"WHERE I'M FROM"

Vee had this neat meme on her blog that she got from Shanda - Front Porch-Sweet Tea & Old Aprons and said we could all participate if we wanted. I thought I'd give it a try (since I've not got any decent photos for you today), but I'm not good at homiletics and have been my usual too-wordy self again.

Where I'm From...


I'm from a little house in Texas
with a breezeway,
From back in time
From a different place
From a simpler life.
From dad & mom, Jerry & BJ.,
a sister & a brother.
From my palomino
spring horse & all things
equine.
From cartoons &
peanut butter, puppies & kittens.
From vacation Bible school,
scratchy petticoats, gloves
& hats and patent leather shoes.
I'm from my Nanny's slick
wood floors and the
"sliding pillows",
the cold back porch,
gettin' my own switch
from the hedge,
from PawPaw's lap
reading Sunday funnypapers.
From fishing,
from hunting, &
from fixin' stuff
with my dad.
From the great outdoors.
From lizards, toads,
squirrels & birds.
I'm from falling in love at 17
& marrying my highschool sweetheart at 21.
From diapers & laundry
to letting them go.
From soccer games & ballet classes
and loud music at all hours.
From oil paints & turpentine and
splatters of color on everything I own.
From hands with paint stains
& charcoal under my nails.
From laundry in baskets and
housecleaning set aside, cobwebs in the
corners, dust on the furniture,
dishes in the sink so I can paint.
From shorthand class to bookkeeper.
Spontaneous, quirky & moody
enough to keep my husband
perplexed most of the time.
I'm wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend,
Christian, counselor, chauffer, cleaning
lady & cook.
I'm artist & homeroom
mom, set designer & biggest fan of
my kids.
I'm in love with my husband
& think there is no better man in
all the earth.
From a sinful past to a future in heaven.
I'm forgiven & loved by the One whose
relationship I cannot live without.

There you have it. I could add tons more but just tried to hit the highlights. Vee's sounds so much more poetic.... sigh....

Childhood memories

Looking at my new banner (which IS a photo from our farm....), let's go back in time to our childhood. What I wouldn't give to have another day like this................(trying my hand at writing, bear with me - I ain't got the writing talent like some of you have, but I love summer....)

Close your eyes and imagine.....

The air is warm, sticky & heavy with the sweet cloying smell of honeysuckle. It's hot out, there is an occasional little waft of air stirrin' a piece of hair that keeps ticklin' my cheek and stickin' in the perspiration on the side of my face. I fish it out of the side of my mouth with a finger and taste the salt and then hook the wayward tendril back behind my ear. My grandmother's metal lawn chair is bobbin' back and forth as I rock myself into a trance. It's summertime, and I'm out of school. My bare feet push at the sand again and again and the dirt becomes cooler as my toes scoot deeper into the ground while I rock.

All is quiet 'cept for the rythmic squeak of the chair and the locusts that drone on and on all around me, lappin' over and over each other's beginning and ending so that the sound is one continuous, mesmerizin' hum. Dappled sunlight comin' through the sycamore and catalpa trees makes me squint one eye open to see where to wiggle my chair next to find the best shade. The sour gnats tickle my nose and eyelashes and the crooks of my arms and knees and I wave them away for the thousandth time. Nanny's chickens scratch around lazily in the heat kickin' up a little cloud and her old dog lays flat out asleep in a patch of dirt at my side twitchin' his feet as he dreams of younger days and chasin' squirrels. Dirt daubers whirl around the shed beyond the garden patch lookin' for a safe place to start another little clay cache for their eggs - since I poked their other ones to bits with the end of a mimosa branch that I'd used for a bow and arrow. Even the vegetables in the garden seem to be droopin' in the heat.

The screen door slams, and I look up to find my little sister amblin' towards me with a popsicle in her mouth, a red moustache and another one drippin' down her arm and headin' in my direction. A sweet red popsicle - and nanny didn't even cut them in half this time to save money! I take my popsicle and savor the gooey red sweetness and it runs down my chin, mixes with the granny beads on my neck and drips down the front of my shirt. The sour gnats go crazy. Of course, messy popsicles & granny beads call for a dip in the sprinkler! It'll also get nanny to let us back in the house!

We play all afternoon usin' our big imaginations, never for once thinkin' that our children and grandchildren will be imaginationally challenged because of TV, computers and video games. I wonder, how in the world can they not know how to find somethin' fun to do durin' the summertime? Who wouldn't want to be outside on a day like this? When the sun starts dippin' lower in the sky, Nanny calls us in for supper which might consist of homegrown veggies with bacon grease drippings, cornbread, and maybe fried ham with red-eye gravy or fried chicken and a mason jar of iced tea. She makes me and my little sister do the dishes and stands over us to make sure it's done right. Any trash except cans we take out to the burnin' pile beyond the shed to be burned another day, maybe after a rain.

Nanny peels our dirty clothes off our sun-browned, wet-dog smellin' bodies and plunks us in the bathtub together. There's always a terrible ring in the tub. Donned in fresh undies and a homemade little gown, we crawl into her big 4-poster bed. There is no air conditioner, but the attic fan pulls the balmy night air in through the window over the bed. We can lay there with no covers and be completely comfortable. The curtains are sucked out away from the window and we can look out into the night and see stars and the moon, hear the crickets singin' and shiver at the deliciousness of trying to keep our eyes open to enjoy this feelin'. It doesn't last long as the sandman tugs our eyelids closed and we drift off to sleep..... Does it get any better than this??? I think not!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, summertime!!!!

Memorial Day Party

Hi folks - didja think I'd left? Nope, just working my tail off. Also, I'm so mad - my camera decided to do a "format error" on the memory stick (I'm sure I didn't do anything to it!) and I lost all my pictures from our Memorial Day cookout! I'm so mad! We had such a good time despite the occasional fire ant. We sat in the back yard under the big oak tree with picnic tables (actually borrowed tables & chairs from our church) and ate and visited well into the evening in our vintage metal lawn chairs. There was a nice breeze so it didn't get too hot. My dear Husband cooked all afternoon - smoked chicken, sausage and burgers. We had potato salad, baked beans, and all the trimmin's and my friend Sandy baked her prize winning carrot cake (& a chocolate cake, too) - I swear, it's like an italian cream cake almost, it's so moist. It was a special request from me! Thanks Sandy!

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Everyone loved our house. I filled up all the rooms with roses and had them outside and on the tables. I also pulled out all my old vintage table cloths and old dishes. Soft drinks were iced down in a big ole galvanized water trough. We did a grand tour, several in fact, for the stragglers. We have several that would like to come "borrow" our little farmhouse for a weekend away from home. I guess we could go into the bed & breakfast business if we wanted, huh! That's a thought. But no, maybe for special people - otherwise, me and my family wouldn't get to stay there much...

I'll leave you with this photo - the place I wish I was 99% of the time. Mexico.

Don't guess I'll be going anywhere this summer, as we gotta get Princess ready to go off to college, and all that entails....

Just checkin' in...

I'll be back - we had a great Memorial Day picnic at the farm. I have some photos, but work is calling my name loudly. I'll get back to you all .....

My son Adam

Ok, I'm putting it out there. Here's my oldest son, Adam Fears, Nashville singer/songwriter/future star hopeful. This is HIS story. I don't like to brag cuz all moms of talented kids brag about their kids. But he's good, he's really good. Check his My Space out and you can listen to some of his music. www.myspace.com/adamwfears I tried to put a link over on the right side of my blog, but haven't figured out how to link it up yet... Adam came into this world singing, talking, memorizing music, ditties, cartoons, commercials, you name it, demanding to be the center of attention. We got him his first guitar when he was 12 - an electric guitar.

Some of the kids at school probably thought he was goofy - I know his teachers got tired of making him sit in the hall cuz he wouldn't shut up in their classes (but that's a whole 'nuther story). He decided to become a musician - it's all he's ever wanted to do. In middle school, he decided to play his guitar and sing in the end of school talent show. The kids said, "yeah, right!" Well, in our middle school gym, with parents and kids all packed in and the amps turned way up, he blew them away with his rendition of "Sweet Home Alabama". Everybody was on their feet, kids and parents alike, clapping and singing along with him. He played extra choruses at the end cuz everybody was having so much fun. Were his dad and I proud? Did we wanna tell all those kids that thought he was goofy "see there? How's that!"

After the program ended, Adam later told me, "Mom, that was the best feeling in the world! I was a little nervous at first, but hearing all the people yell and scream and sing with me and knowing that they were happy and clapping for me - well it was GREAT!" From then on, he has had this dream in mind. If he was good enough, he was going to give music a try. He was always in band, a band nerd, and played the bass horn in the Fightin'Texas Aggie Band at TEXAS A&M (whoop). He had his own band, the Brazos Valley Band, at College Station and they were regulars at Hurricane Harry's and Texas Hall of Fame and other places down there. They played at weddings, private parties, concerts and even did a little touring. In his Jr year of college, Adam cut his first CD (at his own expense I might add) in Garland, TX. Sold a bunch of them at all his concerts. He's played with several leading Texas stars. His grandad, through a friend of a friend, got one of Adam's CDs to Faverett Music Group in Nashville. They liked him and called him up to see them. They wanted to hire him on the spot as a singer/songwriter. Adam gave it some long deep thought and prayer and decided that he needed to finish college first (whew) and they told him that when he graduated, to come and see them. He's been there for 2 years now.

He absolutely loves music, breathes, eats & drinks it in. He's a natural on stage, a born entertainer with charisma. He's really into Country/Southern Rock music. He can tear the guitar, any guitar, up. He plays Stevie Ray Vaughn, 70's rock, and country like you wouldn't believe. He's since completed another CD and released his first single "You Get Me" last year on Texas Country Music with more to come. He consistently writes with other professional writers and performs all over Nashville and travels surrounding states with his band and also fills in on lead and rhythm guitar with other bands. He's currently finding a niche for himself playing Texas Country on Broadway in Nashville at Full Moon Saloon.

We're hopeful for him to realize his dream. This is the time to do it while he's young and unencumbered. This business is scarey. But Adam has a good head on his shoulders and he's a devoted Christian young man and determined not to let the music scene suck him into the lifestyle. He says that when it's no longer fun and when he feels that activities or people may compromise his Christian morals, then he'll be coming home to Texas. That is my most fervent prayer. I miss him so. He and I were thick as thieves - we had 4 years together before his brother was born. Still are extremely close. It's been the hardest thing for me to do is to let go. Thank goodness for cell phones.

Well, there you have it. We'll see what happens - I just pray for God's will for his life, as well as the lives of my other two kids. I'm proud of all 3 of my kids, altho Adam's situation is unique and his sibs are extremely proud of him, too. I only want their happiness, but most of all that they live a life pleasing to the Lord. It's so easy to get sidetracked when you're young - happens all the time. New talented young folks in Nashville are a dime a dozen, but he's got a good start so we'll see where it takes him. He say's he'll give it a few years, but if nothing happens, he's not going to waste his time. He's ready to get on with real life, with a home and family. Can't do it right now.

Ok, I'm done - done braggin'. Here's a college photo of him. Changed alittle bit, hadn' he? I sorta like this look better. He's taken to wearing his cowboy hat again - which I like. He's trying to be himself and not conform too much to the Nashville look. He did for awhile, now he's coming back into his own and being comfortable in his own skin, boots, & cowboy clothes.

I'll shut up now. I'll have to profile my other 2 one of these days. They might get jealous... Vickie

Nothing much going on...

Well, here's a little funny pic for you today since I don't have any new photos yet. This was taken in Playa del Carmen at a restaurant - this was the big finish to the meal!!! I have my rifle and my bottle of tequila - they made pictures of all of us like that! (and those are not my fat legs!!! THey are stuffed jeans!)

Well, let's see, hmmmmm, what can I talk about today? Well, just been busy at work mainly. I haven't taken any new photos of anything lately. My hubby was out of town over the weekend and I didn't get to spend much time at the farm. I guess I mainly just wanted to let you all know that YES, I'M STILL HERE. I've been reading some of your blogs, but haven't had much to say.

My anxiety reared its ugly head over the last few days, and I tend to ball up in a little knot and lay low and stay that way until it passes. I feel better today.

One good thing. Our little farmhouse was on propane and we converted to all electric, which meant we had this ugly tank in the back yard for the last year. Well, I ran an ad in the Thrifty Nickel and sold it today! They are coming to pick it up Friday!!! YEA!!! I'm so sick of looking at that thing. Right smack dab in the middle of the yard - what an eyesore!

In the garden, I have a mole or two. They like my potatoes, and have left several tunnels through the dirt. I've set traps but so far, they've evaded them. The carrots and onions are doing great. The purple hull peas are not growing very well. We've had a lot of rain, but I really don't think that's the reason. Dad and I bought all our seed at the same place, and I'm wondering if we got some bad seed - cuz he said HIS peas were not doing well either. Hmmmmm... The weeds are doing great, on the other hand! My cucumbers & tomatoes are finally beginning to grow. The local farmer's market has everything for sale already, but I got my garden out late.

We're hoping to have a big get-together Memorial Day at the farm with a cookout for a bunch of our friends from church. They say slight chance of rain - we'll see... I'm looking forward to it immensely. We've had a couple of people out besides family, but this will be the big "unveiling" to all of our friends who've waited patiently for an invite. They've all been talking about it for the last few months, and we decided we better do it before it gets too hot. This week, we are seeing temps in the 90's, I think 94 yesterday? Wow - a little early in May for that, but I'd rather it be hot than cold. I used to be the other way around, but it's wierd how that changes when you get a little older... but I'm not old yet, of course :)

Well, that's all for today. I've finished the pile of almonds here that I brought for lunch, so I guess I better get back to work. My husband comes and eats with me at my office most days and it's nice to see him in the middle of the day. Plus, it saves money bringing our lunch instead of eating out everyday like some do. Have a great day, all! Vickie

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Here's a picture of me, my hubby, and 2 of my 3 kids in Playa del Carmen. The only "mom" photo on my work computer...I think the following has been floating around the internet, and email, but I thought it was so good, and it touched me today when I read it. I don't know who to give credit to for writing it, but I hope you will enjoy it. I get to feeling so invisible and unappreciated as a mom sometimes and I know you all do, too. I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day.

Invisible Mothers:
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this ? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It wasalmost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.Great Job, MOM!Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did.

Roses

I went a little rose crazy this weekend. You can stop on lots of street corners when you go to Tyler, TX (the Rose Capital of the World) and buy a dozen roses for $2.50. Not generally the longstemmed variety, but still beautiful for bouquets. I bought several dozen this past weekend on my way through Tyler and put them all over the farmhouse. I love roses. I had such a lovely fragrance in the house this weekend. I put them in every room. Mostly pinks, but did buy some red ones, too. I wanted yellow, but they were out at the stop I went to.

Here's pink roses in the Princess's room in a little vintage ceramic rose pitcher that came from great cousin Dorice. It has eight little bitty teacups that go with it. Isn't it adorable?

It usually sits in the china cabinet, but I pulled it out and thought it made a great vase for these roses.

See this great vintage bedtray? What a find! I went to an estate sale last week. It was a good sale - I think this is the one that I called Margo about and asked if it was good - I knew she'd probably beat me there. She said yes, it was loaded. So I went. I found a few items like some steak knives for the farmhouse which I didn't have yet and a couple of plates, some doilies (Hubby is going to scream if I buy any more doilies), and a tea pitcher. I went out to the garage at the sale and spied a lady carrying this cute bedtray around. She kept looking at it like she wasn't sure she actually wanted it. I tried to look inconspicuous as I followed her around the sale. I hope she didn't notice me drooling and shadowing her. She went around one way and I headed her off at the pass darting through another room. I probably looked like that ferret I compared myself to one time way back slinking in and out trying to keep tabs on her. After about 20 minutes tailing her, I saw her make her way back to the garage. Aha! She gave the tray one last longing look before putting it back where she probably picked it up. She meandered off another direction, and I closed in for the KILL, snatched it up and hugged it to my chest! It was MINE! and for only $3!!! What a steal! It's so cute - vintage green and it has a rose applique or decal on one corner. It has legs that fold out, OR a little wedge you can stand it up on, and read a book on it. It has a few little dings on it, but it only adds character of course, but it works great! I cleaned it up and will display it proudly in my farmhouse and use it from time to time! It also folds up completely and could be used for a smashing tea tray! Lucky ME!

More pink roses and some red ones, too, on the little table in my living room. Like my crooked silver candlestick??? Garage sale...

After the weekend, I tied all the dozens up into ribbons and hung them upside down. I'm sure some the petals will fall off, and I can put them in little dishes for pot pourri, but they usually will stay intact enough to tie a beautiful ribbon on and hang upside down on the wall or put in a vase. I love dried roses.

I hope you had a great weekend. We did. Stayed at the farm, worked in the garden, and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. Heard some great messages at church on Sunday.

As I look back at the beautiful colors on these roses, it always amazes me at the variety of color that God created. He didn't have to make us such a technicolor world but HE did, and I'm so glad! What a blessing vision is, too. How people can look around them and not notice nature and all the abounding variety of plant and animal life and the abundance of color and not believe in God is beyond me. How all the physical things and ecosystems work together in perfect harmony - it's way over my head. It's way over all our heads - it's heavenly. Vickie

Kid stuff

Paladin - Remember this guy??? From the 50's??? Man, HE was my hero. I was four years old. I came into this world LOVING horses, cowboys and indians. My momma and daddy bought me a beautiful palomino spring horse - a nice one - a big one - not one of those little bitty ones - when I was four. Actually I think Santa brought it. Anyway, I loved Paladin. Santa brought me a black cowboy outfit - black jeans, red shirt with REAL black fringe (I loved fringe), black cowboy boots with red stitching, a black hat, AND a black holster with silver six-guns. I had a black bandana, too. I WAS Paladin. I watched every single episode at 4 years old, and rode my horse through the entire thing and dreamed of being like Paladin. Remember the song??? " '... Have gun, will travel ' " reads the card of a man, A Knight without honor in a savage land... " He always got his man! (I have a photo of me as Paladin, but my scanner is not working on my printer... darn. I need a new one. ) I was very cute - my momma said - I had white blonde hair that fell into tight little ringlets that she couldn't hardly get a brush through. It's still curly, and I fight with it on a daily basis.

Don't know what brought this up except that I was cruising some other blogs the other day, and one of them, (sorry I don't remember which) was talking about things they used to play as a child. I didn't much play with dolls. I was a tomboy. Me, my sister, and our two best friends across the street played Tarzan and chimps, Cowboys and Indians, motorcycle gangs with cardboard clipped to our bicycle spokes, and regularly scoured the neighborhood creeks for crawdads and minnows and got stitches and poison ivy. We caught all kinds of lizards - my favorite - the horny toad, which you can hardly find anymore cuz they are losing their habitat. We caught birds, and I even had a pet squirrel named Shorty, with half a tail, my daddy brought home from a hunting trip.

I had a Troll house and lots of trolls - do those count as dolls? I also had a bunch of Liddle Kiddles. Remember those little guys? They were fun to collect. I did have a few dolls but they mostly laid in their cradle and got dusty...

I was not very ladylike, I'm afraid. But I had the best fun. My friend across the street became a neo-natologist - she's a genius, literally and a prodigy on the piano. But she never married - she's married to her career. I fancy I must be happier to have all these people I love in my life - my husband and children. But I'm sure she's happy helping so many little babies and families, too.

Guess I became a little more lady-like when I became interested in boys - but not till I was about 15 - I was a late bloomer. I hated growing boobs, and periods and bras and all that girl crap. What an inconvenience and what a pain! I wanted to be a boy so bad (it had nothing to do with being a transexual or anything - I just didn't want to act girly). I hated when the girls started wearing make-up and bras and dressing up and flirting with the boys, cuz I didn't want to do that yet, and I felt pressured to keep up with the others. I was SO uncomfortable. They all seemed so GOOD at being a girl - I always felt awkward and stupid. I guess I did okay, tho...

Now, I wouldn't trade places with any man on this earth! Oh, the complete and utter joy of giving birth to a little one. HOW IN THE WORLD can you love anything more than your own baby??? After my first one, I wondered how could I have enough love for the second one. Could I really love him as much as the first? That question was answered immediately when the nurse put Josh in my arms. I guess it's the same for the 10th baby as for the second. You love them all. Your heart always has enough love in it for more. AND what's more - to think that God loves us more than we love our own babies? How can that be? My love for my kids is infinite, just like I know yours is. Wow, I can hardly wrap my brain around that thought.....

Weekend at the Farm

What a nice weekend we had at the farm! The breeze was blowing, the sun was out, and my husband and I worked in our garden and in the yard. We added purple hull peas, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. I'll have to post some photos later as Princess had my camera this weekend... Besides, it'll look better when the seeds sprout and start coming up. I know we're a little behind schedule but that's okay - better late than never.

We took some time out to spend Saturday evening with dear friends. Hubby grilled hamburgers and we 4 sat on the back deck in the shirt-sleeve evening and listened to the scissortails fussin' and generally caught up after this long hiatus of me being sick. It was so good to visit. It was even better to feel normal.

We have a snake of some sort living in the hollowed out hackberry tree. It's a huge tree that is going to have to be cut down soon. It's still alive and gives us great shade out by the garden shed, but I'm afraid it's going to get blown down and fall on our revamped shed. Anyway, I was walking around the tree Sunday afternoon and kicked the pile of lumber lying nearby to see if I could rattle up the field mice that DH said he saw. I didn't see any mice, but rounded the tree, and found a nice sized black snake peering out of the hollow trying to see if his dinner was making an appearance. When he saw I wasn't a mouse, he retreated into the hollow. Well, now I'm not generally afraid of snakes, but I was not expecting this and I bolted backwards and my heart jumped in my throat.

an aside........Did I ever tell you that I was "mom of the century" because I got into the pet snake project with my middle son for several years?????? I used to handle them along with him and we had to buy pinkie mice to keep in the freezer for them to eat. We've had rat snakes, water snakes, corn snakes. All pretty harmless, except one of the big black rat snakes got loose in the house and when I found him under a chest of drawers and pulled him out he got mad and latched onto my baby finger with his little row of sharp teeth. They don't have big fangs since they're not poisoness, but it still hurts. Well, that rat snake, if he's alive somewhere, probably still has a terrible headache because I slung him as hard as I could across the room to get him off my finger. He seemed okay. We got rid of him , took him back to the pet store- I wouldn't have a snake that would bite me. The king snake got loose one time and we found him in my daughter's closet. She was probably about 9 or 10 at the time, and was none too happy about it. We had all kinds of reptiles at the time. We also took Josh to the Sweetwater, Tx, Rattlesnake Roundup - boy was that a trip! There were some hippie-lookin' people there protesting with signs about the cruelty to the snakes. My husband, Bubba of the year, went over to them with his stuffed rattlesnake and hatband and asked if he could get his photo made with them. They said "yeah, sure" before they had time to think about it, and I snapped a picture. Then they realized what had just occurred and came back with some not so nice comments!

Now I don't know how you all feel about cruelty to snakes, but there are so many of them out there, that they smoke them out of their burrows and take hundreds to a big community center or pavillion or arena...anyway they put them in these pits and handlers will get in the pits and pick them up, sometimes getting bit (but they keep the anti-venom there) and they show how they are milked for their venom. They have another place there where they humanely(?) chop the heads off, skin them, and then fry the meat. It's not bad - tastes like chicken ..... How in the world did I get off on this subject..................

THat was a LONG ASIDE, wasn't it???? I called for DH and and he got his machete and hoe and proceeded to dig the rotten wood out of the tree. Well, we never did find the snake. I don't know if he went in the woodpile or not. I think it might have been a king snake, and if so, I'll leave him alone to eat mice. We had a king snake for awhile. Don't think it was black racer cuz he was too big around. It wasn't a copperhead, cuz I already killed one of those. Could have been a rat snake I guess. If it wasn't any of those, then it probably was a cottonmouth, altho there is no water around the shed. I'll have to get back with you on that one after we find him again. Would you like to see a picture of the soon to be headless snake? Check back....

Sunday was good - went to church and then spent the afternoon basking in the sun and breeze at the farm once again - is this boring you? Seems like that's all we do, but I need it. It's therapy for me. What was going to be MY garden this year actually turned out to be Hubby's garden this year, but that's okay. It's not going to be as big or have as many items in it, but there's always next year, Lord willing.

Well, for me to not have much to talk about, this turned out to be a rather long post. Sorry, I get carried away.

I also wanted to thank Margo for a really nice lunch last week. We enjoyed "just visitin'" this time, no business - she's a sweet lady and I hope we will become fast friends!

Hey, let me know - I changed the font and width of my blog and I need to know if this is too hard for ya'll to read and should I change it back? I don't want people to not read it, so please let me know. I gotta to figure out how to stretch whatever photo I put for my header, too. I need a new one anyway - Take care, friends - Vickie