Grad night...

Back to it after a whirlwind couple of  days with Marymine and crew.  It was good for my soul to spend time with them. A crazy busy time: talking, sharing stories, meals, shopping, hauling kids every which way, and going to graduations.

First night was Lauren's 8th grade graduation

Next night was Colt's high school graduation

 Ali is home too, so there was a lot of hugging going around. Cody couldn't make it but will have a short leave the end of next month before reporting to Bethesda. I will hopefully get to see him then.  

Marymine's yard looks wonderful with the new landscaping, and her veggie garden is growing like gangbusters.  We both like repurposing things... this is her new fire pit:

 Colt got it for her, and welded a steel plate in the center to lay the fire on.  Works like a charm. Do you know what it is?

Hugs...

Since it is Throw (way) Back Thursday... 

I think this picture, which is so old it's B&W, was taken the day my brother Buzz graduated from Jr High.  I sort of remember being that young and hugging him.

Two of my grandkids graduate this week, one from high school and one from middle school.  The HS grad, Colt, is going on to diesel mech school.  It is what he wants so he can come home and run the mech end of the farming operation. He knows where his talent lies, and a kinder, more giving young man would be hard to find.

The soon to be high schooler, Lauren, is Miss sports, and has her grandma's quirky sense of humor and fierce loyalty to her family.  Or so I am frequently told by her mother, Marymine. She wants to be a physical therapist this week, mainly because she likes helping people and is a bit bossy...hmmm.

Ali is home on summer break from SouthWestern, and Cody is getting ready to go to Bethesda. So for a few moments in time  I will get to hug on them, and hold them tight.

Cowgirl gardening...

Garden is in, and there are fresh veggies on the way.  I wasn't putting one in this year and then I was...

Just a few necessary staples: bell peppers, patty pan, zucchini, crookneck, icebox watermelon, Armenian cucs, lemon cucs, three types of tomatoes, and a whole host of basil, flat parsley, oregano, and thyme.  

Holes were dug (with blasting caps), soil was amended (well aged cow pies), fertilizer added (dead frog), drip line installed (garden hose left at eighth of a turn), deer fencing installed (wormwood spread hither and yon). 
Ah... now to set back in a lovely old bent willow chair, dressed in a weathered linen pinny, sip some sweet tea, rest the well worn cowgirl boots up on a rock, 

and plink away at those damn feral cats from next door...

Remember...

"It remains very much to be seen whether or not this nation will "long endure" as civilization's greatest exercise in personal liberty balanced by personal responsibility. Which is why the words of Abraham Lincoln on the constitutionally protected, individual-centric and equality-driven nature of that freedom - and the terrible, unfathomable and heartbreaking cost at which it comes - are just as meaningful, just as relevant today as they were nearly 150 years ago when they were first recited at Gettysburg.

Don't let the dead have died in vain. Use your freedom wisely. And have a safe and, hopefully, reflective Memorial Day weekend."

---Lieutenant Colonel Timothy G. Cook, MD 

Character...

I don't much care for this twitchy feeling that I have had all last night and today... like the stuff is about to hit the fan.  After these many years I have learned to heed the feel. Now, I need to be strong, be real, be true to who I am.