Wurst Preserve and Piper's Corner

Andy had an appointment with his neuropsychologist on Tuesday and we came away encouraged. The doctor said Andy's symptoms are still fairly minimal and he is still on the lowest dosage of meds with room to increase if needed. 

Even though we're encouraged by Andy's seemingly stable condition, we are not ignorant or minimizing the fact that he is still "sick." I've noticed that he is sometimes having trouble finishing a thought. Right in the middle of a sentence, he'll forget where he was going with it. If I repeat what he just said, though, he can usually bring the thought back to continue the conversation. I've also noticed that he seems to be more anxious about things that we normally take for granted. For instance, he notices little inconsequential noises and wonders what they are. We have to investigate and I have to assure him it's nothing to worry about. Sometimes in the morning, he'll say he heard something in the night like water dripping. He thinks maybe we have a leak in the basement so we go down and check it out until he's assured that everything is ok. Perhaps he's still feeling responsible for taking care of me and our house, and I really appreciate that. It's not something I worry about or even think about. I think if it was something obvious, I'd be concerned, but he seems to be worried about things that are non-existent. The funny thing to me is that he seems to be more susceptible to hearing noises when he doesn't have his hearing aids in. So it's more imagination than anything else. But I try not to lose patience or even minimize his concern. I work at dialoging and explaining and helping him to understand what's going on. Also, because of his forgetfulness, sometimes it's just as easy to change the subject or not make a big deal of trying to ease his concern. In a day or two (and not even that long sometimes), he will have forgotten and it will be a non-issue.

Yesterday and today we were able to investigate two more parks in our Pine Barrens & Beyond brochure.  The weather is still chilly but the sun is shining, and we're excited to be outside and exploring nature. 

We decided to try to find Melvin & Miriam Wurst Wildlife Preserve yesterday. And try we did. It was really a difficult park to find. We drove and drove on a dirt road through the pinelands. The road was majorly potholed and the going was slow. The brochure said there was a sign but we didn't see it. When we backtracked and looked more carefully, we finally found it, but the sign was well off the road.

I thought it was a very nice trail, but Andy was somewhat worried because there were no markings on the trees. I didn't think it needed to be marked because it was obvious to me where the trail was. It was nice and wide in most spots and very comfortable walking on the sandy trails with a blanket of pine needles.

And surprise, surprise, we came across this lake back there in the woods.

It was interesting to note how anxious Andy was over the trail not being marked. Before his illness, he would have loved the "adventure" of blazing the trail.

So today's hike was more to his liking. We had a little bit of backtracking to find this one, too. Piper's Corner is right next to a residential development where one of our friends lives. I've been to her house numerous times and never knew how close to the woods she lived, although she often complains about all the deer that are always in her yard.

The first thing we saw as we started on this hike was a trail marker. I let Andy take the picture which explains why he only has half of me. (ha, ha) Well, he does as well as I do. I'm no professional photographer either.

We both really liked this trail. There were sections of walking through greenery, then also areas of openness.
 

 Then off on a little side trail, we found this stream.
 

This trail was really easy walking with lots of squishy moss and sandy soil. And the best thing of all - the sun was shining. So we were able to check off two more parks that we've explored.

We have a couple of fun things planned for this coming week. 

Here's a hint:

All Kinds of Weather

Only seventeen days ago, March 5, we had a huge snowstorm. So when the kids and grandkids came down two days later, they were able to build an impressive snow fort in the back yard.

  

All that next week the weather was nice and warm, relatively speaking of course.  It is still March. But it was warm enough to melt the snow. And in only a week that impressive fort was nothing but a speck in the lawn.

 

Then this past week we had a whole day on Tuesday with no doctor, hair cut or any other kind of appointment so we planned a trip to the shore to the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.  It's mid-March, after all, just the time when the migratory birds are making their way to their summer homes, stopping along the way at different protected refuges.

The weather forecast for Tuesday was predicting cold with high winds. So we went prepared with our L.L.Bean Maine-manufactured winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves. What a surprise when we got there. The sun was shining brightly and the car temperature registered in the 60's. Huh? What a wonderful surprise and gift of a day spent in the beautiful outdoors, enjoying God's creation. There were many trails and we estimated that we hiked nearly five miles. It was not cold at all. In fact, we actually got warm from walking in the sun. We didn't wear our coats at all, and I even took off my fleece, wearing only my turtleneck.

 
The trails were so well maintained, back through pinelands, through native holly and rhododendron and laurel bushes on soft sandy soil. 

 

After hiking the five miles, we got in the car and drove the eight mile loop through the salt marshes along the Jersey shore. We saw snow geese which was what I was hoping for. There were other birds, too, but I couldn't identify them, and they were too far away to take their pictures.

 I believe this might be a tundra swan. They usually migrate along with the snow geese.

 We didn't see any turtles. I guess we'll have to go back in the right season. All in all, though, this was just an amazing day. 

Then another weather surprise on Friday. We got more snow. Ironically enough, it was the first day of spring. The meteorologists were predicting one to three inches, but it snowed all day without stopping. During the course of the day, the predictions changed to two to four inches, but I really think we got even more than four inches of snow. Before I could drive home from work, I had to spend quite a bit of time cleaning off my car. 

We had been hoping to go hiking again on Saturday, but with all that snow, I didn't think the trails would be conducive for a good time. Thankfully, the weather was warm and the sun was shining all day, so a lot of the snow was gone by the end of the day. In the morning, though, I got a beautiful picture out our back door onto the deck.

 Is there anything more beautiful than white snow on bare branches against a bright blue sky?  Actually, as picturesque as this is, I'll be glad to see those branches covered in pink magnolia blossoms against that blue sky. It won't be long now.

Today was colder again, but the sun was shining. So off we went to the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. I had been there years before with our girls when I was still homeschooling them. It's a place where people can take injured animals to be cared for. We walked around and looked at the animals...

Bald Eagle

Mute Swans

There were other animals: a gray fox, a red tailed hawk, racoon,a couple kinds of crows, gulls, etc. but they were in cages which made the lighting difficult for taking pictures.

Then we took to the trail. There was still snow in spots, but it was a nice trail and we were the only ones on it.

We are checking off the parks on our Pine Barrens and Beyond, Birding & Wildlife Trails in Burlington County brochure. Out of 40 parks in that brochure, we checked off our 21st today. So we're over halfway! Only 19 more to go!

I was reading A God for All Seasons by Patti Tingen this morning. Each chapter is a devotional about each month of the year. In her chapter on March, she notes how changeable the weather is in March: "back and forth, temperate and chilly, every shifting and changing period of transition."

But God doesn't change.  He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. But I love how she then takes that thought and says that though God never changes, "God is change.  He embodies change. His character is multi-faceted like a diamond cut into an immeasurable number of surfaces, each side reflecting its own unique color as the light illuminates it. As God reveals different facets of Himself, it appears to us as if He is changing. And He is. He is showing us more and more of Himself, allowing us to understand His nature in fuller and fuller measure. However, the total, complete picture and package of who our Lord is remains intact."

I love that thought. God doesn't change but our concept and understanding of him does as we grow and mature in our walk with him.

Window Washing Project

Too many days recently were either rainy, too cold, snowy or otherwise not conducive for hiking - not for lack of trying, though. We went out on Tuesday to a park nearby.  Starting off on the trail and across the bridge, there was no sign of snow.  But as soon as the bridge ended, the trail was impassible - just a frozen mass of ice. It was actually dangerous and we didn't want to risk falling and lying who knows how long with broken or sprained who knows what. So back home we went to wait for warmer weather.

Thankfully, the rest of the week saw temperatures in the 50's nearly every day and the snow and ice quickly disappeared.

Yesterday was a rainy day...all day. I came up with a project for us to do. I had read somewhere once that it's best to wash windows on rainy or cloudy days since the sun can cause streaks when you clean them. Our living room windows open to the east and to the west. Consequently, that room gets a lot of sun. And when the sun shines in, I can see how dusty dirty those windows are. The windows are double-hungs, supposedly easy to clean. Just tilt them in and you can clean the outside without going outside. Well, I've never been able to do it myself. Andy has to push on the frame so hard before the window is able to tilt in. The grills are also very difficult to get out. So it's definitely a two-person job with the second person having bigger muscles than I have. 

I've been feeling like Andy is doing pretty well and have been trying to think of little projects for him to do so that he will feel useful and productive. Hence, the window cleaning project. But even that job, with me providing direction was an exercise in frustration. My first instruction was to take the grills out of the windows. He proceeded to open the windows and take out the screens. So I told him that was ok, but I needed him to take out the grills. He said, "I did." I had to explain that he took out the screens but I needed him to take out the grills. He still didn't seem to understand, so I had to demonstrate. I started to wonder why I ever decided to do this job. But we kept going even though it didn't get any better as we went along. Into the second window, the window somehow got crooked and when we tried to shut it, it came off the track. Ugh! What several years ago would have been a simple matter for him to figure out and fix was now - no idea what to do.  Oh, he tried but I had to also try to figure it out. Somehow we managed to get the window closed but I think I'm going to have to ask a handyman to look at it. 

That tired Andy out, so I sent him to lie down and finished the job myself. I don't know why I didn't do this from the beginning, but the windows are all on the first floor and easily reached from the outside with a step ladder. And I was also able to get the grills back in myself. I guess you can do all kinds of things if you have no choice.

I was feeling a little bummed out after this and had to remind myself of the truth this morning. There is nothing that can separate me from the love of God. "He redeems our pain, sin, doubt, need and suffering and reshapes the landscape of our inner lives through Jesus." (The Answer to Our Cry by Rick McKinley)



I just finished the book above. He says that "living into the love of God is a life journey. This means it may take decades and generations. Soul formation is process oriented..." As long as I'm still living in this world, I will still need to grow, mature, become more and more like Jesus. And sometimes this is painful, but it is so necessary because I have a long way to go. But as Paul prayed for the Philippian Christians, "he who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6)

The rain finally stopped during the night. So of course we had to get out today. The temperature was only 44 degrees and it was pretty windy. In fact, there were 40 mile an hour gusts. Brrr! But we put on our hats, gloves, scarves and LL Bean Maine manufactured winter coats and away we went. 

It really wasn't too bad as long as we were in the woods but you could hear the wind whipping up in the tops of the trees. We had to laugh as we went through the parking lot. Only one car was parked there. Yes, most people know enough not to go hiking on days like this. 
 
 
But really it was a beautiful day. The water was running swiftly in the Rancocas Creek from all the snow melt and rain from yesterday. 
 

 
 We have been to this park many times but had never seen this broken down house across the creek. It looks dangerously near the water.



Even though the trees still seem dead, there is a lot of green in places: holly trees, rhododendron and laurel bushes.

It's mid-March. Surely it won't be too much longer before we'll be seeing signs of spring a-coming. I've already seen plenty of robins in our yard, but then they've been here all winter.

Andy has been working on another puzzle. I have pretty much been letting him do it by himself and he says he is really getting into it. He is patient and persevering and is having success. I'm proud of him for being such a good sport about it. He said he didn't think at first he would enjoy it, but it's becoming addictive! He says he already feels smarter! ha, ha - still has that Andy sense of humor.

He's also a good sport for letting me take his picture all the time, but what a handsome guy!

Snow, Snow, Snow

I went to sleep Wednesday night expecting lots of snow on the ground when I woke up on Thursday morning.  So the first thing I did when I woke up was look out the window.  Nothing!  Huh???  Apparently, the system was moving a lot more slowly than was anticipated...but it was still coming - so they said.  (They in this instance - the meteorologists).  And what originally was predicted at 1-3 inches kept increasing, it seemed, hourly. 

Well, I thought I better get to work and do as much as I could as quickly as possible in order to not be caught out in it when it got too deep for my car.  My new car handles very well in the snow, being front wheel drive, but the clearance is only 5 inches.  So wisdom says, "Don't drive if the roads aren't plowed and there is more than 2-3 inches on the surface."

I was able to get to work by 7:30 and worked for 3 hours to finish everything I needed to.  No one else was in the office which made it easier to keep my nose to the "grindstone."  No interruptions equals more efficiency!  By 10:30, the snow was beginning to lay, and I was thankful I was able to spend the rest of the day at home watching the snow from inside the comfort and warmth of my home.  

Our snow thrower had a bum tire, so Andy and I went out to the shed to take it off and see if we could order a new one.  An interesting side light:  I always thought the machine was called a snow blower, but websites and our owner's manual calls it a snow thrower.  I figured out the part number and ordered a new tire, but then Andy pumped up the tire with a bicycle pump and it looked good.  I think that may be the only thing that was wrong with it because it still looks good three days later.  I was able to cancel the order.  Hopefully, the tire will work, although I'm seriously hoping we don't need to use the snow thrower again this year.  We've had enough snow, at least that's my opinion.  And I think a lot of people agree with me.  

It was beautiful, though.  

The other day I gave a quick glance at our weather station and saw the outside temperature was 75 degrees.  I did a double take...what?  Is our weather station malfunctioning?  But on closer look, I saw I had missed the "." between the 7 and the 5.  Brrr...that's cold.

So being home from work, we had time to work on our puzzle.  As we got closer to the end, it went a little faster.  It was a difficult puzzle, but we successfully finished it.  Andy said I did most of the work, but he got some pieces, too.  He was patient and diligent and gave it the "old college try."

Now that we were able to work a difficult 1,000 piece puzzle, we will certainly have no problem with 500 pieces.  But I think we might just wait a week or two before tackling the next one.

Yesterday was a very fun day.  Christy, Dawn and Amy all came down for a family time at our house.  They brought their families, everyone except Ricky and Chase.  Because of all the snow this year, a number of Chase's games had to be rescheduled and yesterday was one of those.  

Claire really wanted to hold Baby Kasey.  Kasey wasn't feeling herself because of an ear infection earlier in the week.  She wasn't as happy being held by Claire as Claire was in holding Kasey.  She was a good sport for a few minutes, though!

I love doing French braids in the girls' hair.  And Naomi asked me to do her hair yesterday.  Gladly!

We ate lunch together.  I made a sandwich casserole - very good and a big hit.  Christy and Amy each made a pot of soup - so we had two choices.  And Dawn brought a variety of fruit that we put out for snacking and munching on.  I also made a batch of lemon bars.  We had plenty to eat and everything was very good.

After lunch the guys and kids went outside to play in the snow.  I had requested they bring their snow clothes because I really wanted a snow man in our yard.  They all eagerly went to work and produced not only a snow man in the front yard but a huge snow fort in the back yard.  Andy joined them and they had so much fun.  I admit I was very impressed with their handiwork.

 

 

 I love snow but it's so cold.  I wonder if there will be snow in heaven.  I can't help but think there will be since God created it, and he has richly provided us with everything for our enjoyment. (1 Timothy 6:17)  It's also a beautiful picture of the purity of our lives as we stand before God clothed in Christ's righteousness.

I've been meditating on  2 Corinthians 5:21 the last couple of days.  "He (God) made him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God."  Incredible concept.

And what about Isaiah 1:18:  "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."