Enchanted Oregon

Oregon is one of my favorite places to visit.  My daughter, who

lives there, shared this enchanting video with me yesterday and I 

had to pass it on. Portland, another reason I like Oregon.

Friends Club

While looking through my portfolio from

art school I ran across this drawing.

My daughter was in grade school when she

drew it. She wanted to design a t-shirt for a club 

she was starting for her and her friends.

I recreated it using an illustration program and 

output color separations so it could be screen

printed onto t-shirts. (I wonder if she still has

her shirt—or if she even remembers this.)

This daughter is now an apparel designer. 

Uncle Johnny

The bully of Butler County, Missouri, was twice his size but he was no match for my Uncle Johnny. He said he never went lookin' for a fight but he wouldn't back down from one either. In fact, you might say my uncle was a bit of a scrapper in his day.

Despite growing up during the depression and experiencing many difficulties throughout his lifetime, Uncle Johnny never let things get the best of him. He is still passionate about life today, even at the age of 97. That passion is threefold when it comes to the welfare of this country. He's looking forward to casting his vote for this year's presidential election. Today's political deadlock is a major concern of his and he wants to see things change.

Johnny in earlier years.

  

My uncle was a member of the 116th Engineer Battalion of the Army's 41st Infantry Division. He was stationed in the Philippines, New Guinea, and Japan during WWII.  He experienced many life changing events during that time but he's proud that he served his country; and that he was given the opportunity to shake hands with General MacArthur. Uncle Johnny also remembers meeting Bob Hope, who he says was a bit odd, but, he said, you could tell that he was a very nice man who was devoted to serving the troops.

Johnny is the second from the left in the second row. (Click to enlarge.)

***********
Time spent with my mother and and her brother, Johnny, this past 

weekend taught me a few things about the pair. For one thing, they are
probably the proudest and most determined people I know. 

Lorene, 81, and her brother, Johnny, 97, have been close throughout their

lifetime. He was very protective of his younger sister.

I also came to realize that whenever my Uncle Johnny sees a camera aimed his

direction, his personality changes. He is no longer a 97 year old man but rather a coverall

clad six year old boy getting a charge out of taunting the photographer. Attempts

to take Uncle Johnny's picture brought about some of the following results:

97 Years Young

Graphite

With Palomino pencil and pencil sharpener in hand, I returned to my childhood roots and

started sketching again. I loved to draw horses then and recently discovered that I still do.

Palomino

Tools of a sketching life. 

Then There Were Two

Not long after I took the first wild turkey egg from Halle (previous post), she made her

way back to the nest and returned with a second one. I had no choice but give Halle a time

out. I'm not sure if the look on her face is one of defiance or disappointment?

Thief

"Bad dog!" I didn't actually say it but I thought it. Minutes

after I spotted my dog, Halle, chasing a wild turkey through the field and

into a tree, I saw her with this egg. Other than one tiny puncture,  the

egg is unscathed. Quite the surprise since Halle carried the

egg several hundred feet in her mouth.

Weathered Boards

Other than today's lunch, everything you see here is old. The pictures
themselves are not. I took them while working outdoors today. I discovered
a setting on my camera that allows me to add a nostalgic effect to my pictures. I
wanted to see if it would also make me look older—hence the reflection in the third
photo from the bottom. Observation: The longer I look at the first photo, the more
it reminds me of an oil painting because of the richness of color.

Walk in the Woods

Untended wooded wildflower garden. Any sort of garden is an achievement
for me since gardening does not come natural. I've managed to get a few
planted and I enjoy the end results but a personal gardener would be nice.

Mouse House. Trust me, I know.

Halle is never bored, especially during a walk in the woods.

The park bench in the garage will soon be setting
in its usual place in the wildflower garden.

Morningful

This morning shot shows the newly planted field behind our house. Once we are months into the growing season and the corn has reached full height, a wall of privacy will have emerged. This is due to the fact that we are surrounded by fields.

A strange phenomenon occurred when we first moved here nearly twenty five years ago. It was harvest time and I had run into town to take care of some errands. When I returned home later that day, someone had actually moved our house closer to the road. The nerve!

In reality, the corn had been harvested and our illusive wall of privacy had been lost in the process. I felt so exposed, so violated, so. . . incomplete (not really).

For those of you who are curious about the gnarly tomato in the foreground of the photo: I know without a smidgen of doubt that I tossed it into the weeds yesterday. (I'm really not as wasteful as it seems.) How it ended up in the yard I'm not sure but I have my suspicions.

How Halle manages to run after anything with those stubby legs and feet, I'll never know.

Really!

Shown here is the site for three family camp-outs. But the last weekend of June is apparently not the ideal time for such a gathering. It stormed or rained each of the three years they were held. Tents were set up in the garage one year due to inclement weather. Every cough, sneeze, and hiccup echoed throughout the building. Oh, yes. . . the tree shown in this photo comes to life at full moon. Really. (I chose not to share this information with the campers.)

This photo shows cattails; the tall leafless stalks with the clumps on the ends. Their seeds are a popular food for many migrating marsh birds, including blackbirds. They are hermaphroditic, which means that the male and female plant parts grow on the same plant. The familiar brown cylinder that appears during summer is the female "part." The male "part" is a three to six inch stalk covered with tiny brown flowerets.

I was supposed to be doing yard work when I took this video today but the dog had an unusually long face so we made a couple trips to the creek that divides the back acreage. The second trip was for the purpose of taking pictures. Halle had a smile on her face the rest of the day. Really.
Note: Although my husband and I own this property and I make reference to "our creek" in this video, we feel that we are merely keepers of the land, which is a temporary condition. There have been many keepers over the years and there will be many more in the coming years. We believe it is important to respect the land so future generations will enjoy it as we have the past twenty five years.

A spring in its. . . ears.

I celebrated Easter Saturday with my

mother and a few other family members.

The celebration included this glass

bunny with springy ears.

Since it is one of my favorite Easter decorations

I thought a few photos might be nice.

And so. . .

Now that the photos have been taken, the

bunny with the springy ears will be 

wrapped in a cottontail towel and be safely

tucked away until this time next year.

Sleep tight.

Some Bunny

There really is an Easter Bunny!

Wind, Weeds, and a Spy

Spring sprung quickly this year and so did the Japanese Knotweed, a plant species that appeared near the edge of the field behind our house several years ago. Since we were unfamiliar with this unusual ornamental, we did not attempt to eradicate it. That was a huge mistake because it has spread each year and it is now showing up in our yard.

When I researched this obnoxious plant, I learned that it is quite invasive and it is especially bad if it gets established near waterways. Each year it grows to around 10' tall and underground rhizomes extend to approximately 65'. Yikes!

I have attempted to rid our yard of Japanese Knotweed for the past three years but to no avail. Although I do not like the use of chemicals for weed control, there is no choice in this matter. So far nothing has helped and I am now cutting individual stalks with pruning sheers and immediately treating them with Roundup. Every wee bit of the plant then has to be bagged and taken to the dump. This is the recommended treatment. I've got my work cut out for me but there's really no need to state the obvious, right?

While working on the Knotweed today, I made a discovery. I guess one is never truly alone.