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.