May 2, 2026

                We did get some rain yesterday, and this morning is starting out to be a good morning, but it is cold outside aka 46 degrees.

                The photo of the gage was taken at 6:00pm yesterday, almost one inch of rain.

Different topic: I want to comment on something I have commented on in the past. On 03/06/2026 I mailed a letter to the IRS via certified mail at the Hewitt post office which cost me $5.30. I checked yesterday (05/01/2026) to see if the USPS shows that the letter was delivered, it does not indicate delivery, in fact, if show there will be a late delivery. Now my bank has cashed the check I sent to the IRS, so we know the certified letter was delivered but the USPS don’t know it. Everyone makes a mistake occasionally even the USPS.

               

                Yesterday I stayed home all day except for going to get our breakfast burrito. Back at home I did do my daily reading of the bible, and I did wash the clothes. Yep, I did my housework and that is about it. Today is supposed to be a nice day so I may be able to get outside for a while.

                We hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Mr. Donnie the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

May 1, 2026

                We are having a good rainy morning here in Hewitt Tx. The rain started yesterday and must have continued through the evening hours. We have almost ½ inch in the rain gage this morning, the photo you asked for to follow.

                Yesterday was a non-working day, again. I did get a cup of real coffee, and I did get Alex to school on time and safely, and after lunch I did go to the store again, that is the third time in three days. Ole people go to the store and think they got everything then the next day they need something else. I guess I should make a list but if I did, I would likely forget to write the items needed on the list.

                After the reading of the bible yesterday, I decided to see if I could find something I had written several years ago. Over the years I have written several things, and one of them was how to do yard work. I believe it has 5 pages of written material and 17 photos and was written close to 15 years ago. After reviewing some of this material I think I have changed my mind about a couple subjects in the teaching material. I will attempt to present some but not all of the written material at the end of this post.

                Today is Friday and we have no big plans currently. School is out so I do not need to get up early to take Alex to school. Now the problem is if I don’t take him to school, how will I get a cup of real coffee?  I came up with a plan. I asked my favorite wife if she would like half a burrito for breakfast and when I was out getting the burrito I would get a cup of real coffee. That was accomplished and the burrito was good and I had a coffee.

                I guess I should stop for now, we hope you have a great day and that you are able to stay dry and safe at the same time.

                Mr. Donnie the Ford

 

Lawn mowing done right

This is to be a book about lawn mowing and should be somewhat funny. I should make fun of myself and others.

Foreword

Thank you for purchasing this book because I really need the money. If you are not interested in having a nice yard, don’t read this book. This book is totally factual, “except for the parts I made up” and the information that is “my opinion”.

 

Planning

• When planning a yard remember that each item (tree, bush, flower bed, kids sand box etc.) must be trimmed and mowed around. One large flower bed is easier to work with than several smaller beds (this is personal preference but the person doing the trimming and mowing will appreciate less).
• When considering what to plant originally or replacing plants or grass, go to the local nursery and tell them what you are considering. They will advise on proper plants for your area and needs. They will try to sell you something so…
• If something dies or is not looking good, get the local nursery to take a look. I remember a situation where the grass under the trees at work was dead from the tree trunk out to the edge of the tree leaves. The local tree person looked and said the only thing he could suggest was someone had fertilized the area under the tree with too much fertilizer, he was correct my maintenance man had done that. Use the professional…
• Look around the neighborhood to see who has a nice yard and then talk to them. Brag on their yard and they will be happy to tell you what and how they do it.
• Plant too close to house; don’t do it.

Weeds

• Weeds;                Pulling weeds from the flower bed is very difficult when the ground is very dry. It is easier if you water the afternoon before you are going to pull the weeds. You can water too much and then you are working in mud. You will learn after a couple tries.
• Weeds;                 Have a box or basket to put the pulled weeds into; don’t toss them on the ground around you to pick up later. That is double work. Also, when you have been on your hands and knees for a couple hours you will not want to have to pick up all the weeds you have pulled. Your back will thank you.
• Weeds;                  When you have a nice yard with lovely even grass, never pull weeds and just drop them on the grass.
• Know the difference between the flower and weeds, if you are not the person who planted the flower, check with him/her before you start.
• To enjoy the time you spend grooming your yard, schedule your time.  It is important to know how much you can do without over working yourself. If you over work you will not enjoy the time in the yard and will probably find reasons not to return to the grooming process.
• Where the proper clothing; for some it is a time to get some sun but be careful because you may have to pay for those burns later in life, I have. When possible schedule your work so you are in the shade. Stay hydrated. I like to take a couple bottles of water with me and drink before you get thirsty. Notice I suggest a couple bottles of water; I usually have dirt or grass on my shoes and I have been told to not track dirt in the house. More than one drink allows me to stay outside longer.
• Bagging the grass clippings when mowing should be done occasionally but it is not necessary to bag all the time. There are many different opinions on this subject so listen to me because I am right, then do it your way because you are also right.

1.      Bag the first couple cuttings each year. This will help get some of the old grass out of the yard. It will also collect any weeds and seed that you have cut.

2.      Bag if the grass has grown excessively as in the condition of a lot of rain and you have not been able to mow as scheduled. You can tell if the grass needs to be bagged when your mower is leaving clumps of cut grass.

3.      Bag your clippings in the fall when the leaves are falling. Your mower will shred the leaves and leaves that have been chopped into small pieces take up less room in the trash bags. Using the bagger on your mower is easier than raking.

 

 

And that was not all but a start for my enjoyment.

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 30. 2026

                Good morning to all, it has not started raining yet but they say it will rain today and tomorrow.

                Well, we did not do a lot yesterday, we did go for breakfast, and it was very good, then we went to the rehab where my favorite wife did very good. Back at home I rested for a while then I went to the store to get some items. Back at home I put the items away and then got the bible out and began to read. Now we have no bible study class so I can read what I want, and I do try to study. As we all know, I have never been good at learning from books. I learn more from hearing and seeing and less from reading.  

                It did not rain which I am aware of yesterday, but there was enough moisture in the air that the windshield wipers needed to be on any time I was driving. I walked out back to see the flower blooms, and I looked at the #2 berry bed. Yes, there are three photos. Even though it did not rain, the grass was so wet my shoes were soaked when I returned to the house.

               We did not sit outside yesterday as it was kind of cold. I did create a supper for my favorite wife and myself, and she created the salad for us. I need to wash some clothes but that is not fun, I vacuumed the floors yesterday, wow, never any rest for old people.

                I need to get started so I can get my morning real coffee as I head to Alex’s home and take him to school. I have learned that I need to go to the store today, my favorite wife needs her vitamin C.

                I will attempt to stop for now, we hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Mr. Donnie the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 29, 2026

                Good Tuesday morning to all, we hope all is well at your home.

                Let's review what occurred yesterday.  I did not do a lot, and if you take a look at yesterday's post which was posted later than normal, it informed you of half of what I had done. Later in the day (Tuesday) I went to the store and bought some stuff that my dearest wife wanted and some things that I wanted. We do now have a new rain gauge which I purchased at Wally World yesterday.

                This coming Friday is supposed to be a day of solid rain, with the possibility of one to three inches of rain, so I now have the rain gauge, and I'll be able to go out and say, “oh we had 1/4 inch of rain”. They were calling for the possibility of storms yesterday, luckily enough it did not occur here, and we feel sorry for those people where they've had all the Tornadoes.

                Today, I was able to get Alex to work I mean school, and yes, I did get a cup of real coffee from the Star coffee place. It was not raining but the mist was heavy enough to require the use of windshield wipers. I learned how the defroster on the outside mirrors works, heck I seem to learn something every time I drive the vehicle.

                My favorite wife is allowing me to take her out for breakfast at the Georges this morning before we must go to Rehab. We have a few blooming flowers, but our neighbor has a large number of blooming flowers of various colors, he puts a lot of effort into his flower beds.

                We are supposed to have some bad weather this morning; we hope that everyone stays safe from the bad weather. I will stop for now so I can get started on breakfast. Have a good day, be nice to at least one person and stay safe in all you do.               

Donnie the Ford

                   Do you like the name Donnie?

Both my favorite wife and I as

children had the nick name of Donnie.

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 28, 2026

                Morning is over as I start this article, I will say good day to you.

Today I have procured a cup of real coffee as I was going to get Alex and take him to school. Back at home I did nothing for a few minutes and then I captured the cat Molley and took her to the vet. After the vet visit, I went to the gas station and fill the Fords ole Chevy with gas and the 5-gallon gas can. Back at home I released the Cat and she went and hid from me.

                I did take some time to watch the last lecture from bible study for this year. Yep, the bible study is over for the summer break, and a new study will start in September.

                Plans for the rest of the day are to go to the store and get a couple items.

                I do have a photo or two for the nonreaders in our group.

                                                              

                The rose bush tries to scratch you when you walk by on the sidewalk.

              

                Tres is working on the flowers in the bed.

                That’s it for now. Have a good day and stay safe in all you do while being nice to ole people.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 27, 2026

Good morning to everyone, we hope you have a good day and that you stay safe.

Let's look at yesterday to see if there were any events: yesterday being Sunday we did go to the cracker store for lunch we took our favorite grandson and yard man Alex with us. Lunch was good, returning back home we allowed Alex to mow the yards, and he did a really good job.

We really didn't do much the rest of the day other than sit around and take it easy, I did wash some clothes and then later in the afternoon we sat outside for a while. The birds were having a lot of fun feeding the little birds and making noise, so we had a quiet neighborhood except for the birds.

Our son David brought us some supper last night and it was very good, our bellies were full and we didn’t have to do any work to prepare our own supper, “nice”. Second time we receive food this week.

Today we need to go to the rehab at 11:00 and other than that, no real plans. Tonight we have Bible study which will be our last one for this year, they have pizza tonight, so I'll try to make it to that. I just received a call from my skin doctor wanting to see if I could come out today, I have an appointment later this week but she's not going to be there so they want me to come out today for my appointment, I don't know if I can do that.

I guess I'll stop for now we hope you all have an excellent day, stay safe in all you do be nice to others.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 26, 2026

Good morning to you and no one else. You are special and that is why you get the one and only good morning.

With nothing else to do, my favorite wife and I went into town for lunch at the sandwich shop yesterday. After eating we went to the cheap store to get a couple items that Donna wanted and one item that I wanted. Back at home I took a break and rested before the following work.

Yesterday I did water the flowers in the pots. I also remove the dog Poopa-Loopa from the yard in prep for today possible mowing. As I was working in the back yard, I observed the black berries having green berries.

                We sat outside and watched the birds as they were feeding the babies in the bird houses. There was a lot of noise made by both the adults and baby birds. This photo shows the babies with his or her heads sticking out of the house.

                At supper time yesterday a good friend brought us some smoked ribs beans and potato salad for supper, and the ribs were outstanding. My wife and I both enjoyed the ribs and we have a couple of ribs left over for a snack today.    

                I picked up Alex from school yesterday evening after the trip the orchestra group took to Fort Worth. Well, that is yesterday’s activities now let’s get to today.

Today Alex may mow the yards after lunch with us at the cracker store. The grass is very deep.

I guess I should stop for now and get started on the day. We hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Don the Ford   

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 25, 2026

                It is a good morning here in Hewitt. How good is it? Well the following photo should show you.

                This is the first bloom from this plant this year. It is a good morning.

My favorite wife and I did sit outside, and a friend was also with us yesterday afternoon. The main topic of discussion was, “the baby birds in the bird house and the number of times the mother and father were bringing them food”.  There was no pause in the flying or chirping. The photo isn’t good, but the baby bird had his head sticking out waiting for mom to feed him.

                Our yard needs to be mowed but our yard man Alex is on a school project in Fort Worth Texas today, we might get him to work tomorrow if the weather is cooperative. I removed the debris from the front yard yesterday and the dog Poopa-Loopa needs to be removed from the back yard today.

                My knee is much better, but I do not plan to mow until it has been feeling good for a week or more.

                We have some of the best friends around, a friend is going to make some ribs today and they are going to bring us some for our supper. The ribs are so good I may not have anything for lunch so I will be hungrier when the ribs arrive at supper.  

                Well, I guess I should stop and do nothing for a while. We hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Don the Ford   

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 24, 2026

    Good morning, it seems to be starting off nice here in Hewitt and I did get Alex to school safe and on time. A group from the school orchestra are going to Fort Worth today and spending the night, they will be learning more about music and Alex is going. That means we will not have our yard man here on Saturday, darn it.  

                There was a news thing on the TV about people being injured in crosswalks and that the vehicle drivers should pay more attention when near crosswalks. I do agree with that comment, we as drivers should always be attentive, but, the person walking should also pay more attention! I have observed people in the crosswalks never looking to see if the vehicle is coming, they seem to assume the person driving will stop.

                People driving need to watch for and stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, people walking in the crosswalks need to look for vehicles and assume they do not see them. Be safe in all we do.

                My favorite wife and I sat outside yesterday and the birds in the bird houses were very active. There are 7 bird houses hanging on our car port and there were a couple birds fighting over one of the houses. There are babies in a couple houses.  

My knee is feeling better and I can walk a lot better but there is some pain, the prayers from friends and the medicine is working. I need to go to the grocery store today and get a couple items like ice cream, so my favorite wife doesn’t starve.

That’s it for now, have a good day and stay safe in all you do, and pray for others.

Don the Ford  

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 23, 2026

                Good morning

I woke up with hurting in my right knee yesterday morning. The pain was there when I stood up, when I sat down there was no pain. It got worse as the morning progressed. I tried to use a cane to help me walk and it did not help very much.

We went to rehab and I used the cane to get into and out of the building but once we were back at home, I got the spare walker, and it made a difference in my ability to walk. I called the doctor’s office, and they were able to get me an appointment yesterday afternoon. Using the walker, I was able to get around at the doctor’s office. They checked me over and said they think there is a Bakers Cyst on the back of my right knee. They took x-rays and gave me a prescription. If the prescription doesn’t take care of the pain they will consider a Steroid shot to my knee. They also say I have osteoarthritis in the right knee.

I was still allowed to wash the clothes, and there was a bunch of them. Another house cleaning was vacuuming the floor in the front room several times as Tres is sheading a lot of hair.

We are both using walkers to get around in the house. My knee is felling better but not back to normal yet.

We sat outside yesterday afternoon, and I got a photo of a bird feeding its babies.

I will stop now, we hope you have a good day and stay safe in all you do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 22, 2026

It is a good foggy morning in Hewitt.

                Yesterday was another normal do-everything day and at the same time a do-nothing day. Everything is the housework and paying bills and doing nothing is the things I normally do. I drove into Waco in the afternoon to the cheap store to see if they had a short HDMI wire, but they did not have one. They use to have a lot of computer type accessories but not anymore. They had something I wished I had purchased but I didn’t. It was a set of two lights that you hang around your neck which I could have used right now as I am entering info on this computer. I need a little more light to see the keyboard when I am in the ole recliner. I did order the cable on line and it should be here tomorrow.  

                We have a rehab for my favorite wife this morning and I think it should be for me as the back of my knee is hurting like crazy this morning.

                I need to wash the dirty clothes today, wow that will be fun. I have no idea when we will be able to mow again, all the rain makes everything grow and the wet grass makes it difficult to mow.

                Well, I have nothing else to tell you, we hope you have a good day and stay safe in all you do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 21, 2026

                It is a rainy good morning here in Texas. This rain is like what I refer to as Missouri rain, slow and all-day long rain.

                Well, that is all for now we hope you have a good day and stay safe in all you do.

What? You want more information. We didn’t do anything yesterday, at least I do not remember doing anything. My favorite wife did go to the rehab, we did not go out to lunch, we were at home doing little.

                One thing which did occur was interesting to me. I wanted to find the title to the Fords ole Chevy. I could not find the title to the Fords ole van when we were getting rid of it, so I wondered if I would find the title to the Ford’s ole Chevy. As I was going to the safe, I looked down and there was a penny on the floor, and it was heads up. Many years ago, when we were first married, any time we found a penny heads up something good would happen. The penny heads up gave me confidence that I would find the title.

                It took a couple of tries to get the safe open and I started looking through the paperwork. We do not have money or valuable stored in the safe but there are a bunch of papers even some ole tax forms. Let me make this a little shorter, I found the title to the fords ole van and I found the title to the fords ole chevy. As you can now see, when you find a penny heads up it can mean good luck, “if you believe”.  

                Now I will wish you another good day and that you stay safe in all you do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 20, 2026

We are having a cool good morning here in Hewitt.

We here at the Fords homestead did very little yesterday. Were we able to have lunch at the cracker store, heck we were even able to get a handicap parking space at the store. The food was good and the service was also good.

Leaving cracker store we drove to the gas station and purchased 7 gallons of fuel for the Fords new chevy. Do any of you remember in the olden days when a gas station was called a service station. In those days they would put the gas in your vehicle for you, yes, you did not need to get out of your vehicle, and they would clean your windshield. I also remember gas at 30 cents per gallon.

Back at home we did very little, I did finish my bible study homework, and we did sit outside later in the afternoon. Our son Dave brought us some homemade Chicken Pot Pie which is much appreciated.

Today, we took Alex to school safely and on time and my favorite wife has a rehab today. I have no other plans currently; I might wash the clothes but that is a lot of work for an ole person.

Thanks for reading these comments, we hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do. Love your neighbor as yourself.    

Don the Ford

may today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 19, 2026

Good morning, the sun is shining but it is cool outside this Sunday morning.

                Well Saturday seemed like Sunday to me, and all day I kept reminding myself that it is Saturday. This Saturday was unusual as we did not leave the house at all, not even for a sandwich for lunch as our yard man Alex did not come over and we usually take him into town for lunch on Saturday.

                It had been cool all Saturday and it even became cooler in the afternoon. We did get some rain about 5:00pm. Speaking of cool weather, I decided to attempt to create some chili for myself and my favorite wife due to the cool weather. This time the chili was good, maybe not as good as if my favorite wife would have made it, but it was good enough for both of our meals.   

I did work on my Bible study and got some of it done. I also set around doing nothing and taking a nap or two. My favorite wife received two packages yesterday, one from Patrick and Karla, the other something she had ordered. I did not get anything.

Plans for Sunday are most likely having lunch at the cracker store and then who knows. We hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 18, 2026

                We have a good morning starting here in Hewitt and we are supposed to have a cool rainy day.

                I did almost nothing yesterday: I did get a photo of the sun as I was heading to the coffee shop yesterday.

                Yes, the sun was behind a cloud.

I decide to try to do my bible study one more time as I was having a problem. I had read the bible verses and then could not answer the questions. I was about to give up when I discovered I was reading from Micah when I should have been reading from Malachi. Yep, I am not that good at studying.      

                Later I did get the new mower out and trimmed the front yard using the grass catcher. Basically, I was just clipping the top of the grass to see how the mower worked with the grass catcher.

                We had some good friends drop by yesterday and we talked about many things and we enjoyed the visit.  Later in the afternoon as we sat outside another friend came over and visited us.

                Well, the yards are all mowed and ready for the rain that is supposed to be here today. I should stop for now and let you have some time for yourself. Have a good day and stay safe in all you do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL

April 17, 2026

                We are starting with a good morning here at the Ford’s house, we hope your morning is also good.

                Due to all the comments, I received from yesterday’s post, I have learned that short posts with less information are not needed.      There were no comments about small posts.  

                I will comment on some of the things I did yesterday other than taking Alex to school. Speaking of Alex, he will be going to a ROTC competition tomorrow. No, I do not know what the competition is, but I am sure it is something physical.

                Yesterday I decided to start the new item I had purchased (aka mower) and see how it mows. I started mowing around a flower bed and then alone the fence then around everything in the back yard. It took about 35 minutes to do all that trimming. I then decided to get on the riding mower and mow the rest of the yard. The grass was very tall and still a little wet, the clippings were piling up everywhere. I also mowed over some of the areas a second time attempting to mulch them, but they are still there. When the grass is that tall you have piles of clippings. There are some areas that need to be trimmed with the string trimmer but that can wait.

                While I was mowing, the neighbor’s yard was being mowed by a 6 year old boy. He was using an electric mower, and he was about as tall as the handles of the mower, he was actually doing a good job. The electric mower was self-propelled and would stop as soon as he let go of the handle.

                After all that work, I decided to change the oil in the riding mower, so I set it up draining the oil and I went into the house. I needed to get an oil filter for the mower, so I went to the store and spent too much money on the filter ($14.00). I installed the oil filter and almost 2 quarts of oil. Now this mower has new oil, new oil filter, and a new battery but the mower is old. Wow it is like an ole senior citizen who has some new clothes on.

                My favorite wife and I went to the restaurant for our supper on date night last night. Food was good and when we returned home, we did sit outside for a while.

                Today, we have rehabilitation this morning and there are no other plans for the day. I might get the new mower and mow the front yard with the bagger just to see how that works. The front yard does not need to be mowed but I can consider that as a learning experience.  

                I will attempt to stop for now, we hope you have a very good day and stay safe in all you do.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

NARBNL