Mowing Season

Well, soon I’ll be mowing. I got my push mower out once already and mowed a tall patch of grass south of the garage. I scooped up the grass for my chickens. It grew tall again and I pulled the mower out for a repeat. The pull start seemed to be stuck. I looked and the throttle cable was broke. I wouldn’t mind just getting a new mower but Logan told me most of the new we ones were electric battery. I amazed myself that I recalled what the part was called.

 What to do when you don’t have son? You have to call a mechanic. I call Lil’ Red who “can do” just about everything. She ordered a new cable from Amazon and today she installed it. Lawn mower started on first pull. I’m back in business💚 

 

20

Sigrid is 20 today. She’s a special lady. She has insight into people and things. Happy Birthday to Siggie! 

 

Winter Garden

Laura finished another book.  This one is called “Winter Garden”. Each month she reads a book and makes a quilt block to go with the book. She’s made 3! At the end of the year, she’ll have 12 blocks and will create a quilt with them to celebrate a year of reading. 

January

 February 

Country Life

The dogs love going for a swim in the pond.

Astrid likes old things that have a country look. She got this recently. It reminds me of my Momma.

Looks like her raised beds are full of something green.
 

Gump Bench

Kids got to sit on the Forest Gump bench. Larry loved this movie, but I always felt it didn’t portray handicapped people in a true light. I really never liked it. Corgis were glad for the owners to return. I walked them over and they met us half way across the field. Pretty and Peach barked the entire way. They were glad to be in their own house.

Erin’s bunch went over into Kansas to the Wilder homestead. Ada is by the well Pa dug by hand. The land they were on turned out to be in the Osage Nation and they moved to Plum Creek.  

 

Gators

 

Sigrid is a ham. Kids are on their way home. Corgis will be happy. 

Savannah

Eric, Laura and Sigrid are on a spring break trip to Savannah. They departed Sunday. It took about 12 hours to get there. They shared pictures yesterday. I can see many more blooms than we have here. Spanish moss hangs from the trees. They’ll  return midweek. Savannah is on the coast separated from South Carolina by the Savannah River. Yesterday they visited Saint John the Baptist Cathedral and Forsyth Park. I enjoyed seeing the adventures. I’m in charge of two Corgis til they return. Pretty Boy and Peach don’t really like being on their vacation to my house.

I think this is Forsyth Park.

 

They shared pictures of the Cathedral.

Rue

I saw this pretty little flower blooming on my walk growing in little patches. Some light pink and some white. They were in woodsy areas by my path. I walk so often that a path has developed in the woods by Galla Lake. The deer and I beat it down. I will carry my loppers this week as a few stickers are growing up there.  

Rue anemone has tiny white flowers and bright green leaves and likes the dappled shade of trees where the soil is rich, loamy, and moist. It  blooms for a period of about six weeks and then goes dormant. Bees love it.

 

Bummer

Behind this old sheet, I have the flowers that I kept through the winter. A few days after I lugged them all to the back porch, it got cold again.mi rigged this up to protect them. Some mornings we have had frost. I’m not keeping them through another winter season I don’t think. They make too much of a mess.

 

School Days

Schools now take pictures twice. This is Ada’s spring photo from school. She’s standing. Things are different today. We sat on a short stool and they quickly snapped our image but only in the fall. I think the pkg was 3.00. Good ole days.

Astrid took her dogs to the pond and they all went for a swim. She sneaked a look in Pop’s Wood duck house and it was full of eggs. Covered in down. Hope they hatch.
 

New Refrigerator

Erin got a new refrigerator.  They are a pretty big investment now so you hope they last a while. Appliances used to last a good 20 years. Now, 10 years is a good life for most. If they do tear up, often the part needed can’t be found.  If your stove is a built in one, good luck finding one that will fit where the old one was.

Ada wrote this at school. She’s planning on staying with me. I’m all for it.  And she loves me. My youngest grand is spoiled, but so sweet and loving. She kicked her teacher under the table. Erin texted Mrs. Hararah to ask about it and she said Ada did it accidentally, but when Erin asked Ada she said “no, it was on purpose.” She got a spanking. At least, Ada is honest. I can see good in everything Ada does!

 

Just a Scribble

Some folks are so talented they can just scribble and make something. The wind blew almost 60 miles an hour here yesterday. I went out and worked on my fence cleaning and almost got lifted off the ground. Today is cooler but the wind has subsided. 

Sigrid needed one class to be eligible for UAMS pharmacy. She has to have a certain class and will take it in summer school. The school helped her find it online. She chose trig and is taking it through a school in Nebraska. Below is some of her chemistry work. She maps processes on a white board to understand them. She is not just a pretty face.  There’s a brain there. It looks like Chinese to me!

 

Thrower

Greta is a thrower in track— shot and disc! Today she competed at Heber Springs. Erin said 31 schools were there, but I’m doubtful of Erin’s knowledge as that sounds like too many. Greta had two personal bests! Second in shot and 4th in discus. Track is a team sport. Greta Ann earned 13 points for her team. Proud of my girl. 💙🤍💙

 

Here’s Ada in kindergarten and Greta the same. Greta always loved sports. She ran like the wind at 5. She was already taking gymnastics and doing flips and handstands. Ada runs like a bunny. I think it’s interesting that children are born with likes and dislikes. I’m thinking Ada will not be a great athlete but she may be an actress!

One Eyed Helen

Helen’s right pupil is larger than than left, but that is normal. She said it all went well. She goes for a check up today. Before her surgery she spent a lot of energy and time getting her house clean. She had plants in her bathroom for the winter and moved them back outside. I followed her lead and took mine to the back porch! If the temp gets in the 30’s at night we’re going to cover with an old sheet. Last night it was 50 here so I let them be. 

I go to the Dr. today about my blood pressure. The new ace inhibitor is working fine. It’s enalapril. I had a cough but it’s subsided so I guess I had a virus and the med didn’t cause it. I do get dizzy some on standing, but that’s the only side effect I’ve noticed.  

I’ve been cleaning— a fence row. I lack about 20 feet! Making progress. After ticks get busy I’ll not be able to work in the weeds. Spring cleaning 🧹 just outside.  I have pioneer genes!

Like Minds

Sister Helen and I picked the same daffodil bouquet.  We are like minded as half our dna is similar. We got the same X from our father. We have many characteristics that are similar, but each chromosome has two copies. We don’t necessarily get the same one. I think of it like heads and tails. She could get heads and I tails. I got tails on my hair for sure! She’s in surgery now for cataracts. Mom and Dad both had the problem. So we are likely to have it too. Grandma Gaddy had the surgery and then was virtually blind. Doubt they had the procedure down then—1970 era. Fleta has had it. Now Helen. Guess I’m next.

I love the mystery of DNA. I’m a search angel. I help folks who have a dna mystery. Adoptees usually find a mystery. To give up a child isn’t easy. So often there’s a hidden story carrying sadness. Last one I helped find a father found sadness. He was in prison for murder in Nevada and was only 15 when she was conceived. I searched farther and found he had died. One father was a school shooter. The searcher needs to consider if they can handle their mystery.  Twins found a mother who was alive but would not meet them. Everyone I’ve helped said they were happier with the knowledge than the mystery. 

 

Flowers in my Garden bloom

Wye Mountain and the flower that built a church!

Wye Mountain comes alive each March in a sea of yellow for the annual Daffodil Festival. It is hosted by the Wye Mountain United Methodist Church. In 1919, Austin Harmon moved to Wye Mountain from Oklahoma to start a church in an old schoolhouse. That church is now the Wye Mountain United Methodist Church. In 1927, Austin bought half a bushel of daffodil bulbs in Little Rock and planted them around his home. Austin traveled back and forth to Oklahoma, where he continued collecting bulbs and transplanting them. In 1948, the church starting selling the blooms to raise money.  By 1965, the congregation had raised enough money from the daffodils to build a new church and move out of the old schoolhouse. They had 7 acres of daffodils. They stoped selling the flowers and held a daffodil festival instead. The festival had no we date. It was determined by when the flowers bloomed. Today the flowers still bloom and anyone can go and take pictures freely. 🌼🌼