Poetry of Nature: Youth: Vivaciousness

Youth: Vivaciousness

Photograph, taken by my Mom July 18, 2021

Crongan Castle

Used with permission of Sir Bentley, Cabbit of Crongan Castle

 

Someone's Had a Birthday, We're So Glad!

     Dear readers,

     Sir Bentley, Cabbit of Crongan Castle, turned two years old yesterday! Here are some photos of his celebration:

His birthday is the same as Mom's birthday! We combined their piles of presents. Bentley was happy to help Mom open her presents!

Holly looked on very patiently while we made a fuss over the cat.

We gave Bentley (another) catnip banana. He goes bananas for bananas!

If one banana (which he already had) is good, two bananas (which he now has) is...

... fantabulous!

     If any of you would like to wish Sir Bentley a very happy birthday in the comments, I will be sure to pass on the message to him.

     Well, this little (14-pound) independent, fiercely loyal (sometimes just fierce!) energizer bunny has been a wonderful part of our lives for a year and a half now! Happy birthday, Sir Bentley, Cabbit of Crongan Castle!

     Bye,

     Christina Austine

P.S. Crongan is actually a real word! It means "hillock" (1) in Manx, and "hillock" means "a small hill." (1) Since Sir Bentley is part Manx, what better language from which to borrow a poetic-sounding word for the name of his castle?

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1) https://www.wordsense.eu/crongan/

Thoughts from July 25

     Dear reader:

     Well, it's been about two months since I was posting last! I've been having some fun doing crochet projects. I'm making a multicolored granny square blanket for me. It has pink, orange, yellow, blue, and purple. This morning I took some photos of the birds at the feeders in our back yard. It's been a long time since I did that, and it was really fun! Here are some of the photos:

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House Finch

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White-breasted Nuthatch

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Sir Bentley was helping me. I think that in addition to bird-watching, I also did some cabbit-watching!

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Carolina Chickadee

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Tufted Titmouse

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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I also went out in our garden and took some photos.

Calendula flower

Spaghetti squash

Banana peppers

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     This past Thursday was Sir Bentley's first birthday! We gave him a birthday cake of wet cat food with one blue candle in it. No, we didn't light the candle, yes, we did sing to him, yes, he did get a birthday present which he loved (a box and some crinkly wrapping paper), and yes, he did eat the cake (or at least some of it) quite happily!

     Anyway, it was a beautiful Sabbath morning! After joining friends for Bible study and watching my church's livestream, and after rice and veggies for lunch and a walk on our street with Dad, I met up virtually with my friend Lani for the Bible study we like to do together. It has been a very long time since we got to do this, because one or the other or both of us have been busy with our summer! Today we started reading through Esther and got about three or four chapters in. Esther is such an action-packed book! It is honestly a bit fairy-tale-like to read but better because it is absolutely true. For instance, it is about a king in a faraway (to us) land and it happened thousands of years ago, if you read the first chapter the descriptions of the decorations are so gorgeous, the good-guy/bad-guy interaction is intense, the bad guy gets killed the same way he was planning on killing the good guy, and Esther is a perfect heroine as she starts out an orphan! We are thinking about writing a children's book version of Esther. Ruth would be another good story to do. Maybe we could even publish it on Amazon as an e-book!

     I thought that the way the Complete Jewish Bible (I found it on the Bible Gateway website) put Esther 4:12-14 read really neat:

     Upon being told what Ester had said, Mordekhai asked them to give Ester this answer: “Don’t suppose that merely because you happen to be in the royal palace you will escape any more than the other Jews. For if you fail to speak up now, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from a different direction; but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows whether you didn’t come into your royal position precisely for such a time as this.”

     God may have you where you are "precisely for such a time as this" pandemic. Trust him and lead His guiding, and never think that a life of faith is boring! For proof, just read Esther.

     Have a blessed week!

     Bye,

     Christina Austine

Thoughts from May 23

     Dear readers:



   


     Well, quite enough has happened in this past week to tell you about! (It seems I may be doing more like weekly posts than daily posts this summer -- I'm busy!) For starters, Mom, Ms. J, and I kind of walked through some poison ivy on Sunday. Thankfully though, we immediately washed it off when we got home and I don't think any harm was done; it was low to the ground, so probably wouldn't have touched our feet a ton, more our sandals. One day this week we saw a huge, beautiful rainbow. One evening, AJ, Ms. J, and I were playing an animal-themed board game on our dining table, we looked out the window, and there was a RACCOON under our bird feeders! That was exciting! It was reminiscent of the Sam Campbell books with Rack and Ruin being the featured raccoons early in the first book, and Loony Coon and tribe in later stories. Let's see now, does he want watermelon or peanuts? We all visited a Georgia botanical garden, and AJ let me use his camera to take some photos of him and Ms. J, he took some photos of Ms. J and me, Ms. J took some photos of AJ and me, and Dad took some photos of the three of us.

     Ms. J, AJ, and I have been playing in the kitchen! We made three fruit-based dessert recipes. Two of them we've already tried, and they were scrumptious! The third, I have the same expectations for. Here are links to the recipes:

• We made the apricot bars. https://24carrotlife.com/2015/03/18/dried-fruit-bars-and-bites/
• We made this one with 1 cup pumpkin seeds instead of the nuts. We want to make a variation, with dates instead of figs, and can add in peppermint for a chocolate-peppermint flavor, and we also can try using part millet flour and part pumpkin seeds for fewer calories, and to not use up our pumpkin seeds so fast. Also with this variation, we could whip up some millet cream and pour it over the top of the balls, then stick them in the freezer for the cream to harden into a glaze -- and them serve with fresh strawberries! https://frommybowl.com/cacao-fig-bliss-balls/
• This one we ate for dessert for lunch today. MIND-BOGGLINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!! It really feels like apple pie! Again, we used 1 cup pumpkin seeds instead of 2 cups nuts, and again I think we could use at least part millet flour (though we'll have to try it to see if the millet flour gives it a bitter taste). We also used water instead of oil, and we ended up using two apples rather than one (which was definitely not too much apple). https://minimalistbaker.com/apple-pie-date-bars-free-detox-guide-ebook/

     In our Bible study today, Lani and I went through the book of Jonah. Fascinating story! One neat thing we noticed was that there are four things that God specifically provides for Jonah (or appoints, depending on your version; the word is the same that applies in all four of these instances) -- a fish, a plant, a worm, and an east wind.

     I could maybe write more but need to hurry up and go, so here's a parting thought that I included in a card I wrote to someone today: "The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him" (Exodus 15:2, NKJV). Have a joyful day in Him!

     Bye,

     Christina Austine

P.S.: Sir Bentley the cabbit turned 10 months old today!

Thoughts from May 7

     Dear readers:

     Now presenting, Holland II!

     So, our cat has a new hobby -- shell collecting! We have a bowl on our table filled with shells from various beaches we've gone to. Bentley carried a small shell all the way down the hall to the other end of the house to one of the bedroom! A bit later, when I was doing my piano practice, I heard this sound on the table. Bentley was sitting by the bowl of shells, playing with it. I turned around in a moment and he was on the floor behind the piano bench, playing with this large shell!

     "Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16-18, NLT.


     Bye,
     Christina Austine

Thoughts from May 5

     Dear readers:

     I'm still typing "April" when I try to title my posts! Here's your National Pet Week photos:

     Pardon me while I try to remember just what I actually did yesterday . . . ;)

     Well, this morning I gave Mrs. M her weekly violin lesson. She is progressing very nicely! It is exciting for me to watch her improve, as she is the first person I started on violin.



     Yesterday I took a few photos of our garden:


     This rose (left) has descended from a rose that went across the country in a covered wagon!

     The rose covering our arbor came from a rose that survived being covered by 20 ft of water after hurricane Katrina. When Mom got it, part of the profit went to help rebuild after the hurricane.

     I enjoyed taking photos of our David Austin roses, and playing with some special effects that my camera does. I
just love this rose shown above, with its peachy pink
and subtle yellow! We also have some
strawberries coming ripe.

     "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7, NLT

     Live this out, and bask in His peace!

     Bye, 

     Christina Austine

  

Thoughts from May 4

     Dear readers:

     Yesterday we all worked in our garden and I got some weeding done. I finished the last few problems in my math book for this year. Just this morning, we saw the grosbeak again!

     Here's your National Pet Week celebration for the day (after I followed him out of the shopping bags, by the window, onto the table, back to the window, trying to get a clear photo of him in a split second when he wasn't moving ;D ) --

     Also, I chatted with my Grandpa yesterday. He's the greatest! I am so excited that he and Grandma will be visiting us in a few weeks.

     "So Judah defeated Israel on that occasion because they trusted in the LORD, the God of their ancestors." (2 Chron. 13:18, NLT) Trust in God, and He will help you defeat your challenges, too!

     Bye,
     Christina Austine

Thoughts from May 3

     Dear readers:

     Happy National Pet Week! At least that's what my calendar says, so I will be celebrating by, each time I post this week, trying to include a picture of our cat and/or our dog. So here we go!

     This is our yellow Labrador retriever (who does not retrieve), Holland II -- but we just call her Holly. :) She is super loving and friendly, with those big brown eyes and a tail that is always wagging.

     And this is our part-Manx 9-month-old kitten, Sir Bentley. I have a whole post about him when he was younger here: https://cabinintheclearing.blogspot.com/search/label/Sir%20Bentley%20the%20Cabbit He is extremely sweet, fast, vigorous, playful, and energetic. He also loves water! And, he hates closed doors.

     Mom made waffles for Friday night supper. YUM! And, pizza for lunch this past week. YUM again!

     Not much else to say, as I just wrote last night.

     "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD." Psalm 36:6, NLT

     Bye,

     Christina Austine

Sir Bentley -- Six Months!

This little "cabbit" is six months old already! He has definitely grown since we adopted him at five months.

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

He is very energetic and loves to play. He likes to chase his jingle balls around when we throw them, but hasn't yet learned to bring them back to us! I am clicker-training him, and he is learning to touch a target. I hope to teach him to play piano. . . .

How he loves paper and boxes!

He is extremely intelligent and even has his own Instagram account: sirbentleythecabbit

There is a story about "cabbits" being crosses between cats and rabbits. Sir Bentley is, of course, a cat. However, he does have certain rabbit-like features which are adorable!

Note his pom-pom tail.

This is SUCH a rabbit-like pose!

Have a great day!