New Updates

New updates to georgeswebpage.com.  Check it out. 

Anarchy or law? What's it to be?

Have you been following that case of the Kentucky town clerk named Kim Davis who was recently jailed for contempt for not carrying out the duties of her office by refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay people?  She claims that in spite of recent Supreme Court rulings, it goes against her moral code. 

Let's take her logic to its ultimate conclusion.  This means that it's OK for anyone to ignore the law of the land if it violates their particular code of ethics.  In other words anarchy.  A basic lawless society where each lives by his/her own standards regardless of whether or not it violates another person's rights.

She deserves to be in jail.  She's an idiot.

But here's what's worse.  There are a significant number of people who actually support her actions.  Have they thoroughly thought this out?   Clearly not.  More idiots...and they vote.

Note to My Blog Readers

First, Happy September 1st.  This is one of the nicer months of the year in my opinion and there's a lot going on both historically and personally. 

Second, today Brooke and Courtney are headed back to school.  Yesterday we spent the morning at the Bent of the River Audubon Center in Southbury. It's a beautiful area of 800 acres and if you like hiking and nature, it's a must see.

To see pictures of our hike and to learn more about what went on in September throughout history, visit my web site georgeswebpage.com

Back to school-for some.....

This is my 11th year  NOT returning to school.  Many recent or near future retirees ask me how could I possibly fill the time.  Believe me, there are many times when I wondered how I ever had time to teach.

I tell people worried about facing long, empty days not to worry about it.  There's plenty to do.   Just take it slow and let things evolve on their own.  Maybe start out with a little traveling or home based projects.  From there one can volunteer or develop hobbies and interests that weren't possible during their working days.  There are those who even work part time at something totally unrelated to what they once did.   On top of all of that if you have young grand children nearby, it gets even more interesting. 

Finally the nice thing about all this is it  doesn't have to be a costly endeavor.  There's plenty to do for little or no money.

Try it.  You'll love it.

Photography

I finally broke down and bought a very good camera.  It was under a thousand dollars so it wasn't something professional photographers use but it's good enough to do what ever I want.  I've been spending a lot of time learning about its various features and I've also been taking an online photography course that was purchased for me on my birthday. 

There's far more to photography than I realized-especially when you go beyond the 'auto' modes so it's going to be a slow and steady kind of thing.

In the mean time you'll find the results  of my efforts on the photo gallery page of my web site.  Check it: georgeswebpage.com

Random Thoughts

1. We're at that point in summer time when camps are over but school hasn't started yet.  This means that baby sitting duties pick up a bit.  This is a good thing, since I like spending time with the kids.  My web site shows how we've been spending some of that time.  Check it out:  georgeswebpage.com

2. I got an email yesterday notifying me that a message is waiting for me from one of my doctors. I go to three doctors on a regular basis and they all have web sites where you can go to see messages, appointments, lab results, medical profile information, etc.  There's quite a bit of very personal medical information along with medicare account information on these sites.

All this led me to wonder about the security of the sites.  You hear all the time about hackers getting into data bases of hundreds of thousands of people and stealing their information.  I'm not sure what anyone would do with my medical data.  There's no credit card information and I don't take prescription narcotics so it's pretty much useless.  Actually they might have access to my social security number but I'm not sure.  Still, one wonders.....

3. I'm officially sick of the political season, yet it's just started.  I'll be doing a lot of DVRing.....
 

Summertime

When I was in elementary school in the 50s,  every day my friends and I dreamed of that great day when our summer vacations would begin. The bus ride home from school on that last day was marked by singing and streamers out the window.   It was a great day.

So what did we do all summer?  Were there sleepover camps, town run day camps, sports camps, family vacations?  None of that for me.  What my sister and I did was maybe log in some time weeding the garden and then it's on our bicycles and off to somewhere.  Often it was the neighborhood pond where we'd meet up with others and swim or the old pasture down the road where we'd play baseball. 

The old pond is still there but no one has been allowed to use it by the owners for a very long time (law suits and all that) and the fields where we used to play now contain 3 schools. 

So what do kids today do?  Well, all the things I mentioned in the second paragraph.  All sorts of camps-sleep over and day camps.   For example my grand daughters just completed a week at a nature center where they learned a great deal about farm life and animal care.  It looked like a great camp and I wish there had been something like that when I was a kid (as long as it wasn't too far for getting there by bicycle!).

No question about it, summertime opportunities for kids have increased tremendously.  While that's generally a good thing, I still think it's important for kids to have unscheduled periods of time for them to explore and create their own amusements.  Very often more fun and more learning can take place as a result of their own creativity then if scheduled and handed to them.

Just my opinion.

For pictures of my grand daughters on a typical day at nature camp, click here georgeswebpage.com and follow the links to the photo gallery.

When he's right, he's right!

Listen, I don't like Trump anymore than the rest of (most) of you.  He's obnoxious, egotistical, arrogant, a wind bag, mostly wrong, grossly insensitive and offensive in the extreme BUT you've got to admit, the press is out to get him. 

This whole bruhaha about his remarks regarding Fox News Megyn Kelly is ridiculous.  Of course he didn't mean what the press is trying to suggest but instead of focusing on the issues, they-the press-insist on exploiting the situation-for news. 

I'm tired of it and it's just beginning.  It's going to be a long, long haul until elections, folks.

A Word about Birthdays

 Yesterday, Aug. 3rd, was my son's 42nd birthday.  I kind of like birthdays-not mine but those of my family.  I like to see the various members grow and I admire what they've become.  My son is an extraordinary example of this growth. 

Another notable birthday is one taking place today.  It's President Obama's 54th birthday. 

If I were Obama, I'd be looking at my past few years like this:
Second biggest recession in history: over
Gas prices: lowest in years
Deficit: down by two thirds
Bin Laden: dead
Unemployment rate: lowest since GWB
Health care now available for millions more.
And all in spite of the most hateful, obstructive and downright incompetent congress ever!
Nothing short of amazing.

In the "I can't believe it" department

Can you believe it?  After all we've learned and after all we see on TV, there are still people leaving children and pets locked in closed-up cars on hot summer days.

I just saw a piece on morning news of a car getting broken into by concerned people who saw children locked in it.  Emergency rescue people measured the interior temperature at over 115 degrees.

The children were treated and will be OK.  Other pets and children are not so fortunate.

How can people be so stupid?  Well, that's the topic for yet another blog........

50 years...and counting

This past weekend we attended a 50th wedding anniversary for some friends of our in New Jersey. It was a fun time and we had an opportunity to visit with a lot of people we hadn't seen before.

Such an occasion naturally inspires one to reflect on what it must be like to be married for 50 years.  We're going to be celebrating our 48th in a couple of months so we're close enough to know and quite simply it comes down to the adage of "thick and thin", for better or worse, sickness and health, etc, etc.  Throw in some love and determination and I think you have it.

There's no question about it.  Fewer and fewer people are hitting that 50 year mark these days.  The biggest reason I've observed is fairly obvious-one of the couples has died.  But aside from that, the 'thin' and 'worse' parts of the bargain are often more than many people can take so they call it quits.  This represents a big change from years ago.  At that time many people were more likely to tolerate situations that today's couples would abandon.

There are many reasons for this seeming lack of commitment.  Economic factors are a very big part of the equation but I believe another very large reason is that women have changed the way they look at themselves.  They are no longer as dependent and submissive as their mothers and grand mothers.  Most women today are self reliant, independent and confident.  They aren't afraid to sever bonds they find unacceptable. 

Just a theory.  As for us?  We're looking forward to that big 5-0.

A Word About Sportsmanship

I just saw on the Newtown Bee's Facebook page a preview of an upcoming piece to appear in this week's paper.  It's about an incident that recently took place in the Babe Ruth baseball league.  The Babe Ruth baseball league consists of 12 and 13 year old boys.  It is a travel league and it is considered to be made up of premiere players.

Basically what happened was the Newtown team was playing a Norwalk team.  The Norwalk pitcher was struggling and he unintentionally hit a couple of Newtown batters.  Pretty much everyone agrees it was in fact unintentional but the Newtown players sitting on the bench became very verbally abusive with a number of extremely inappropriate remarks having been made.  The Newtown coach apparently made no effort to correct his team's poor behavior.

An investigation was conducted, apologies to the Norwalk players and coaches were issued and I believe at least one of the Newtown coaches was either reprimanded or dismissed or both.  I'm not clear on that detail.

The point here is the unfortunate behavior of the Newtown players.  If they didn't learn common manners from their parents, then at the very least where were the coaches?  By not immediately correcting the situation, they gave their tacit approval of their actions.  Not a good situation.  What's worse is I seem to hear more and more about such incidents, locally and throughout the nation.

I am happy to report that when watching my grand children's games (baseball and soccer for ages 6 through 11 or 12) I have never witnessed such behavior.  Their coaches have been excellent in that they realize that sportsmanship is more important than anything else.  

Where it seems to break down is when the kids get a little older.  That's very unfortunate.  Very often I blame the coaches.  A coach has to know much more than the skills involved in his/her particular sport.  He/she must also be an effective leader of children.  The two things go hand in hand.  One is not enough without the other.  But the other side of it is, where are the parents?  Why aren't they appalled at such unacceptable behavior?  Is winning that important to them?  I think that's sad.

TRUMP!

Donald Trump sure is making a lot of headlines these days.  Of course that's exactly what he wants but putting that aside, let's review. 

First he manages to offend every person of Hispanic descent  in the world which may or may not bother most people.  But then he really hits a nerve by making the remark about John McCain only being famous because he was captured and held by North Viet Nam.

I do not defend people entering the country illegally nor do I defend John McCain's warped politics.  But what I do take offense to is the notion that all Mexicans who are in this country are here because they're the dregs of Mexican society and Mexico doesn't want them.  I also take offense at someone criticizing John McCain-or anyone else-who has served his/her country.

First, I strongly believe that the over whelming majority of  Mexicans who enter this country illegally have no wish to do us harm.  They want work, pure and simple and they're finding it in the form of jobs no one else will do.

Second, when Trump disparages McCain he is by default dissing all veterans.  Not a smart move, Donald. 

We all know Trump has absolutely no chance of being the president next year or any other year.  To me he's simply a little comic relief in what is becoming a very dreary political period-except he's not really all that funny. 

One thing I am pleasantly surprised at is the uproar over Trump's remarks from the 200 other republicans officially running.  At least they're feigning a degree of decency for which they are  not really known.  

Stay tuned.  There's a LOT more to come. Ugh!

Good diet and plenty of exercise. That's all you need to do.

I just saw yet another TV ad for a miracle diet that promised the user massive weight loss with little if any effort. 

All these things are of course scams.  I do confess however that I did try a modified diet plan with great success.  It was the South Beach diet and its main feature is its emphasis on drastically reduced carbs.  I didn't follow every detail of the plan.  I simply shifted my diet from high carb foods to high protein foods and vegetables.  This for me was more than a diet.  It was a life style change.  On top of that I combined it with an exercise program. 

As a result of all of this I lost weight, lowered my fasting glucose levels and have more energy.  All desirable things.

Exercise is a very important component to any plan so in the interest of being fully informed here's a list of some popular foods and the amount of exercise needed to burn the calories they provide. Caution: It's depressing!

Slice of pizza with peperoni-285 calories
Run 3 miles
285 pushups
1425 situps

Bagel w/cheese-320 calories
1600 situps
Run 3 miles
320 pushups

Slice of bacon-43 calories
Run half a mile
215 situps
43 pushups

Donut-195 calories
975 situps
195 pushups
Run 2 miles

McDonald's double cheeseburger-437 calories
437 pushups
Run 4 miles
2185 situps

Glass of beer-150 calories
150 pushups
Run 1.5 miles
150 pushups

Chocolate shake-356 calories
356 pushups
Run 3.5 miles
1780 situps

1 tic-tac-1.9 calories
2 pushups
9.5 situps
Run 100 feet

There's more but you get the idea.  Bon Appetit

Should we legalize marijuana?

I've been following a discussion on Facebook for some time.  It's a controversial topic that is making its way around the country with some states already having acted on it.  The issue is the legalization of marijuana.

Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Alaska have already legalized its use for recreational purposes with limits as to how much a person may possess.  Many other states, including Connecticut,  have legalized medical marijuana.

The majority of the people in the discussion I've been following support the legalization of recreational marijuana in CT.  The reasons many of them cite are that it would increase badly needed tax revenues to the state.  Plus,  since cigarettes and alcohol are legal, why not?

For the record I oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana.  First, to suggest it would have  a significant impact on tax revenues is absurd.  We are not a state full of pot smokers.  Second, to justify it because alcohol and cigarettes is legal is equally absurd.  Alcohol is not addictive.  Certainly it is abused routinely but it is not addictive.  Drinking alcohol does not make a person an alcoholic.  There are other reasons for that.

Smoking cigarettes is in fact addictive but it does not have the mind-altering qualities of marijuana.  In addition enough is now known about the health risks of smoking that any reasonable adult would certainly choose not to do it.

The point is the jury is still out regarding whether or not marijuana leads to more serious drug use.  It definitely impairs judgement and it is definitely addictive.  Those are reason enough for me. 

Now, on that note, I do strongly believe it should be decriminalized.  That is, instead of sending a person to prison with murderers and rapists for smoking a little pot, there should be other ways to deal with the issue.  Treating a pothead like a hardened criminal is just as ridiculous as simply legalizing its use. 

Opposing views are invited.  I would be willing to  post a person's opinion as a guest blogger on this site. 

Contact: george.stockwell@gmail.com

Home Again

We just returned from a one week trip to Dreams Resort, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  With the exception of food poisoning for Sandi and me, it was a great trip. 

Traveling with our family is always fun.  It is very often a new and exciting adventure for grand children.  In this case Brooke and Courtney thoroughly enjoyed it.

As far as the country of Dominican Republic is concerned it is very typical of all Caribbean countries.  The resort areas are beautiful and luxurious.  Outside of that there's a great deal of poverty with occasional nice vacation residences.

The staff at the resort was in my view exceptional.  They were competent and polite. 

There were a couple of downsides to the whole thing.  Travel days were marked by waiting, waiting, waiting in long lines and the returning flight was delayed.  Also, in terms of the resort itself there was a large contingent of young adults who drank too much and tended to be quite rowdy. Fortunately it was possible to distance ourselves from them. Finally, the beach was basically of no use.  There was a serious algae problem that prevented its use.  Fortunately the pool area was very large so we could enjoy that.

The food poisoning mentioned earlier was probably from some shrimp we had eaten the night before.  It didn't prevent us from having a good time but it wasn't fun either.  At least we took great pains to drink only bottled water.  The resort made sure there was an ample supply of that.

Now it's back to the routine.  It will probably be a long time before we take another trip like this since we do have the condo in Naples.

To see some good pictures go to georgeswebpage.com and click on the photo gallery link at the top of the page. 

There's hope for the U.S. yet

Well well well.  The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has finally joined the rest of us here in the 21st century.  For a while it looked like we were going further and further back in time. 

In all fairness it wasn't the whole court that was bent on living in the past.  Just the four conservatives and a fifth justice who is usually considered a 'swing' vote but lately he's been swinging right.

With last week's rulings it looks like there just might be hope.  First, the Affordable Care Act was given their support.  Second, it was determined that all states must allow people to marry whomever they want.

Definitely progress.  Too bad it didn't bite the bullet (no pun intended) with gun control.   Also its ruling regarding corporate political donations and independence is troubling.  But, hey, we have to take things a little at a time.

Now we need Scalia and Thomas to resign before Obama leaves office and then things will improve dramatically.

Note:  I won't be posting here again until after July 5th.  Taking a little break.  See you then.

Take it down-or let it fly. Which should it be?

What do you think of when you see this flag?  Do you think it represents one of the United Kingdom countries?  Is it an older version of the Stars and Stripes? Maybe you think it's one of the state's flags.

What this is is the flag of The Confederate States of America.  As a result of the recent tragedy in South Carolina there's a bit of a storm revolving around this flag.  It seems the flag flies over South Carolina's state capital.  According to my information it also flies over the Alabama and Mississippi capitals.

Everyone has their own idea of what this flag means to them. Many people (mostly southerners I presume)  regard it as a symbol of independence, freedom from tyranny and self regulation-or at least that's what their politicians and many citizens say it stands for.

Here's what I think it means: insurrection, racism and ignorance. 

The Civil War is over.  The union endured.  State politicians have no business flying this flag publicly and especially not at a state capital.  By doing so they're sending the message that they embrace the values embodied in it.  It needs to come down.  Do you see the German swastika flying at state capitals or in Germany anywhere?  Of course not.  Take it down.  Now.

Fathers Day

Well, I got my new hedge clippers thanks to my son and daughter.  They must have over heard me say my old ones finally bit the dust. 

The old joke about fathers receiving ties never applied to me.  I never once received a tie-or a mug for that matter.

Actually I long ago stopped giving gift ideas for Fathers Day.  Just having the opportunity to be with the family for a day is fine with me. 

I think most men my age think the same thing.

Next up?  Next Sunday we leave for the Dominican Republic.  Should be a great trip.

Another school year draws to a close

 It was exactly 11 years ago today that I bid farewell to a 32 year career in public education.  After I retired I continued to sub and even now I continue to get in the school to volunteer in my grand sons' classes as much as possible. It happens to be the same school where I taught. My grand sons finished kindergarten and first grade respectively. My grand daughters are headed into 4th grade and 6th grade respectively. 

As part of the year-end activities we got to go to Cole & Nicholas's authors's teas.  We went to Brooke's end-of-year performances of two Shakespeare plays (That's right.  Fifth graders doing Shakespeare! My fifth graders never did Shakespeare, that's for sure!).  And Nicholas graduated from kindergarten.

Courtney just finished third grade so she doesn't have graduations nor does her class apparently do Shakespeare but she does have a piano recital coming up so that's the next thing we have to look forward to.

Time has a way of passing so much more quickly than we expect.  It's amazing to me to think we no longer have preschool grand children.   They're growing up so quickly but certainly there are no regrets.  People grow up. It's as simple as that. The things we celebrate now are all good things and the things we're going to be celebrating in the future will be just as good. 

My younger grandson's class sent me the letter you see posted below.  I hope to get many more similar to this as time goes on.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

I just finished reading a book passed on to me by my daughter and son-in-law.  It's The Art of Racing in the Rain. It's about a man and his dog and it's narrated by the dog.  There are many racing metaphors sprinkled throughout the book but that's not really what it's about. 

I don't want to spoil it for anyone so I won't say more except that there is more information on the internet and Amazon.com's website.  The book was on the New York Times fiction best seller list for three years.  Authors and publishers are ecstatic if they can be there a few weeks!

It's a great book about life and the speed bumps we all eventually endure.  You don't have to be a dog lover or a racing fan to enjoy it.  But if you are, that's a bonus.

It's out in paperback.  Read it.

A Visit with Jack

Yesterday I visited my friend Jack.  Jack is a 92 year old World War II veteran who lives in a local nursing home.  Jack has a lot of complaints about the nursing home.  Many of those complaints are justified while some are just because he might be in a grumpy mood.

One thing however is true.  There is a great deal of turnover in the help at the facility and too many of those people are not trustworthy.  By this I mean very often a resident's valuables go missing.  Sometimes it's because another resident took them but other times it's because of the help.

Take for example what happened the other night.  Jack got up to use the bathroom.  He's supposed to ring for assistance but he wants to do things on his own.  Well, sure enough, he had a dizzy spell, fell and banged his head.  The ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital.  Later that night he was returned to the home and put in bed.  The next morning he was OK but he couldn't find his watch.  He remembers on of the night people removing it from his wrist but the next day no one knew anything about it.  It's a possibility someone absentmindedly put it in her scrub pocket but she's been out so they haven't been able to check. 

It's this kind of thing that happens with great frequency.   Another example-I often bring Jack a large bag of those small Hershey chocolates.  He loves chocolate.  The problem is he would have one or two, put them in his night table drawer and the next morning most of them would be gone.  The night people like chocolate too.

It's very difficult to get good help in homes like this.  They pay minimum wage and the training is insufficient. The reason for this is to keep costs down but because of it, the residents suffer. 

So what's the solution?  Diligent family.  Fortunately Jack's brother is on top of all of this but there are many others who have no family or whose family doesn't care.  It's not even possible for a friend like me to intervene because friends have no legal rights over a resident's care.

It's quite a problem and even worse from one state to the next.  Getting sick when you're old is not fun.

General Reflections

This past weekend was very busy given the fact that it was our daughter's birthday Friday followed by two days of grand children sports and yard work.  In fact this is a generally very busy time of year.  Between sports and end-of-year activities as school winds down for the summer there isn't much time for anything else.  But in no way is this a complaint.  It's all good stuff.

As I reflect on the lives of our children and grand children, I'm struck by how different it is for them compared to when I was a child many years ago.   For my sister and me the only organized sporting events we were involved in were our daily trips on our bicycles to a local field where we played baseball with other neighborhood kids.  Forget about school or town sponsored sports.  They simply didn't exist.

End of year school events were also different.  For us there simply weren't any.  For our grand children and even their parents there are a variety of things going on, i.e. concerts, field trips, field days, authors's teas, fairs of various kinds, etc.

In many ways kids today have far more challenges than we did.  Social media alone can turn into a mine field for teens.  But in other ways they're much more fortunate.  There are many more opportunities for them to enjoy  than what was available for those of my generation. 

From time to time I hear people offer the possibility that maybe kids today are too busy.  Maybe they should have more unscheduled time in order to create games of their own instead of everything being planned for them. To me both sides of the issue have good points.  During my teaching days there were many times when my students' out-of-school activities interfered with school. 

The bottom line is it's all about parenting.  Parents are the ones in charge so they're the ones who must set the standard and act responsibly.  Sure, give kids opportunities but let's also give them time to be kids.

Welcome, June!

June already.  A beautiful month.  Nice warm weather.  Flowers blooming.  Kids getting ready to get out of school.  The brutal winter just one more bad memory.  It's a great time of year. There's a full moon tonight but we have a thick cloud cover here in the northeast so you'll have to wait until tomorrow night to see a slightly waning moon.  You won't notice. 

Have a great month.

Book Review

I just finished the book "All the Light We Can Not See" by Anthony Doerr.  The book is set in Europe during World War II. 

This book does not deal with military tactics or battle strategies or the lives of soldiers. The basic focus is on two characters: one a young boy who is eventually recruited into Hitler's Youth and ultimately the German army. The other character is a young, blind french girl. 

What the reader sees is a unique view of what it must have been like to have been a soldier on 'the other side' and what it was like living in an occupied country. 

Events jump back and forth from 1940 to 1945 which some readers said they found confusing but to me  it made perfect sense in terms of what the author was trying to do. 

Eventually the lives of the two main characters merge as the war comes to an end.

The strength of this book is in the many characters the reader meets.  The take away is that World War Two (and by extension all other wars) touched everyone.  No one escapes.

This is one of the best 'war' books I've ever read.  I highly recommend it.

Memorial Day

Sports, picnics, gardens, relaxing,  whatever it may be let us not forget to take a minute or two to  reflect quietly on those who sacrificed so much to make it possible for the rest of us to enjoy this weekend.

A word about today's headline

‘WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE SHARING THE ROAD’

Cyclists send message

Ride of Silence aimed at alerting motorists to watch for bikers on road

By Katrina Koerting

   DANBURY — Though no words were spoken on the ride, the message of the nearly 40 cyclists gathered was clear: “Share the road.” 

 Thus begins the lead article in today's NewTimes.  While it is true that too many motorists are very inconsiderate of cyclists, I don't think it inappropriate to remind cyclists of a few things as well.  

For example motorists are not the only ones who need to remember to share the road.  There have been many occasions when I've come upon groups cyclists riding in a pack, hogging  the road.  Passing them is difficult and often dangerous for the cyclist.  When a car is coming, they need to ride in single file.  

Also, cyclists need to remember that they too must obey the rules of the road.  That means stopping at stop signs and traffic lights and granting the right of way where appropriate.  They can't just toss out the rules because they might delay them or inconvenience them.  All wheeled vehicles are obligated to follow the law. 

Courtesy and consideration goes both ways.  Let's all be aware of each other so no one gets hurt. Fini!

The-state-of-the-yard address

You know how the president is required by the Constitution to deliver a State of the Union address every year?  Well, I've been doing pretty much the same thing except it's not the Union that concerns me.  It's my yard. So here's the run down since my return from Florida.

 Jobs done:
1. Branches and leaves that fell or blew back into yard over the winter are pretty much cleaned up.
2. Lawn tractor and mower started up without any problem and first mowing is done.

Yet to do:
1. Blow those dangling seeds that come off of oak trees off the driveway and front porch.
2. Clean out gutters that are clogged with those same seeds.
3. Pickup and spread two yards of bark mulch.
4. Prep garden area for flower plantings.
5. Start cutting up fallen trees and limbs in back woods to add to firewood pile.
6.  Prune all dead stuff from Rhododendrons from winter kill.
7. Patch cracks in driveway.

That should do it.  The rest is just keeping up with the mowing and pruning.

I'm Baaaack!

This is the longest I've ever gone between blogs but now I'm back.  We've  been in Naples, FL for the past couple of weeks enjoying the very hot weather.

While in Naples we hosted another couple and managed to stay very busy.  One day we visited the Corkscrew Sanctuary.  Another day we visited Naples Botanical Gardens.  Other times we toured old Naples and on yet another evening we went to the beach for sunset.

All of the things we did and much of what we saw are chronicled on my website which I invite you to visit.  View the pictures or click on the photo slide show links to see it all on my website georgeswebpage.com

I'll post another piece with the next few days.  Topic?  To be determined.

It's MAY!

It's a new month and one of my favorites as trees and flowers slowly wake up from a long winter and a chilly spring. 

To learn more about the month of May, click here georgeswebpage.com/almanac

Have a great month.