Geese

 

Snail Mail

I surely do wonder what is going on with the United States Post Office. I can remember the good old days when I would set at my kitchen table and write a letter off to my mother to let her know that I was alive and well and preggers again. I would seal the letter and toddle off to the post office to mail it to dear mother.

Well those days are all in the past! Mother has since passed to her great reward, the child bearing days are well over around here, and the United States Post Office is slowly being replaced by the Fax Machine and the computer. Not to mention the telephone and the cell phone.

I look back on the changes that have transpired since I was a little girl traipsing the dirt roads around my home town of Nickerson, Kansas, and it is enough to turn my hair white!

We used to be on a party line on the phone. That meant that several families shared the line. If it rang 2 longs and a short, that meant the phone was for us. 2 shorts and 2 longs was for someone else. We could pick up the phone and "listen in", but we could and would very get her little fannies warmed for that! I am pretty sure the operator who connected the phone calls was not above listening, because she was very knowledgeable about the goings on around town. She actually reported to my mother that my older sister was pregnant and stirred up a real hornets nest there! Just doing what she thought was right (Like eavesdropping was right!).

The telephone came in one color; black. It had a crank on the side and that is how you got the operator, turn the crank. She would, in due time answer "Number please!" Usually we just said the name of who we wanted and she rang it through. She knew where everyone was at any given time of the day, or at least where she thought they should be.

We took a tour of the telephone company when I was in grade school, probably about the third grade. That was an eye opener! The whole phone office was probably 10 foot square. The operator set on a little stool in front of a board which had a bunch of holes in it with wires connecting the parties talking. The operator, who I always thought to be 8 feet tall, was actually a very short woman, but just as crabby in real life as she was on the phone.

Is life better now? Depends. I can pick up the phone and instantly talk to my son in Dallas, or fire him off an email and have an answer via his Blackberry within seconds. Sure takes a lot of the mystery out of life. Oh, yeah, and the privacy. I know there are people lurking out there who want to steal my identity and know all my dirty little secrets, but here is the bottom line for you to think about; how long will it be before we all have a computer chip and all we have to do is think about the kid in Dallas and we will be connected by thought? Scares me.

Gives new meaning to the term Big Brother is wataching you!!

It is still snowing!

I know there are people out there, when they hear about the snow in Colorado, especially the ones measured in feet, that they think of me! Thanks for thinking about me, but usually those feet of snow are anywhere but here. For the most part this is basically desert. Or at least I think so.

So now, we had our first snowfall yesterday, which was the 28th. It is putting down another layer, so that is 2 off of the 28. Means we have 2 snows left after today. Right? I wish the Indians that decided that stuff had been more specific. Since this is a snow on top of a snow is it one snow or since it is the second day is it 2? Because I do not like snow, I will count it as 2. I will mark it thusly on the calendar and next spring, assuming I actually did it, we will see what happened.

Hey! I got on my wii fitness thing today and I did not hear that woman say I was obese! She actually said my BMI was normal. And further I am now 37 years old! Course it was also blaring something about the batteries were going south and need to be replaced! Will that affect the accuracy? Do I care?

I kind of like this being normal and 31 years younger than I am so I may start putting weak batteries in all the time.

Good Lord! I can hear that weather man in there yapping about 5 more inches of snow! This is getting very scary. I do not like this stuff! What if it just keeps snowing and then gets over the house and keeps on snowing? What if the whole world, at least the cold parts, just lays there and keeps getting snowed on every day? It will get deeper and deeper and I will run out of food. The water will freeze. I see nothing but gloom and doom. I know that has never happened before, but what if.....?

It is gonna' snow!!

It is official, it is going to snow today. Of course it is! Yesterday I went out to the storage trailer and guess what was falling on my head? You got it, a drip! I could not get a tarp until last night, so we were out there this morning bright and early this morning and tried to fit a 12 x 20 foot tarp over an 8 x 30 foot trailer. We, of course, have a nice little breeze going and it did not go well at all.
So now, what to do. I need to leave here in 15 minutes to go take a lady to the doctor, then try to make an appearance at the weaving guild meeting. I fully expect something to happen while I am gone, like the tarp blowing off and up, up and away.
So this is the plan: I will come home and start moving the perishable and not waterproof stuff out of the trailer and into the tin shed. I fully expect to do this is a full fledged blizzard. I know how my luck runs.
Just wanted to touch base right quick. You all have a lovely day, and remember, "Some where the sun is shining and some where hearts are free, but there is no joy in Louville, the mighty trailer has sprung a leak!"

Why do the llama's run and jump!

Well, a very unusual sight out back this morning. The brown llama was running up and down the field and stopping to jump or buck or somethhng. The brown and white llama stood very still watching the brown llama. Now I have no idea about the sex of these 2 animals so they will be referred to as brown and brown and white.
If horses run and buck, there will be a change of weather. If cattle lay in the field the fish will not bite. I know if the geese or ducks hold real still and all look in the same direction, there is usually something furry over there thinking about duck soup. But this llama thing has me buffaloed.
I know what llama's are used for, kind of any way. To look at their shaggy, ragged coat, you would never guess that here is a fiber that when shorn, washed, combed and spun will make a very soft item to be worn. It is not itchy like wool, but it is a kind of wool. I would love to get my hands on either of these two fellows/girls.
See the irony of the whole thing is, when the man stuck them in the feild right there beside my house, he had no idea that I have in my possession, a basket to wash the fleece, hand carders to card the fleece, a spinning wheel to spin the fleece and 2 looms to weave the yarn!! I further have the knowledge to do all that.
I wonder what the man would think if he came over here and found naked llama's waiting for him?! What would the headline read in the local paper? "Old Lady Strips Llama", "Granny Charged with Fleecing Fleece", "Pulling the Wool Over Brownies Eyes!"
I think I probably would be better served just staying over here in my own yard and watch that silly llama hop around over there. I must learn to keep my mind from wandering.
If you know why llama's behave like they do, please let me know.

My Mohawk Hair Cut

Ever have a "Bucket List? I do. It is getting whittled down slowly but surely. Two years ago I decided to fulfill the mohawk desire. I had taken my son to the barber, one my husband had used forever, and the time was right!
I had a very hard time talking Louie into that, but finally he decided he might as well do it if he ever wanted me out of there. The deed was done! A little axle grease and the old mohawk stood right up as proud as you please.
Now, you should know, I always kept my hair short so the grand and glorious strip on the center of my 65 year old head was only about 3 inches tall. The bald head that surrounded it made it look fantastic! Paid my bill and off to the first stop; step daughter!
"What in God's name have you done? Wait till my husband sees that!" Her husband did indeed make it over to see me and know what he said? He laughed! "Way to go grandma!"
The grandkids were taken aback, but quickly adjusted. The other grownup kids were appalled, but soon adjusted. In all fairness, not all of them live around here and did not see it when it was fresh. I hated that.
The people at church dropped their jaws. But the best part and the part that made it all worth it were the strangers. Not many old ladies show up with a mohawk. The best reaction was the "gang bangers". I would walk down the aisle at the grocery store and run into one of them with his hat cocked on crooked and his eyes all hard and mean. He would glare at me, make eye contact and then give me the sweetest smile.
I had that happen several times and it dawned on me that if we would all just shave our heads and meet on common ground, an old lady and a punk teenager, we might get a little further down the road to peace.
I do not know how many thumbs up I got. Old people smiled, young people smiled,strangers on the street smiled. I had a good time with that haircut.
But, alas, the hair grew back and there was a lot of itching going on when that happened. I don't know if you have ever shaved your head, but there are a lot of bumps and stuff up there that is never seen unless you do shave the hair. Something up there is responsible for what is known as "cow licks." (Cow licks will be a later post!)
Now we all know there is not much sense to doing anything wild and crazy if you do not keep a record of that act. The day after I got my mohawk, I renewed my drivers license! It took the man 2 tries to get the light and everything just right so the mohawk is preserved for posterity! He actually worked with me on that photo!
Now when the clerk asks for my id, I hand her my license, she glances at the top of my head and we have a conversation going! I do not regret that haircut one bit, and may do it again if those kids of mine don't watch out!

Good old days may be yet to come!

I see I have been AWOL, which is the acronym for Away With Out Leave. That means I just took off and told no one that I would not be typing away in my little journal here. Did not go anywhere. Did not do anything in particular, just did not function like I should have. I do not feel one bit guilty even knowing you are out there thirsting for my wisdom and humor. Which brings me to the point of this missive.

For many years, well about 68 to be exact, I have functioned as others thought I should. I got my diaper changed and ate when momma thought I should. Went to school when teachers thought I should. Married a man because he thought I should, and then tended the babies, because that was expected. Life turned me into a single mother and then it was work, work, work. Later life gave me a wonderful husband who made sure I did not need to do that anymore.

Now, I find myself a widow, with a home and grandchildren and great grandchildren and a lot of time on my hands. I live alone, basically, so my life is pretty simple and my wants are few. I can eat breakfast at 6:00 AM or 2:00 PM. I can take a walk or a nap, depending on my mood. I can make a quilt, weave a tea towel, bake a cake, or just set and watch the ducks and geese. I can go to town or stay home. My choices are endless.

I am at no one's mercy but my own. I know that some day this life of mine will make a "u" turn and I will end up just like I started, but for right now, this moment in time, this is my good old days. Think this depresses me? Think again! Right now I have the whole enchilada and I am going to run with it. :)

Polly Parrot

And along that line, I have to tell you about Great Grandma's Parrot. When I lived with them, it was 1955. Residing there also was Polly Parrot. Polly was a green Amazon who (was almost a who as opposed to a thing) had been captured in South America and brought to Great Grandma covered in cotton in a matchbox and fed with an eye dropper.

Great Grandpa (I never knew him, but assume there was such a man and that he did the chores around the house and was indeed, the parrot smuggler.) built a wooden perch for Polly and there Polly spent all the days of his life. He never had a cage and beneath the perch was a sand box which had to be cleaned periodically.

When Polly was 45 years old he was in a feature article in the Kansas City Star. His whole life story was told and he became a celebrity. But for the most part, he just set there on his perch in the dining room, right outside the kitchen. Every Sunday was a big family dinner, because that is what you used to do.

Polly would sing for us, "After the ball is over, after the dancers have gone- - ". That is all I remember of the song, but Polly knew more. Some one would pop around the corner and give him a piece of apple or a brazil nut, or something just as good. Polly always said "Thank You!" That bird knew his manners.

I had a favorite cousin at the time named Carl. Carl assured me that one night he was sleeping on the couch and Polly fell off his perch and when he hit the floor he said "damn!" but I am not sure that was entirely true. When Polly did lose his balance and end up down there he would walk back to the sand box, pull himself up the pole that held his perch and once more be king of the domain. He had a hard time walking because his feet were shaped the same as the perch he spent his life on.

Polly never bit anyone or ever had a bad day. He was just there and stayed there until Grandma died and Great Grandma went to live with Aunt Helen. Several years later Aunt left the window open and Polly spent a night with the cold wind blowing on him. He ended up with pneumonia and died shortly there after.

Great Grandma lived to be 104. She kept her mind to the end, Crocheted with heavier yarn, and could tell you stories of Jesse James and the Younger Gang in her barn and eating at her table (She did not know who they were at the time, just their name.), and always Polly had been there. It was a sad day when we learned in a letter that Polly had died. But I am sure that up in Heaven some where there is a tall, regal white haired woman coming around the corner to feed a piece of apple to a big green parrot who has just finished a rousing rendition of
"After the ball is over, after the dancers have gone...."

Grandma Haas

As I mentioned, I lived with Grandma and Great Grandma for a time. I dearly loved my Grandma. She had suffered a stroke and used a walker. One arm was pretty useless and that was back in the time that physical therapy was not practiced. I guess she did her own therapy because she still managed to crochet.
Grandma was 72 and Great Grandma was over 95 when I lived with them. They arose every morning at sun up and were dressed in their little cotton dresses with a full apron over the dress, shoes, the long stocks that passed for nylons, glasses on their nose and every hair in place.
Breakfast had been laid out the night before. The egg poacher filled with water set over 1 pilot light and the drip-a-lator coffee maker full of water set on the other pilot light. One half of an orange was at each place setting setting. Jelly and all the condiments were covered in the middle of the table. Breakfast would be cooked and served in 5 minutes. I then put all the dishes under the sink to await for my return from school.
My Grandma was a short, plumpish woman and had golden hair as opposed to white. I still have her braid. She had the sweetest smile, like angels would have. My mother was the spitting image of her in later years.
Great Grandma was a very regal woman. She was tall, thin, aristocratic nose and piercing eyes. She moved very slowly, but then she was 95 years old and the main caregiver to her 72 year old disabled daughter! What did I expect?
These women never raised their voice, but I was always most happy to do what ever they asked. Every night, with out fail, we took turns reading from the family Bible. We never ate with out praying over the meal. We never slept with out praying we would still be there in the morning. And it always worked. Right up until Grandma had another stroke.
If I could have one wish for the world it would be for everyone to have Grandmas like I did. If these 2 women had been in charge of the world there would not be war, pestilence, or poverty and violence. Just a world of people setting around and never raising their voices, doing what they knew in their souls was the right thing to do. Making sure that their little corner of the world was in peace and harmony.

After all, if we each took care of our own little corner, there would be peace and harmony. If we took care of each other in a compassionate manner, we would have no time nor energy for the back biting and in fighting that leads to strife and war.
I think I will just practice what I preach!!

The Good Old Days

It is very cold and last night we had the first snow fall of the season. Now old Indian lore states that the first snowfall only counts if you can track a deer in the snow, so this one does not count. It does not count because it melted before our eyes. Had it lingered that would have made our first snowfall on the 8th of October. Therefore we would have 8 snows this winter, deep enough to track a deer (Got to remember that part).
Further lore proclaims if the caterpillar has long hair it will be very cold. If the caterpillar spins the cocoon high it will be wet. And there was more stuff about what this woolly little worm could make the weather do. Of course, once again memory has failed me and I know not where the Indians have gone. Back East, I think. Actually I think they went to Washington, D.C.
There are things grandma told me on a fairly regular basis. "Your face is gonna freeze like that! " " A stitch in time saves 9. " " Where spider web grows, no beau ever goes! " " Sugar draws more flies than vinegar!"
When I was growing up, I was not sure my grandmother ever had an original thought, but now in my wisdon, I realize they were her thoughts. She just thought them a lot and out loud. Would I have remembered these things had she said, "Quit making faces or you will have wrinkles." "Do your mending or your clothes will need major repairs." "Clean your room or you will be an old maid. (That one never worked. My room was a mess and I managed to marry several times.)" "Being sweet will get you more friends than a nasty dispostition."
The answer is a resounding NO! I lived with my grandmother and greatgrandmother when I was in high school and it made me who I am today. I learned to crochet, the radio was always tuned to the news and market report, the only book worth reading was the Bible, and I had to sleep on the couch because the spare bedroom was upstairs and they worried that the house might catch on fire!
Those definitely were The good old days!!

And what would you like to live without?

Got up this morning and made breakfast for a lady friend. At that time I was told the water would be off for 2 hours "a little later this morning." Panic mode! Bret said "Fill the bathtub with water! Fill all the pans!" Now, I do not normally use that much water in a week so I opted for a gallon pitcher.

Then the appointed time arrived. How many times did I start to was my hands, flush the stool, really want to mop the kitchen floor, and fill the duck pond? And why was that? Normally that time of day is spent on the loom or one of the sewing machines or in town.

But not this day! Today is the one day I needed the water on, because I could not have it at my beck and command. Had it been the electricity I would have wanted to watch television, or run the air conditioner.

Think about this people! Less than 100 years ago running water in the house and electricity all through the house were the oddity rather than the norm. There were very few roads, because there were very few thing needing a road. Computers were unheard of, although I am sure some one had dreamed them by then.

Now think further; what would you give up if you had to give up something? My guess is nothing. You could not function without your ipod, cell phone, computer (and chances are those are in one item), car, pace maker, and on and on, because the things that were in everyday use 100 years ago can not be found today.

If they are found they are antiques or reproductions. And they make reproductions why? Because we long for the "good old days", but not enough to give up the conveniences that we now take for granted every day!

So today I am going to give up one of these things that I have been taking for granted and see how bad I miss it. Just have to decide what it will be. Hmmm! Oh, I already did, I gave up water for 2 hours. Now to report on how that worked out for me: It sucked!!!

Happy Birthday!

Well, today is my Happy Birthday. It is 8:30 am and 5 of the 10 kids have remembered. I will be going to the Springs to have lunch with the Pastor and Kay and Frank. Then tonight we will go out to eat at the Chinese food place, so the social ritual of eating is all planned and that is one less chore to do.
Birthdays are necessary, but only as a point of reference, "I got married when I was 19, first baby when I was 21, moved to Colorado when I was 36." Things like that. Some people count the day until the birthday, then count the days after the day. I am not big on that stuff. I usually forget until some one reminds me and then I am showered with gifts, even though I protest that I do not want them.
I really do not want them! There is not a single thing in this world that I can not live with out except for the food and water thing. So today I am inundated with a daughter, grand daughter, her husband and 2 great grandsons. Of course there will be presents and cards in the mail and they will all ask, "How old are you now?" Well, they expect me to remember how old they are, and I am the old forgetful one, so they should be telling me. Course they forgot.
So for posterity sake, I will tell you and that is if I have remembered correctly. I am 68 and holding. About the only memorable thing this year is that I survived it! Oh, yeah, I learned to swim. Been wanting to do that for many years. Still don't go in the deep water, but may stray out there one of these days.
So for now, Happy Birthday to me, and the rest of you have a good day.

Peacock Returns!

Yesterday I put sealer on the deck. This made it necessary to take the dogs out the front door. I stepped out in the front yard who should greet me, but Mr. Peacock! I of course, went into catch the peacock mode. Then it dawned on me that the neighbor lady was home and it was, after all, her peacock. So I ran over and got her.

She is not nearly as good at catching a peacock as her husband, so the last we seen of the peacock was him headed west down South Road and going a lot faster then either one of us! My son did observe that the peacock seems to be drawn to me. What ever. Peacocks are supposed to be a sign of good luck and I am hoping that will start kicking in soon.

In the meantime, I have been keeping pretty busy. Got a quilt quilted. Made small soaps with tons of lavender to keep moths away. Will sell them at the sale in November. Picked the remaining cukes so I can make dill pickle slices. Picked 3 tomatoes on the green side so I can fry them. I also looked at the closet with a critical eye. Then I reached a monumental decision; that is way more then I can get done since it is almost nap time!

The sunrise this morning was absolutely beautiful! Usually the sun just kind of pops up and down out here, but the one this morning was kind of slow and made the whole horizon very red and it stayed that way for almost half an hour.

Something about a long sunrise makes me feel inadequate. I feel that I am of very little significance in this big old world, but I somehow feel that I am the only one watching this sunrise. So, I guess my life is basically a conundrum. Do you know what that means? It means a riddle whose answer is a pun. That pretty much sums it up.

So, you have learned a new word today and the meaning of that word. As long as you pick up a little knowledge every day you will never stop learning. Wish I had some wise words to leave you with, but I am coming up blank. Just goes to show you that nothing is ever as it seems.

Chile Festival

I am demonstating for the Weavers Guild in the El Pueblo Museum yesterday and today. This has been fun. Joanne is with me and she is a tremendous weaver and likes people. I enjoy meeting people, so I just mostly talk.
First person to strike my fancy was Rebecca. She is from back east and knows how to use a drop spindle. We got started talking because she let a nasty word slip and apologized. I told her I could out cuss her any day. She spun some yarn and then went away, but not before we exchanged emails and such. Ships in the night.
The next one was a fellow who stopped right in front of me and stood. Not knowing what to say I said "Hi!" He replied, "No, just happy!" I was taken aback by that one, but life goes on anyway.
We watched the Indian Dancers. There is some very intricate bead work on those costumes. If you ever get a chance to take a close look, by all means do so. They go to a lot of work and are proud to show it to you.
There were rides for the kids, funnel cakes, Barbeque, roasted corn, jewelry, bean toss, and just about anything you can think of, but the main attraction is the rows and rows of chile roasters lined up and roasting the product Pueblo is best know for, the Mighty Pueblo Chile!!
So I shall return to my post today and continue to observe people. Will report in tomorrow. Sure I will have a good time.

Middle of the Night

It has come to my attention that I have profound thoughts, so profound that they actually awaken me wherein, I then need to lay there and ponder them. These same earth rattling revelations unfortunately flit away with the coming of dawn and complete wakefulness.
My late husband did not dream. Swore to heaven he did not dream. One morning he crawled out of bed a little more crabby then I was used to him being. As the day wore on his snipping seemed to increase, until I in my gentle way asked, "What in the hell is your problem?"
He stated that when he awoke that morning he "had it in his head" that I had run away with another man. I explained to him that is what is called a dream, which he must indeed be having, since I had not moved from the farm, so apparently had not run away with another man.
Now this brings me to the question, am I having profound, earth shaking revelations, or am I too, dreaming?
I have tried to trick myself, by recording my thoughts when I am awakened by these revelations, but when I play them back to myself, they do not seem all that important. To be honest, some of them sounded very stupid, others like the ramblings of a mad woman. So this leads me to one of two conclusions:
I am very happy that I escape into a dream world and get my creativity and genius worked out in the middle of the night where no one can see or hear just how loony I am as opposed to wandering around town talking to myself. What do you think of that theory?
Here is another one for you to think about. I am so smart when I am asleep that even I can not recognize my brilliance in broad daylight. I may be an Einstein and no one will ever know it because I sleep alone and can't remember anything when I wake up in the morning.
"What evil lurks in the hearts of man only the shadow knows!" That quote comes from an old radio show we used to listen to years ago. I am not sure it is correct, but then it did come from my mind and lord only knows what goes on in there!
A friend once told me " You never really know anyone, you know of them. " Meditate on that for the day.

My Mother

My mother shaped my life by example and a lot of her down home wisdom. I am going to tell you some of these at this point and what my thoughts at the time were.

1. "Get that pencil out of your mouth. You don't know where it has been." (Where did that thing go when I wasn't looking?")

2. " Do you want a lickin'?" (Oh, yeah! That is exactly what I want, a lickin'!)

3. " If Beth stuck her head in the fire, I suppose you would too!" (How is wearing my socks rolled down comparable to sticking my head in a fire?)

4. "Eat that mush! There are people starving to death in China." (Well, I sure wish they had this mush!"

5. "Get that coat on before you go outside and freeze to death!" (Wonder how long it takes to flash freeze.)

6. " Do not stick your tongue on that metal pole, cause it will freeze there." (Of course I am going to do that if I can just make it to the pole before I freeze to death.)

7. "Break this candy bar in half and give your sister the biggest half so you do not appear greedy." (Yeah, give the big half to her because she is greedy.)

8. "The early bird gets the worm." (And why do I want a worm?)

9. " Stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off!" (There is a visual I do not need.)

10. "Keep your legs crossed or some little boy will look up your dress." (And what will he see?)

11. "I am going to knock your block off!" (What is a block? Is that possible? Where will my block land and can I put it back on?)

12. "Keep eating and you are going to pop open!" (So that is what that belly button is for! To hold me shut.)



And there is not a day that goes by that one of her idioms doesn't pop into my mind and jerk me back to the straight and narrow. Today this would be called child abuse, but back in those days it was just called "doing the best we can."

I would not trade my roots for any other roots in the world. I came from good, hardworking, honest German and I am sure this has helped shape me into the person I am today.

Like a Bad Penny!

Bet you thought I was still out in the world wrestling Peacocks! No, here I am. Just like a bad penny, I have returned.
Yesterday was a lost day. Weaver's Guild until noon, lunch with the boy, hurry home for the nap, and then get ready for bed. Today I am going to tell you how to clean silver .
Get a big pot, preferably aluminum. Put a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the pot. Set the tea pot or whatever in the pot, making sure it has contact with the foil. Cover with water being sure to measure and make sure the item is covered. Now, add 2 tablespoons of baking soda for each quart of water. Bring temperature to 150 degrees and hold it there for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Rinse and buff.
Unless of course you would rather go buy some silver cleaner and rub it on, and rub it on, and rub it on. You get the picture! See I went to the garage sale and bought 2 boxes of silver stuff for $45.00. I could see a lot of polishing going on getting this in shape for Ebay. Not me, man, I am basically pretty lazy and if there is a way around the old way, I am all over that!
My mother had all kinds of little sayings to live by and I think the one that comes to mind here would be, " A stitch in time, saves nine ." And by that she would have said, "If you had kept that done up in the first place, you would not be up all night doing it now!"
Tomorrow I will tell you a bit about my mother, God love her. She was a very unique being and not a day goes by that one of her words of wisdom doesn't pop up and hit me, usually right between the eyes!!

Peacock Wrangling

Those of you who know me personally, know my life is never dull. This morning started out looking pretty mundane, little cool with that touch of fall in the air. I had an errand in town, so that was where I was headed. About a quarter of a mile from the house I happened to glance over and there was a peacock in the field looking pretty out of place. I recalled that the neighbors were missing a peacock, so being the dutiful person that I am, I made a "u" turn and told Clifford where the peacock was. Then I started back down the road. Silly me!
Here came Mr. Peacock walking east on South Road! I immediately parked the car and decided to follow along and keep my eye on him until Clifford could get there. I called my son and told him to go out in the yard and tell Clifford to hurry. Well, the Big Blue Peacock then took a right turn on 27th Lane. I knew if he got to the river he was gone. I took a short cut across the alfalfa field to cut him off at the pass. Have you ever tried to run across an alfalfa field? They irrigate those things which means they are full of ditches that you can not see. You can trip on them, but you can not see them coming!
Fortunately I beat the peacock and got him headed back east, unfortunately, it was now across fields, ditches full of water, piles of trash and fences here and there. So I called my son and told him to get out back as fast as he could cause I almost had him! I never remembered at any point in time that I had not told Bret what I was doing; just barked orders at him.
Bless his heart, here he came on a dead run to help his frantic mother in the middle of a field of weeds with one foot in an irrigation ditch full of water. He was very relieved to see me pointing at the peacock who was by now entangled in the fence. And to make the picture perfect, Clifford arrived with his net.
With the peacock gone and Bret looked at me and said "Do you realize I thought you had gone completely crazy? Next time you might want to explain what is going on out here!"
The neighbor lady was very grateful. Even said she had prayed the night before for the peacock to come home.
Now what is the wisdom in this posting? I am sure there is one here somewhere and as I set her with an ankle throbbing, looking back on the day, I think I know what it is!

I am a vessel of God, used for returning Peacocks and such to their rightful home!

Geese moving EAST!

Well, it is getting close to frost here in Southern Colorado. When I went out to let my water fowl out this morning I saw a flock of ducks and a flock of geese. Both were flying east. It has come to my attention that either the water fowl in this area are totally confused or it is the Green House Effect taking over. Myself, I just think winters are so mild here in the Pueblo area that geese and ducks don't even know they happen.
Or another possibility is that the geese that flew east this morning are not the same geese that will fly west tonight! Perhaps it is the changing of the guard so to speak, and the summer geese/ducks are being replaced by the winter geese ducks!
Which brings me to a strange happening in my pen. I go out every evening and put my 23 ducks and 10 geese in a secure house to sleep. I just step out the back door with my flash light and they go right in.
One night one of the ducks seemed a little hesitant, but I shooed her in. The next morning this same duck would not come out. I opened the front of the house and she sashayed her little self out and waddled about 25 feet and then took flight and that was the last I saw of that little Mallard! Turns out she was a wild one that popped in to spend the night as mine are all domestic and can not fly.
Which brings me to my lesson for today. You can exert brute force and have your way for a little while, but in the end you are but a mere mortal wanting something and in the morning it will just fly away leaving you standing there gazing heavenward wondering what just transpired.

If you love something, set it free. If it returns it was truly meant to be.

My Mother

I woke up this morning, which in itself was a miracle, thinking about my mother. If I had one aspect of my life to redo it would be to actually listen to things she told me. I think I would probably have taken notes.
But, alas, I did not. Now I have no idea who the old people were who spent the night at our house when I was 5 years old. I have no idea where my father was born. Who were the friends that drove my brother to the hospital when he creeped up and goosed the pony and it kicked him? I know we did not have a car and the hospital was 11 miles away.
I remember the part about not running with scissors, washing my hands because "God only knows where they have been", and give the biggest half to my sister so I will not appear greedy, but it is the finer things in life I have forgotten.
All I can say at this point is : If you still have a mother, cherish her; if you have lost your mother, cherish her; and if you would like I am available for adoption.

Boooooring!

While laying abed this morning and contemplating the day before me, I had a very profound thought. If you are bored, it is probably because you are boring!
You should know right up front, that at no time am I bored. I jump up ( Maybe jump is not the entirely correct term since I am old and the jumping days are far in the past, with the exception of when a centipede or snake enters my space) and tear into each day with a vengenance hoping that today will be the day I actually get something done.
I keep very busy, what with a flock of 23 ducks, 10 geese, a garden, an acre of ground, 2 looms, a spinning wheel, an inkle loom, an embroidery business, a machine quilter, home made soap, lotion and body butter, a store on Ebay, gourd decorations, basket weaving, and a 17 year old son.
Today I am going to clean and freeze a bushel of Pueblo Chiles and work on cleaning the basement while simultaneously embroidering tea towels to sell Ebay.
And what do you have planned for today? Better make hay while it is sunny, honey, cause fall is in the air and winter is coming!

Dependability or dead duck

Now this is what I call real dependability!! I started this thing and worked 2 days and then had 2 days off. Good thing I am not being paid for the work I produce. I have actually spent a lot of time thinking and have come to the conclusion that it is probably a good thing I know how to spell vacuum, because I seem to have one between my ears.
Lot happening though. Had a dead duck today and that was kind of sad because he is the partner to the little black and white duck. Now maybe you think I am a loon toon because I know the social ranking of my ducks, but it is not so. I just see them every day and make observations. No different then people except the ducks quack and the people just rattle on. Same difference in the end.
Will do better tomorrow and may actually come up with something worth reading.

Fall in the Air

Good Morning World!
You should know that little touch of fall is in the air this morning. The geese and ducks have their pond a little cleaner then it was the day before. Hopefully I will get it very clean before winter, because there will be no cleaning of the pond when it freezes.
The Chile Festival is coming up in less than 2 weeks. That is always a fun time here in good old Pueblo, Colorado. We will be weaving and spinning and basically hanging out in the lobby of the El Pueblo Museum on September 26 & 27, so stop and see us.
I am working very hard getting my web sites ready for your purusal. Let you know when the time is right. In the meantime remember :
"Love many, trust few- always paddle your own canoe!"

Virgin posting

Ok! Somebody, a very wise person, told me if I want to be a sucess, I have to get my voice out there and get it heard. So here I am to share my wisdom and life experiences with you, the world.
This is my first attempt at this blogging thing, so you must be patient with me. I think the mere fact that I made it this far says a lot for a 67 year old computer illiterate woman! I am going to have to depend on those of you reading this to help me along. Right now I think my head is going to explode so I will sign off and hopefully I will be back tomorrow with more words of wisdom.
Later, Lou