Most Impressive 7.01.14

 

                Being as modest as I am it is difficult for me to determine which is most impressive, my skills as a, “Creative photographer” or my skills as a, “Master Wood Butcher”.

                In viewing the following two photos, you may be able to decide for yourself. In all honesty, my skills at wood work and photography are unmatched.

                Also you will see that I have been training an assistant in the art of wood working.                          

                The project was a ladder for the fort. I had noticed that the original ladder worked well for the smaller bodies but as the kids grew it was more difficult to get onto the upper level. My present spouse suggested _{(after seeing the expensive store bought fort/play house the neighbors have in their back yard)} our grand kids should have a better ladder.

 

 

In the above photo we see, “my apprentice” working with a wood mallet and a chisel. Before you ask, yes I made the wood mallet. He was removing wood from the 2 X 4 which is where the steps will be placed. No child labor laws were broken as I feed him lunch and gave him a place to take his nap, he was also allowed restroom breaks every 2 hours _{(room and board)}. 

 

The above photo shows the ladder installed and my apprentice reviewing the workmen ship of the project.  I can now climb this ladder and get into the top level of the fort which I was unable to do in the past.

                Since we no longer have a dog house, this is where I have to go when my present wife is upset with me. I spend a lot of time in the back yard. 

                The carpentry and photography is “amazing”, may I say, “Unsurpassed”. ^{I do need to brag on myself, no one else will.}  L

 

I hope you are climbing your ladder to success.

                             ^{Did you picked up on the play on words involving ladder.}       

 

Don Ford

A short ride by Biker Don 06.28.14

 

                A cloudy day with a 20% chance of rain but not everyone would get rain.

                I decided to wash the bike since the sun was behind the clouds. I don’t work in the direct sun light if I can avoid it, and the bike dries too fast causing water spots when the sun is directly on the bike.

                While washing the bike I remembered that I need to get some gas and I need to go by the bank to get $5.00 _{(my weekly allowance since I am on a fixed income)}. All of a sudden I had this bright idea, I would also ride to Glen Rose for lunch. It would be about 80 miles there and another 80 or so back.

                I finished the washing of the bike, then I washed myself. I rode to the bank and got my $5.00 then to the gas station and got gas for the bike. With that all done I headed out for Glen Rose. I made the turn off highway 6 onto county road 56. It seemed even cloudier now. As I was riding I could smell fresh rain, but there was nothing falling on me or the bike. I noticed that the road was wet, which indicated a rain had passed through ahead of me.

                Not being easily discouraged, I rode on.  “Biker Don” is not afraid of a little rain but he is afraid of a lot of rain.  I again rode through an area where there had been rain just a short time before I arrived.

                Glen Rose is out, and I am now heading for the Bunk House in Clifton TX. On the way there was additional areas of wet road indicating scattered showers.

                The day was very gray and gloomy when all of a sudden it was surprisingly bright. To my right there was a field of sunflowers. It was truly a pleasant surprise and a high point of this ride.

Please ignor the johnson grass in the forground of the photo, I took them while riding and was not able to eliminate the weeds.

The rest of the ride was uneventful.

 

I hope your day is filled with sunflowers.

 

Don Ford

"Overpopulation" good or bad Part 2 06.27.14

 

            Back again, and today I will stay on subject. There will be no drifting into, “leftfield”, I am staying in center field and focused.

            Overpopulation was evident and on my mind again this morning, as I meandered through the neighborhood.

            I have found that starting my morning walks at a slow pace helps get the body ready for the quicker steps that will follow. I assume it is something like athletes stretching their muscles before an event.

            This morning I was slowly walking down the street, when there was a squirrel about 40 feet ahead of me walking the same direction along the curb. This squirrel would walk about 4 or 5 steps then stop stand on his back legs and look at me. He would then walk a few more steps and repeat the action.  I was wondering why he didn’t just run into someone’s yard and up a tree.

            This silly squirrel continued this process for about 50 feet. The curb turned to the left as we were entering a cul-de-sac at the end of the street. The squirrel made the corner and I could not see him until he stopped and stood on his back feet. I could see his head over the curb for a moment and down he went, out of sight again.

            All of a sudden this squirrel popped up about 2 feet in the air. I can’t say he did a back flip but he wasn’t far from it. I thought, there must be something like a snake that scared him.

Down on the ground again I could not see him until I rounded the corner. I was curious to see what had made him jump into the air. There was a wet spot and some rocks but no snake. I assume he was focused on me and was surprised by the wet spot.

This darn squirrel continued along the curb, into a drive way, and then up the drive way to a wooden fence. Maybe he was afraid of trees.

 

In studies done of the overpopulation, the * FHA has determined that over population is both bad and good. At this point in time the overpopulation is not good. Providing food is a major concern and the unsanitary conditions that exist due to overpopulation can be seen almost everywhere.

We should understand, in the near future this overpopulation will be our saving grace.

 

As many of you may know, our country is basically without proper leadership. Yes we have politicians, whose job it is to lead, but they are leading us down the road to a point of no return.

I believe that many politicians at one time in their life wanted to be leaders, wanted to make a difference, wanted to represent, “we the people”.

All their good intentions fall away as they become more interested in following the party lines and being, “re-elected”.

It is my opinion, many of these politicians are not capable of leadership, but they enjoy, being thought of as “whatever their title is”.

It is also my opinion, many politicians believe they are doing the right thing when bureaucrats are appointed to head up or run an agency. Look at the VA and we see what bureaucrats wanting more money in the form of bonuses, have done.

It is my belief, that many of the, “politicians” should be removed from office. Term limits would definitely help. 

My beliefs applies to politicians from your local city council, all the way to the president.

 

Why did I bring up the political world when I was talking about overpopulation? We will discuss that that in a coming article.

 

I hope your day is politics free.

 

Don Ford

 

Overpopulation good or bad 06.26.14

 

            I have been contemplating this subject for some time now, and have now formed an opinion.

            I know what some of you are thinking, here comes another opinion from, “The Ford” and it will probably be way out in left field.

            First off, what is wrong with being in left field?  There are many balls hit into left field and if no one was in left field the center fielder would be over worked.

            Also, you should reserve your criticism of the article, at least until after you have read it.

            All “facts” in the article are true.

 

Thank You; now I will get back to the subject at hand.

 

            Lately, I have been either walking or riding a bike each morning, in an effort to get some needed exercise. I have found that this early morning walk or ride is stimulating to the body and mind. As I walk through the neighborhood I observe many things, such as the house with the large window. The curtains are pulled almost together, but there is a space of about 3 inches which would allow someone to peer out at the passing public. Is it possible that these curtains will be quickly closed when someone looks in that direction?

            Is it also possible that someone is sitting there looking out, when they see a passerby look in their direction they quickly pull the curtains close. 

 

            This is a little off the subject but I have noticed that many people on TV mispronounce the word curtain. If you listen closely you may hear them say curin (no T sound).

Yes, I occasionally watch, “let’s make a deal” in the afternoon. It comes on at the same time that Alex takes his nap. It is also possible that I have taken a nap at the 2:00 hour.

 

            I digress; I have become aware of the overpopulation during my morning walks and I have pondered the hypothesis that overpopulation might be good, while having negative properties at the same time.

 

            Although this has nothing to do with the subject of overpopulation, I have noticed several rabbits in various yards during my morning constitutionals. It is becoming increasingly evident that today’s rabbits, living in a town like Hewitt, where all the dogs are kept behind a fence or on a lead, have little or no fear of humans.

            This morning as I strolled along the street, I observed a medium sized rabbit in a yard, possibly 15 feet from me. This rabbit was scratching its head with its back foot and it did not care weather I was there are not.

            In the olden days we hunted rabbits for food. Yes we were poor, and yes we had other food to eat.

Harvesting a wild rabbit or two was fun _{(for the hunter)} and when properly cooked _{(fried in some bacon grease that was kept in a container on the stove)} with some white gravy and a piece of cornbread along with some white beans, we had a meal.

Also, 100 years ago, _{when I was a kid,} every kid had a BB gun. Rabbits and birds were smart and wary enough to stay hidden or at least away from humans. 

 

“Wow”, I have strayed from the main topic again. As long as I am off the subject I will comment on a lazy cat that I saw this morning. Actually I heard several Mocking birds making a lot of noise in a tree next to the drive way where the gray cat lay. This cat did not seem to care that the mocking birds were there but the birds were upset that the cat was there.

Our old cat was named Bandit and the mocking birds would get after him. These birds would dive at Bandit’s back in an attempt to get him to go somewhere else. Bandit learned to lay down and roll over on his back when the birds began to dive at him. That would put a stop to the birds for a while.

Bandit had learned to ring the doorbell quite by accident. When he wanted in the house he would come to the front door and scratch at the door hoping someone would hear him. One day he jumped up on the ledge which put him close to the doorbell. When he began to scratch at the door he would hit the doorbell button which rang the doorbell.

One day, he rang the doorbell and when we went to the door we were surprised, he had a full grown rabbit, dead, which he was wanting to bring into the house.

 

Darn, I have been in left field and have not discussed, “overpopulation”.

 

In my next posting I will attempt to stay focused and present the facts about overpopulation.

 

I hope your day is filled with delight.

 

Don Ford 

 

Nothing to write about 06.23.14

 

                Today is Monday, June 23^rd, 2014 and I have nothing to write about. The weekend was kinda lazy with some needed rain Saturday night and Sunday morning. Here, at “The Ford Homestead”, we received ½ inch of rain over about ten hours.

I describe that type of slow easy rain as a Missouri rain. It is not in a hurry to get here and not in a hurry to leave. 

                Late Sunday afternoon I could hear thunder to the north of us. Observations from the front yard indicated dark clouds in the direction of the thunder. Being an inquisitive senior, I proceeded to the front room where I tuned the TV to the local weather channel.

                The radar indicated heavy rain with some lightening over Waco, but nothing over Hewitt. Hewitt had sunny skies while the storm raged over Waco. We later learned that Waco received over 4 inches of rain in a very short time period, while we remained rain free for the same time period.

                There is a set of Siamese twins in the neighborhood. I must say I was somewhat surprised at this discovery, but I guess we should, “expect the unexpected”.

Now that I have written that, I am wondering if one can expect the unexpected. If it is unexpected can you expect it? I believe one can, “expect to be surprised” but is being surprised the same as expecting the unexpected?

Whatever; I have a photo of the Siamese twins.

Siamese twin squash, along with tomatoes, jalapenos and black berries. I should have placed a ruler in the photo so you could get a better idea of the size. Both black berries are close to an inch and a half long, the odd shaped tomato is at least 6 inches across. My first wife wanted the tomato plant that produces this type of fruit. I am not sure of the name, it may be name antique.

                Odd shaped tomato or not, they still taste good.  

                Notice that I accented the photo by using a yellow towel and a red towel which helped contrasts the color of the fruit/vegetables.

                You are possibly thinking that, “The Reverend Mr. Ford” is a master of many things and photography is just one of the many. I like the term, “Maestro”. 

 

                Odd, there was nothing to write about, and I wrote about it.

 

I hope your day is fruitful.

 

Maestro Donald R. Ford

Money Making Idea 06.19.14

 

                As I was watering the flowers the other afternoon, a woman walking her dog came up my side of the street. As she walked past my mail box, she restrained her dog from urinating on the post. She smiled and said, “Nice Grass”, which surprised me as I though the grass was hidden behind, “The Ford Homestead”. Then I realized that she was referring to the grass in my lawn.

                Seniors living on a fixed income need to find ways to attain additional income, without disclosing it to the IRS.  A small cash crop in the back yard is ideal for extra income.

                We here at, “The Ford Homestead” have found a way to openly have an additional cash crop that the man will never find. We have purchased a pool for the back yard _{twelve easy payments}. It looks innocent enough, but we are stocking it with shrimp and crawfish, also known as crawdads.

                I am sure we will be able to corner the market in a few months and my present wife may be able to stop picking up aluminum cans from the road side.

Below are before and after photos from behind, “The Ford Homestead”.

 

                We will allow the grandkids to swim in the pool as long as they don’t hurt the shrimp and crawdads.

                _{For that one person that believes we have grass, pot, marijuana growing in the back yard that was a joke.}

On a totally different subject:

                As you may well know, I occasionally ride with friends from the local Honda shop on Thursday evening dinner rides. This past Thursday the ride was going to the Tokyo Store. We had been fore warned that the food was good and the service was slow.

                The ride to the store was good to a point, but everything changed when the lead bike turned onto a very dry and extremely dusty gravel road. Someone later said it was a five mile gravel road. It seemed like 20 miles to me.

                We arrived after 8:00pm at the store. I think it use to be a store and that is where it gets its name, it is actually a bar.

This old building must be experienced to be believed. The old wood floors were very weak and the wood was uneven, it gave way when anyone walked on it. You did not need to be intoxicated to be staggering on that floor. When anyone walked by your table the table would move. They have patched holes in the floor with old license plates.

Jason, Wayne and I ordered our food with in about 2 minutes of each other. About 45 minutes later, Jason and I received our food. Wayne’s food arrived at the table about 10 minutes after I had finished eating.

A few of us left the store heading for home a little before 10:00pm. As you may know that is way past my curfew bed time. I decided to put my denim jacket on as it has protective plates in the arms and back just in case I would go down.

The jacket is too warm to wear in the day but not too bad after the sun goes down.

The ride toward home was good with little traffic and no deer on the road. All went well and we all split up when we got to I-35 near the Cracker Barrel. I took the on ramp and got out on I-35. There was a lot of traffic and as usual it was running a little over the speed limit.

Break lights ahead and the traffic was coming to a very slow crawl. At times we were stopped then move slow. It was as if I was walking down the interstate. I was in the center lane of three lanes and I had large trucks all around me.

There was plenty of hot exhaust from trucks and cars. I had the jacket and full helmet on. I thought I might have to sneak between the 18 wheelers to try to get to the shoulder of the road to get my coat off. 89 degrees with a coat and helmet is hotter than well, let’s say it was hot.

Then I was bless with a flatbed trailer next to me, and we were on a bridge. I could feel a cool breeze. Since we were sitting still I pulled my jacket open and allowed the air to circulate.

Darn, the traffic moved a little and the breeze was gone.

I spent 25 minutes in this, hot stop and go traffic. I went past the new Baylor stadium and did not see it, due to the trucks around me.

I arrived home about 30 minutes later than I should have due to the traffic. My coat, helmet and I were all soaked from sweat.

 

I hope your traffic is light and your shrimp are large.

 

Don Ford

Attentive to details, 06.17.14

               

 

                As many of you know, I am very attentive to details. The smallest details seem to garner my attention. If I were going to define my ability to see things that others miss, I would say I am, “Absorbent”.

                Some of you know I have been trying to exercise a little each morning by taking a walk before it starts to warm up. Yesterday afternoon I decided I would get my bike off the hooks where it has been hanging in the garage for longer that I like to remember.

            I put air in the tires in preparation for a ride the next morning.

Yep, I decided to occasionally substitute an early morning ride for walking. When riding, one gets to see more scenery in the same amount of time as walking.

Below is a photo of the, “Ford Man Bike”.

 

                This morning I brought the, “Ford Man Bike” out of the garage and readied myself for a brisk morning ride. I was not able to ride the bike, something was wrong. The bike refused to go.

 

                What a conundrum, I could not ride the bike.

 

                I sat there in my “Man Rocker”, Observing the bike and Absorbing the information. Yes I do know the difference between observe and absorb, and I can do both at the same time.

 

                Did you see anything wrong with the bike? Anything that might keep it from going? Do you think the white wall tires makes a statement or just says, “Old time looking bike”?

 

                If you were unable to see a problem with the bike, look at the pedals.

 

                I did go for a ride this morning, while I was riding the right peddle came lose and I had to walk part of the way home. Luckily, it is a downhill ride the last block or so and I didn’t have to walk all the way home. I put the pedal on backwards for the photo opportunity. 

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

Don Ford

 

A perfect moment by Don Ford

 

                A Robin is hopping through the grass in our yard, she came within a few feet of me, seemingly knowing that I would not harm her.

There is a gentle breeze moving the air which helps make the heat more bearable.

This being Father’s Day, I was thinking about all the blessings I have had throughout my life, and there have been many. Some people may consider what I define as blessings to be good luck, in the right place at the right time, he/she gets all the breaks and they are correct. They have been blessed. 

I looked up at the blue sky and mentally was thanking the Good Lord for my blessings. I have always thought that I have been bless due to prayers from family and friends. I know it has nothing to do with me deserving these blessings.

As I brought my gaze back down to street level, the wind seemed to stop, all was calm. The sun had been shining brightly, when it seemed to have declined in intensity, similar to the amount of light one sees during a solar eclipse.

There were no cars in sight, no people moving and no loud sounds. There were no akes or pains, no concerns for a while.

I thought, “This is a perfect moment in time”. All was well at this moment in time. I sat here motionless, drinking in the moment, wishing it would not end. It was almost as if I were dreaming, a perfect moment in time.

 

                Thankful