Tradition out, due to rain 05.31.16

It was a day unlike others due to a power failure. My robot bed/alarm did not wake me. This is the first time the robot bed/alarm has failed me in over 16 years. The bed/alarm normally vibrates and if that doesn’t wake me, then the speaker from under the bed says, in a quiet female voice, “It is time to get up, Master, rise and shine”. 

The bed/alarm failure was the first of many devastating events to occur this day.

After I awoke and dressed I ventured outside to see what the day was like. It was an almost unbearably humid day, the temperature at 6:00am was already in the low 80s and the prognosticators had predicted that it would rain, not only today but the next 6 days in a row. They were saying to expect from 2 to 5 inches here in central Texas.

Tradition dictates that I should wait 3 days, after the neighbor’s mow, to manicure the yard at the Ford homestead. With all the rain being predicted, I felt as if I should break with tradition this one time and manicure the yard the day after the neighbors mowed their yards.

That brings us to the next problem, my robot lawn manicuring device was set to operate two days later and with the power failure I am unable to reset the timing device. If I am to successfully execute this manicuring procedure, I will need to do it manually!

With all of our modern day conveniences, one would think we could keep the power on or at least have a backup power supply available at a moment’s notice.

            Well, I assume you have guessed it by now, I had to manually manicure my own yard today before it rained. I was hot and sweaty; my clothes were sticking to my physically fit senior body, as I walked behind that lawn manicuring device (aka lawn mower). Would you believe that 2 female persons gave my physically fit senior body a second look as they drove by?

            Wait a minute; most of that well written story is not true. It was hot and humid; I did have to manicure the lawn the day after the neighbors, and one neighbor came out of his home and asked, “What happened to the three day wait period. My response was, “Tradition was out, due to rain”. I wanted to call him a smarty pants but I did not!

Imagination is fun, try it!

Don Ford

On my knees again 05.29.16

On this Memorial Day, I would like to say thanks to all who have served their country in the armed forces and hope we all remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice!

          _______________________________________________________

            When one voluntarily kneels in an effort to honor their Heavenly Father, or more often, to beg for forgiveness, this, “On knee event” is often a positive event. There is a different type of kneeling that is not voluntary, it always results in this senior citizen, sweating profusely, and working so hard that his whole body hurts and he never receives a positive comment like, “Nice job”. Instead of a positive comment, the actual comment received is something like, “It would be nice if you would….” which usually involves additional work! 

            If you haven’t guessed, someone was again forced to work on the flower beds at the Ford Homestead. The ground was still wet after the enormous rains that occurred over the last couple days. There was 40 of those huge red blocks that must weight over 100 pounds each (maybe a few pounds less). The only good thing about this entire operation was, the blocks were half price.

            I was required to finish the flower bed on the north end of the Homestead, then remodel the flower bed at the south end of the Homestead, and after that I was required to remodel a flower bed on the back forty. Photos to follow, click on a photo to enlarge.

 

          For those of you with good observational skills, you should be able to identify the color variance between the old and the 14 new blocks in the above photo.

The above photo is at the south end of the Homestead, where the water leak occurred.

 

         The last photo (above) is in the back forty. Do not look at the hose on the right side of the photo or the weeds that were pulled from the flower bed that are laying on the grass, lower right corner. The gray cement rabbit statue in the flower bed, is my first wife’s idea.

 

May the time on your knees be in prayer,

not working on flower beds!

Sunday came and my present spouse of 47 years decided to treat me with a Brunch, which was very nice! I should point out that I had to pay for the brunch.

Returning home, I can only assume that I was tired from all the work yesterday, as all I wanted to do was sit or lay on the couch. After a couple hours of non-movement, I decided to get a cup of coffee and do something other than rest. Possibly the coffee helped, but I like to think it was my overriding desire to be active. I decided to cut a few limbs in the back of the Homestead. I cut about six good sized limbs, pulled them to the trailer and cut them in to smaller pieces as I loaded them. In the photo we see the hand powered saw used in the trimming process.

 

It is difficult to keep a hard working senior like myself from being active. Also being bored sitting in the house is not fun.

Keep your mind and body active!

Don Ford

Hurry not lest ye be weary 05.26.16

            Yesterday we had Alex (grandson) here at The Ford Homestead as he was sick and could not go to school. To make a short story longer, he had a fever and later in the day was taken to the doctor. The diagnoses was, “strep throat”, again.

            Later in the afternoon, I decided to manicure the front yard, even though it looked fairly good, and I would let the back yard go for another days labors. As usual, I mowed the yard twice to insure an even cut, plus, would you believe, the yard enjoys the feel of the mower wheels rolling over it, first in one direction and then in another. It can be considered somewhat like a back massage, but for the yard.  

After mowing, I procured the string trimmer and expertly trimmed the appropriate areas. Note, I did not use the words professionally trimmed, instead choosing to use expertly, as I consider professional lawn personnel somewhat less than experts.

I completed my work and put the tools away.

The grass in the back yard was tall and needed to be mowed. I then *changed my mind and decided to mow the back yard, even though I was already tired, and had put the tools away.

My weary body began to get the necessary equipment, in an effort to shear the grass of the Homestead back 40. I was trying to hurry, which was making it extra stressful, as I not only needed to mow, I also needed to pick the black berries, water the potted plants and the garden, along with getting the leaf blower out and blowing the grass off the street and drive (I had failed to remove the grass clippings out front, due to being exhausted).

I had trimmed the fence line and other areas on the back 40 using the string trimmer, and then I climbed aboard the riding mower. Being able to ride the last portion of the process was a blessing, until I attempted to park it and get off. My pour old body was already stiff and sore, when I got off. I wasn’t sure I would be able to walk to the house.

I considered trying to make it to the kid’s fort, but I knew I would have to stay on the down stairs level as I did not have the energy to climb to the second floor bed room. Somehow, I was able to gather enough energy to make it into the Homestead.

I needed a shower in the worst way, but my first wife refused to bathe me. It was hard to believe after hours and hours of forced labor, she would refuse my one small request. I had to wash my pour tire body myself.

Finally, washed clean I stumbled to my recliner and fell into it. Would you believe I didn’t have enough energy to make the chair recline?

            The title of this well composed article says it all, “Hurry not, lest ye be weary”. When you are forced to labor in the fields, with no rest, the sun beating down on you, take your time, do not hurry, they will eventually hire more help!

Wait a minute, am I writing of my forced labor,

or about the Government’s TSA employees?

Don Ford           

* Change your mind? Think about that statement for a few seconds.  Stop! I asked you the think about that statement, not keep reading!  Ok, now consider, how does one change their mind? It isn’t yet possible to acquire a new mind, and then change the old one out, but that might be a good thing in the future. One can change their thoughts, so why don’t we say, “I changed my thoughts”?  Those who coin this type phrase, should always come to me before they make the final official phrase decisions.

Pecans are starting 05.25.16

                As I was sitting in my old rocker, it is old, but not as old as me, I was considering all the world problems, when I happen to look up and I saw the beginning of a new crop of pecans. Yep, there are baby pecans on our tree. The professionally composed photo below, is evidence of the forthcoming crop.

 

                Last year the squirrels were eating the pecans before they were ready to harvest. I guess they like the immature pecans. We are not allowed to shoot the squirrels but we can trap them. The problem is what do we do with them, when we trap one.  

                Also, as a master photographer, I occasionally observe and photograph wildlife. There are several Blue Jays in the neighborhood and I have captured one on film.  I guess that is an incorrect statement, as I have not had a camera that used film for many years now. Correction: I have captured one on an SD card.

                This bird was a little bashful so he turned his beak away from the camera just as I took the photo.

   

                There was a snake in the neighbor’s yard. You may not believe this but, the birds were chasing the snake and making a lot of noise. I tried to get a photo of the snake but it made it under the air conditioner. I have a photo, and if you look closely at the bottom of the air conditioner unit, you may see part of the snake that isn’t under the unit.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

               

Hope your day is safe and positive!

Don Ford

Supervisory position 05.24.16

            This afternoon I was again demonstrating that I am an outstanding wood butcher. I had started out to cut some tree limbs shortly after lunch, when I was surprised that it had started to rain. I decided to watch some TV and forced myself to take a nap.

Later in the day after the grass had dried up, I decided to try again to cut a few limbs. Not wanting to get too involved, I decided to use the manual pole saw, rather than the gas saw, and cut just a few limbs.

            I had cut several smaller limbs and stacked them near the trailer, then I cut additional limbs. As I was pulling some of the additional limbs to the pile, I noticed Charlie hiding in the pile. At that time, I thought he was hoping for a bird to come close. When I tossed the limbs on the pile Charlie exited the limbs in a hurry. He went to the tree where I was cutting limbs and climbed up to one of the higher limbs and just stood there, looking at me. At this time I thought he might be having fun, I would later learn his true reason for being in the area.

            Charlie doesn’t seem to be bothered by heights, and he didn’t say anything bad about my work. He did get down before I started cutting again. He then went to the second floor of the kid’s fort and lay in a corner, where he could watch my every effort, at a safe distance.

  click on photo to enlarge.

            I cut a large limb with about a 6 inch base. It broke loose from the tree but did not fall. I grabbed a smaller limb on the bottom and pulled attempting to get it down from the tree. All of a sudden it began to fall, toward me.

I, being safety minded, had pre-planned a possible escape route, and I had to use it. Quickly this old retired person ran a total of 5 steps, which took me out of harm’s way. The limb fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

            Charlie then stood up and gave me the look. You know the look, the one that indicates, “I had prepared properly and safely”. NO, not the look that says, you almost bought the farm dummy! I should not accept your cynical questions? 

I am glad that Charlie was concerned for my wellbeing, and felt that someone should supervise my work, he is a good supervisor.

I then decided it was time for me to be sitting in my rocker waving at the passersby. I put my tools away and walked to the rocker.

                        The End

The above tale is totally true, if you don’t believe me, ask Charlie.

May all your supervisors be as vigilant!

Don Ford

Harvest begins slowly 05.23.16

            Here at the Ford Homestead, there are few things that cause my present spouse of 47 years to be happier than when the harvest begins. Yes, you guessed it, as the harvest at the Ford Homestead increases, the time she spends on the road side picking up aluminum cans, lessens.

            We are all happy that she can stay home and enjoy various other projects at the homestead. Many of these projects are put aside, when she is working the highways and byways.

Glad to have you home more, Sugar Bear (before you ask, it is a nick name). 

            I have been harvesting the black berries daily, the birds are taking a few but I am gathering more. No there has not been an appearance of, “The Black Berry Cobbler” yet, but now that she can stay home more, I am sure it will be one of the many projects for my present spouse.  

            We have gathered a couple full sized tomatoes and many cherry tomatoes. The Peppers are producing along with squash, and we have onions out the wazoo. Shown below are a few of the harvested items.

 

                On a slightly differed subject, Bonnie and Clyde were killed by Texas Troopers on this day in 1934. For the one non believer, go ahead and check it out, you will see I am correct. Yes it was before I was born, I am old, but not that old.

May your harvest be generous!

Don Ford           

Calculus 05.19.16

            This wonderfully instructive and may I say, well written and composed article is definitely not about Calculus. For that one reader who knows what Calculus is, stop being a, “smarty pants!” For the rest of us, Calculus is about, The Rate of Change and Accumulation.

Having only a high school education, a much simpler definition could be, “Adding, Subtracting and Totals”.

This one of a kind article, is about one of the most terrifying words in the English language, “Cookulus” which is similar to Calculus but has a totally different meaning. I am not sure of the origin of the word Cookulus, it possibly originated in Swamp East Missouri.

It is a word, that when use by your spouse, alerts you that you are in trouble. You will immediately try to rectify the situation by saying you are sorry and possibly getting on your knees and begging to be forgiven.

Those of you who are not married, and not living with someone, you do not need to worry about this word.

I just thought of a photo I took the other day and it is of the cactus at the north end of the Homesteads main building (aka our house). This cactus has over the years collected items from the neighbor boy and his friends. As an example, if a ball gets into the cactus, they have learned to leave it there as the cactus does have a couple stickers.

  Click on photo to enlarge.

            The cacti is in bloom and I thought it was pretty, so when I was manicuring the lawn the other day I paused for a moment to enjoy the beauty of this hurt filled, painful plant. You should not notice the oak tree growing in the center of the photo! 

            We have a leaking water line and I dug down to the pipe and found the leak yesterday. The leak is not bad but it is a leak. I called the plumber yesterday and they said they would come out today. Guess what, it is raining today, do you think they will still come out?

            Well I guess that is it for now, I hope you have a wonderful…        what?

You want to know what?                 Oh, yes I can do that.

I thought you had already understood the meaning of Cookulus. As I stated earlier, I am not sure of the origin of the word and it may be from anywhere. The word is used as a threat or promise! It most often is used when you have messed up real bad and your spouse says, “I am going to Cookulus”, or it can be stated as, “I am going to “Cook You Less”.

I hope you don’t hear, Cookulus, today!

Don Ford 

Plans go astray, Not 05.17.16

            It was my plan to manicure the yard today. Others in the neighborhood mowed over the weekend and they all looked good. If one waits a few days after everyone else in the neighborhood mows, then one, “manicures” their lawn, the freshly manicured lawn stands out against the three day old mowed yards. The freshly manicured lawn draws attention from passersby. The other day there was three high school aged persons walking by when one of them said, “Your yard looks nice”! How could one get a better comment than from a young person who normally doesn’t see anything other than a person of the opposite sex, or same sex, in some circumstances?

            There was a light rain yesterday morning, so I didn’t know if my plan would come to fruition.

            There was a so-called professional mowing service at one of the neighbors, and they were mowing as it rained, Dumb!

The yard mowed by the so-called professionals, looks worse than all of the neighbors yards! There might be one that is worse, or at least equally bad, but he has been trying to make it look better.

            The light rain stopped, and the grass was getting, not dry, but less wet. There were severe storm warnings for Tuesday evening and night, the prognosticators were wrong again, and we thankfully, had no storms in our area.

            After my noon repast, and ensuing nap, I sprang from my recliner and dashed into the jon I mean, asked my first wife for permission to use the Ford’s Chevy, to drive to town and pick up my new glasses. Did you know, they will actually sell you two pair of single vision glasses for $69.99, if you are aged and on a fixed income? Oh, one will also need to insist on the less expensive price, as they will offer you all the add-ons.

            Arriving back home, I manicured the front lawn and then went to pick up the kids after school. Alex wanted me to let them play on the school playground, but I said no. I said they could get ice cream when they get to the Ford Homestead. Alex made this statement, “I am making a new rule. Gabi, me and Granny can have ice cream, but not Papaw”. I guess I should have let them play. I am not sure if this is a temporary rule or if it is permanent.

            Arriving back at home, I was able to manicure the back lawn, pick the black berries, still had time to sit in the rocker eating peanuts with my diet coke, and call my sister prior to Supper.

May you enjoy your neighbor’s manicured lawn!

Don Ford

Half Full 05.16.16

            Having written that title, I guess you could say I am a, “die in the wool optimist”!

            Let’s not get carried away here, slow down and consider the above line. I start off stating, “Having written that title”. I did not write anything, but I did key that statement in. If I had written anything you probably could not have written it. My so called hand writing is really bad.

            Now who says, “Die in the wool”? What does it even mean, die in the wool?

            I do have to say the title does indicate that I am optimistic, at least in that statement.

            Was I commenting on a glass of water? Heck no! I was commenting on my trailer being half full of limbs. Half full my foot, that trailer was probably three fourths full. That being a true statement, how does an old, and I do mean old, trailer loader like me, get a ¾ loaded trailer to only be half loaded?           Experience, that’s how!

I am now giving away information, which I should probably be offering for a price. If I were to make some money from my ideas, my first wife would not need to be out on the streets and highways picking up aluminum cans.

I have been putting limbs on this trailer over the last three weeks. I have done everything I can to pack it tight, in an effort to get more on the trailer. I have cut the limbs into smaller pieces, which takes longer but it does compact the load allowing for more debris.

Friday there was a limb that had broken in the last wind storm, and it was hanging there waiting to fall on someone or something. I had to use a ladder to get up to the bottom of the limb and I tied a rope to the lower part in an effort to pull it down. That did not work, so I pulled the rope tight and tied it to another tree, keeping pressure on the limb. I then procured my 16 foot pole saw, and again climbed the ladder. From the ladder I was able to begin to cut the wood that was holding the limb. It took a total of three swipes with the saw, and down the limb came.

Mission accomplished! I decided that I had the ladder and saw out why not cut a few more. So I began to cut the limbs that were in that area. At some point I noticed I had a lot of limbs on the ground, and I would now need to bring them to the trailer, cut them in to the right size pieces, and load them. I like cutting the limbs from the trees but the ground work is really hard work!

It was five hours of wood butchering that I did that Friday. The trailer is now ¾ full. At 4:30 I went inside at the Ford Homestead and took a nice shower, I think I actually needed a shower, this time! Body and mine cleaned (at least the body was clean) I went to the rocker on the drive and sat in the shade.

Saturday my present wife and I went out for lunch as usual. Upon returning from the noon repast, I sat in my recliner, inside the Homestead. I almost immediately noticed that I was getting sleepy. Any time I set down and do nothing, I begin to get sleepy. My spouse of 47 years says it is due to all the hard work I do and my body needs the rest (she didn’t say that but I think that might be the reason I get sleepy when relaxing).

I decided that I should do something and not take a nap. I bounded from the chair and sprinted to the back door, where I procured my sun glasses and a cap. I proceeded to the back yard and looked up. There are a couple limbs that I could cut and possibly load them on the ¾ full trailer.

I brought the ladder along with the pole saw out of the shed. I positioned the ladder and raised the pole saw to the limb. This limb was a little over 4 inches in diameter, yes I measured it later. I was surprised how quickly the limb broke and fell. After it was on the ground I was no longer surprised. That darn limb had many smaller limbs on it, than it appeared to have, when looking up into the tree. It was a heavily loaded limb.

There was another limb about the same size that I could not resist cutting. I looked at the limbs and wondered if I could get them all on the trailer. I decided if I couldn’t, I would cut them into pieces that I could easily handle, and leave them by the gate. I could make two trips to the limb depository next week.

I began cutting the limbs and placing them on the trailer, I was also using three ratchet tie down straps to compress the load making more room for additional limbs. After I loaded a few limbs, I would undue one strap and then re-strap the load again tightening it down, repeating this process many times.

To make a short story longer, I was able to place all the limbs on the trailer with the aid of the straps. Who knows what will happen at the limb depository next Saturday, when the straps are removed. At that point, it should not be my problem, instead the limb depository’s problem!

Be optimistic, all things are possible!

Be pessimistic, nothing is possible!

It’s your life, you choose!

No, in the photo below, the bird house is not stuck in the center of the trailer, it is on a fence behind the trailer, what a silly question!

  click on photo to make it larger.

Don Ford

                 

Friday 13th 05.13.16

            Happy Friday 13^th to each of you!

            May this Friday, be your best Friday 13^th ever!

                I just noticed the above sentence starts by stating, “May this Friday…” that wasn’t a play on words, which is an error by the word aficionados.  The word, “May” was meant to mean might, or possibly in that statement. It, as some of you may know, is also the present Month of this year 2016, “May”!

Now you may see why those who are in charge of words, should check with me, before they decide to use certain words. I could make things so much better for the world!

Different subject:

There was an uninvited homeless family that moved in with my sister in Missouri. My sister, a kind person who wants to be kind to all, accepted this family without restrictions. Yes, they could come and go as they liked, paying for nothing, while enjoying the security of my sister’s home and a nice quite neighborhood.

Oddly enough, there were twins in the family, and it seemed as if, all those two babies did was to eat and poop. The mother and father were constantly attending to the twins. My sister would check on them several times daily. Even though she would have liked to help the family, they were self-sufficient, asking for nothing other than a place to live for a few weeks.

Then, as abruptly as they arrived, they left. No mention of where they were going or if they would ever return, not even a thank you!

One of my sister’s son’s, did get a photo of the twins, see photo below. 

 

We have babies at The Ford Homestead, and since I was writing about the twins above, I thought I should get some photos of the Homestead Babies! These babies were mentioned in a previous posting, but there were no photos. Please ignore the defecation on the baby’s home, it happens!

 

 

 

 

Click on the photos for an enlarged view.

            Photo #1 shows that there are at least two babies in the gourd.

            Photo #2 shows one is very hungry.

            Photo #3 has a parent with what appears to be a berry in its mouth.

Photo #4 is from a totally different subject. It is the wedge of wood that Gabi and I made to look like a slice of watermelon.

May Friday 13^th be an outstanding day for you!

Don Ford

Black Berries 05.12.16

            I have a photo of some red and green black berries. I have had several that were turning black and when I returned to gather the Black Berry, the birds had already helped them self to them.          

            So far I have harvested one black berry, which I ate, while standing at the vine, in front of the birds! Photo to follow.

  Click on photo to enlarge.

In the photo we see numerous berries in various stages of development. At some point, there will be more ripe berries than the birds can steal, allowing the Ford family to harvest some necessary fruit, that will be baked into a cobbler!             Black Berry Cobbler!

            I should also note that one ripe tomato has been harvested, it was a cherry tomato. The large tomatoes are all still green.   

Hope you have a fruitful day!

Don Ford

Beginning and End 05.11.16

            I had completed my forced labor and was allowed a few minutes to myself to rest and regain my strength. I had chosen to have a cup of coffee and an oatmeal cookie, as I sat in the rocker on the front porch. I am led to believe, that a cup of coffee after a severe workout, has some of the same positive effects on the body, as an aspirin. Something to do with the caffeine.

Before that one annoying person asks, yes, we have more than one rocker outside The Ford Homestead.

Back to my wonderful account, I was on the front porch in the 91 degree heat drinking hot coffee, with a cookie, maybe two. The wind was blowing which made it fairly comfortable. I did have my tablet with me upon which I was playing solitaire and listening to 60s music, from XM radio (through the tablet).

As I sat there enjoying my rest period, I would occasionally look up. There is a bird house on the porch and a sparrow has its nest in it. The sparrow would fly away and return with some food for the babies. I am not sure how many babies there are in the nest, but I know there are at least two, as I have seen two at the bird house door, with their beaks wide open, waiting for one of the parents to deposit some food.

I didn’t need to look to see if the parent was there with food, as the babies would get quiet when the parent was gone, and would start making noise when he / she returned.

The baby birds would be the beginning, from the title of this well written article.

I had lost all but one of the solitaire games when I decided to stop playing. I had shut the tablet off and was sitting there observing the neighborhood. It was a clear day with hardly a cloud in the sky. I had noticed how nice the green from the trees looked, against the clear blue sky. As I looked across the street, a fast moving bird caught my eye. It was a Red Tail Hawk, which came across the top of a neighbor’s tree, pulled its wings in, and suddenly, dropped out of the sky.

Its target was a black bird that was on the ground, looking through the grass for bugs. The Red Tailed Hawk was maybe twice the size of his target.

I have seen Red Tail Hawks eating birds many times, but this was the first time I have seen one kill a bird.

The death was not quick and I will not go into that part of the observation. Let’s just say there was a bunch of black feathers on the ground. That would be, the End, from this story title.

From the front porch of The Ford Homestead, we have seen the beginning of life, and the end of life. Those two actions brought to mind a story that I have been working on for some time. My story is titled, “It was The End, and The Beginning”.

I will attach a few photos taken recently, of flowers on The Fords Homestead.  

  

 

 

  

Colorful flowers from the back 40.

May your day be filled with flowers!

Don Ford

  

Dove 05.09.16

            Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and our family was all together. It was decided that my wife of 47 years would not cook, instead we would go out for lunch. There were eight of us counting the two grand kids and we decided to go a little early in an effort to not stand in a long line.

            We arrived at the Long Horn steak house, a little after 11:00 and there was no line. I guess church wasn’t out yet. We enjoyed each other’s company, and the food was good.

My wife of 47 years, will need some help for the next couple months, if you would like to volunteer, picking up cans from the highway, as the cost of the food was, shall we say, elevated.

All in all, we had a good Mother’s Day, and hope you did also.

Here in the lone star state we have 3 types of doves. There is the regular dove like I use to hunt when we lived in Missouri. These doves are medium sized and when we first moved here they were everywhere. Now we see them occasionally.

There is a small dove, about the size of a sparrow and we seldom see this variety of dove.

When we first moved here there was very few white winged doves around but now, they are everywhere. These doves are the largest of the three doves, almost as big as a pigeon.

My reason for all this lead up info, these white wing doves are breeding and they are very noisy. As I was attempting to relax the other afternoon, after having been forced to do yard work, I was suddenly aware of a noise.

This noise sounded somewhat like hand clapping, but it was being produced by the wings of a dove. Evidently the male of the White Wing species, flaps his wings continually during this process. If there are any white wing doves around, and if they are breeding, you will know it.

As I was walking this morning, I was again introduced to that sound at a neighbor’s home. There must have been several sets of these doves in his tree as the sounds were very pronounced.

Speaking of birds, the birds are helping themselves to the black berries. I check the berries and see that there are some that are red and almost ready early morning, when I check back that evening the birds have taken them.

May your day be as nice, as you want it to be!

Don Ford  

Special 05.05.16

                A couple photos for those of us who do not like to read.

Below is a photo of the bushes that I trimmed some time back, and now they are blooming.

Click on photo to see a larger version.

Below is an early morning photo of The Fords Homestead.

The photo below could be interpreted in many ways. I believe it may be a sign of the spiritual character of the person who belongs to that shadow. Would you believe we don’t know who the photo is of?

Would you also believe, I do not know how the photo got on my Microsoft phone?  

 

Have a nice day!

Don Ford

Department 05.04.16

                This morning I was sitting in my recliner in a total daze I mean, intensely observing the TV news. There was an advertisement wanting to sell a dress for half the price of that at a department store. This advertising store, which I will not mention the name, has many departments. My question is, if a store is divided into various areas, is that not a department store? Maybe this advertiser thinks of their store as “a section store”.

            Yesterday I was forced to work on my knees in the overwhelming pollen. I was on my knees in the garden pulling weeds and dusting the plants.

            Before that one person askes, and I use the term person loosely, dusting does not mean that I was removing dust from the plants, I was putting sevin dust on the plants.

            After being on my knees for what seemed to be hours, I was then forced into getting the string trimmer out, and trimming the weeds in the back yard and along the fence, on the ditch side. After that, I staggered to my rocking chair, near the garage door, and fell into it, exhausted, and barely alive.

            It took several hands full of peanuts, and a diet coke before my body began to recover.

May the force be eliminated!

                        ^{Did you get that point, do not force your husband to work!}

Don Ford

Winter returns 05.02.16

            What the heck happened? It is Monday May 2^nd and a good friend’s birthday. It seems as if winter has returned to Hewitt, TX. This morning as I normally do, I went out the front door to retrieve the morning newspaper for my present wife. I was slapped in the face by a north wind and temperatures that must have been close to freezing. Hurrying and shivering the entire time I was able to procure the paper and make it back to the front door. 

            Entering the residence I was once again in a warm environment. I decided to get a hot coffee and then check the weather on the local TV station. I was right, the temp was down to 57 degrees and the high for the day was predicted to only reach 70. What happen to the warm spring we were having?

            Not normal for me!

            Sunday my first wife and I went to our usual place for Brunch. After that we went to Lowes to look at commodes. Sadly they said they would have to order the commode we were asking about. We then ventured to Home Depot and got the same information. A week to ten days to get a new commode was the response from both retailers.

            I decided, to make one more attempt at repair. I purchased a fat wax ring and a new water control for the tank. My spouse of 47 years wasn’t sure that I was spending this twelve dollars wisely, but she did not forbid the purchase.

            Arriving home about 2:00 pm I quickly changed clothes and headed to the recliner for a nap. Naps are very helpful when you are faced with an enormous amount of work.

            Nap completed, I sprang from my chair and began gathering the necessary tools for another attempt at, “De-leaking the commode”. I had, earlier in the day, watched some videos on U-tube. I was able to get a couple ideas there, and a friend had suggested the oversized wax ring during an earlier conversation.

            Making a short story long, I actually followed the directions from the package, not something I normally do, and I used the suggestions from friends and u-tube.

            As I was into the final stage of connecting the water supply line, I had suggested to my present wife that now would be a good time to pray. I had already asked for guidance from above. 

            Water supply connected, I slowly turned it on. Water was entering the tank and bowl very slowly. Observing no leaks, I then turned it on all the way, and a rush of water began filling the tank and bowl.

            Tank filled, I was ready for the Flush test. I needed to flush the toilet to see if it leaks at floor level.

            As I tried to extend my hand, to the lever that activates the flush valve, fear enveloped my whole body. My hand shaking, my hold body tense, I touched the lever and somehow was able to gather enough force to activate the lever. There was a sudden rush of water causing the commode to spring alive. Water was running from the tank into the bowl and the water in the bowl was spinning as it went down the drain.

            I had placed a paper towel on the floor next to the area that had leaked in the past. I hesitated to look down, but then forced myself to observe the paper towel. I hope you have never had to put as much effort into a repair job as I have on this one, and then find that the leak was still there.

            After my repair attempt I proceeded outside and acquired the lawn mower. I mowed the front yard twice, yes that is normal, mow it from street to house and back then change directions mowing alongside the street. I did not use the string trimmer as time was short and I wanted to mow the back yard also.

            I went to the back yard and began mowing and I found a large limb that had broken out of a tree and fell behind the kid’s fort, hiding it from view. It had been there several days as the leaves were already dried up.

            Back yard is now complete, except for the string trimming, which I will do this week as it is supposed to be dry for a whole week. I grabbed a sandwich and some chips and had a light repast.

            What?    I thought I did!    Are you sure?     Oh, yes you are right, I didn’t!

            I have just been reminded, that I did not, “clearly state”, whether the commode leaked or not. In an effort to rectify that non-clear statement,   Thanks to suggestions from friends, U-tube and Prayer, “NO, the commode did not leak”!       

May you have an excellent May!

Don Ford