The observer was observed 06.26.15

 

                This, “Incident on Oklahoma Ave.” as it is now known, occurred a couple weeks ago.

                As I remember the event, I was out for my morning exercise, totally focused on keeping the heart rate up. The day was sultry and I was attempting to walk, without being in the direct rays of the sun.

I wonder if my parents gave me the middle name of, “Ray”, due to the fact, that I would someday, be seen to others as being, “bright like the sun”.

                I had my gaze focused on the top silver colored bolt, in the red diamond shaped sign, at the end of the street. There are three diamond shaped signs at the cul-de-sac, which is the end of the street. The signs are warnings to drivers that the street ends.

 

Above; A view, looking down the street, you may be able to see the three red signs in the distance.  Below; the three signs, you may be able to see the silver bolt.

When I am focused, I am often unaware of my surroundings, but today was different. I had the uneasy feeling that I was being observed. Who would want to, “observe the observer?”

Was there someone trying to learn my daily routines in an effort to possibly break into my home while I am exercising, or could it be the widow woman peering through her curtains, thinking how nice it would be to have this senior citizen’s well-formed and muscular body close to her. 

Now that I think of it, there is no widow woman on our street, so I guess that option is out.

I noticed that this sinister feeling was greater at one particular house. I decided to continue my exercise program and at the same time I would look for the pair of eyes that must be following my every move.

The third time I passed this house, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. There was no doubt in my mind I was being watched, but still I could not see the culprit.

I decided to stop and take a closer look. There were no vehicles in the drive, the windows shades were all closed. There was no one in the front or back yard. I quickly scanned the neighbor’s house and found no one there.

Could I have been wrong? Could it be that no one was watching me? Continuing on, I was attempting to dismiss the feeling from my well-formed brain, but it wasn’t working. I wanted to, but resisted, looking over my shoulder.

At the end of the street I made my turn and, at a very brisk pace was once again exercising. I was nearing the house again but this time I was on the far side of the street. There it is, that feeling again as if I was being watched.

I stopped, and then I saw a black shape, not moving at all, yet peering at me. What should my response be? I decided to get my non-smart phone out as if I were answering a call. I would, as I have many times in the past, attempt to get a photo of the offender.

This black body hiding in the leaves and branches of a tree in the front yard of the house was difficult to see. No wonder I did not see him at first, see photo below.

                This fellow is no stranger to the neighborhood, as I often see him during my morning walks. He is Black with a white nose, and four white feet.

                The fear of being observed quickly subsided, I finished my morning stroll and headed for home.

               

Always trust your feelings!

 

Don Ford

 

 

 

 

Waiting with bated breath 06.23.15

                This morning, after my 30 minute stroll, I was sitting in my rocker relaxing with my cup of coffee. My present spouse was sitting near me, reading the morning paper. Claire had just dropped off the kids and we were all talking. I had offered to help move items from the duplex to their new house this afternoon. I made the comment, “call me when you are ready to start moving and I will meet you at the duplex”, I went on to say, “I will be waiting for your call with bated breath”.

                It occurred to me that I was not sure what the comment, “waiting with bated breath”, meant.

                After examining the phrase I concluded, it could mean one of several things. The first and most likely meaning of the phrase, “waiting with bated breath”, is;

“A person has just eaten a tuna fish sandwich, their breath smells like stinky fish, and they are waiting to catch someone doing something”.

It makes sense, one uses bait to catch fish or bait a trap for an animal. Yes I know they have spelled the word bait wrong but what can we expect with the education system that we have today.

 

Speaking of the so called education system, did you know they are teaching kids to print but not write in cursive? It is a wonder that they are teaching printing, with all the computers and smart phones, they will likely only teach texting in the future.

I can see the class room now, filled with eager third graders, each looking at their smart phone as the teacher stands at the head of the class and skypes the kids. If a child has a question they do not raise their hand, instead they text the teacher.

Any child who uses their voice during class, is sent to the principal’s office. The principal then sends a text to their parents. The child is disciplined for disrupting the class. The child is not placed in a corner, instead their smart phone is taken away and they are not allowed to communicate for thirty minutes.

You think that is odd, wait until you go to the high school football game. No one will be allowed to talk, shout or make any noise. To cheer for a team everyone will be required to use the smart phone or tablet. They will send a text message and the messages are displayed on the big screen at the end of the field. There will not be an announcer for the game, text messages will be shown on the big screen as to who did what to whom.

Those of us with flip phones will be considered as handicapped.

 

Back to my original thought, “waiting with bated breath”, I now know what the original meaning of the comment is. It means waiting with short breaths do to excitement.

The problem is, when I get excited, I begin to breathe heavier, at least that is the way I remember being excited!

The word, “bated”, was originally, “abated”, but someone, possibly a professor at some university, decided it would be cool to leave off the “A” and say bated. This professor would be a liberal.

 

Enough, I am now so upset with the education system, I am shutting down and going to take a nap.

 

Text me if you have a question!

                                  (Irony, think about the comment.)

 

Don Ford

 

Father's day 06.22.15

                I had a good father’s day, both of my son’s wished me a happy Father’s day. 

                I did not fly my drone on Father’s day, but I did go out for breakfast. When we returned home from our morning repast, we changed our clothes and called David to see if they were moving today. The answer was in the affirmative so my first wife and I went over to help.

                Dave had made one trip in their SUV moving items that would fit in the vehicle. Dave and Claire have purchased a home which is located in Hewitt and about 2 miles from where they have been living.

                My present spouse was instrumental in packing of items from the grandkids room. Donna and Claire would have items ready to move when Dave and I returned from each trip. I got to rest during the drive to and from the new home.

                We began the work about 11:00 am and concluded the transporting of household items a little after 8:00pm. Possibly the worst part of the day’s work was the humidity. I would sweat the water out faster than I could drink it in. The temp was 88 and the weather went from over cast to sunny and back many times during the day. Our next to last load included the couch which was secured on the trailer. As luck would have it, there was thunder, some lightning and sprinkles of rain.

                The sprinkles did not last long and the couch was delivered without getting wet. Dave and I were concerned about moving the couch as it was the one heaviest item in the move (would you believe it weighed over 500 pounds, it was somewhat lighter when I got off).

After some discussion we determined the best method of carrying the unit was, on its back. We found good hand holds and lifted with our legs. Yes we used our arms and hands to hold the unit, lifting with our legs means we were keeping our back straight during the lift in an effort to be safe and not hurt ourselves.

Part of the concern was, the couch had to go through the front door. Leading up to the door was a walkway about 50 feet long, it was up hill from the street, and had about 5 steps that I would need to negotiate. Obviously, that is not a good situation for a senior citizen (me) who is over 50 years old (way over).

Being a, “master planner” and somewhat lazy, I devised a plan that would help in the removal of the couch from the trailer, transport of said couch from the trailer, through the front door and into the living room.

We pulled the trailer up the drive way parking at the garage door, which meant we did not need to carry it up hill. From the drive way we still had to carry the couch about 50 feet to the front door but we were on level soil.

Another challenge in moving this couch was, the person carrying the back end (Dave) could not see where he was going and the person on the front end (me) was walking backwards attempting to tell Dave when we had an un-level spot in the yard, or when we needed to step up on to the walk way, then there was the step up at the front door and a step down into the living room. We made it without incident.

The days moving over, my wife of 46 years and I headed for home.

Arriving home I was tired and needed a shower, real bad.

Donna and I ate a sandwich, then I headed for bed.

 

Monday morning I was a little stiff from the day’s work, but not nearly as stiff as I thought I would be.

All in all a pretty good day.

 

There are still a few items that we need to move but the majority of the move is completed. Now the process of finding everything that was moved, and putting it in the proper place begins. 

 

I hope you had as good a day as I did!

 

Don Ford

Trans-gendered, trans-ethnic 06.20.15

 

                I don’t know how others feel about the topics, but I am fed-up with listening to idiots expounding their points of view on the above topics. A person born into this world as a male, will be a male the rest of his life, regardless of what he has put into or cut off of his body (the same applies to a female).  

                Some well-known male decides that he was supposed to be a female so he stars wearing female clothing and changes his name. He is still a male, the only change is his appearance.

                In the news there is a white female who says she is black, even though her parents are both white. These so called news people, are referring to her as Trans-ethnic. 

                I am now considering myself as a, “Trans-teenager”? I now identify myself as a 16 year old boy. As with most teenagers, I believe I know everything. I am old enough to drive and date.

                I am sure you want to be politically correct, so don’t judge me!

All this publicity is affecting things other than people, and I do not approve!

                I want to show you how all this Trans-subject talk has affected things at, “The Ford Homestead”. Please review the photo below and you will see how all this talk is changing things.

                If you will look at the red flower to the far left, you should notice that it is different from the other red flowers. It is a Zinnia, but it is saying that it is a Bougainvillea. It wouldn’t be so bad, but the red Zinnia is in the butterscotch Bougainvillea flower pot, a different species and a different color.

                You are correct! The Zinnia is “to the left” of all the other flowers. NARBNL (my political statement) I may not always be right but I am never left.

 

                Trans-teenager for me is ok, but let’s stop the rest of this!

 

Don Ford

 

Not always the big guy 06.16.15

 

As some of you may know, there is a story in the bible about a young man who accepts the challenge put forth by a bully, whose name was Goliath. For those of you who are not familiar with this story, Goliath was said to be a giant, possibly 9 feet tall, enlisted in the Philistine army.

As I understand it, this huge fellow would daily challenge the Israelis, calling them sissies and other names. He is said to have offered to fight anyone of their warriors, winner take all. Winner take all means, the losers would be the slaves of the other army.

There was a normal sized young man, his name was David, and he decided to go against the oversized bully.

I wonder if David gave any thought to what the outcome would be if he lost?

I think he had a positive attitude and was totally optimistic about the outcome of the challenge. He also had the man upstairs on his side.

I hope you know, David hit the giant in the head with a rock knocking him out. No, he didn’t throw the rock, he used a sling. Then he took the tall man’s sword and decapitated him. Decapitated sounds much better than, “cut his head off”.

What caused me to impart this story to you? Something I observed on a stepping stone, just a couple feet from my old rocking chair.

 

The stepping stone is 12 X 12 inches and is one of several installed by me. It is reddish brown in color.

We have some very small ants here in Texas. Even though they are very small they move at very fast speed. I noticed this one ant, all alone on the stepping stone. He was moving back and forth, sometimes in a circle, I assume he was looking for something to eat.

A fly landed on the stepping stone, I can only assume he wanted to rest for a moment.

After a few moments the ant, in all its wanderings, found the fly. This little ant went up to the fly, face to face, seemingly not afraid of the giant fly (he was a giant when compared to the ant).

To my surprise the fly flew away from the ant, landing on the other side of the stone. The ant again began to run all around, as if it could not see where the fly had landed. After a few seconds the ant again acquired the location of the fly. The ant went up to the fly face to face. This fly (as stated earlier) was many times larger than the ant, but the fly again retreated from the ant.

This happened about 5 different times and I wished I had my camera so I could have shown you what I observed.

It seems as if the old saying, “size doesn’t matter”, is true in some situations.

It also seems as if the bully, can be smaller than the bullied!

          This is a photo of the stepping stone where the ant bullied the fly. Sorry that I did not have the camera during the confrontation.

 

          We were blessed with a half inch of rain early yesterday evening. This rain was badly needed. As I walked this morning, I could hear the grass and flowers all along the streets, growing. (I have exceptional hearing.)  

                                                                    

          Now that the nice ½ inch rain has helped the yards and flowers, those mean ole weather prognosticators are predicting rains in the amounts from 2 to 5 inches for central Texas, over the next two days. The photo below, shows the beginning of what it to come.

 

               

 

On a sad note:

A good friend passed on Sunday.

Hugh York will be missed.

Our prayers are with the family.

 

Don Ford

 

Defiant 06.15.15

 

                It was a hot humid and somewhat lazy Friday afternoon. I had completed my forced labor assigned tasks for the day, and was now resting in my old rocker near the garage door. There was little wind, so I had a fan blowing a breeze on me.

                My extraordinary brain was in the process of evaluating all the many events that occurred around me today. It was at this very moment that I was surprised by two squirrels quickly descending from my little pecan tree. They were either playing or fighting as they circled the little tree.

                I, not being a fan of squirrels, especially when they are in and around our pecan tree, decided to try to scare them away.  I clapped my hands very loud! One squirrel ran away, while the other climbed up into the pecan tree, stopping at the fork of the tree. This squirrel was showing his total disregard for my presence. He defiantly barked at me as he was giving me the stair. I could see that this fellow was saying, you don’t scare me!

                I wasn’t going to allow this little rodent to tell me, a human, that he wasn’t scared. I leaped from my chair and ran to the tree (the tree was about 10 feet from where I was sitting). Slightly out of breath from the run, I stopped and gathered my thoughts at the base of the tree. This rodent was still attempting to defy my authority, as he ascended a few feet higher in the tree.

                I being the dominant male at, “The Ford Homestead”, felt the need to make this rodent feel fear, and never want to return. I clapped my hands and hit the little tree, kind of like a gorilla in the wild might do.

                The trespasser had moved from the little pecan tree onto the red oak tree. “Good riddance”, I thought, as I maneuvered my way back to the rocking chair.

                As I sat down and began to rock, the thought that came to mind was, “victory feels good”!

                I slowly surveyed the property, thinking that I should mow the grass, but I do not want to until it is about to rain or has rained. It is almost unbelievable that our yards could be cracking open after all the rain of just 10 days ago. I took a photo during one of the heavy rains, which will show you the amount of one rain event. Remember that this very ground, which was covered with water 2 weeks ago is now cracking open.

                Continuing to survey the property, allowing the idea of mowing to evaporate from my mind, my eyes went up to the heavens were there were a few puffy white clouds, slowly moving across the most brilliantly blue sky, that anyone has ever saw.

                It was a good day, if I did not consider the heat.

                For some reason, I looked up into the trees and then I saw it, the rodent had not gone away. This rodent was, I believe, defiantly laying on a tree limb, showing me that he was not intimidated by my efforts, to evict him from the property. See the photos of the defiant culprit.

It is difficult to see this rebellious rodent at first glance. A close-up follows.

                It should not be illegal to hunt squirrels in the city limits.

 

He may have won this one, there will be a next time!

 

Don Ford

 

 

Where there's away... 06.12.15

 

Where there’s a way, there may be a senior, on a fixed income, with the will.

Before someone tries to tell me, I have it backwards, I think I have it right.

Yes I know the statement, “where there’s a will there’s a way”, but I am stating, “When a senior on a fixed income sees a way, he just might develop the will”. 

I have been walking 30 minutes each weekday morning and I have been trying to walk before the sun gets high in the sky.  It is hot and humid enough, without having the sun shine directly, on my wonderfully formed body. 

A couple mornings back, as I briskly strolled down our street, I noticed that two of my neighbors had lawn sprinklers. As these sprinklers watered their yards, I was considering what other uses those sprinklers might have.

I have asked both of these neighbors if they would give me their schedules for their lawn watering times. Needless to say they were wanting to know why I was interested.

It seems to me, that one should be able to take a shower in these lawn sprinklers, and not affect the watering of the yard. A small amount of soap will not hurt the grass, it might help keep it cleaner! I have assured the home owners that I would have a swimming suit on when I was taking a shower during day light hours.

I don’t understand why some people have to be so stubborn! Can you believe, both neighbors told me, “They would rather I not take a shower in their lawn sprinklers”!

If you are observant, you would have noticed that both neighbors said, “they would rather I not use their sprinklers” but neither said, “I definitely could not use them”. As I see it, I will use their sprinklers for my shower, when they are not home. What they don’t know, will not hurt them.

Before you ask, yes I will use the kid’s swimming pool, which is now located behind, “The Ford Homestead’, for my bath, when I can’t get a shower in the lawn sprinklers at the neighbors. Either way, I should save some money on our water bill. 

                Something else I noticed during my morning stroll, one of the houses about a block from mine, notice I did not say a neighbor, now has two owls in their back yard. Why can’t people stop trying to outdo us here at, “The Ford Homestead”? I do something one week and someone else has to try and out do me the next. It is difficult trying to stay at the top of the heap.  

 

May your neighbors be more cooperative!

 

Don Ford

 

Readers want to know 06.10.15

 

                Before I start with today’s informative and might I say enlightening journalistic experience, I have an announcement / request.

            We have begun our annual fill the pool fund raiser. Yes it is that time again. Each year since 2012 we have held this fundraiser in an effort to provide financial aid to, “The Ford Homestead swimming pool fund”.  All moneys raise in this campaign will be use to fill the pool with water and purchase the needed chemicals to maintain the pool. We also will need to purchase some pool toys, and I need a swimming suit. You may send all donations to our Homestead web site and please identify the donation for the, “Pool fund”.  As usual, you may try to claim these as charitable donations, on next year’s federal income tax form.

 

 

                OK, this is an, “answer the questions session”, believe it or not, as requested by my readers. Would you believe, I am continually receiving questions and comments about my well written and very informative articles? Believe it or not, here are a few answers to some of the questions and comments from the well-educated and highly informed people, you the readers of this blog.  

                “Where did you get the money to purchase the drone, since you are on a, Fixed Income?”

                I find this question somewhat discourteous.

Yes we are on a fixed income, and we don’t think picking up aluminum cans from the side of the roads or anywhere they may be found, is demeaning for a senior citizen. Maybe, occasionally enjoying some road killed squirrel, cat or possum is not for you, but to seniors on a fixed income, road kill can be a blessing. Road kill is ok as long as it hasn’t been there more than one day and it isn’t smashed like a pancake.

                What does the garden owl look like?

                See the photo below, he / she is an odd looking owl. The moving head aggravates the birds.

                Have you tried any other methods of keeping the birds away from the garden?

                I have used the fake snakes but they don’t seem to do too much, see below.

                Is it true that your bug light is broken?

                Yes, I tried to power it up and it would not activate. I decided to take it apart and see if there was something that I might be able to repair. What I found gave new meaning to the term “Bug Lite”. There was a wasp nest inside the top of the light. I counted and there was 31 empty holes in the wasp nest, one wasp did not hatch. Wasps were in the bug light. 

 

                This has nothing to do with questions from readers, but since I was talking about wasps;

My brother was in the navy several years ago, he served on the air craft carrier, “Wasp”.

 

                When will the kid’s swimming pool be installed in the back yard?

                It has now dried up and conditions seem to be right for the installation. Today is supposed to be 95 degrees, I will likely install it today.

 

                Are you still walking in the early morning?

                Yes I am walking 5 days a week, 30 minutes per walk. During my morning walk I took a photo of the front of The Ford Homestead. The photo is not as bright and colorful as the view was in real life. It is kind of like looking through a tunnel of trees.

 

 

Enough answers for now!

 

Don Ford

 

Men and Boys 06.08.15

 

                There is an old saying that goes something like this, “The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.”

                That saying was probably true, in the olden days. A boy’s toy was usually a cap gun or maybe a BB gun or a bicycle.

                Now days, the boy’s toy (child’s toy, boy or girl) usually has something to do with a computer and is not inexpensive. Adults no longer can afford toys for themselves as they are spending all their money on the kid’s toys.

                Sunday morning my spouse of 46 years, was reviewing the local paper for any good deals when she found a sale add. This add had gift ideas for Father’s day, which I believe is June 21^st.

                By the way, this past Sunday was the day for the biker’s peaceful protest of the jailing and million dollar bail, set for those involved in the Twin Peaks killings.  I was told that the bikers rode past the jail and then down to the Waco Court House. There was a brief blurb on the news about the so called protest. 

                My spouse showed me the advertisement suggesting that I might like to have this item for a father’s day present. Although I had thought I would like one, I had not given any serious thought to getting one.

                Since she sparked my interest, I did what any red blooded American would do, I went on line to look the item up. What do they cost, how are they made, and I also watched some videos.

                All the research made me tired, but I was able to fight off the fatigue and get a shower and dressed. It was decided that we should go by the HEB and take a look at the item. I know, it sounds odd that my spouse would take me to a grocery store for a father’s day gift. They say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. 

                The HEB has a little bit of everything, so I guess it is not too unusual to get a gift from there. I learned at the checkout another reason for going there. My spouse gets points for spending money at this store.

                I know you might find it hard to believe, “I had to pay for my Father’s day gift”, and my spouse got the points.

                Box in hand we headed for the Cracker barrel to have brunch. On most Sundays we have brunch there and then no other meals are prepared at, “The Ford Homestead”, the rest of the day.

                Our grand kids are visiting their other grandparents in Dallas this week so we have to find things to do, like cut tree limbs. I also need to install the swimming pool that my spouse purchased. We have had one each of the last two summers. When summer is over I drain the pool and cut it into pieces and let the trash company haul it off.

                After eating I was ready to head for home and get my new toy out of the box. I must say I was somewhat excited about the toy and I hoped I would not brake it the first time I played with it.

In the photo below, you see me, taking a selfie photo, with my new “Man toy”. You are correct, the grass is still green from the extended rains we had. We have begun watering the garden and the flowers as the 90 plus degree heat quickly takes the moisture out of the ground where there is no grass.  

                The darn birds have been eating or just punching holes in our tomatoes as soon as they begin to ripen. I purchased an owl (no not a real owl, I didn’t know where to get a real owl) to put next to the garden, hoping it would keep some of the birds away.

This owl has a head that will move when the wind blows. It drives the mockingbirds crazy. Every time the owls head moves, one or more of the mocking birds will fly at it. I hope we get some tomatoes.

Below I have placed a photo of my father’s day present. I am learning how to operate the unit. It is challenging for a senior citizen but I think I am up to the challenge. I can take photos and videos with the unit. It is fun!

It is called the panther spy drone UFO. The orange/yellow props are at the front of the unit. It has 4 individual motors, one for each prop. It has led lights on the bottom, I assume for night flight.

                I hope I don’t break it before I learn how to fly it.

 

May all your toys be fun!

 

Don Ford   

 

Who knew? 06.04.15

 

                Thankfully, it has been a dry start to the week, here at The Ford Homestead. It seems a little odd that we still need an umbrella, when we go outside. A few days ago, we needed the umbrella to keep the almost continuous rain off our well-formed body. Today we need the umbrella to keep this super-hot sun from burning our fair skin.

                Yes, it seems like summer even though we haven’t had true summer heat, yet.

                The Alex, my favorite grandson and I, were swinging this morning after a heated game of washers. Neither of us had won the game of washers, we just got tired and decided to swing.

                As we were swinging, our conversation went to whether I am pretty or not. Alex noted that my legs and arms had hair growing on them and I would need to cut the hair off my arms and legs to be pretty. Who knew, shaved arms and legs would make me pretty.

               

                Alex likes to go to the park and play for a while each day. Today we headed out to the park and found two school buses, and kids everywhere. I decided to head over to the other Hewitt Park. Arriving there, I was again surprised to find two school busses but the kids appeared to be teenagers, they were too old for me to consider allowing Alex to play there. 

                Alex asked if there was another park. I said yes, and we headed for Woodway Park. It was empty, there was no kids there. Alex did not want to play where there were no kids at all so we headed for home.

 

                Yesterday morning about 9:30, Alex decided that he wanted a donut. I am a push over, so I said, “Ok, let’s go”. On the way he noted that he wanted two donuts, a chocolate milk and I should get a coffee for me. Not known to the boy, I had thoughts of getting a jalapeno and cheese sausage kolache for myself. We went to the drive through, acquired our items, and then headed for home.

                Arriving at home we both went to the front porch to enjoy our snacks. To make a long story short, Alex took the kolache and began to eat it. I asked if I could have a bite, but I did not get a bite, instead I received a firm reply of, “no”!

                He also devoured the two donuts and most of the milk. I guess growing boys need a lot of food.

                Alex was here with me as my computer was reading this back to me. He was surprised when he heard his name, he said, “it is talking about me”.

                Let me answer the question before that one person asks! Yes I have the computer read my articles back to me, in an effort to make what I write, sound correct when you read it. When I write something and then re-read it, I will often read what I think I wrote, and not what I wrote. When the computer reads it out loud to me, I will often hear incorrect words (Poor grammar) and more often than not, I am able to correct the verbiage.

                Today we are going to have lunch with Alex’s dad, David at work. Alex said he wanted chicken with a bone in it (chicken leg) fries, gravy, bread and a sprite. After lunch we will go pick Gabi up at school as this is her last half day for this year.

                I don’t get as much time to write these notes, Alex kind of keeps me hopping.

                I do plan to go for a ride this evening, we are going out to the bunk house for our evening repast (meal). After eating and some lively conversation, we will take the scenic way home.  I usually get home between 9:00 and 9:30.

                The grand kids will be at their other grandparents’ home next week, so I plan to get some needed yard work completed.

 

Have a good week!

 

Don Ford

 

 

Things Happen 06.01.15

                I would hope the title to this, “masterpiece of journalistic excellence” would be something that you are aware of. Things really do happen, and they happen all the time.

                So why would someone as advanced as yours truly, use such a common saying. In the words of my buddy, Rush Limbaugh, I am trying to also inform and educate the low information readers.

                Ok, Rush and I are not buddies but we did go to the same high school. There was one maim difference between us, his family was rich, my family was happy.

                Let’s get to it, “Things have happened”, here in Texas, it is now June. Yes I know it is June everywhere! Are you going to start interrupting me every time I make a comment?

                During the month of May there was 26 days in a row in which we had rain. In a previous article I explained how rain forests were started. I now want to show you how some ambitious bugs were responding to the enormous amount of rain. I will insert a photo or two for your education and possibly astonishment. These little but industrious bugs were erecting structures to protect themselves from the rain. These structures do resemble huts that have been used by indigenous tribes in many non-industrialized countries. 

Think how much work these little bugs put into constructing these structures.

         It is that time of the year when the Four O’clocks begin to bloom. These flowers come up as volunteers each year, usually in the same flower bed as the previous year. This year we have Four O’clocks coming up in various flower beds. The assumption is that birds were spreading them.   

                I was told by a friend that these pretty flowers only bloom at four o’clock, but ours bloom any time.

                Next, we will see a photo of the chief and only editor of this fine blog posting. The photo was taken by an admirer who happened to be in the area.

                It would appear that Mr. Ford had been working in the yard or, another possibility for his well-worn and faded clothing might be, being on a fixed income he just can’t afford to purchase the nicer clothing, like that which others in his neighborhood have. (A _{non-tax deductible} Donation may be sent to, “The Ford Homestead”, please identify the donations, “for Mr. Ford’s clothing fund”.

                Alex is now out of school and sitting next to me watching cartoons on TV. Gabi will be out of school this week, Thursday is her last day and we will then have them both here during the week days. Possibly I can get them to do some of my chores around the house.

 

Things happen; we may be in a no rain week. 

 

Don Ford