After Thursday’s hike, I intended to return to the river area and continue my search for Emma deer while taking in the changing fall colors, but Friday and Saturday turned out to be good days to do a little work in the pecan orchard. Sunshine brought warming temperatures just right for working outdoors, and a … More An Intruder
The sky was showing the first signs of light as FD headed off to work last Thursday morning. I generally walk him to our metal building where our vehicles are kept, and see him off to work each day. As I walked back through the building towards the house, I stopped by the electric buggy. … More Sunrise Hike to the River
For days in advance, the weather forecasters had been advising folks to be prepared for volatile weather that was to come our way nearly two weeks ago on a Saturday night. It was unusual to have the threat of strong winds, hail, and tornadoes in October, but here in Oklahoma it did not surprise me, … More A Better Plan for Next Time
My work clearing downed branches and limbs in the orchard had come to a standstill for a few weeks, since early Autumn rains arrived as they generally do in September. But with the wind and rain, even more limbs came down. Many trees were already on overload with too many pecans and the rain only … More The Ebb and Flow of Life
I wondered how many times I had walked right past her before I noticed the spectacular web and her tiny, but colorful, black and yellow abdomen. She was the smallest female garden orb I had ever laid eyes on. There was no telling how many trips I made in a day, up and down the front … More Keeper of the Orbs
This past weekend, FD and I decided it was finally time to close the pool for the season. We were still enjoying the warm dog days of summer, but it was evident that autumn was just around the corner. Evenings were cooler now, and a few hints of fall color were making a splash in … More Nodding Off
I hated to admit how dependent I had become on FD driving me places. Over the last seventeen years, he has done all of the driving on long trips. And I could only think of a couple of times where I drove a few hours to relieve him. Thinking back, the longest journey I have … More Northbound to the Solar Eclipse
Earlier this year my friend Lynda, from Life on the Farmlet, approached me about the possibility of her driving from Alabama to meet me here, and then going on north to Nebraska together to view the solar eclipse. The center line of the pathway of totality was indicated to run very near the town my … More The Universe Conspires
Exasperated, I carefully made my way back up the slope, watching behind me as I made the ascent to the house. Foolishly, I had gotten a little too far away from the protection of the buggy and left myself wide open as a target. Just the day before, I had been working on a little … More A Force to be Reckoned With
A series of late-summer rainstorms brought more than four inches of moisture to our area of Oklahoma last weekend. We surely needed a reprieve from the heat, but now the humidity was sweltering. As FD and I drove the buggy around the property on Sunday morning to check on storm damage to the pecan trees, … More Who’s The Boss
When we purchased the pecan orchard last August, FD and I were both aware the property had a thistle problem along its south and west boundaries. For much of the autumn and winter months, when the thistle plants were in the rosette stage, FD would pry the dinner plate sized plants up with a shovel … More A Sticky Situation
