Trayvon is remembered at the Sister Plaza in Pueblo, Colorado .

Had a lovely time with Janet and the rest of the group today.  Just want you to enjoy this video.  More to follow.

My insane mother goose!

I have a goose that has been with me since Bret was 9 years old.  All she has ever wanted to do was have babies.  True, she has hatched out a few.  I am not sure of the lineage since she is an African Gray and she has hatched several Imidens and one Imiden/gray cross.  That one had a white "v" across it's chest so I know it was a mix.  See, the way this works is the hens lay and somebody sets on them until they hatch.  Everything in the nest belongs to the whole flock.  They do not know that they are different.  This is mama goose with her "husband".  They have been together for 4 or 5 years.  I think he was her "step son" which means she hatched the egg, but did not lay it.

Now, here is her on the nest.  I took this early one morning.

Here is the nest with her NOT on it.  She has dragged almost all of the straw into this one corner. 

What you need to know is that she has been setting on this nest for 2 months.  It takes 28 days to hatch an egg.   I go in and pet her every morning and tell her what a good job she is doing.  Then she goes out to get a drink of water and visit the rest of the flock.  And every morning I rake her nest and then pile it back up.  There is no egg in there.  There was an egg or two early on which I ate.  But now there is no egg and there has not been an egg for almost 2 months.  But still she comes back in and sets all day and I want you to know we have had a lot of 100 ° days, so I am thinking this is one determined goose!  Someone said I should let her have babies, but I am trying to get rid of my flock that eats high dollar grain and does not pay me back.  I used to think I would sell the babies, but that did not happen!  So, I am sorry, but no goslings here on South Road.

I do not know how long geese live, but when Goosey is gone the rest will be shipped out to someone who wants geese.  I managed to set here and let the fox eat 37 ducks before I shipped the last two out to a pond in Pueblo West, but I am not going to be so lenient with the geese.  I have already lost 3 and am down to 10.  If I were younger I might do the baby thing again, but I am not and doesn't look like I will be getting younger any time soon.  Goosey is the last of my original flock.  I had three.  One had neurological problems and the neighbor man took care of him.  The the Muscovee Ducks murdered the other male.  So Goosey had to go many months by herself before Lyn moved into town and blessed me with a pair of African Grays,  a pair of Imidens, and a pair of Chinese.

So that is where we are now.  10 geese, 2 dogs and 1 cat and then I can move into town.  Probably going to be staying at the State Hospital, if you get my drift!

 

 

One year ago....Long Ago and Not Very Far Away....

"Oshermo"

Sherman Joseph Schroeder, Jr.

2/17/1935

7/13/2012

Some one once said that in order to have a friend you must first be a friend.

So very true in this case.

Sadly missed by a multitude of friends.

And the British Motorcycle Association of Colorado came to my house today!

And what a day it was!  Hey, Dana, come on in!  What are you riding? 

Oh, I see, it is Sherman's Black Matchless!  Lookin' good!

 

I wanna' go for a ride!  And Dana, ever the gentleman, took me!

 

And we feasted on pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans and all the other good stuff, topped off with an upside down German Chocolate Cake.  My grand daughter helped with the cooking and the clean up.  Great to have her around and not just because she is a work horse.

So it was a very fruitful day and I am very tired.  This was the one year anniversary of when the club came to bid farewell to Sherman.  Next week marks the one year anniversary of his passing, so it was a bittersweet celebration of that time in our lives. 

So let me just thank everyone for today.  And an especially big thanks for giving me the ride Sherman would have given me.  Thanks, buddy!  Hope we meet again soon!

 

 

What is normal?

Recently I have had the occasion to wonder, what is normal?  What is not?  To me, 5'1" and 160 pounds is normal.  Not so to my 100 pound step daughter.  Getting up at 4:30 is normal and perfectly acceptable to me.  Not to my 23 year old grand daughter.  Spending 7-8 hours a day on my computer is "normal" to me, but I have friends and family members who are challenged to turn their computer on, if they even have one.  I talk to one daughter several times a week on the phone, another weekly, one monthly and one I have not spoken to in years.  Which of those scenarios is "normal?"
When I was raising my babies it was "normal" for me to work 2 and three jobs just to make ends meet.  Yet I know families where no one works.  To them it is "normal"  for some one else to "take care" of them.  I do not consume alcohol, but I know people who drink as a matter of course.  I don't buy or drink soda pop, but I know people who  drink it on a regular basis.
What I am trying to get to here, is what is normal?  Could it be that there is indeed, no "normal?"  When we were growing up back in Nickerson, it was much like being raised by the wind.  Mom worked cleaning houses.  Dad did not work.  Mom came home and cooked our supper, we ate and then mom ironed a basket of clothes for one of the ladies in town.  We went to bed.  We got up and did it all over again.  My Dad sometimes had a "hot toddy" for his "cold".  Sometimes he let us have a teaspoonful.  Usually not.  The woman at the end of the block kept an eye on the little kids for 50¢ a week.  (She liked to ride stick horses and the little kids would run behind her.)
We were very poor, but so was everyone else.  Poor was the "norm."  We moved to Hutch and fit right in with that society.  Mom was a secretary by that time.  She would later go on to waitress work which paid better then office work back then.   By that time us kids were all beginning to leave home.  Mary got married at 15, I got married, Dorothy got married, Donna drifted off to school, and Jake was Jake, and Josephine was divorced and remarried with her kids grown and gone.
I immediately had a nest full of kids and began travelling the state with my tree trimmer husband.  I remember back when I was raising kids, Ward and June Cleaver were raising kids at the same time as I was, but talk about a world of difference!   A two parent home!  Ward went to work and guided the children in the right direction.  He did not appear to drink or carouse.  That was the "normal" for June but  my "normal" was far different. 
And so it is now today.  I look back down the road of my past and I see a skinny little girl with bare feet picking her way down a road of shattered dreams, lost opportunities, broken hearts, dragging 5 little kids behind her to reach the ever elusive rainbow at the end.  I now stand at the precipice to what, I know not, and I ask myself, "Did I do it right?  Did I do the best I could?"  The answer is "no".  But I do know this, I did the best I could knowing what I knew then with the tools that were at my disposal. 
I got all my kids into the world of adulthood.  They are all functioning members of society.  True, they are no doubt scarred by their childhood, but aren't we all?  They all have a different perception of "mother, hearth and home," but don't we all?  If I could walk the road again and know what I know now, they would all have gone to college.  We would be a close knit family and we would vacation together and talk on the phone every day and be so happy.  But until some one figures out a way to live our lives in reverse, they will just have to live with an imperfect mother, but one that loved them all nonetheless.
So, I just got off the phone with the oldest daughter who reassures me that there is no such thing as normal and as for her childhood, when someone says,  "How are you ?"  she replies, "Mentally unstable, but I am very friendly."
So there it is in a nut shell!

Big misunderstanding on my part about the Sherminator!!!

Just had a short email from the Danaman.
 Lou,
          The Sherminator is for racing @ Bonneville, it's not street legal. So I will be coming down to your place on Sherman's black Matchless that I got running awhile back. Now I am counting on giving you a short ride on the Matchless, so make sure your life insurance is paid up (hah!)
Danaman
Hey, that is even better.  Check this out!  Whoops, never mind.  Was going to link you up to the youtube of the Matchless, but that is not there any more .  RATS!

Thanks, Dana!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y57dnNtUk_Q

 

Yes! It is a go on the cook out at my house!

SHERMAN J SCHROEDER, JR.

MEMORIAL RIDE AND COOKOUT

JULY 6, 2013

FEATURING THE

Sherman's Black Matchless

RIDDEN BY DANAMAN

AND ESCORTED BY THE BMAC

Call for details  719-546-1555

Just heard from the DanaMan and July 6 is a go!  Soooooo, the bike club should arrive here between noon and 1:00 for lunch.  I just want to say, if there is anyone out there who would like to join us for whatever reason, just give me a call so I have a heads up on how many to cook for.  Or leave a comment at the end of this blog.  Or send a message through my email.  I will give you good directions to my house and be most happy to see you.

Dana added this: I don't have email addresses/phone numbers for these three, so could yet let them know about the ride ? Let them know they can either come to Colorado Springs for the starting point of the ride, or just meet us at your place for lunch. We will start the ride @ around 11:00 AM from Johnny's Navajo Hogan bar and restaurant ( 2817 N. Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, CO ). I would guess we would be arriving at your place between noon and 1:00 PM.  Also if they want to attend our club meeting at the Hogan, that starts at 10:00 AM, they are more than welcome.

I would love to see a good turnout for this event.  This is one week before the anniversary of Sherman's passing so we need to celebrate the little fellow one more time.  Sherman was one in a million!

Here is a link to the newsletter showing lots of pictures.  http://www.bmacinc.com/Newsletter.html
And look for them on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/293247852308/?ref=ts&fref=ts

So that is the scoop for now.  I look forward to seeing or hearing from some of you very soon.
loumercer3@aol.com