Sunday Songs.

 Sunday Songs.

 

The Scissortail Flycatchers don’t exactly sing. Their noise or production of sounds can be heard from a distance if you are listening. This morning before the sun came up, they were letting the world know that they were already listening to their own tales of challenges met and faced off. It sounded as if they knew it was going to be another of those days, but they greeted one another and the day all the same. It was refreshing to remember them from when we were young and spent the summer in Arkansas. Some Scissortails had a nest right outside my brother’s window in the big maple tree. Almost can bet the tree is gone by now, but the memory lives on. Sterling griped that they usually started about 2:30 each day fussing and carrying on. They would get quiet long enough for him to go back to sleep and then start again. And our days at the farm started early!

 

The summer we spent there together was one to remember anyway. Sterling was funny about playing with snakes. He had one he called Blackie. A black snake, naturally. He was sitting on the porch with Blackie when Granddad Kennedy called him to come help him with something. Sterling left Blackie on the swing there on the porch. Granny Connie came outside later to sit in the swing and cool off from working in the kitchen. Then she suddenly started screaming. Satchmo, their Leopard dog, was her personal protector and he ran to her—as did Granddad. She had put her arm up on the swing arm and had placed her hand on the chain holding the swing. Well, guess who else was on that chain. After that, Sterling was not allowed to bring snakes to the house even outside on the porch.

 

Then there was the job of cleaning up the jars that they put out for the first little chicks. Understand, this was way back in the 60s when they did things differently in the chicken houses. Sterling would put the truck in “granny gear” and have me steer it while he picked up stuff and put it in the back of the truck. Then he found a little snake. It looked like the one Granny Connie called a milk snake that we had seen early that morning. He put it in a jar with a piece of cardboard over the top and slipped it inside the glove compartment. When we got to the house, he showed it to Granddad. He told Sterling to drop it on the ground and Granddad killed it. Not a milk snake, but a baby copperhead. And it had tried to bite Sterling a couple of times and missed. God was watching over us a little closely that day.

 

The man who sold the farm in Arkansas to my granddad had planted fields of tomatoes all over the north field across from the kitchen. And then they had a drought and the well nearly went dry. Maybe it was just the last straw for that farmer or maybe he just wanted to try something else as a gamble—as that is what farming really amounts to. Anyway, Granddad used every bit of the stuff coming out of the chicken houses on his fields and bought some more land to be cleared across the lane from the house. He began to raise registered Angus bulls and sold them for a decent price. His bulls would come and rub their heads on his hands, but he always told us to never trust them. Pretty funny that Granddad Pollard raised Herefords and the Kennedys raised Angus. The Angus had small calves and the cows had no trouble with even their first calves. The Hereford calves were bigger and gave the heifers problems with their first calves. But both men thought their breed was the best. And both of them thought that those King Ranch cows were horrible, bony creatures that could not live on the grass without extra feed. And they were right. Nat Fleming had some of those cows that always pushed on the fence when Granddad Pollard was out on the hill feeding his cows. Nat did not feed anything! Granddad said something to Nat about needing strong fences when folks tended not to feed their livestock. Did not make a bit of difference to Nat. He still did not feed them, but at least he finally got rid of them.

 

Feeding critters is an ongoing situation around here. Fighting off the wild birds is just about as hopeless as trying to feed cows with other hungry cows separated by a barbed wire fence. Trying to scare them away has definitely not worked. Such is life.

 

Got busy this morning and took apart Sylvia’s crate and folded and put it away behind my bedroom door. She refuses to sleep in it for some reason. She will whine and carry on until let out and then fusses with Thompson about his bed next to mine. Cleaned the dust bunnies out and mopped the floor. Now her bedding is piled up under the AC. Will probably have to do that differently, but we will see what happens when her big bag bed is brought into the living room and the other flat dog bed is put in her corner of the room. She probably won’t like that either. But there is nothing like trying.

 

Got two eggs today. We may actually get a day of cooler weather with a chance of rain. That is almost encouraging except that the forecast is for more days of hot weather after that. It is almost time for schools to start this month as witnessed by the “back to school” sales and give aways of school supplies. No one can imagine how glad an old woman is not to have to deal with these schools here in WF. It is not that they are necessarily bad, but sometimes the situations that develop there are pretty scary. Working as a substitute teacher showed me the facts of life rather quickly when moving from one grade to another in various parts of town. Sometimes the schools that might be expected to be pretty rough were better than the ones where the students were financially better off. Strange. One class got a bit out of hand when an ongoing feud between some girls lapped over into my classroom. A pair of scissors in art class and a knife were the objects taken from some girls that yours truly was supposed to be helping. The school principal came to escort me to a reading class before the police came. She did not want a substitute to be involved in any way whatsoever. Smart lady. But can you imagine being there every day when these students had so much animosity toward one another? And these things spilled over into the public rather quickly sometimes. One of the drafting teachers who taught our oldest son was stabbed in the heart by a couple of teenagers while he was out walking. He lived, but it was a miracle!

 

Now the grands are all about to start back to college. Grayson only has one more class and a certification test. It makes me happy to think that the children/grands are getting to be adults and are responsible folks. Grayson says he never wants to ever have to cut grass again, but he would love to have chickens. What is funny about that is that the hens kept their back yard clipped down almost to the dirt while the old woman stayed with them in Mansfield. Gary did not even realize that my six hens were keeping the yard for him so that he did not have to mow! Maybe by next year the old woman will be able to get on the mower again. My back is getting better, but it does not take much to make me sore as a poisoned pup. Just mopping is a bit much sometimes. But isn’t it wonderful to have clean floors!

 

Sitting here thinking about the children in Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. Hope things get better quickly so that they will feel as if life can be normal again after all the flooding. Imagine trying to go to school without a change of clothes or a home with a washer and dryer—or even a bed! They do well to be fed right now with all the problems in their communities. Let’s pray for all the students everywhere—not just in those states, but all over the world. It is hard to grow up anyway, but having what is needed—food, clothes, safety, good teachers, and a home life that is stable—does not come for everyone. In Africa the children’s parents have to pay for school. Well, we do as well, but ours is in the form of taxes. They have something more akin to tuition. Anyway, let’s pray for the children and the teachers that they will have a good year.

 

Remember when the Israelites were complaining to Moses about not having any cucumbers or melons when God gave them manna. Well, summer comes here in Texas with its problems, but the cucumbers definitely make some days worth the trouble. Not going to gripe too much except that we can’t grow things here in this heat and dry weather. But God has definitely blessed us to be able to bring in fruits and vegetables from Mexico or other countries. Lowry Mayo’s sister Debra said that she could not buy a ten-pound bag of decent potatoes, but she finally found a 15-pound bag of larger potatoes. Such is the problem of supply when the border gets closed down for drug interdictions. And yes, some of these dealers bring in drugs in vegetable containers. Sigh

 

You all rest and keep cool while enjoying what life has to offer. The best thing we can look at for this red-hot moment is the fact that all things change eventually. God has blessed us. Let us be grateful. And remember: you are loved.

Cooking Day.

 Cooking Day.

 

No, not talking about the temperature outside. Had to cook some meat for my dogs and then cut it up in small pieces and bag it in Ziplocks. The labeled bags say, “Dog,” 8-6-22. Anyone cleaning out the deep freeze and not knowing the old woman might get the wrong idea. But such is life. Pretty sure it would be my kids cleaning out the freezer. But the shoulder bone may be a true “bone of contention” unless it will come apart into two separate pieces. Two dogs, ya understand.

 

Dust mopped the big bathroom, moved the mirror (heavy!), washed the floor on that side of the room, and then put things back. Always fun. Ahem. But at least fewer bugs were in there. Spraying inside and out has diminished the numbers and the size, it seems. Despise these freaking love bugs!!

 

The postman brought a box that included a big bag of pink sea salt. Rearranging the pantry this morning and two smaller bags of salt showed up. Duh. It seems the older this person gets, the more she is like Grandma Dickerson. Every time we intended to go to the store, Grandma would ask us to get her a couple of cans of green beans. When Beulah Maude moved her out of here and took her to Decatur to live in a little house out back in her yard, we cleaned out Grandma’s cabinets. If there was ONE can of green beans, there must have been at least ten! She was NOT going to run out of green beans. Grandma was sweet with Lance, but she was as stubborn as any mule ever! She had two or three oleander bushes that she grew in five-gallon buckets. Every year toward winter, she had Lewis take them and set them on the steps of the cellar. And every spring he had to bring them up and scrape out the spiders and assorted creepy things that had taken up residence in those buckets! She did not want the buckets on the cellar floor because it always flooded down there, but she was sure they were safe on the steps. Nevermind that the water rushed through the door like a sieve. Oh well.

 

Thompson doesn’t act like he really feels good. He got inside the black rubber water trough and just stood there a minute before sitting down. Sloppy wet came back inside and tracked all over the floor. Sigh. Life with critters.

 

This morning the hens had a squawking fit. Ran outside to see what was wrong and saw a chicken hawk. He was big enough to get a smaller bird—doves left quickly—but just small enough that the hens felt threatened and cussed him. Athena took off for the deck and hid until he was gone. She is the smallest of the hens—about half the size of Dolly Parton, my big black-laced Wyandotte. If you could see Dolly, you would understand her name. Beautiful bird.

 

Ok, the floors are mopped in the kitchen and hall. Still need to do the living room. But all the pork shoulder is cooked, cut up, and bagged. That should last a little while when combined with peas and carrots and a little sweet potato. These two critters should be healthy if what they eat has anything to do with it. At least Thompson’s coat is so smooth and glossy. Like me, Sylvia has gained weight. Sigh.

 

Stepped out on the deck to flop a rug given to me by Susan and Roger Thonton. Noticed a man cutting low branches down on the lot by the road. It is looking pretty nice. Wonder if he bought the place. A sign had been up for some time now, but who knows. The guy who bought Jerry’s place now has started with the mobile homes, so that may what will be next down there. Figures. Can we say a pessimist is riding on my shoulders today?

 

Cantaloupe for lunch. Still have my headband on even though the sweat has stopped dripping in my eyes. Won’t take a shower right now, though. Might actually get busy and mop the living room floor. Or not. Sitting still for a few minutes is habit forming, ya know. But it really feels pretty good to have everything washed up and put away in the kitchen. Still have two loads of laundry to do, but that can wait until tonight because they asked us to conserve electricity during the hottest part of the day.

 

Sitting here wondering how Israel ever planted things in that desert. Drip irrigation has got to be very labor intensive to keep things growing without rain. Walked across part of the east side lot this morning and it felt as if a hard bristled brush was under my shoes. Can’t imagine the dogs like walking on that mess. But they have a trail around the perimeter. Of course, when Thompson believes that something needs to be chased and barked at, he just takes off across the entire stretch while barely touching the ground. Little clouds of dust float up behind his back feet!

 

Have some reading to do. Thinking about Enoch and the fact that he never saw death. Maybe he will return as one of the two witnesses? Can’t imagine that God would allow someone to be resurrected and then have to die again. Hmm. Thinking about what the witnesses are supposed to do when they come. And then there is the account of those who will be taken up when Christ returns. So much prophecy in so much of the Bible leaves me wanting to piece together time lines. Yet time lines tempt some of us to want to say that it IS time. Feels that way more and more, but the same probably was true for those in other eras.

 

Oh! Have you seen any of the UFO stuff online lately? Don’t remember who it was years ago who said that if other beings were out there, that meant the Bible was not true. Sitting here shaking my head. No matter how He did it, or when He did it, or even what other creations He may have put out there, He gave us His Word. In the beginning was the Word. You know the rest.

 

Rest and enjoy each day and what you find in it. Pray for peace and attempt to show love in whatever you do or say. You are loved.

Only Memories.

 

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Only Memories.

 

Lewis liked my flowers from the get go. He called them all petunias, but then he called all birds sparrows—except for the doves. Just memories.

Dirty Dozen Thursday.

 Dirty Dozen Thursday.

 

Dadgum the dirt, the dust, the heat, the mess, and all the other stuff that always accumulates unless one stays on it every day! Cleaned up the office: took things out—well, not the pantry. Rearranged the desk and sewing table, the coffee table, the stepstool, the vacuum cleaners and brooms, and took up the rug in there to wash outside on the rail after vacuuming it on both sides. Whew! Without the rug in there, the room looks much bigger than it really is. Honestly, it could be a nice bedroom for a kid or an old woman. And right now, my old desk that Daddy made for me is in the living room right under the AC. All the internet stuff is in the office as that was the easiest place to put it when we set up the internet to a little dish thingy. Anyway, it took about an hour just to get that room cleaned up. Had already started on the living room when it was necessary to go get the vacuum out of the old office. THAT is what set me off thinking it was a primary objective to get that room reorganized and cleaned up. Oh, the pantry still could use some stacking and organizing, but it can wait a bit. Did go look for the pink sea salt to use in the kitchen and discovered it was all gone. Oops. Oh well. We used Morton salt all the time years ago.

 

Have a funny thing that happened. Bought an African violet some time ago, and it took hardly any time before it looked as if it were on its last legs. Took it out of the kitchen window and placed it on the counter. Now it appears to be regrowing from the roots! Amazing. Leaving it alone has actually worked for once!

 

Remember how everyone was groaning and griping about gaining Covid weight? Well, some of us are currently gaining heat wave and drought weight! Sylvia and the old woman need to stop eating and start doing something a little more active around here. She would not eat this Royal Canin dog food unless it is put in her treat toy, but she keeps bringing the toy to me multiple times during the day. Yep, she is gaining too much. Have no treat toy to blame for my weight, however. Think the munchies just happen with boredom and inability to deal with going outside in this heat. Took that rug out to the deck and washed it front and back to try to remove any dirt, but all it did for me was get me totally soaked. This hose and the new spray nozzle don’t exactly gee haw. (If you don’t know what gee and haw are, just think mules and guidelines.)

 

Patty was telling me about how Donny and one of his friends used to raise their arms and yell: “Tundra!” It had something to do with a movie called Caveman with Ringo Starr. She said it was the key to smelling body odor. By tonight when everything is said and done, the old woman will be yelling Tundra and heading for the shower. Just work in the house—even with the AC going—and find just how quickly it takes to soak every stitch on me!

 

Chris Ohm has been across the street with a guy he hired to dig the holes for the water lines to the mobile home. So far, the street has not suffered any indignities. But this is just the water, not the sewer or the gas.

 

One egg today in the little chicken coop. Have moved their feed inside that one, and so far, the doves are not going in there. Thompson chased a grackle or starling out earlier, so maybe this will work and save some feed for just the hens!

 

One of Patty’s friends wanted to know if she could buy eggs from me. Nope. They are not for sale—even if the hens were laying. Patty told her she could probably buy a sack of feed for them and then she might get some. Kinda rather not do things that way. Guess it is a bit picky, but sometimes it just seems that folks think that they are owed something, so it is just better not to start that stuff. And then there is that one friend whose wife may not even want the eggs sent home with him. Who knows?

 

Had black-eyed peas with mushrooms for din-upper. Thompson let me know that he was hungry, so they got a can of dog food on top of their usual kibble. Guess the next step is to order some more groceries and include more dog food. That or maybe Chewie or Amazon will have an order tonight. Have found a type of canned food that the dogs both like. Amazing! Lots of pieces of carrots and peas make me think they are getting decent food along with the chunks of beef or chicken. Fingers crossed that it is good for them.

 

Know less than usual and not sure it even matters. Honestly feel as if life is melted into some of the worst situations. It is scary to look at the headlines or even some of the little clips on the main page for AOL. About all we can do is pray for relief from all the violence and hatred. Those two elements are worse than storms that wipe out cities or fires that take away forests and pastures. May God protect us and give us peace.

 

My joints need WD-40 or something. And my attitude needs an adjustment. Pardon my griping. Unlike my cousin John and his wife Wham, this does not feel like an adventure to me. Just slogging away like an old mare hitched to a plow cutting crooked furrows!

 

Rest and stay hydrated, Dear Hearts. Only God can give us the relief we need on this planet. You are loved.

Wishful Wednesday.

 Wishful Wednesday.

 

It’s just the third day of August, so there really isn’t much sense in wishing away this crispy, cracklin’ heat. Not happenin’ Dear Hearts. Walk out on the deck and my feet burn even wearing sandals. No wonder the hens are losing every feather they can spare. Have not watered under the deck today for them. It’s no wonder they are griping. Even the water in their bowls is hot. Yes, the old woman will go out shortly and give them ice in their water. Ok, that is done, water sprayed under the deck, the feed bin filled and put in the little hen house so MAYBE the freaking doves and other wild birds can be tricked away from my hens. Nothing like trying.

 

Any child brought up in this part of Texas knows better than to gripe, but since adulthood hit around here several decades ago, pardon me while I winge and moan. This heat is enough to put a person down for the count. And on top of that, sitting here this late in the afternoon drinking the last mango flavored Pepsi. Think there is still a liter bottle of Ginger Ale in the pantry, but will look when thirst gets to me again. It might do to be concerned about drinking anything with caffeine this late in the day, but all that seems to happen lately is sleep and snack. Even the hens are not doing very much else. They found my basil plant in a pot on a stool on the deck and . . . well, the dirt is still there. Guess ordering some cabbage for them might help. Or alfalfa. Don’t think Market Street carries alfalfa, however.

 

Once upon a time, some movie came out that had folks living basically underground because of the ultraviolet rays of the sun getting through the atmosphere. Instead of weather reports, they gave updates on when to expect a slight break in the force of the rays onto the earth below. All travel had to be in specialized carriers that had some kind of protection from the sun and its rays. Don’t remember the plot of the show, but it occurred to me that if they could figure out how to move around on the ground, surely they would have some way of producing artificial cloud cover. But what does an old woman know? Now the space telescope has found other worlds with a similar atmosphere to ours. It is hard to imagine going to another planet, but one would hope that it would not soon be covered in garbage the way this one is. Right. Going is foreseeable, but mankind is messy and thoughtless.

 

Read an article about re-introducing the lynx back into its native territory and finding that it suddenly upset the balance of the smaller animals that lived there. Every time we mess with something in nature, we have a tendency to upset whatever fragile balance there is. Near Chernobyl, the wildlife is taking over and the wild plants are covering everything again. Imagine what the world would look like without us.

 

Watched just enough of the Kentucky flooding and aftermath—plus the threat of more to come—that it was depressing. Simply can’t imagine. The tornado that tore through WF was horrible, but parts of the city were not even touched. Where those folks near the rivers have just had their homes and livelihoods wiped off the map, we had FEMA trailer houses and quite a bit of help. But they are having to deal with this horrible heat on top of everything else. God help them!

Sitting here thinking about my dogs and how they are not having any skin issues at the moment. Now the old woman COULD pat herself on the back thinking she finally found the right foods for them. But realistically, what if it is simply the heat that is killing whatever was getting on them? Teeny tiny chiggers could not even begin to live in this heat. So, maybe it is good for something. Nah, not even going there.

 

Can’t tell you how many times Sylvia has brought that silly green alligator to be refilled with dog food as treats. Give her some in a bowl, and she won’t touch it. Put it in the alligator, and she eats until she can’t eat any more. Small children and dogs. Not sure about cats. Think their personalities are totally independent of such silliness.

 

Having my medications delivered here to the post box is about the best thing to happen in a long time. But then, the bill for the truck tags came in the same mailbox. Oh well. But the neatest thing yet is Amazon and being able to order whatever is needed and getting it quicker than an old person could go shopping! Even my mailman thinks Amazon is great! Unfortunately, my mailman is about to retire this fall. Mr. Couch has been such a nice guy. We have had a couple who were total grouches. Our first one growled about everything. That was back when the metal boxes were stuck on posts down by the two-lane highway. It always worried me that he would get hit by someone leaving the hospital. Pretty soon, the hospital road will be totally different even from what it is now and come out at the north end of the usual entrance. It would be wonderful if the city or state would put in a traffic light. Otherwise, it is a bit like Russian roulette. They’ll get ya from the south or from the north but you can bet that they are in a hurry and not looking! Sigh

 

Made some tuna salad for din-upper. Had cole slaw for breakfast. Nothing usual sounds good. Maybe toast tomorrow. That is crunchy and there’s always Robin Christian’s seedless raspberry jam to put on it! Ummm

 

Wish ambition came in a box or drink. Honestly need to do some house work. The dust under the TV table could make enough stuff to grow an African violet. Bet dog hair is good fertilizer. Maybe soon. Just have no ambition or even enough guilt complex to get things done.

 

Have been reading this American Indian Stories/Legends. The print is small, so it takes a little longer to read. Sitting here thinking about all the college texts that were printed even smaller than this! It is a wonder we did not all go blind. Well, some of us actually did read. But remember, this was before the day of being online and finding a synopsis or being able to Google anything. Kids today have absolutely no idea what it was like to go to the library and look things up in the card catalog or even look through the literary magazines to find discussions of a particular work. Nope, first we had to read whatever we were to discuss. Think one of the hardest writers to distinguish one work from the other was Emerson. He had some good ideas, but so much of what he said could have been reduced to the basics. Well, hello! The same could be said for my meanderings.

 

Will leave it with you. Know my sister-by-another mother is feeling better—covid test and all. She said that they were just very tired. Can feel the same way and just have to shake my head. No excuse to be so tired considering no more than the old woman does around here.

 

Sylvia just could not find her alligator. How sad. For one whole minute she had to mess with me and make her special stink until the old woman got up to find the treat-gator. Oh! To be a spoiled dog!

 

Pray for peace, pray for rain for those who need it, pray for those who have lost all hope. Let our hearts cling to His love. Rest and rejoice in His promises. You are loved.

Zitkala-Sa.

Zitkala-Sa.

 

American Indian Stories and Old Indian Legends is a book by an Indian woman who was taken from her mother when she was eight years old. She learned English and reading and became a scholar in the ways of that era. The print is so small that it takes a bit of concentration just to stay with the reading. But even so, the way that the child became a young woman in a mixed society leaves a path of pain for the reader. From running free and being loved, she went into a world of restraint and mockery. What the white men did to starve her people and to take away their way of life—well, if you have ever read anything about the Trail of Tears or the reservation systems, you know how totally unfair and inhumane was their treatment by greedy white men. Anyway, that has been some of my reading today.

 

The heat during the middle of the day is absolutely painful. Only a bit of shade can help at all because the wind is more like a blow torch. God help us get through this drought.

 

One of my grandsons managed to hit the tip of his finger with a hammer yesterday and break the very tip. Ouch. Told him hammers are not meant to smack fingers. Don’t think he found my comment amusing, but he still went to work today. Gutsy kid.

 

Other than running the dust mop over and around the living room, that is all that amounts to the “work” of my day. Simply have not felt all that great. Maybe it will get cool soon and enable us to breathe some fresh, non-flammable air. Allergies in this mess are drying out the air to the point that it almost hurts to take a deep breath.

 

The dogs have been on their usual track of asking for treats or just irritating each other by taking each other’s toys. And then one or the other will get near me and “wash” my legs with their tongues. Salt? Or something. Guess it is just their way of taking care of me.

 

Really have nothing much to say tonight. The joints are all giving me fits for some reason—and those are the bone joints, not any other kind. No eggs today, so just gave the girls a little bowl of those grub things. Put those inside the little chicken house where the doves won’t go. Wonder if putting their feed inside that house would prevent the waste of chicken feed. Hmmm.

 

Will suggest that we are so blessed despite the heat and lack of rain. Will be so glad to see grass coming out sometime this fall or winter. Don’t even care if it gets knee high if it is good and green. Not sure anything around here would make hay, but it is possible!

 

Pray for peace and for our nation. Let us remember those in other lands who are even more troubled than those in our own nation. May God guide us and bring us back to Him.

 

Rest and let your spirit relax in God’s peace. You are loved.

Warmer Feet.

 Warmer Feet.

 

This furry animal lies on my feet. She started by trying to push her alligator into my lap. Since that did not work, she just flopped down onto my toes. At least she seems happy.

 

Talked to my cousin John Pollard a bit ago. He now has seven stints to his heart and is having dialysis to keep the fluid from overcoming his body’s ability to remove it naturally. Three days a week for four hours at a time. He and his wife Wham call it an adventure. Then he proceeded to tell me that the heart doctor from either the Baptist or the Catholic hospital would not talk to his other doctor from one or the other of the hospitals. Wham had to call in another doctor to talk to both of them since they wouldn’t talk to each other. How insane can things get! No, that is not a question but an exclamation! Please say a prayer for John and Wham that life will go well for them. Wham says she has probably used up all the points of friendship asking for others to help her get to her eye doctor visits to have her cataracts removed while all this was going on. Plus, she was the one that noticed that someone had stolen their license plate while it was parked at the hospital. She was SO glad to have that police report when the insurance company said their car was involved in a hit and run!

 

The death and missing persons toll keeps going up from the flooding in Kentucky. About all we can do about those folks and those around this part of the world who are losing homes, livestock, crops, and lives to the wildfires is ask God to give us the answers and His help. Part of the answer we know—keeping our grass cut and the strips around the fields cut to the ground to provide fire barriers. Even so, only God makes weather that gives us the rain we need.

 

This is the first day of August. Schools will start soon. Well, in some places those schools might not start at all the rest of this year. We think it was hard on Jacksboro to have a tornado blow away their school, but at least they were able to use church buildings for classes. What will folks do in Kentucky where the school buses were washed away with the roads and bridges? Maybe today all the folks have been rescued from their rooftops or other buildings. But where will they live? How will they be fed? We used to have a group here in WF who went to disaster scenes like this with a bus full of ways to help people eat and be clothed. Our nation has taken in over 100,000 folks from the Ukraine. And now we will probably have at least half as many folks from Kentucky and eastern Tennessee who need places to live. The survivors from Hurricane Katrina made their way to WF that year. Wonder if we will have folks from this disaster coming this direction. We don’t have much to offer right now. Certainly not employment. Don’t think it would work out for an old woman of the plains to live in those mountains. It is a different type of countryside. Maybe they will be able to gird up their Levis and rebuild if someone gives them ideas on how to rebuild in a safer place and manner. But then, the same could be said for folks in Tornado Alley.

 

Don’t know anything uplifting today. Keith’s reading of Emily Dickinson’s poem caused me to look up the poem so the words were clear to me. She had such a different outlook on life and the use of words and phrases. Not sure if her book of poems was one that got taken away, but maybe one of these days another book will be here in my Kindle or something. Frost, Dickinson, Robinson, and several of the older poets used to keep me entertained. It amazed me that one of my children not only appreciated poetry, but wrote it as well. That hardly ever happens.

 

Let me ask you to pray for those who have lost family, homes, and their hearts to disasters here in the U.S. and other places as well. Only God can truly heal us, but our prayers help not only others but our own perceptions. Let us be grateful.

 

Rest and be happy with whatever we receive. You are loved.