RUSSELL HOMESTEAD LLC
  • Home
  • Mini Schnauzers
    • Mini Schnauzers - The Basics
    • Current & Upcoming Litters
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Nutrition >
      • Nutrition - The Basics
      • Recommended Products
      • Life's Abundance-FAQ
    • Past Puppies
    • Puppy Photo Updates
    • Testimonials
    • Past Puppy Blogs
    • Documents
  • Goats
    • Our Goat Herd >
      • Goats - The Basics
      • Velvet
      • Nickel
      • Llama
    • Available Goat Kids
    • Past Goat Kids
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog

A Book for Groundhog Day

2/2/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Let me begin by saying Groundhog day means very little to me.  It isn't a holiday we celebrate; it all seems rather silly to me.  However, one of my favorite children's books happens to be about Groundhog day.  So, let me introduce you to A Garden for Groundhog by Lorna Balian, a gem that I happened to pick up at the library a few years ago.  

As I cracked open the cover and read the opening page, I knew this was going to be a book I could identify with.  The first page reads, "The O'Learys had a bit of a farm. A small cottage for the two of them and their cat, a tiny shed for the goat, the lamb, and two chickens, and a tidy little garden - with an apple tree.  It wasn't much of a farm, but it was enough." (Balian)  You could pretty much substitute our last name in there, minus the lamb (and we did have a lamb for one summer) and plus 4 children, 2 dogs, more goats, more chickens, more cats, and more apple trees.

The book goes on to describe the O'Learys simple farm life and their interaction with a groundhog that lives under their apple tree and enjoys dining in their garden.  The O'Learys decide to watch him on Groundhog day despite Mrs. O'Leary's misgivings about the holiday when she said, "Such foolishness!  When that groundhog comes out of his hole, it's only to see if we have planted anything yet.  After all of our work, he ate more from our garden last summer than we did!"  (Balian) I won't reveal the rest of the story for you, but it is a fun book for discussing Groundhog day.

Instead of wishing you a happy Groundhog day, I'm going to wish you happiness no matter what the weather is!  May we all endeavor to be grateful whether we have an early spring or not.  I was reminded of this the other day while driving through the snowy countryside when my 5 year piped up and said, "I can't wait until we can go outside without shoes on!"  This is the same boy, who about 2 weeks ago couldn't wait for the blizzard to come.  I thought, isn't that human nature?  Always wishing for something different?  Always thinking the grass is greener on the other side?  Let's have thankful hearts no matter the weather forecast.

Works Cited
Balian, Lorna.  A Garden for Groundhog.  Watertown: Humbug Books, 1985.
2 Comments
Lorraine
2/2/2016 01:47:16 pm

I wish you and your family all the wishes you wished to everyone.:)

Reply
Vanessa link
2/5/2016 12:16:35 pm

Thanks for being a faithful blog-reader, Lorraine!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Vanessa from Russell Homestead.  Follower of the Lord Jesus, wife of my knight in shining armor, mother of 5 wonderful children, and joint-keeper of the Russell homestead.  Thanks for stopping by!
    Read more about me here.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    Chickens
    Faith
    General
    Goats
    Homeschool
    Homesteading
    Motherhood
    Puppies
    Recipes

    RSS Feed

    Follow this Blog
    Vanessa Russell
    Independent Field Representative
    ID#20249934.

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Psalm 24:1

All photos and text are property of Russell Homestead.  Use only with permission.
  • Home
  • Mini Schnauzers
    • Mini Schnauzers - The Basics
    • Current & Upcoming Litters
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Nutrition >
      • Nutrition - The Basics
      • Recommended Products
      • Life's Abundance-FAQ
    • Past Puppies
    • Puppy Photo Updates
    • Testimonials
    • Past Puppy Blogs
    • Documents
  • Goats
    • Our Goat Herd >
      • Goats - The Basics
      • Velvet
      • Nickel
      • Llama
    • Available Goat Kids
    • Past Goat Kids
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog