Fifty Something Going On Six

OK, OK, OK, "I started the fight.

I don't know why I started it.

I had no control over my actions and I would like to blame it on a full moon or some other type of cosmic event.

Hopefully this was only a temporary lack in judgement, but sometimes I revert to six years old.


And Momma,If you can please try and find the bright side to this, I think I read somewhere that eggs are good for your hair.

Visits From A Barred Owl

There's been a whole lot of hooting going on around here lately, and I have had some wonderful opportunities day and night to observe a magnificent Barred Owl.

The Owl by many cultures is considered to be a messenger between earthly creatures and the spirit world. From country to country, region to region, and state to state, The folklore surrounding the Owl is extremely diverse.

Some examples;

Arctic Circle: a little girl was turned into a bird with a long beak by magic, but was so frightened she flapped about madly and flew into a wall, flattening her face and beak. So the Owl was created.
(I like this one)

Scotland: it's bad luck to see an Owl in daylight
(I have always considered myself lucky to see a Owl anytime day or night.)

Sweden: the Owl is associated with witch's

Transylvania: farmers used to scare away Owls by walking round their fields naked.
(Transyvanian farmers walking around naked? Not a vision I want in my head!)

U.S.A: if you hear an Owl-cry you must return the call, or else take off an item of clothing and put it on again inside-out.
(I feel bad now for all those times I showed up for work with my shirt inside out and blamed Jeanne for not checking me before I left the house, now I will blame the Owl.)

Louisiana: Owls are old people and should be respected.

Louisiana French Cajuns: Thought you should get up from bed and turn your left shoe upside down to avert disaster, if you hear an Owl calling late at night.
(What if you have multiple pairs of shoes? I added up all of Jeanne and Jordan's shoes and found it would take 3hrs, 27 minutes and 14 seconds to turn all their left shoes over, and somehow Jordan had more rights then lefts, so I think we will stay out of Louisiana)

New Mexico: the hooting of Owls warns of the coming of witches.
(The Owl appears to be a favorite among witches.)

Jamaica: to ward off the Owl's bad luck, cry "Salt and pepper for your mammy".
(I now find myself reciting this verse as I wander around the yard)

Ireland: An Owl that enters the house must be killed at once, for if it flies away it will take the luck of the house with it.

(I wonder how Irish folk live in Illinois?)

Illinois: kill an Owl and revenge will be visited upon your family.

Mansfield Ct: The hooting of a Owl is some of natures best music.

Victory Garden

From time to time while growing up, my father used the term, "Smart Alec".

I convinced Jordan to help me move some mulch into the garden, when the boy decided enough was enough and decided to spread his blanket out on the pile of mulch in the exact spot Jordan was digging from.
It worked because all my help disappeared.

Jeanne does our food shopping at the market, and with the price of food, she has declared that,"This is the year of the garden", and I want our vegetable garden to be a destination, someplace we enjoy being, not a place that requires attaching a ball and chain on the kids and electric fencing to keep them in there.

Victory Gardens, were vegetable and fruit gardens planted by civilians in their backyards during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the wars.

Our Victory Garden will be our answer to high food prices and will will provide us with fresh, pesticide free produce.

We started building our raised beds built from recycled composite deck boards, and I believe we have enough recycled materials saved up to create our garden destination.

Little Johnny

Using our little incubator,we have hatched Ducks, Geese, Chickens, Guinea Fowl, and Bobwhite quail, now we can add a Royal Palm Turkey to that list. Sunday we had our first Turkey hatch out and Jeanne affectionately named him Johnny.

Hope, our female turkey started laying eggs early this Spring, and she really didn't care were she dropped them. I started finding eggs in the yard, in the driveway and in a small shed. Once I realized they were turkey eggs I started placing them in the incubator, and now we have little Johnny.
Jordan informed me the next one to hatch will be named Frank, and Tommy wants to name one Thomas.


Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. I wonder if they should add turkeys to that list.

We are lucky that Tammy our mail courier has a sense of humor. Bob, our male turkey has a thing for the mail truck, and one of these days, he and his rowdy friends are going to get me charged with harassment of a federal employee