Monday, June 29, 2009

Not Much Going On Here

Unlike the past two summers I have not been out and about much to see the countryside. To tell you the truth it has been crusty here. Today the sun is shining brightly and we have summertime warmth. We had a an almost nonexistent spring as can be evidenced by the lack of annual planting in the front. I realized late last week that winter wheat has been harvested and the corn is growing rapidly. Only three weeks ago I noticed that the corn was about six inches high on some farms and had been washed away in patches on some farms because of all the rain that has fallen. Last week the corn was two-three feet tall on most farms. Local corn, squash and tomatoes soon – yippee.

The photo was taken by either Erica or Bill when they were at the beach the beginning of the month. I never see such fun things here in Milton. I guess I should get out more.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Cloudy Days

This spring has been a rainy one. We have had a few sunny days but mostly the days have been overcast. It always takes me off guard when I look outside, the gray clouds are rolling by and the wind is blowing. Then when I step outside and realize it is quite warm. Right now it looks like I should put a windbreaker on to do some errands. The fact is, I will more comfortable in a sleeveless top. Will I ever get used to this?

There are times during most days when I gaze out and see some special moments in the sky. Yesterday, just before dusk, the clouds to the northeast were beautiful. It was a rather pastel sky with light blues and pinks trying to color the clouds. The above photo is a little later on but it does show how lovely the sky was.

Summer is officially here on Sunday and the projected forecasts are for clearer days next week. That will be nice. Even I, the one who does like really warm days, would like a little of the sunshine of summer. The vegetable and fruit stands are opening up, I can hardly wait for local tomatoes and sweet corn.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Different Kind of Weekend

Last weekend was very nice. Our daughter and her family visited. It was a beach weekend for them. Bill is always ready for that. It was especially nice because we got time with our grandson who is growing so rapidly. We even got a little babysitting time.

This weekend is very quiet. It is overcast today, at least it is not raining. There was enough of that during the week. I am glad it is not really nice outside because we would be tempted to go out and explore places. The problem is that Bill had radiation treatment this week. He is a little "hot" until Monday afternoon. As a result, he is confined to the house. He can go out and walk the dog. He is not to have direct contact with other folks until Monday. I was tempted to frame a photo of him with a yellow-orange edge but then thought better of it. The radiation is the step before he starts taking thyroid again. He had a thyroidectomy in early April. A very large tumor on one lobe was malignant. The prognosis is excellent. For this we are very grateful. Be that as it may be, it is still a bit nerve racking.

This curve ball has been just that, a strike. We will adjust our stance and hit the next out of the park.

Monday, June 01, 2009

No 55+ Neighborhood for Me

There are a lot of retired folks living in the subdivision. There are also several families with very young children and some families with kids in adolescent and teen years. If you were inclined to learn the story of each family you would find a patch work of life. You would also find the common threads making the neighborhood. With each individual, couple or family moving in the dynamic of the neighborhood changes a little. It changes more so when they move out of the neighborhood.

It has become more and more popular for retired or more mature folks to seek out the commonality of the 55+ neighborhoods or developments be they single homes, condominiums or apartments. I suppose it would be easier to develop social networks with such living arrangements. But, I, for one, believe that the neighborhood with young, not so young, older and retired is more vibrant than the single focus one. For the last few years I have been struck by the energy that little kids bring to an area. When we first moved here there was only one small girl and one younger boy on our street. The girl has an older brother and sister and the boy has an only brother. There was also a younger boy we did not see much. It was a very quiet place but lacked the vitality active children bring. Keep in mind the small street we live on has over twenty houses.

Last May a young family moved in next door. There were four very young children who ran to their hearts' content from dawn until dusk. Bill became quite enamored with them as they called him Mr. Bill. He liked being called Mr. Bill. By summer's end there were two more families with younger children who moved into the neighborhood. And, by year end there was at least one more family. It was wonderful watching them play. It was wonderful having more than two trick-or-treaters.

Yesterday the family next door moved to Maryland to be closer to the father's work. The day before the little boy and another boy were playing tag or the like when the other boy asked, "Who's that?" To which the neighbor boy replied, "That's Mrs. Bill." I thought that was very cute.

Mr. and Mrs. Bill are going to miss those little rascals.