Saturday Slight

Could a woolly worm interpreter tell me what this means for winter and why am I seeing woolly worms in May?

           Interesting factoid I read this morning.  

 If Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day the unofficial end, then I am pleased to inform you that we are embarking on the longest unofficial summer: From Monday, May 25 to Monday, Sept. 7, this year delivers the earliest and latest possible dates for both holidays.

So, I guess we have a looooong summer ahead.

I am wondering, however, if the early Memorial Day date is going to cause problems with putting out garden starts prematurely. 

Guess we'll just have to gamble with the holiday weekend and stick those 'maters in the ground. 

Actually, I've had a tomato plant (a tester) out in my garden for two weeks, and it's doing just fine.

In other news, Bill, Laurie and I went to Friday-night dinner last night.  Seems that everyone else in the family is on some sort of vacation. 

Annie is in Kansas for a geocaching event.  Willie and Debbie headed for Southern Idaho, and my sister Barbara is competing at a regional horse show in Eugene, Ore.   

So, we had a comparatively quiet and quick dinner. We noticed the usually bustling restaurant had tables available when we walked inside. 

Seems like a lot of folks have left town for the holiday weekend. 

The fact that they all left us is okay cuz it's mighty pretty outside and plenty out there to do. 

Part of today will be spent visiting graves at the cemeteries and the other time will involve the usual stuff around the place, including leading horses back and forth to pasture and lots of watering. 

We have an area south of the house and yard where I dumped leaves and lawn residue for about 20 years.  A beautiful spruce has grown up in the middle of it, so this spring Bill started the process of removing all the piles of stuff. 

It involved bonfires and hauling downed branches further into the woods. 

Most of the area has been cleared out so that we can enjoy the beauty of the spruce tree.  

Yesterday I mowed clumps of tall grass, raked and then planted grass seed.  It needs watering so that project has added to the usual hose dragging. 

Work, yes, but all good work that I enjoy, so it should be a good and productive weekend.  

✈🚙🚙🚙🚙🚗🚗🚗✈

Below:  My sister-in-law Joyce created this beaded butterfly, and it was particularly stunning with the late afternoon sun. 

   

Thank you, Lynne Thompson, for the painted cone idea which you posted on Facebook. 

Lynne paints hers, puts stems on them and makes beautiful pine-cone bouquets.

I just paint and find neat containers for the loose cones. 

A nice way to add color and not have to water. 

When I snap photos of scenes like this, I get a little sad because after the Fourth of July those trees will come down because they are dying and becoming dangerous to the house. .

  Just hoping we can save the periwinkle patch. 

The squirrels are going to have to find other places to play. 

I'll miss the trees but won't miss picking up their millions of leaves. 

For now, the trees are pretty, as always. 

Guardians of the Graves

 

Janice Schoonover said, "It takes five of us to do what Eva did."  

Well, that might be a slight stretch but it's close. 

On a couple of occasions over the years, I did see Eva Whitehead's sister helping her place flags on the graves at Pack River Cemetery prior to Memorial Day.

https://www.bizapedia.com/id/pack-river-cemetery-association-the.html

Eva passed away last year, and  the cemetery at the corner of Selle and Colburn-Culver Roads now serves as her resting place. 

Eva's Torch has been passed, as have the flags. 

Yesterday I learned from Liz Wood (after teasing her in a telephone conversation that her cows were out next door) that she would be traveling to the cemetery later in the afternoon to join other board members in placing flags on the graves of veterans. 

Liz told me that, as has been done for years, the Gold n' Grouse 4-H Club had completed a cemetery cleanup this past weekend. 

So, now it was time for American flags to decorate the hallowed spot where gravestones include names like Wood, Schoonover, Albertson, McNall, Fitchett, Neely and, yes, even Tibbs.

I can say that I have known the group who help serve as guardians of the graves for most of my life. 

I knew many when they were members of the Gold n' Grouse 4-H Club and more than likely participated in clean-up day. Some were former students. 

Now, their generation has taken on the responsibility of managing the cemetery. 

From the looks of the area yesterday, both 4-H'ers and board members have taken an abundance of pride in its appearance for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and for their loved ones residing there. 

It's a nice and important civic tradition, often an unseen aspect of community. 

The Pack River Cemetery community is fortunate, to say the least. 

Thanks, Liz, for this opportunity to document your group's activities yesterday and thanks to all who maintain this special place where we can remember those who came before us. 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of tagging along with Roley and Janice Wood Schoonover, Liz Wood, Tom Albertson, Linda Palmen Fitchett, 

 

Happy Friday. 

Thursday This, That; TBT

 

Lots of farming going on in the neighborhood these days. 

It's definitely the time of year when the "from dawn to dusk days" are common for those preparing the fields, and, in my eyes, that field work is always a pretty sight. 

We have a hobby farm so we don't deal with expensive heavy equipment.  When you have just 20 acres, thousands and thousands of dollars worth of equipment and all the upkeep hardly makes sense.  

Ours involves a tractor with a harrow, a rear-end plow and a brush hog. 

The plow does its work in the winter time clearing out the driveway and lane, while the brush hog will get hooked up soon to mow the tall grass and create trails through the woods.

I use the harrow a few times a year to soften up the barnyard surface and to break down the horse apple piles. 

And, in the fall, I love to brush hog the fields so that weeds and dead grass are mowed down and the area will be neat and tidy until grass starts growing in the spring. 

Our farm does what mostly what it needs to do for our horses.  They graze in the pastures for four-five months each year, while in the spring I feed them hay and, nowadays, board them over the winter. 

It's safe to say we get a taste of farming but hardly the full-meal deal.  Most of the other equipment we have is used for yard and garden work. 

While watching the farming that goes on around here these days, I know that those expensive and often huge pieces of equipment make the job a lot easier.

It's nice living in a rural neighborhood and enjoying our unique taste of farm life. 

Today's farm factoid:  horses went straight to pasture instead have having hay for breakfast.  I figure after two weeks on grass, their bellies have made the adjustment. 

Still, great care is taken to see that they don't overeat and tummy problems, mainly by bringing them back to the barnyard after a couple of hours so their food can settle.  Then, after about four hours, they go out for their second helping of grass for the day.

Fingers are always crossed that we've made the right decisions each day.   

I spent some time visiting some friends yesterday, and this lilac bush at their beautiful home took my eye. 

Below:  my friend Becky gave me a pot with shamrocks in it a couple of years ago. 

Somehow those shamrocks figured out that the owner of their new home kinda likes Ireland, so they have continued to grow and spread. 

And, I don't mind one bit. 

Thursday Throwbacks:  Random selections of past moments, people and places from the photo library.  Enjoy.  And, make it a good Thursday.  Looks like a beauty out there.