Our town has had several versions of a farmer's market over the past years. At one time it occupied space in a tucked away spot downtown, then there was people who congregated in a parking lot in one of our small shopping centers. Dotted around town shortly after the first spring picking you would see tables and umbrellas with people peddling their wares.
When Jennifer worked at a local store a few years ago one of her regular customers would be a little elderly man who lived in the country and brought his plants, fruits and veggies in the back of his pickup truck into town to sell. After spending hours a week he would stop buy for a "pop" and bring her plants, or tomatoes. You can't beat a homegrown tomato!
With all of the push for organic and "going green" it wasn't surprising when word spread they were going to start an organized farmer's market. I had heard from several friends that if you wanted the good stuff you had better get their early. 8-12 on Saturdays and Tuesday during the afternoon and early evenings. Of course when the time comes around I usually forget.
So today I made it a point to pop out of bed and rush down so I could see what all the hype was. Promptly at 8:02 a.m. I pulled around the corner of our Main and Grand Sts. I have to admit I was excited to see for myself all the goodies available.
Their was approximately 10 tents. Of course the Amish/Mennonite community was well represented with baked goods. A sprinkling of vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, blueberries) honey, plants, and woodcrafts. I know it will take time to grow and prosper and along with that the vendors will need to bring more products and hopefully the community will support it the best they can.
I admit I thought $5.00 for a large pint of blueberries was a little high but when you figure they are locally grown and fresh you have to suck it up. Also you are supporting the local people. Their vision is admirable I just hope it doesn't turn out like alot of things that start out with a bang. People have asked for it now let's support them.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Iconic Entertainer's of Our Times
Call it an old wives tale but how long have I heard when someone passes away it usually comes in three's. I have no idea who started that or what the reason behind it is exactly but I always think of this when I hear someone has passed on.
I have to admit I like many other young girls growing up in the 70's attempted the Farrah Fawcett "hairdo". No one ever tried to tell me it probably wouldn't work because my hair was so thick but the attempts were always there and I have several pictures throughout my life to show for it. Whether it be wearing curlers to get the effect or attempting to cut my own hair which turned out disastrously it was something in my childhood.
I wasn't a true Michael Jackson follower, but I remember when the Jackson Five came out and alot of their hit songs. When Michael went out on his own in the early 80's I remember his music was always popular at the skating rink. With his Thriller video that brought a whole litany of routines, costumes and such.
I can say I have never understood the desire for people to idolize entertainers whether it be movie personalities or musicians. They live a life in a fishbowl whether they want it or not. I know my time in the skating rinks I was privy to some of how "special" people are treated and the perks. The more they get the more some want. You can't say no to anyone because you are hard to work for or with. Trying to weed out the crazy people from the true people is almost impossible. This all causes you to isolate yourself because you don't really know who to trust. Are they there for you for the money or the fame they might be able to acquire because of you? Paranoia sets in. None of this would be fun for me, no matter how much money.
I remember when I was a part of the synchronized team the local paper wanted to do an article about us after one of our national championship wins. They came to the rink during one of our practices and pulled myself (because at the time I was one of the youngest and also one of the senior members) they asked the usual questions, when did you start skating? What was fun about being a part of a team? etc. I recall that I said after years of single skating I wanted to be a part of a championship team because I wasn't ready yet to hang up my skates at the ripe old age of 27. They took a picture of us and that was that.. I thought..
About a week later when I arrived at the rink for practice, the manager called me aside and said he had a piece of mail for me.. What? It was addressed to me in care of the rink.
When I opened it up it essentially read, "I read the article about you in the paper and as I love the music of the 40's (we skated to Big Band tunes) I would love to know when you are skating next to come and see you". "If you would like to write to me and let me know I would appreciate it". Signed.... I remember thinking at the time it was a little weird, but basically just disregarded it and never answered the letter. Was he a stocker, I don't know probably not just an innocent guy writing a letter. How would I have felt if suddenly I had gotten letters, calls and photographers posted at my home? I wouldn't have quit my skating but my life would have changed forever.
Farrah Fawcett can now be cancer-free. Michael Jackson I don't think we have heard the last of what his sudden death was caused from. Probably another sad and tragic end.
I have to admit I like many other young girls growing up in the 70's attempted the Farrah Fawcett "hairdo". No one ever tried to tell me it probably wouldn't work because my hair was so thick but the attempts were always there and I have several pictures throughout my life to show for it. Whether it be wearing curlers to get the effect or attempting to cut my own hair which turned out disastrously it was something in my childhood.
I wasn't a true Michael Jackson follower, but I remember when the Jackson Five came out and alot of their hit songs. When Michael went out on his own in the early 80's I remember his music was always popular at the skating rink. With his Thriller video that brought a whole litany of routines, costumes and such.
I can say I have never understood the desire for people to idolize entertainers whether it be movie personalities or musicians. They live a life in a fishbowl whether they want it or not. I know my time in the skating rinks I was privy to some of how "special" people are treated and the perks. The more they get the more some want. You can't say no to anyone because you are hard to work for or with. Trying to weed out the crazy people from the true people is almost impossible. This all causes you to isolate yourself because you don't really know who to trust. Are they there for you for the money or the fame they might be able to acquire because of you? Paranoia sets in. None of this would be fun for me, no matter how much money.
I remember when I was a part of the synchronized team the local paper wanted to do an article about us after one of our national championship wins. They came to the rink during one of our practices and pulled myself (because at the time I was one of the youngest and also one of the senior members) they asked the usual questions, when did you start skating? What was fun about being a part of a team? etc. I recall that I said after years of single skating I wanted to be a part of a championship team because I wasn't ready yet to hang up my skates at the ripe old age of 27. They took a picture of us and that was that.. I thought..
About a week later when I arrived at the rink for practice, the manager called me aside and said he had a piece of mail for me.. What? It was addressed to me in care of the rink.
When I opened it up it essentially read, "I read the article about you in the paper and as I love the music of the 40's (we skated to Big Band tunes) I would love to know when you are skating next to come and see you". "If you would like to write to me and let me know I would appreciate it". Signed.... I remember thinking at the time it was a little weird, but basically just disregarded it and never answered the letter. Was he a stocker, I don't know probably not just an innocent guy writing a letter. How would I have felt if suddenly I had gotten letters, calls and photographers posted at my home? I wouldn't have quit my skating but my life would have changed forever.
Farrah Fawcett can now be cancer-free. Michael Jackson I don't think we have heard the last of what his sudden death was caused from. Probably another sad and tragic end.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Father's Day
It was a pretty quiet Father's Day this year. David wasn't at home but he got calls from the kids and said he was going to call his Dad. I am sure that was a pretty short conversation as his Dad can't hear phone conversations because of his hearing loss, so it's basically yelling and repeating over and over. I did my wifely duties and sent the usual card from both of us and baked cookies for both parents last week. The cookies were probably more for my mother-in-law then for him but hopefully she allowed him a few.
Father's Day is typically bittersweet for me. I haven't had any communication with my adoptive father in over 25 years. It has always been difficult for me to try and explain to anyone the bizarre history of my family but in a nutshell it was his choice by a series of at the time unexplained situations that would come to a head on my wedding day. They all basically led up to three years later finding out I was adopted but I try and justify in my mind some people are just not meant to be father's (or mother's for that matter).
Recently in a internet search I believe I came upon some information that he passed away a few years ago. Unfortunately I really had no feelings one way or another in his possible death. He lived the life he wanted and that he ultimately made for himself and those around him. Although he taught me many useful things that I have tried to use throughout my life, there are still many that I have chosen not to follow.
My healing process is still in progress. I have chosen not to attempt to find my biological father by reason of some things are better left unexplored. I have always heard that you sometimes marry someone that is closely similar to your father. So with that I guess my father was a pretty amazing guy.
Father's Day is typically bittersweet for me. I haven't had any communication with my adoptive father in over 25 years. It has always been difficult for me to try and explain to anyone the bizarre history of my family but in a nutshell it was his choice by a series of at the time unexplained situations that would come to a head on my wedding day. They all basically led up to three years later finding out I was adopted but I try and justify in my mind some people are just not meant to be father's (or mother's for that matter).
Recently in a internet search I believe I came upon some information that he passed away a few years ago. Unfortunately I really had no feelings one way or another in his possible death. He lived the life he wanted and that he ultimately made for himself and those around him. Although he taught me many useful things that I have tried to use throughout my life, there are still many that I have chosen not to follow.
My healing process is still in progress. I have chosen not to attempt to find my biological father by reason of some things are better left unexplored. I have always heard that you sometimes marry someone that is closely similar to your father. So with that I guess my father was a pretty amazing guy.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Switching from Analog to Digital It's Finally Over
If you get the feeling like I do when you see television commercials over and over and over again, that you just can't take it anymore this is for you. I catch myself like many switching when most commercials come on the television. Thank God for a remote control, right.
Target date June 12, 2009. It was postponed from I believe sometime in January and was I saddened when I realized that I would have to see these commercials for at least another 3-6 months. Truthfully I had thought that if you weren't connected to cable or had satellite that you didn't get any form of television viewing or otherwise didn't watch the "squawk box" as my Dad used to call it.
Growing up we had one, yes one television set. Black and white in our living room. At a time when everyone watched the same program and with no remote control. Imagine that. You had to actually get out of the chair and walk to the television and change the channel. Wow that I even remember those days is showing how old I am. Rabbit ears yes we had them and I can remember many a night when my Dad would have to get up and move them in anger. Sometimes we would have to watch our favorite shows with snow or lines running across the screen. In the 20 years I lived at home my parents never invested in a color set. I am not sure if it was because my father was so cheap or because he figured what was the point. You can be assured when I moved out a color set was the first on my list of purchases.
Today I hate to admit we have three televisions in our home. We had four but the one in the kitchen died on us a few months ago. I told David I had no plans to replace it. He actually looked at me as though I had lost my mind. I said, "There is no point, I really didn't need too". I even surprised myself with that statement. We haven't invested in a flat screen, or HD set like many others. I figure when the others die one by one will be soon enough. I figure I don't need to have a 72' inch or whatever massive sized sets they have now to be able to see my programs.
Ironically last night I saw one of those commercials revamped to say if you still were not receiving television transmission you would have to get a converter box. Dahh!!! if you weren't you wouldn't have seen the commercial..
Target date June 12, 2009. It was postponed from I believe sometime in January and was I saddened when I realized that I would have to see these commercials for at least another 3-6 months. Truthfully I had thought that if you weren't connected to cable or had satellite that you didn't get any form of television viewing or otherwise didn't watch the "squawk box" as my Dad used to call it.
Growing up we had one, yes one television set. Black and white in our living room. At a time when everyone watched the same program and with no remote control. Imagine that. You had to actually get out of the chair and walk to the television and change the channel. Wow that I even remember those days is showing how old I am. Rabbit ears yes we had them and I can remember many a night when my Dad would have to get up and move them in anger. Sometimes we would have to watch our favorite shows with snow or lines running across the screen. In the 20 years I lived at home my parents never invested in a color set. I am not sure if it was because my father was so cheap or because he figured what was the point. You can be assured when I moved out a color set was the first on my list of purchases.
Today I hate to admit we have three televisions in our home. We had four but the one in the kitchen died on us a few months ago. I told David I had no plans to replace it. He actually looked at me as though I had lost my mind. I said, "There is no point, I really didn't need too". I even surprised myself with that statement. We haven't invested in a flat screen, or HD set like many others. I figure when the others die one by one will be soon enough. I figure I don't need to have a 72' inch or whatever massive sized sets they have now to be able to see my programs.
Ironically last night I saw one of those commercials revamped to say if you still were not receiving television transmission you would have to get a converter box. Dahh!!! if you weren't you wouldn't have seen the commercial..
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Relay for Life Sedalia-2009
This was my first year participating in the relay and it was both an emotional and interesting experience.
For anyone who knows me they know that I am not a procrastinator at all. I usually plan things as much in advance as possible with very little wiggle room and I pride myself in that. Last year I had plans of walking with my niece's team with the credit union she works at. I knew when I agreed to do it that it was the week after Matthew's wedding but I figured all the stress would be gone and it would be no problem. Not... days after the wedding I got strep throat and was sick for a week. It turned out that the yearly relay had to be moved due to rainy weather so I wasn't too upset. I knew my donation was going to a good cause even if I couldn't fully participate.
I woke up Friday morning praying the weather would hold and they wouldn't have to move the venue again this year. It actually turned out to be a pretty reasonable day weather wise.
The evening started at 6:00 p.m. with the opening ceremony and the caregiver speaker who was the widow of our city mayor who passed away weeks ago from cancer. Next was the survivor lap of all those who have beaten, are in remission or are in a current battle with cancer. It surprised and saddened me how many people I knew in that lap. All ages and backgrounds.
The theme for this year's relay was "1980's Blast to the Past"-Back to the 80's Where Hope Began. Of course for me alot happened in this decade... I met my husband, had both my children, and found out I was adopted. Wow that's alot but for those who dealt with cancer it seems like so little.
Part way into the night they had a luminary ceremony where those who wished could purchase a luminary to put along the quarter mile track we were walking. As we walked around the darkened track illuminated only by the luminaries and our candles and the moonlight I was stricken with how many of those in honor or in memory I knew. I actually lost count after 10.
The youngest was a classmate of my daughter's who passed away our first year in MO. Sadly I had completely forgotten that she had died from a rather rare form of cancer.
If the evening could not have been more symbolic for me and when the tears came, I was walking around with my niece and my two great nieces and we were talking about my hairdresser who I had just attended her visitation the night before. I hadn't realized that her sister-in-law was the nurse that had been taking care of Stacie during her last three weeks in the hospital. We were commenting on how hard it had been this time to deal with her care when the wind blew our candles out. As another one of our team stopped to help us light our candles I looked over to the luminary I was standing in front of and it was Stacie's! We both said it must have been some sort of sign from her. Call it what you may, for those of us who believe in that sort of thing it brought a chill.
It was also bittersweet for us because my niece mentioned that she wished her grandma (my MIL) could have walked a lap. I too had that wish but for some who have this disease it just is not to be. but to coin the words on the front of the program-Relay for Life is the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who are battling cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.
I know in my heart I have done my utmost to mark several things off the list that the Fight Back Ceremony represented. Participants are drawn to this event because of the desire to fight back against cancer. Everyone must have a year long commitment to fighting this disease to make a real impact. Be it getting your own mammogram, persuading a loved one to get a colonoscopy, helping as a caregiver in whatever way you are able, contacting your legislators and relaying your support for new laws and health care reform, whatever you do it is a step in the direction of someday getting a cure for all cancers.
For anyone who knows me they know that I am not a procrastinator at all. I usually plan things as much in advance as possible with very little wiggle room and I pride myself in that. Last year I had plans of walking with my niece's team with the credit union she works at. I knew when I agreed to do it that it was the week after Matthew's wedding but I figured all the stress would be gone and it would be no problem. Not... days after the wedding I got strep throat and was sick for a week. It turned out that the yearly relay had to be moved due to rainy weather so I wasn't too upset. I knew my donation was going to a good cause even if I couldn't fully participate.
I woke up Friday morning praying the weather would hold and they wouldn't have to move the venue again this year. It actually turned out to be a pretty reasonable day weather wise.
The evening started at 6:00 p.m. with the opening ceremony and the caregiver speaker who was the widow of our city mayor who passed away weeks ago from cancer. Next was the survivor lap of all those who have beaten, are in remission or are in a current battle with cancer. It surprised and saddened me how many people I knew in that lap. All ages and backgrounds.
The theme for this year's relay was "1980's Blast to the Past"-Back to the 80's Where Hope Began. Of course for me alot happened in this decade... I met my husband, had both my children, and found out I was adopted. Wow that's alot but for those who dealt with cancer it seems like so little.
Part way into the night they had a luminary ceremony where those who wished could purchase a luminary to put along the quarter mile track we were walking. As we walked around the darkened track illuminated only by the luminaries and our candles and the moonlight I was stricken with how many of those in honor or in memory I knew. I actually lost count after 10.
The youngest was a classmate of my daughter's who passed away our first year in MO. Sadly I had completely forgotten that she had died from a rather rare form of cancer.
If the evening could not have been more symbolic for me and when the tears came, I was walking around with my niece and my two great nieces and we were talking about my hairdresser who I had just attended her visitation the night before. I hadn't realized that her sister-in-law was the nurse that had been taking care of Stacie during her last three weeks in the hospital. We were commenting on how hard it had been this time to deal with her care when the wind blew our candles out. As another one of our team stopped to help us light our candles I looked over to the luminary I was standing in front of and it was Stacie's! We both said it must have been some sort of sign from her. Call it what you may, for those of us who believe in that sort of thing it brought a chill.
It was also bittersweet for us because my niece mentioned that she wished her grandma (my MIL) could have walked a lap. I too had that wish but for some who have this disease it just is not to be. but to coin the words on the front of the program-Relay for Life is the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who are battling cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated.
I know in my heart I have done my utmost to mark several things off the list that the Fight Back Ceremony represented. Participants are drawn to this event because of the desire to fight back against cancer. Everyone must have a year long commitment to fighting this disease to make a real impact. Be it getting your own mammogram, persuading a loved one to get a colonoscopy, helping as a caregiver in whatever way you are able, contacting your legislators and relaying your support for new laws and health care reform, whatever you do it is a step in the direction of someday getting a cure for all cancers.
Monday, June 8, 2009
When Someone is Taken so Young
I haven't been able to put my finger on it but as each day goes by it's always so hard no matter what age you are to hear when someone you know passes away. I don't know if it makes me think of my own mortality or how I try and look to my own spirituality. It just never gets any easier and I doubt if it ever will.
As I wrote in an earlier post, my first experience with death was at age 17 when my grandpa passed away. For me it was a shock that he passed even though it was approximately two weeks worth of hospital visits and vigils. When the call came, I remembered thinking "no it's just not possible". It took me a long time to really accept that he was gone and not a day goes by that I don't wish he was here today. I think he would be very proud of me and my family. I only have one picture of him that proudly sits on my dresser.
This past weekend I received a phone call from my current hairdresser with news that my previous one had passed away. It wasn't a surprise, as she had been stricken with lung cancer and was battling it for the past 2-3 years. When diagnosed she was stage 4 and was given only a short time. So the fact that she struggled for as long as she did was amazing in itself. The hard part was she was 38 years old.
When I first met Stacie she had just graduated from college and decided doing hair was going to be her life. I remember the first time I saw her I crossed my fingers that she would be the one. After moving from California and having the same stylist do my hair for many years I was a little worried that I would not be able to find someone I liked. I had tried for about one year with no luck and was about ready to travel on trips to California if I had too. Stacie and I hit it off immediately and she continued to do not only my hair but David and the kids for the next 10 years. As everyone knows anyone who has their hair done compares there stylist to a psychologist. They hear stories about just about every part of your life, your families and the local town gossip. Stacie was no different, but she did it in a way where you felt she was just another good friend. I always teased her because she resembled the pop singer Christina Aguilera.
Don't get me wrong I like my current stylist but he will never be Stacie. Her smile would light up a room, her bubbly personality was always so refreshing.
Goodbye my friend, I know you are in a better place, it's just that you were taken so young, with so much more to live, but I know I will see you someday. So save a spot in your appointment book for me...
As I wrote in an earlier post, my first experience with death was at age 17 when my grandpa passed away. For me it was a shock that he passed even though it was approximately two weeks worth of hospital visits and vigils. When the call came, I remembered thinking "no it's just not possible". It took me a long time to really accept that he was gone and not a day goes by that I don't wish he was here today. I think he would be very proud of me and my family. I only have one picture of him that proudly sits on my dresser.
This past weekend I received a phone call from my current hairdresser with news that my previous one had passed away. It wasn't a surprise, as she had been stricken with lung cancer and was battling it for the past 2-3 years. When diagnosed she was stage 4 and was given only a short time. So the fact that she struggled for as long as she did was amazing in itself. The hard part was she was 38 years old.
When I first met Stacie she had just graduated from college and decided doing hair was going to be her life. I remember the first time I saw her I crossed my fingers that she would be the one. After moving from California and having the same stylist do my hair for many years I was a little worried that I would not be able to find someone I liked. I had tried for about one year with no luck and was about ready to travel on trips to California if I had too. Stacie and I hit it off immediately and she continued to do not only my hair but David and the kids for the next 10 years. As everyone knows anyone who has their hair done compares there stylist to a psychologist. They hear stories about just about every part of your life, your families and the local town gossip. Stacie was no different, but she did it in a way where you felt she was just another good friend. I always teased her because she resembled the pop singer Christina Aguilera.
Don't get me wrong I like my current stylist but he will never be Stacie. Her smile would light up a room, her bubbly personality was always so refreshing.
Goodbye my friend, I know you are in a better place, it's just that you were taken so young, with so much more to live, but I know I will see you someday. So save a spot in your appointment book for me...
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Reading Material That Caught My Eye
A couple of years ago when David turned 50 he immediately started getting literature in the mail regarding retirement planning and other things regarding reaching the other half of one's life. I unmercifully teased him every chance I could and as usual he took it with a grain of salt. His usual return comment is "your not that far behind girl". When the first of the "junk mail" as he called it came we thought he might as well sign up to become an AARP member. I had remembered years ago when my grandparents belonged and they received a magazine on a monthly basis. I never read the stories but enjoyed the puzzles, word finds that were always inside.
When his first magazine arrived I eagerly thumbed through each page. I found no word finds or really anything of interest. The cover story is usually about a entertainment personality. This month though the cover really caught my eye.
I have always loved the old black and white shows from the 50's and 60's. I think I could quote almost every I Love Lucy show and still laugh at stunts I have seen her do for years. If you really watch long enough episodes of Leave it to Beaver still hold true today. Whenever there is a marathon of any of the popular shows I am eagerly their watching as if it was my first time. I guess it takes us back when television watching was so carefree and you didn't have to worry about profanity or sexually explicit things that you would rather not see.
Saturday they had a Andy Griffith Show marathon most of the afternoon David and I sat and watched a couple. At a time when most families had two parents and siblings it was a stretch that the single Andy and his son Opie and Aunt Bea was not what I knew as a traditional family.
Well when I retrieved the mail guess who was on this months AARP-Ron Howard (Opie). Today Opie is 56 years old and a grandpa. Hard to believe I know! Even though I know everyone; including myself is getting older. It was hard to look at that balding, older Opie. I loved the story and how he has not and never succumbed to the "Hollywood" childhood that we see so much of today. He came from a showbiz family but still is just like everyone else.
As I said to David (I hate to admit it) "Now I know I am old when Opie is on the cover of AARP"..
When his first magazine arrived I eagerly thumbed through each page. I found no word finds or really anything of interest. The cover story is usually about a entertainment personality. This month though the cover really caught my eye.
I have always loved the old black and white shows from the 50's and 60's. I think I could quote almost every I Love Lucy show and still laugh at stunts I have seen her do for years. If you really watch long enough episodes of Leave it to Beaver still hold true today. Whenever there is a marathon of any of the popular shows I am eagerly their watching as if it was my first time. I guess it takes us back when television watching was so carefree and you didn't have to worry about profanity or sexually explicit things that you would rather not see.
Saturday they had a Andy Griffith Show marathon most of the afternoon David and I sat and watched a couple. At a time when most families had two parents and siblings it was a stretch that the single Andy and his son Opie and Aunt Bea was not what I knew as a traditional family.
Well when I retrieved the mail guess who was on this months AARP-Ron Howard (Opie). Today Opie is 56 years old and a grandpa. Hard to believe I know! Even though I know everyone; including myself is getting older. It was hard to look at that balding, older Opie. I loved the story and how he has not and never succumbed to the "Hollywood" childhood that we see so much of today. He came from a showbiz family but still is just like everyone else.
As I said to David (I hate to admit it) "Now I know I am old when Opie is on the cover of AARP"..
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Sedalia Snake Story
Their probably isn't a day that goes by that I don't long for the days of my life in the big city. I seem to have had alot of those days lately. I always weigh the pros and cons of living out in rural America. Yes it's cheaper, yes its quieter, (sometimes the silence is deafening) I doubt I will ever get used to the fact that you can't do anything it seems without everyone knowing your business. That grapevine gets tighter and tighter it seems.
Animal life in the big city was usually a squirrel on the power lines and an occasional parrot that escaped from the old Busch Gardens at the brewery. I once heard if you caught one they were worth thousands of dollars but never knew of anyone that actually got close enough to catch one.
Since moving here we have had alot of wildlife around. At one time we had rabbit families living underneath our shed but after a good windstorm blew that down several years ago we really don't see alot of rabbits. Owls, the occasional hawk and one possum has somehow made it into the yard but with our two boys guarding the yards they don't stay long either. Deer, fox, and coyotes are found outside city limits, so we are shielded from that wildlife in town.
About three years ago we sold Matthew's basketball backstop which hadn't moved from it's spot for many years. When a friend of mine came to take it off our hands as we moved it away a baby "snake" slithered under the slab. I am not a reptile person, and snakes have always scarred the crap out of me. I won't even go to the exhibits at the zoo or fairs if that says anything. So I figured if I never saw it again it was fine by me.
Fast forward to last week. Since we re-sodded the front yard the boys have been passed between the large backyard with no back fence and the dog run I borrowed from a friend. They haven't been happy that they lost their front yard but have adjusted to exploring the backyard, something they really haven't done in their seven years of life. One morning I let them out and stepped off the back step to find a rather large remnant of shed snakeskin. Of course I knew if it was off , the actual snake was probably not far away.
The last several days I have cautiously tiptoed out every time I am out their. Believe me if I saw it my screams could probably be heard for miles. Well the search ended last night. David took the boys out for a stroll in the yard and he yelled out "Cindy your friend is back". That's all I needed I flew back in the house with him yelling "get the shovel". As far as I was concerned he could go get the shovel himself without any help from me. As I flung the shovel over the fence to him from about 20 feet away. With two swipes the snake was in two pieces. Of course in the typical male form he picked it up to show me his kill. What is it about men!!
It's times like this I really would rather be back in the city....
Animal life in the big city was usually a squirrel on the power lines and an occasional parrot that escaped from the old Busch Gardens at the brewery. I once heard if you caught one they were worth thousands of dollars but never knew of anyone that actually got close enough to catch one.
Since moving here we have had alot of wildlife around. At one time we had rabbit families living underneath our shed but after a good windstorm blew that down several years ago we really don't see alot of rabbits. Owls, the occasional hawk and one possum has somehow made it into the yard but with our two boys guarding the yards they don't stay long either. Deer, fox, and coyotes are found outside city limits, so we are shielded from that wildlife in town.
About three years ago we sold Matthew's basketball backstop which hadn't moved from it's spot for many years. When a friend of mine came to take it off our hands as we moved it away a baby "snake" slithered under the slab. I am not a reptile person, and snakes have always scarred the crap out of me. I won't even go to the exhibits at the zoo or fairs if that says anything. So I figured if I never saw it again it was fine by me.
Fast forward to last week. Since we re-sodded the front yard the boys have been passed between the large backyard with no back fence and the dog run I borrowed from a friend. They haven't been happy that they lost their front yard but have adjusted to exploring the backyard, something they really haven't done in their seven years of life. One morning I let them out and stepped off the back step to find a rather large remnant of shed snakeskin. Of course I knew if it was off , the actual snake was probably not far away.
The last several days I have cautiously tiptoed out every time I am out their. Believe me if I saw it my screams could probably be heard for miles. Well the search ended last night. David took the boys out for a stroll in the yard and he yelled out "Cindy your friend is back". That's all I needed I flew back in the house with him yelling "get the shovel". As far as I was concerned he could go get the shovel himself without any help from me. As I flung the shovel over the fence to him from about 20 feet away. With two swipes the snake was in two pieces. Of course in the typical male form he picked it up to show me his kill. What is it about men!!
It's times like this I really would rather be back in the city....
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