoroughly enjoying three juicy pieces of fresh sweet watermelon, I pondered on the appropriateness of eating delicious food "treats" on an ordinary day. It surprised me how much this was working on my mind. I almost felt guilty! Then I thought about a story that Grandma Dolly once told me. When she was a child in the 1920's, her family received a box of oranges before the holidays. Her parents thought that it would be best to save them for Christmas Day. Yep, you guessed it- when Christmas arrived, they had all gone bad and were not fit to eat. A disappointing waste.

Thomas  Bakery once had on their trucks a well- toasted, buttered English Muffin with the caption
 "Make every day Extraordinary". That is not hard to do with such an abundance of food available to us. We sometimes eat ice cream during the weekdays in the evenings but a few years back, only had ice cream on a Friday or Saturday night. There is a balance needed here that each family figures out for themselves. If we eat goodies all the time, it lessens the joy of having a special occasion with unique treats that set that day apart.
I kid you not that this watermelon brought up this whole train of thought about food, deliciousness and discipline.

What I finally came to was an intriguing  philosophy that I once heard from  a speaker at a homeschool conference.
 Mr. James Stenson has written a number of books about bringing up children to have great character. His theory is:
"Always remain in a State of Grace, and have as much fun as you possibly can".
This idea is so counter-intuitive, that it has really stuck in my head.
I decided that eating fresh picked watermelon on a Monday afternoon because you can and you want to falls under this category!