Metal Mouth

Look closely--Astrid has a mouth full of metal as of March 30.

Siggie is Six

House Finch

I have a lot of these little Finches at my feeders. I guess I am silly but I do love watching the birds. Probably an old people thing. I think this one is so pretty.

Nasty and Cold

If weather such as this continued for 40 days and nights, many folks would kill themselves. I am cold and long for a warm sun.

Got My Bill

My little gallbladder surgery's cost was over 36,000. Whew...who'd have thought it! Still I am glad it is gone and glad I do have that 80/20 insurance with a cap for my part.

Nuclear Plants and Earthquakes

I live about 3 or 4 miles from a big Nuclear plant and about 40 miles from a fault line. Shall I worry? No, I will not waste my time. Worrying is really just a waste of time. I do engage in worrying but if I can get my mind to escape the event I do just that. Today is a day that the Lord has graciously allowed me to have. I am reading about the killing of Crazy Horse. It is very interesting. I read Hiding in Plain Sight and John Allen Adams in the last few days. Could not read Ted Koppel's book. Will just return it. His eye is on the Sparrow.....

Tips for Safety in an Earthquake

Someone sent these to me....

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE, are crushed to death. People getting under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, or a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward, you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency', (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

To The Library....

I got these books. Picture is easier than typing them out. This morning these two doves were in the back yard. These were taken with Larry's new little camera and it turns out it is just like Fleta's but we did not know it until after we got it.

Moving Forward

I looked back at last year's March Blog to see what we were doing. That is what is neat about keeping a record. This is easier than writing in a journal and you have pictures. It was cool last spring break. So I am thankful for the warmer weather. Larry carried the dirt with the back hoe and put scoops in my flower beds and I have smeared it around. The sod is sort of clumpy but very dark. The dirt means rich to me. I remember how dark the barn yard dirt was...black! I am dreaming of a few new flower beds around some more trees. I have more birds than last year. More entertainment for me. Soon I will fill my hummingbird jar and get to watch those too.

My break is almost over...it has been a good one.

Few Here

But I hope more will come..............

Chicken Scratch

Farming

Busy Bees

This Lilac is getting ready to bloom. I wish it were purple like the one Momma had, but it is white.
I worked on this fence row. These flowers are going to be nice next year. They were allowed to be smothered by weeds, but Larry mowed close last year and I have cleaned them and filled in the blank spots.

We bought a load of top soil and I am putting soil in these two beds.
This is the bed I have fixed for Fleta's flower seeds. I am just going to mix them in and hope some grow. I think it is too early for planting those.
This is my Day Lily bed. I added some surprise lilies I dug up.
We also planted potatoes, onions, and radishes. I did not have any lettuce.

Security

Siggie is spending the night. She fixed the door...she said it would keep all the robbers away.

Not Eagles

I zoomed in on these birds on the other side of Galla Lake...yuck...they are buzzards.

Welcome to Martinville!

I could hardly get all 4 Martin houses in one photo. Larry found this red one in the shop. It is plastic and we have had it several years. The other 3 are metal. The scouts are here so I bet when the flock gets here they will be thrilled with all the new apartments. We had only one last year and now there are 4 of them.

Load of dirt

Today we ordered a dump truck load of top soil. My flower beds all need a scoop or two full. I am going to plant Fleta's seeds in this one...My other beds need dirt too. My Day Lilies are up and many of the beds have flowers coming up. Larry's Mom planted them...the folks here before had a mean dog. I don't know why...but that dog kept all her flowers beat down.

Larry has up two new apartments for the Martins. I am kin to my Daddy I really love them. If it gets warm again I will take a picture.

Patsy, don't think we will be trapping the turtles. I am afraid they would just crawl back to us.

Willow Tree

I want to keep this willow from coming back. Also, look at these nasty turtles. I want to shoot them.

I have hurt my back. I guess in sitting up I was using my back instead of my stomach muscles. I can hardly get up and down. Once up I am ok. I think I will be better in a few days.

Thursday

This week is almost over. I am anxious to see warmer weather. Remember when Clayton planted the tulip bed above the road. They were so pretty, mostly red.

Dr. Tale

Well, the Dr. secretary called school and said he could not be there for my appt. He was in surgery again. I said well, let's make a new appt. She said...we need to make it soon because of those staples. I said what staples...they are gone. How? she asked...I told her by me!

Now, my appt. is Thursday. I am not mentioning the staples and maybe the Dr. will not notice they are gone.

Spring is Near

Rainy and cool here.

Staples Gone

The Dr. was not in again. He was doing another surgery. So I went to K Mart and got me some little wire cutters. I feel so much better. I go tomorrow at 2:00 to see the Dr. I am not going to mention why the staples are gone.

Staples Out Tomorrow

Tomorrow I go back to the surgeon and get my 10 staples out. I am ready. I am scratching like my chickens...

What Chickens Love