MOVED FROM NOT A GOOD PLACE - WOOD PECKER - SUMMER HEAT - NOT MOWING WHEN MOWING - JIBBER JABBER - SARAH HOYT

 LOADED YARD DIRT

Loaded two bags of dirt this morning at our local feed store. Small bags till I picked one up. Water-logged and double the weight.  

As I threw the first one into the truck bed, it slipped out of hand and my shoulder and right wrist reported that all of this was a mistake. But I had made up my mind that I could still do all of this young man stuff and proceeded. I got it done, but most likely will not do it again. I will get "the guy" next time.

I took a photo of the bag price as I have learned this works perfectly for the check out person when pricing. Show the photo on the cell phone and priced in an instant. Always works.

I parked, went inside and picked up a bag of bird seed and headed for check out. The gal checking me out asked for my phone number and I told her "no phone number."

She said I could get discounts and good deals. I replied that I do not give out information to anyone anymore. I was polite, and I was. 

She rang up the bird seed and complimented me on the cell phone photo to help her price the dirt. She said that it so much easier this way. I paid and she handed me the receipt.

There was no one else in line so I commented on the tattoo on her right arm and both wrists. I asked if I could look at them and she said OK. Long vines, a photo hidden inside part of the twisted vines and a single word tattooed on the inside of each wrist. Large cursive words that read to her when she looked at her wrists. Words to live by, offer encouragement, hope, consistent life guidance at a glance. (I do not remember the two words).

She said, "I got the tattoo when I was a teenager."

I replied, "Last year huh?"

She looked at me. A hint of a grin on her face. 

"I am 36" she said. "Four kids .... been here in town for two weeks now....bought a small piece of land and put a mobile home on it....moved from not a good place."

Still youth in her face, a personality along with a strong presence of self-respect, accomplishment and determination. She caught me somewhat off guard with a glimpse into her life book. There was a smile on her face now.

I looked at her and more seriously said, "moving here may turn out to be one of the best decisions you will ever make in your life time." I went on to briefly talk of the goodness of the people and how she will come to see and appreciate. If moving here was one of best ever decisions my wife and I have made in the past 26 years, then offering her that advice came from experience.

I told her that there is no crime here and she said; "I know and for the first time my daughter is sleeping all night."

How could I top that? 

I generally thanked her and she told me to have a good day. I wanted to tell her the impact she had on me. 

I am not sure from where she moved, but she already wears this little east Texas town as well as anyone I have met. She and her kids are going to thrive here!

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 WOODPECKER AND BIRD FEEDER

 

I mentioned this awhile back; how the wood pecker hangs on the edge of the bird house floor to eat like he does holding on to a tree trunk. He could stand like the bird on the round feeder, but even there, will hang from the edge to take food.

The cat lays under the small green tree as if it is hunting. Not ready to pounce or working at hunting. Just lays there to prevent the birds from feeding. A cat finger to all the birds at best. So I placed an orange cone to solve the problem

The cat always wins. On this day I walked towards the cat "shooshing it away" along with bad cat language. The cat stood up, did not move and replied using cat talk and giving me a most nasty look. She forced me closer forcing me to use more shooshing language and hand gestures. She only gave up her ground when my toes were touching her tail. And even then, sauntered away with a meow that would have gotten her grounded if only I knew "cat language."
 

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TREE DOWN

 

It is hot now. The center of the nation and other places around the world also experiencing three-digit summer day temperatures. The highest I have seen in our little corner of the world was 104 the other day and heat indices are higher. We have been spared somewhat here for the past few days with the slightest of breezes out of the south. Even with that, the moving afternoon heat is physical in its presence.  

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NOT MOWING WHEN I WAS MOWING
 

I was out mowing early this past weekend, but not early enough. The sun was already rising when I got to the road side strip. I can mow most of this, but not all of it easily. The slope in the middle and further down the road is beyond my ability or wanting to try using the zero turn. Watch one YouTube video of someone overturning a zero turn mower on a steep slope is a lesson learned. I have learned to mow perpendicular to the strip for the center section. It does work but takes more time and patience.

After about an hour or so I stopped for a small bottle of water and then went back to mowing. I pushed the throttle to full and starting making my passes. For some reason the mower was not working as I expected it to. And yes, you are exactly right. After about 5 minutes of that, I realized that I had not engaged the deck. First time that has ever happened in my life. Funny, yep and I would appreciate your help keeping my secret.

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JIBBER JABBER 

Stuff I have recently found that is fun and is keeping entertained. 

WALMART DRONE DINNER DELIVERY. 

This is just starting. Gonna get crazy and will be fun to watch all of this develop and grow. I want to see a John Deer tractor delivery!

A MILLION DELIVERIES celebrated. 

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SCHOOL LUNCH PIZZA 

I have seen a few pizza ideas like this on You-Tube and I am going to try it. Looks fun and easy to do.

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TACO STROMBOLI idea 

Yes, have to try this also.

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DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN, all AI and I love the music and visuals.

I am becoming a fan of Sarah Hoyt. She does a lot with AI imagery and music and I visit her blog site daily now. I am not sure if I can become a fan of her fantasy writings. But I will keep exploring. 

A recent example from her blog site.   

I would like to learn how to do this. Heck, anyone now can do this and is only limited by the learning curve, individual creativity and the wanting.

According To Hoyt - Born Free

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Thanks for the visits this month. 

 

AMAZON BOXES - DEAD MOUSE DELIVERY - JIBBER JABBER

THE GARBAGE

It is still my job to take out the garbage. I am not complaining. My wife, too, will take out the garbage. A shared responsibility in truth. But this past week it was me. In part because of the “***” Amazon boxes. Large boxes. I cannot carry one empty box out the door because the open flaps catch on everything. There is no handle. I have yet to figure out how to carry a large open box w/o having issues. Two large boxes require two trips to the side-by-side for trimming, folding and securing with string.

The corners of each box are cut, the box force-folded, held in position while a string is strung, snugged and tied off. The garbage folk want/require boxes be prepped like this. After my struggle I understand why.

Two large Amazon boxes cut, folded and tied laying in the back of the side-by-side bed is an accomplishment. A small amount of satisfaction. Some swearing and talking to myself is always a part of the procedure. And I always have to apologize for some of the swearing because of a lifetime of bad swearing habits. I am getting better, but the degree of inner frustrations often skims the surface of some of that language. These days I do feel wrong and badly using some of that language. Why is it still that some frustrations so get to me?

And within this past weeks garbage rants, I wondered if there were others experiencing similar frustrations. I wondered how many million of Amazon boxes have to be murdered and tied up for their end of days. And with in all of that, I wondered if there was a brotherhood of folk around the world that morning, also talking low under their breaths and then having to apologize for said frustrations. I do not think that I am alone here.

Stepping back when all was said and done, I had to laugh at myself in that disposing of Amazon boxes is a small price to pay for the convenience they bring to just this one home.

Months' supply of paper towels and toilet paper delivered to our back porch by young men who have yet to ever complain to us about unloading, carrying and placing boxes stacked up in their arms in one hundred degree afternoons. Young men dressed in company logo shirts, summer shorts and tennis shoes.

“Would you prefer that I put your packages back here instead of your front porch?” The young delivery kid asked and I said yes. Briefly explained that it is easier for my wife and me to unload and that the area is also protected from weather.

I realize that these young men are kids. They are in shape and their bodies are built for these kinds of missions. I marvel at youth now. I could not pick up one full box and he had just carried three to me as easily as I might carry a paper sack from the car to the kitchen.

Was I ever this young, agile and indifferent to the day's work? Did I too do all of these physical motions and work without issue? Did I jump back into the next chore, in a day's work filled with chores as nonchalantly as he did? As they all do? Do these kids get off work, stop by for a cold beer and pizza before heading home? Maybe somewhat exhausted and content at having that day's work behind them? I bet they do. I just bet they do.

As I write this morning, the garbage truck has just pulled up on the roadside, emptied the contents of our large garbage can and moved on. They, too, do not complain. They will actually go out of their way to help within their routine. Case in point, coming up our driveway after a bad storm had placed large tree limbs that prevented my wife and me from being able to leave our home. Two men lifting, rolling and dragging limbs so that our driveway was clear. Not complaining, rather asking if there were any other immediate problems they could help with.

Every Christmas my wife makes sure that delivery men and garbage truck men get several dozen homemade cookies. One might think all of this is the rule, but sadly it is the exception. But we say thank you often and to those who go out of their way day after day for so many folks, cookies are the rule.

The short of all of this is that Amazon boxes win. The bigger the box, the bigger the victory. I have learned late in life though that when all is said and done, some battles still go on and winning/losing is not the issue. It is the going through it to get to the other side! 

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This is just fun. 

Found on the Feral Irishman blog. 

Dead Mouse Delivery 

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JIBBER JABBER

Not even a photo in this week's post. The weather is not worth noting either. Looking at heat maps, millions of us are in the same boat. Fracking hot and sticky is fracking hot and sticky. Move on!

America, who knew? 

Thanks for the visit this week. 

 

"THANK-YOU AMERICA" - BUG OUT BAG UPDATED - THE RABBIT - PINTO BEANS PLUS - JIBBER JABBER

Will start today's blog with a thank-you to America with a clip from a Canadian coming down on a visa to experience this country. Heart-felt and a great way to put 250 years of celebrating independence behind us and look forward to the coming year.

THANK-YOU AMERICA 

I found this on Bustednuckles blog post this morning. The first video may not play. It is the second video I want to share. 

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BUG OUT BAG 2026 

It has been quite awhile since I have written or covered items like this. Bug-out bags look different at 81 than in my earlier posting years. 

These days, I worry about being stranded in a traffic jam coming and going from Dallas or to some of the other distant towns we visit. We had a blow-out on 37 south a few weeks ago and were in the car nearly 3 hours before the tow truck fellows came to change the tire. Water, snacks, and few OTC personal items will come in handy and help prevent my wife and I getting to an emergency situation.

Daily temperatures over a 100 degrees are becoming more common now and through the next few months. Plus, I have always had a propensity for self-injury, case in point bumping my hand on the way out of the post office causing the skin on the the back of my hand to tear and bleed. An aging thing for older folk. Some disinfectant, a band-aid and paper towels fix a problem like these on the spot.

During a clean out of the bag last week, throwing away old and replacing with new bandages etc., I found the Israeli Emergency Bandage that I always keep in the bag. Taking just a moment to ponder this bandage, I realized that having the bandage is smart, but not knowing how to use/apply it defeats the whole purpose. So to “YouTube university” for more information. Two short videos follow and there are many more on the net.

Video 1    Video 2

I was surprised at how well designed and versatile this bandage is. Also with just a little time learning how to apply it, upgrades my skills with the contents of the bag. We have 6 of these bandages at home and I have added one more to the bag.

Sometimes little things can become big problems that some planning could have avoided. Eye drops, toothpicks, OTC pain meds, band aids, gauze, tape disinfectants, sun screen, hats and plenty of water for an extended period of time.

A month ago, we ventured into Dallas for a lunch with family. We decided to take highway 80 west because it is a stress-free drive. But no matter which highway we take to Dallas, there is no avoiding “driving into the machine” nearing Dallas. Big rain storms and an accident as we neared Dallas brought traffic to a crawl. Added an hour to our trip.

We were treated to some entertainment, though, watching folks leave the freeway trying to cross the grass strip to a close by service road. The grass strip had some old tire mark paths that appeared to have worked for other folks trying that under dry conditions. But on this day, the grass was soaked and turned into a mud pit for all who tried. The fellow who thought the rules did not apply to his big, expensive 4 x 4 also found himself with spinning wheels caked in mud ruts.

As fate would have it, that service road led everyone right back to the freeway we were all currently on. Spinning mud wheels while talking on the cell phone “duth not” help. Stranded in long traffic jams happens more often than not near bigger cities.

So, BOB updated for summer travel months.

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THE RABBIT

There lives a family of rabbits now in a thicket to the east on the property. Good-sized rabbits. Would be a good catch for the cats if they were not so lazy. A meow from them brings a food dish to the ground. Then they walk a few paces to a cool spot on the cement to nap until the next time they ask for a snack. A good cat life for sure and my wife has spoiled them.(An opinion)

Often in the mornings, when I go outside to open the gate, I see the rabbit running all the way across the front lawn and then stopping a few feet from the thicket, dead still, thinking that he is safe. I yell at the rabbit that I see him, that he is not safe, that the cats see him and for him to get into the thicket. But the rabbit thinks he is safe because he has stopped and that no movement is his cover.

I want to further tell the rabbit that if I was a rabbit hunter, he would regret stopping dead still on the lawn. But like the cats, I am not a rabbit hunter. Only TEOTWAWKI will change that.

I turn my attention to the gate and then back to the rabbit and he is gone. The rabbit is just one of the many creatures moving about here.

Horses graze across the acreage beyond the front lawn. Cattle on the eastern acreage. A family of a dozen deer ranging from babies to full grown adults roam here. The teenage deer are the ones testing out side paths as they move through our yard each day. I will come upon them grazing just a few feet away. They are somewhat tame and more often than not, are annoyed that I am disturbing their grazing. When caught alone though, some sense of that causes them to run. Eventually, they come to a familiar fence or field, jump easily to grounds that are closer to home and family. The deer family is growing in size each year. No one here hunts them.

Birds announce when I fill the bird feeder. Or, they are yelling at me to fill the bird feeder and that I forgot to do so yesterday. I think it is in their tone. Blues, reds, yellows flash as they drop from the tree branches, hit the feeder and vanish. Birds spend a lot of energy in gathering, even when feed is readily available.

Armadillos live here, too. They destroy lawns, gardens and flower gardens. When either my wife and I are lucky enough to seen one still rooting for bugs early in the morning, the .22 rifle comes out and they are dispatched without prejudice.

We are fortunate that hogs to do not live here. If armadillos bring out the hunter in us, hogs bring out the hunter in everyone. Once a person sees the damage done to large acreage by a herd of hogs, it becomes instantly clear that left unchecked, hogs devastate the lands that produce food.

The running rabbit this morning was welcomed and a good start to my day.

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PINTO BEANS PLUS

 

A can of pinto beans+ is on the simmer this morning. I am a fan of beans, out of the can or fixed up. Only after arriving in Texas have I become interested in fixing small batches for meal main course side dishes and having those in the fridge. 

The above batch is a spin off of a Charro Beans recipe. Smaller in size that does not become a responsibility to eat taking up refrigerator space. Leftovers added were the "plus."

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JIBBER JABBER

I sit here this morning with a new eye. Cataract removed and new lens implanted a week ago. The time has come for both eyes to have the procedure before the cataracts present bigger problems. 

The doctor who did this procedure on both of my wife's eyes a year ago is also doing mine. Seven minutes and the procedure is done. After 4 hours, the bandage is removed and the eye begins functioning. It takes most of the day for both eyes to again adjust to each other. My job is to follow the doctors directions. I am a good patient.

Saying that I am amazed and impressed is an understatement. The skill set of the doctor is beyond words. I have not seen colors for years like the colors I am seeing now. White is very white and the east Texas fields and lands are breathtakingly beautiful. A wonderful gift for an old man who often enjoys sitting and surveying his kingdom.

The other eye is now a noticeable problem. Fogs up perfect vision.  Poking myself in the bridge of my nose to adjust glasses that are not there is not funny. Yea, it is funny. More to follow as the second eye is scheduled very soon.

Thanks for the visit this week. 

 

 

DOGS BEING DOGS - INDEPENDANCE DAY 250 YEARS

Golden Retrievers retrieving.

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250 years coming this 4th of July. USA Declaration of Independence. A few flags flying adding some color to an east Texas lawn.

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Born in 1945, an historical year in which world wars ended and this country began transitioning into peace time and growth. I often wonder what my parents were going through and thinking about during those years. A world seemingly on fire, hundreds of thousands of our young men and women fighting in far-off countries and a homeland struggling for footings. That I was bred and born in these times gives me hope and strength in a world still trying to find footings. 

I am a child of Russian and Norwegian decent. Had my grandparents and parents not come to this country in search of freedom, at the cost of leaving all behind, is proof in the strength of the human spirit. I am most proud of my heritage and the strength of the human spirit that came from past generations. 

Maybe there never has been or ever will be a "good time" to bring a child into the fold. But growing families is a constant around this world. I'll take some solace in all of this, keep an open heart that we will all keep on keeping on and give thanks to God often.

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GOOD EATS TOO OVER THIS WEEKEND CELEBRATION

 RED WHITE AND BLUE DESSERT

 

   Thanks for the visit this week.