Random Acts of "Kindness"

Posts tagged ‘weather’

VIEW FROM THE PORCH

When we bought our property at the campground, we knew we were on the edge of the property. We didn’t realize how lucky we were. In the early days of the campground, cows were in the pasture across the road. I often walked across to visit. Various dogs of ours also crossed the road to visit the cows. I don’t think the cows were impressed. Time has passed and the cows are gone. Market conditions might have been the cause. Now the fields are planted with crop — grass, corn, beans, hay depending on the season and year. Our resident deer love to cross the road to graze on the various offerings. This year a mother and two fawn are going out for dinner.

Sometime along the way, a small park was installed across from us. Even though it is very small, it is a gathering place for many of the children. Last year when the tornado struck and demolished many trees, the second day we were allowed to return, I heard children’s voices coming from behind the trees. I wrote a speak up sheet asking that the park be replaced. I learned that the park hadn’t been in their plans but the speak up sheet worked. The park is even smaller — only a baby swing and a bigger swing, with a slide set. Last weekend 10 children were there at one time followed by other various groups. A red haired teenager took advantage of the swing and the quiet to have some quiet time of her own.

Our property faces south from which a breeze comes on most days. Thanks to the tornado, many of the trees are gone — the breeze isn’t blocked. When the temperature was in the 90’s, the breeze was a very welcome addition. Another advantage for us is that we are not close to the pools or the lakes. Even on busy weekends, our place is not crowded. Not having other campers across the road is also a blessing. Since it is so open, we can watch the lightening and the storms further south. Farmers cutting their crop. Once or twice a summer we are treated to crop dusting planes.

Recently we had the opportunity to purchase a self propelled used lawn mower. We have a service cut our lawn but not our son’s. The weed whacker my husband used was becoming too much work — equipment was needed. In the course of our conversation at the store, we learned that an antique tractor run was scheduled for the next day. Imagine our surprise when we saw the tractors on the back road, right across from our porch. I didn’t realize what I was seeing at first, so I didn’t count until 10 tractors had passed but I did get my camera for a couple of close shots.

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ANNIVERSARY

On June 22, 2015 a tornado damaged more than 700 acres at Woodhaven Lakes at 7:50 PM. A double trunk tree fell on our motor home, causing it to be the poster child of the tornado. The picture of the motor home appeared front page on three newspapers and had its own spot on television. We also lost more than nine trees on the front of our lot and more behind. We were fortunate to be home that night. My husband needed a new prescription for his insulin and our doctor was on vacation. When we bought our lot, it was for the shade — now we have sunshine, plenty of it. We have planted five new trees — four survived the winter. Flowers that need the sunshine now have a space in our garden.

We have vacationed at Woodhaven the week of Father’s Day in June for more years than I care to count. My husband has always enjoyed good fishing, summer vacations haven’t really started yet and the campground is quiet. I noticed that the anniversary of the tornado would be that week but didn’t think anything about it. No cause for alarm.

Monday, June 20 had a full strawberry moon on the solstice. It was beautiful. I captured the rising of the moon on my camera. I’ve learned that in olden times, the Native Americans picked strawberries to the light of the moon. I also learned that there wouldn’t be another full moon on the solstice for 50 years. I don’t think I will be around then.

Storms were predicted for June 22. I turned our weather radio on. The weather person explained the meeting of the cold front coming into the area with the warm front and the possibility of tornadoes at the junction. Sadly the junction was in our area. The tornado sirens went off at 7:30 and we moved to a safer place. I stood in the shelter of the comfort station talking to others with my eye on the sky while my husband sat in the car listening to his ham radio with our dog. I will admit that I sent a few prayers up for safety from the storms. Thankfully the tornadoes stayed to the north and south of us. There were four touch downs in our area, 18 tornadoes sighted to the south, four doing significant damage. Security came by to tell us the danger was over.

The question now is — will we be at Woodhaven June 22 in 2017? Time will tell. The weather has become more violent world wide. I miss old fashioned rain.

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I DID IT!

Feeling old, temperature at 93 degrees and rising. Did I really want to go downtown? Blues Fest weekend — 33rd to be exact. My husband does not like crowds. He is not really into the Blues, Country is his music. Did I really want to go downtown? I knew asking him to go with me in the high heat, and crowds was not good for him. For years I never went down to attend the FREE events — because he didn’t want to go and I didn’t go without him.

One year, their 25th to be exact, I decided to wander down and have been a regular attendee since then. I realized that I really like Rhythm and Blues. Of course there is not much in the way of music that I don’t like. Heavy Metal might be one. The first time I went down, I got in line for the concerts at Petrillo Music Shell, sitting off to the right, three to four rows from the stage. I have enjoyed watching the signers (words into motion) and listening to some of the great Blues artists. Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, to name a few. I have stayed late and wandered home after dark. I have spoken to people from England that planned their vacation to be in Chicago for the Blue’s Fest.

This year we were back in town. My husband had doctor appointments scheduled for Friday and Monday. Saturday and Sunday were free. The forecast for Friday was in the 90’s. So was Saturday. A cold front was coming in Saturday night so Sunday was scheduled to be cooler. Both of my knees didn’t like me. My good (?) knee tangled with an underwater swimmer in the pool and was damaged. My left knee was still protesting when I wore shoes that affected my knee and hip. Reason told me to stay home.

If you have been reading my thought rambles for some time you are probably aware of the fact that I am stubborn and often don’t listen! 93 temperatures weren’t going to keep me home. I promised to drink plenty of water, stay in the shade and be aware of how I was feeling. I asked which stops had elevators downtown and walked a little farther to avoid taking the stairs. (Both coming and leaving.) I planned to wear new shoes so as not to cause any more injury to my body. I thought carefully of the clothes I was wearing to protect myself from the sun. I decided not to carry a chair — it would be too heavy, I would look for places to sit down. From past experience I knew that sitting on the ground was out, I’d never get up.

I realized that I had been on my feet too long and looked for an empty spot on a bench when I entered the park. Right in front of my eyes was a spot — I asked if I could sit down and was told that I could only until the photographer returned. When he returned, I was invited to stay. THANK YOU!

The gentleman was originally from Illinois, but moved to California where he recently retired. They bought a RV with a toy compartment for his Harley and wander the country visiting Blues Fest’s and Harley Davidson meets. His companion was from the Monterey Bay area. He grows strawberries by the Salinas river. I met my husband in California, our eldest daughter was born in Carmel. I felt right at home — the music was good, the shade comfortable — I stayed until the set was over.

I always wander the whole Fest, checking out the food, the artists. They had amazing FREE rib samples. Wandering here — there, I realized I needed to sit down. Lines where forming for the Music Shell and possibly because of the heat, instead of just one, many lines had formed. I joined one and got FRONT ROW seating. (Sadly my camera was at home.) I totally enjoyed the national anthem sung by Nellie Travis in a beautiful red, blue and white gown. (Sunday I complimented her on her singing and appearance. I asked one of the venue operators to pass on the compliment but it was suggested I tell her myself.)

This has passed the word count I usually use so I will quickly end this. Sunday was cooler, my husband joined me and carried chairs. We used the elevator again and spent time in the shade and also the sun. I saw people that I knew. We didn’t stay for the evening performance and we walked back to the Library to take the elevator. Combined total steps for both days was 37,867. I couldn’t believe it. I’m TIRED but I sure don’t feel OLD!

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I FOUND A DIME

There are many stories in which people find nickels or dimes as signs that a loved one who has passed is with them. I’ll admit that has occasionally happened to me. I’ll also admit that I seldom find money when I’m out and about. My eyes are usually focused on people, dogs, flowers, birds, trees etc. If the pavement is icy, I’ll pay more attention to where I’m walking. Although the temperature had a wind chill below zero, the pavement was dry. So why was I excited? Why am I sharing?

Often when I receive a response or find money, I’m storming heaven about something or I’ m very worried. I remember once I either was storming heaven or pleading my case, when a group of crows cawed three times. I don’t remember what I was doing, other than walking, that caused their response. That occurred many years ago, but it made an impression. That year I had read that crows were a spiritual sign from the CREATOR. I do know that I was grateful for the response.

So why am I sharing the news that I found a dime? If you have read many of my thought rambles, you know that I am aware that I walk to a different drummer. You know that I am aware that I have “friends in high places.” I will also admit that on a daily basis, I’m seldom aware of “their HELP.” At the same time, maybe I walk with more “awareness.” I don’t like getting hit on the head.

In any case, I’m extremely worried about a friend of mine. She fell a month ago and fractured a hip. She had surgery almost immediately but instead of recovering she is still in a great deal of pain. Instead of being released from the hospital and continuing a very busy life she is confined in a nursing home. And she is not happy, possibly depressed. My Life this month is EXTREMELY BUSY. My husband and his health is occupying most of my life. I have not been able to call or visit like I would like to. She was moved to another room and I didn’t have her new phone number. Thankfully her husband had it and I phoned her. I was very concerned when I hung up. Walking Robin, I sent up an SOS to heaven on her behalf. The SOS might have been for a short time or rather lengthy — I don’t remember. What I do remember is that looking down, I saw a dime. When I was young (a long, long time ago) a dime paid for a phone call or a ride on the bus. Does the dime indicate that the call was received? Does the dime indicate that I should continue to storm heaven on her behalf? Your guess is as good as mine but I was HAPPY to see the dime.

Of course, I will be VERY HAPPY if they find out what is causing her pain and she is able to quickly recover.

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GLASS

I trust that I haven’t given the impression that because I have “friends in high places” stuff doesn’t go wrong in my life. If I have — I’m sorry — I have mislead you. STUFF HAPPENS!

And it did on a VERY COLD Wednesday morning. At 5:30 AM I heard a crash — I didn’t know if something happened to our house or if it was outside. I just knew I heard a noise that was disturbing. I checked our back bedrooms first. Robin was sleeping comfortably on the bed. I looked outside to see if there had been an accident. Everything was quiet out on the street. I got dressed and went downstairs. The first thing I noticed was that the curtain had fallen behind the Christmas tree. ??????

Further investigation revealed a big hole in our window. VERY, very cold air was rushing in. WHAT had happened? WHY did the window break? HOW can I cover the hole? A few ideas popped into my head but nothing was sticking and I couldn’t find anything to cover the hole. I decided that I needed help and woke my husband. Soon after he came downstairs we discovered that another window had been broken. AND we discovered the cause. Rocks had been thrown through our windows. That explained the noise. Neither my husband, my son nor Robin were woken from their sleep.

Thankfully we had duck tape in the house. A few rolls to be precise. We also had plastic window covering left over from the years before thermal windows. (I don’t miss covering our windows every winter but I’m glad I didn’t throw the plastic out.)

I called the company who had installed our windows. Their phone number had been disconnected, they must have gone out of business. I looked up two other companies that installed thermal windows and left a message. When my son joined us, he thought cardboard would be a good idea and took over the task. He also had a good idea who had thrown the rocks. We agreed.

My husband and I have been attending an exercise and nutrition class at a local Veterans Clinic. He decided that he wasn’t going to go to class that morning. I knew I NEEDED to go, I NEEDED to exercise. I couldn’t go without him. Although I’m a veteran of many things — I’m don’t have the credentials to attend a VA program.

During a break between the exercise and the nutrition program one of the companies I phoned returned my call. I learned that they only replaced windows unless they did the original work. The man who phoned suggested a glass company, it would be cheaper.

One of the volunteers at the clinic knew of a glass store in the neighbor hood but didn’t know the address. He said it was right next to a beauty shop that had a sign in front. When we left the clinic and turned down the street, traffic was heavy. My husband pulled to the side to let traffic pass so we could poke. As I looked at the shops, I noticed that he had pulled up to the glass shop. I don’t know if we would have found it if he hadn’t stopped. The shop replaced thermal windows, they came out the next day.

Windows are ordered. I removed half of the ornaments from the tree before they came and our son moved the tree out from the wall. New windows are ordered, they should be in next week. The tree is still up, ornaments moved around but it will be down before the windows are installed. Temperatures are in the single digits — heading for below zero. Thankfully the duck tape, plastic wrap, and cardboard have kept out the cold air.

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NO ICE

I am EXTREMELY THANKFUL this morning. I will admit that I was very stressed yesterday. The forecast was for rain, snow, than dropping temperatures — into the teens with below zero wind chills. Two weeks ago, we had rain, sleet and temperatures that dropped into the twenties. After two weeks, we still have remnants of that mess on sidewalks, streets and alleys. I was grounded for a day — (advised to stay inside) pavements were very icy and restricted for a few more days. I was very worried that we were repeating that mess. And when I am stressed I nibble continually.

I’ve written how I must be extremely needy since I receive HELP on a regular basis. Yesterday was a good example. In the morning I opened the bible to Psalm 146 — Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer. Queen of Angels reading was titled From Sickness to Health. Did that stop me from worrying? NOPE! It wasn’t only the weather, family matters were also causing their own concerns. But looking back on the day, I have to admit that I wasn’t nibbling from morning to night. I made a pot of chili, I took Robin for two walks while the pavement was wet but not icy. I walked to the store to get something I needed.

Today, the wind chill was below zero. I dug out my heavier coat and put on my boots. Robin got to wear a coat too. My husband had put salt on our outside steps the night before. I didn’t know how far I would be able to walk — staying upright, not falling was a concern. As soon as I stepped onto out sidewalk, “THANK YOU!” exploded from my mouth. NO ICE! The storm went further north so we didn’t get as much snow as forecast. The wind must have dried the streets, sidewalks, and alleys. There was still some ice, but not as much as I feared. Robin and I were able to take our normal walk.

This morning when I opened the bible I read from Psalm 84: “happy are those who trust in the Lord.” Queen Of Angels — repeated the theme “to trust God totally.” AND I DO but I also know that it is God’s plan, not mine! He/She could easily have planned that I would wake to a city covered in ice. And I would TRUST that I would survive the mess — hopefully not falling and causing damage to body parts.

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STUMPED

There are times when everything I try DOES NOT work. Today is one of those times. Years ago, when I first wrote To Pap, With Love — I filed for a state tax number. I thought that I would sell some of the books myself. Actually I did, but the number that was sold was less than 50, possibly much less.

Years have passed and I have made no personal sales but I still needed to file the sales tax form. Since the amount of money I owed was zero, I was informed to file electronically. Trying to do that today wound up with nothing but frustration. I finally got to the right screen, after many tries but my user name and password didn’t agree. If this was supposed to be easy, I missed a step. I will have to get help from a real person. But since this is the weekend, I will have to wait until Monday. I’m hoping that since I’ve had so many challenges I no longer need to file. Wouldn’t that be lovely!

OFTEN when I’m blocked, I’m not supposed to do what ever it is I’m trying to do. Maybe I’m cooking and nothing is going right. It is aggravating when I ruin the dish, or burn or cut myself. Maybe I’ll spill stuff all over the counter or floor. Sometimes I can determine the reason for the mishap. Often it just becomes one of the great mysteries.

Recently I was trying to phone a friend — the call didn’t go through — twice. Then I tried a different person and received their answering machine. Not giving up, I tried a third only to learn that I was calling at a bad time. I finally decided that I wasn’t supposed to be on the phone. I don’t know why — it is another of the mysteries.

I have written a couple of thought rambles about our dog, Robin. We have had many dogs in our lifetime, Robin’s personality beats all of them. She is definitely unique. I think that I wrote that she lead our son upstairs because he came down without his shoes. He needed his shoes to take her for a walk. I had been closing our bedroom door to keep the noise of my TV from disturbing anyone else. Robin got mad at me, she thought I was keeping her out. It took a few days before I was forgiven. She opens the bathroom doors to see who is inside. Just checking! Recently she got mad at my husband — he is her person. He took her for a walk and wouldn’t let her eat something she found. When they got home, she turned her back on him. He tried to give her a favorite treat but she turned her face away. It took some time before she forgave him.

Life is busy. My husband has enrolled with the Veterans Administration and that has added more appointments to the calendar. Many of the appointments are at the hospital, 30 miles from home. We had a lovely, warm winter. IT IS CHANGING. Rain, turning to snow, turning to temperatures in the teens will turn to ice. Of course, none of the appointments are life threatening and we can always cancel. The next two weeks we will be gone more than we will be home. Our Christmas tree is still up and I don’t know when I will have the time to take it down. Valentines? Easter eggs?

My “friends” edit my rambles — if I share something that shouldn’t be said — the ramble isn’t saved. I guess this one is okay — no trouble posting it.

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STEPPING UP

Driving home I thought of the PERFECT TITLE for a thought ramble. Of course I thought I would remember! Are you laughing yet? I think “my friends in high places” are. They just erased everything I have written so far. This is “help” in the extreme. Maybe it is not a subject that I should share.

Bit by bit I’m trying to do the best I can with each day. Although I regularly attend Catholic Mass, many years ago the message came through that my involvement with our church should be limited. I could detail the many occurrences that brought that message into my mind but I don’t know if those experiences would help you. It seemed that my stories would be better served with people outside of our church.

(Right now my mind is not remembering the theme of the ramble!) Today I joined a group of my friends at a retirement home where our parish priest was saying Mass. Arriving, I learned that one of my friends was in charge of setting up the refreshments and I knew that I would help out. I can still walk unaided and my arms and hands still function. Many of the participants use walkers or canes. I was right. I even surprised myself when I was able to carry some of the chairs. During Mass, I sat next to a woman who shared my maternal grandmother’s first name — Molly. Sadly I learned she is suffering from Alzheimer’s.

I had brought photos with me — of the summer — of the devastation from the tornado, of the Japanese Garden, of Natchusa and it’s buffalo’s, of the new nature park in the city. They aren’t able to wander as freely as they once where and I like to share. A friend liked a photo I had taken of the waterfall at the Japanese garden and thought she might like to paint it. I was happy to give the photo to her.

This has been a beautiful blue sky day. Arriving back home — we took Robin to the dog beach. She is very quiet in the car except now she recognizes the beach and starts to cry as we park. A female dog who recently gave birth tried to join me in our car. I learned she had eight puppies. The owner was keeping two of them. As we were leaving the beach, I commented that we had lost our female chocolate Lab a few years ago. He mentioned that he had lost his shepherd after 25 years. “You know she is fine on the other side,” I told him. “No, he didn’t,” he replied. At that I shared a short version of Shanae’s gift to me, — when I saw her spirit RUNNING through the house when we sent her home. I have to admit that that gift has made the passing of our other dogs easier to handle.

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NATCHUSA

I remember the first time I visited the prairie at Natchusa, paper pie plates guided the way. I don’t remember if I parked on the road or in the grass. It was a beautiful September day, warm and sunny. Standing on a hill I saw grasses waving in the breeze, taller than me. The view extended for miles. I don’t remember very much about the day except I went on a guided walk and had a GREAT time. I also don’t remember what year it was, only that I was much younger.

Natchusa has grown — regular printed signs guide the wanderer to the prairie. The festival is still held the 3rd Saturday of September. The day before, rain washed the landscape — thankfully Saturday was dry and sunny. Walking through the prairie after a rain when everything is wet was not something that I wanted to do. Now there are buffalo and tours were provided. One year vehicles took visitors out to various parts of the prairie — this year the emphasis was on the buffalo. They arrived in November of last year, and roam a 500 acre area north of the festival. The buffalo came from South Dakota, they are pure, their stock hasn’t been mixed with cattle.

My husband and I took turns standing in line to wait for the tour. It was time well spent. During the waiting time, I bought a pork sandwich for lunch. I don’t know if I was planning to sit down to eat it but when I stopped at a table to add BBQ sauce. I lost my footing and almost fell. I decided the best option was to sit and join the group at the table. Three photographers with huge professional cameras were enjoying their lunch. I had my camera, which takes GREAT pictures but is much lighter and easier for me to carry. When they left, three artists who were painting at the festival took their place. They each painted in a different medium: oil, acrylic and watercolor.

I stopped to not only admire their work but to investigate the easels they were using. I have painted in the open, on site at the Botanical Gardens. I remember well the task of getting my easel, paints, chair and painting to and from the site. I was painting in oil which doesn’t dry quickly. I only put in the background of the waterfall, planning to finish it at home. Carrying the WET painting to my car, I left my fingerprints on the canvas. They are still on the canvas — I decided to leave the painting as is and remember the day. Having an easier way to carry supplies might make it possible for me to paint on location again. I don’t know if I NEED another easel, or would use it. I haven’t actually painted in a few years but nudges have started again.

Before we left, I walked up a narrow trail into the prairie. Camera in hand I searched my memory trying to remember names of plants that I used to know. Thankfully, many had signs naming the plant. I would have loved to walk further and explore but even though I was wearing jeans, my shoes weren’t the best.

We will just have to return!

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HOMER LAKE

Rain finally ended, sun came out, temperature warmed enough to be pleasant — no reason to stay indoors. Our daughter suggested we take the family and go to Homer Lake. The men of the family had other things they wanted to do — just the girls were up for the adventure. We also took the two female DOGS.
Maggie, a golden retriever who is heavier, walked up the ramp to get into the SUV. Robin DID NOT want to walk up the ramp — neither did she want me to pick her up. I wanted to pick her up from her hind quarters, she kept turning her face to me. I thought we would have to leave her home. She is my husband’s dog. If he went there would be no problem. Finally she put her paws on the deck and I lifted her in for the short ride.

We went to a part of the park we hadn’t visited before. Robin was happy to jump out. She was happy to LEAD all of us on the walk — she had to be first. Birds were singing, some flowers were already blooming. I had my camera ready. Some of the path was still muddy from the rain so we had to be careful.

My granddaughter wanted to go to the play place. I didn’t want to try to get Robin into the car for the short ride so we walked EXCEPT Robin DIDN’T WANT to walk with me. Part of her family was going in a different direction and she wanted to lead them. Robin and I finally made it to a path that I thought would take us to the play place. It branched into two paths. I took the one to the right but after walking a bit decide to turn around and take the path to the left. Robin was VERY HAPPY to turn around, she thought we were going to join our family — she wasn’t happy when I took the path to the left.

I saw a small bird sitting on a branch. My camera has a good zoom so I zoomed in and took a photo. After I did the bird flew away. I wasn’t wearing my glasses, no binoculars so I hoped my photo would let me know whose picture I took. (It was a blue bird.) In the distance I heard a bird call peter, peter. I remembered hearing that call years ago but didn’t remember the name of the bird. (Back home GOOGLE helped — tufted tit mouse.)

We finally reached our group. Robin was HAPPY. In fact, when the back was let down of the car, she jumped right onto the bed, she didn’t want to be left behind again.

This ramble was written in May, scheduled to publish in June but the Tornado caused it to be rescheduled.

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