Sleeping at the rest stop

We are sitting at a rest stop in Missouri as I write this.  It is rather noisy outside with semis out on the road and cars slamming doors nearby.   Glad Dan is asleep as a car just pulled in with rap music blaring.    

Even though there is a sign that says no camping, we think this does not pertain to us because we do not take more than a parking space.  If they are going to get someone on it, how about the people next to us taking up about six parking spaces.  And, I doubt if the MO HPs would want to hack off the semi drivers lined up below us either. 

So, we’re here for the night.  It is a rest stop, right?  We’re tired. 

Tomorrow it is Maifest in Hermann, Missouri.  Then later, a cook out at our niece's in Columbia. 

Bird watchers

Dan and I are bird watchers.  So far, we don’t have a “life list,” but we made a list of all the birds we see out our back windows.  Not sure where it is, though so we’re not too organized.

Spring is our favorite bird time of year.  Several weeks ago we noticed a Hummingbird hovering outside our kitchen window, at the exact location we usually hang our feeder.  We quickly fixed it up for our returning friends.

The Goldfinches have turned a bright yellow and are still hanging around.  It seems they leave for a short while each summer, but always return to Dan’s abundant black oil sunflower seeds.

This morning a woodpecker was working on our wood siding.  Sounded like a hammer—not good.

Of course, the Barn Swallows are dive bombing at mosquitoes all around the house.  They are certainly the worker birds.  But maybe not as diligent as the buzzards who circle above the valley looking for the latest casualty.  Sometimes we think the area behind our house should be called Buzzard Hollow.  On any warm afternoon, there might be a whole kettle (the word for group, I looked it up) of buzzards “riding” the warm air currents.

This afternoon, the female turkey who paced all afternoon after we burned the pasture no doubt looking for a nest that no longer existed, casually walked across the area behind the house.  She most likely has another nest already.

There is the mockingbird who sings in the middle of the night perhaps because of the barn light and the cardinal who loves to sing all day but, like me, doesn’t have a beautiful voice.  Of all the birds we have here, the mother sparrow out my friend Kathy’s window, wins the prize for poor timing.

Last Friday, Kathy sent me the cutest picture of a birdhouse full of babies getting fed by momma.  She wrote a note accompanying the picture wishing me Happy Mother’s Day.

“Ahh, what a perfect picture for Mothers Day weekend.”  I wrote back.

The next day, I received another email from Kathy.  It seems that on Mothers Day morning,  momma shoved the babies out of the nest to begin their journey in life.

I had several reactions to this story.  First, I laughed at the momma’s poor timing.  Second, I wondered if, in the end, this was a lesson from our bird friends on Mother’s Day Sunday.  Our job is to nest, nurture and then nudge.  Of course, we mothers will always love. 

Storm moving out—or around

We were fortunate to escape bad weather late this afternoon.  Storms moved through on both sides of us.  At one point, the fake voice on the weather radio said severe weather was moving toward Richland.  Even though the city has been abandoned for over 30 years, I am glad it is a point of concern for the weather people.  We are close by.

The siren on the weather radio has gone off twice since I started writing this.  Maybe we’re not clear yet.

Ten days in a carry on—no way

I am thinking of you, Sue, when I post this.  Be sure to watch the slide show also. 

Click here for how to pack a carry-on for ten days on the road.  I’m planning on this technique for packing our clothes for the Truckker  (new name for our pickup popup camper). 

Tuesday Tally

The angry clouds that came rolling in as the sun went down produced 6/10 inch of rain.  Perfect for the garden.  Dan checked a bit ago and said the sky was filled with stars.

I still don’t have a good feel for how much usage one gigabyte or for that matter 100 megabytes is on my Autonet.  We took a short roadtrip over the weekend and were researching a couple things.  It appears about 30 minutes online used 12 megabytes.  I’ll keep checking.

I put a few books on EBay the end of last week with less than five viewers on each.  One has a watch on it, which is good.  I just wonder how things are moving on EBay.  It seems everyone is using Craig’s List. 

Finally,  they burned all the cedar wood we cut at the bonfire and there were no flies, mosquitoes or any other type of bugs hanging around.   To be fair on the evaluation, there were no bugs before they lit the fire either. So, we’ll have to try it at Kim & Marc’s fire pit.

I’m off to count sheep.

Mom with her friends

Looking at the picture, Mom is on the left.  She was such a pretty young lady.  She still is.

Let’s see if I can explain it how everyone in this picture is connected.  First, it should be noted this picture was taken before my Mom married my Dad.  

Gladys and Esther on the right of the picture are sisters. Their father was my Dad’s mother’s brother.    Then Esther, on the extreme right married my Mom’s brother. Mom married Dad.  And, even more complicated, Gladys, in the middle, married Dan’s Dad’s 1st cousin.  I’m not sure I have the order right as to when they all married.

So, Esther’s last name was the same as Mom’s maiden name and Gladys’ last name was the same as Dan and mine. 

If you understood all of this, you are from the area around Junction City, Kansas.