As a writer, I like to explore all kinds of topics for future works. Greed is a common theme found in many novels. Family greed reaches another level and depth. I once heard someone say that money reveals what is already in your heart and amplifies who you already are. I think that is true. I have seen families “change” once there is an inheritance pending. People will do many unexpected things for money; however, this behavior is not created by money, only revealed. Whether backstabbing, stealing, lies, and even murder, it all originates from a greedy heart. The generous and kind person will continue to be such and able to bless others in new ways.
Family dynamics are complex by nature. There are no perfect families, but family greed revealed by money will change the most “perfect” of families, and once someone’s true character has been revealed it is hard to see them in another light. As writers, when approaching the topic of family greed, we might consider all the layers and choose to unravel many via different characters or focus on just one being amplified by one character. Family greed is a very deep and interesting topic with great possibility.
Certainly, no greed here. He first took her to eat at the birdfeeder, and later, he flew her to the birdbath for a little drink. Wining and dining his love.
There are a few farmhouse projects that have been on hold, but we managed to complete one, sprucing up and beautifying a bit the front entrance to the property. This area used to be overgrown grass and weeds. Although we want to continue improving it by adding a few more plants, we will have to select plantings that do well in the shade. So far, the ones we selected have been thriving. It is a challenge to add color to this area because most flowering plants like the sun.
My husband built a simple bench with recycled wood, and we added a few plants around it that will continue to grow. A few recycled tiles were placed in front of it. We added mulch and a few solar lights, stones, and garden decor. We also added a solar light post. (Photo by M.A.D.)
The view from the opposite side. We used logs from the fallen pine trees to delineate the area and keep the leaves from blowing all over the place.
I am very happy with how the garden has been growing and developing over the past few years. It keeps growing stronger and seems to be established. Here is a picture of a lovely floral arrangement I made from its offerings. Eventually, I would like to develop a small rose garden.
Roses from the garden (photo by M.A.D.)
Nature heals the soul. Even the simple things in nature bring joy and peace in our hearts.
Photo by M.A.D.
Hope you enjoyed reading about this latest project.
I feel I owe an update to a previous blogpost (Never Faithless) written on November 21, 2024. As I wrote before, my neighborhood was recently challenged by a proposal by Balico, LLC. to build a mega compound of data centers and a large power plant, that would have engulfed an entire community and caused irreparable damage, in my opinion (please, visit previous post for the details). After much opposition by local and county residents (and tons of prayers), Balico decided to withdraw its modified project, thus resulting on a denial of rezoning by the Board of Supervisors, and after the Planning Board did not recommend the project.
Now, Balico is considering other development options on 750 acres of land. The company has expressed the desire to utilize such land for the future construction of a very large housing development project. Assuming the use of the 750 acres, current zoning would allow two dwellings per acre (1500 dwellings). In my opinion, each dwelling can house more than one person, of course, and I think that this number of dwellings would more than double, possible triple or quadruple, the population of our small town, which as of the latest 2020 Census has around 1232 people. With a small population, our town lacks the infrastructure to accumulate such an influx of people; we simply don’t have the resources. It would add a strain in our country roads, schools, mail delivery system, water consumption, and much more. Small towns grow slowly into smaller cities and so on, not overnight.
I see a company that does not care at all for the footprint that it leaves behind but cares only about fast profit without regard of how it is made. Although Balico is in the early stages of exploring other development options for the land, and it has not rendered any concrete plans as of now, one thing is very clear, Balico does not understand us, our values, our way of life.
Life would be much more pleasant if we would live in that way. This is a lesson I learned later in life. In my younger years, multitasking and the idea of a “superwoman” who thrived on a crammed schedule and did everything to perfection was idealized. Many of us, gender aside, followed that way of living in our everyday interaction. I remember feeling “guilty” if I had “free time” to myself and even worrying that I were to become lazy if I indulged on even an hour of “unproductive” being. The years passed by, and I had become entrapped in one of the biggest lies Society sold me. When I think about it, that way of life was very materialistic in essence, even when I never saw myself as a materialistic person, on the contrary.
Today, I repeated this question, what is truly important to me? Throughout the years, the answer has been narrowed to include the issues at the core of my true values and loves. Today, I finally understand the meaning of living one day at a time, one step at a time, and from that realization, a sense of peace within that recognizes that life is not a race, and I don’t need trophies or crowns to validate my existence; God has already done so when He made me. It is beautiful to achieve dreams and to celebrate our achievements and of others as well, but not at the expense of living. The mere existence of achieving without the joy and beauty of living is contraindicating. Maybe Hans Christian Anderson understood this well.
“Just living is not enough, said the butterfly, one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”Hans Christian Anderson
Spring is here, and with it the garden chores that come with it. We have been cleaning up and sprucing garden areas while deciding what to improve, change, or add to the garden. As the garden continues to mature, it looks better, that is, taking into consideration that there was nothing on this property, mostly weeds and an overgrown mess when we started. If you would like to see where we started, you can visit older posts under the category of fixing an old farmhouse or restoring a farmhouse. Little by little, we have been shaping this place, one project at a time, on a small budget. Although there is much more we want to do, the rhythm continues at a slower pace for us because we are doing the projects ourselves. It has been rewarding, and it makes us appreciate the place more, and even, the challenging process. Some areas have been more challenging than other areas, but we have taken our time and enjoy it, no instant magic here. Each year, we add a few new plants to the garden, mostly perennials that will continue to thrive and multiply with the goal of adding color and variety to this once barren and abandoned garden.
Here are photos of two new projects, and a few of how the garden looks today, as it has matured and change over the years, and of course, and old reference picture for the new reader.
A very large, recycled metal bin will serve as a planter for a variety of colorful flowers from seeds.
This recycled garden rack and flowerpots adorn the front porch adding color. It looks happy.
My husband handcrafted this house number sign that lights up at night using solar lamps. It sits at the entrance. I love it! He included my favorites, crows and horses. I think he did a great job.
For those who are new to this blog, here is a picture of what the derelict and abandoned property looked like.
The front porch, a scary before. We had a vision for this place.
A few photos of how the garden looks now. It continues to evolve. Over the next few weeks, the garden will be in full bloom, my favorite time.
We are working on developing a few areas in the garden, and improving other areas, such as the faerie garden, which is mostly a shade area, thus plantings are a challenge, including shade loving Hostas. Also, we are developing an area by the front entrance, and a smaller garden at the back, both shaded areas, which I will share on a future blog post. Hope you enjoyed the photos.
I am re-reading The Joy of Selling by J.T. Auer before I let it go. It is an oldie (1989), an international bestseller. I read it in my younger years. Although a book for the professional salesperson, its principles can be adapted and applied to many areas of living, working, and interrelationship with others; after all, we are always selling or being sold something in our daily interactions with others, whether we realize it or not. We “sell” ourselves every single day at any moment, our opinion, point of view, values, desires …
Although an older book with its dated technical jargon, this book is written in a simple, down to earth approach, and its principles are what makes it still useful today. Whether you are in the sales profession or not, it is still relevant.
For some reason, this winter felt so long and cold. I am dying for sunrays and flower blooms, garden projects, birds chirping, and even wasps flying around. The robins have come back, so to me this means that Spring is here. I see more of them arriving in large numbers every day. Robins are one of my favorite birds, along with owls, and sandpipers, and of course my beloved crows. We will be working on cleaning up the garden to receive Spring, now that we have finished the tedious work of cleaning up all the fallen trees that the last storm left us. In the meantime, I will share a few pictures as a farewell to Winter.
Photo by M.A.D.Nature covered in ice (photo by M.A.D.)Photo by M.A.D.Magical (Photo by M.A.D.)It is not a spider web. Tissue ice? (Photo by M.A.D.)It is all over the land, as if faeries dropped their lace blankets. (Photo by M.A.D.)Way up at the top of an old pine tree (photo by M.A.D.) (Photo by M.A.D.)
This is an update to my previous post. Two days of freezing rain on top of snow left us with what now we realized were ten fallen pine trees, instead of six, across the driveway, and other major debris from the old cedar tree. I am grateful that no harm was done to the farmhouse from the old cedar large branches. There were trees under trees. It is truly a big job, more than we expected, but after exploring the cost of removing one already fallen tree, it ranged from $150 to $300 per tree depending on how tall and large it is, and also the ease of access. Ten trees on top of one another, about 30 feet tall or so would have been very expensive, so we decided to take the challenge and give it a try.
View of the trees before they fell. At least I have the picture to remember their beauty. (Photo by M.A.D.)
For the past three weekends, we have been working on cutting and removing these trees. Thankfully, some were skinnier than others, and pine is softer to cut than cedar or oak. My husband did the cutting, and I helped with sweeping up debris and dragging large branches back and forth to our section of the woods. The piled-up branches will eventually degrade into the soil, enriching it, but in the meantime, these branches will serve as shelter for a few critters. We had good weather for the past three weekends. We worked on one tree at a time, first removing the branches and cutting the trunk later. This made it easier to get to the trees that were hidden under. We decided to leave alone three logs that were a bit up in the air, but still in the wooded area, not in the driveway. The squirrels would certainly like to run across. We are done with the driveway area, and now what’s left is just the old cedar branches, which you can appreciate in the fifth photo. One more Saturday or so, weather permitting.
Photo by M.A.D.Photo by M.A.D.Photo by M.A.D.Photo by M.A.D.Photo by M.A.D.
While doing the job, an idea for a garden project developed on the side. We decided to use the large logs as a way to prevent the large amount of leaves we deal with to blow all over the driveway and garden. Here is a picture of the logs lined up. It will make cleanup much easier during Autumn.
This storm did much damage around the area. A large tree fell on a house across the road. Thankfully, no one lives in that house, but the damage is extensive. Here is a zoomed in picture.
Photo by M.A.D.
It has been an interesting experience for sure. Would I like to do it again? Not really. I have a better appreciation now for people who cut large trees for a living. It is quite a job. Although my husband was tired, he seemed to enjoy the process.
I will certainly miss these lovely pines, but there are plenty of them left, and maybe now they will have more room to spread the branches and become fuller. I remember these trees when they were about 5 feet tall or less, when we first saw the place. I even thought of naming the place Mill Creek Little Trees, but later on settled for Black Crow Cottage. I hope you enjoyed the post.
This post is about when someone acts unexpectedly and it puzzles you, especially, a stranger. The story I am about to tell happened to me and my husband at the grocery store. I thought it would be a good idea to share it because there are several factors at play.
Background – As a household of two, my husband and I budget monthly, and we budget an amount for groceries. We do grocery shopping once a month, most likely, every 4-6 weeks, and that includes food and necessary household items. During that time period we will revisit the grocery store, if necessary, for milk, eggs, bread, and fruit, only if these items are gone, usually an extra trip during the 4–6-week period. Logically, and because we shop when all the food is gone, when the time comes our shopping cart looks full, like a lot of food for only two people.
The story – While we were in the process of checking out at the grocery store, the customer behind us said loudly, “Are the two of you going to eat all that food?” The tone was a bit condescending. It took me by surprise, especially the tone of voice. I took notice of the cashier’s expression, which was a bit surprised by the comment. I answered, “I’m sorry, what was that again?” The customer said, “I asked if all that food was for the two of you.”His voice still a bit loud, and I detected frustration. At the time, my husband was busy putting bags in the shopping cart, but we glanced at each other. At this point, I realized what was going on, and I had a few choices in which way to react.
*I could ignore the person and remain silent.
*I could reply, “None of your business,” and most likely get into an argument.
*Or, I could give this frustrated man a free and quick grocery shopping education.
I chose the third option because I heard the frustration in his voice and saw it in his eyes. There is a fine line between frustration and anger, sometimes, frustration reflects as anger. I placed my hand on his shoulder, smiled at him, and said, “Oh yes, this is our grocery shopping for the next 4-6 weeks, about a month and a half worth.” He replied, still in a loud voice, “So you are telling me that the two of you won’t set foot on this store for a month?” I answered, “Well, only one more time or so, for milk, bread, eggs, or maybe fruit, but not for the rest.”His demeanor immediately changed. He said, “Is that right?” He looked a bit puzzled, and as if wanting to know more. He glanced at the groceries, then at me. I said, “It is a lot cheaper this way, and as you see, everything here requires cooking, nothing easily precooked.” The cashier said, “Yes, all of it has to be cooked.” Then I proceeded to explain to him our simple method. The cashier joined in the conversation agreeing and making suggestions. The man listened quietly. This is basically what I told him.
*We always shop with a list and follow the list. The list is the result of checking what is gone in the pantry, which is pretty much everything because we consume before we buy again. I showed him the list I was still holding.
*We only buy items that have to be cooked. It is cheaper to cook than to buy pre-packaged or ready to eat items. And because we rarely go out to eat, we rely on cooking our food.
*I told him that this amount of food was for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus snacks, and that it would last 4-6 weeks if portioned well. I explained to him that the amount we budget comes out to about $50 a week for two people for four weeks, and about $35 give or take a week, if divided in 6 weeks.
*I also added that my husband takes his lunch and snacks to work every day, and he doesn’t buy lunch at work.
*While showing him the list, I told him that if an item that is less expensive but offers the same nutritional value as the one item on my shopping list, I switch to that item.
*I explained that pretty much it comes down to sticking to your list and switching some things around, cooking most of your meals, and being mindful of portions, and what was left in your pantry before buying again. I also told him that having the supermarket discount card was very helpful, and saved me more money, including clipping some electronic coupons on their website, of items I was sure that I would buy before heading to the store.
*I told him, it doesn’t happen by magic, you have to put work and effort into it.
That was pretty much it, in our now friendly conversation, and during that time the man seemed curious, and expressed interest in what I was saying. He would reply, “Oh, really?” “That is a good idea; I bet you save a lot of money this way.” When the cashier had our total ready ($214) I asked him to take a look at the screen, and he did. I told him, “See? Like I told you, around $50 or so a week, for a month, give or take, or much less if I make it last two more weeks, which I do.” He said, but this time in a friendly and excited tone, “Wow, this is cheaper than a family of four eating one time at a restaurant.” The cashier said, “Yes, it is, but you have to cook.”
I checked out and said my goodbyes. I heard the man said to the cashier, “I can’t believe it; that is a lot cheaper, and a lot of food.” I heard her ask, “Do you have a customer savings card? My husband said, “You talk a lot.”
My take – I hope that man benefited from the little he was able to see and learn that day. I learned a lot. There is a lot of stress and suffering out there. People are truly having hard times, and everything is very expensive. People are truly hurting, and sometimes it takes a toll on them, and it reflects on their interactions with other people, even with strangers at a grocery store. Sometimes, we have to choose how to respond, even when it is a bit harder to do so. We also have to look for choices and alternatives to our situation(s) when we are struggling. Anger and blaming others will not solve our problems, neither, judging without knowing the entire story. The pain out there is real; you can see it in people’s faces. Giving a little “grace-period” in our interactions help.
As a writer, these instances help me learn about behavior and help with character building and developing in future novels. By the way, today I checked my grocery store email; I have $14 earned from this trip that will automatically be discounted on my next shopping trip. I hope some of these grocery tips were truly helpful.
Inkspeare 