Again this year 03.31.18

                As in past years, this year is no exception. No, I am not talking about the weeds growing faster than the grass, even though that is something that happens to the yards of retired people, on a fixed income, you know, those of us who can’t afford the weed and feed to stop the weeds. If only we could find a few more aluminum cans during those nightly walks on the highways and byways, we might be able to have nicer yards!

            Back to the subject at hand, after that nice rain, I took a walk through the back 40 and as I passed our massive black berry patch, no not the new patch the old patch, I observed blooms on the black berry plants which indicates the possibility of another big crop this year. Photos to follow. Please click to enlarge. 

 

            The white spots, are the beginning of the blooms. Do not look at the stickers, I am talking about the blooms!

            I have inserted the above photo showing open blooms, so that one skeptical person, you know who you are, would understand that some blooms are open. 

            As I continued my stroll around the back 40, I also observed a few rose’s in bloom and thought I would add a photo.

 May your strolls be filled with blooms!

Don Ford

Almost forced 03.30.18

                It is Good Friday, and we hope you have a nice weekend, possibly you can keep the religious aspect of the weekend in mind.

                I was almost forced to do this work. How was I almost forced you ask, allow me to explain. It was suggested that the cement basket which weighs almost 125 pounds and the cement rabbit be moved into the expanded flower bed, or I might not get any supper. That suggestion cause me to take action. I did not carry the basket, but used a two wheeler to move it. I was able to manhandle the rabbit. Photo to follow.

                                              

                Mowing will begin today, or tomorrow. After the rain (2.5 inches) we have weeds and some grass growing. FYI, for those who live up north, it was 88 degrees here Monday. Can we believe that summer is almost here? 

Do the work requested, and you will be fed!

Don Ford    

It's the truth 03.29.18

                I have two stories and they are both true. There will be a photo with one story.

                Yesterday, now that the rain has stopped, I decided to check on the new blackberry plants. The black berries were planted and tomato rings placed over them as protection from the Tres. I was, in one way, “Pleasantly surprised”, yet in another way, “Astonished”!

                First of all the plants were standing up and looking very healthy, that was the pleasant surprise. The part that astonished me was, one tomato ring had been knocked over, and bent completely out of shape. How did this occur, I have one thought and that would be, Tres somehow got tangled up in the ring. Photo of the destroyed tomato ring, click to increase. 

I had a dream last night that went something like this. Evidently I had become wealthy in my dream, we lived in a nice big new home. I was working in the front yard and needed the weed eater. I walked around the front of the house and to get into the back yard there was a huge garage type door that lead to the back yard. I pushed the button and the door went up. The back yard went downhill from where I was, and there was a shed at the bottom of the yard. I began to walk down to the shed and as I approached the shed there was two smaller dogs or they may have been puppies playing. About that time I heard Tres running and barking toward me. He was madder than a mashed cat, bristled up hair on his back and also on his sides. He was really mad and on the attack. I began hollering at him Tres it is me! I woke up.

                Do you think he got me, or did he stop?

Try the truth today, it might help you!

Don Ford

When the lights go out 03.29.18

                One of my neighbors commented that she sees me sitting outside messing with sticks and parts of limbs. How do you like that, a female neighbor takes the time to watch this senior male person as I mess around in the yard. I guess it is good that I keep my clothes on most of the time. The fact that her husband is a priest does not keep her from watching me. She walks up and down the street several times each day saying, her doctor told her to walk 10,000 steps each day, but maybe she does it so she can keep an eye on the neighborhood.

                The lady observer I mean neighbor lady asked, when I would make her a candle holder that would handle three candles. I found a piece of wood, and I have made a candle holder for her. The candle holder would look better if it had some greenery around it.

                                                              

                You are correct it is just a part of a limb with candles in it. Anyone can do it but most people have too many things keeping them busy. Yes I made a second candle holder which I like better than the one above, but what I like does not matter. I might get a photo of the other and show it in the future.

                Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candle stick and giveth light unto all that are in the house.          

Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works.

Don Ford

I asked my phone about the candle and bushel comment from the bible and it found the answer for me.                                  

In the beginning 03.28.18

               In the beginning was the bud, and the bud was with the bush, and the bud will be a rose!

                                             

               Are you looking at the stickers and not the rose bud? That tells me a lot about you. Thorns and stickers rather that a new rose bud! I have known this for a long time, and now it is proven.

Look for the beauty in things and not the thorns!

Don Ford

He said what 03.28.18

               I remember my dad telling me something about working. Dad said, “Let the tool do the work”!

               Now you might say, “Everyone knows that you let the tool do the work”, but do they understand what that means. This was first told to me when I was about 16 years old. There was a large tree limb that needed to be cut into smaller pieces so it could be hauled off. We being poor citizens did not have a chain saw. What dad had was a two man saw, as seen in the drawing below. That is me on the right!

              

               We were cutting the limb and I was supposed to pull the saw to me, then dad would pull the saw to him. It seems as if I was pulling and pushing, in other words, doing extra work. That is when Dad said, let the tool do the work. He was saying don’t get in a hurry, let the saw cut the wood and only do your part of the work.

               I was using a hand saw yesterday, and before you ask, no it wasn’t a saw to cut someone’s hand off! Why do you come up with these silly questions? A hand saw is a saw that requires one to push and pull the saw using their hand. It is not electric. Now do you understand?

               Let me start over, I was using a hand saw yesterday, and as I cut the wood I thought of what dad said, “Let the tool do the work”! That saying does keep me from straining sometimes.

Now to a different subject. In my previous article I had referenced what I observed in the tree limbs. I also said I would provide a close up of Natures Art! See the photo below. For more info refer to the previous posting.

May your day be filled with Natures Art!       

Don Ford

One of a species 03.27.18

               I will provide you with a couple photos of the newest one of a kind creation, from the Tres. He does nice work and he never says thanks to me for doing the finishing work.

         

 

         

Three views of the exclusive, and I must say one of a kind, desk top pen holder. It kind of reminds me of a killer bug. She has four legs, and you can see her eye ball in the photo to the right. She holds the pencil in her mouth. She has a very large tail!

               Consider the conversations you would have if this masterpiece was on your desk. Some comments would be, it is unusual, who made it, and how would anyone create such a piece of Art work? You paid how much for it?

               Also consider those who would see this art work on your desk, and yet they would not ask about it being afraid that you made it.

               Then there is that one person that would comment saying, “Where did you get that ugly thing”? You could say that either you made it, or your child made it, and that would embarrass the person.

               As you see, it is the best conversation piece, possibly of this century. Regardless of the conversation, you win!

               Bids will be taken through Midnight, March 31^st, 2018.

Chat with others about your one of a kind art work, while being totally in control!

Don Ford

Procedural text 03.27.18

            The title of this almost professional article has caught my attention. You, being an intelligent person, probably understand what procedural text means. I was practicing my usual morning ritual, the other morning, you know, sitting in the recliner with a cup of instant coffee watching the so-called news, when I became aware of, “Procedural Text”.

            The so called news was in a school class room were the kids were putting together something known as the scribbler. It is not important what the scribbler is, but I will try to splain it somewhat. The kids were using cardboard and paper things taped together with a little motor and one of the legs was a marker. The motor had a close pen attached which shook the entire device when the motor was turned on, causing the marker to scribble. 

            The description of the project has nothing to do with my opinion, I like the idea of kids learning, but the words “Procedural Text” does. Procedural text means the same as instructions. Why can’t we just use words that the parents and especially the grandparents understand? Procedural text would mean text that explains how one should proceed.

            It’s kind of like the new math. The kid’s math problem can be solved with the math I learned as a children, but the school wants the kid to go through all kinds of dumb processes (my opinion) to get to the same answer a senior citizen would with general math.

Now let’s get to something like a puzzle. In the following photo of tree limbs and branches, I see the outline of a cat face. After some review, the outline could be of a pig face. You will likely need to enlarge the photo to see, “Natures Art”!

In my next posting I will present an enlargement of the area with, “Natures Art”.

            When I sit on the Fords old rocker in the afternoon I see and hear many things.

Procedural Text available upon request!

Don Ford

Who said what 03.26.18

               One of the things I remember my dad telling me was, “Never start a fight, never run from a fight!” My dad was a red haired Irishmen so that statement kind of makes sense. 

               I remember talking with a fellow named Henry, who at that time was the age of my dad, Henry was the owner of a construction company that did electrical work. His company bought a lot of their electrical supplies from GESCO (General Electric Supply Company) and that is where I worked at that time.

               One day Henry asked me who my dad was, and I told him my dad’s name was George. Henry said he knew my dad when they were kids. Henry said that my dad, when he was young, would rather fight than eat. Evidently Henry found out the hard way that dad liked to fight.

               Another good thing about Henry and his company, they were contracted to do the electrical work on The HWI building (Hardware Wholesalers Inc.) that was being built in Cape Girardeau. I would ask questions all the time about the progress of their work, and our company sales person Bill always had info about the progress of the construction. I had it in mind to apply when the building was getting close to completion.

                When HWI began taking applications, the fact that I worked at GESCO for a couple years gave me a leg up on other applicants. I was experienced at loading and unloading trucks, checking product in and stocking the items. The inventory was kept on a card file, I entered all the receipts and deducted all the sales.  I was experienced in inventorying, there wasn’t much warehouse work that I had not done.

               The day came that I applied at HWI, I was given a math test. The test wasn’t very difficult but I could not remember how to divide. I might have been nervous. I skipped the division problem, answered all the rest and then when I went back to the divide problem, I remembered how to divide.

               I was interviewed by a person whom I later learned would be the General Manager at the Cape center. I was then asked to talk with another person who was at that time a Director of Finance. I could be wrong on the title but he was basically a Vice President.

               He went over the application and asked a few general questions. He then asked how much my rent was each month. I explained that I was buying and not renting. That seemed to impress him. He then asked if I had a car and if so how much did I owe on it. I explained that I had a car and it was paid for. That also seemed to impress him. He actually quizzed me about my finances, wife and child, more than any other subjects.

               I left the interview believing that they would hire me, even though they did not say that.

               Returning to my job at GESCO, my boss Paul asked, how did the interview go? I was a little surprised that he knew, but since I had missed work that morning and there was an ad in the paper stating they would be taking applications, I guess he had put two and two together. I said they will hire me! Paul laughed and said, “I bet they do”!

 

               They Did!

 

HWI made the right decisions building in Cape, and hiring me!

         

Don Ford

Political Statement 03.25.18

               This article was written Jan. 30^th, 2018 but for some reason was not published. I just happened to be going through old files attempting to clean them out when I found it. Here it is, like it or not!

               There was something on TV and it was some sort of awards program. I believe it was awards for singing.

               First, allow me to say, I care less who gets what award.

               Second, the info I have about the so-called awards program comes from the so-called news reports.

               Third, the so-called awards program seemed to be more political than awards.

               Fourth, as I tried my best to not watch or hear the so-called news there was a debate between a liberal and a conservative. The liberal stated that most Americans believed a certain way about the president, and that is evident by what we see and hear in the news and various poles. The conservative’s view was opposite!

               I think, the liberals get their viewpoints presented most often, due to the liberal news. Now you might say, if the people wanted more conservative news it would be that way. Supply and demand! If less people wanted the supply (so-called news) the supply would change. That is true in economics but not true in this setting.

               This socialism and communism starts off with a lot of publicity as to how everyone will be equal, and the rich will be brought down. The socialist are good at publicizing their view points and lying about the future (aka fake news). The first place they get a foot hold is in the news media. They pound their philosophy out to the public relentlessly, and even though people don’t buy into their presentations, these same people do not work against that political point of view. Most people are more concerned with their daily lives and not politics. Inaction on their part allows the socialist to take over without too much of a fight! Socialism and communism once in place, provide the leaders and their cronies the life of luxury, while the common person has nothing.

               Do you see what’s happening? Liberalism is just a precursor to socialism!

               For years conservatives have been less aggressive in the political world!

               Whatever your belief, get involved and then, either way you can say, “You tried”!

The following was added today 03/25/18.

               If you have children in school at any level, you should pay attention to what they are being taught. The liberalistic opinions are often a key feature in the class room setting. If you don’t get involved in the indoctrination (some refer to it as learning), what your offspring are being taught, your offspring will not know your point of view. Whether you agree with my point of view or not, you should get involved in your offspring’s education, aka brainwashing, either way you can say, “You tried”!

Education and Politics lean toward socialism!

Don Ford             

They are here 03.23.18

               As I rested my senior body on the Ford’s old rocking chair near the garage door I observed two flying objects in the sky. Now it is not unusual to observe a single jet flying over but to see two objects basically moving in the same direction at what seemed to be the same rate of speed, now that is unusual.

               I reached for the so called smart phone and turned on the camera and I took several photos. I will present two photos one with circles around the objects and the other an enlarged photo with two arrows pointing toward those objects.

               Would you believe there are UFOs flying over Texas?

  

               Click to enlarge. Friday is Ancient Aliens day on the history channel, I like to watch when I can stay awake!

Look up and see what’s there!

Don Ford

No they were not UFOs, they were two jets flying the same direction at the same time, I knew my phone camera would not get a clear photo and that is the truth!

Flower bed expansion 03.23.18

               This story begins yesterday when I went to town and purchased 20 each blocks so I could expand a flower bed and create another. Seven of the blocks went to the expansion and 13 blocks went to the new flower bed. Now that I know there are 13 blocks in the new bed possibly I need to take one away or purchase another just to make the numbers even. See photo below, click to exaggerate!

               The close end, as seen in the photo, is the expansion. Someone still needs to remove the grass but we will save that for a cloudy day. The far end, as seen in the above print has the 13 blocks, which is the new bed and it also has grass that needs to be removed. Tomorrow I will attempt to spread the fertilizer on the yard and then water it in. We are still in a drought area, and everything needs water.

               Since no one asked, yes the kid’s fort is still here along with a swing, as seen in the photo below.

               It seems as if each day there is something else to do in the yard. It would be nice if we weren’t on a fixed income, then we could hire people to do these things. Now that I think of it, if we hired someone, I would still need to oversee everything they did in the yard. If I have to be there I might as well do it myself.

Do it yourself and it could be done right!

Don Ford

Old times and odd 03.22.18

               I have a couple photos from an old ride that I will post below. They are old time because they were taken years ago. There is the one of the clouds and I find it interesting that the clouds have a bottom that is fairly level.

The attractive fellow is me, don’t look at the fellow with his back to the camera, he don’t like to have his picture taken.

Click to enlarge, I do find it interesting that the clouds have a bottom but the tops are random. Can you explain this to me?

Keep your head out of the clouds and your feet on the ground!

                    That statement kinda makes it sound like you should not fly.

Don Ford

They got him 03.22.18

               The news yesterday morning is all about getting the bomber. Reportedly he blew himself up when the police were approaching his vehicle on I35 at Round Rock TX. (Sometimes I start these articles one day and finish them another) They stated that the bomber was from Pflugerville, TX. It just happens that my son and his wife live in Pflugerville, no it wasn’t my son! Why do you even think that way?  Patrick said that the area they had blocked off around the Bombers home, was a couple blocks from his home.

               I am glad they got him and hope there is no more bombs, and we hope he was doing this alone.

               Every time something like this happens they seem to have a large number of people respond. Now I want them to have all the necessary personnel available to solve the crime, but when you watch these scenes on TV, there are people standing around doing nothing. Everyone responds to the scene, and then no one tells those extra personnel to go back to their normal work areas.

               That is my comment, you don’t need to agree with me, I am allowed to have an opinion!

 

               On a different subject, “Me”. I have a heating pad on my back and it does seem to help relax my back and relieve the pain. With the heat applied, I stand upright.

 

               I have ordered some fertilizer for the lawn and some fire ant killer. I hope to get the fertilizer spread this Friday or Saturday and possibly there will be some rain shortly thereafter. If it don’t rain I will need to stay up late at night to water the lawn.          What?   Why would I need to stay up late to water the lawn, I will enlighten.

               Would you believe, I use the neighbor’s water, which means I must wait until they are sleeping then I hook up my hose to their faucet and water my yard? I very much appreciate the neighbors that leave their hose rolled up at their outside faucet.

               Before you ask, as a senior citizen I am on a fixed income and it saves me a lot of money when I use the neighbor’s water. I am sure they don’t mind helping a senior who is on a fixed income. I am sorry that the one neighbor’s hose was damaged due to vehicles driving over the hose as it was stretched across the street. If I wasn’t on a fixed income, I would buy them a new hose.

 

Be nice to your neighbors, they may be needy, or they may be able to help you!

Don Ford

 

If you want to continue to receive these postings please send me a note by the end of April, saying to keep you on the mailing list. I understand that not everyone on my mailing list, reads the postings. Yes I can see how many reads there are for any and all postings. I plan to send this reminder several times between now and the last full week in April.   Thanks

Not as bad 03.21.18

               Not as bad as it was. The Homestead Doctor suggested that I get off my NASH and RAMBLER around a little bit, possibly I would feel better. For that one person who doesn’t know that the above was a play on words I say, “Sorry Dude”! I will not take the time to explain everything to everyone.

               I was forced outside to water the flowers that were reportedly in dire need of H2O. Mission accomplished and as I was putting the hose away I noticed that my back wasn’t hurting as much as it had been, in fact, it wasn’t hurting at all.

               I have been sitting around doing mostly nothing today except relaxing. I did not need to take or get a grand kid from school today, as their Dad was off work.

               Now for the question of the day. “How sharp of a turn could the Nash Rambler make”? It is suggested you look at the photo above before you answer. Submit your answer, one per reader, to my web site and there will be a drawing.

               The above photo is what I saw this morning as I prepared to take Gabi to school. I thought it was a neat photo opp. I then remembered I did not need to take her to school as her dad is off work.

               My grandson received a fishing rod for his birthday and wants to go fishing. I was looking through my container of information about all the items I have purchased over the years, because I needed to know what the number is for the water filter to our refrigerator. As I was looking through the info I found a booklet from the parks and wildlife. It has information about the cost of a fishing license. I read where anyone under 17 and anyone over 65, could get their license for free.

               Since the booklet was kind of old, (1986 / 87 that would be 31 to 32 years old) I decided to check the web site for today’s info. I found out the kids under 17 are still free, but anyone over 65 has to pay $12.00. If I purchase a license now, it will expire the last day of August. That is only 5 months for $12.00! Your State Government likes to take money from seniors!         

               I would also need to purchase a fishing rod, as all my old fishing equipment has disappeared over the years. No I did not throw them away, I am old and old people never throw anything away. They were likely put in a museum!

Don’t let them know you are old, they take all your money!

Don Ford

Thanks for asking 03.20.18

               My back hurts, thanks for not asking!

               Yesterday, I moved the heavy flower pots out of the hot house and all around the yard. I moved most of our flowers out of the back yard to the front yard and we're hoping it don't freeze. Today at about 11:15am spring will be a real thing, but that does not mean all the cold weather is over.

            I also dug up and replanted some blackberries that were voluntarily growing outside the blackberry patch, so now if these blackberries grow, we will have two Blackberry patches.

            Yes my back's killing me, thank you for asking (you didn’t ask)! I knew my back was feeling tired and a little stiff during all the work, but I didn’t know I had actually hurt my senior back. It don’t hurt all the time, but if I move the wrong way, ouch!

                                               

            Alex’s electric scooter stopped working a couple weeks back, so I called the people for warranty. The lady listened to what I had to say and she said she would send me a new set of batteries. The scooter has two 12 volt batteries permanently wired in a manner to provide 24 volts to the scooter. The new batteries arrived yesterday and I removed the old batteries where I found a broken wire from the battery. After installing the new batteries, Alex enjoyed riding up and down the street.

            My back is killing me thanks for asking! L

 

               Oddly enough, I can bend over and pick things up without pain but if I turn, aka twist my back, it hurts. I guess I should have stretched before I started working.

 

Be nice to someone today, it may be your turn tomorrow!

 

Don Ford

 

Once full now empty 03.19.18

               We are moving into spring, officially tomorrow. The weather man, I mean weather person has stated that we should stay above 40 at night and in the high 70s and low 80s all week. Does that mean we are free of the possibility of frost?            NOPE!                But since the CEO here at the homestead has been purchasing flowers and planting them, or hanging them around the house, and since we have planted the Tomato’s in the Gardenistic area, why not get the old plants out of the hot house so they can get a breath of fresh air. That is my plan for the day. Yes I know it will be a lot of work but I will approach it in my usual way, slow and easy! Some of the flowers in the hot house seem to have grown during the winter while some seem to have given up or almost given up. Photo #1 is before removal.

Photo #2 is after double hernia.

Photo #3 is of Tres  

               The hot house can be used to toss junk in during the summer months, you know, things that you don’t want to put away properly.  The only problem in doing this is, at a later date when I need said item, and I look where it normally is stored but can’t find it, where do I look. Occasionally I do remember where I placed said items.

Enjoy spring, cause summer is coming!

Don Ford

               If you want to continue to receive these postings please send me a note by the end of April, saying to keep you on the mailing list. I understand that not everyone on my mailing list, reads the postings. Yes I can see how many reads there are for any and all postings. I plan to send this reminder several times between now and the last full week in April.

Gardenistic 03.18.18

               If you are having trouble reading the title to this pleasing article, allow me, the author, to provide a definition of the word I have created. Let’s start with how to pronounce the word, Garden-is-tic. The definition of the word is, “A small garden like area”.

               Due to the fact that the Ford Homestead Garden Manager is never here, I decided that we would not have a traditional garden this year, instead we would have a, “Gardenistic area”. After some discussion with the CEO of the Homestead, a location was picked and the decision to have only a few tomato plants.

               We cleaned the raised flower bed of the old growth and roots and a couple flowers that Alex had planted last year.  The flowers he had planted were just popping through the soil, so we did replace them in hopes they will survive.

               We planted the tomatoes, one of which is a cherry tomato. We are hoping to keep Tres from digging them up. I watered the Gardenistic area, and a few hours later we received almost ¾ inch of rain.

Photo of the Gardenistic area to follow, click to increase in size.

    

               The back yard needs mowing and when it dries enough I will endeavor to mow it, but first I will need to pick up all of the Tres’ junk, and there is a lot of it. As I surveyed the area I observed something very pretty, it was, “The Yellow Rose of The Ford Homestead”! As you expect, photo to follow.

May you use Gardenistic areas to make America Beautiful again!          

Don Ford