And the rains came down in a straight line wind event.

It was a hellova storm here at the lake. I have never seen such hard winds coming from the south, up over the dam road and onward. The water mist was actually picked up and moved to the other end of the lake. My zinnias were knocked down, the petals ripped off of the poppies and the sunflowers bent far to touch the ground! Scary stuff.

The worst of it all is that there was a death of a young man at our neighbor lake when a tree fell on him! Here are some images I took the next day. We were out of power for over 24 hours. As I rode around there were a lot of branches, leaves and other debris in the road. I was accompanied by the sound of generators at almost every home.

Up the road this large branch came down on a neighbor's garage roof.

The rabbits came out of hiding.

Further on my ride I saw another tree down but it didn't cause damage, just a major cleanup for the neighbor. His sunflowers were spared as his home is not on the lake.

There were several scenes like this one at neighboring properties.

As I continued my normal route it was good to see flowers that weren't damaged and a Honeyboat winter squash growing untouched.

On my way back home I drove by the tree stump that harbors a seedling and people have been putting piles of stones on it. The little tree is holey due to bugs but is hanging in!

As I returned, I saw the egret who was playing peek-a-boo. I watched him and sure enough he went fishing and left with a large one as he flew away.

Earlier in the morning three deer came down for a drink but I wasn't prepared well enough and my photos were too blurry to post. This doe and fawn come often. They have shown another where good water can be found and she came along as well. 

This sudden and strong wind sure did lots of damage. I have never seen such an event when the water lifted and moved along the top of the lake pushed by its power.

 

Paul, My Brother

Memories of Paul

You won’t see memories like these in an obituary but this another perspective of my brother. It is mine. 

When growing up together I was the older sister by three years. He was three and I was six when our twin baby sisters arrived. I think that is when we bonded, and that bond lasted for 79 years. There were several times when we really disagreed but then re-connected just fine after the heat was dissipated.

He was an Eagle Boy Scout and I was a Golden Girl Scout.

We both developed skills that were similar. He was a sharp shooter and hunter. I never wanted anything to do with guns. I was musical he wasn’t except he loved to dance.  

When quite young, I remember us together pouring hot lead into soldier molds when sitting on the cellar floor. He was a bit stingy when it came to sharing his Lionel trains at Christmastime. I remember that there was once a snapping turtle that we caught and brought into the cellar to study. We put a dead box turtle in a water-filled hole in the garden to watch it rot so we could have the empty shell. We got poison ivy and all of the common childhood diseases at the same time. We purposely together, broke thermometers so we could play with the mercury, handing it back and forth with care because it wanted to roll away. We scratched drawings on the bedroom window glass with fingernails when it frosted. He had terrible earaches when a child, and I helped with the hot wet compresses until he went to sleep. We shared the same small bedroom until I married at age 19. 

We built card table tents in the living room and rocked on the upholstered armchair, always he on the left arm and me on the right. We built tree branch teepees in the woods. As we became older I was always both envious and fearful of his motorcycle daring acts, even when he went so far as to stand up on the seat when going down the road. I was never daring to that extent.

At the seashore he would fly his homemade kites for my kids and teach them how to create them. All of my offspring adored their Uncle Paul. Still do. He once dragged me out of a very strong ocean undertow. I almost drowned that time. 

When he was working for a tree business he would cut, climb, descend and was like a monkey on those trees. Many times when a tree fell, the mother bird, squirrel or raccoon would abandon the premises so he would bring the babies home to raise, bottle feed and eventually release back to nature. Often I filled in with the care of several. Many times he brought home baby crows, owls, sometimes finding other owls of all ages that had been struck by traffic and needed help to recuperate and survive. There were also times when even baby groundhogs and rabbits were brought home. The last one that he had when he visited me here as aging adults, was a baby opossum. It was tucked inside his vest and as it grew and thrived, he kept it in his garage.

My Husband and Paul got along very well.

He was a gardener, keeper of a chicken flock, maple syrup master and so much more. He grew and shared catnip with everyone. We always had dogs and cats when growing up and to the day he died he had a dog and a cat.

The last thing he did for me when he visited before Thanksgiving was to sharpen all of my knives. I sent him home with another jar of his favorite jelly. It made his eyes light up.

Yes, I’m rambling. As soon as I post this I know more memories will surface, but for now I am grateful that my memory has retained so much. They are my treasures. When life changes, you have to adapt. I’m trying. 

I have so many photos that are not scanned but I think these will do. 

Just tap on one to view larger

Remembering...

The death of very nice friend during this past week has impacted us strongly and brought forth so many memories of those who also have gone on before. At least thirty of those have been brought to mind and I think of many of these friends very often.

Our SC "beach" friends who are not now here on earth include Charlie H., Cliff W., Doug M., Howard S., Joe B., John B., Keith G., Max C., Morris M., Odeen F., Ray V.,  "Snooky," Ginny S., Joan M., and Mary D. All of these friends have died during only the past ten years.

Some of our PA friends and nearby neighbors who have died throughout the past ten years include Alvin S., Bernie Z., Bill M., Floyd W., Gordon S., Harold E., Jack W., Joe C., Larry C., Paul K., Rich C., Rolly L., Jan L., Jane C., Joan W., and Nancy B.

Dean B., Marion L., Doyle T., Thelma H., Beverly S., Marge, Bill and Dave R., Millie and John Y., Joe and Betty G., Elmer, Harriet H. and Lola W., "Papa," Bill and John D., died earlier. There are more. Their memories remain very strong in our hearts.

To most of you who will read this, they are just names. To some of you they are also in your own memories. This list doesn't include any relatives or family members. I'm not going there today.

Tranquil Transition

You can take all of your memories with you and you can leave memories for others. Memories don't die.

The Last Ride Was Today

For 16 years he has traveled with us back and forth three times a year to our beach place in SC.

For 16 years he has been a joy and a trial, a guardian and an active companion.

For 16 years we have done our best to give him good care and love. He gave more than he got.

Today it was time...you don't need to know details, just to know it was HARD!

He left his 2nd breakfast and treat uneaten, but the first was consumed eagerly.

His empty pillow says it all.

OLD PAL

His heart still beats

He breathes and eats

His sound and sight are gone

His nose works well

Detecting smell

His legs still move, are sound

But!

A snarl comes forth when awakened

His disorientation has blossomed

He has forgotten where to do his job

Untrained - deranged - undone - sob

It may be time……..

January 1, 2016 GMR

"Euthanasia is the most loving gift for a dog that is suffering, has lost his quality of life and has no chance of improvement."

Oscar Left Today

He was 13. He was a beautiful Golden Retriever. He had caring and loving family and friends, including Harley the Weimaraner, who left first. They were my neighbors.

Both the Golden Retriever and the Weimaraner have only an average life span of 10-12 years, and these buddies both were here for 13. According to research, cancer is the most common cause of death in the American Goldens and is the breed's biggest killer. Oscar had cancer. 

I was compelled to make a personal card for them. My thoughts were infused with sadness that I can't explain. This is what I wrote:

"We feel your loss of your beloved pet, Oscar. We know he will be greatly missed and  know he'll remain with you in memory for a lifetime. Memories never die.

Oscar had a good life and was happy and content and well cared for in his and your lives. Now he is gone and you all grieve. It is a wonderful thing to have good and sympathetic friends who care and loved him too.  He was a perfect companion for you and others, including his friend, Harley.

Be sure to appreciate how he affected your lives and you'll remember him with love. He's now peacefully asleep."

I don't think I've ever sent a sympathy card to anyone regarding the loss of a pet. We have lost many through the years and I do know how it feels - oh, yes. 

To quote Harley's mistress, "Lake Chrisann has lost a beautiful soul today."

Oscar died in his sleep.

The Gathering....

Just a thought......

I have to brace myself tomorrow.

Prospective encounters with others involves a certain amount of trepidation and realignment on my part.

There will be no sunbeam to skip with, and no breeze to dance with.

I do, I don't -

I will, I won't -

I'm able, I'm not able...

Managing will be my middle name. I will.

It's not about me.

My Friend, Joan

I don't know where to start. The beginning is probably the best, isn't it? The beginning was 1946. Two girls ending up in the same home room, each coming from different elementary schools and merging into "Junior High." We were 10. It was 5th grade. The school started with 5th graders and went through 9th grade.

I don't know exactly why we clicked, but we sure did. She was very shy, I was very bold. She had short dark hair, I had long blond braids. She was skinny and I was chubby. She had long polished fingernails and I chewed mine. Oh MY! I lead and she followed and we soon learned that we both could knit, crochet, and liked to draw and paint. It didn't take us long to be friends and the friendship lasted 65 years.

I really don't think many other odd couple girlfriends went on the huge number of double dates that we did! We both liked to dance, bowl, swim and we loved the beach. Were we "popular?" Nope! We were bookish - a bit, but not into the cliques and clans of the time. We mostly stuck to ourselves, but also had other friends that meant a lot to us at the time as well.

Oh! The secrets! Oh! The pains of marriages and growing families. We shared EVERYTHING!

Joan was an extremely creative and talented quilter in her latter years and I was into horses and crafts, but she lived down the dirt road and we got together often, still sharing, and aging together.

Joan developed breast cancer and went through the entire process of treatments and recoveries.

Not long after her breast cancer she seemed to go downhill mentally and it was soon determined that progressive Alzheimer's was to be her destiny. The long road took almost 13 years. I thrived and she withered.

Now she's gone. My best friend is gone and I'm sad. Our bright years together and our struggling times together are over...my memories dwell on scenes that are no more.

She took her memories with her and that's the way it should be.