PURPLE MARTINS (156)

Well better late than never, the first wave of purple martins made their appearance today. Swooping back and forth over the pond, seemingly happy to be back and the start of another season in Indiana. I was starting to worry a bit that I had lost them, that they had found better housing in which to live, or maybe the Obama people had built them new housing somewhere and maybe even promised them free mosquitoes that they did not have to fly after and catch...Yes I admit I was concerned as last years arrival date was April 21st. So they are 8 days later than last, and I think this may be as late as I have ever seen them arrive. It is darn near May or will be in just 3 more days. But now I will have to look for something else in which to be concerned about, rest assured I will find something around here that needs concern...

Can you imagine how happy they must be arriving at the place they will build nest and raise their young ones all before mid August. And how good it must feel to have flown all the way from South America and today be staying in their "northern" homes.
They did seem quite happy making those first passes over the pond for water and swooping low through the lawn looking for insects to replenish the bodies that expended so much energy just to come and eat my mosquitoes all summer long. I do appreciate them and especially not having to get bit probably even once all summer..
However when they do pull out in mid to late August usually maybe a week later I will swat my first mosquitoes but not long after that cool temps and dry days make them not such a nusance...

Still hard at work on the home refitting projects. Will be laying tile in the laundry room tomorrow. Home Depot and Lowes and Minards all love my stimulus package..... Lawn needs mowed real bad and my hair needs cut...I sprayed some weeds and clover in the lawn today and will do a little more of that as I wait tomorrow for the tile to set up before walking on them to lay the other half of the room maybe later in the day....and I have not even mentioned planting season is well upon us big time but soils are still to wet to lay those seeds down into the ground...but won't be long it will dry out soon...some corn is planted in our area here maybe 10% I would guess....OK it bedtime....

Marriage of my first grandchild (155)

Yep, one down and 18 to go, yesterday in Greenfield Indiana my granddaughter Mandy, daughter of Sherry Stair, and Joe Rutherford, was married at 3 P.M. in the Lutheran Church to Ensign Eric Smith. Eric a 12 year Navy man no doubt going for a career of 20 or 30 years found himself a very attractive gal while getting a degree at Purdue University...that being non other than my granddaughter who also was in the Naval ROTC program there and still a couple years away from a commission in the Navy...But love has a way and Eric finished his schooling, they fell in love and the rest is kind of right before our eyes here...They are now Ensign and Mrs Eric Smith....They will be living in Georgia while Eric prepares for a possible deployment cruise in a few months...I believe Mandy has a job lined up as a Nanny for a couple and will be doing quite well and kept busy if Eric does get deployed....Do people have grandson in laws?...I don't know but hey I think I got one here..I like him, he seems like a straight shooter to me and sure Mandy thinks so also...He had about 9 years in as an enlisted sailor and then they offered him a chance at a 4 year college degree and a commission at Purdue. He did it in 3 years which I guess is about the norm with that program..Maybe since they are full time military when they arrive at college they go year around..not sure, just assuming, or maybe they just study real hard and "get er done", I don't know...But I wish them the very best in the world, and with Eric's experience, (notice the medals hanging), I think he will go up the ladder in whatever field he is in...I should have found out more, but it was there wedding day and I doubt that he wanted to stand around breifing his "grand dad in law", if there is such a thing...OK that's about it next up is Lilly and Ryan's wedding in August...with 5 others in the 21 to 27 age bracket I think this could become a semi annual event now for awhile in the near future...who knows...no pressure, no hurry, but biology will no doubt have its way now and then....

154 Avoiding a trip to the Woodshed

Well this may be boring as hell to most of you but its a worthy subject so here goes.
I installed a waterway in this field about 7 years ago. Sod waterways are very necessary as you will see in the pictures to the right in farming areas where the ground is somewhat rolling and water collects and runs fast and destructively down hill...Water has always ran down hill but almost every day on TV or locally we see people trying to avoid that law of "water runs downhill and seeks its own level"...

Yes it does we see towns along rivers almost every month where homes are maybe a foot or two deep in water in the living room...I have never been able to figure this out why people build homes in an area that could some day under the perfect storm be under water...Well anyway thats a story for another day but today its just day to day soil conservation to be talked about...

Well in these two pictures you see the benefit of waterways after a winter where we obviously had a lot of water run off the land very quickly...Probably a very heavy rain, that lasted long enough to do a lot of soil erosion...My field is the one with the green sod in the bottom of the low area. My neighbor who will remain unnamed has ignored natures destructive potential ways, has lost a lot of soil this past winter, he also has an ungly looking mess, and has a potential for damage to his farm equipment when he farms this field and needs to cris-cross this "ditch"....

I am not without guilt in this post today however either. You see I recieved a letter last fall telling me that a spot check had been made, and that my waterway that was constructed at 34 feet wide is now narrower than that, and will need to be corrected. So today I made the trip into the farm service agency to find out what I needed to do to "avoid a trip to the woodshed"...They laughed and simply said put your waterway back to 34 feet wide and we will be good to go and so will you...

So I purchased some red flags and using my measuring wheel found that sure enough my custom spray contractor had indeed a little at a time narrowed my waterway to as little as maybe 25 feet in some areas. I remember the first couple years I warned the spraying operator each time before spraying as I knew this 34 feet needed to be maintained for me to stay out of trouble...But as time passes one kind of gets tired of reminding and each year it suffer from "Roundup Sprayer Creep", and 6 inches here maybe 12 inches there and a few years go by and you have a 25 foot waterway instead of the original 34. Now I must prepare the soil along the watersay and seed it back to tall fescue grass......Well thats it for today, I hope my chemical spray people read this and make note...and also my Conservation people read this to know how much I appreciate the work they have guided me and helped me do to be a good steward of the land....

Most farmers are, some are not but in the long run they pay and pay dearly for lack of good stewardship....

(153) More signs of Indiana Sringtime

It's for sure now, Spring has sprung right here in the heartland of Indiana...Seen at the right are more spring flowers and my Indy Gator Alvin E. Gator caught red handed picking flowers again. He loves roses and just about always has one in his hand...thinks it will cut ice with me and I won't call the pound and turn him in for gatorizing my pond....He is a good gator...Came home from Florida with me maybe 6 or 8 years back and had kind of made himself at home here...But anyway Iris's and dafadills and tulips are bursting out everywhere..Why even the peonies are shooting up growth like they are in some sort of hurry to produce those big red flowers early this year.. My guess is they will not wait until late may to bloom but maybe early to mid May we will see them in full bloom.

Now my second pic is a for sure sign of spring also and that is a roofing crew removing the old and then installing a new roof over in the Farmington Addition...It is a large house but they will have it all finished in this dry period we now have going for us...it will be ready then for some warm days to help seal down the shingles and lock them down tight. Something needed big time for those Indiana winds that come our way now and then sometimes in the 60 MPH range...weak shingles just sail through the air like frisby's and cause home owners much stress for sure...
This happy homeowner will be "all set" now with a great looking demensional roof shedding future rains and winds for several years to come.....

Well that's it for this post but rest assured spring has come to the midwest and soon corn planters will "roll" across the Indiana fields and seeds will find themselves surrounded by warm rich soils and feel the life in them that God gave them, and they will send out a shoot and a root...the shoot will head up to the warm sunshine burst out and unfurl leaves and even produce an ear of golden corn...The root will head downward into the rich Indiana soil and seek out the nutrients that are needed by the plant above to make all of it happen this coming Indiana Summer...

Ok yes I use the work Indiana quite a bit...you see my google ads at the top are kind of hung up yet so far on things of Naples Florida...Not sure what it will take to get them oreinted back to Indiana here but maybe this will do it....So here goes google try this, Indiana, Golden Corn, Hoosiers, God's Country, what is it gonna take to shut down the advertisements for Florida????????Well we will see...

Sweet Home Indiana (152)

I like this picture...Like it a lot cause it was lost but now has been found. You see my computer crashed about a year ago and we had to redue the whole thing. In doing so we were able or thought we did download all the pictures and documents from the old set up then clean it all off and put the stuff back in...But something happened, something terrifying to me as when we did only about half maybe even less than half my pictures were there...I had lost maybe 500 important to me pictures..Lots of the mate of 28 years who died 2 years ago yesterday...But as good fortune continues to follow me a few days ago in my "stuff", I found a CD disc, that said back up from May of 07...Sure enough, all my pictures were on it, and I am happy to report I have them all back...Gosh it was lots of stress thinking they were gone forever, but now they are back...And one of them which I guess was not that irreplaceable, but interesting is this shot of my home taken by a good friend from the air...So I know the song really is "Sweet Home Alabama", and not "Indiana", but who cares, its easy to substitute the word, and of course Indiana is sweeter than Alabama, of course it is...And beside I needed a blog topic today as the work on this home below on the inside is consuming more and more of my time.

But I am enjoying it and even though lots of it lie ahead yet so far it is going well and seems worth the effort...Staining a new door to the study has been kind of a bummer, but I have given it my best shot with three coats trying to come up with the desired and somewhat close to a match to the other woodwork near by...It is a long way from great but I figure when the whole picture is done there will be so much to look at that attention will be drawn away from that..Lets put it this way it's good enough for "government work", and were all kind of working for the government from here on out so what the heck...

But Sweet Home Indiana to the right here is just that...A modest home. A big barn for farm machinery and the summer spot for the "florida home" and of course nice recreation for many in the native grasses south of the pond..And the pond itself which I constructed in 1995 in the fall...It offers lots of swimming and fishing and host many species of fish and ducks and of course water lilies and other plant life...For us it is, "Sweet Home Indiana" why nothing could be finer than to be in Indiana in the Mornoring.....later

Guest Bath Done Redue going well..(151)

Picture at the right is my guest bath after quite a few hours of hard work. Porcelen Tile hard work, but it is all done now. Been grouted and today I sealed the grout the 'step 4' in Home Depot's training on how to put down a real tile floor.

They hold classes at our local store every Saturday morning at 11.00 and I must commend the people they have working there at Home Depot. They are young and take this business serious and do seem to be able to answer with confidence all of my questions. This first job was 'stressful' to say the least...It kind of had me doubting it would go well....but it did I am well pleased in the results and actually looking forward to my next job a 30 twelve inch tile entry way into the home. I will lay down the hardbacker board on that tomorrow...

I have begun to buy some of the tile now from Aaron at the HomeWorks store here in Lafayette...Also purchased my hardwood flooring from them. They met the prices from Lumber Liquidators in Indianapolis so I was pleased to save the fuel cost and spend my money here in my home town, Lafayette Indiana. Each and every day it seems that I do have my own little "stimulus plan" going on as these remodels are of course not cheap...But doing a lot of the work ourselves, my buddy sweet pea and I are saving money better spent on vacations and shopping...S. P. will like that last one there...

I took several before pictures anticipating maybe doing some before and after stories on this blog as time went on. Lots to do yet waiting on some bids but things are at least for now "going well"....I guess my home is being "Born Again" also....

Born Again 30 years on April Fools Day (150)

April 1 1979, 30 years ago today, I asked Jesus into my heart and to be my personal Savior. I did it in St. Lawrence Church while mass was going on but about over. Many were filing out "early" and I was an usher and witnessed this exodus of Catholics just too busy to stay for a final blessing. It bothered me that some could do that on a regular basis and not bother them. But that had nothing to do with what and why I did what I did that day. I just simply decided to follow scripture that day and do what Jesus said needs to be done and not trust my salvation to a church of any name but to follow scriptures advice and take that step, of my own doing, that according to scripture does "assure" one of eternal salvation. These scriptures had been pointed out to me at a couple protestant churches I had attended. After studying these scriptures I decided to follow the words of Jesus himself and make that commitment and gain that assurance. So I did it and yes it was April Fools day and I thought about that a few times but I know that scripture does not April Fool anyone. It was as good a day to do it as any other, it just happened to be the day I did it, and asked Jesus in to live in my heart from that day forward...

He is still there, and will be till the day I die and my spirit goes to be with the Lord for eternity. God's Spirit resides within my heart, convicts me of my sins, but blesses me and brings me joy and peace knowing what the final outcome of this thing called life will be.

In the Gospel of John chapter 3 a Jewish leader named Nicodemus discloses privately to Jesus that he knows that considering the miracles he has worked, that he is truly of GOD.
Jesus only states that, "No One will enter the kindom of heaven unless he is Born Again". The Jewish leader then said how can one be born again unless he were to enter again into his mothers womb. Jesus just states for a second time that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven...Born of water and the Spirit. Saying Flesh gives birth to Flesh meaning I suppose our original being born...But then he says, "But the Spirit gives birth to Spirit". and then again says, that you must not be surprised at my saying, "you must be born again". Jesus goes on to explain how the Spirit works in guiding us once we ask him too....Nicodemus continues to question and doubt and then Jesus gives him a more complete lesson on HIS mission here.....

Its all in that Johns Gospel chapter 3 verses 1-21 for all to ponder...I pondered it for quite a spell in 1979 and on this day decided I had pondered long enough