ANIMAL CRACKERS. I’m still not sure, but I MAY have seen a scout for the Mississippi kites which are due to return to our area any day now. I just got a glimpse of a large bird circling, circling, before it dipped below the roofline.
Where have my bluejays gone? For two days they have not showed up for their morning peanuts which I pour onto a small, low table on the patio. They’ve been coming to that table for years.
Where are they?
I’ve been distracted by the momma and daddy bluebirds which have three hungry youngsters waiting, mouths wiiiiiiide open, in a bluebird house mounted on the side of my utility room. If you tiptoe over to look inside the box, mom or dad will make frantic passes by your head. But they swoop no closer than about six feet. They are just real nervous when humans start rummaging around near the babies. I like to watch them arrive, worm or cricket in mouth, to feed the babies. When the parent sticks his/her head into the box hole, you can hear the cheeping of the ravenous chicks inside. Mom and dad do this continuously during daylight hours.
There are two eggs that have not hatched and I suppose I’ll have to throw them away when this brood leaves the mansion.
MY NEW RIDE. Yes, Old Reliable GMC is parked behind the detail shop at York Gary, probably awaiting the salvage towtruck. I almost can’t bear to look at her when I drive past in my splendid new Chevy girlfriend.
This one hasn’t been named, yet, and I’m going to insist upon something really unique.
Also, this one was less than 50 miles old when the first fat bug splattered itself onto the windscreen.
And, most, most regrettably, I must’ve run over the remains of an armadillo sometime about Mile #150 because that’s when I began noticing ‘that’ smell. Let me repeat and emphasize the pearl of wisdom I gave out free some years ago: Never, never run over an armadillo. They leave a smell worse than a polecat.
Anyway, the new ride no longer has that great new smell. The driver’s side at least smells like a dead armadillo.
On another important note: I am working with Sheriff Bryan McJunkins and Police Chief Dale Pierce to set a date convenient to both departments. I want to have a workshop to assist their officers on recognition of my invention: “The Editor’s Rolling Stop.” This maneuver was invented so as to assist me in getting around faster in my ceaseless work to make this community a better place in which to live.
It consists of me (or some other suitably qualified individual) rolling up to a stop sign but not coming to a complete stop before going through. I must add that state senators DO NOT QUALIFY for the Editor’s Rolling Stop. Yeah, I’m talking to YOU, Sen. Teague.
THE GOOD EARTH. I’ve written before about my two loquat trees. One is about 12 years old and about 15 feet tall; the other is about 4 and 12. The elder is inside my patio fence; the younger is outside. The elder looks healthy despite leaning westward a few degrees courtesy of the Mother’s Day Night Tornado of 2015. The younger is obviously in distress although nothing bad happened to it (that I know of).
But, both trees have fruit this year. There are just a very few on the younger tree. Practically every cluster of leaves on the elder tree has one or two green lemons.
The loquat tree is some sort of citrus fruit tree which isn’t really happy with our clime. About three years ago, the elder tree actually had a couple of fruits. I showed ‘em to the Navigator and she was properly amazed. Then, the next day, something had taken the fruits. Other than that instance, neither tree has produced fruit.
By the way, and as far as I know, the fruits from the loquat tree are useless.
THE GREAT GIFT to this community from the Junior Auxiliary chapter is not any one particular project, although those projects for schools and children are really appreciated. The organization’s great gift is its continued activity over so many years. It gives young women a chance for fellowship and to serve to the community. Many times, membership really places a burden upon the members. After all, they’re trying to raise a family and hold down jobs at the same time.
So, on behalf of this community, let me thank current and former members of JA for making this place great. And for the yummy Tasting Brunch!
THINGS I LEARNED from reading email: Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of “yonder.”
HE SAID: “Leadership is something you earn, something you’re chosen for. You can’t come in yelling, ‘I’m your leader!’ If it happens, it’s because the other guys respect you.” — Ben Roethlisberger, NFL quarterback
SHE SAID: “I know not why there is such a melancholy feeling attached to the remembrance of past happiness, except that we fear that the future can have nothing so bright as the past.” — Julia Ward Howe, abolitionist who wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
SWEET DREAMS, Baby
