Tadpoles, Chainsawing, and Butterflies

August 29, 2026 On August 18, I felt well enough to walk around Blackberry Homestead. Bruce had been talking about frog eggs and then tadpoles in the blue half-barrel. Once the tadpoles hatched, Bruce mentioned the green layer on the half barrel was gone. The tadpoles had eaten it. In the picture, you can see […]

And the Jungle Is Less Wild

August 1, 2026 On July 30, in the late afternoon and early evening, Bruce used the leaf sweeper mower attachment for sweeping the hay from mowing. Bruce used his soaked water vest to keep cool. While Bruce was sweeping the yard, he saw a mouse. He said the mouse ran away from him and stuck […]

And Now, Back to the Present

July 30, 2026 On July 26, we started to try to tame jungle Blackberry Homestead had become. We had an overnight thunderstorm that knocked down an old branch from the oak. Bruce mowed at the highest setting on the mower deck. There was no speed mowing that Bruce normally enjoys. It was slow going and […]

The Final Resting Place of Pine Tree One’s Broken Stump

May 19, 2026 On May 5, with my gallbladder surgery the next day, Bruce and I worked hard to finish up with the yardwork and gardening tasks. Bruce used his minion to move the broken stump of Pine Tree One to the burn pile. Bruce happily used the tractor to carry and dump the remains […]

Cutting off Trees Reaching for the Power Lines

May 14, 2026 Bruce had been talking about cutting off the trees reaching for the power line before they became entangled in the power lines. I wish I had taken a before picture. It doesn’t look that impressive just seeing the after picture. On May 4, Bruce took his electric pole saw and cut several […]

Stunning Get Well Flowers from a Dear Friend

May 9, 2026 My dear friend Jeanne, who blogs as ajeanneinthekitchen.com, sent me a stunning flower arrangement as a get well wish for a quick recovery. (If you are behind on reading my blog and are just picking up here, I had gallbladder removal surgery on May 6.) The flowers arrived on May 8th. The […]

House Walking Tour of Sheffield, AL

May 8, 2026 Saturday, April 25, was the last walking tour of Sheffield, AL for 2026. Since we enjoyed the business tour so much, we decided to go to the house tour. We enjoyed seeing the various homes and hearing stories about them. Andrew Jackson camped in the area on his way back from the […]

The Pictures Don’t Provide a Clue – Warning Snake Picture

May 8, 2026 In looking at the picture s from April 23, I have no idea what we did. I suspect Bruce mowed part of the yard. It had been too long to remember what I did without pictures. Anyway, here are the pictures I took. I included the picture of slanted Bruce because I […]

Printing and Mailing the State Tax Forms

April 17, 2026 On Monday (April 13), I loaded the state tax forms onto a USB Drive. Bruce addressed the envelope to the Alabama State Revenue Department. We went to the library to print the tax forms. I was happy to find the library gives a discount for printing tax forms. We had 15 pages […]

Gallbladder Decision and Time to Move Some Dirt

April 16, 2026 Updated April 17, 2026 – Thanks to Beth for noticing I wrote “loom” instead of “loam”. On and off for several days, Bruce and I discussed whether or not I should have my gallbladder removed. After some more bad attacks, I realized that diet would no longer control my gallbladder’s problems. On […]