Jim and Jill

Jim and Jill

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Meet Thor

It was 6 A.M., very quiet outside, beautiful day when all of a sudden we heard someone pulling at the screen door and making a sound that was at first hard to identify.  Maybe it was two cats getting ready to fight, maybe a flock of geese flying just overhead?  We do have lots of geese that fly directly overhead, circling and joining up with other groups all headed to who knows where.  Whatever it was, we did not immediately recognize the sound.

Jill opened the door and there stood Thor ready to be held and spoiled.  Thor will forever be a mystery.  He is 6 week old Siberian Husky and when he arrived he had a full belly.  What makes his appearance a mystery is that we live 800 feet off an "out-of-the-way" county road. It just seems unlikely he would have found his way up our dive-way even if someone had let him out on the road, and it is even more unlikely that anyone would have brought him up our driveway.  Folks around here don't just walk or drive up someone's drive at 6 in the morning.  So, we will ponder the mystery while enjoying the puppy.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Bounty of the Harvest

Jill and I got up early this morning and went to the garden to pick beans.  Considering the beans were planted in "new ground"; I think we did well.  The photo shows a portion of our harvest - there will be more to pick next week!  The homemade sourdough bread (2nd. plate) will be enjoyed during our reflection time this evening when all the work around our placed if finished for the day.

We harvested 50 carrots all of which look like these. We found they grew just as big and straight when grown in 2" pipe as they did in the 3" pipe.  The 2" will conserve soil and space (in our window sill during the winter months).  We did find that the carrots were more difficult to remove from the 2" tubes because the growth compressed the soil around them, but just a few more shakes and they were released.

Monday, May 16, 2011

That Rascally Varmint

I saw a fox coming up from the woods this morning.  He/she approached within 50 feet of the house, looked around, and casually walked over to the property next door.  The sight of the fox gives me pause about the chicken coop and chickens I was planning.  I alerted my neighbor who does have chickens. All chickens in the neighborhood must be on the alert.   They must ban together for protection.  Perhaps the chickens could form a civil defense force to stand guard against the onslaught of the fox…that rascally varmint.

The days pass quickly and each one presents a new challenge and new opportunities.  The challenges of graduate school confront me daily and the opportunities to exert a positive influence on the lives of my grandsons are also present daily.

I just read a short essay by Leonard E. Read (I, Pencil) which is a study of the free markets in action.  If you want to understand the free market concept; I invite you to click on the link and spend a few minutes devoted to awareness.  I also recommend “The Law” by Frederick Bastiat for an understanding of what freedom means and how we can so easily loose it – not because it is taken from us by force, but because we give it away by our inaction.



Ethan
Evan
Our grandson Ethan will graduate from kindergarten tomorrow.  He is a very smart young man and Jill and I look forward to doing so many things with him this summer.  We have new kites to be flown, and tree houses to build.  Evan is at the “Big House” today learning to use the telephone (he’s 10 months old and just about has that phone thing down pat).

More later as developments occur.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Spring 2011

I have neglected the blog for almost a year as I pursued so many other things that both interested me and demanded my time.


Bubba-D, our good dog died since I last posted.  Bubba-D was truly a friend to all – a “good old dog”.

I still manage to maintain a 3.96 GPA after completing 25 semester hours of graduate school.  I have only four more courses - required to complete the degree.  I expect to graduate in the fall of 2011.  My degree will be a Master of Education with a concentration in Educational Media and Technology.  I look forward to applying my new found skills in some venue that will allow me to ignite the passion for learning in young and old alike.  Jill and I are traveling to Johnson City, Tennessee this weekend where I will be initiated into two honor societies; Kappa Delta Pi and The Golden Key International Honor Society.  The Kappa Delta Pi event is on Thursday evening and the other event on Saturday evening.  We will be staying at the oldest home in Tennessee (The Hawley House) which has been for the past many years a Bed and Breakfast.
 
I recently resigned my employment as a technology help desk specialist.  After being promoted to instructor, I decided the demand on my time was just too much.  I left in good standing and may return in the fall when there is not so much to do around our home.  I discovered that doing “call-center” work from home can be far more demanding and challenging that it might first appear.  After all, there are tree-houses to be built and grandsons to be taught some of life’s lessons – what could be more important than that?










  We will increase the size of our garden this year.  In addition to our “pod” garden, which has been very productive for us for the past 2 years; we will be growing bush beans in the traditional way.  We will also, for the first time, be growing carrots in 3 inch tubes.  We started some of the carrots this winter in the house and placed them in the window seat which extends for 20 feet across the room.  The windows’ catch the morning sun and the carrots are thriving.  We may have stumbled upon a way to grow carrots 12 months out of the year.  The greenhouse was a big help and all of Jill’s plants survived the winter in fine shape.


My bid for a seat on the local school board was unsuccessful.  I include a link to one of the web sites I created during that campaign, just to preserve the effort. Campaign Web Page 

I will post an update after we return from Johnson City, Tennessee.