May 31, 2020

I got some more work done on my new herb garden.  The path will go to the fish pond. 

May 30, 2020

My neighbor let us borrow this.  We took turns digging out tree stumps.  It was fun.

May 29, 2020

We're getting the pool ready.

May 28, 2020

Buttercups in the hayfield.

May 27, 2020

We've had a garter snake show up in the late afternoon lately, near my front door.

May 26, 2020

Today was the day commencement was scheduled for my son's graduation.  Instead of going to a nice indoor ceremony, we went to the drive-in theater.  They showed a slide show of each graduate, followed by a video of them crossing the stage to get their diploma holder, along with the video of them saying what they intended to do after graduation (college and major, military, job, etc.).  It was nice to hear the plans of everyone, rather than just the top ten students.  It was also nice we could sit back in the car with our snacks and drinks to watch commencement, instead of the usual bench in a crowded gymnasium.  Also, I can say one of my kids made it to the 'big screen'.  So I guess now he is officially a graduate!

May 25, 2020

Today was a car parade for the high school seniors.  This is the first time our school has done this, but I'm kind of hoping it's the start of a new tradition.  It was fun.  I took this panoramic while we were waiting to go.  The line loops around the school, you can't see the beginning or end in this picture.  We were probably a little past half way in the line.  We never did see the front of the line.  Afterwards, my son was given a pizza, some candy, two gift bags, and a yard sign.  One gift bag with candy was given to everyone, and they had another bag from someone in the community or school.  My son's bag came from his kindergarten teacher.  I thought it was pretty cool she remembers him!

May 24, 2020

My husband bought the stuff for a chain saw sawmill.  He practiced today on a poplar which fell in the woods last year.

May 23, 2020

We got the potato patch plowed.

May 22, 2020

I've been working slowly on school pictures.  I'm trying to get all these pictures spaced out evenly.

May 21, 2020

We're moving one of our gardens again.  The one spot just doesn't seem to have good dirt, and gets flooded when we have a downpour.  This area is just beyond our fence and uphill from the other garden so should not get flooded.  While my husband plowed, the kids and I checked for large rocks and pulled out what we could find.  There were a few big ones, but nothing I couldn't carry.

May 20, 2020

We have a crabapple growing along our driveway.  It has grown like a round bush rather than a tree.  Right now it's covered in blooms.

May 19, 2020

My son and I went to our school one last time to get our caps and gowns.  I also got a gold tassel and stole because I was in the honor society.

May 18, 2020

The male balitmore oriole visited today.  His colors are much brighter than the female.

May 17, 2020

We dug up a new spot to expand my herb and flower garden.

May 16, 2020

I saw a hummingbird one morning and put out my feeder.  It attracted baltimore orioles along with hummingbirds.  We read that orioles like oranges so we set one out.  Yes, they do like oranges!  I managed to get this picture with both an oriole and a hummingbird (on left side of feeder).

May 15, 2020

My daughter's school is going to have a slide show and wanted a baby picture and a current picture of her, so I took this one today by our lilacs. 

May 14, 2020

Today the high school had seniors come and get their pictures/ videos for graduation.  He got an alumni medal at the first table, then moved on to get a video saying what he was doing after graduation, another video was taken as he walked across the stage with his name being announced and got a diploma holder, went out to another hallway and got his picture taken, gave back the diploma holder (he'll get another one later that's nicer, I guess), verified with a counselor we're going to the parade next week, then had a video taken of him moving his tassel from the right side to the left.

May 13, 2020

We mulched around some of mom's trees this afternoon.  Masks can be useful for keeping out some of the nasty dust that blows around when we load up the trailer.

May 12, 2020

Some of my tomatoes have gotten big.  The weather needs to warm up so I can plant them outside.

May 11, 2020

This was my mother's day gift.

May 10, 2020

May 9, 2020

Yesterday we went to school and picked up my son's toolbox and work boots.  Today we picked up his cap and gown, along with a ticket for the drive-in movie theater.  In place of the usual senior celebrations and commencement, the local schools are having to change things.  Our school is having a small graduation thing where he will get to walk across a stage and get a diploma, though I'm not sure how that will work with 'social distancing'.  They're taking pictures and 'interviewing' him about his future plans.  On another day they're having a parade (in cars) through town.  Then there will be a 'drive-in graduation', where they will show a video of the graduation stuff showing at the drive-in movie theater.  I've seen at least two other local schools are having shows at the drive-in, which I think will be neat. 

May 8, 2020

My oldest is done with school!

May 7, 2020

The apple trees are blooming.

May 6, 2020

I took my last test today.  Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of jobs out there right now, especially for entry level.  My school is still giving letter grades.  My daughter's school called and said they won't give letter grades for the last grading session- they'll just be pass/fail grades.

May 5, 2020

My lilacs are starting to bloom.  I brought one into my office and this was enough to make my office smell really nice!

May 4, 2020

People came to run a new line from our pole to another pole.  The roundish thing with a white rope hanging down was pulled by one of the people on the ground.  It spun to tie two wires together.

May 3, 2020

We had some warmer weather today.  We made s'mores.  Since regular marshmallows give me a headache I make my own from scratch- they're the square ones.  Toasted homemade marshmallows are the best dessert.

May 2, 2020

May 1, 2020

Today was interesting.  We saw a peregrine falcon in the back yard with a bird it had just killed.  For years I thought I saw a falcon but never had a photo to be sure.  I got some blurry photos this time.  I suspect it lives in the old barn nearby.  Later we went for a walk and saw this huge bird.  After looking around on the internet, we believe it is a juvenile bald eagle.  I found out it takes up to five years for them to get their black feathers and white head and tail.  Until then, they look mottled like this.  For many years there have been reports of bald eagle nests in a lake due west of us, which was the direction this bird was flying.  I am not sure I've ever seen one of them in the wild until today.  Two rare birds in one evening!