Today I walk alone

No dog to watch this morning.  

On Sunday morning I started walking up to the east end of the paved road.   For the last 5 years I have had very few days where I walked by myself.   When I know that the dog is OK and safe it is a little less disturbing. Still I find myself looking for him and I feel the grip of loneliness preventing me from being as observant as I would normally be.   The sun was beautiful though and the air was cool and comfortable so I began to loosen up  a little.  I walked up to the private dirt road and stopped at the Chinese Chestnut tree. I was sad to discover that the crop of chestnuts this year are very small and almost unusable.

The Chestnuts are small.

 I only found a few nuts that came close to a size I could use.   I think that the pollination may have been disturbed by the heavy rains we had earlier this year but that is speculation on my part.  I searched through many of the pointy shells lying on the ground and they were either empty or too small to use.  The local pecans have also suffered this year from a fungus that makes the nuts fall early.   Only those who pay to have their trees sprayed with fungicide have any pecans this year.   Well there is always next year.   Thanks for reading my blog today.  I hope you have a great Sunday. Bye.

All good things must come to an end

During our visit we had a beautiful view from the glass wall. 

On Saturday we began our trip home by stopping off at my bosses Aunt's home in Winter Park Florida.   She and her husband have a beautiful home which over looks a small lake.   I had never met these relatives of my boss when they came to visit our town and had heard many things about them.  His aunt was the perfect hostess and provided us with a wonderful lunch and packed a snack and drinks for us to carry home with us.  Her husband whose health is poor right now was once a librarian of congress and was a personal friend of Robert Frost the poet.   He had many photos of his time there but due to his fragile condition was not able to relate to me much about them.  After a visit of an hour or so we said our good byes and headed back out onto the road.

Good to see my front door at last.

  We left Winter Park around 1200 noon and made it back home at 745 pm which is making pretty good time.  We unpacked , returned the rental car and I made it back to my home at around 9 pm.   Not a bad day at all.  It was good to see my front door at last.   I won't be able to pick up the dog from the Kennel till Monday afternoon at which time I am sure he will be ready to leave.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

Come to the place where all your dreams come true. Yes they really do

This place is absolutely spectacular.

I was excited as a little kid on Friday morning when my boss and I pulled up to the entry gate at Disney World in Orlando.   I had never been there though I had worked in the area several times in the past.  I just did not want to go there alone.  Well on Friday after nearly 50 years of seeing this place on TV and in books and magazines I finally stepped out onto the parking lot and began my journey to make one more dream come true.  We rode the trolley up to the ticket booth and paid for a one day pass to the Magic Kingdom.  Once inside the park we walked over to the monorail station and in a few minutes a fantasy ship slid quietly up in front of us.

The Dreamweaver train.

  I know the monorail is just a people mover but I still have memories of Walt Disney enthusiastically describing the system on the wonderful world of Disney so many years ago.  The doors of the monorail opened silently and we stepped in and were whisked away in air conditioned comfort.  We circled the park and stepped out at the ferry terminal.   My boss was directing our movements as he had been there with his daughter 25 years earlier.  He wanted me to see as much of the park as possible in one day.  Once we were on the ferry we crossed the lake and arrived at the train station.   We hopped on the old time steam  train and rode all the way around the park where we saw many beautiful vistas along the way.   We arrived back at the train station and we stood up on the balcony and caught a wonderful view of the Castle.  We walked down the main street to the Castle where a live show was occurring with lots of Disney characters.  It was absolutely awe inspiring.

Pictures can't do it justice.

 The Castle is much larger than I thought it would be and towered hundreds of feet into the air.  The open air pavilion at the front of the Castle was huge and the sound system made it seem as though you were on stage with the characters.  It was as though you were wearing head phones.  I am not sure how they did that.

Life on the Mississippi in Florida. 

 We left from the Castle and began our trip through the park.  It seemed as though we were in a small town that constantly changed from the 1400's to the 1700's then to the 1800's and then to the present and on to the future.  The place is really amazing in that so many people are there with you but it never seems crowded.  We visited the Haunted mansion,  the Hall of Presidents,  the Carousel of Progress,  the Monsters incorporated comedy floor, Space Mountain and the Thunder Mountain Rail road.  Space mountain and Thunder Mountain were two of the best rides I have ever ridden on.

Space Mountain, top ride in the park.

  If you go do not miss them. Our last stop was the Swiss Family Robinson tree house which was an amazing site.  The tree is extremely large and houses several of the shelters mentioned in the original story.  The man made tree is so realistic that only an expert would detect that it was not real.  There was a real tropical jungle under the tree with a stream flowing through it.  Paths and walks lead into and out of the jungle giving you a good look at the stream and the foliage.   The park was hosting The Not Very Scary Halloween Party with Mickey at 7 pm so we had to start heading out as we did not plan to attend the party. We caught a spectacular view of the Castle lit for the special occasion.

A most spectacular end to my day. 

We headed to the small launches that travel to various resorts around the park and rode the boats to several of the resorts to view the park from the water.  We at last disembarked at the Contemporary Resort and caught the Monorail which travels through the resort building itself.  This resort is the one everyone wants to stay in and has always been the representative of Disney in my imagination since my childhood.  We rode the monorail back to the parking lot and caught the trolley out to our car.  I left the park with many of my childhood fantasies having been made into a reality.   It was truly a wonderful day.  Many Thanks to my Boss for such a great idea.   Thank You for reading my blog today.  Bye.

Walking into the future

The epicenter of a coming technology earthquake. 

My boss and I arrived in Orlando Florida at around 2 am on Thursday morning.  After a little rest and breakfast we rode over to the Orange County convention center where the SGIA Expo was being held.  This show was for companies in the reprographics and wide format printing industry.  Our purpose in going to the show was to see the new Xerox wide format graphics plotter.  This is a game changing machine with new technology from Memjet.   The system can print color on paper at a speed of 30 feet per minute.  With a 42 inch width and small foot print I believe this machine has no equal. In the future I feel that I will remember this day when this printer becomes the IPhone of the printing industry.    We spent the day walking through aisle after aisle of printers and printing technology.   It was really fascinating to see the many different types of printing systems all the way from printing on bottle caps to printing on the side of a building. I think we must have walked about 5 miles during the day so I got my walking quota in for the day.

Very nice facility for a show.  

 This was one of the better shows I have been to and the feeling I got from the vendors was one of enthusiasm about the future.  As a technical person I am very pleased with the way the printing industry is recreating itself.  Seemingly every new technology that has come on to the market recently has made my job easier and my customer's lives easier.  I am sure there will be bumps in the road with this and just about any new system that makes it to market but I know that with time the benefits will be apparent.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

Orlando bound for fun and sun

The peanut patch has come full circle now. 

Wednesday morning the dog and I had to hurry on our walk.  I had to get the dog to his vet where he will be boarding till Monday afternoon.  He likes the vets office because they constantly pay attention to him and give him snacks and walk him l throughout the day.  We walked quickly down to the peanut patch where I had picked up some peanuts a couple of days ago.  I wanted to pick up the peanut plants I put aside and bring them home to roast.  The peanut patch is now just a flat ocean of dead plants now that the harvest is complete.  Once these plants are completely dry they will be rolled up and baled and hauled away.

Look at all those peanuts.

 When I had my plants gathered up I began my walk back to the house.  The dog of course ran far ahead and caused me alarm when he arrived up near the paved road.  The cars go very fast there and will hit him if he is not careful.  I struggled home with the plants dragging behind me and finally arrived in my yard with the dog tagging behind.  I stuffed the peanuts into my shed so they could stay dry.   I have to go out of town to a reprographics show in Orlando Florida for my work.  The next few days will be nominally about that trip.  I am a homebody so leaving my dog and home is not my idea of fun but I will try and make the best of it.  I will roast the peanuts when I return and let you know how they came out.   Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.  

The tea for desperate times

All seems peaceful at the Pig farm.  

Tuesday morning our walk took us down to the Pig farm.  The weather was very cool with temperatures in the 60's.  As we walked along on the road that leads to the farm I noticed that one of the wild Holley bushes has berries that are now turning red.  The birds really like these berries. If you have one of the Hollies in your yard it will be frequented by many types of birds in the winter.   I believe I read on the web site eattheweeds.com that some people use these Holley leaves for a tea that has more caffeine than coffee or tea.

Birds like these berries. 

 I think I would have to be pretty desperate for caffeine to drink Holley tea.  Once we arrived at the pig farm we found everything in order and started home. When we arrived home I offered some roasted peanuts to the dog and he loved them.  I don't know if peanuts are ok for a dog or not but, my dog likes them green, roasted and boiled.   I went down to the peanut patch on Monday evening and gleaned the field.  I found a couple of plants that had been missed and I brought them home, washed the peanuts, soaked them in brine and parched them in the oven for 15 or 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The dog likes roasted peanuts, I do too.

 I have been snacking on them ever since.  I still have a few more plants I want to pick up at the patch but I will need to bring a bag.  They will be picking up what remains of the peanut plants to make big round bales for animal feed soon so I can't wait long.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

How to grow your money

The gray sky doesn't stop the greens from looking good. 

Monday morning when the dog and I went out to walk the sky was cloudy but the weather was comfortable. We headed up to the turnip green field and had a look at the greens.  They are a very luxuriant green color.  The owner of the field has started picking them.  At 2 or 3 dollars a bunch he has quite a good bit of money out there in the field.  The trick is getting people to stop and buy them.  We turned from perusing the greens and walked back down to the unoccupied home to have a look at the yard.   The leaves of the sycamore tree are falling and covering the yard.

How many leaves are on a Sycamore?

Sycamore leaves are very large and pretty easy to clean up.  You could almost walk around and just pick them up, or you could just cut them up with the lawn mower.  As we walked out of the driveway from the home I saw that Sneeze weed is beginning to carpet one side of the road on a steep bank.

Sneeze weed is pretty on a steep bank.

It will really look pretty if it manages to bloom all down the side of the road.   While I was looking at the flowers the dog ran into a pipe that crosses under the road.   I could hear him doing something but I was not really paying attention.  When I rose to walk on back to the house the dog suddenly ran out of the pipe and back to the house.  He had found another turtle.

My dog is getting smarter. 

 If it seems like this happens a lot it is because it does.  I met the dog at the front gate and tried my trick of asking him to speak so he would drop the turtle but he did not fall for it.  I had to let him in and wait till he lay down in the grass where he put the turtle down in front of him.  Then I simply stepped behind him while he was otherwise occupied, lifted him up by his collar and pulled him away from his prize.  Was the dog upset?  Oh yeah.  I really have to be careful when I take his turtle from him because he has bit my hand in the past while I was carrying it.  I tossed it into the woods behind my home while the dog was distracted by a stick I threw in the other direction.  When I threw the turtle I think he hit a tree and bounce off.  Sorry about that.  Now the dog and the turtle were angry at me.  Well it is not a perfect world.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

Health Top Blogs

The Monarchs are just passing through

The shady spots are cool on a morning like this one.

Sunday morning we walked down to the east end of the paved road.   The temperature has now drop into the high 50's with the passage of the front.  The dog as I have said before finds cool weather to his liking and on Sunday morning he was running ahead of me like a puppy.  As we walked along the road I spotted a Monarch butterfly flying beside us.  It was stopping every few feet to warm itself be opening it's wings to the sunshine.  It would not let me get very close without fluttering away.

Look closely and see the Monarch. 

 The Monarchs are starting their epic migration from the U.S. and Canada down into Central America.   They come this way I suppose to feed on the bounty of Golden Rods and other wild flowers that are present now.  I know from experience that soon this place will be full of these beautiful butterflies flying and resting, flying and resting, always south.

Zig-Zag's field looks good. 

  The field where Zig-Zag the bull stays is now green again after being mowed for hay.   The Golden Rods are adding their color to the field and making the scene very pleasant. As we turned and headed home I saw a prickly neighbor has emerged from the grass.

This Thistle is just starting. 

 This is a Thistle plant.  It will eventually grow into a large spiny circle of about one foot in diameter and then a prickly bloom will pop out and look very pretty for a few days.   The bloom will die away leaving dandelion like tufts with seeds connected which will blow around and start the process over again.  These Thistle seeds are the ones that are in the bird feeders.  I would hate to work on a farm where they grow these plants for seeds.  You would need a very good pair of gloves.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

Stopping to smell the flowers

All is quiet on the road to the pig farm Saturday morning. 

The dog and I walked down to the pig farm on Saturday morning.  The temperature on Saturday morning was in the low 70's and very comfortable.  The sky was cloudy but a front was passing through so clear weather was inevitable.  I am not sure why the Iphone causes photos of cloudy skies and trees to appear like something from a dream but I do like the effect.  I believe it is the HDR setting I am using that is causing that.  As we walked along I saw a honeysuckle vine poking out into the road from the bushes.

Wonderful smell but aggressive. 

I walked over to take a look at the flowers and smell of the pleasant scent they produce.  These white ones are not native to this area.  Our native honeysuckle is red or orange and will not move too far from where it is planted.  The white honeysuckle will cover a wide area in just one spring and summer and will pickup where it left off when winter is over.  We arrived at the farm and lingered for a moment and turned to head home.

I never know what he will bring home.

The dog found a very large stick in the woods which he grabbed and ran down the road with.
My dog is a big collector of "things".  I have been stacking his "things" next to his house and the pile is getting very large again.

The collection is growing again. 

  I will have to get the wheel barrow out and move the stuff back to the pile in the back yard soon.  It baffles me why the dog collects like this. I have tried to make a connection with what his wild cousins may have done but I can't seem to decipher any similarities.  If anyone out there has an answer let me know.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

R..J. the donkey says "Hey"

I think that angry sky is just messing with me. 

This morning the dog and I walked up to the watermelon field to look at the turnips planted there now.  On our way we stopped off to check on R.J. the donkey.  I mentioned recently that he has not been around and that I had seen what looked like a farrier or vet working on his hoof.  Well I saw R.J. today and he looked fine.  His hoof is taped up for some reason though. I took him a snack and he looked happy.

His face says it all, R.J.  feels better.

I have not seen his owner lately and I still intend to check with her on his condition.  When we arrived at what is now the turnip green field we saw the greens are doing very well.

Pretty rows of turnip greens.

They are about one foot tall and very green.  The dog went out in the field and considered marking his territory till I corrected him after realizing  that these greens will be on sale in a few days.  The owner of  the field has plowed and fertilized the rows and they really look good.  These folks know what they are doing.  The weather this morning looks low but there is an area of clearing to the north so I suspect it will be clearing shortly.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read  my blog today.  I hope you have a great Friday.  Bye.

When Summer waves goodbye

This is what the warm side of a cold front looks like.  

On Thursday morning the dog and I jumped in the truck and rode down to the neighbors field to walk.  The weather was very threatening and low.  A weak cold front is attempting to pass through our area but appears to be stalling.  The stalled cold front is infamous here on the Gulf coast as it can create a series of cloudy days that put everyone in a bad mood.  Fortunately these fronts only occur in the fall and spring.  When the waters of the Gulf of Mexico cool during the winter the fronts will for the most part march on past us and proceed into the Gulf.  When the dog and I arrived we walked across the field where we found that the people who turned the grass into hay had left three bales in a secluded area.

The dog inspects the hay bales. 

 These bales are all that is left of the wild flowers in the field.  We continued along the edge of the field where the trail leads into the woods that surround it.

A turtle that escaped my dog's notice.

 In the wooded area I noticed a very nice looking box turtle walking through the leaves.  He was almost invisible as his color matched that of the leaves very closely.  The dog was chasing a trail in the brush and he sensed the turtle was there but I moved him on and he missed it.  He likes turtles a little too much for my taste.  The owner of the field is a real steward and has planted many types of plants in the woods to increase their beauty.

White Confederate rose soon to be red.

 One plant I noticed was the Confederate rose.  This plant is unusual in that the blooms emerge and open solid white and as the day progresses they slowly turn pink then finally deep red.  There are several of these in the wood which are very conspicuous in the otherwise all green and brown color scheme.  After our walk we headed back home and I walked around to the back yard to have a look at the okra.

The okra flower is beautiful.  

 The flowers are very pretty when they open in the early
morning sun.  The red throat of the flowers is so deep that it almost looks artificial.   The okra will likely continue it's production until it tires out or the first frost kills it in a few weeks.  This year has been a very good one for okra and the garden in general.  We have not had many bad storms during the summer and no hurricanes so far.  Rain has been steady and sunny days have been plentiful.   All in all a very good summer gardening season. Much to be thankful for. No time for rest though as our second spring approaches.  Time to put in the collards, turnips, carrots and Brussel sprouts.  Much to do.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

The soybeans are sleeping now

The soybeans have nearly completed their task. 

Wednesday morning the dog and I decided to walk down to the soybean field on the east end of the paved road.   We were joined as we walked through the field by a couple of small dogs that live across the street.  They stay penned in a kennel most of the time so when they get an opportunity to run the neighborhood they seize it.
 The soybeans are very near the harvest stage and I wanted to capture them at this point because it is such a brief period that most people never see it.  The plants themselves have died and the bean pods are hanging limp.
The farmer who planted them will wait till the moisture level in the beans has dropped to a precise level and he will rush in and harvest the field.

Yum! Soy protein.  

 He will even harvest them at night if necessary to get the dried soybeans into a silo.

The miracle has happened again. 

We walked up to my house where I took a quick look at the oranges I have growing in the back yard.  They are hanging green on the tree but I knew from experience that they are nearing the beginning of their harvest time. I cut one open and tasted of the juice and it is now sweet and could very well be used as my morning orange juice.  I will wait though until the first cold snap which will start the color change in the oranges and cause them to crank up sugar production.   I usually start eating them around Thanksgiving.  When I go out on Thanksgiving morning and pick oranges from my back yard to take to our dinner I am very thankful for this miracle that happens for me each year.  Thank you Lord for providing me with oranges.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

To survey the Kingdom we walk

The dog is heading for home and breakfast.

On Tuesday morning the dog and I walked down to the pig farm.   We were walking a little later this morning so the sun was fairly high by the time we arrived.   Along the way I noticed a plant that I had never seen until last year though I had walked by it for years.  It was the Japanese blueberry tree.  This a blueberry that forms a slender tall tree which blooms much later than the domestic blue berry bushes I have in my yard.  Because it blooms much later the berries don't ripen until fall or winter which is why some people call them winter blueberries.

Japanese blueberries don't taste good.

 The berries are not good to eat although they appear the same as the domestic berries.  They have a sandy gritty texture that makes them unpalatable. Last year it bloomed conspicuously and as I said I noticed it for the first time.  

Light shines through Crotalaria pods.

As we moved along I also saw that the Crotalaria is forming its bean like pods which will eventually dry and sound like baby rattles when shaken.  When I was a kid we played with these pods.  We squeezed them when they were green until they popped or we would gather the dried pods and shake them to make noise.

Golden Rod is pretty up close.

 I also stopped to get a good look at the golden rod flowers that were growing along the road side.  They are really pretty up close and are very fragrant.  They also make me sneeze if I stand there sniffing the aroma for too long.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  I hope you have a chance to get out and see your flowers and trees as they prepare for winter.  Bye.

Walking through our ever changing land

This morning the sky looked strange. 

Monday morning the dog and I walked down to the west end of the dirt road.  The temperature was in the high 60's and the humidity was around 70%.   This is the weather everyone around here looks forward to.   The high clouds that greeted the sunrise made for a very surreal sunrise that took a while to occur.  We passed by the pond which recently had nearly dried up but now has been refilled by the heavy rainfall about a week ago.   Until just about a year ago this pond was a swampy woods.

The pond has filled again

Now what was once the woods is laying in the middle of the pond waiting to be burned.  I remember how my heart sank when I saw and heard the bulldozer moving through the woods.  Things change though and we have to change with them or be left behind.

Wood sorrel is popping out of the grass. 

Once we made it to the end and started back I saw a fall and winter plant that is coming up now.  It is wood sorrel.  We always called it clover when I was young but I guess everyone else identifies it as sorrel.   Sorrel is considered edible by some.   It has a very tart peppery taste that some folks like to add to salad. I believe it also has some medicinal value and it just looks good.

The dog has ransom demands.  

 When we arrived home the dog went over by the swing and picked out a few of the balls he has collected and sat there waiting for me to throw one.  He settled on the foot ball which he likes for me to kick field goal style across the yard.  When he retrieves the foot ball he runs back and stands next to me holding the ball hostage till I scratch him a little on his ears then he will turn the ball loose again and let me kick it.   He loves it when someone is scratching or massaging his back.  Well who doesn't?  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho it's off to work I go

This is when I should be starting my walk instead I am ending it here. 

On Sunday morning the dog and I had to walk long before the sunrise again.  I have to meet my brother early and allow him to enter the building where I will meet him to work after I attend church.  This morning we walked up to the watermelon field which is now full of turnip greens.  the greens have made it to the height of 3 inches now and look very good.  We passed the yard where R.J. the donkey would normally be but he was not there.  I noticed several days ago that a vet was in the yard with R.J. and his owner.  They were doing some work on one of his hooves.   I am hoping that everything is alright with R.J. and I will be checking on him in the next few days.  We arrived home to another spectacular sunrise this morning.  Unfortunately I could not linger and enjoy it.  This additional work will not last forever and soon the dog and I will be able to amble in the morning at our leisure again.   Thanks for reading my blog.  Bye.