Hot house full 10.30.17

                With the advent of colder temperatures, we had the Grounds manager moved the flowers into the hot house. We haven’t had a frost yet, but the temps have reduced dramatically. After a discussion with staff, it was decided to move the flowers prior to a frost. The grounds manager felt as if we could wait, but we decided since he was actually here for a change, we wanted the flowers moved. He had to trim some of the flowers and some had stickers so he complained that he had stickers in his hands.

                It took him twice as long as it would a normal person, but he did get them into the hot house. He then complained when he was asked to water all the plants.

                There is a lizard in the hot house, it was on one of the ornaments that was in a flower pot when it was put in the house. The grounds manager reported a grass hopper in the house also.  

                Our grounds manager complained that it was hot working in the house, he noted that it was near 90 degrees with the door open. He complained that Tres would go in the house with him, and then stand in the door way so he could not get out. We were unable to determine why Tres was going into the house with the manager. Do you think the manager smelled good? Two photos to follow, one left and one right.

     

                The manager did a good job of placing the flower pots, he said he had room for one more small flower pot. I think he is going on vacation next week, so he can rest up after all the work today.

May your flowers survive the cold!

Don Ford

 

Irritated with the old buzzard 10.27.17

                I like the title too! The old buzzard in this setting isn’t me, but I am very irritated with the old buzzard. As some of you know, I am not the only retired senior person in this neighborhood. There are plenty of the old buzzards to go around.

                My story begins on one of the coldest days we have had in a while. The temp this morning when I got up was in the 60s, it is now in the low 50s. The weather lady informed us that the temp would drop all day.  About 10:00am I decided to make a run to the cleaners to get a couple items that we had cleaned. I left the house in winds that were 25 to 30 mph. The Ford’s Chevy was bouncing around as if I were on a rough road, but I had not left the drive way!

                I proceeded east on Arkansas street, turned left going north on Texas street. The Waco Cop that lives on the corner of Arkansas and Texas streets, was taking his German Sheppard for a walk. Nice looking dog. I had driven maybe 100 feet when I became upset! I could not believe what I was seeing there in the road ahead.

                As you may know, retired persons don’t have a lot of money, and when we have a chance to get a free meal, we take it! I could not believe what I saw ahead of me. There in the road, what could have been supper at the Ford’s Homestead, was a dead squirrel.

                It appeared to be a fresh kill, possibly only having been ran over once or twice.

                My mouth watered as I was thinking about, “Road Kill Soup” for supper, while at the same time my eyes teared up, knowing we would not have Road Kill Soup for supper tonight. I decided to not tell my present spouse about this wonderful squirrel, as it would be too traumatic, and she would likely cry more than I have, over what could have been, a delicious supper of Road Kill Soup!

                Now you should understand why I am irritated with the old buzzard, or in the case the old buzzards. There should be boundaries, lines that are not crossed without severe consequences for these old buzzards. In truth, after reviewing the photo below, I don’t think they were old buzzards, but possibly young buzzards. They were not afraid of the Fords Chevy and weren’t afraid of the U S mail carrier either.

                I guess it is possible that some other retired person has trained these buzzards to find good road kill, and either carry it back to them, or bring the retired person to the road kill. That may be why these buzzards were not afraid of humans.

                Anyway, I did go get the clothes from the cleaners and when I made it home, I found that my spouse had gone to town. It was lunch time and I had some scraps that we were saving for Tres and a couple crackers for my lunch.

                After my meager lunch, I attempted to take a nap. My first wife phoned me from Penny’s, which woke me up, she said, I found them! I said great, where were they. She replied right where I had been on Wednesday. That made us both happy, as we would not need to try and find money to replace them.

What?    You want to know what she found.              It was her sun glasses that she had lost a couple days ago while shopping at Penny’s. I guess that should tell Penny’s that their cleaning crew, if they have one, are not doing a very good job if a pair of sun glasses can lay on the floor for two days.

May your day be filled with Road Kill Soup!

Don Ford

The fall of who 10.26.17

 

                As with some of my stories, this story is true, or most of it is true. I had been forced into labor here in the Fords old garage. I was working on the angel, trying to attach those lights. I know, it sounds easy. But it isn’t easy. I had been at this forced labor for about 3 hours. Something caught my attention at the house that is on the corner. It was the lady who lives there carrying a short step ladder around to the front porch. I can’t see their front porch so I was unable to see what she was doing.

                I continued my mine numbing labors. A few minutes passed when I heard a sound that I knew was not a good thing. The sound was that of a wooden step ladder hitting the ground. I looked up and there on the ground was the neighbor lady with the step ladder lying beside her. The lady began to get up as I started walking her way. As I walked I called out to her asking if she was ok. She was now up on her feet. She said, I fell face down, and I have dirt in my mouth.

                She seemed to be ok so I asked what she was trying to do. She was trying to hang a wind chime on a limb. I asked which limb and she pointed it out. I could reach the limb without the ladder. I installed the chime and suggested that she call me if she has any other ladder work.

                Chime hung, and she seemed ok, I returned to the homestead and decided to rest for a few minutes before going to get, “The Alex”, at school.

                What?    How old is this lady?         I don’t know, I guess she is mid 60’s.

 

Ask for help, it may keep you from being hurt!

 

Don Ford

            PS  this all happened yesterday, I did not post it until I saw her out and about walking. She seems to be doing just find now, so decided I could post.

Guard Dog 10.25.17

                The question is, can Tres be a guard dog? I will state that Tres will bark at all strangers and most people he knows. I will attach a photo of the 7 month old pot hound, showing an image of what could be a guard dog.

                Now there is a problem with this pot hound, being a guard dog. He has a tendency to sleep a lot, and when he sleeps, little noises don’t seem to disturb him.

                Today as we were returning from dropping Gabi off at school, there was a male person with a dog walking toward us. As this person and I approached the intersection, the male person stop allowing me to turn the corner. This person had a look of disgust on his face, I assume he thought I should stop and allow him to cross the intersection first.

                As we made the turn, Tres had his head out the window and when he saw the male subject with a dog he growled and began to bark. I said, “Good puppy”.

                He does have a look of importance.

May your guard be awake and alert!

Don Ford

Sitting outside 10.20.17

                As my neighbors know, I do like to sit outside in the afternoons and wave at neighbors and others as they drive by. I believe my neighbors may consider me as the crazy senior citizen in the neighborhood. I know, they all know, that I do have a tendency to watch what is happening in the neighborhood and I will occasionally,                 what?                Ok.                I got to go!

            It is now 3 hours later and I am back at the key board. My present wife informed me earlier that there was a leak under the sink in the kitchen. The good part is there was a plastic container with some candles in it that caught the water. I, being a master at many things, including plumbing, dashed to the kitchen and crawled in under the sink. Yep, there was a leak. I then went to the fords supply room to see if I had enough repair parts to replace the sink strainer. I did not, so I went back to the sink and removed the strainer. I placed all the parts in a bag to take with me.

            I headed off to the nearest hardware store (Ace)L. I carried the parts with me just so I would not forget anything.                    $22.00 poorer, I returned home. I reviewed all the new parts, read the instructions, went to the sink, and then called my neighbor to see if he had any plumber’s putty. He did not.

            I jumped back into the Ford’s Chevy and headed back to the store, were I addressed a young employee by saying, “why didn’t you tell me I needed plumber’s putty. He stuttered for a moment and I told him I was kidding. I then asked if I needed anything else for the job. He replied, nope. I then said, you should ask if I have the proper wrench to put this strainer in. He then asked if I had the wrench and I said yes, we both laughed and I paid another $3.00 for putty.

            Arriving back home I put everything together and had my wife stand and observe. As I lay there I asked her to put water in the sink. She did, no leak!  I then asked for more water in the sink, which she did and it leaked! L

            I ate lunch.

            I then went back and removed all the parts, cleaned them, and then made a new paper gasket. I assume the paper gasket is there to keep the metal locking ring from moving the rubber gasket during installation.

            It is back together and I again ask my lovely present wife, if she would once again assist me by running some water into the sink. No leak! J      I asked for more water, no leak! J

        We left the water standing in the sink to see if it would hold for a while and it did! J

                   

As I was saying, I like to sit outside, weather permitting. I think this may run in the family as both of my sisters and my brother have a tendency to sit outside, weather permitting. I will include a photo of one of my sisters sitting outside. Click to enlarge.

   

This is my sister, “Wilda”, sitting on her front porch up in Missouri. Yes she has the phone on the shelf behind her, just in case I call.

May your day be without leaks!

Don Ford

One of a kind 10.18.17

                Thank you! Yes the title could refer to me, as I am, “One of a kind”, but in today’s lesson I will be referring to something other than me. I am sure you will want to review this entire article, and you may even want to get involved in the bidding war that will ensue. I will provide photos which will enlighten and amaze.

                As you should know, we here at the Ford Homestead have a dog. Note I did not say puppy as he is 6 months old and 55 pounds of crazy enthusiasm. I should provide a recent photo, but I haven’t taken any of this pot hound. This dog is a pain in the back side, but there are times when he is a lot of fun. Creative is another way to describe this hound, although he is very messy when he is creating.

                The other day I had ventured into the back yard, my goal was to pick up any sticks that had been blown out of the tree during the last couple windy days. As I began this process my companion, “Tres”, was trying to take them away from me. He seems to think that anything in the yard is his, and he for sure chews on everything in the back yard. There was a couple pieces of wood from the pile out by the shed that he had chewed all the bark off. I had to pick up the bark that he had chewed off.

                Anyway, to make a short story longer, I have a couple one of a kind items that were started by Tres (chewing the bark off) and finished by me. These will be auctioned starting the day of this posting.

Wayne, you don’t need to bid!

From top to bottom we see, a two pen paper weight, then a single pen paper weight and finally a magic wand. All three items were created by Tres and then I applied the coat of sealer. Yes the magic wand does work. Please do not embarrass yourself with a low bid. Click to enlarge.

                On a slightly different subject, I was outside the Ford Homestead when I observed a vehicle stop at the corner. At first I assumed this person was looking for garage sales. When the vehicle sat there for more than two minutes (I could not see the driver) I began to become suspicious. The vehicle then drove slowly down the street. I decided to get a photo of this vehicle just in case there were any problems with theft. I walked out to the curb waiting for the vehicle to return but it didn’t. A neighbor came driving up the street and stopped for some interesting conversation.  During the conversation, I unknowingly took a photo in which the suspicious vehicle was seen.

                Even accidently, I do good work! 

Minimum bid of $200.00, start bidding now!

Don Ford

Dove 10.16.17

            I can already see, that one person, who actually read the title of this wonderfully informative article, is thinking about soap. You should not try to think, as it requires mental abilities, and by attempting to use a mental ability, you might strain your brain, assuming there is something there to strain. Oh my, I may have just upset that one person. Wait, I just remembered, that one person can’t read and only looks at the photos, so I did not offend anyone!

            My article, titled Dove, is about me during a rest period, after working my old senior retired body to a point of exhaustion. This all occurred on a Sunday afternoon. A little history before we get into the meat of this story, I had a short nap after lunch and being rested, I decided to work a little. I quickly moved to the Ford’s garage, where I moved the van out and set up my new miter saw stand. It is a folding stand with wheels. I then place my old miter saw on the stand, it looks very nice.

            After admiring the unit for a while, I then turned my attention to the angel standing in the back corner of the garage. I had previously removed 200 lights from the angel and still had another 500 to go. Removing lights sounds easy, but one should know each of these lights has a wire tie holding either the light or wire in place. First I removed these wire ties using a pair of pliers. Then I had to remove each light, and you should know each light is clamped in, so I had to get the light out of the clamp, but leaving the clamp in place. This took about 2 hours.

            Completing that project, I took the dry dog food from the bag (30 pound bag, heavy for a senior) and placed the food in the plastic tote. This took about 3 minutes.

            It was about then, that a female subject approached the garage pushing a bicycle. She presented the bike to the Ford Homestead, allowing that Gabi might like to have the bike. I then filled the tires with air and checked the bike for anything that needed to be tightened, finding only the kick stand that was loose. I then took a test ride down the block and back just to see if it was safe for the Gabi, it was. This took about 13.5 minutes.

            I then went to the Ford’s old shed and removed several 8 foot bundles of cedar lining, bringing them to the garage, where I use the old miter saw, on the new miter saw stand to cut the cedar in half, allowing for better storage. This took 17 minutes.

            I then put all the tools back in their place including moving the miter saw and stand to the shed. I then swept the garage floor removing saw dust and the plastic wire ties that I had dropped during the removal process. This took 12 minutes.

            Finally I returned the van into its position in the garage.

            It was time that I could take a break from this continuous work load, 5:30pm, Happy Time for me.

            Happy time and or Happy hour, has many different meanings for different people. To me it means sitting in the Ford’s old rocker near the garage door and resting after a stressful day. History lesson over, let’s get to the story of the day.

           

            I was sitting on the rocker, relaxing this senior body, listening to 60s music. It was somewhat windy, as the cold front had come through and dropped the temperatures into the low 70s. Other than the wind, it was a quiet afternoon as I sipped my diet coke and munched on a handful of peanuts. Suddenly and without any notice, the dove population from the neighbor’s trees took flight. A conservative estimate would be 50 to 75 doves taking flight at the same time. Do you know how noisy that many doves can be?

            I, being the consonant observer, knew there must be a hawk in the area. Again, I was surprised, as the hawk was actually an eagle, a huge eagle, flying at tree top level. I can’t be sure, but this may have been the same large eagle I saw the other afternoon as I was going to get Alex from school.

            I would love to have a camera ready when this majestic bird flew over.

            After that excitement, I went back to the diet coke and peanuts while listening to the oldies (60s music) on XM radio.

 

What a nice end, to a work filled day!

 

Don Ford

Friday 13th who cares 10.13.17

                Today is Friday 13^th, and we all should be happy. I did see on the so called TV news, that Friday 13^th is a safer day due to millions of people staying home. Consider, less vehicles on the road which means less accidents on, Friday 13^th! They also said, there are less burglary’s, again due to people staying at home.

                Enjoy the 13^th day of October, which just happens to be on a Friday!

                Changing the subject, yesterday I went with my present spouse to the doctor’s office. She was going for her final checkup on the eye that had the cataract removed. We arrived and she checked in at 9:25 and they called her back to the exam room in just a few minutes. I was surprised as this doctor has never been one to stay on schedule. It was 2 hours later when she came out of the exam room. As I sat there waiting, almost going to sleep, I canceled a motorcycle ride with a friend, as I would not be able to get back from the ride in time to get the Alex at school.

                Donna’s eye is ok, 20/25 vision in the repaired eye!

                Changing the subject, I have been told, by my first wife, that I will be with the angel in a few days.

                You think being with the angel sounds good, not at all. There is nothing but work when I am with the angel. Today I need to leave the Ford Homestead and purchase some gas for the Ford’s Chevy. Then I will stop at the Star place (that is not their real name, I don’t want to advertise for them, because in my opinion they charge too much and probably make too much money without my advertisement) for a cup of coffee. Then I go to the hardware freight store (name changed to protect the innocent) and get 700 each, 6 inch long, black wire ties. These wire ties are used to secure each light to the angel. There are hundreds of white lights on the 7 foot tall angel. I have tried to count the lights on this angel and I got different counts each time.

                First I must remove all the old lights and wire, I estimate 3 to 4 hours work. Then, after a good night’s sleep start to replace said lights. I estimate at a minimum 8 hours of forced labor to replace the lights. It is no easy task carrying this angel, as it is 7 foot tall and heavy.

                My angel, makes me work on her angel!

 

May I survive the tedious work load!

 

Don Ford