Archive for June, 2007
Saturday, June 30th, 2007
You Can Farm Humor
Katie and I are reading “You Can Farm” by Joel Salatin, and in addition to being a really interesting read about how to start farming, he is a pretty funny writer.
Here’s the funniest passage I have read so far:
Certainly I am not opposed to land ownership, but at the outset I think it is necessary [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Saturday, June 30th, 2007
Compost Cubed
This past winter I made our first compost bin with some wire mesh and wooden posts that were left in our backyard by the previous family that lived here.
It has done okay, giving us one large batch of compost, but it was on the small side, about 3 ft x 3 ft x 2 ft [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Friday, June 29th, 2007
St. Peter
Today is the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and I was reflecting this morning upon the Gospel of Matthew, where Peter walks on water and promptly begins to sink.
I’m a lot like Peter. Some psychologists surmise that Peter had a sanguine-choleric temperament like mine, which would account for his tendency to stick his foot [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Saints and Angels by Katie
Friday, June 29th, 2007
Thank You
Thank you all for your prayers and phone calls and compassion in this difficult time for Devin and me. We promise to talk more when we’re ready and share all the details then.
Please share our news with others and ask them to pray. And, please know that we feel your prayers amazingly and [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Saints and Angels by Katie
Friday, June 29th, 2007
Sibling Rivalry with a Twist
I stumbled across this article yesterday and was so saddened to read about the difficult decision shared by this father and his wife.
Reading about this couple’s experience made me think about the crazy ethical questions we’ve created for ourselves with our modern fertility practices. By separating procreation from the marital embrace shared between husband and wife, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Katie
Friday, June 29th, 2007
Where’s the Beef?
We have had some good discussion with our friend JR in the comments of the post on our visit to my uncle’s farm.
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Monday, June 25th, 2007
Father David Konderla on EWTN!
Blair posted a video that I recently heard about of Father David Konderla on EWTN!
Father David was the associate priest at St. Mary’s University parish at Texas A&M when I was in school there. He heard my first confession and concelebrated the Easter Vigil Mass where I received Confirmation and First Eucharist.
Then when I moved [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Monday, June 25th, 2007
Bohemian Rhapsody
Katie and I have finally stopped trying to escape the truth: We are becoming about as Bohemian as you can get.
Why? Well, what do you think is missing for our backyard that already has a vineyard, a garden, a compost pile, and a hive of bees?
Chickens, of course!
2 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, June 24th, 2007
Our Honey Bees
Katie and I inspected our Ambrose hive this weekend and were very happy to see that our bees had drawn 7 more frames of beeswax comb in the new super we put on last week, and they were filling all the cells with nectar to make into honey!
We have to wait for them to dehumidify [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, June 24th, 2007
Extraterrestrial Hornworm Found
Katie and I are doing our part to feed alien insects and worms–are you doing yours?
This video shows the large hornworm that Katie found eating our tomatoes. She was unable to remove the worm itself due to its super-worm strength from outer space, so she had to break off the entire branch and dump it [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, June 24th, 2007
Barbed Wire and Grass-fed Beef
My Aunt Naomi and Uncle Rusty have just begun their grass-fed beef farm in the Texas Panhandle, and the land is beautiful.
My Uncle taught me how to stretch a barbed-wire fence that has gotten loose and how to mend one that has been broken.
He bought 13 cows to begin implementing his plan to raise “salad-bar [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
Cowboy Training
Katie and I returned from our Panhandle vacation yesterday, and boy did we have a great time!
We joined my mom and made the 10-hour drive to Sunray, Texas. We have much to tell about and some pictures, so in a day or two I will post more about it.
One story will have to suffice for [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Friday, June 15th, 2007
Umm…Convicted
I’m a happy member of the Catholic lay movement, Regnum Christi. Yesterday, I participated in an RC mini-retreat on the virtue of charity, which is one of our main charisms. And, boy, did I feel the heat.
The first meditation of the retreat focused beautifully on the theological virtue of charity, how Christ lived it and [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Katie
Friday, June 15th, 2007
Texas Wild Weekend
If you look for us, you won’t find us. We’re leaving civilized society to head up to the Texas Panhandle for the weekend, where we’ll visit Devin’s Uncle Rusty and Aunt Naomi on their newly thriving organic ranch, complete with soon-to-come grass-fed beef and chickens and goats and so forth.
I’m really looking forward to a [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Grapevines and Nature by Katie
Thursday, June 14th, 2007
Baby Rose Is 9 Weeks Old Today!
My baby countdown timer application informed me today that our first child is 9 weeks old today.
“Gestationally” the baby is 11 weeks old, but i go by the real age.
Baby Rose is probably about an inch and a half tall and has fully formed organs. Tomorrow we are going to get [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
Asi es Nuevo Mexico
Hello, blog readers! I’ve really missed blogging lately and am glad to be back.
There is no doubt that I’m an airhead. I have trouble with instruction manuals, balancing checkbooks, and sticking to timelines. My “sanguineness” showed itself again recently, when I realized that I forgot to file my 2006 NM tax returns this spring. Umm, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Katie
Wednesday, June 13th, 2007
The Bees Are Kickin’ Like Jackie Chan
I inspected the bees yesterday, and in just one week, our St. Ambrose bees had “drawn” an entire 8-frame box of comb and filled all the comb with nectar/sugar syrup.
This is really fast work, and my beekeeping friend, Doug, advised me that the “nectar flow” is probably starting here in Austin.
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Monday, June 11th, 2007
Gerardo and Roxanna Estan Casados!
Which in (my poor) Spanish means they are married!
Their wedding Mass was beautiful, with God providing a powerful thunderstorm and downpour of rain just as it began. The homily by Monsignor was excellent, perhaps the best wedding homily we had ever heard, and he gave it in Spanish and English.
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Thursday, June 7th, 2007
Please Pray
Please pray for a couple with whom we’re friends. They already have two children who have run ahead to Heaven and had to say goodbye to their third little one this week.Â
Please pray that our friends will be given the wisdom, via medical science, to know what’s going on with their fertility. And, please pray [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Saints and Angels by Katie
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007
The Illustrious Danielle Bean and Her Raffle
I don’t want to brag or anything, but Katie and I have had email correspondence with the illustrious Danielle Bean, a personage we hold in high esteem. How many home-schooling mothers of 8 do you know?
Well, we actually know another blessed family that shares that distinction, but there I go bragging again.
Anyways, the point [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007
Oh, No…
…not THAT old heresy again!
I had the privilege of receiving Holy Communion today. Truly, heaven on earth. The Liturgy of the Word was a little problematic, however, particularly the dear priest’s homily.
Today’s Gospel was the lovely account from Mark 12 where Jesus argues Resurrection to the Sadducees and assures them that “in heaven [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Theology of the Body by Katie
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007
Bee Hive Update
Our bees are now living in a 2-story bee-condo, and they have filled it up with comb and bee brood, so we have added a third story for them to continue to expand.
They got confused and started building the comb from the bottom of the frames in the third super instead of from the top [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007
Home Cookin’
I am a spoiled man, especially when it comes to Katie’s cooking!
This weekend Katie made molasses cookies (I can down one in about 6 seconds), homemade biscuits, steak, beet soup (with beets from our own garden), chicken pot pie, and potato salad!
And Katie makes just about everything from scratch (except the chicken, which God made [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007
The Humility to Face the Truth
“Another sun shines upon my face;
another day puts me in my place;
I made another mistake, that I can’t erase,
and I feel so far…”
–Wideawake, “Obvious”, from their very cool CD “Not So Far Away”.
God wants us to spend an eternity of joy with Him in Heaven, and so He uses whatever means he can to draw [...]
No Comments » - Posted in La Musica, Love and War by Devman
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007
Excusing Evil
I’ve noticed many people, during conversation about the most recent particularly heinous act, use language that serves to excuse or explain in another way the evil that was done in the act.
For example, I heard at least one person speak of the Virginia Tech murderer as “insane and mentally ill”. Well, yes, in one [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
The Lap of Luxury
You know, I could really get used to this morning sickness routine. I feel pretty queenly most days, and I can’t say that’s a bad thing.
For example, today, Devin made his own breakfast and spent four hours in our front flower bed, pulling weeds and laying down mulch, while I took a nap and [...]