September 14, 2025

            Good Sunday morning to you all.

Yesterday's events: We had Alex come over yesterday and do the yard work for us we got the yards mowed, and the fire Ant killer spread around. We tried to get the chainsaw to run but nothing we could do would make it run. I think that's odd as a couple days ago I got it started myself and it ran but may and Alex could not get it to run. We went into town for a quick sandwich at lunch and back home to finish the work.

My favorite wife and I sat outside yesterday afternoon. It was very quiet we were both very tired because of the work we did yesterday. We had no visitors and there was very little traffic in the area, I think we may have got to wave at one person.

            Towards the end of our time setting outside, I heard something like the sound of wood cracking. I began to look at the neighbor's big tree and a limb broke and fell towards the ground. That limb did not make it all the way to the ground. It was still hanging partially on some other limbs, but it was big. I got up out of my chair and went and looked over at the neighbor's driveway to see if there were any cars there, I did not see any, so I called the lady that lives there to let her know that the limb had broken. She said she would be back home tomorrow; I then told her there were several items sitting on her front porch that had been delivered there yesterday and were still there today. She said she would call a family member and have them come over and get the items off the porch.

            Today: we hope this day is a day of rest.

            We hope that each of you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Rest day… Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 13, 2025

                Good morning!

How easy is it to become addicted to nicotine?

I used to be an addict when it came to nicotine. I started out smoking a pipe and later switched to chewing tobacco. The reason I'm bringing this up is I have a few cigars that were given to me probably 6 months ago. Every now and then I will get one of them out and smoke it. Now when I say smoke it, it usually takes about two weeks to get one cigar smoked. The first time I take it out I don't even light it up I just carry it around putting it in my mouth like I'm really smoking but I don't lite it. Next time I might light it, puff on it a few times then let it go out. One cigar will last me a couple weeks.

                 Why would I take a couple weeks to smoke one cigar, because I enjoy a good cigar and if I had a cigar every day, I would be again addicted to tobacco.

                Different topic: yesterday I decided to put oil and gas in the chain saw. That saw had never been used and I won it at a company event several years ago. It has been sitting out in the ole shed all that time. I reviewed the instructions for the saw and then began putting oil and gas in it. I adjusted the chain to a proper tightness and then I attempted to start the saw. I set the choke to full, I pumped the gas button 6 times as instructed and I pulled on the starter rope five times, and the chainsaw acted like it was going to start. I then put the choke to half and continued pulling on the rope, but the chainsaw would not start. I went back through the process again of choking it pulling a rope nothing happened, so I gave up and said, "I'll leave it alone when my grandson gets here tomorrow, I'll let him try to start it, this is too much work for a senior person".

I then carried the saw and some other items over to the shed, I set it on the floor, and I sat down on the stool looking at the saw. I was tired from pulling on the rope and as I sat there and looking at the saw it came to me, "try it one more time". So, I tried it one more time and yes, the saw started. I did run it for a minute or so just to make sure it would keep running so now I know it does run. I may attempt to remove more of the tree stump in the front yard using the saw today.

Later in the afternoon a friend came over and she brought a Pizza with her which she shared with us. As usual, we had a lot of interesting conversations and yes, the bible was one of them.

Today events: Alex will be practicing with the ROTC this morning, they are getting ready for the homecoming. I assume they will be marching with the flags at the beginning of the homecoming. Alex will give me a call when he's done, I'll go get him and then he'll come over here and be our yard man for a while. We've got a couple things we need to get done mowing trimming and spreading the fire Ant killer and maybe cutting more of that stump out of the yard. Alex wants to learn how to use the chainsaw as there is a stump about 10-foot tall in the backyard from a tree that I had cut down many years ago.

Other events for today, we will probably go into town for sandwiches and then come back home and sit around and do nothing for the rest of the day.

Well, I will stop for now. We hope you have a very good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Sawyer? Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 12, 2025

The sun isn't up yet but we still wish you a good morning.

                Yesterday: My finger was hurting yesterday morning when I woke up, because of the use of the weed eater. That finger was used to operate the control which causes the trimmer motor to run, and it has what is known as trigger finger. My hand cramps up sometimes when I'm just sitting around doing nothing. I guess that's from holding on to the weed trimmer for each of these 3 mornings.

I did get the ditch done yesterday, that means I may get to rest this morning. I did use 2 full tanks of gas to get it all done. It looks decent now.

I might attempt to take the leaf blower out there and blow some of the dead grass around. I would like to be able to see the grooves in the ditch, which I was trying to not fall into.

The cup of coffee yesterday morning was good. I don't know if they were serving a different brand of coffee or had someone new making it. I worked on a couple small projects yesterday.

My favorite wife and I did go out to supper yesterday and upon returning home I did get the rose bush out of the small flowerpot into the large flowerpot. That completed, I was then required to water all the potted plants in the back 40 and the transplanted rose. Finally, I was allowed to sit down and visit with my favorite wife and enjoy a cold drink.

Today's plan: get Alex to school on time and then rest some. I may put the two-cycle oil in the gas and see if I can get the chain saw running. If I do anything else, I will enlighten you tomorrow.

I will attempt to stop for now, we hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

 Ditch done… Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 11, 2025

                Good morning to only you who have read or will read this message.

                Today is September the 11th also known as 911 when terrorist decided to fly planes into the trade centers in New York City. I was not in New York City at that time, but I was in the state of New York working. There are a lot of thoughts about that day.

                I am changing the subject to yesterday's events: I was able to get Alex to school safe and sound. I purchased a cup of coffee from the Star Coffee place which tasted bitter. The last two cups of coffee I purchased from there were both bitter and not good. I do plan to stop by there today and purchase another cup. I also plan to tell them, "If it's bitter I will not be back".

                Returning home from dropping Alex off at school, I decided to work on the ditch. I decided that I would see how much I could get done before it got too hot. I did use 1 1/2 tanks of gas before I quit. I have a photo of the weeds that have been cut.

I may go out and attempt to finish cutting the rest of it today, there's a bunch of grooves in the dirt which makes it difficult for an old person to walk. These grooves were put there by city employees on 4-wheel vehicles when the ground was wet, they got stuck in the mud.

                Later in the day after getting a shower and resting up, decided I would try to spread fire Ant killer on the front yard. I did accomplish that although with my ankle that hurts when I walk, I have decided that I will allow my grandson to spread the fire Ant killer in the backyard. My favorite wife and I did sit outside yesterday afternoon it was nice we didn't even need the big fan.

                Today's exciting events: as I said earlier, I may go out in the back and weed eat in a ditch, I will attempt to get Alex to school safe and sound. I do have some other small jobs that I need to do, if I keep them in mind, I might get them done.

I guess I will stop for now. We hope you have a real good day and be safe in everything you do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 10, 2025

                Good Wednesday morning to you and that other person too. We hope you all have a good day.

                Note: yesterday's post had a word spelled incorrectly. Two people read the post and advised me of the error; I did correct the error.

                Yesterday's events: I was able to get a cup of coffee and then go pick up Alex and take him to school on time and safely. When I arrived back home, I decided since it was cool I would go ahead and work in the ditch trying to cut down a bunch of the ditch weeds. I decided to work for about an hour or until the gas in the weed eater ran out. I do have a photo of the work that I did, it's a little hard to see but it shows that I did do some work in the ditch. I would like to get the entire ditch trimmed.

                After lunch my favorite wife and I went to the store to get some items like oil, and fire ant killer. In the past I have used a fire ant killer that I would spread using the spreader and cover the entire yard. That fire Ant killer worked and would keep our yard free of fire ants, although the neighbors' yards would have fire ants in them. This fire ant killer works for about 6 months then you have to do it again. I also purchased a couple bags of dirt so that we can finish transplanting a couple flowers.

                Back at home my favorite wife and I did sit out on the front porch taking it easy for quite a while waving at people as they drove by and talking about all kinds of interesting things. I did remember that I needed to water the plants out in the back yard, so I got up and did that as my favorite wife continued sitting on the front porch taking it easy. Plants watered I went back and sat on the front porch with my favorite wife again. Finally, about 6:00 PM we headed in the house to have a bite for supper and prepare for a good night's sleep.

                Plans for today: after I take Alex to school, I may very well go out in the ditch again and work out there for another hour or so, seeing how much I can get done. It is cool again today so I should be able to do an hour or so of work getting a bunch of the weeds cut down. I have a couple other small projects I need to work on; one is the light on the trailer, I need to see if I can fix that and I need to find out how to mix the oil and gas for my chainsaw. We will likely use the chainsaw to try to remove more of that stump that's still in the front yard and Alex wants to cut down a 10-foot-tall stump out in the backyard, that's been there for several years. So, once I show him how to use the chainsaw and then I will keep a close eye on him when he does cut the big stump down. I did tell him he would have to carry all the pieces and put them on the trailer; I am not helping carry.

                Well, I guess I will stop for now. We hope you have a real good day; be safe in all you do.

Ditch trimmer Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 9, 2025

                Yes, it's me again here with a few words from what I did yesterday and what I'm not going to do today, and I would like to say good morning to you.

                Yesterday's events uncovered: yesterday I did not have to take Alex to school, so I sat around the house for a little while, then I decided why not go out and mow the backyard since it's still cool and the sun was not up yet. I got the backyard mowed and trimmed but the sun did get up before I got done, the yard looks pretty good it was a lot of work and then I rested.

                Without a lot to see on TV or to do, we sat out on the front porch, that is my favorite wife and I for several hours yesterday afternoon doing nothing other than talking about the neighborhood and waving at a few people who drove past.

                I did go to Bible study last night and it's very odd we go to our class while the women who haven't been there in the past, are there now. They go to the main room while we go to class. Then we change places with the ladies in the class rooms and the men in the lecture hall. The big problem as I see it is, the parking lot was so full it was hard to find a place to park with Both men and women meeting at the same time. We seem to have a real good Bible study group, so I think it'll be nice this year we'll probably learn some things.

                Today's events: I will attempt to get Alex off to school safe and sound and on time, after I get a cup of coffee. When I return home, I have been thinking about the possibility of going out and working in the back ditch for about an hour trying to get rid of some of those weeds. It's fairly cool this morning, with a temperature of about 60° so it might be a good thing to do early.

                Well, I guess that's all for now. We hope you all have a good day and stay safe in all you do.

Yard man Don the Ford.

May to day be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 8, 2025

                Good morning to you from The Don here in Hewitt Texas. I am here at the homestead entering data on this computer wondering why I am not dictating instead of typing. Also, I do not take Alex to school today as his father is off work and will take him.

                The truth will set you free! I now have the truth, and I will tell you about it, it is odd that I will even admit that I might have been wrong. In my statement the other day I had a brown spot on my hand and I told you that I was using a tool that was in the shed that had not been used for years and that it stained my hand brown. Well, that stain has gone away and yesterday I learned the true meaning of where that stain came from. You will see later in this wonderful posting the work that my grandson and I did yesterday and while doing that work, I discovered the reason my hand was brown last week.

Last week while removing debris from the front yard, I had picked up a couple pecans and I'd carried them in my right hand while I was picking up other debris. Yesterday while working in the front yard, I picked up a couple more pecans that the squirrels had dropped and carried them over and put them in the trash. Later as I looked at my hands, I noticed that these pecans would turn your hands brown and no, you don't wash it off it wears off. Now you know the truth a pecan stained my hand last week.

Yesterday's work defined: yesterday after lunch Alex came over and we worked on removing a tree. This is the soft-shell pecan tree that I had planted years ago and if there were no squirrels taking all the pecans from that tree, we would have kept the tree. Due to the squirrels taking all the pecans last year and this year again, I decided that I would not feed the squirrels anymore and we would remove the tree.

I had thought that I would take a picture of the tree before we started and then the area afterwards, but I failed to take a picture at the beginning, we were partially done when I got the pictures, photos to follow.

 

       The first 3 pictures show the work we were doing; we had already cut down half of the limbs off the tree when I took the first pictures. That's Alex our yard man working. The third photograph shows the area after we cleaned up and moved the trailer away, we were done the tree was gone. I will provide a couple more photos for my enjoyment.

 

                In the above photos we see the first photo of Alex still working on the tree and this is a perspective from where I normally sit in the afternoon. The second photo is also from where I normally sit in the afternoon, but the yard is cleaned up. As you can see the third photo is of the loaded trailer which will be hauled off on the next limb and trash day, yes, it is loaded. Alex did a really good job working there, yes, I helped.

                Today's possible events: do as little as possible and stay out of trouble. I need to look at the backyard as it has not been mowed yet so I might have to do that. Old people have to work all the time. Our Bible study does start this evening, so I need to prepare for that.

                Well, I'm going to attempt to stop for now. We hope you have a very good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Tree trimmers Alex and The Don

May to day be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

September 6, 2025

                Well, it is a good rainy morning, and we say good morning to all.

                The rain seems to have delayed or stopped our mowing process; I was going to have Alex come over this morning and mow the backyard and maybe do some weed eating out in the ditch but with the rain I guess it's stopped. Alex and I have talked about removing the small pecan tree which would take a chainsaw and some work, but I don't know if we want to mess with that unless it stops raining then I guess we could work on it.

                Let's review yesterday: I did a couple things yesterday one thing I tried to do was to re-pot a small rosebush, but I could not get the Rose Bush out of the old pot. The old pot is glass, so I had to be careful. I decided to wait a few days and let it dry out, the dirt was damp, and it would not let go of the pot. I think it is sitting in the rain right now maybe I can go move it out of the rain. I was also working on the piece of plastic that I wanted to use out at the hot house. I was able to use the table saw and remove the quarter inch of plastic along the whole side. It wasn't a perfect cut, so I used some sandpaper to smooth off the rough spots. I carried it out to the shed, and it will fit in the slot now that it has a reduced size by 1/4 inch.

                That work took about 1.5 hours, and I decided that I would go ahead and mow the front yard since I was not sure whether Alex would be able to come over today or not. I did get the front yard mowed, and it looks pretty good. I did not trim it I was going to let Alex do that when he mowed the backyard. That work completed, it was almost 4:00 which is time to feed the dog and the cat and to get ready to go outside and sit. I usually head outside about 4:30 in the afternoon with my chair and everything set up and just make my happy time waving at neighbors as they drive by. Since it was Friday one of our friends did come over and sat with us and we had some pretty good conversations about a lot of things including some biblical comments.

                Let us change the subject: since it's raining, I'm assuming that the mowing is totally off for the day, we've already received more than 1/4 inch of rain, so I think that stops the mowing and the weed eating out in the ditch. I'm not sure how long this rain is going to last, it seems like it's going to keep going for a long time. If it was to stop and give us a little bit of dry time, I might get Alex to come over and we would cut down that pecan tree that is feeding the squirrels.

                We will still try to go into town today at lunchtime for sandwiches even though it's raining and we'll probably stop at the cheap store and not buy anything just look and see if there's something we need.

                I'm going to try to stop now, kick back and take it easy and let the rain pour. We hope you have a good day and stay safe in all you do. Try to be nice to everyone.

Mooned… Don the Ford

       Mooned had a different meaning in the olden days.

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.