A misty morning in southwest Ohio —
The moisture hugs the ground,
Oozing out from the damp earth.
We pass an alpaca ranch, and horse stables.
There’s an old, high, stone wall
Surrounding a mansion, making a fortress.
It’s cool now, but the fog will burn off,
And a rainless day
Will keep the farmers busy.
Now is the time to be living.
The events of the past are for learning.
The future, for what we are hoping.
Make memories now while you can.
The past is no longer at hand.
Don’t build the future on sand.
So my husband spent much of his young life growing up in eastern Ohio. Since he had many, many cousins, I started gathering data to keep track of everyone, but also got interested in the past.
I learned that his ancestors on his dad’s side came to America a few years before the American Revolution (unlike mine, who are very recent). Eventually some of them moved to western Ohio.
Another interest of mine is cemeteries, and when we have time we visit them at random. One day we picked a cemetery in Indian Hill, Ohio. While walking around, Tom asked, “What’s that pyramid-like structure over there?” We walked over, and much to our surprise, the pyramid had the original spelling of his family name carved on it! It was a family plot, and upon researching, the persons buried nearby were relations. Amazing!
All the world seems strange to me,
And stranger still, as time goes on.
Don’t understand the wheres, the whys,
The truths, the lies.
The world towards madness quickly flies,
And little do I understand.
There must exist a better world –
To God, I cry.
It seemed in childhood that I knew
A better world of hope and trust.
The Lord said, “Be as children now.” –
I will; I must.
In His own world, in His own way
Lies sanity, and healing balm.
In silence do I sense His words
Bring peace, bring calm.
So I seem to be getting more and more nostalgic.
Recently we were on a day trip in our car and inquired from someone about how to get an ice cream cone. I had said to my husband that I thought at least once in a summer, on a hot day, a person should buy an ice cream at an ice cream shop. I wanted to enjoy that happy memory.
Well, we ended up at a soft serve place, kind of like Dairy Queen or Foster’s Freeze. I ordered a SMALL chocolate cone, dipped in chocolate, like my dad used to get us as an occasional treat.
When the item was presented, it was more like a GIANT ice cream, about five or six inches taller than the top of the cone, and at quite a low price! As a child, I might have gotten one that was three or four inches taller than the cone, at most.
Being a hot day, we decided to eat the cones inside to prevent melting. Ha! Soon enough, we had ice cream dripping off our faces and onto the table, with piles of napkins to mop things up. A clerk took pity on us and offered cups to put the mess in. Finally finishing up, we thanked the clerk and left.
Next day, our blood sugar was way up (we are both Type 2 diabetic).
Well, it was fun, but maybe in the future I’ll try to make new memories, since the old ones don’t always work.
I like to think my neighbors’ lawns
Will tell me something of their minds.
Do they more meticulous,
Or laid back, lazy, industrious –
Who knows?
(By the way, no fences stand
In neighbors’ yards, at least the fronts,
So lawns meet lawns, a sea of green.)
You might think they are all the same
(The lawns, I mean) —
But as we walk along the green
It’s easily seen
Where one yard starts
And one’s complete;
(Do property lines tend to accrete?)
Some lawns are a perfect green
With soldier blades that stand so straight
And not a flower to be seen.
The edges, too, are knife-edge straight,
Some right against the concrete curb,
Or indented just an inch or two —
The dirt shows through.
The other end of this extreme
Are lawns with dandelions dappled,
And bumpy blades of various shades.
For those, the edges not so neat;
Certain blades o’er sidewalk creep
In wand’ring curves.
And when those edges have been cut,
But piles of blades not swept away,
Then green things grow in dried out grass, alas.
And maybe you would like to ask
Which type of lawn this writer has?
In younger days,
So many ways to play.
Time stretched forever
in endless summer.
I rode a bike,
Or climbed a tree,
Or rolled on skates
Or skateboard.
Those berry fights,
And flying kites!
The six-gun caps,
The endless laps
Round playgrounds.
The hide and seek,
The flowing creek
With newts to play with.
The rainy days
In oilskin coats;
We fashioned moats
And marched;
We were “The Rain Squad.”
Umbrellas? – No,
We liked the flow
Of water on our oilskin.
Collected pillbugs,
Or were they sowbugs?
Made mudpies,
And my mom allowed us.
Stayed out ‘til dinner;
That was a winner.
Those days are gone;
I don’t know how,
Or why they were
The way they were.
I only know
They’re part of me.
This past week my husband and I have been veterinary nurses for our older (about 13 years old) cat Josie. The vets diagnosed her with rhinitis, sinusitis, and gastritis. Yikes! I can’t figure our how she got the infections; she’s an indoor cat living with one other indoor car and my husband and me.
The whole week has been a great exercise in patience: giving the cat pills (4 to 5 a day), feeding her liquified cat food through a syringe (3 to 5 times a day), and cleaning up the ugly messes she makes at her water bowl. She was drooling a lot and her eyes and nose were a mess.
My husband is an angel in the patience department. He has gotten several scratches. I was ready to give up half way through the week, and he said, “Why are you so negative?”
One can debate about how much time and money to spend on a pet, but as long as there’s reasonable hope of recovery, which the vet thinks there is, we can keep going, unless it interferes with higher concerns (grandkids, etc.). Of course, we are retired so we have the time, but even before this, I don’t know if I’ve ever had so many physical tasks (the vegetable garden, for one, and except maybe when the kids were young) in my life. I suppose that the one time we had a renter living with us was also a lot of work.
God does care about animals. Were not many of them saved on Noah’s ark? But humans have priority.
“For every animal of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. (Psalm 50:10-12)
“Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many animals?” (Jonah 4:11)
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)
‘Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?”’ (Luke 14:5)
About ten days after the first symptoms, Josie is starting to eat on her own again. The extra care is paying off! We’ll keep it up.
I do not know
Why that man doesn’t want to be a man.
Perhaps they loved his sister more.
Perhaps he felt that he wasn’t lovable.
Well, that was their failure, not his.
Find out who God wants you to be.
You might have been lied to
Or you misunderstood.
clarakatalin 
I Need Your Thoughts About Chiggers
Until two years ago, I lived in a chigger-free part of California and never encountered them. I lived all of 66 and a half years in that same area. Then we decided to move to the Midwest. All was well in the garden until one day I developed a couple dozen itchy red spots on my skin.
If you know nothing about chiggers, here’s a tiny introduction:
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef630
At any rate, I would love to get people’s thoughts on how you have dealt (or not dealt) with chiggers: preventing, eradicating, and/or dealing with the bites.
Below is my brainstorming. I would love your comments, corrections, and what has worked for you. At this point I’m not judging any solution, but I would prefer non-chemical treatments.
Look forward to your ideas!
Category:
Commentary
Leave a comment
Tagged with: