from the porches

i found out

Today I found out that I have 38 school days left.  I felt like kicking up my heels.  That would make for an interesting photograph.

Today I found out that an indigo bunting is on our property.  In fact, he was sitting on my jasmine vine this afternoon.   

               

               

Today I found out that indigo buntings do not have blue feathers but are considered a black bird.  When sunlight strikes the feathers, they only appear blue.  Amazing.  I would have made a wager on that one.  By the way, these photos were taken from the front porch and they're not great, but they do prove we have an indigo bunting on our property.

Today I found out that most of the gold finches have headed North.  We did see a couple this afternoon.

Today I found out that some kid threw a marble in the yard possibly 25-30 years ago, maybe 50 years ago depending on the child.  There have only been two families living in the house to my knowledge. I know this because we have dug a drainpipe ditch at the side of our house and in the upturned soil lay a marble.  I'm supposing it was Clay who took my marble out of the house, but then again, it could have been Merry Jennifer when she was a child.  So, knowing me, I picked up my little round treasure and brought it in the house to place in my marble jar.

               

My goodness, it looks to be the color of an indigo bunting, almost.

Today I found out that my two bad cats like to play with little round marbles when their mom is trying to photograph them.  Bad cats!

krispy chicken

Truett couldn't believe it Friday night when I suggested I cook dinner for him.  On a Friday night?  After I had spent all day Friday in Gainesville with my mom? What, no pizza?  Truett is a far better cook than I, but I wanted to try a recipe from the Ivy House.  Not only was it delicious, the prep time was five minutes.  All working people could fix this baked krispy chicken in no time at all.

Ivy House Baked Krispy Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts

1 stick butter, melted

2 cups Rice Krispies (crushed)

Salt & black pepper

Dip chicken breasts in melted butter.  Then dip the chicken into crushed Rice Krispies.  Place chicken on a sprayed baking sheet.   Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Yum.  Yum.  So easy to make.  It must be if I volunteered to cook.  Enjoy.

roar

ROAAAR!  Today is the annual Lion's Club Golf Tournament in Lake City, but I WON'T be going.  I did it once and withstood all that the tournament entails:  drinking (lots and lots of drinking), scantily clad young women serving beer and liquor from the backs of trucks (as well as a few has-beens), and 120+ men getting drunker than skunks.  In fact, very little in that tournament was about golf.  It's about having a good time and raising money for people who need eyeglasses.  But I didn't know that four years ago.  Nope.  Since Truett had a bum knee I wasn't getting my golf games in.  So he said,  "Come play the Lion's Club Tournament." (Mind you, Truett was a brand new Lion member).

"Are women allowed?"  I asked.

"Certainly.  I'm sure there will be other women golfers there," he answered. So I registered for the tournament.

It should have been a big clue when I arrived at Quail Heights golf course and noticed not one woman there except me.  Well, that's not true.  There were a couple of women there and they asked,  "Are you playing the tournament?"  I told them, "Yes,"  and their answer to me was,  "We don't really think this is a tournament where women are invited." 

"My husband said it was fine,"  I answered, and I headed to my cart.  Then an odd thing happened.  One older gentleman came straight to my cart, looked at me and high-tailed it back to the club house.  "I guess I'm not pretty enough or young enough,"  I thought.  "Nah, he probably thinks I don't know how to play golf," I reasoned.

Pretty soon another gentleman I knew came to my cart and said he was my partner.  "Great,"  I answered, and the game began.  Hole after hole my four-some played, and I must say they were very polite and offered me advise on my putting skills.  I was swinging with the best of the four, hitting long drives off the tee; therefore, I felt like these four men really didn't mind playing with the only woman in the tournament.

After about the third hole we drove up to a pickup truck, and lo and behold the sight was for male eyes only.  Young skinny girls in bikinis gyrating to blaring music in the back of the truck, leaning way too far over to be safe and handing drinks to golfers.  It really disgusted me to say the least.  That's when I realized it was not about golf one iota.

The tournament is the talk of the town year after year and many marriages have been put on rocky ground, I've heard.  And by the way, I never did see Truett the whole five hours of golfing that day.  I wonder where his truck filled with chicks were?  I say,  "Let the Lions play golf today without me."  Hmmm, I wonder if any girl ever fell out of the back of the truck?  I'd like to see that picture.

i missed it

In all my traveling over spring break and watching antlions digging their holes and sightseeing around our small town, I missed seeing the first pecan tree bud.  It is OFFICIAL!  Spring is finally here.  No more hard frosts.  No more 47 degree weather doing car-rider duty.  But still, I always watch our pecan trees for the first  hint of a bud so I can shout,  "SPRING IS HERE!  NO MORE WINTER!" I suppose it's akin to antlions.  One morning I see none, and in the expanse of a day, there they are, scads of them. But the pecan trees are leafing out so Florida's long hot humid season is beginning.

               

Last night I watched Punky and Roger playing.  Here's the story.

               

               "I see  you moth.  If I could get out of this house, I'd eat you up!"

               

                           "Mama, Roger's poking my eyes out!"

               

                                           "I'll hide in here."

               

                                 "Shhh!  I'm hiding from Roger."

               

                 "No.  You CANNOT kiss my little mouth.  I know you want to."

progress in fort white

This afternoon Truett and I took a drive around our little town in the jeep.  Other than the wind whipping my hair into a mohawk and causing my right eye to tear up, it was an enjoyable little ride.  Progress is being made on our railroad station renovation.

         

           This is the railroad station side, the side facing the tracks.

         

           I like the pattern in the wood on the sides of the station.

Truett says it will remain yellow, the original color, which I found amazing.  I thought all train stations were white. 

After our jaunt around town and to the river and through the woods, we finally returned home.  Then I spied antlion holes.

         

            Scads of antlion holes which I had not noticed this morning.

Clay spent many a time dropping tiny objects in the hole and watching ant lions lurch out of the ground to grab it.  Then I sat down and took a side view of the holes.

         

                     I was right about there being scads of them.

They reminded me of craters on the moon.  In some holes you will see a leaf covering the hole.  I guess the little fellows think they are hiding.  If you go to this sight you will notice the picture is so much like mine.  It shows what our antlions look like. 

Is this it?  Is this all I'm doing on my spring break?  'Fraid so.

back to normal

Things are pretty much back to normal around here.  As I went about my chores I found that I continued to look at the photographs I took while visiting my sister.   It doesn't take long before our short vacation is a long-ago memory.  I suppose I'm trying to keep the peacefulness, the relaxed mental state and the joy of seeing my sister in my mind and heart as long as I can.

My mother said tonight at dinner,  "Well, did Sherry take you around to her friends and show you off?"

"What friends?"  was my first reply only to be followed by, "What do you mean show me off?"

"So they could see her twin,"  mom answered.

Do you know how old that gets, especially since we are two months shy of being 65 years old.

"Mom, please."  I stated.

I know my mom is proud of both of us; but it is more than a little exasperating to have her point out my private life in restaurants to anonymous wait-staff.   Here's an example:  "Merry, tell Blah Blah about being football queen in high school." 

That's when I really lose it and shout, "MOTHER!  PLEASE!"

I suppose if I still looked as cute in this photograph today, I wouldn't mind.  But we're talking 55 years ago or so.  And by the way, mom told me that she NEVER placed me on the right as I indicated before, so your guess is as good as mine in this photograph.  I'm going with the one on the right this time as being me.  I always thought we both looked like Sherry anyway.