At Last We Had Rain.

The clouds had been gathering every afternoon for the past week, but in our area seemed to say " not yet" and we continued to be dry. Every day we hoped for the best and it seemed the best was the water hose. Since the lawn is so large it was impossible to give it all a drink, so we only sprinkled around the plants that we hoped to keep alive. Most of the grass was brown by this time, but on Thursday evening we got a little shower. It was about the time we were to have dinner and I was hoping it would rain too hard for me to go next door to eat with my family. No such luck on this Thursday, I went next door and didn't get wet at all. This was just a teaser, but on Friday it was a different story. We got the blessed rain, it rained through the night and into Saturday. Now like magic the lawn is green again. For which we are thankful.

Saturday was a very good day. I was invited to have dinner with my daughter and her little family. Her son brought his girl friend home for the week- end and I was glad to go and meet her.. We had good confersations at the dinner table. There were three different nationalities at the table. My daughter and I are southern American, my grandson is Dutch American, my son-law is Dutch and the girl friend is Mexican. The dinner meal was Italian. We had fun discussing the different foods from each country and the ingredients in each of the foods. Some good, some bad.

Sunday I spent the day reading a book about Thomas Jefferson. I had told my son that I could read it in one week-end, but I didn't realize it was such a big book. I got bogged down in the politics and history and it made reading slow. I'll get back to reading about Thomas Jefferson later.

Summer Is Still In The Air In The South.

The dry weather is beginning to make all the lawns brown in our part of the country. The calendar tells us it is the beginning of the fall season, but if you live around here you know the seasons get pretty mixed up. I just finished sweeping the leaves from around my front entrance, and I found it to be pretty hot outside. I was eager to hurry so I could back inside so I could cool off. A cool glass of fruit juice did the trick for me.

I love the fall season when the leaves on the trees begin to turn so many different colors. My little house sets on the very edge of the pine forest, and we are wealthy in beautiful trees in the yard. Now that they are beginning to show their colors you know the cool weather will follow soon.

I miss the harvest time in the northern part of the state where I once lived. We lived near the fields where cotton and corn was grown. It was amazing how quickly the farmers could bring in the big equipment and harvest the corn and cotton. There was a corn field near our property and I watched how they picked the ears of corn, shelled the kernels from the ears, and then cut up the stalks in one operation. The cotton picking machine did the same. It picked the cotton and baled it and bagged it ready to be hauled to the gin. At the gin the seeds are removed and the fluffy cotton is baled, it is then sent to the factories. The seeds are also processed and used in many ways.

The little humming birds know when it is time to prepare for their trip south. They have been gathering around the feeders eating and getting ready for their journey. They are so interesting to watch as they fight for a feeding spot at the feeder. They provide hours of entertainment, they are so beautiful. We will  miss them until next spring when they come back again.

One Of A Kind

My oldest sister was one of a kind. When the Gods made a mold of her they said " one is enough". I say this because she was the best. When she was a young girl she worked hard at everything she tried to do. She helped raise all of us brothers and sisters. She was devoted and loved us unconditionally until the day she died. She lived to be ninety years of age.

As a young girl she was tall and beautiful. She played sports in high school. Basketball was her game. In the small town school we attended there was no gym to play basketball. They only had a cinders court on the school grounds. I remember the  girls playing in uniforms consisting of big black bloomers that came down to their knees and a black sweater top. That was when girls played a half court. If you are old enough you will know what I mean by half court. It means forwards on one end of the court and guards one the other end, and they couldn't cross over the center line. The girls had a good team and went to many tournaments.

My sister was very popular growing up. She had many boy friends. She fell in love and married the summer she graduated from high school. She and her husband bought a farm in the community where she grew up and she never moved away. This was her home and she didn't want to be anywhere else. She wanted to live near to her family.

My sister raised her own beautiful family of two girls and two boys. She was so proud of all of their accomplishments, and she adored them all. In her minds eye they could do no wrong. That's true mother love. We are all like that about our families so I can't pass judgment on that.

She was like a historian in the community where she lived. She had such a good memory of time and events. She knew all the people from miles around, and she probably helped most of them along the way. She owned and ran a country grocery store for many years and I'm sure she literally fed many hungry people. That is the kind of heart she had.

Just remembering.