Letters from Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary

All of us at Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary are celebrating Christ's ascension to heaven today. Here is Gerald Finzi's music for Ascension Day  God Is Gone Up  - in my book required listening for the day! And here are the words - including that wonderful word: seraphicwise ! by Edward Taylor (1646? - 1729), "Meditation Twenty": God is gone up with a triumphant shout: The Lord with sounding Trumpets' melodies: Sing Praise, sing Praise, sing Praise, sing Praises out, Unto our King sing praise seraphicwise! Lift up your Heads, ye lasting Doors, they sing, And let the King of Glory enter in. Methinks I see Heaven's sparkling courtiers fly, In flakes of Glory down him to attend, And hear Heart-cramping notes of Melody Surround his Chariot as it did ascend; Mixing their Music, making ev'ry string More to enravish as they this tune sing. May you have a blessed and holy day, and if it is your practice, please include us in your thoug...

Thanks to a "chicken harness" from My Pet Chicken, Verna is now able to go outside! Her left leg is mostly useless, except for balancing, but she loves to hop through the grass, stretch her wings, watch butterflies, and have a snack for lunch. The horses watched Verna, maybe considering that her grass is better than theirs - she completely ignored them!

       Remembering all who have served on this Memorial Day - especially those in the Coast Guard, of course! Semper Paratus! Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,  Watch over those who guard our coasts.  Protect them from the raging seas  And give them light and life and peace.  Grant them from Thy great throne above  The shield and shelter of Thy love.                                        --George Jenks, adapted                                                                                                                     ...

The hens had their first watermelon party of 2019 today! They were delighted and enthusiastically ate beakfuls of melon. As the only human at the party, I thought the watermelon was not really very good - too early in the season - but no chickens even mentioned that.

Meet Verna the chicken! Verna came to Sanctuary House on March 20, the vernal equinox. She had fallen from a truck and was badly injured and covered in grease from the roadway. After a bath in Dawn detergent, she spent weeks recuperating . . . she has only one good leg, although she is beginning to use her left, broken leg to help her balance. Two weeks ago she began laying eggs - badly misshapen eggs at first, but now quite normal, brown eggs. Verna will be choosing the winners of the great sock raffle on June 1st - she is very adept at picking up things in her beak but cannot read at all, so the raffle will be 100% fair! In case Verna needs help, Trudy  the chicken has promised to help. If you haven't bought your raffle tickets yet, there is still time: 2 tickets for $10, 5 tickets for $20. . . details are in the most recent issue of News & Notes. Good luck!

Good morning, everyone - it's a great day for a swim because the temperature is supposed to rise to 90 . . . well, for a duck any day is great for a swim! Hope everyone is ready for a busy week.

Sadly, we said goodbye to one of our sweet Pekin ducks today. Gabby came to Sanctuary House as a tiny duckling only last year - she spent yesterday playing in the rain with the other ducks, but she was gone this morning. Gabby was the most talkative duck of all and was a gentle member of our little flock. She will be missed for sure.

Another day of chilly rain - much to the pleasure of the ducks! This morning they have the chicken and duck yard entirely to themselves - the chickens ran out for a little breakfast and then quickly returned to their coop.  The ducks have been splashing, checking puddles for bugs, and thoroughly enjoying their on-going shower. The two roosters are crowing loudly and persistently from the dry coop, but we don't expect the sun to return until tomorrow!

My tomato plants are beginning to bloom, and I was glad to discover that even the Supreme Court has considered tomatoes - for financial reasons to be sure, but at least they were thinking about tomatoes!  And, yes, the Supreme Court is my favorite branch of government - not that I would have appointed or approved all of the guys currently serving, but the women - yes! Of course, we probably have no clue what the current court thinks about tomatoes if it thinks of them at all . . . but in the in 1893 it was a different court. Copying from  The Writer's Almanac  :   It was on this day in 1893 that the Supreme Court ruled that the tomato was a vegetable, not a fruit.  The Tariff Act of 1883 said that a 10 percent tax had to be paid on all imported vegetables. The importers argued that according to the dictionary definition of fruit — the structure that grows from the flower of the plant and holds the seeds — a tomato was a fruit. The governme...

                                            Jean Vanier died on Tuesday - obituary may be read here  Jean Vanier  or on many other sites and sources.  (Photo from christianpost.com) May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

All of the other doggies ran outside when I came home from the post office - only Annie Oakley stayed in, under the fan's cool breeze, to watch and wonder what I am typing into the computer!

Exhausted by her babies, this mama raccoon went to the roof of the horse run-in for a morning nap. An hour or so later she went back to her little ones - you know how it is though - sometimes you just have to get away from the kids! Hope you are having a wonderful, restful weekend. Happy, happy May Fete today to everyone at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas! . . . time to put an end to horse, dog, and all animal races - if people want to race, let them run themselves.

Sometimes the hens just have to take a break from the ducks and roosters and pecking on the ground - and when that happens they might fly onto a tree branch! Can you see two hens? One is hidden on the other side of the tree trunk. After a short time and a little taste of maple leaves, they came down from their tree hideout. Have a great day!

All of the cats, especially Bebee, are delighted with their new scratch post pillar, sent by our friend Cathy . . . actually, Cathy sent many gifts for Spring, but this is certainly a favorite with the cats! The chickens think their mealworm treats are the best, the horses are enjoying their salt-on-a-rope treat, and the doggies are most thrilled with the Alpo Variety Snaps! Thank you, Cathy, from everyone at Sanctuary House! We are having a warm, sunny day, and hope you are too! Magda waits a little impatiently for her turn at the window viewing post!