Trans-gendered, trans-ethnic 06.20.15

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

Don Ford

 

Not always the big guy 06.16.15

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

                                                                    

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

 

               

 

On a sad note:

A good friend passed on Sunday.

Hugh York will be missed.

Our prayers are with the family.

 

Don Ford

 

Defiant 06.15.15

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

Don Ford

 

 

Where there's away... 06.12.15

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

May your neighbors be more cooperative!

 

Don Ford

 

Readers want to know 06.10.15

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

                I find this question somewhat discourteous.

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

                What does the garden owl look like?

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

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

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

                Is it true that your bug light is broken?

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

                Are you still walking in the early morning?

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

 

 

Enough answers for now!

 

Don Ford

 

Men and Boys 06.08.15

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

May all your toys be fun!

 

Don Ford   

 

Who knew? 06.04.15

 

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

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

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

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

               

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Have a good week!

 

Don Ford

 

 

Things Happen 06.01.15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

Don Ford