Today I noticed...Gossip spreads like wildfire

Is social media the new water cooler or beauty shop or coffee shop or little country store?

I've spent a bit of time browsing social media this week as I was waiting for various reasons. It can be quite the entertaining pastime. I am just amazed at all of the information people post online for the world to see. 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I enjoy updates about family members and friends and their families. I appreciate community information and recommendations about local happenings and businesses. Some of those posts kept me from getting stuck in traffic when there is a parade or community event or helped me to find a business to address an issue we have here at our house. 

I am just amazed that some folks thing their entire life needs to be chronicled for the world to see. Most people don't have filters or privacy options in place. Yet, they post so many details about their own life and the lives of others out there in a public forum for the world to see. Not only is it a safety concern, but, what makes folks think the world needs to know that they went to dinner somewhere or to a concert or whatever? What makes them think it is a good idea to announce their whereabouts?

I've really learned this week that lots of people really need a good course about how to use social media safely, securely, and with purpose.

One of the things I saw this week was a question posted asking what was going on at a private individual's property - and there were pictures - and no permission was acknowledged about posting the pictures of another individual's private property. Next, there were several responses with erroneous information. That was followed by comments and opinions. Then, a comment to clear up some confusion related to an erroneous response by somebody who was in-the-know, followed by more erroneous information and disputations, and so on it went. The whole thing was started by somebody sticking their nose into business that was not theirs at all and other somebodies joining in on the gossip. 

Whatever happened to keeping one's business private and keeping out of other people's business?

 

Today I noticed... People get too involved

As I was cruising through social media today, I noticed that a lot of people really get involved in social media a lot more than I do.

Somebody had posted a photo of a person getting into a vehicle and reported that the person had parked across the street from an acquaintance's house, got out of their vehicle and walked across to the front porch with a package. Then, took a photo of the package on the porch, picked up the package, and went back to their vehicle A detailed description was made of the person and her actions.  

Then, the 'reporter' said she got out of her own car and asked the suspicious person if she wanted the package taken inside to the homeowner. The package was turned over to the 'reporter' and the person drove away.

The whole incident seems rather odd to me. Why would anybody take such actions with a package? Why would they, then, turn the package over to a stranger who claimed the package would be given to the homeowner? What really was going on there? I don't even know why I paused and read the post. However, even with all the questions that came to my mind did not comment but I certainly was in the minority.

Folks made suggestions about sending the photo to the police. They made suggestions about telling the homeowner to report the incident to the police, to the proper shipping company, to the product seller, and all sorts of reporting.

A couple of folks posted their own bizarre interactions with an unusual delivery situation - tales which had nothing to do with this incident and were nothing like the incident.

As I am reflecting on what I read, trying to decide what I might do, I just keep shaking my head. Many of these people were perfect strangers to the delivery person, the homeowner, and probably even the 'reporter.' Yet, they felt they should offer suggestions, advice, and their own tales of woe. While, it made for interesting reading and I did just sit and shake my head for a few minutes, I also wonder just what it is that made people get so involved in something that was not even their own issue.

Patriotic Decorating

I've always enjoyed celebrating and decorating for Independence Day. Not only is it a good reminder to me about how fortunate I am (at least for the time being) to be able to live in the country with the most freedom in the world. 

Years ago, one of our granddaughters was spending some time with us and we worked together to craft decorations that I look forward to displaying each and every year in my Patriotic Decorating.

When I hung his little banner of flags so carefully stitched, I was smiling the entire time. Once again I was remembering the sewist.

When she was working so diligently at stitching the flags to the ribbon, she was concentrating and quiet and working hard at stitching.  Then, her stitching got looped around the ribbon and had a bit of a tangle. All of a sudden, she exclaimed, "Grand B, we have a situation here." 

We worked together to get it all straightened out with no "situations" in our finished products. She learned how to stitch and how to take the stitching out and stitch again.

I couldn't help but smile at her little snaggle-toothed exclamation then and I think of it every single time I get that banner out to hang it up for celebrating.

My, how time does fly! When I finished hanging the banner this week, I sent the photo that starts off this post via text to that little sewist, who now looks like this...

What a situation!

Happy Independence Day!

 

From our house to yours.

Wildlife Friends (Part 2)

 Last week I wrote about seeing observing some of our wildlife friends and enjoying their beauty. 

On Tuesday, I was watering my flowers and admiring their prosperous growth. My flowers really have provided me with joy this spring/summer. They have bloomed prolifically and all the rain we have had made it easier for me to take care of them as well.

This long, shallow concrete planter is one that Mike had here when we joined forces. I have never had much that would prosper in it except Moss Roses or Portulaca, a blooming succulent plant. The picture above shows what they looked like when I first planted the four little plants out of a blister pack from the local greenhouse nursery.

Those things had really grown and were heaped up and full of blooms - about twice the size of what is shown above. I was so pleased with them and smiled over how well they were doing for a few days. I thought about taking a photo but decided I would wait till I finished my watering. Then, I was so hot that I forgot all about photo taking. 

The next day, I went out to water and noticed that the flag holder was rocking back and forth. I noticed it because there was quite a breeze but didn't think it was such that it would blow the little metal garden flag holder that doesn't even have a flag in it. But, I quickly set to filling my watering jug. My watering routine is to water the pots that are the furthest distance from the spigot first. So, I went to the pots at the ends of the retaining wall first.

Then, I went to the long, low, concrete planter. Boy was I shocked! Our wildlife friends must really like the taste of Moss Roses! Plus, she must have been munching right before I opened the door and bumped into the garden flag holder. 

I knew that deer don't like Lantana and all of the other pots down at the basement entrance have a little Lantana in them. So, I guess that is why they are still growing and looking pretty and not nibbled gobbled up. Every single pot that has Lantana in it is still completely untouched.

While I enjoy seeing these beautiful creatures munching in our hay field and yard, I don't really want them wiping out my flowers. So, next year, all the planters will have deer resistant flowers in them for sure!

Today I noticed...I REALLY like digital accessibility!

I have become a person who really appreciates and looks for ways to make almost anything digitally accessible. 

Since my retirement, I have volunteered a bit in our local community. One focus of my efforts has been with the Nolensville Historic Cemetery. I am in the process of digitizing all of the records associated with lots at the cemetery. Each lot is assigned a certificate of ownership. Since the 1930s, the deeds and certificates of ownership have been on paper and need to be digitized. Each of the sales receipts, each burial documentation, each transfer of ownership upon resale from one owner to the next has been documented with paper. There are more than a dozen four-inch notebooks full of documents. So, I am in the process of scanning page after page of documents and saving them to cloud storage. Plus, I am linking each document into a couple or three spreadsheets to make searching for information more streamlined and easier. Already, we have found this to be helpful and efficient. 

Win! Win!

The other day, when our daughter-in-law sent me a photo and explained that she is organizing her classroom library, my immediate thought was that we need to enter that information into a spreadsheet so that she has a digital listing and can easily search her inventory.

We can use her color-coding strategies that she is applying, include the author's name, title, and reading level information, (and more) as ways to label columns. This will make it easy and efficient for her to search and sort book information.

Of course, I volunteered to help out with creating the spreadsheets. This sort off nudged me to notice that organizing and making lists and files and documents digitally accessible is something that makes me happy - and does the same for others!

Hay Week!

It has been hay week here on the farm! 

Mike has been moaning and groaning about all the rain without a stretch of sunny weather because he had hay that needed harvesting. We are grateful for the rain and cooler temperatures that May gave us but he also wanted to get the hay out of the field. 

Well, on Saturday, the rainy weather gave way to hot, hot, hot temperatures. 

As I pulled out of the driveway to go to our eldest grandson's baseball tournament, Mike was beginning to cut the hay.

When I returned on Sunday morning, the field with the cut hay is what greeted me.

Mike had already fluffed the hay with the tedder. That process just sort of picks up the hay and allows air to help to dry it out. He was beginning to rake the hay into windrows to prepare it for baling.

Then, for the past couple of days he has been baling the hay. It yielded fifty-plus bales and one hot, sweaty, dirty guy.

Next, Mike and Stephen will haul the rolls to the barn and get it all stored away. It will make good winter feed for the livestock - ours and son, Stephen's. There will be a day or two of rest and hay will will come again later in the summer when the second cutting is ready for harvest.

Wildlife Friends

 Since we live on a farm, we have several animals. Oh, we aren't over run with farm animals. We do have a couple of goats and a miniature donkey. However, most of the animals we see around here are wildlife. 

Last year, we had a whole herd of deer who lived here and grazed our front yard and front field. Some of them have moved on. However, we still have a resident deer or two. Mike said that he saw a couple of babies when he was cutting the hay in the front field. So, we knew there was a mother deer somewhere nearby as well. 

One afternoon last week I made a delivery next door and visited some of the grands as they were playing and eating outside. When I came back down the hill and circled the buggy round to park it next to the back porch, I saw the mama deer!

She and I just paused and stared at one another for a few minutes. She was sizing me up and I was trying not to scare her. After a moment or two, she turned and ran across the front yard and around the side of the house to get away from me. Then, she slowed and headed up the hill toward the hay barn.

Today I noticed...Families are the same - only different.

I had lunch with a friend who I had not visited with in quite some time. We sat and talked about our children and grandchildren. So many of the tales she shared were almost mirror images of our family experiences. There was a bit of difference but so much was the same. 

She has a grandchild who just graduated college and is working as an intern this summer before starting grad school and we have one who just graduated high school and will be going to school this fall. She has one in high school who is being home schooled and we have three in high school and a couple of them are home schooled. They each have their own interests and personalities but they all have commonalities.

I truly left the restaurant thinking of how I had enjoyed the visit with my friend and that I am really blessed to have the family that I do. While her family is the same as mine in lots and lots of ways, they are also very, very different. We both are blessed and love each and every member of our family and are grateful to have them as a part of our lives.

It's the same - only different.

Good Spring for Flowers

 I have always been a flower lover. I think I inherited it from my ancestors. Both of my grandmothers were flower lovers. My mother is also a flower lover. So, I guess I just inherited their green thumb.

I can remember visiting my Granny and she would take us on a walk around her yard and point out different flowers and plants and tell us little stories about them. "This one is called Artemisia and that was my (some relative)'s name...This one is a shade lover...This one is a ground cover and the color and texture really makes the flowers around it look prettier...Geraniums do well in this pot because it drains well and they don't like wet feet..."

So, I sort of think of my ancestors when I am selecting, planting, and tending to my flowers. This year I stumbled across some beautiful geraniums with a deep crimson bloom. So, I decided that they would be the base for my back porch plantings. 

I selected some that had only a bloom or two but lots of buds. They have been beautiful!

I added a deep blue/purple petunia and a white trailing plant that I think is called Bacopa. I also have some sort of plant that grows tall and has blooms along the stalk of it that is just now coming along and getting ready to bloom.

The rainy conditions we have experienced has made flower growing simple. I've only had to hand-water them a few times because we have gotten downpours almost daily. 

In the smaller pots, I added purple petunias and a variegated Lantana. It has yellow, orange, hot pink, and red in the bloom. 

I spend a while each morning wandering round sipping tea, plucking off spent blooms, and just enjoying the beauty of these flowers! 

A Quick and Easy Project

 One of the things I've noticed in my retirement is that I tend to procrastinate. So, with that being noticed, I also have noticed that I am not getting things done as quickly as I thought I might. I guess I thought that by now all of the closets, cabinets, and enclosures in our house would be cleared out and tidy. I guess I thought that by now our acreage would look like a well-tended garden. I don't really know what I thought would change about me to get those things into such a shape, but it hasn't and it doesn't all look and feel like that. 

Oh, I have done some clearing and straightening and cleaning out and tidying. However, we are still far, far from having a place for every little thing and everything in it's place!

One project that I did tackle is one of our mailboxes. Yes, I said one of them because we have three. One is on a post at the back porch and holds gardening tools.

One is at the end of the driveway and the postman leaves our mail there.

The one I took on as a project is on the end of the house near the basement entrance. We added it years ago when my mother-in-law first moved in with us. I thought it would be a great place for us to leave her mail after gathering it from the one at the end of the driveway and we would not have to disturb her. I did that for years when I brought the mail to the house. 

Then, it became Mike's 'job' to get the mail and he used that as an excuse to go inside and check on his mother each day. So, it became just a decorative element beside the door. Since Mrs. O has passed, it became an easy spot to leave something small for others to pick up or a place to stash the cash bag for a Facebook Marketplace sale. 

Over time, it had gotten sad, rusted, and unsightly. It is still functional and handy for leaving something to be picked up when we are not going to be handy. So, I didn't want to just remove it. I decided a paint job would do the trick.

There was also a stinging set of residents who were keeping house inside there. So, I took some soapy water and a brush and cleaned it up a bit. Then, the next day, I wedged large pieces of cardboard around it. I dug out a can of anti-rust spray paint that was left over from another project and gave it a coat of paint.

You can see that it has an insignia on it to indicate royalty. I think the advertisement for it said that it was modeled to be like Queen Elizabeth's way back when I bought it. So, I thought it was a tongue in cheek way of honoring my mother-in-law. I think I am the only one who ever even know that, though.

The new coat of paint gave it new life and I am quite pleased with it. It is a nice decorative piece and even if we never use it as it was intended, it sort of brings a little smile to my face. 

Plus, one project has been checked of my list!

Today I noticed...Deep Reading Is Rare

Today I noticed that some people are skimmers, some are scanners, and some really read. All of them are informed. However, the best informed and those who understand the most are the ones who really read.
 

Family Portrait Gallery

 I have done a little work with the photos that I shared in this post.  I'm satisfied with what I have - for now. There is a small landing as one descends into our basement. Where the stairs pause at the landing there is a large cabinet where I have added some books. As one turns, to continue down the stairs, I've added a gallery wall with some of the family photos. 

To the left of the gallery photos is a series of three stairs which stops on the basement floor. There is a wall on either side, forming a sort of hallway. So, I am probably going to add some more photos there. I think it would be a good place to add a collection of photos such as family members who were posing for team pictures or those who are posing with an animal from a livestock show. I'm going to continue to think about this because I'm not absolutely certain of how I want to decorate this little space. 

For this gallery collection, I have Started at the top, left with Mike's paternal great-grandfather. Next to him is Mike's grandfather, and then, his father rounds out the last oval frame. Below those oval-framed photos are pictures of Mike's parents. I think the two small ones are school pictures. They look like they might be about third grade level photos. The larger photo between those two shows his parents at their eighth grade dance.

The gold scalloped frame holds a collage of Mike in his first year. There is a portrait of him at three-months, six-months, nine-months, and one year. 

Then, there is the large antique portrait of Mike's great, great grandmother. Below that is a photo of his father on the left. Then, his great-grandmother is pictured in the middle and the photo on the right is a photo of the great-grandmother at an older age.

I love the variety of vintage frames and feel quite fortunate to have inherited the photos as well as the beautiful frames. 

Happy Birthday, Lydia!

 

I've been a nosey neighbor

Our neighbors have Longhorn cattle. They have been a novelty since they first entered the pasture next door. 

Being farm folks, Mike and I thought it was odd that the neighbors would buy such a creature. They were not really farm people and simply bought them for the novelty of how the cattle looked, I think. The first two who came to be our neighbors were Wanda and Willy. Wanda was a hefty, older looking cow who looked like she had not had a calf in years. Willy was a young yearling bull.  

Then, the neighbors added another and another Longhorn cow until they had an entire herd. Some of the new cows gave birth shortly after arriving next door and the herd continued to grow.

The neighbors wound up selling and moving away to another state but the herd stayed next door for the new homeowners. These new homeowners really seemed to have less knowledge about cattle than the original ones. For example, they didn't realize that they probably needed to get some hay to feed the cows when it snows and there is no grass readily available. So, they asked Mike for suggestions and he shared a little information.

After lunch one day this week, Mike mentioned that there was a truck and trailer backed up to the catch pen next door and some guys were loading up some of the Longhorns. Out of curiosity, I gravitated to the window to watch. I was curious about how many they would be able to load onto a trailer with those long horns. There were already a couple of the cattle loaded onto the trailer and the guys were working to get more on. One of them came dashing around the side of the trailer and had a rope dangling from his neck. The guys came dashing after him and the chase ensued.

The young bull went loping off down the pasture away from the barn. At one point one of the guys grabbed hold of the dangling rope and he began to dangle along as well. After a while, the guy turned loose and stood in a state of ponder for a bit. Then, he eased down the pasture and circled around the young bull and drove him back up toward the barn. This time, the young bull made short work of running around and getting by the men. Finally, both guys snagged hold of the end of the rope and held on, stopping the young bull.

It became a war of wills. Which would have the most determination? Would it be the guys or the bull? The guys were patient for a while. The other cattle came over to their friend and checked him out and then they wandered off munching on grass. After the young bull tired a bit, one of the guys ran back up the hill to the truck and pulled it down toward where the young bull was scotched and holding his ground.

I was amazed by the strength of this guy! Evidently, they didn't make much progress at coaxing the young bull onto the trailer. So, while the one guy held on, the other guy circled the trailer back around closer to the young bull, who was laying on the ground at that point. 

Being the nosey neighbor through all of this, I just took a seat near the window looking out onto the neighbor's pasture and watched all the action as I was making up an online grocery order. I was certainly amazed by the strength of the one guy! They were pretty tenacious about getting their job done and I found it interesting to see how they went about getting that bull loaded. I was also thankful that I didn't have any part of the work of it!

The two guys tugged and coaxed and finally got the bull loaded and went on their way with the load of Longhorn bulls. Obviously, this was not the guys' first rodeo! 

Today I Noticed...The Glow of the Rising Sun

I have developed a bad habit. 

I wake up each morning sometime between four and five-thirty. Why? Why couldn't my body wait for just another hour or so? Why does it decide I need to get up that early?

I've been getting up and moving to the chair in the bedroom so that I will be quiet and not disturb Mike. I can hear his gentle snoring in the den. So, I shift to the chair and do a little reading and napping.

Today, I noticed that as the sun is coming up, there is a nice glow from the rising sun peeking into the window. Even my unmade bed seems to have a nice glow as the sun is coming up.

Maybe I am getting a gentle nudge so that I don't miss the glow...

Family Portraits to Make a Gallery Wall

As we have been reclaiming the basement, I have been going through lots of things that were Mrs. Ozburn's. She lived with us and had her own space here from 2017 through 2023 when she passed. She had promised different things to family members and we certainly passed those things along as she had requested. Sorting through things has been a slow task for me because I don't want to overlook something that might be treasured by her grandchildren. There were lots of trinkets and decorative objects - far more than even I like to have atop tables and on bookshelves and keep dust-free. I took photos with my phone and sent out a group of ten or so photos at a time asking Mike's children if they wanted to claim them for their homes. Most were spoken for right away and only a few are still waiting for them to pick up and haul away.

Before Mrs. O moved in with us, she cleared out lots and gave furniture and decor to us, my brother and sister-in-law, and her grandchildren. We have a beautiful dining table, a cane rocker, a beautiful oil painting, and a few other pieces. One of the interesting things that we inherited are family portraits and loads of photographs. So, I'm sorting through the ones Mike's mother gave us as well as the ones she had on the walls and in boxes and books. We've asked Mike's aunt to identify some folks pictured that Mike was unsure about and I've left many hanging in the kitchen which show his relatives as well as what life was like here in days gone by with old trucks and horses and wagons and such. I want to create a gallery wall of some of the portraits and photos. I made a few snapshots with my phone to send to Mike's aunt for clarification on identity and am including those here but as I get these grouped and hung, I will try to update and make better photographs as the gallery shapes up.

One of the portraits we were given is of Mrs. O's great-grandmother, Helton Claiborne. We were told by Mike's mother that she was never married but she had three children with an American Indian fellow in the 'wilds of Tennessee.' She is certainly a stern looking young woman and it is an old-time portrait that has steely eyes. I proudly brought it home right after Mrs. O gave it to us and planned to hang it in the den. However... I was informed quite swiftly that Mike did not want her hanging in a room where he would be! He says she is scary and mean looking.

He tells a funny story about a lady, Martha, who helped his mother. It seems that she didn't like the portrait any better than Mike does. He said she would drape a towel over the frame as soon as she came into the house and then go on about her business as if that was a normal mode of display.

A photograph that we were given turns out to be another image of Helton Claiborne. While the portrait above is of her as a young woman, this photo shows her at a more advanced age.

She doesn't seem to have grown more cheerful over the years but it is interesting to see how she aged. Plus, look at the beautiful lace work on her blouse.

Another interesting portrait is of  Mrs. O's grandmother, Cynthia Elizabeth Claiborne Stephenson who was known as Betty. 

It is a beautiful portrait with a Gibson Girl look. How about that hat? She is the daughter of Helton Claiborne and mother of Mrs. O's father, Jack. Strong family resemblance, huh?

One of the sweetest photos is of Mike's mother as a toddler being held by her mother. The bonnet alone is photo-worthy. Obviously it is a photo made in the 1930s and the fashion of the time shines.

There are portraits from Mike's paternal side as well. The first one is of his great grandfather. He looks very studious and reflective posed with his eyeglasses doesn't he?

The next one is of his son, Mike's grandfather. Again, he looks very distinguished posed outside in a fancy bentwood chair.

I'm gathering them all together and leaning them against the wall and on a cabinet of books in the basement staircase landing. 

There is such a range of sizes - 8x10, 5x7, and some 4x6 photos of Mike as well. I love that collage which has a portrait of him at three months, six months, nine months, and one year old. There is also a sweet one of his parents at their eighth grade dance. What treasures!

There's also a sweet set of little school photos of Mike's parents that I want to include. I'm not sure what age they are but I'm thinking third grade or later elementary school years. Don't they look innocent and precious?

I have a good 5x7 school photo of Mike that looks like he was in about eighth or ninth grade. Plus, I'm hoping to fill in the pieces with a photo of Mike's maternal grandmother or grandparents, too.

I think it will be an interesting gallery wall and am so thankful that many of these are already framed in beautiful heirloom frames. I'll update when I figure out how I'm going to configure and hang all of these treasures. I think it will be a really interesting gallery wall and I hope I can gather the same sort of collection to represent my ancestors on the opposite wall.