GodFamilyCrafts

The boughs of the pine bend low

Laden, they are, with snow.

The fir and the hemlock, and even the spruce

Long to shake their wet burden loose.

But the sun is their friend

And sees how they bend

So sends them a ray to lighten their day

And  help their load slide quickly away.

For a few more hours while daylight still shines

The tree lifts it limbs and stretches, the pines

The hemlock, the spruce and even the fir

Their sighs through the woods can be heard.

The chill of the night surrounds them again

The frost coats them lightly, not making them bend

The night is cold, yet snow does not come

And the forest sleeps on  awaiting the sun.

Ann St. Martin Stout

Jan. 2009

In my house there is one place where you can find the following: a turtle shell, a flattened toad, several insects including dragonflies,  butterflies and beetles. There are seashells, rock and mineral specimen, and a  stick patterned with insect tunnelling. Add several more items and you have my Museum of Natural History.

Much of it is housed in a set of drawers on a shelf in my studio. The Annex (as I suppose it could be called) is in a glass front cabinet and is roomier and holds larger things like bird nests. I bring out my Museum for science lessons, 4-H meetings, or just to give my grandsons a thrill. I get very interesting reactions from other adults as well. Some are fascinated, others uninterested and still others a little bit grossed out that I would actually collect this stuff!

I think my favorite item is the turtle shell. I bought it at a yard sale for a quarter, and I could see the reaction of the two women who took my money — it seems like they might have had a bet on whether it would sell or not. As they were setting it all out that morning, I’m sure one of them had asked, “Now who is going to buy something like this?!”

Tune in tomorrow out the answer to that question and read more about my Museum of Natural History.

Thanks for reading…

Ann