Monday 6:54 p.m.

RAIN - water falling from the sky in the form of large drops. Oops-it stopped? Will it resume???
Radar shows storm to the South moving North - toward us. Usually the rain storms split and go around us!! Yep, this one will likely do that!

We cleared more brush today. One can actually walk up to the edge of the creek and see all the trash now. What a pretty sight! Colorful plastics, a big piece of yellow carpet draped seductively across a rotting log, and something that is red and white plastic with a white metal frame of some kind. We even have high milage tires (black walls), a push mower, lumber, and plastic bags. Yum-Yum!!

Hum- still raining lightly. Will this one actually help--- THUNDER!~ Whoa, we may yet get some water. Thunder getting louder--- rain is very light.

Gotta go- Linda just announced that supper was ready.

PS: Nanna Puddin - I coated the pole with grease straight from my grease gun. They still managed to climb it with a running start.

NOTE: 7:07 p.m. -Rain is pouring down! A real gully washer!

Er--Sunday, I think.

Bought two swivel/rockers and glass topped table for the deck. They are comfy.

Nothing else happening. Slow, lazy day. Tomorrow, I need to go price lumber at another lumber yard and find out what they charge for delivery. MUST get the bridge built so we can use the property across the creek. I now plan to build a "Queenpost Truss" style bridge. Less lumber and it looks neat.

Bye!

Planning

Been standing out back by the creek with a cup of coffee trying to imagine a bridge crossing the creek without impeding the water flow. Think I have it! A "through truss" like the railroads use. It is not a complicated design. The frame is above the roadway and creates a bracing effect against the end supports to prevent sag in the middle. The entire bridge will need to be about 18 feet long and 5 feet wide. I found on the Internet that a 2"x8" board can span 13'4" and carry a good load. I plan to place 6 of the 2x8's one foot apart with a brace at 9 feet. Should be enough to support the lawn tractor and a trailer load of something - 1,000 pounds of less.

Squirrels are cute. Squirrels in bird feeders are a pain in the @#^^%**!!! I pile corn and sun flower seeds on the ground and in pans but, NO, we have one that MUST eat the same stuff from the bird feeder on the pole!!! He has learned to run when I walk onto the deck. The other three or four feed on the ground, as squirrels are supposed to do..

OUT OF HERE!

4th

I am full of Bar-B-Que ribs and good sausage cooked on our very own grill. I was surprised that it tasted soooooooo good!!

Carolyn ate with us since Wayne is in Muleshoe for about three weeks.

Looks like we have decided not to move. If we spot something terrific in the future, we might move, or if the city complains about our bridge and storage plans. Not going to get a permit - the construction will not cross or abut any other person's property, including the city.

Happy 4th. We might go see the firecracker display produced by Ross and Brenda tonight.

Thursday

I attended the funeral for Mrs. Audrey Tucker this morning at the O'Quinn Baptist Church. Ms Tucker was a member when we attended O'Quinn back there in the late 50's (That's the late 1950's). Her husband, S. M. Tucker, was a deacon. He died in 1983. I felt strange, being inside O'Quinn for the first time in probably 50 years! I actually recognized Ms Tucker's oldest daughter and her husband. Nothing stays the same or lasts forever.

Went down the road after the funeral to visit the fireworks tycoon. They are selling enough explosives to equip a good sized army. Maybe that's why Ross grew a beard and Brenda wears a turban...

After I spread an entire bag of fertilizer, we had an unexpected good, heavy rain. Now the grass will grow fast and mowing will follow.

Should we move or stay here!???! Really do need more room. I could build a storage building across the creek... the Corp of Engineers might complain...

Oh, well. We'll see if something pops up that we really like.

Wed.

Mowed, edged, trimmed, watered, rested.
Nothing new on the moving idea.

Tuesday

We looked at the outside of a house in Huntington today and plan to try to visit the place with a realtor tomorrow. The house was once owned, and probably designed, by an artist named Forman. She apparently had a studio built onto the two-car garage and another studio or plant room attached to the back. The yard (1.7 acres) appears to have been planted with several varieties of trees. The place looks great on the outside so we will try to see the inside.