Our house guests Jim and Gloria are off and away to the East. I was up early and making coffee and other chores and I lost track of Jim for an hour. He was out watering the corn before breakfast, what a guy! So glad those two were able to make it out here for the planting.

So onward for us at the ranch. I have a Zoom this afternoon with a cancer support group in Chicago. It is a watch the film and do the QandA deal. I’m resting up now.

And you know these are my people now, these cancer folks. They are in the trenches, we are in the trenches. It’s “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” time. That’s an old tune or saying about belief and performance. I had a bible class for veterans once years ago and I called it that. Some folks won’t understand that.

The mail is coming in minutes here, you know snail mail man. I’m so waiting for a belt for my mower. The grass here at the ranch is getting dangerous high as the sun and rain feed it. It is not the time to have the mower down. All the flora on the property is laughing at me and saying, “Oh, can’t keep up with it all anymore, huh old man?” Nature can be cruel.

time to go loves, Felipé.

With the additional help from Pattie and Henriette we got all the corn seed tucked in by yesterday afternoon. Then we lounged around in the shade and congratulated ourselves to recoup. My little mind and body were exhausted but we got it accomplished.

Now it is up to the weather to carry us forward. Farmer John in Iowa reported that they got 4 inches of rain after he got his planted. And he did send a pic of his young corn, let me see if I can find that for you. What a thing of beauty to see the young plants!

I might have some other pics from our Island operation for you. We are no Iowa but we are something! Henriette had great timing yesterday, coming in as we planted the last row to take these pics.

OK, out of time for today. Thanks for stopping by.

accomplished loves, Felipé.

Jim (my visitor from Buffalo) and I did a bunch of prep yesterday to get organized for the corn planting. Needed a quantity of sifted soil to cover the seed, needed water out there, needed all the right tools. We have a new system this year so it took reorganizing the whole deal. And we got four rows planted before we ran out of steam in the afternoon.

We have a big day today planting. We think we can get it done today, nine more rows, hopefully beings that we are. Gloria, Jim’s wife is here and Patti from Seattle is coming today to help. So we are in good shape. Just sitting around drinking coffee now.

And in other news, Wiley started a new side job yesterday as head coach for for the wrestling team at Vashon Middle School. I think that he will do a great job there once he gets the program going. It is kind of like our corn project, both in their early stages. But he is very knowledgeable about wrestling and he has a good temperament for dealing with these kids. And this Middle School age has such huge potential for guys like Wiley to influence. So proud of him.

So, off we go today.

huge potential loves, Felipé.

That’s what it looks like this morning, coffee and sunshine. We start planting today, well later today. We have a walk and then some organizing to do to get to the actual planting. And three days of good weather coming up will help out. So we are all ready to get it in gear.

The corn seed is soaking in water to wake it up. Yup, time to get going little guys! This is all the beginning to eventually get to ripe corn in August and the Oasis party. God willing this will all come together.

I am so ready for a good harvest. Last year we had the worst year ever. In response to that a new approach is being tried. I am confident that we will turn this around.

Father David our local priest wants to come and give me the sacrament of Anointing with Oil which is a help to folks in medical trouble. I need that. So maybe while he is here I will flag him down to bless the corn crop. That sounds like a plan.

So a lot of corn in the news. Well, that’s OK with me for one. It seems so substantial and so satisfying.

Time for me to get ready for the morning walk. That is all happening now too. Miss you. That is happening too.

beautiful day in the neighborhood loves, Felipé.

Here we are well into May 2021 on this Mother’s Day. Here we are fighting our way out of this pandemic. My mother, who passed away in 1999, lived through the 1918 pandemic. She lost a young brother during that time but I don’t know the details or circumstances. It is lost to the past.

My Rebecca, a mother of two and grandmother of two, is currently writing a novel about that time period, 1918. She is curious regarding her relatives back then. Her grandfather Ollie had a wife before Rebecca’s grandmother. That first wife did by all the records die as a result of the “Spanish” flu. But none of the details and circumstances are known at this time. So, that is where Rebecca is taking over, filling in the blanks and creating a credible story of her ancestor’s time and place. From me looking over her shoulder I see parallels and similarities to our own time.

She is trying to make sense of things from her past, from our past, things that are unexplained. That sounds like a worthy cause to me. Maybe somehow it will lend some clues to our grandchildren and great grandchildren who will be here for the next hundred year event.

OK, Happy Mom’s Day to all the Mom’s out there. Hope that you are happy today.

hundreds of years of loves, Felipé.

My old old friend Jim and his wife Gloria are flying in this morning to SeaTac airport. They are probably over Eastern Washington at the moment and supposed to land at 1040.

I still have work to do. Last touches on the guest room mostly and clean out the debris in the back seat of the car. No one would ever accuse us of being neatniks, no sir.

Just heard from Ronaldo our Caminoheads Astorga Bureau Chief. They just got their first shot of the vaccine with the second in sight. They, he and Ann, are coming to see us and I think that this means the Oasis. That would be great! Will find out more details.

For now, I am going to go and scurry around. Keep in touch as always.

sun’s out loves, Felipé.

Not sure if the boss is coming today to write, but I thought to sneak in a post one more time, just because I read something on instagram today, and cannot stop thinking on it.

This woman posts thoughts written in watercolors, yes, very simple, but at the same time, I feel that the simplicity the page has makes me think on what she writes (check her out, she is @bymariandrew). This is what she posted today:

“When people are walking very slowly, I imagine the possibilities that could be contributing to their leisurely pace of plod:

• Perhaps their feet hurt
• Perhaps they are recovering from an incident that could have taken their life, but it was gracious enough to take their fast gait instead
• Perhaps they are trying to notice everything and don’t want to rish
• Perhaps they are too early for a first date
• Perhaps they are trying to align their steps with the rhythm of their heartbeat.

I don’t know. Seems possible. ”

These lines made me think on all the different circumstances others may be going through and we don’t know. In this case, it is just walking slowly… Walking slowly can hide some lovely reasons as being early for a first date, but also be as devastating as dealing with the symptoms of a disease. So… no matter what and why, isn’t this a great reason for practicing being more patient and kinder towards the rest of the humanity?

“Love is patient and kind” Loves,

Cris

As things open up again more folks are here to walk. Some are old friends and some are new. Such a breath of fresh air after the year of operating during the pandemic. Yes, that tide is ebbing.

If you are vaccinated, wonderful. If you are not, wear a mask for the walk. We are outside and not bunched up. The trail is dry and rain is only once in a while.

Monday 0900-1000
Tuesday 1600-1700
Thursday 0900-1000
Sunday 1600-1700

Hope to see you, Felipé.

This last year My Rebecca bought a new used car. It had belonged to Jessika (Secret Agent), a 2004 Ford Taurus. This beauty, nicknamed Sheba, came with all sorts of extras including a broken left rear taillight. I realize that is redundant, “rear taillight” but it didn’t sound right any other way.

So a couple of mornings ago I had a strange dream. That is kind of redundant also, “strange dream”. But everyone in the world had a particular job to do. And that was to safeguard a particular car part and memorize it’s part number to keep it safe against a world wide system’s breakdown. We were the keepers of this knowledge, all of us, each one of us. And guess what, I was the left rear taillight for a 2004 Ford Taurus. Right now I don’t know the number, my bad but we were all members of a plan each with a certain equality and importance.

so there loves, Felipé.

Tuesday and we have a good start on the week. Been trying to do all my prep for corn planting which is coming up in a week. We’re having a spell of light rain and cloudiness currently.

After taking off a couple of weeks to deal with the Monster Mash skull surgery I finally got back to work yesterday. Just like I left it with tools and materials strewn all over. Jim and I managed to hang one of the doors that I had made for them and their art studio. It looks beautiful. The first beauty to the operation as we have been doing demolition and making framing changes and laying concrete block. All important stuff but not really beautiful stuff. So we have the other door going in today. Maybe I can come up with some pics.

May is a beautiful month here in Pacific Northwest. The weather isn’t completely sorted out but there is enough of it together to get the idea of Spring. All sorts of flowers and trees are blooming. With the bees buzzing and the swallows overhead swooping on the flying insects. The air is full of the new smells of the blossoms all around.

Time to head out and get the day going. See you back here tomorrow.

swallows overhead loves, Felipé.