Friday, November 25, 2016

Piles of donations

The flood in Sept. 2011 almost wiped out our little town.
I just found this as a 'draft'
We learned that whatever the crises might be, there are always helping hands
with plenty to share with those who lost everything.
God's abundance is always amazing.

Aftermath of the flooding lingers longer than anticipated. 

Our donation distribution center had to move but remains open in the new location and is now open for those beyond our county.  Some families lost everything and sought clothing for all seasons.  Other families who stored winter clothing in the basement sought enough for the winter.  
There is plenty for everyone ... even teens found great stuff.   


 And food!  Oh my.  Not only the normal food bank donations but for the first couple of weeks there was fresh milk, eggs and meat ... even some freshly decorated cakes.  Donations continue to exceed demand.


 My little 'point and shoot' camera could not take in the immense size of this warehouse.  The lights give you some insight.  There is another building behind this one that is filled with furniture, TVs, appliances (which are snatched up  as fast as they came in) and so much more.  Each day is a surprise.



One of our favorite ice cream and fun food places was flooded in the basement but the water reached only a couple inches into its main floor.  So, a bit of ice cream for many of us was a nice interlude on this gorgeous, cool day.  Having this place open gave everyone hope that life could get back to 'normal' sooner than later.
We lingered on the hill behind this 'hut' as we sat at a picnic table in the middle of a sweet garden ... which I forgot to photograph.


The rains have ebbed to the point that we can finally begin to dry out a bit.  We hold our breath as the ground seems too soggy to hold much more moisture. All too soon we will shiver in the midst of frozen tundra and wonder what all the fuss was about... maybe.

Footnote regarding one of the two little churches (previous post) ...  just a few hours of labor from about fifteen people and we created a new worship space in the 'newer' section of the church property.   The 'old' church is a historic site so we hope they will soon find the funds from grants etc. to rebuild the foundation.

NOVEMBER MEMORIES

[I wrote this nearly 2 years ago and found it as 'unpublished' ... enjoy a bit of nostalgia.]
Sometimes life gets so hectic that I cannot take a minute to linger longer with this blog.
Everyone tells me to 'take a time out' and then one more unintended event squeezes
itself into my 'down' time.
That said, I did take time to take a few photographs during the fabulous month of November.
Even though it snowed, we had a great Fall.
Below, is an image from our back yard.
If you look closely you will see cows munching on grass and enjoying our warm weather.
At least before the snow that hit all of us about mid-month.

Doesn't this look like a Courier and Ives painting?
Sun glistens on empty fields.  Green grass lingers as deciduous trees loose their leaves.

This farm is to the left of the one you see above.
 We drive by it daily and think nothing of what goes on inside.
 Little do we know that these two farms grow feed
for the pampered "Kryder Cows" about a mile down the road.

In November we were offered a tour of the Kryder estate that has been around for well over 100 years.
This is the 'main' house that has been passed down from one family member to another.
From their front door they can see the entire 'cow' operation.



I always wondered why a very 'high tech' farm had rubber tires laying around.
It's the best weight and mobility to move on top of special tarps that cover a 
specific mix of feed hay for the cows.  As the heat from the 'mix' expands, the tires 
hold the gasses 'in check.'  
The tires have holes in the rubber rims so that they
can 'breathe' and not cause more expansion problems as 
tarp rises from the heat of the mixture.


This is what we see when the tires and tarp are removed.
It's a very dense, rich mix of feed for these pampered queens.


Nothing like seeing the backs of cows.  They are milked three times every 
twenty-four hours.  Only two people work the rotating circle.
This woman washes and cleans the cows.  A guy we don't see (far left) 
cleans and attaches the mechanical pumps to the udders.
In the time it takes for the cow to go 'full circle' the milking is done.


The cows can't wait to be milked.  Once led into the milking barn from their well kept 'digs,' 
they move automatically to the single opening of the 'round about.'
This milking process is Kosher - a rabbi lives on the premises and comes to the 
milking barn every 1/2 hour before the next milking (every eight hours) to 
make sure the entire process of preparation for milking is kept 'kosher.'
It's an exacting process so this rabbi is busy.


Here is a better shot of the cows streaming in on their own. 
They know what they like and go for it.
The only two humans we saw were the two who were
cleaning and attaching the mechanical milkers to the udders.



Along with cows, this farm is one of the largest producers of eggs in Pennsylvania.
This 'high tech' feed process is state of the art.
Chickens are kept pristine clean, given the right amount of space and fed
with a very nutritious feed.  Chicken and cow manure is processed in such
a way that it does not smell.  It is turned into a fine powder that is so 
sanitary that it is used for cow bedding. This photo is taken showing the 'pit' in the foreground.



SUNBURST!

[I wrote this 16 months ago and just found it as 'draft'.  Enjoy a bit of summer in November]
It's already July?
How does time fly by so fast?
It's been two months since I lingered at this post.
OH MY!
Each month I think I have plenty of time to write but all too often each day eats up my precious time.

Don't ask me what I do all day.
I know I do a lot of preparing for Sundays.
I know I linger a little too long in my study mode, which fills up my soul.

I finally looked out,
in the midst of another rain storm, and saw three-foot tall weeds in the middle of my beautiful day lilies.

I took a moment when the sun popped out to run around the yard quickly and pull the most noticeable of these scrawny defiers of beauty.
A weed is anything that looks really ugly in the midst of my fabulous flowers.

What a month.
A baptism.
A wedding.
A death . . .  my brother.
I'd hoped he would fare better than he did but he just got too tired to fight.
I don't blame him.
Life is tough when we feel healthy.
Life has got to be tougher when the body is fighting hard to simply get through each day.

As I slowly pop my head out of the cocoon I created around my grieving soul, I see a SUNBURST for summer!

Flowers weave in this mountain wind.
Fuchsia roses pop out of red-green leaves.
Purple bells 'jingle' as they burst out of Hosta.
Orange against blue.
Magenta against yellow.
Green overlapping green with streaks of white popping out to surprise me.

It's nice to look out into life even if all I see is plant life.
Grass grows,
clover spreads,
corn rises into the sky,
oats wave in the swift breeze.

Silence today . . .  finally.
No lawn mowers.
Just the sweet sound of rushing air pressing through stalks of forsythia branches, now green.

I linger a little longer in the quiet.