HG Research

I have a gerbil and a hamster and I wanted to see what made them alike and what made them different. So I deceided to make a list of my observations. You may be surpirsed at what I found. First, let's look at the differences between the two rodents.

The Differences List:

GERBIL                                                                                     HAMSTER

Goes Potty Everywhere                                                             Potty trained/picks a corner

Has a long furry tail                                                                   Has short stubby tail

Has Small Ears                                                                          Has big Ears

Awake on and off day and night                                               Nocturnal

Has scent glands on belly                                                          Has scent glands on hips

Does not have a cheek pouch                                                    Has cheek pouches

Does not have paw pads                                                            Has paw pads

Can hop                                                                                     Does not hop

Squeeks                                                                                     Screams (only if scared)

List of Likenesses:

My gerbil and hamster are BOTH

From the rodent family

Must chew for their teeths health

Like sunflower seeds

Are close to the same size

This is Mr.Nibbles, My hamster

This is Cookie, My gerbil

Thanks for reading my observations on HG research. (Note: HG Research stands for Hamster Gerbil research)

Making Changes

Earlier in the year I mentioned changing the decor in my daughters room to a apprehensive little eight year old. Her big eyes and resounding remark,  "I like it mom, I don't like change,"caused me to hesitate for a nanosecond before I thought, "I don't like change that much either but sometimes change is necessary."

Now changing a rooms decor doesn't necessarily fall under the "need" category in life's gamut of demands but when a room becomes cluttered with too many styles of decor and becomes a hodge podge collecting mecca without a decent eclectic model to follow, it is time to bring the chaos under control.

As a stager in the real estate field, I am constantly trying to come up with innovative, budget friendly suggestions to save my clients money, get a bang for their buck and impress the critics so the sellers property can move off the market and they can move on with life. So, I took that approach with my daughter's room. What could I do to make her comfortable with the process of change yet keep some of those "my taste only" comfort accents with the end result being an age appropriate room that could last for a few years and still have room to expand for creative projects later.

The room still has a crazy, fun feel with the bedding but can be toned down by flipping the bedspread over to a solid pink color. The bed skirt can also be toned down by eliminating the dog bed skirt and leaving the white polka-dot trimmed one on. It turned into a multi-faceted room, just about any color in the pastel range can be used and black and white furnishings will work as well. It is no longer a hodge podge mess but more of a hodge podge form . For now the wall color can stay pink, at the insistence of Alex, but Mom has plans to paint the walls a calm, ocean blue (think along the lines of Caribbean beach water blue) down the road when she is ready for a little more change.

And for anyone thinking about a little decor change but may be stuck in a rut, don't let cost stop you from trying. I scavenged supplies, figured the design and execution myself all for under $100 dollars. In fact, I hit two birds with one stone, we got a fresh new decor along with hours and hours of crafting pleasure.

Alex's verdict is still out on the change but maybe it'll grow on her.

Inspiration: "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
Scott Adams (American cartoonist)

The Butterfly and The Bumble Bee

Lone thistle stands among lofty pines
a butterfly lands on tubuler spines

A graceful dance as nature sings
upon sunlit transulcent curtained wings.

Purple tinge begs nectars delectation
stentorian bumble bee intends full participation.

Butterfly insists on drinks first right
as bee is ejected with mighty blight



Butterfly on a lone thistle among lofty pines
ousted the bumble bee, imbibing in supreme sublime.

Chandra Brown

Photos taken: Look Out Mountain Trail, Colorado
By: Chandra Brown

                                                                                                                        

A Long Walk

Sixty Paces etched in time will test the demands on body and mind.

No matter the elements, terrain or aptitude;

traversing the course requires a fit attitude.

Along the way sojourners happen by,

some just wave and others stop to say hi.

The best companions on a long walk are similar in kind

and may be connected by blood or a contemplative mind.

Smart travelers on a long walk take pause

 and glean lessons that give life cause.

To mention;

Nature gives canvas to philosophic theme

and points to discussions of

The Supreme Being.

Or

An expression or two weave a web

through well traveled terrain

and some get lost on a path

between thoughts and a dream.

                                            But

Young and old on a long walk will ponder this question from time to time,

"How many paces have I till trails end?"

In causerie fashion they wonder,

"It could be a long haul or just around the bend."

For those in the know,

A long walk lends an open view to years and

measured time that focuses on true substance

and how to use the one's supplied.

Chandra Brown

"Don't just count your years,

make your years count."

Ernest Meyer

Dedicated to my Father on his 60th birthday celebration. Thanks Dad for setting the pace and showing us how it's done!

 

The Man From Dunn County

John, The Man from Dunn County and his wife

This is a tale of a man named John Robert

who in 1951 was born a twin

among a handful of other kin.

He is an all star athlete from Menomonie

who broke a leg

then asked Susan Jane to become a Debee.

Being a graduate of UW Stout

it was hightime they traveled about.

So they packed a U-Haul and drove 1,000 miles

ended up in Colorado and decided to stay for awhile.

Along comes Chandra in the August heat

and four yours later, Johnna;

a happy repeat.

Plasticrafts, night shifts, apartment care,

Alexander Dawson; the boys school for nightmares.

Beth Eden Baptist, super hero Dad;

by day a teacher, by night pushing a floor shining pad.

Rocky Flats, nuclear bombs and plutonium,

he has to keep those secrets

hush, hush and mum!

Recreation on the weekend with the boys from church league

throwing touch down passes, running the field in

"Get the Old Man" speed.

Deli owning is no vacation,

it works you to the nub

especially when ordering enough meat

to make a turkey, bacon club.

John Robert is now sixty and living life just fine

he's working on his projects

or making delicious juice from the vine.

Today we honor him with friends and family

that help add to the happy memory

and the tale of

The Man From Dunn County.

"Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art." Garson Kanin

"As we grow older our bodies get shorter and our anecdotes longer." Robert Quillen



Happy 60th Birthday,

Love Your Girls



Cactus Flower

photos by: Chandra Brown

Cactus Flower

Bud to bloom

Brief is life;

Capture beauty

In eternities time

 Fleeting moments

Cause rapturous sublime

Pistil, Stamen, Pollinate

Wilting quickly

Death; law of nature

Seasons dictate bloom or dust

thus,

contemplate conundrum;

 from this death comes life again.

Chandra Brown



Tend Your Garden Post #5: Fruit of the Vine

Growth takes time. Be patient.
And while you're waiting, pull a weed. 
saying by Emilie Barnes

We were starting to get impatient, "When are we going to see something we can eat?" We'd grumble. Then the other day we saw these peas, so Alex picked them and I ate them. They were sweet, crisp and crunchy. I claimed to not like peas, probably because the ones I'm used to eating are frozen. Those taste soft, mushy, kind of like a bland paste. What a difference growing them yourself makes. I could just stand there and pick and eat and be satisfied.

We've had to make adjustments in our "learning" garden. I had to prune away tree limbs so the plants could get enough sun. I had to transplant a squash plant, it made it through the move and is doing well but I wonder if this will hinder its fruit. Our strawberries are trying to burst out but birds just love them too much! I need to buy a net.

This experiement has taught us many things, one lesson that currently comes to mind is patience. In due time the fruit will be there we just have to learn to wait and let nature do its thing, in the meantime just watch the process, take care of what you can and rejoice in the harvest when the time comes. Funny how this garden lesson parallels the happenings in our personal life too!