Showing forth more kindness...

Someday I'm going to write a book called "I Learned It in the Garden." One of the great things about doing yard work is that it doesn't usually require a lot of thought or problem solving, so the mind is free to concentrate on other things, or to simply wander. When I was younger and able to do so, I spent a lot of time in my yard digging, planting, pruning, landscaping, weeding, etc., etc. I did it not only because I loved the results, but also because it was a great antidote for stress.

Once I planted strawberries and nurtured them for a year. Then, because of illness, I neglected them for a year, and no one cared for them in my absence. When I was able to return to the patch, I was anxious to see what was left of it. It was overrun with weeds, of course, but there were surviving strawberries among them. In spite of the neglect, the intrusion of weeds, and the death of many plants, some held on through the trials and continued to produce fruit. There's a parable in there someplace.

Just the other day I pruned my Butterfly Bushes. They are lovely plants which produce purple flower cones with a delicate scent. They entice butterflies and humming birds. They grow fast and very tall. Their wood is soft and pithy, a result of the rapid growth of the branches which produce the blooms. In spite of (or maybe because of?) an earlier pruning, these had become overgrown to the point where I almost couldn't walk down the path to my garden. It was time to prune them again, so I did. In fact I cut them more than halfway down, maybe too much. I don't want to destroy them.

I thought of the scripture which says, "Reproving betimes with sharpness ... then showing forth afterwards an increase of love ..." (D&C 121:43) I had just reproved those shrubs with the sharpest pruners I have, and it was time to show forth an increase of love, so I turned on the sprinkler. I knew it would refresh them and give them strength to recover from the pruning shock. Then I realized that they had outgrown their space. They had fit there very nicely when they were young plants, but now they are mature and need to be moved. If they stay where they are, I will have to keep pruning them to fit my needs, and they won't be allowed to reach their full potential. They will be moved before winter.

Is this parable about raising children? There are times when they need a good 'pruning,' too, followed up by whatever they need to continue growing as they should. The time comes when they need to be planted someplace else, a place where they can develop to their full measure of beauty and production. If we have done our early 'gardening' well, the transplant will be the logical step in their continued growth.

(The photo shows my garden path with the pruned bushes in the right, just behind the swan. On the other side of the gate you can see the un-pruned branches next to the wall, almost reaching to the roof. Beyond the butterfly bushes is a Lilac.)

It must July - the raccoons are back!

Well, yes, it is actually August, but they always come back in July, and they've been around for a couple of weeks now. Behind my back yard there is a wall. Behind the wall there is a small stream fed by natural springs. Between the wall and the stream there are bushes and briars and trees and weeds and who knows what else which provides lovely housing for raccoons. They should be up in the mountains, but there is always at least one family that lives behind the wall.

They like my house, probably because they smell the cat food I put out for Smokey and Bandit. (That's Smokey in the photo with a baby raccoon.) Usually in July, one of them figures out how to come in through the cat door, and from then on it's a battle. Just a few nights ago there were five in my kitchen! - a momma and this years litter. The kittens have been weaned and she's teaching them how to find their own food. I had to chase them back outside, of course. They are so charming I'd much rather pick them up and cuddle them, except for their vicious claws and teeth.

I did the annual thing; called animal control and got a trap from them. I trap them every summer, caught 13 one year. I hate doing it, because animal control euthanizes them. They are considered to be vermin in the city, and once they get used to city life they stay around. If you take them to the mountains, they find the nearest house to plunder. I only caught one this year. The bait of choice is mini-marshmallows. After I caught one, the others found ways to get the bait without tripping the lock. Clever, they are, and fast learners!! Once I put the trap on the lawn instead of by my back porch, which is the usual place. They came by in the night, rolled the trap over, and ate the marshmallows! You gotta admire an animal that smart.

They still come around every night. I've learned to put the cat dish in the pantry, so there's nothing out for them to eat. Hopefully they'll find better pickings someplace else.

4th of July

George reminded me that I've been neglecting my blog! Sigh.... So here's a catch-up.

I have always loved the 4th of July. It's the highlight of summer. There's the 4th, then the 24th, then it's time to get ready to go back to school.

When I was young, there was always a carnival in Provo on the 4th along with the parade and the fireworks. The aunts and uncles and cousins who didn't live here usually came here for the day. Everyone went to the parade, and those who had a dollar to spend could have hours of fun at the carnival. Before I was old enough to get a real job, I picked cherries during June at one of the orchards in Orem. We were mostly finished by the 4th, and I had earned enough money to spend at the carnival and still have some left over for school clothes. That's when rides cost a nickel or a dime, and the very newest, scariest ride cost a whole quarter!

The gambler-training booths were either a nickel or a dime, and I took my turn trying to land my coin on a flat saucer or inside a narrow-necked vase. Of course, I seldom got what I was aiming for, but one time I put my coin into one of those grabber-claw machines and actually picked up a small jewelry box and dropped it into the winner hole! You can imagine how surprised I was! I still have it. It's big enough to hold a pair of earrings and a chain.

There has nearly always been a show followed by fireworks at the BYU stadium. I went to the Stadium Show with my parents once when I was about 4 years old. (That was before I started wearing glasses and I couldn't really see anything, but I didn't know I couldn't see, so ... well, that's another story.) Most years I would watch the fireworks from my backyard with my dad. We lived just a few blocks south of campus, and could see them very well from there.

Many things have changed and many things have stayed the same since then. The carnival rides don't come anymore, nor do the coin-toss booths, but there is still the parade and the show at the much-bigger stadium at BYU followed by fireworks. Traditions evolved as I raised my own children and now have grown-up grandchildren. I personally don't do parades anymore, but many of the next generations do, and the whole available family always gathers to eat pizza and watch the fireworks. My old back yard is long gone, so we meet in the field east of the hospital (along with a few hundred other families). It's like a mini family reunion. We have an hour or two of daylight to visit and just enjoy being together in a park in the cool of the evening after a hot day. The grandkids have a great time running around, playing with glowsticks and lighting sparklers before the fireworks start. I always try to get some photos before it gets too dark. This year I grouped the grandkids who were there by ages. Three of my grandsons (Ryan, age 24, Cory, age 20, and Derrick, age 18) couldn't be there because of other commitments, but here are the others:



Chris, age 21, and Erin, age 17.



Joshua and Benjamin, each age 6, with Elli, age 8.



Mitchell, Rachel (the two "Chells") and Zander (yes, he's goofing off), each age 10.



Chazz, age 13 next month; Michael and Chase, each age 13 already.

I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world...

Yesterday I drove up to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful spring day, the kind you hope for in May. I noticed the mountains surrounding Utah Valley and those surrounding Salt Lake Valley. It's been about a week since the last snow storm, and there is enough left on the peaks to set off the their sculptural features. The sky was bright blue, no clouds to be seen, and no smog in the valleys - a rare day, one to be treasured!

I would like to have taken some photos of the mountains, but I was driving on I-15, and they frown on you when you stop at the side of the road. (Maybe I'll go back and just drive the frontage road.) When I got to the Library, I was again awed by the beauty of the flowers gracing the entry way and in other strategically placed flower boxes. This time I could park my rolling briefcase and fish out my camera for a few shots. Here's a sample of what I saw. The open, red-striped tulips are about 6 inches in diameter!

All morning today a Primary song has been singing in my head: "... I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world Heavenly Father created for me."

Where does the time go?

It doesn't seem possible that it has been over a month since my last post. It's been a very busy time - like, is there ever a time that isn't "very busy"?

I've just finished updating the Family History section of my website. I've created new WebCards and new pedigree charts. Of course, "Reunion," the best genealogy program on the planet so far, actually created them for me, and I just uploaded it all to my site and did a bit of tweaking here and there. I was amazed at how fast this new iMac transferred the data!! There are almost 8,000 individuals in my data base and each one has from one to four files connected to his/her name. They are sorted into 64 folders, each folder containing from one to 500 files. This sweet computer transferred the data from my hard drive to my iDisk on the web in about five minutes!! Last time I did it, it took me two days! I LOVE MY NEW MAC!! It is at least twice as fast as my old one, which I bought about five years ago, and now keep for my grandkids to play on. I love all Macs, but this one is truly SWEET!

Cassady Killed in 1898

One of the fun things about doing family history research is that sometimes you find things you weren't looking for. For example, I was recently looking at some digitized newspapers in Utah and I found an article about Butch Cassady's death. it was in the Deseret News, 1898. Here is what it says:

"BUTCH CASSADY KILLED,
Surrounded by a Posse and Shot Down While Resisting Arrest.

"Salt Lake, May 14 [1898] -- Butch Cassady, the master spirit of innumberable depradations and a leading spirit among the desperadoes in Robbers Roost, was killed yesterday in a fight with a posse while resisting arrest. Joe Walker, another of the gang, was also killed and Lay and Thompson were captured.

"About a week ago these desperadoes forcibly drove off 25 head of cattle belonging to the Whitmore boys of Price. Whitmore followed them but was held up and relieved of his horse and compelled to walk to Price, Carbon county, where a posse was raised which started in pursuit. They traveled night and day and surprised the bandits while asleep. A call to surrender was met with a shot from Cassady. A battle then began which lasted about five minutes, during which Cassady and Walker were killed. The others then surrendered.

"Both the dead men had rewards hanging on them of $500 each, offered by Governor Wells some months since Cassady was the leader in the Montpelier, Idaho, bank robbery two years ago, and also of the robbery of the P V Coal Company last summer. The two raids netted about $14,000. He and Walker robbed a store at Green River about a month since."

It was in the Deseret News!!  Nothing here about Bolivia.

I Hate Handling Money

I've always known it is not in my 'karma' to ever be rich. What I've ever really hoped for was to have enough to pay the bills and and have a little extra to buy a few things without going into the hole. While I was working full time, that's what I had. I thought I managed my money ok and did not over-extend. Now I'm retired, and it's a different world!

First of all, even though I get both retirement benefits and social security, my income dropped by a chunk! That cushion I had depended on is gone, and my expenses have gone up. The story is not new, or unique, but it is annoying!!

Just when I think I'm beginning to get on top of things, something stupid happens, like my water heater dying. I discovered it had been leaking for some time and had damaged a section of the floor near it. So what's the problem? Call the insurance man. I did, and learned that I had no insurance!! I thought I had arranged to have my premiums paid automatically from a specific account at my bank! Wrong! I don't know what I did or did not do, but that wasn't happening. So again, just when I was thinking I was getting on top of things, another bill is added to my credit card. Aaaaaarrgggghhhhh!! Where's that wealthy widower I've been waiting for? Never mind. I'm too tired to deal with a husband again.

And yes, I would like some cheese with my whine - camembert, if you please.