Raining like pouring it out of a boot 07.31.14

                I don’t think it was like pouring it out of a boot, but I would estimate a 2 inch rain early this morning.

I had completed my morning stroll on the neighborhood streets and returned home attempting to cool down. 

                I turned my fan on and pointed it at the rocking chair. Sitting in the chair and in front of the fan helped. Alex and I were discussing dinosaurs and the fact that the one in his hand was eating the leaves off one of our shrubs. In addition to eating the leaves this creature was throwing up in my shirt pocket.

 

                Alex thought it was funny to have make believe throw up in my pocket.

                All of a sudden, and seemingly out of nowhere, it began to rain. It was not like pouring it out of a boot, but it was raining. I took some measurements and found that the rain was about 2 inches.

                That is, the drops were about two inches apart on the cement drive way, see photo below.

 

                On a completely different topic, there are two moths on the wall over the garage door and they have been there for two days now. Do you think that moths hibernate like a bear, except they do it by hanging on a wall during the summer heat? What other reason would there be for them being there two days in a row under the night light?

 

                Third subject: I was checking on the kids in the front yard when I observed two orange blooms on a fern. They were small and kind of pretty blooms, so I decided to get the camera and take a photo. Now these blooms seemed odd as I have not noticed blooms on a fern in the past.

See photo below.

The next photo is a close up of the blooms on the fern.

After careful review, it has been established that the bloom is not from a hybrid fern, but merely a flower that somehow is growing in the ferns flower pot.

 

                A fourth subject, no photos for this topic.

                Alex Gabi and I were near the garage door when we started hearing this screeching sound. Gabi asked, “Is the sound from a baby bird”. I replied, “It sounds like a baby bird that is in distress”. My thought went to Molly and the possibility that she had a baby bird. The sound was getting louder and closer to us.

                Then we saw it, Molly had a baby rabbit in her mouth and the rabbit was making the sound. We all told Molly to drop the rabbit and Gabi was calling Molly a, “bad kitty”.  Molly dropped the rabbit as we all descended on her. The little rabbit quickly hopped into the flowers, we caught Molly and took her, fighting and kicking”, into the house. We did not see the small rabbit again and we hope that it went somewhere that Molly can’t find it. It was not a new born rabbit but it wasn’t as fast as molly.

 

We hope your day is filled with nice rain.

 

Don Ford

 

Forced Labor 07.30.14

 

                It is an appalling thought, that in this day and age of enlightenment, a retired senior citizen, on a fixed income, is forced to work on their hands and knees in the extreme heat, moving 50 pound landscaping stones. This includes digging out dirt and filling in low spots and attempting to work around roots.

                In fact, the reason this mandatory work was forced on a senior was because of roots that have lifted some of the landscaping stones. 

                You are correct, if you are assuming that I, “Mr. Ford”, am the subject if this opening comment.

Above we see a before photo of the project at hand. Each of those stones weigh about 50 pounds and there were about 30 stones _{(50 X 30 = 1500pounds).} For those of you who went to school in the, “olden days”, that is about ¾ ton of landscaping stones, that one, “superbly physically fit person” moved at least two times. Some were positioned and repositioned 3 times due to a miscalculation.

Below we see the completed project, a testimonial to the forced labor of, “Mr. Ford”.

 

After I crawled around on the ground and positioned or repositioned these stones several times crushing the grass around the tree, I had to water it thoroughly in hopes of not losing this grass.

What was my present spouse and my grandkids doing in the extreme heat? They were enjoying the pool.

In an effort to provide full disclosure, I did take a 1 hour break _{(2:00 to 3:00pm)} sitting in the shade of the tree, while granny and the grandkids splashed in the cool water. I was so hot and sweaty that I would have probably polluted the pool water if I had climbed in.

                Our prognosticators have predicted the possibility of rain the last two days and the next 3 days. We have received 0 inches. This has caused me to water the grass, and for a person on a fixed income it is very costly.

                Below is a photo of our elaborate sprinkler system in operation. I am hoping that some of you are critiquing the photo below as the composition is not up to my usual high standards.

 

Cat food will be served at the “Ford Homestead”, and I mean the cheap stuff. If you would like to donate, send your taxable donations to, “The Fords of Hewitt, Cat Food Fund”.

 

Truthfully, we will be serving cat food and that is not an exaggeration. This has been an ongoing situation at, “The Ford Homestead” for many months now.

Molly eats the cat food but has never indicated that she really enjoys it.                  

What, you thought, “we” were eating the cat food! Yes we are on a fixed income, and yes we may enjoy road kill occasionally, but not cat food. We are poor but not broke.

                                                                                                                                                        

May the warm summer rain wash the dust from your car.

 

Don Ford

Parking spaces by Don Ford 07.27.14

            In a recent study we learned, females take 86.27% longer to back out of a parking space than their male counterpart.

            Why is this important, you ask, well I will gladly answer that question.

            It doesn’t matter whether you are a man or woman, when you are looking for a parking space in a crowded lot, you want the person that just got into their vehicle to exit the parking space posthaste.

            In my recent observations, I have determined that the female of the species, for the most part, can not leave a parking space in less than 2 minutes and 18 seconds, whereas the male of the species can exit in 12.4 seconds.

            During the interview process _{(64 female subjects were not interviewed)} for this, “*scientific study”, we learned several important reasons for their exit strategy.

1)   The female subjects upon entering the vehicle, places her foot on the brake pedal, which in turn will cause the brake lights to come on. Seeing break lights, may cause anyone looking for a space to believe, this vehicle is getting ready to back out. Note; in Texas it is mandatory to start the vehicle as soon as one enters the vehicle in order to have the air conditioner working, due to the oppressive heat. We should not find fault in the female placing her foot on the brake pedal when starting the vehicle, we can however fault them for not removing the foot after the vehicle has started.

2)  The female subject takes longer to situate herself in the seat.

3)   The female subject feels it is important to have her clothing properly situated for appearance purpose.

4)    The female subject believes it is necessary to check her makeup using either the rearview mirror of a mirror in the sun visor.  Note; the makeup always needs a touchup.

5)     The female subject must now locate her purse and bring it closer to her.

6)     The female subject will remove the makeup from the purse which on average can take several seconds. As we all know, applying the makeup is never hurried.

7)     The female subject replaces the makeup and other items removed from the purse, then places the purse in the adjoining seat.

8)     The female subject must now take a final look in the mirror checking her makeup one more time.

9)      The female subject places the vehicle in reverse causing the backup light to come on.

10)  The female subject checks her mirror or the screen for the backup camera to be sure it is safe to backup.

11)  The female subject now backs out of the space.

12)  2 minutes and 18 seconds on average. This process may take up to one minutes 42 seconds longer, if she decided to check her smart phone.

13)  The driver who was waiting for the parking space (male or female) used one tenth of a gallon of gas and their stress levels increased by 22%. 

Male drivers on the other hand get into their car, start the motor and back out in less than 12.4 seconds.

Do I need to say anything more?

For a completely undocumented report of this study, send $25.00 to, “The Ford Foundation for Female vs Male driving habits study” allow 4 years for delivery. 

 

_{* Although all the facts in this study are correct, parts of this article may be imaginary.}

 

Please be aware of others when exiting a parking space.

Don Ford 

Local artist's work 07.26.14

 

                As head art critic for, “The Ford Homestead Foundation of the Arts,” I have to review many of the local artists work. Often, these art works are of flowers and other still life.

                Recently I was asked to be the object of two local artists and at first I refused. It just did not seem right for me, an art critic, to be the focus of someone’s art work. How would I be able to honestly criticize art work, when I was the subject of the work?

                When I think of it, I am a very handsome senior citizen and whether in a photo, painting or drawing, who or what else would be better than me.

After many request, over several months, I finally gave in and allowed the artist to, “Do his thing”. His specialty is chalks and he has had many impressive works.

I must say I was somewhat surprised when he allowed another artists to help him with the final work. It is very unusual to have two artists work on one drawing but this team’s collaboration, seemed spot on.

The colors are vibrant, the dimensions are accurate and the representation appears to be an exact replica of me.

I know what you are thinking, how did they do this.

                First I had to lay down on the driveway, then Alex made an outline of me. Then I got up and Alex along with his co-artist Gabi began to accurately color the image. 

                Gabi had drawn a couple hamsters on another part of the driveway _{(photo below)}, you may notice there are several hearts around the hamsters. Gabi explained that the two hamsters are in love.

I hope your day is filled with Love. 

 

Don Ford

 

Neighborhood photos 07.25.14

 

                During my morning constitutionals (aka walks) I have recently observed a tree with some dead limbs that seem to be the home of, or at least the target of a, “Pileated Woodpecker” but more likely the common “Red Headed Woodpecker”.

                Every time I see a woodpecker I get the camera but it is too late, he / she is gone. Not being able to photograph the woodpecker, I have done the second best thing and took a photo of its home.

And below is the close-up of the same home.

Later in the same day Gabi, Alex and I were in the back yard when a pair of Robins began to raise cane with us. I soon determined that they had a baby on the ground somewhere. I got the camera and we sat down to watch the Robins. We saw the younger Robin several times, he was not able to fly over a few feet at a time. You will need to look very close to see the young robin in the grass. 

Can’t see the young fellow? He is just to the left of the gray boot. He is facing left.

 

Have a nice weekend and be nice to someone.

 

Don Ford

Hiding in plain sight 07.22.14

 

                Tuesday morning as I was resting in my rocker near the garage door, when I noticed Molly was in Stalking mode. She kept looking at the wall which caught my attention. What do you think I saw?  There was a lizard that was hiding in place. 

Hiding in place means when something bad is happening, like an idiot with a gun, you quickly find a place to hide as opposed to running away. If you try to run the bad person may see you and probably shoot at you.

The lizard had learned his lesson well and was motionless, even when Molly jumped up and touched him with her nose. I thought that should have made him move on up the wall.

I decided to get a camera and take a photo of him. When I returned with the camera he was still motionless. He allowed me to take a couple photos and Molly became tire of looking at a motionless spot on the wall.

At some point the lizard disappeared.

 

On a totally different subject, we have found three dead grass snakes in the last two days. We see the grass snakes fairly often but to see three dead snakes is very unusual. My first wife suggested that it may be due to the fire ant killer I have spread over the yard.

I guess it could be the fire ant killer, I hope it doesn’t kill all the grass snakes but I would like to see it kill the fire ants. I put the fire ant killer down about three days ago and the two fire ant mounds are still active.

The two photos below are of the same lizard, the close-up makes it easier to see him or her hiding in place. 

 

I hope you do not need to hide in place.

 

Don Ford

Photos of... 07.21.14

 

I had been sitting on the front porch listening to 50s music from my tablet _{(satellite radio)} when a red headed woodpecker was seen on one of the oak trees. At about that same time, I observed a bright red Cardinal. I immediately went inside to get the camera and promptly returned to find both birds had vanished. I sat there in desolation hoping for the birds return.  

                I then decided to look around, and I found plenty of other objects to photograph.

 

Photos are not always what they seem.

The above photo of a limb, would appear to be taken in the winter time. It was actually taken from the front porch of the, “Ford Homestead” in July, 2014. It is just a dead limb against a gray colored cloudy sky.

 

Another photo taken from the same spot on the front porch.

This tree appears to have a cat type, eye. _{The eye is a spot that has healed over after the limb was removed.}

Does the leaf represent an ear?

Did you notice the bug eating the small leaf? _{It is easier to see when the photo is enlarged.}

 

A pink flower in this photo was also taken from the front porch.

 

Young pecans also photographed from the same spot on the front porch.

It is amazing what one can see if you look through the telephoto lens of a camera.

 

Look around and see what can be seen. 

 

Don Ford   Photographer Extraordinaire 

New Roof installed 07.21.14

 

                One of the last things a retired person needs is to replace a roof without the aid of insurance.  Being on a fixed income we need every penny we can get and having an expenditure like a new roof could be a major setback.

                Speaking of needing every penny we can get, as I was mowing Saturday I found a penny on the neighbors drive way.  Since I was mowing a couple feet on their property, I decided to keep the penny as payment for the work I had done. Wow, I am worth a penny.

                One might ask why the roof needed to be replaced. It was damaged by wind and would no longer keep the rain out.

                It has been a long time since I did any roof work and to be honest I don’t like being on a ladder that much. It needed to be done and being on a fixed income I decided to do the work myself.

                My spouse of 45 years was in the yard pulling weeds from one of the flower beds when I began the work. Having someone around when I am on a ladder is a good idea because senior citizens have a tendency to fall and get hurt.

                We had nine tenths of an inch of rain on Wednesday and two tenths on Thursday but the ground is still cracked. We have been watering the flowers in the flower pots daily and those in the ground every other day.

                Our poor little garden has just about given up except for the peppers. I guess pepper plants are hardy and probably do well in the hotter weather.

                I digress, back to my original thought of roof repair. You might think my son would offer to help but, no, I approached the project alone. I guess that is the thanks we get for having kids.

                First I had to remove the old and damaged roof which meant I was climbing that darn ladder.     The removal went well and was actually fairly easy except for the ladder climbing.

                Replacement was not too difficult, but working in the sun was definitely hot. I try to say hydrated anytime I am working out in the heat.

The new roof is a different color from the original. The first roof was brown but the new roof is blue. I got the new roof free at the harbor freight store, but if I had been purchasing the roof I would have went back with the brown color. See photo below.

I hope the kids like it. I had to get on the upper level of the kids fort / tree house to install the roof.  It was my first time in the upper level and it is not easy for a senior, retired, fat person to do.

I hope your weekend has been excellent.

 

Don Ford

I was kidding about my son helping me with the roof. Either one would have helped, or did the work, if I would have asked.

Addicted to "Garage sales" 07.19.14

 

                If you know anyone that has this addiction, then you may know what I am talking about. These people, both male and female, cannot drive pass a garage sale sign without stopping.

                In recent studies, it was determined that a garage sale is 72% more addicting than nicotine. Quitting cold turkey is difficult for nicotine users but is impossible for the garage sale addict.

                These G S As _{(garage sale addicts)} are a much focused group of people. When they get close to the location of the sale, they begin to think about getting out of the vehicle and getting that one item that they must have. The truth is, that one item can be anything and they probably do not know what it is until they see it.

                Garage sale is for the most part a misnomer. Very few people allow strangers into their garage and these so called, “garage sales” are really “yard sales”, or more accurately, “drive way sales”.

                This morning, as I was driving up our street, pulling a trailer loaded with limbs, I was approaching a corner. At this corner there was three vehicles parked on the right side of the street, probably too close to the intersection. I had to drive in the middle of the street to get past the parked vehicles. At the intersection to my left was an SUV that was driven by, “a garage sale addict”.

                This female addict could not wait until I had safely passed, instead she started around the corner. I am not sure she even knew I was there, as she was focused on the, “two”, yes two yard sales one house apart. Her SUV actually ran over the curb as she tried to get around the corner and to those yard sales.

                It can be fun to watch these addicts, as they dismount their vehicles. They don’t care where they park and they don’t care if other vehicles can get past, they are just focused on the junk that is sitting in the driveway. This is the same type junk that they have probably tossed out years ago. Now it is no longer junk, it is now a collectable item.

                They also want to purchase this, “collectable item”, for half of the marked price. These addicts enjoy negotiating over the price of a $1.00 item.

                There are also a group of these addicts that go to the garage sales for the purpose of visiting. These addicts travel for the most part in pairs, and it is often a husband and wife team, but it can be two or more friends. They look through the items for sale but their main objective is to visit with anyone that will talk with them.

                Some of the addicts even bring their children / grandchildren with them. These so called prospective customers are much less serious about purchasing anything of value, but they may be talked into an old toy that the kids happen to see.

                There is also the group that are basically not addicted to the garage sale, instead they are hoping to remove item/s from your sale without paying. These shoppers come in larger groups 5 or more and often have children with them. The plan is to have part of the group distract you while others remove items without paying. Children normally get the attention of adults so when the seller is watching the kids the adults may be removing things without paying. 

               

                The best garage sale I ever went to had valet parking. They put you on a golf cart and drove you up to the house where you could shop in the shade of large trees. They had free soft drinks and free hot dogs. When you were finished shopping they would drive you back down the long drive way, and a fellow would get your car for you.  _{(That is just a dream and did not happen.)}

                This information has been provided to you without charge. I hope your next drive way sale garage sale, is a big success.

 

Happy shopping.

 

Don Ford

A Passing in the family 07.18.14

                One of the saddest situations, is a passing of a friend or family member. Today we had such an event at, “The Ford Homestead”.

                The grandkids arrived this morning as usual, and Alex was carrying a grasshopper in a bug box. He had brought the bug box with the little green grasshopper yesterday, but today he had added a couple sticks for the grass hopper to climb on.

                There were some wet spots on the driveway and Alex was making foot prints on the dry part of the cement. Unfortunately Alex tripped and fell dropping the bug box. The bug box popped open and the grass hopper was injured.

                Alex began crying not just because he fell, but because his grass hopper was injured to a point that it was not going to survive.

                Alex’s mother Claire, suggested that we might need to bury the grass hopper.

                Still crying, Alex agreed that we should bury him.

                We found an appropriate location for the grave and I dug a hole. Alex put the little green grasshopper in the grave and I covered him over.

Alex was still crying saying I miss my grasshopper. I had tears in my eyes because my grandson was so upset at losing a friend. 

                Gabi found a stone that we placed as a marker on the grave.             

 

I hope your day is happier than ours.

 

Don Ford

               

Neighborhood watcher 07.17.14

 

            Do you have a neighborhood watcher? No, I did not say, “neighborhood watch”, I said, “Neighborhood Watcher”, a person who sees much of what happens in the neighborhood.

            Our neighborhood has one of these, “Watchers”. He is a retired person, of high moral values, and who lives on a fixed income.

            Ok, you guessed, it is me. The “neighborhood watcher” is not to be confused with the “neighborhood stalker”, even though they may have some of the same talents.

            A watcher observes, on a regular basis and then puts together info, from one day to another. Info gathered and analyzed will reveal patterns and answer questions.

            Example:

The older lady that walks down the street early morning, she is fatter than me and I have observed that she leans to the left when she walks.

No, it is not a political statement, it is a physical statement. After careful observation and analyzing the data, I have learned that she leans to the left because; she walks facing the traffic _{(if there were traffic early morning)} and everyone knows that streets have a slight convex shape which helps move water to the sides of the street.

What is the definition of Convex, it is the opposite of concave.     

Ok, let me try another way to explain this, the street is higher in the center and lower at the sides which means it is slightly rounded _(convex) which will cause a person to lean a little when they walk on the side of the street.

            Let me give you another example of the Watcher’s ability to observe, analyze, and summarize _{(make assumptions based on observations)}.  

            The newest neighbors leave for work at the same time in two different vehicles, both vehicles are the same color.

The man and woman smoke but not in the house.

They have two folding chairs that they sit in when placed under the shade tree in the front yard.

They arrive home in the afternoon at about the same time.

The first person home opens the garage door but do not enter, they then go to the front door and let the dog out.

They return to the garage and enter the house.

Within 5 minutes they come back outside.         

The woman must like red shorts. She wears the red shorts every afternoon.

They sit in their folding chairs and smoke.

Using that info and the fact that they have a sign in the front yard stating they have an alarm system, I have deduced that they open the front door to disarm the alarm, and the dog coming outside is coincidental. 

 

May all your “watchers”, be nice.

 

Don Ford

Geology "101" 07.15.14

 

                Good morning or whatever time of day it is, we hope you are having a rock solid day.

                For that one person that wants to know how the colonoscopy went yesterday, “everything came out ok”, get it?  Came out ok...  _{it was an attempt at a poorly designed joke.}

 

                Back to normal today I decided to get the grandkids out of the house for a while. I suggested that we look for fossils in the ditch behind the house. I have found fossils there in the past.   

                Although I did not finish my Doctorate in Rock-ology, I still believe that I am qualified to look for and wash old rocks with the kids.

                We looked through the grass at any rock that seemed promising but we did not find a good fossil. We did however pick up some rocks and brought them to the house. We put some water in the wagon and each of us had a tooth brush.

                Working at a feverish pace we attempted to clean the rocks _{(see photo below)}. Ok, maybe it wasn’t feverish work, but we did use tooth brushes to clean the rocks. I am hoping that my present spouse does not notice that her tooth brush was wet.

                The cleaned rocks were then laid out the dry.

The rocks are located on the bench next to the exit of the grandkids “secret hide out”.

                The weather people are predicting rain for the next couple days, we need it. We are hoping for slow easy rains that do not cause a lot of run off.

 

                Although my computer indicated that we reached 102 yesterday, the weather guy this morning said it was only 99. We are still looking for the first official 100 degree day.

 

We hope your rocks are all dimonds.

 

Don Ford

 

Are you kidding? 07.12.14

 

                Are you kidding, may be an appropriate way to begin this article.

                For several weeks now I have been wanting to ride up to Glen Rose for lunch at a BBQ place that has a reputation for good food. I have eaten there in the past and I agree it was good food.

                This morning as I sat in my recliner considering my options for the day’s activities, I again considered a ride to Glen Rose. I could not think of any reason to, not do the ride.

                I went to the computer to look at some maps. I knew what roads I would take to Glen Rose but I wanted to find some equally interesting roads for the ride home. I considered a couple options and made notes for the return trip.

                I noticed a package in the desk drawer. Taking the package out almost destroyed my day. It was the laxatives and pills I must take tomorrow (Sunday) along with the instructions, in preparation for my colonoscopy on Monday. L

          Attempting to overlook the upcoming body invasion, I placed several bottles of cold water and one diet coke in a small cooler, then placed the cooler in the trunk of the motorcycle.

                For this trip, I took a second helmet, sun block, camera and a note reminding me to go by the bank to get my $5.00 weekly allowance _{(being on a fixed income makes life difficult if not almost impossible)}. I also needed gas before heading out.

                Before you ask, the second helmet was because my regular helmet has been uncomfortable after about an hour of riding.

My neighbor has the same type helmet and said he has found that placing a folded up handkerchief on top his head, then putting the helmet on, actually helped. I tried this and it did help.

                I left home about 10:00 am and my first photo was taken at 10:24 and I had ridden about 10 miles. Also I was running about 70 mph at the time of the photo. Before you make a comment, taking photos while riding a motorcycle is not distracting.

 

                As I was riding I noticed that there was not a cloud in the sky. I looked for a cloud several times during the ride and each time, no clouds were seen.

                The temp ranged from 82 to 93 during the approx. 4 hours of riding.       

                As I was approaching Glen Rose I remembered, we had ridden up here for lunch and the BBQ place was closed for a 2 week vacation. I began to think, was that trip around the 4^th of July. I couldn’t remember. It was too late now, I was just a few blocks away from what I hoped would be a very nice lunch.

                As I rounded the corner I could see, there were no cars in the parking lot. No cars at noon, must not be open.  I rode up the street a ways and turned around and came back. Where will I have lunch?

                As I passed by the place again, I saw a few cars there, so I pulled in. The lights were on inside the building, they must be open. I pulled up near the front door and that is when I saw the sign, “closed private party”.

                I looked around and rode up and down a few streets looking for some place to eat. The places that were open were not appealing to me.

                I had ridden about 90 miles getting here, and now I decided to start back for home. I hoped to find a park with some shade trees and stop for a drink of water and stretch my legs a little.

                I probably rode 10 miles or more before I found a park. It was a nice park and it even had a wading pool for little kids. I was amazed that there was no one in the park except me. I took a few minutes for a break and re-hydrated myself, before continuing my trip back home.

I thought I would put a “75 mph selfie” of yours truly, for your enjoyment. 

                The road I was taking would go through Meridian, TX and then on to Clifton, TX where I will attempt to eat at the Bunk House, again.

I tried again to get photos of those pink wild flowers alongside the road but the photo is not very clear.

                When I came into Meridian, there is a stop sign, then I would turn right and continue on to Clifton.  At the stop sign I was super surprised by what I saw.  There was a red neck looking fellow, with a short gray beard, white T-shirt, a man purse over his shoulder and what I assumed were blue jean shorts. They were so short that I did a double take, they may have been a blue jean skirt. Whatever they were, they were too short. I started laughing out loud. I was glad he was about 20 feet away from me. Maybe he didn’t hear me laughing.

                “On the road again”, I was happy to be moving. I arrived at the Bunk House and they were open.

There was some red necks eating there, including me, but no one, not even the ladies had short blue jean shorts on. 

After lunch and a few glasses of ice tea, I was on the last leg of my trip.

Safely home I headed for the recliner and a short nap.

 

The End

 

I hope you find your trips fun and the restaurants open.

 

Don Ford           

Seen while mowing 07.11.14

 

                The other day as I was mowing the grass at, “The Ford Homestead”. I was somewhat surprised that I would see very pretty sites.

                The weather was hot and I had waited until the afternoon, (hottest part of the day) to mow the front yard. There is of course, a rational to my decision to mow during the heat of the day and that was, the front yard is almost totally in shade later in the afternoon.

                Hot and sweaty, I had just begun my work, when I saw the first pretty site.

Obviously, I took a photo so I could share with you.

                Returning to my mowing I found the next pretty site.

Possibly I should just mow and not be as observant. It is difficult for someone as highly evolved as me to not view my surroundings. As I continued on with my labor I also viewed the following.

After mowing the front yard, I decided to proceed to the ditch behind the house where I discovered vining plants with many small blooms.

  I should point out, these vines are not behind “The Ford Homestead”, and they are in fact behind the neighbor’s property. He doesn’t take care of his yard and never ventures into the ditch which is part of his property.

Below is a close up;

Even though there are pretty sites, mowing is still a lot of work for this senior retired person.

 

Have a pretty day and enjoy your work.

 

Don Ford

 

  

 

A real nice ride 07.05.14

 

                If I was to compare rides, the ride today was one of the nicest I have had in a year or so.

                It is Saturday and I am sitting in my chair, drinking my second cup of coffee. I was think of what I might do this fine Saturday. Several options popped into my head, and I decided on a ride that I haven’t taken in some time.

                Truth be known, I was on a couple roads today that I have not previously been on, or at least, I can’t remember ever being on them.

                Before leaving the house I turned the computer on and reviewed the roads I wanted to take.

I would Ride to Moody, TX C

Continue on Hwy 107 to Gatesville, TX

From Gatesville I would turn south on 118 and ride to Pidcoke, TX

Then hang a right on 580 heading for Lampasas, TX

Before I get to Lampasas, TX, I would turn north on 2527 which will turn into 1690 taking me through Izoro, TX

Continue on1690 to Pearl where I pick up 183

183 will take me to South Purmela where I would cross Hwy 84

I would ride 932 through Ireland, TX and Aleman TX ^{(this turned out to be a gravel road)}

932 would take me through part of Hamilton, TX and I would turn right on Hwy 36

Exit Hwy 36 on to Hwy 22 heading for Meridian, TX

Hwy 22 took me through Cranfills Gap, TX ^{(I should have stopped there for lunch)}

Turned right on 2136 which allowed me to bypass Meridian, TX

2135 took me to Hwy 6 which took me to Clifton and the bunk house.

After lunch I rode back on Hwy 6; ^{the highway patrol were out in force}.

The ride and lunch took a little over 4 hours, 204 miles. I took some photos as I was riding and the two photos I really wanted to show you, are no good.

There was a pink flower that I saw only a few places. They grew in a bunch with tiny blooms that were together and looked similar to pink snow cones. They grew only on areas that were mostly rock with little or no vegetation around them.

The other photo was of a Black Angus bull, which was standing in the middle of the road. He moved off the road as I approached slowly.

The weather was good, I rode and reasonable speeds, taking time to look around. A very pleasant and relaxing ride.

There was nothing special about lunch today, it seemed lackluster.

Have a pleasant and relaxing day.

Don Ford

 

Rescheduling 07.04.14

                For those of us that are on a, “Fixed Income”, (living from day to day, hoping that we will find a freshly killed squirrel or rabbit in the street that is not squashed so badly that we can’t have it for supper,) the purchasing of most anything can be a terrifying experience.

                My present spouse and I, grandkids in tow, went to the home center for the purpose of purchasing a refrigerator. 

Have you ever been in a large store with two grand kids? They do find all kinds of ways to entertain themselves. At one point there was a dancing contest between the two and I am not sure who won.

                Do you know they no longer refer to the fridge as an, “Ice Box”?  By the way, I learned that not only do they not refer to them as Ice Box, they no longer make Ice Boxes. For that one person that always tries to out think, “Me, the thinker”, yes, a cooler could be referred to as an Ice Box as the items in the cooler are cooled by ice.

                I am sure that you are not old enough to have ever seen the ice man deliver ice to a house for the “Ice Box”.  This may now become a teachable moment.

Back many years ago, when the earth was young and I was just a small children _{(yes I know I did not say child)} refrigeration units in one’s home were very uncommon.  The Ice Box was in use and the ice man would deliver ice to a person’s home. The delivery man had a leather shoulder cover, which protected him somewhat from the block of ice he would carry. He used ice tongs to pick up the 30 pound block of the ice. He would carry the block of ice over his shoulder until he arrived at the Ice Box.  The block of ice would be placed in the top portion of the Ice Box and the coolness from the ice would keep the items in the Ice Box somewhat cool.

 

                Teachable moment over:

                My first wife found the refrigerator she wanted and we are now in debt for the rest of our natural lives. We tried to use the grandkids as collateral but the salesman politely refused. He was smarter than he looked. 

                Can you believe it, they will deliver the unit on Sunday.

 

What was my original thought for this posting? Ok, I remember, rescheduling.

                I was planning a driving trip to Missouri next week, to visit family. I have decided to reschedule the trip. If I were to wait until fall, I could ride the motorcycle and it might possibly be cool enough to enjoy the trip. I guess I could fly as I have enough miles to get the tickets free.

 

It is July 4^th, have a safe holiday.

 

America, a great place to live!

 

Don Ford