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 |  A Journal of our Adventures in Country Living.... |
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"Home is where the heart is" and this is the continuing story of our life on the farm....where our heart is and where we make our home. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I want to thank janieruthryals for this wonderful Merit Badge: ![Merit Badge in Nature
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For the wonderful visit to your farm, all through the words in your blog.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Nature-1125.gif) |
| lolol.... Yesterday I bought a new game for the X-Box. Cabela's Outdoor Adventures. I thought that while Tor was on the computer reading blogs, doing his blog or writing... I could be hunting or fishing on the X-Box. Well, today is his day off. This morning while he was on the computer, I fixed breakfast, picked up the house, took a shower... you know, all that stuff that us wimmens do in the mornings. Then around noon time, we took a trip out to the lake to see what it looked like. The water is about 5 feet below normal, because of the weakened dam, and it was interesting to drive and walk around the lake at the exposed shoreline. Docks and piers were sitting on dry ground, boats on hoist and useless right now. There is no way to get the boats to the water. We stopped to eat on our way home. Once home, Tor made a bee-line to the computer to see if any new blogs had been posted, and to think about doing his. I turned on the TV and the X-Box and put my new game in. Before starting your hunt, you have to shop for all your gear and clothing, then pick the area you want to hunt in. I was well on my way to a good hunt, when I came across a small lake or pond of water. I had bought a fishing pole so stopped to cast a few times to see if the fish were biting. This is really a neat game, and pretty realistic. Well, what should happen.... but Tor gets up from the computer and sits down next to me. The more I cast, the closer he got to me. Finally, he could stand it no longer.... "Here, let me try that," he demanded!!! Yes, demanded, with hands reaching out and taking the controller right out of my hand!!!! I relented, and sighed......Gawd, won't they ever grow up?? So here I sit at the computer, a hour later... and he is still hunting and fishing!!! Dang MEN!!! Oh, and everytime he shoots a buck, or catches a fish.... he yells: "WHO'S YOUR DADDY NOW!" Or things like: "OH WHAT A SHOT, YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THE MASTER!" Oh well, sooner or later he will tire of the game, and maybe I will be able to get some quality hunting in myself... maybe.... we'll see.... I'm not sure about this... he's still hunting.... he's still beating his chest and ragging about his recent shot.... oh plllease.... I have created a monster now.... he won't give up the controller.... I'm going to have to find me a 'chick flick' game, he will surely leave that one alone and let me play!!!!! Won't he???????????????? SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHH |
| I grew up on a small lake in southeast Michigan. There were 18 little cottages sitting on this pretty lake nestled in woods and fields. Most of the cottages were weekend or summer cabins, but my father had turned ours into a year-round home. It was a great place to raise a family. We were 4 miles from town, a tiny town at that time where every one knew everything that was going on. Our relatives who lived in Detroit or other 'cities' would often ask us why we wanted to live out in the 'boonies'. But they always seem to have time to come visit us during the summer months, and relax on the deck while the their kids ran through the woods, across hills and got lost in corn fields. My brother was ten years older than me, my sister was seven years my senior. Needless to say, I was the baby of the family. For some reason, my mother told me that my brother took me under his wing and I became his charge. He took me everywhere and if he was catching snakes, I was right there with him catching my own snakes. If he was knee deep in muck chasing down a bullfrog, I was right next to him being a second set of eyes trying to spot the creature. I was also a daddy's girl. If I wasn't hanging out with my brother, I was at my fathers side going through his tool box, making little boats out of the scrap pieces of lumber that fell from the his saw. I learned to frame a shed, raise rafters, run conduit and wire an electrical box from my father. I was always in a ragged pair of jeans and sweatshirt, out rummaging around in one of our many sheds, trying to find things to build. Like most young girls, I was in love with horses. I never outgrew this love, and when I was 14 yrs old, my father finally gave in and bought me my first horse. It was probably the biggest mistake he ever made in his life!!! After Llano (a regestered Quarter Horse) came into our lives, it was never the same. He had a knack for breaking fences, wandering far from home and causing havoc for my poor father. I can still remember the telephone ringing and my father answering it and his eyes would lock onto mine while he was talking, and I knew - Llano!!! He would hang up and ask me: "Is that crazy horse in the pasture?" I would assure him he was, and meekly ask, "why?" "Well, it seems he took it upon himself to visit Mr Gregorys garden last night and really made a mess of it. Then he seems to have wandered down to the Hendersons and trample Mrs. Hendersons rose garden. On his way back to his pasture, he managed to get into Mr. Jacks freshly laid sod and pulled most of it up!!!!" I would run out to check the fences and find nothing amiss except for a small section a bit stretched out of shape. Llano would be calmly grazing as if nothing in the world happened last night. Of course my father and I would head on over to our neighbors homes and help repair the damage done by my escape artist horse. We finally had to run hotwire around the whole pasture to keep Llano in, and that finally stopped his midnight snacking throughout the neighborhood. But fences always needed repaired, barn roofs leaked and hay had to be put up, and my father was always there at my side helping me. Now he worked at the steelmill, as a hot-roller, and drove 40 miles to and from work. But he would get home, shower and join me in whatever endeavors needed to be done. We didn't own a farm, but the neighboring farmer let us rent a small barn and pasture for Llano. In lew of rent, my dad agreed to help keep the place up. Most of the stuff I could do, but there were things that were just to much for a young girl to handle herself. My father was right there by my side, never complaining (well, almost never complaining)lol. My father died about 14 years ago with his family by his side. His illness required us to make a decision whether or not to put him on life-support. The diagnosis was poor, almost no chance at a normal, or even semi-normal life ever again. The doctor spoke words like comotose, vegetable, braindead. We knew what he would want. My father was not a person who would want to be kept alive just for the sake of living. We told the doctor "no". They ushered us out of the room, closed the door and prepared him for his final moments. Soon the door opened and we were led back in. There my father lay, all tubes and wires gone except for a heart monitor. As we stood there next to him, holding his hand, his heart slowly decreased its beats. 60...56...54...52...50... slowing, ever so slowly it was ending the job it had maintained for the last 76 years. 46... 44.... 42.... 38....35....30 The nurse was standing next to us and softly talking to us. She said: "He looks like he was a wonderful dad." I said, "Yes,he was. He could always make our tears go away, and make even the gloomiest day seem bright. One thing I will always remember are the times we would stub our toes and start crying, and he would grab out toes and yell... 'call the toe truck, call the toe truck'. That always changed our cries into laughs and we would forget the stubbed toe and go back to playing." 38... 45.... 50.... 55.... 60....60....60.... 55.... 48.... 41.... 35.... 20..... 15.... ---------------- My father was gone from our lives, gone on to a better place. The nurse said, I think he heard you, and wass telling you it was alright. He knew he was ready to go. He just wanted to let you know. I often wondered about the increase in heart rate when I spoke those words. Did he really hear, was he telling us he was ready to go on, to not mourn his passing? My mother is the sweetest person that you would ever meet. I don't think she has a mean bone in her body. I never saw her mad at anyone, never talked bad about anyone and always opened her heart and her home to anyone in need. She is the one that instilled in me the love for animals. If there was ever an injured critter that needed doctoring, she was the one to do it. She seemed to be able to talk to them, to settle them and they trusted her. She always wore "house dresses' as she called them. I would call them 'shirt dresses'. Buttons down the front, gathered at the waist, and then flaired in gentle folds and ended right below the knees. Whenever I picture her in my mind, I see here standing there in one of her flowery colorful dress. It wasn't until I was in my late teens that my sister and I got her to wear pants. She was a homemaker, although she hated that word.. she always said she didn't make homes. She despised housewife also... said she wasn't married to the house. But she kept our home warm, safe and full of love. My mother is still alive, 88 yrs young now. She lived with me until I moved to Texas and then she moved to Missouri with my sister. I miss her, miss her fussing, her fretting and worrying about her kids and grandkids. I know my time with her here on earth is getting shorter every day. But she is close enough that I can make trips to go visit once in a while. Ok, I'm not sure where this blog is going, or where it went. I just sat down and started typing. Yesterdays blog just got me to thinking about my family. Am I through... I don't know, I guess I have to end it because the dogs are bugging me for their dinner!! Thank goodness for dogs!!! lolol |
| Living in Michigan, one of the things I cherished was the chance to see the Northern Lights. Of all naturally occurring heavenly phenomena, few come close to a night with a magnificent northern lights display. Flickering curtains of dancing light against the dark skies, always amazed me, and entranced me. I could stand out there on a cold winters night watching these dancing plumes light up the night forever. Most of the time, the only reception we received were greenish clouds fading in and out, changing shape, stretching across the sky like fingers, reaching out then receding, glowing bright then dimming. I did not take this picture... I have never been so lucky as to have my camera on me and ready when witnessing this beautiful event. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** But once in a while, the Lights would spread down upon us with muted reds, yellows and purples. I remember my father coming in one night, around 2am, and gently waking me up. I was around 13 or 14 years old. "Melinda, come on, wake up, God is putting on quite a show tonight...come on and watch." I crawled out from under my heavy quilts and threw on my robe and slippers. I slipped out the front door and stood next to my dad. He pointed up to the sky, and my breathe froze. I never felt the cold nights air as I watched streamers of color float across the sky, draping down almost touching us, then flaring up and wrapping around, dancing with the wind. Reds flowed easily into greens and then into yellow with some soft purples thrown in. They danced, they twirled, they were magical and reverent. It made me feel like I was just a small picture in this wondrous universe of ours. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. My dad and I stood there for 15 minutes watching this exquisite show that God was putting on for us that night. My hand found his, and together we stood in awe, our souls refreshed by the beauty of this natural phenomenon. Finally, they faded, the colors slowing disappearing until the only thing left was the crisp nights sky brilliantly filled with stars. The Milky Way spread across the horizon, and the Big Dipper, part of the constellation Ursa Major pointed its way to Polaris, or better known as the North Star. My father and I solemnly returned to the house and crawled back into our beds. It is something only he and I shared that night... something special that only the two of us partook in. Why we didn't wake up the rest of the family, I don't know. I think it was that he and I shared a unique solitude with nature. My mom, sister and brother would have been ohhing and ahhing, jumping around shouting and exclaiming their excitement. My dad and I just stood quietly, letting God's hand with a paint brush fill our hearts and soul with a renewed gift of life. |
| Are you a good conversationalist? Can you discuss topics, carry on a intelligent dialogue with confidence? To sit and talk amongst people and not sound stupid is a knack that some people never acquire. Sometimes I feel like one of those people. I will open my big mouth, and by the time I get it closed again, I am truly embarrassed by what has exited from it. No, not vulgarity at all, just plain ole stupidness. Or someone will say something that requires an immediate response, something funny, sarcastic or off the wall, and can I respond...NO!! Then later that evening, I go through the aftermath of replaying the scenario over and over again in my mind, of what I should have said. After the fact, I can sit there and come up with one intelligent comeback after another, flinging those words right off the top of my head. But would they accommodate me when in the throes of this converstation…noooooooooo !!! Oh, I sound so witty, so clever, so keen, hours after the conversation has ended with no one but me, myself and I to hear this stream of thought. Tor is good at the comebacks. I believe he has one whole side of his brain just reserved for these little cream puffs of jest, practical tomfoolery, whimsical sarcasms!!! I just stand there with my mouth open looking like a fool, my mind as blank as a recently cleaned chalkboard!!! Talking about ‘me, myself and I’. How many times have you carried on an conversation with these three? Have you ever sat there and talked amongst these three persona’s, asking questions, answering their questions wondering how in the world you got mixed up with these three fools? My worse time for engaging in such dialogue is when I am trying to figure out what to fix for dinner: I will ask myself “what are you hungry for?”. Myself will answer me “I don’t know.” Then me steps in and suggest “chicken.” Then I says “no we had chicken day before yesterday, I don’t want chicken again.” Then me says something about “pork chops sound good.” But I say “we had pork loin yesterday.” Then myself will come up with “meatloaf.” Then I will say “not meatloaf again.” Then me will suggest ‘fish’. Then I come back and say “I’m not cooking fish again, I can still smell it from the last time I cooked it.” Tor will walk in the door, from a long day at work and ask, “What’s for dinner?” I answer him: “Well I wanted meatloaf, but then me wanted fish, but I didn’t want to cook fish, so me then decided to cook steaks, but myself wanted hamburgers, and I didn’t and me finally got mad at myself and I went ahead and cooked spaghetti. “So...um.... we are having spaghetti?” he ask hesitantly. To see the expression on Tors face is priceless!!!! See, I just proved a point!!! I am NOT a good conversationalist. When I open mouth (or let fingers type) sometimes unintelligible stuff comes poring out!!!! hehehehe   |
| We finally took a couple of pictures of the hummingbirds feeding on my fingers. We almost missed the opportunity as a lot of my hummers left the other day for more southernly comforts. They migrate and winter in Southern Mexico. I still have a few dozen hanging around, but at one time, I can honestly say we had over 100 of them feeding from my seven feeders. I was going through 5 lbs of sugar a day trying to keep the feeders full. If you feed hummers, the recipe is 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water. They say that you shouldn't add food coloring as they are not sure of the health affects it has on these little birds. As long as your feeders have red on them, they will find it. Once they find it, others will follow. This first picture is of the matriarch... she claimed the feeder on my hand and would sit there and drink to her hearts content. I can't tell you how neat it is to have such an upclose experience with a hummer. They are such delicate creatures... they remind me of the fairies in old childhood stories. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Once she claimed this as her feeder, she tried to keep all the others from it. Most of the time, she was successful. But sometimes, when she was off chasing another bird away, two or three would move in for a quick sip!! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Ok, enough of my little friends. I am sure you guys are tired of hearing about my hummers. I am just in wonder that I have so many. I have always liked them, and up in Michigan, we would have one or two visit the feeders - if we were lucky. I just can't get over how many I have down here in Texas. I have never seen so many hummingbirds in one place before!!!!! Other than that, things are returning to normal. I almost have the yard all cleaned up. Just a few more of the smaller branches need to be picked up, and I can cut grass again. Monday, I need to pick up a piece of glass for a window pane that got broke and I also have to get a carpet cleaning machine. The wind blew so hard, it blew all kinds of water in under the front door and my carpet is soaked and dirty now. The key hole is also all full of debris. I ran uptown yesterday and locked the front door. When I came home, I couldn't get my key in the lock. Thank goodness the side door was not affected. I have locked myself out of the house before, and it's not fun trying to shimmy this fat body through a window!!!! Ok, thats all for today. It's a beautiful day out and I think Tor and I are going to head on over to the lake and take a look around. See y'all later!!! |
| I fixed breakfast this morning, our first real breakfast since Rita and it was a joy, I must say!!! When we finished, Tor went back to reading blogs, I cleaned up the kitchen and sat down on the couch to watch the morning news. Just as I relaxed, they showed a Amtrak train derailment that happened last night in Missouri. My heart jumped up in my throat, and panic again set in. My sister and 88 year old mother were returning from a trip to Michigan by train, last night... and they live in southeast Missouri!! There is only one train a day that runs that line, and it runs late at night. I tried calling my sister and there was no answer. The news report did say that only 11 people were injured, no fatalities. That the injured were transported to area hospitals and the rest were put up in a town nearby. The train ran into a rockslide, but thank goodness it was traveling slow through the area otherwise they said it could have been much worse. I called my nephew (my sisters son) up in Michigan and his wife answered the phone. She had not turned on the news this morning, so knew nothing about it. She called my nephew at work, and a few minutes later he called me back. He said... "THEY ARE ALRIGHT". He said he noticed there was a message on his cell phone this morning, but he didn't bother checking it as he was in the middle of preparing for an important meeting. He said most of his messages are from his friends wanting to know what they are doing this weekend.. so he just didn't take the time to check it. When his wife called informing him of the train accident, he hurriedly checked the message and it was from his mom. All she said was that "they were alright, don't panic when you hear the news on TV." So, that is all we know... I am sure my sister called her husband and he is on his way up to pick them up. She will call us when she gets home and fill us in on the details. My mother is a healthy 88 years young, except for some arthritis in her knees. She does have a hard time going up and down steps because of this. But she and I are a lot alike, she will think of this as just another adventure to add to her experiences in life. *************************** Flashlight Wars: when it is dark, you have no electricity and your husband is bored to death, you have flashlight wars. I was laying in bed, quietly reading my thoughts when POW.... bright light, blinding light... right in my eyes. I yelled "HEY"... and just heard this evil laughter coming from his side of the bed. I grabbed my flashlight off my nightstand and retaliated.... bright light, blinding light right back at him... right in the eyes. We laid there for 15 minutes or more, having a flashlight war. By the time we got done, we couldn't see anything except spots.... GAWD!!!! It is dirty play when not only do you flash the light in the eyes, but then you quickly flash it in and out of the eyes... it acts like a strobe and really blinds you. We felt like little kids again!!! ****************************** Card Cheating: The day went by slow and hot, but evening finally draped itself over the land and we lit all the oil lamps and candles. I grabbed a deck of cards and asked Tor if he wanted to play. He said... "sure, poker." So we sat at the table under the soft glow of light and dealt out the cards. We played Texas Holdem, five card draw, seven card stud, mexican sweat, hi-low... and I WAS BEATING THE PANTS OFF TOR!! We keep a jar of pennies in the house, and we were playing with them, and Tor didn't have to many pennies left on his side of the table. But my pile just seem to grow and grow... along with the growls I heard coming from Tor. Well, Tor dealt me a hand... we were playing Hi-Low... you are dealt two cards.. and then place a bet that the next card dealt you will falling inbetween those two cards. So if you are dealt a 7 and a 10, only two cards could win for you... a 8 and 9. But if you are dealt a 2 and a 10, then you have a much better chance of receiving a card that will fall inbetween. To make a long story short... he dealt me an Ace and a Jack.... (oh, being dealt a matching card is considered a loss) so only three cards would give me a losing hand... the Ace, Jack and a King. So I went "ALL IN"... I put all my money in the pot. I mean, how could I lose???? Tor dealt me the next card.... and it was an Ace... I lost!!!! Tor proudly reached over and grabbed ALL my money and started to pull it to his side of the table. BUT WAIT.... THAT WAS AN ACE OF SPADES.... DIDN'T I JUST HAVE AN ACE OF SPADES THE HAND BEFORE???? (you see, you don't reshuffle the cards everytime, you continue playing until you run out of cards, then you reshuffle). SO IF I HAD AN ACE OF SPADES THE HAND BEFORE, HOW COULD ANOTHER ONE SHOW UP???? I looked at Tor... he looked at me.... and this silly "I've been caught" grin came over his face and he said "WHAT??????" Oh did he get bopped. He had palmed the ace... HE CHEATED!!! Well, I had to watch him like a hawk after that little episode!!!! ***************************** I-Town Message Board: We have a local message board online that services our town and Onalaska... another small town up at the north end of the lake. Tor and I read it quite often, but seldom post to it. I have a link listed over there on the side. But this morning, I read a post by someone regarding garbage pickup... I will post it here. I just really made me angry and I replied... as did Tor. I will not mention any names... but if you go to I-Town, you can read it... its way down the page by now. This was her first post: are they gonna come get our trash or what? Then several people posted that they had seen some trucks out, but not everyone was able to get service. Then she posted again: Just called and those people told me that they would not be picking up the trash for the monday schedule until next week. can u believe this. some reliable service. they do it on holidays. Then I posted: I can't believe you are complaining about garbage pickup after what we all went through. These people had to get their business back on its feet and these people also had their own personal lives, families and homes to secure and take care of. So your going to be a week late getting your garbage picked up... count your blessings that you can continue to produce garbage... Oh, and mine didn't get picked up on Thursday before the hurricane because they couldn't get through all the traffic jams... I understood that... and will wait patiently for them to get back to normal! Then she had the gall to post this (notice it is all in caps... yelling: I AM 6 MONTHS PREGNANT AND HAVE A 5 YEAR OLD SON RUNNING AROUND IN THIS STINKING MESS. YES I AM COMPLAINING, I PAY FOR A SERVICE AND I EXPECT TO GET IT, THEY HAVE NO PROBLEM PICKING UP AFTER HOLIDAYS THAT FALL ON MONDAYS. THIS IS UNSANITARY AND LIKE I SAID, I PAY FOR THIS "RELIABLE" SERVICE. I HAVE ROTTED FOOD. I HAVE NO WAY TO GET MY GARBAGE TO THE DUMPS SO BEFORE YOU JUMP DOWN MY THROAT CONSIDER THAT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MINE OR MY FAMILY'S SITUATION. Then Tor got involved, it pissed him off that she would answer me in such a manner: You know your post is a prime example of why I rarely post in here. Are you so devoid of common sense that you have no concept of others besides yourself having problems after the hurricane? It could well be that the company can not get enough workers in yet to man the trucks....others were effected by this hurricane after all. Instead of whinning about being pregnant and with a kid running around in filth just CLEAN it up, put it in bags and get it out of the house for god's sake. You pay for electric and water service too are you gonna whine about not having those? Look around you at the poor folks who have no home now and have no gas to get to a job before you whine about your garbage. It would seem you, at least have electricty and can come in here and complain...use that time to clean instead...and be thankful for what you DO have. Then the owner of the message board replied to Tor's post: AMEN !!! This gal went on and posted a few more times telling us she would never post again.. yada yada yada!!! But we do have some good people who post here.. this is just one example: I have a washer and dryer if any one needs to wash their clothes. You can call 936-***-****.If you need to take a shower your welcome to do that also. So there is good and there is bad. I guess all of life is like that. ************************************ Oh.. Oh.. I just heard from my sister. She and my mother are ok. No injuries, just shook up a bit. They are on their way home now. She was telling me the details... they were in the mountains of east Missouri and in the middle of nowhere... it took rescuers about an hour to actually get to them. Thier train car ran off the rails, but didn't tip over, but the two cars ahead of them did. She said they had to walk about a half a mile in the dark to get to the vehicles that drove them out to the busses that were brought in for them. They spent the night in Blackwell and are now on their way home. I am glad they are ok. It really scared me for a while when I heard about the derailment and knew that was the train they should have been on!!! Ok, thats it for now... see all you fine folks later!!! Take care!!! |
| Well, you know when you ride a HIGH for a while, you finally fall and the LOWS take over. That is how I feel today. I am wiped out, tired... no energy. I think my adrenaline levels have finally returned to normal, and I feel exhausted!!! I managed to get some more yard work done before the heat of the day sit in. This 99 and 100 degree weather is enough to do a person in. I feel so bad for those still without electricity and no way to escape the heat. But it is suppose to cool down tomorrow... highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. That will provide some relief to those without A/C. I was going to run in town and help out with the FEMA trucks, passing out ice, water and MREs... but I just can't stand out in the sun and heat. But if it does cool down tomorrow, I will be up there helping out. I did run into WalMart this afternoon to pick up a few items and to see if they had any meat in stock yet. They didn't, but they did have eggs, milk and fresh vegetables and fruits. We will be able to have a 'real' breakfast tomorrow morning consisting of fried Spam, scrambled eggs and hashbrown potatoes!!! Livingston is a quiet little town of about 6,000 people. It is the county seat and the court house sits in the middle of town on a small hill. There are a lot of mom and pop businesses down main street and several antique stores and restaurants. On a cool Fall evening, Tor and I have gone up town, parked the car and just walked the sidewalks checking out the stores and little shops. But this afternoon, it had a totally different feeling. I felt strange, like I didn’t know the town at all. National Guardsmen were driving up and down the roads, helicopters were flying over and tempers were flaring within the long lines of cars waiting for gas. I saw two men about ready to duke it out over their place in line, and several Texas Troopers were racing over to intervene. I felt like a stranger in my own town. It was interesting to see how the human society handles stress. I sat in my car, waiting to make a turn and saw people standing in parking lots with no place to go, exhaustion filled their expressions and they were almost hopeless as to what to do. Tempers could be held no longer, and like the two men who were ready to go at each other like two pit bulls, fights were breaking out over small matters that normally would be overlooked. The heat is just draining people. People are trying to find someone to blame for their discomfort, for the lack of gas, for the heat, lack of electricity, for ice and water supplies being depleted so quickly everyday. And as sad as it may sound, I understand. I understand the loss of patience, the uncaring attitude that becomes people under stress. When you have no where to hide from 100 degree temperatures, no water, no ice and can’t sleep. The human body starts to lose its ability to reason. People become desperate. Especially people who have small children to shelter and feed. If they only had water and ice, which FEMA and the National Guard are passing out, free. But some of these people have no way of getting to the hand out stations. I am hoping to go up tomorrow and see if I can be of assistance, and see if we can locate these people and get supplies to them. Little by little, things will return to normal, but the memory of Hurricane Rita will remain with these folks for the rest of their lives. The one sound you do hear is that of chain saws. Trees were down everywhere. Tor has a few pictures we took just on our short trip out on Saturday. He will probably post them in his blog. I am posting a picture here of my hummingbirds. I know some of you are probably asking yourself what the big deal is with the hummingbirds. Well, I have always loved these little creatures, and up in Michigan, you were lucky to have one or two visit your feeder. I am just flabbergasted that I have so many down here in Texas. I now have six hummingbird feeders hanging in my yard, and I am feeding approximately 100 of the birds. I have to fill my feeders at least three times a day. It is just wondrous to me to stand there and watch them. I am just filled with awe. On Tor’s next day off (Friday), we will see if we can get a picture of them sitting on my hands. It is so neat!!! Ok, I have some errands to run and things to get done before Tor gets home tonight. He had a flat tire this morning when he left for work. So that didn’t start his day off on the right foot, poor guy!!! But we pumped it up and I followed him all the way in to make sure he could make it. We found the leak. There was a slit about half an inch long on the side wall. No rub marks at all. I first thought he had rubbed up against something. But the more I looked at it, the more it looked like a slash from a knife. But I could be wrong. His car sits up in the parking lot at WalMart, and with the way some people are behaving, someone could have been taking their stress and anger out on tires!!!! Thank God it was tires and not people!!! Ok, got to run. Here is a picture of a few of my Hummers!!!! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Why do you have to "put your two cents in"...but it's only a "penny for your thoughts?" Where's that extra penny going to? |
| HI EVERYONE, WE MADE IT.... wow, it sure is nice to be able to bring the yellow pages of WDC up on the computer and see all our friends again ! We have missed you all. Well, as you all know, we survived Rita's visit to East Texas. Thank goodness, she didn't leave to much of a mess behind. Lots of trees down, lots of debree on the ground, some houses damaged, no power to most of the county (we are lucky, a big wig from the power company lives down the road from us, as does the bank president... so I think we might have been put at the top of the list). Oh, Tor survived also... he didn't have to worry about Hurricane Rita, he had to worry about the Wrath of Mel... lolol I tell you what, living through the 100 mph winds of a hurricane is a piece of cake compared to living with a man going through internet withdrawal while bucking 100 degree heat with no Airconditioning!!! Thank goodness he went into work on Sunday to help clean up the store so they could open on Monday. Thats about the only thing that saved him from being strangled in his sleep!!! hehehe But we did ok. It was one of the most fearful things I have ever gone through... and a very soul searching experience. To lay in bed in the middle of the night and listen to 90 - 100 mph winds slamming up against your house (and we have a little house) for hours was just an experience I don't wish upon anyone!! We have 4 or 5 huge trees in our yard and I was also afraid that they would come down... but they stood the force of the wind. They lost a lot of their limbs... my yard looked like a jungle the next morning, but thier roots held and they remained upright. We lost electricity around 4 in the morning. I was laying awake listening to the roar of the wind and watching the news to see what was headed our way at the time. Tor was able to fitfully sleep on and off during the night. I was relieved when the eye finally passed by and our winds started to recede. It was only then that I knew we had really made it, with no harm or major damage. Now I didn't mind roughing it for a while. I was prepared for a week without electricity or the ability to get to stores. Plenty of water and cubboards full of canned foods.. etc. What really got me was the heat. Now it is usually HOT in Texas during the summer... but this is September... and our temps are suppose to be cooling. Of course, we were having abnormally hot temps... record breaking temps... it ranged from 99 to 103 the three days we went without airconditioning. There was no way to sleep at night, there was no breeze, the humidity was high and the temps were hanging right around 88 or 89 all night long. You just lay there and the sweat was pouring off of you.... Tor sweated, I shimmered !!! It was hard to breath it was so hot and humid. But we made it. Tor's son and his friend came up from the Galveston area to stay with us. They helped me clean up the yard so most of that is done already. Tor and I ventured out Saturday afternoon in the car to have a look around. We saw lots of trees down, lots of wires laying on the ground, lots of debree everywhere. We drove over to the dam (its about 4 miles from us) and checked it out. They had all 5 gates open full... and the river was about 35 feet over normal levels. Now this damn holds back the waters of Lake Livingston... 90,000 acres of water. The winds were whipping down the lake at 115 mph and created huge waves that destroyed some of the riff-raff (the huge bolders that are layed down along the earthen part of the dam that prevent wave action from eroding the dirt). This allowed erosion to take place and put the dam in danger. They had to lower the lake level fast... and then fix the riff-raff. They had to evacuate all the communities that lay below the dam as flooding was going to take place. It turned out to be not as bad as they thought... although they released water fast, they were able to do it without flooding to many homes. I am not sure is this will work... but if this link comes up... where the red dot is, is approximately where our house lies in comparison to the lake and the dam. The dam is at the bottom of the picture. From the dam, to the bridge up towards the top of the lake, is 10 miles. Its a good size body of water. If that dam had broke, it would have caused major damage and death all along the waters path. http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=16&Z=15&X=24&Y=265&W=3&qs=123+Rayon+... Hummingbirds are back... in force. They are survivers. I don't know how they did it in that wind, but they found someplace to shelter that protected them. Not all of my other birds are back. Hopefully they will find their way home!!! I will post more in future blogs... about the storm and about Tor... things like the flashlight wars we had, the card playing and how he CHEATS, and my first venture out Monday morning to WalMart. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.... It was one of the things that made facing Rita easier... knowing that the prayers were out there. And you know what... THEY WORKED.... she skipped us by about 20 miles. The little town of Woodville...about 20 miles to the East of us, suffered major damage as they experienced the brunt of the eye going over. Thank you all again. You will never know how much your prayers, thoughts and friendship mean to Tor and I. We love you all, appreciate your concern and wish you all a blessed life! A special thanks to CC for keeping an eye on us and reporting the news... and to Dan for his concern and opening his home to us. Take care now... Melinda |
| We have had another band of Rita's headwinds reach us. The winds were about 35mph and a bit of rain. David and I were talking about tonight, and what could happen. Rita continues to wobble, and one minute they say she will slide a bit east of us, which would be great... at least for us. Then they say she is coming back our way. It is really stressful... and to tell you the truth, I have never been anywhere, where my fear level has risen to this degree!! But then God works in mysterious ways. There was a break in the weather, and the winds calmed and the rain quit. I had taken all my bird feeders down and brought them into the house. I filled one of my hummingbird feeders and took it with me as I went to sit down on the front porch for a bit and watch the clouds fly by. I held the feeder in my hands, wrapping my fingers around the base and just sat there. I bet I hadn't sat there for more than 10 minutes when here they came.... a regement of hummingbirds... they saw their feeder!!! Before I knew it, I had hummingbirds in my lap, in my face and landing on my fingers to feed. It was so neat!!! These little birds weigh less than an ounce, and are only two inches tall... and they were sitting on my fingers drinking the nectar from the feeder. At one time, I had five on my fingers and a couple buzzing around my face waiting for an opening. Sometimes one would turn and just hover, looking me in the eye. When they all had their fill, I put the feeder down and ran in and grabbed David. I made him sit out there with me and watch. The hummingbirds seem to come about every ten minutes to hit the feeders. Sure enough, here they came, buzzing and flitting around David and I, chasing each other and flying so close that you could feel the wind from their delicate little wings on your cheeks. A few of them came in and landed on my fingers again, and fed. David was just amazed. He had never seen anything like that before. He had never seen a hummingbird up that close before. They flew right in front of him, hovering, looking him over. The evening skies were getting dark, and they finally got their fill and went to roost. I wonder what will happen to the little fellows? Will they be able to find a safe crook somewhere and survive this storm, or will I lose them all? Only time will tell.... both for them and us!!!! Ok, now I am back to worrying about tonight... but that was really a nice retreat from the stress! |
| You know, its really funny when you are faced with a life threatening situation, you start putting things in perspective... you life, things that are of importance to you, your belief in God. I just came in from outside. It is a beautiful evening in East Texas. The temperature hovers around 80 degrees, there is a slight breeze blowing, the stars are hanging brightly in the sky, the nights orchestra of crickets, frogs and other creatures of the dark are tuning up. It is beautiful!! But there is a darkness coming, and you can feel it in the air. It is like the calm before the storm. As Tor said in his blog, all we can do now is wait. And waiting is the hardest thing to do. Rita has turned even more to the Northeast... at this moment she is heading straight towards Beaumont. While I said that if she hit Galveston head on, it would be bad for us, if she hits Beaumont head on... it will be worse for us. We are about 60 miles Northwest of Beaumont, and it will put the eye of Rita moving directly over us. I hope Rita continues to make an Eastward swing... even if she would just move another 50 or 100 miles East, then that would put us on her 'soft' side, and thats a piece of cake. Ok, just wanted to update everyone. Tor and I sure do appreciate everyones concern, prayers and words of encouragement. Thank you very very much for everything. We will check in tomorrow... and then Rita will make her debut early Saturday morning. I would much rather her go visit someone else.... but then I don't really mean that... I don't wish Rita on anyone!!!!! |
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