Summer begins

Evening conversation

My eyes are still messed up; will post a blog when ever possible.

Good bye, Mr Anderson

Eye drops

I feel better today than I have since before the pneumonia. I slept well last night with the help of a Xanax tablet and my eyes are allowing me to write this short blog post if nothing else. The weights on my knees are working but I don’t know how far they will go with straightening the leg. Anyway, I was able to walk better this morning and I can tell the leg feels stronger.

I’ve had some good porch time the past two mornings. The worst distraction is that there is a patch of white clover blooms in front of the porch but I have yet to see a honey bee on any of them. When I was a lad, white clovers with their attending honey bees were a bane to this barefoot boy; it was normal to be stung on the feet several time each week. Alas, the bees are all but extinct from some places and it is saddening that we so much ignore our natural world.

The title is my favorite quote from the movie The Matrix.

Mid-May already

Feeling pretty good except for my blurry eyes and perpetually sore knees. I bought ten pounds (4.5 kg) of weights to place on my new knee while the leg is stretched between two chairs. Doctor wants me to have the knee crushed again but as long as soreness from fluid is there it won’t do much good because I cannot do the exercises properly.

Have you heard the old saying “he looks like he is knocking on death’s door”? I don’t think I have been knocking on his door but I do believe I have been slumming around his neighborhood too much recently.

The boys are growing. Jaden is at eighteen pounds (8.1 kg), Mason is thirty-four pounds (15.4 kg), and Sammy is thirty-five pounds (15.9 kg). Sammy’s hair has turned a dark copper color.

When a fifteen month old little boy (Mason) walks into a room full of unused but familiar laps and comes to me to pick him up and then puts his head against my chest and his arms around my neck, it makes me feel like I have been doing something right with my life.

A plague of locusts. That is about all that is left to hit California where Jeremy and Courtney are living. So far this year they have had earth quakes, drought, flash floods, wild fires, and searingly dry winds.

May flowers

Here is my annual tribute to the best love movie I’ve seen–The Notebook–and to the song writer Dave Loggins and to the performance by Three Dog Night.

I seem to have overcome this last bout of pneumonia and I say it is the worst one I’ve ever had and I’ve had many. It took a trip to emergency room to get me on the path to being rid of it, at least for awhile. I truly thank Alice, Jola, Sandy, Mark, and Maggie for your concern and get well vibes. You all are blessing in my life.

Sunday I got a bit of a surprise. An old friend I haven’t seen in many years called me and within a few hours he and another friend from back in the day were sitting with me at my house. It was Ken Moore and Mike Townsend. Our relationship goes back to the nineteen seventy-three. I was very happy to see them.

Still here

Beginning to feel better from pneumonia. Thank all of you for your care and concern. I will answer your inspiring comments as soon as possible.

Feeling putrid

Haven’t been blogging for awhile. Going to doctor tomorrow. Probably have my annual case of pneumonia.

Mice and crackers and shoes, Oh My!

"Unless it poops droppings as big as pool balls I ain't paying it no attention." These were my words to Carolyn when she awakened me in the middle of the night and said there is a mouse in the house. She heard it rattling papers in the trash can on my side of the bed. A few moments later she turned on her lamp and I felt the air of one of her shoes whizzing by my head. Clunk; thunk. I rolled over on my back and in a few minutes we again heard the trash can rattle. Woosh ! The other shoe barely missed my nose. Whap; bang.  This must have been all mousey could stand because after another hour long vigil by Carolyn he was no longer heard. The law has been laid down to me: No more eating a snack at bedtime. It was only a package of Lance peanut butter crackers but now I am denied even that small indulgence. She has banished my trashcan so henceforth I will  have to sneak my snack before she comes home from work each evening and hide the wrapper under my pillow until morning.

This morning my bride offhandedly asked me "where are these mice coming from?" I thought for a moment and told her "Hobos". Then I had to explain that science has found a new off-shoot of the regular house-mouse species that has begun catching rides on trains as they move about the land. I told her it wasn't uncommon these days to see a bunch of mice sitting on top of boxcars as they went rumbling down the tracks. The mice sleep at night inside the freight cars and ride all day in the sunshine. When they get hungry, they jump off the train and visit houses such as ours along the tracks and I told her that the mouse would soon miss his wayward life and go hitch on the next train that stopped at at the nearby siding, all just like human hobos once did.
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Well, it is April Fools day so what was I supposed to tell her; go buy a trap and kill the little critter?

Take me out to the ball game

Once more it is near time for America’s game to begin a new season. I don’t much care anymore about baseball but there was a time when I was as passionate as the next kid about the game and all the major league stars. It was 1955 and our school principal was also an avid fan, so much so that he allowed us to quit class and go to the auditorium and watch the game on a TV which he had placed near the front of the stage. The room wasn’t huge but I hope you can imagine a flickering black and white screen no bigger than a dinner tray and tiny speakers baring as loudly as possible. I hope you can also smell fresh popped popcorn; the principal borrowed a backup popcorn maker from the local movie theater and each of us received a small bag of the treat. The game was during the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, one of several “subway” series they had back in the day. I don’t remember who won the game or on which home field it was played on, but I know we true fans were in ecstasy. A lot of the kids were there just to skip classes for the afternoon. Many of us did not have television sets at home and would linger watching the game until after all the school buses ran and we ended up walking home, some of them for many miles. It was worth the trek as we discussed the game amongst ourselves  on the way. It didn’t pay to stay until the very end of the game, however. If we did, we were recruited to clean up all the spilled popcorn from the seats and floor of the auditorium. Did I mention girls? No girls attended the game viewing; not one because they were not welcome. They were all allowed to gather in the gymnasium and discuss whatever it is that grade school girls talk about and they did have popcorn if they wanted it. It was a man’s world in that era and I can only imagine what would happen if something like that was attempted these enlightened days. I suppose the refrain lyrics for this video song are still played and sung at every major league game during the season.

Wintry blues

Abandoned but not forgotten

Snow this morning and more expected tonight. I am sick of winter.

Both the Lady Vols and the men’s basketball squads are doing ok so far. They both are in the round of sixteen. The men have a chance to advance farther but the women are not playing well.

Sammy and Mason were here Sunday. They both have colds and were a bit ill tempered but we got along good. Mason is saying a few words; he is only fourteen months old. His little legs are so fat that when he walks, he waddles like a bow-legged penguin.

The lost airliner was apparently beamed up by illegal space aliens. Fox news is likely working on a way to tie Obama to responsibility for the tragedy.

Nearly all of out daffodils are blooming for the first time since we moved here.

An Idle Mind

I am neither happy nor sad that hate monger and pastor Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church has died but I am glad he is no longer an American.

I’ve been watching (finally) Baseball by Ken Burns. I’ve watched some of his documentaries including The Civil War, Jazz, The War and others and I have learned much about America and its people. Our true history lies in the things we do and either succeed at or fail and not in the words of great men. If Burns never received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he surely is past due.

It is trying to be springtime but air temperatures are still chilly; it has not officially reached the 70°F (21.1°C) mark so far this year. “They” are saying we will have snow next week. Doesn’t surprise me because our deepest snows have usually been in March and April. Fortunately they melt fairly quickly.

The front door to springtime is a photographer’s best friend. ~Terri Guillemets

" ... as virginal as the first daffodil of spring"

March daffodils

The photo was made yesterday in evening sun. First time I have used the big Pentax in nearly a year. Felt good to hold it. Little hands have surely been at it as the power switch was turned on, the batteries were dead, and every dial and switch on it was changed. I’ll need a new hiding place for it. Here are the same daffodils from last February 15.

The U.S. Congress; that august body has been wandering in the wilderness for decades, worshiping Gods of Mammon, and always just beneath the radar of blame.

Pretty weather here in the hills but the air is cool. Seems like nature is once again making us wait until the last moment for glorious spring.

It doesn’t bother me that I am but the second most interesting man in the world. This guy claims to be the most, most interesting.

My view from the far left

I wonder if anyone has asked the N.S.A. if they know where the lost plane is? If they don’t know, Google probably does.

Seems like CNN News very much wants the missing plane to be the result of terrorism. I watched about thirty minutes of their coverage last evening and became a bit nauseous as the anchor kept leading his panel back to the hijacking theme when they strayed from the subject a bit.

Speaking of NSA (National Security Agency), I think it hellishly funny that the Senate of the U.S. thinks they are being spied on by the agency. Hearings into the abomination are under way in D.C. It’s about time the worm turned; Congress has always ok’d the spying by “intelligence” agencies on the lives of we everyday public as a security priority but when they may be targets themselves, they scream “foul” and needlessly spend tons of money to find out the “facts”. The facts are that each screamer is probably guilty of some nefarious deed which the public should know about but they have kept covered under their top secret security umbrella. Phooey!

Why do we need a Homeland Security and a Defense Department? Why not allow Homeland Security to take care of homeland security and rename Department of Defense back to its moniker of War Department which it carried until 1949? After all, it is best at making war, especially in and on small countries who have a lot of oil and few soldiers.

Let’s kiss and make up with Cuba.

Behold

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Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! ~Sitting Bull

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The little spring peckerwood is back! He visited a couple of times last month but this morning he was in full and glorious happiness, drumming on the side of our house. Daffodils are in full bloom and the temperature is supposed to be 72F (22C) today. Time to think about serious porch occupying. Of course it is early spring and they are calling for snow flurries tomorrow night and temperatures well below freezing for a day or two. Such be early spring. Hope the temps moderate before the gigantic Ides of March celebration which never happens.

I hope Sandy and her family were able to withstand the sizable earthquake which occurred just off the California shore from where they live.

My Lady Vols won the conference championship in three straight come from behind victories. I hope they can get a number one seeding in the Big Dance; that way they won’t have to face too many teams better than they before the Final Four. They really aren’t as good as they are ranked to be. The men’s team is also playing well but there is doubt as to whether they can get into the NCAA tournament.

Imagine: This modern tech-heavy world has lost without a trace an entire jet airliner!

Almost spring

Still winter brown but some spring green is showing

Been winter-ish for a day or two but is supposed to be very spring-like next week. I am surely ready.

Lady Vols play LSU in the SEC tournament this evening. Vols aren’t as good as I thought they would be this year but even if they were great they could not come close to beating Mark’s Ucon Huskies.

I’ve been rereading some of my stories I wrote back in the 90′s and I still like them.Wish I still had the ability to type out the words like I did then. I tried dictation software but my voice has become so raspy that it has trouble understanding me and I have to do more editing than I would have with straight keyboard input. I don’t like talking to infernal machines nohow.

Dark of the moon is at the end of this month so be sure to plant your taters at that time. Eyes up.

I saw a good movie on Netflix last week. Stand Up Guys should be seen by anyone getting along in years. Christopher Walken has been my favorite bad guy ever since I saw him in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill.

Seems like Russia is going to annex Crimean Peninsula and maybe much more of Ukraine and the West is  vainly shaking their collective fists full of dollars and euros.

Chocolate as a fruit

Johnson City's best kept secret

I recall Seaver’s bakery ‘fried pies’ from when I was a small boy. On Fridays when Paul’s Rolling Store came around, Mom would buy either a half dozen donuts or a few of these pies. After Paul left to go to the next house, Mom and I would sit in the living room listening to the radio and eating our treat along with a grape or orange soda. The packaging in the photo is still basically the same as it was sixty years ago. Back then, the pies were fruit filled but chocolate and one or two other fillings were added to the product line. Not long after I was married, we rented a house just up the street from the bakery which is still in business today. It was a good place to live if you like baking scents, which I strongly loved. They were generally known as fried pies but they were actually baked. My favorites are cherry, pineapple, blueberry, and chocolate. Those moments alone with my grandmother, sharing fresh baked treats and our favorite soda flavors will be in my best memories as long as I have recollections. Photo made with HTC phone camera.

Walking

I was able to accomplish something yesterday which I thought was going to permanently elude me; I walked without crutches or cane or any kind of aid. I also found out I have a very long way to go to get it done right. Just a few steps is a beginning.

Jeremy sent us a set of coasters with some of my flower photos on them. They are beautiful and we are very grateful that he thinks of us. Granny was all teary-eyed again. We love Jeremy and Courtney and wish we could see them.

It has once more turned winter in the knobs. Carolyn’s daffodils are just now out of the ground but this time last year they were in bloom. It is going to be a great spring!

Coming soon to a forest near you: Spring!

Olympic Ice Dancing and Skating: All contestants should be required to use Judas Priest music for their performances. It would darn sure even things out and make the event at least a bit more tolerable to watch. I was fortunate enough to see these guys in concert just before they made it big. I don’t remember which band they opened for but it was probably REO Speedwagon or KISS.

I am glad to see some smaller nations win many of the medals in these Winter Olympic games.  Jola’s Polish team has won four medals so far and all have been gold. Russia, Canada, and the U.S are doing well as is China, a country which will someday dominate  the games both summer and winter.

We are having a touch of spring-like weather this week but I don’t expect it to last long before winter again closes its icy fist on the hills.

The boys are doing well and not having a lot of winter sickness. Sammy and Mason were with us Sunday and all three were here yesterday.

There is a bill before the Tennessee legislature to cause the state to have daylight savings time year round. I am all for it

Leviticus 19:33-34
³³ When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. ³⁴ The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself,  for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Bad Grandpa

Thanks to Jeremy, we just finished watching watching Bad Grandpa. We both laughed our butts off. Thanks, Jeremy!

I succumbed to boredom and watched some of the Olympic events on TV. I saw curling, various skiing, speed skating, and some individual women sliding down an icy path on a board, an event known as “Skeleton”. Curling seems like a cross between a game of darts and a game of marbles we used to play as kids except the marbles a flattened, round stones. They must get dirty easily because there is always two people skating ahead of them sweeping the ice as they slide toward the circle and bulls-eye. None of it makes sense because if you knock an opponent’s “stone” out of the circle you don’t get to keep it. Carolyn likes figure skating but it is the ultimate in boredom for me.

We endured Wednesday’s snow storm but there is another due tonight. This winter is trying to make up for a bunch of mild ones we had over the past decade or longer.

Ready I Am

I’m ready for the snow storm! Got a candle, a one cell flashlight and extra battery, and kerosene for the space heater; I think there is a strike anywhere match left in the box.. I’m good for the duration.
It was sad to learn about Mark’s dog Summer passing. I was always glad he adopted an older dog from the shelter and he gave her what were probably the best years of her life. Like so many of her breed, she was a gentle soul and even tolerated cats.

I received an interesting comment on my Smokin’ blog from last week. Here is a link to a blog about ginseng and its cultivation. When I was young, I tried to cultivate some of the wild root but all I ever got was stunted plants that died after the first year. Ms. Woods seems to know how to make a good crop and has written a book about it.

A couple of days ago I saw my first robin of the year other than the local wintering flock. One lone male was scavenging in my back yard. Any sign of coming spring is a good sign even if it is tempered by the coming storm.

It has begun to snow as I write this.

Smokin'

I am happy that CVS pharmacy has decided to refuse to sell tobacco products any longer even though it is a huge financial hit for the huge company. Personally, I use a local, minority owned pharmacy for my prescriptions even though sometimes I pay a little more than I would at CVS or Wal-Mart. My long-time pharmacist is an immigrant from the middle-east and attends a Muslim mosque. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Rush Limbaugh. I am a sixth generation Scots-Irish-German-Swedish American but it makes no difference because I am just plain happy I was born here and allowed to live my life in these East Tennessee hills of America. Brotherhood, y’all.

Weather is a bit crazy which is getting to be the norm since we screwed up the stratosphere. Yesterday we had high winds which—at this time of year—normally means that spring is trying to horn in on winter’s time. No telling what it means these days but it is cold and gray today. Give it up, old man winter and allow baby spring to have its way.

Winter Olympics begin today but I won’t be watching much of it except maybe speed skating; I hate cold and darn sure don’t want to look at it on TV.

New “reality” series on TV about harvesting ginseng. I knew the plant was becoming rare but I didn’t know it was bringing up to one-thousand dollars or more for each pound. I used to sell a bit of it back in the day but the price then was seventy-five to one-hundred twenty dollars per pound and it had to be dried. It takes a lot of the dry roots to make a pound. The big prices these days are for fresh out of the ground product and nearly all that is harvested here is exported to China. I also harvested may apple root and bloodroot. I occasionally see ginseng plants when I am in the woods making photos.