Very seldom do we get colors of fall here in this part of Texas. Given the drought situation, we did not expect much. Then suddenly, we got a little rain, and the trees said in unison, “Let’s go for it.” So today, we are going to see what they look like. We are being catered by Olamaie of Austin. Pay no attention to the prices. It’s covered. Our entertainment is Neil Young.
Menu
So let’s get rolling.
The first view is a Bradford pear just beginning to turn.
Red berries.
A great ingredient for one of my favorite liquors. Juniper berries
A bush version of the red berries.
A Bradford pear in full glory.
A deciduous oak in the foreground and a Bradford pear in the back.
Another deciduous oak.
Bradford pears.
An old Bradford pear.
A crape myrtle
More red berries
A golden color deciduous oak.
Another red deciduous oak
A glorious Japanese Maple.
I hope you enjoyed seeing our fall color. Relax and have some food and enjoy the music. I hope you have a great week.
The coffee is on its way. The machine lives up to the promise of a perfect cup. One sip, and it is clear why the addiction to caffeine is so strong. The senses sharpen, and the mind becomes razor-sharp. Each sip adds to the overall enhancement of the carbon unit. The nose takes in the coffee aroma and sends the signal to the brain. The brain immediately rejects the call and orders the carbon unit into action.
The brain screams the warning, “There is a skunk in the house, and it must be found.” The body is a little slower to respond. It is clear now that the nose might be the best tool to aid the search. The twin team of puma hunters, Twiggy and Lucy, are no help at all. Both seem to understand the risk of coming face-to-face with the critter. The expression on Lucy’s face says it all. “Never shall the twain of skunk and dog meet.”
On my own, to face the possibility tween getting sprayed and moving out of the house, it becomes crucial to find the beast. Having settled on the spray option, the search is done in earnest. All of a sudden, the music reaches my ears. Edith Piaf’s Non Je Ne Regrette Rein is clearly being played in the background. Pepe Le Peu is in my bathtub, surrounded by bubbles. He waves me in and points to an envelope sitting on the sink. Picking up the envelope, the question comes out with no filter. “When are you leaving my house?”
Pepe looks hurt, and guilt immediately grabs me by the throat. Bet to open the envelope, which contains two messages. The first is from Pepe. I can help with the rocket. The second is from Linda hill. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is twin/tween. Use twin or tween any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use both. Enjoy!
Today’s good news story was brought to my attention by blogger and author Noelle Granger. It comes from the Epoch Times Newsletter, and here it is in its entirety. Thanks so much, Noelle, for submitting this one.
When an Iowa farmer died suddenly and unexpectedly from lung cancer, his neighbors rallied together within days to reap the corn crops he left behind. His family, deeply humbled, are grateful for the tight-knit community that showed their love and saved their harvest.
Born and raised in Creston, Iowa, Paul Baker farmed around 500 acres of land, raising beef cattle, soybeans, and corn. Nobody, including Paul and his wife of 46 years, Lynn Baker, had any idea Paul was battling cancer.
After he became seriously ill in March, his health never improved. “He didn’t ever get his breath back and [had] no energy,” his wife, Lynn, 68, told The Epoch Times. “We finally went to the doctor about a month ago.”
Several dozen farmers help harvest crops on Paul Baker’s corn field. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker.With fluid already on his lungs, a biopsy brought more foreboding news: lung cancer. “He passed away about four days later,” Lynn said. “We didn’t expect it to be anything like that … I think we were all very sad and shocked.”
A devout Catholic, Paul placed his faith in God but was “just aggravated that he didn’t feel better,” his wife said. He kept farming up until the day he was admitted to the hospital and died on October 20 at the age of 66.
Their daughter Melissa Baker said, “The community knew something was wrong … farmers and friends had already worked with my uncle John to harvest the soybeans while he was in the hospital. They just volunteered, nobody asked them to do it … that’s what happened with the corn, too.”
Combines and semi trucks gathered to harvest Paul Baker’s 500-acre cornfield. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker)An aerial view of farmers cooperating to harvest Paul Baker’s corn crop after he died of cancer. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker)
When the Bakers’ community learned Paul had passed, they called Don, the husband of John and Melissa’s sister Meredith, who plans to take over the farm, offering to help in any way they could.
“By the time we went to the visitation and the service, I think we had a huge spreadsheet of all these different teams of farmers,” Melissa said, who lives three hours away in Cedar Rapids. “They just wanted to help my dad because he would do it for anybody else.”
On October 27, two days after Paul’s funeral, some 30 combine harvesters, 38 semis, and countless tractors and buggies arrived on the Bakers’ land before sunrise. Melissa guessed some 100 people lent their time, equipment, love, and labor for a full day’s work harvesting crops.
Local businesses donated breakfast and lunches to the farmers, and children from nearby St. Malachy Catholic School, where Paul’s granddaughters attend, decorated lunch bags and crafted thank you letters. Melissa tried to visit every field to thank them personally and was quickly overwhelmed.
Farmers pose with combines at Paul Baker’s field. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker)Local farmers pose with the Baker family. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker)
Lynn said, “It was really emotional. Of course, we cried a lot, but we were just overwhelmed and felt very loved … at the end of the day, everybody gathered together, and that was really fun just to see everybody celebrate [Paul] and talk about him. I think he would be nothing but pleased to see all of us together.
“People are really good.”
Melissa said, “It’s nice to see that people really do care and are willing to help and show up. I know that happens in other communities, but there’s something really special about a small-town rural community.”
Lynn describes her late husband, a Knight of Columbus who was very active in the church, as “very kind and loving.” He worked over 40 hours a week for his whole life but still made enough time for his family, including his two grandchildren, and loved telling jokes to strangers.
Paul Baker on the farm. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker)Paul Baker enjoys some leisure time. (Courtesy of Melissa Baker)
“He was just a very personable, outgoing, loving human,” Lynn said. “If anybody needed help, he was the first to help them.”
Paul’s faith kept him strong until the end; Meredith told the Diocese of Des Moines that when her father’s time came, he was ready.
“On the last day that he was with us, he said he was waiting for the Lord,” Meredith said. “We’re a very faith-based family. It was very comforting for us to know that he was good, and he was ready, and that he would continue to be with us always but in a different capacity.”
The Good news here is people pitch in unselfishly to help a family in trouble. Today’s JohnKu talks about helping. I hope you have a great weekend.
Do You? by John W. Howell
When you see trouble,
Do you go out of your way . . .
To help or avoid.
I am over at Story Empire today. Come see me I’m talking about humor.
In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before Sunday evening UK time. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here. Thank you for taking part.”
This post was run on November 30th, 2015. Since we still have holidays and shopping, maybe it will be helpful. I hope you enjoy it.
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Top Ten Things Not to do While Shopping for the Holidays
The inspiration for this list is some years of watching the same mistakes made during this festive time.
10 While shopping for the holidays, do not think other shoppers are out to get you. If you do, at best, you will resemble someone who needs hospitalization. At worst, you may retaliate against the city kickboxing champ who accidentally ran into you. (Notice how he doesn’t use his hands to kick your butt.)
9 While shopping for the holidays, do not have a few drinks to ease the pain. If you do, at best, you may give into temptation and overspend. At worst, you will have the best time you’ll never recall except for the car full of stuff you still don’t know how it got there. (That ringing phone is the credit card company wanting to know if your card has been stolen.)
8 While shopping for the holidays, don’t go out without a list. If you do, at best, you will forget some gifts. At worst, you will spend more than you thought and yet have a nagging feeling you forgot a meaningful gift. (How did that office gift exchange go since you were empty-handed?)
7 While shopping for the holidays, do not leave the house without a travel plan. If you do, at best, you will cover the stores in a pattern looking like the infinity symbol. At worst, you will need to use your GPS to finally figure out where you are and to locate the stores you have already passed. (You now notice you passed the gift shop twice but still can’t figure out how to get back there?)
6 While shopping for the holidays, do not take small children with you. If you do, at best, you all will be frustrated doing precisely the opposite of what you want to do. At worst, you will start to deviate from your shopping plan and end up at the McDonald’s Playground trying to figure out what to tell everyone who will not get a gift this year. (That Big Mac and supersized order of fries are starting to look pretty good right now.)
5 While shopping for the holidays, do not think you are saving money by buying things on sale that you know are not perfect gifts. If you do, at best, you can give gift receipts so the gift can be returned. At worst, you will get the ideal gift from the person you gave a less-than-perfect present. (That is Murphy’s Law of scrimping on a gift for someone. It goes like this. The expense of the gift you receive is indirectly proportional to the cheapness of the gift you give. In other words, the less you spend, the more someone else spends on you.)
4 While shopping for the holidays, do not think a gift card takes the place of an actual present. If you do, at best, you will get your shopping done fast and early. At worst, you could spend more on the gift card than you would on a thoughtful gift. (The problem is the recipient knows the amount. Darn it)
3 While shopping for the holidays, do not take gift suggestions from ads on tv. If you do, at best, your present could represent an uninspired choice. At worst, the gift you give could be totally inappropriate. (Yeah, that Victoria’s Secret or Home Depot item should have stayed in the store. Not to mention the My Pillow slippers.)
2 While shopping for the holidays, do not wait until the last minute to decide what gifts to buy. If you do, at best, you will be running around not knowing what you had in mind. At worst, you will be faced with difficult decisions given that everything you want to buy is unavailable. (The net result is much more expensive than originally planned since now your choice is limited to a diamond or a new car.)
1 While shopping for the holidays, do not avoid taking water and eating before the trips. If you do, at best, you will be without energy and parched. At worst, you will finally be forced to take a break at a sit-down restaurant and spend an enormous amount on something to eat and drink. (Sure, you could wait an hour for a fast-food chicken sandwich, but time is money, right?)
Today we are not going far from home. Since we have had some cold weather, it is time to check the garden and see what remains after a mild freeze. We are catered by Patrizi’s. To view the menu click on the link. Pay no attention to the prices. I’ve got this. Our entertainment is Ricky Nelson
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the kitchen as the brown brew heads south into the double-sided glass mug. A touch of half and half turns the liquid into a pleasant caramel color. A sip and gulp bring a smile, and the effects of the caffeine reach the brain.
The unfortunate side effect of the brain getting a wake-up call is the realization that a rocket in the yard needs attention. A look out of the window confirms that the rocket is still there. A scratch of the head produces nothing in terms of a plan. So after coming up with no original thoughts on how to clear this heavy weight on my plate, my last ditch effort is to Google “Rocket Removal.”
After sifting through hundreds of responses, my eye falls on ACME Rocket Removal and Storm Door Company. After calling the number m,ove to the front door starts the security system shut down. Concertina wire recoil”d, tower machine “uns on stand-by,you’d submarine net retracted, boiling oil cooled, claymore mines disengaged, gate pulled back, bolts thrown, locks un locked, door thrown open.
Standing on the porch with an envelope in his hand is Pepe Le Peu. A comment had to be made.”Are you from the ACME Rocket Removal and Screen Door Company?”
“I am and take this envelope. It has our working contract as well as a message from our founder Linda HIll.” Holding my nose I take the envelope and before I could open it Pepe disappeared through the open front door. The envelope had two things. The contrat as Pepe mentioned and as if I didn’t have enough on my plate a message from Linda Hill. It read. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “on your/my plate.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
Today’s good news story comes from ABC News and Milwaukee affiliate WISN. Here it is as reported on MSN.
First responders adopt dogs they helped rescue from plane crash
Story by Meredith Deliso •
First responders who raced to the scene after a plane carrying more than 50 shelter dogs crash-landed onto a Wisconsin golf course this week have helped rescue the pets in more ways than one.
The large twin-engine aircraft, transporting the dogs to shelters in southeastern Wisconsin from Louisiana, crashed on the golf course at the Western Lakes Golf Club in Pewaukee on Tuesday.
Three people and 53 dogs on board all survived, with some animals suffering minor injuries like bumps and scrapes. Authorities said that the three people were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
In the days following the crash, several first responders who worked the scene adopted the dogs they helped rescue.
“As soon as I found out all of them were okay, my first thought was that one of them is coming home with me. So this is my little Lucky,” Elle Steitzer, a firefighter, and EMT at Lake Country Fire Rescue, told ABC Milwaukee affiliate WISN while cradling her new puppy.
Streitzer and two of her colleagues at Lake Country Fire Rescue, who responded to the scene of the plane crash, adopted dogs on Friday.
“He just kind of fell out of the sky in front of me, so here he is,” Amber Christian, a firefighter, and paramedic with Lake Country Fire Rescue, told WISN of her dog, Artemis.
Deputy Chief Tony Wasielewski said Marley jumped into his arms after the crash. The next day, he went to find her at the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County, which took in 21 of the dogs involved in the crash.
“When they let her in the door, she bypassed my wife, ran to me, jumped kind of into my arms, gave me kisses. I started to tear up a little bit, and I said, ‘Oh boy, I guess we got a dog,'” Wasielewski told WISN.
The dogs were taken to shelters in counties across Wisconsin.
Elmbrook Humane Society took 11 dogs, with “first dibs” going to the first responders of the plane crash.
“We had quite a few of them calling asking,” Stephanie Deswarte, a front desk manager for the shelter, told ABC News.
“We normally don’t let people adopt until we have them up on our website because we want to give anybody as fair of a chance as possible. But since they were obviously in the thick of it, and they did such a great job trying to help with the whole crazy situation, that we gave all first responders first dibs, so to speak, to adopt before they went up on the website,” she continued.
Deswarte said so far, three people involved in the rescue — one of the first responders on the scene, another first responder, and a worker at the golf course — have adopted the puppies Charlie Brown, Linus, and Sally, while the family of another first responder was looking at adopting a puppy on Saturday.
“We have never had something quite like this happen before,” Deswarte said. “It was a miracle that everybody really was okay.”
Matthew Haerter, assistant chief at Lake Country Fire and Rescue, commended the pilot during what he described as a “relatively catastrophic landing.” The plane went through trees, losing both its wings before it belly-landed on the course.
“I think all of us collectively have a soft spot in our heart, especially for dogs that have been rescued,” Haerter said during a press briefing Tuesday. “And now to think that they have to go through this before they find their forever home.”
“This could have turned out so much worse,” he said.
Local authorities had no comment on the cause of the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
The good news here is people opened their hearts to those who had suffered enough. Today’s JohnKu carries the same message. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
