Word has it that the pelicans are making their way north.

The Cedar Waxwings were here today. It was a joyous morning when I looked out the upstairs window and spotted the Cedar Waxwings. I always look for them this time of the year as they are passing thru and stop by for a bite from the Prairie Fire Crabapple trees in the front garden.

When Tess was just a squirt, she started her pre-school years at the ISU Lab School three mornings a week. Her teacher Angie would post large cards around the room to remind the 3-4 year-olds of things to watch for throughout the seasons. Tess loved the puzzles, so she always headed over to that table after I dropped her off in the morning. Angie hung the Cedar Waxwings poster there.

We were home one morning in February of that first year at the Lab. Ev had just left for school, so Tess was leaning on the windowsill watching him walk with the older kids down the street. She casually remarked to me, "Oh, look the Cedar Waxwings are here." I asked her what she was talking about. She pointed to the trees outside our living room window. Sure enough, the Cedar Waxwings were here, gobbling down the shriveled fruit. An hour later, our trees were bare and the flock had moved over to the neighbor's crabapple tree. Tess had taken Angie's lesson to heart and watched for them. : }

Happy Valentines Day

A Valentine Horoscope

CANCER (June 21 - July 22)
Your love story has elements of a farce mixed with a soap opera, fairy tale, and ghost story. For a normal human being, it might be too intense and convoluted to deal with; it requires so much willing suspension of disbelief and involves so much letting go of certainty that no one in their right mind would agree to its demands. Luckily, you're not a normal human being these days, and you're not particularly in your right mind. That's why I say unto you: Ride this snaky tale for all it's worth. Enjoy every plot twist and riddle as if you've been given an epic myth you can ponder and learn from for the next ten years. Happy Valentine Daze, Cancerian!

the Daniels Family

When tromping in Oak Hill Cemetery this past Friday, I found this monument inscribed with the letter D for Daniels. I knew the back story from this past year of research on Oak Hill Cemetery, so finding this layout of the family plots made me smile.

Harriette Weare (1829-1919) married Lowell Daniels (1822-1876). When he passed, he was only 54, leaving a widow in her late 40s. Poor Harriette Weare Daniels older brother then died within a few days. Harriette married Lawson Daniels (1827-1906), the younger brother of her deceased husband. They had a long marriage. He passed in 1906 and she memorialized him with a donation to Oak Hill Cemetery of $6600. That was a lot of $$$$ for 1907-08. Local architects Josselyn and Taylor were commissioned to design the new entrance to the cemetery, which included a split-granite boulder gatehouse, a stone wall, a cast iron fence, and an elaborate gate. A plaque set into the stone dedicates this entry to Lawson Daniels. There is no mention of the other brother, her first husband.

What made me smile when I happened upon this family plot? Harriette Weare Daniels is planted in between the two brothers, her late and later husbands.

A Day Among the Memorials to the Dead

Ben Webster / Coleman Hawkins 1957 ~ It Never Entered My Mind

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