Looks Like

this fake snake scared the poop outta some bird.

Still trying to paint the house Rustic Red between all the thunder storms and rain showers .

Spent half a day waiting to die because I thought I took one pill twice...then I found the second one!

I didn't die.

Got my underwear and t-shirt took them to the shower and promptly lost them.  First place I looked was the hamper.  Didn't see them.  So I'm walking around looking.  Hubby says, What have you lost? because he is becoming accustomed to my misplacing things.  Hubby joins the hunt and the first place he looks is inside the giant antique crock in the dining room!  I said, I would never put them there!  He answered, How do you know?  You don't remember where you left them.  I looked again in the hamper and there they were.  Picked them up with my dirty clothes after all.

Anyone else misplace their underwear this week?

Please tell me I'm not alone.

Okinawa

Iwo Jima, kamikaze, Hiroshima, Nagasaki...all words that fascinated me as a child.  A world I would never see except through Dad's eyes. He rarely told a battle story only the funny ones to me but I overheard conversations when Dad forgot "Little pitchers have big ears."  He only talked with others that had served. I saw the war in his eyes and it haunted me almost as much as it haunted him.

Dad taught me to love Big Band music, told me about "pin up girls" (Dad liked Rita Hayworth) and the pictures his friends carried.  He talked of submarines, ships, planes and amphibious vehicles. He talked of friends and enemies.  Dad talked of Churchill, MacArthur, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and letters from home.  He talked of chocolate, K-rations and how he found a ripe tomato on Okinawa.

Dad talked of islands:  San Clemente, Hawaii, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and others. He spoke of friends, news of their family and how he kept records in his pocket Bible in code.  He spoke of the plants, the heat, how good a lobster tasted over a campfire...all the good that was.

Dad talked of how they were rarely told where they were going or even where they were. Snipers, flame throwers and children with hand grenades were things I overheard.  He served as they asked and as they commanded.  It was what an American did.

Today I honor all who have served.  Those who made it home "okay", those who did not and those still serving. Thank you from the bottom of my heart with my deepest respect.

Growing

Uncle Grover plums and

mulberries ripen

as birds steal the cherries.

 Sweet peas

 and blackberries bloom.

Figs that Dad planted

 are beginning

to fruit

as these dream of becoming grapes one day.

Warm Watermelon

Was reading a great post at Wishes, Dreams & Other Things.  Ida mentioned how she didn't like watermelon.  I thought I was alone!  Glad to know a fellow watermelon disliker.

Mom said it was her fault I didn't like watermelon.  She told me how she was craving watermelon when she was pregnant with me.  It was late October in 1954 and Dad drove all over trying to find a watermelon in St Louis, Missouri.  Finally he found one, much to Mom's delight.  She cut it open immediately and began to eat.  Something was wrong with it and she became very ill.  Her conclusion was I didn't like watermelon because of that...an old wive's tale.

I never developed a love for this fruit/vegetable.  I kept trying.  I did love the watermelon seed spitting contests we had.

We grew our own watermelons.  Some, for what ever reason, might begin to end rot in the field.  As children part of our job was to find these melons and pick them for the pig and chickens to eat. Waste not, want not.  We discovered that the heart, which was still good, is mighty tasty on a warm summer day.  I remember busting a watermelon open in the field (a forbidden thing to happen with a good melon) and digging in with bare hands to reach the seedless portion.  The memory of sweet watermelon juice running down my arms as we ate with no manners sitting in the dirt still makes me smile.  This was the only time I enjoyed watermelon.  That and when we sold them because we were allowed to keep part of that money.

Thanks, Ida, for bringing that memory to the surface.

Fences With Friends

Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy through old chicken wire

farm fences and friends having fun.

Join Good Fences

Look At Me Now

 Remember this catalpa that was rescued from honey suckle and all plants that climb?

She is smiling!!!

Follow Your Toes

Winter with shoes has softened my feet I discovered quickly as I waded through a few gravel beds.  I found myself seeking sand and softer walking.  I had to go slower than last summer. I lose my balance easier.  Soon I may need a staff to navigate the creek beds but not yet.

The Heal All plant has a good stand this year.

The Spittlebugs or baby Froghoppers

hide within the safety of their own froth 

until they transform from nymph to an adult. 

It was a good day to follow my toes.

A Few Seconds

 running

 with

 Bonnie

 in

 the

 creek

 enjoying

 scent-sations

At The Farm

Joining Saturday's Critters with Eileen

Self-Immersed

on a rainy day in James Patterson's Alex Cross, Winston Churchill's lifetime and the fruit salad that is our current political climate.

I take moments to watch the fireflies and listen to the night.  No matter how crazy the world gets Mother Nature still soothes my soul.

"Cocaine"

floods the valley as I see red...Rustic Red!  I smile as "Cocaine" transitions into "Pride and Joy" one of my favorites.

Being serenaded as you paint a house is a plus.  If only the paint flowed as smoothly as the music.

Oops! Paint

A few years ago I discovered some paint departments have an Oops! section.  Perfectly good paint that has been returned because the color wasn't right or it didn't suit the purchaser.  What ever the reason, their loss often became my gain...at a greatly reduced price!  I just have to not totally dislike the color.  I find the same product works even if the color might not be my first choice.  Oh, and colors can and do get mixed after they go home with me.  Not a drop is wasted.

Christopher Lowell's Tangerine

Cyber Green

Concrete and block sealing paint in various colors still stop the seeps

and you can get cartoonishly creative in the basement.

Rustic Red exterior stain with sealant

makes the sandstone rocks pop!

Work with what you have.  Be creative.  Check out those odd colors that someone else didn't like. After all, it's just paint, you can paint over it.

A good basic black is never boring.

Browse in the duct tape section

to create area rugs from carpet pieces.

Oh, the joy!  

Kinda sad, isn't it??

Boredom

always has surprised me.  Why would anyone on God's green earth ever be bored?!  I know I'm blessed with a beautiful spot here but even in a padded room I like to think I'd entertain myself by discovering the thread count on the walls.

Once I made the mistake of telling my mother I was bored...a newly heard word.  I was quickly trained never to say that again.  I believe I emptied the entire bedroom, cleaned it from top to bottom and then was sent to the barn to clean the chicken house and the milking stall.  Through the course of the day I was asked if I was bored.  I learned to appreciate where ever I was and learned how to entertain myself with no complaints.

I understand all are not as fortunate

but unless we've lost all our senses

there's no excuse for boredom.

We must learn to "bloom where we are planted"

and maybe take a little time to soak up the sun's love.

I Am The Presumptive Nominee

for chief cook and bottle washer.  It is presumed I will wash dishes, do laundry, and clean home with no assistance.

It is nice to be so important.  

Not so nice that all the other candidates dropped out.

Graduate and Fences

Congratulations, Andrew!

Tonight you graduate from high school and head into real life with a good heart and a strong mind. May your dreams come true and may happiness be yours always.

We are very proud of what you have accomplished.

We look forward to a few days of help fixing fences!

Joining Good Fences with TexWisGirl.

The Who

Before The Storms

birds gathered to dine.

Soon they were squabbling

This should never happen!

Feathers were ruffled

but they decided to put their best foot forward,

to simply be together not the same.

Linda Kay and Wednesday's Wit and Wisdom