Updated 11 May 2007


What's Going On?
  • Spring Brings Out the Best

    March came in like a lion, with cold winds and storms the first week, but then turned into a lamb. Warm temperatures lured the dogwood and lilacs into the open.

  • Then Puts On Its Worst

    Then came April. Just when everything was getting pretty and green, along came the big chill. Temperatures in the low 20s froze nearly everything back to mid-winter form. Weeks later, most trees and plants have recovered, but don't expect any apples or peaches this year. All of the flowers were frozen.

  • But It Could Have Been Worse

    The recent cold snap took many of us be surprised, and did a lot of damage to our gardens and the new Spring growth, but, as this picture of the Subiaco Abbey water tower shows, it wasn't too unusual. This ice storm hit in April of 1940. I have heard stories of sub-zero temperatures in March of 1955 or 1956 (depending upon who is telling the story.)
...And There Was This Snake...

Yes, I've seen it in the back yard before, and in the back lot around the barn. It was long - about 5 feet - and solid black. As long as it stayed out there it wasn't hurting anything. But, when it got into the house, something had to be done. It found its way into the kitchen cabinets where it dared me to catch it. I was able to remove it with a set of tongs from the utensil drawer. I carried it back to the woods behind the barn, and I haven't seen it since.

The View From High Above

In case you're wondering what the family farm looks like from above, I have created a composite of downloaded aerial photos. The dark spot on the right side is the pond ("Josie's Pond", as we always called it) and the lighter round spot on the left is "Antone's pond". The farm is about 20 acres and measures about 1/8 mile wide and 1/4 mile deep. The pictures were taken in 2001, and as you can see, it's mostly woods. I have cleared some since they were taken, but it probably still looks pretty much the same.
House Painting - the Final Product

For those who haven't seen the house since it was repainted, here is a picture of the finished product.
Previous editions:
October 17, 2006
September 12, 2006
August 10, 2006
July 17, 2006
June 24, 2006
June 6, 2006
May 21, 2006
May 4, 2006
April 17, 2006
March 31, 2006
March 21, 2006
March 14, 2006
Closing Shots

I haven't discovered any cool tricks to pass along this time, so I'll just leave you with a couple of links to other web sites you might be interested in.

First, cousin Tom's web page. Lots of cool pictures.

Next, cousin Charlotte's web site. A gift shop and a bargain hunter's delight.

High-resolution copies of all pictures on this web site are
available to anyone interested.
Do you have an interesting story to tell? How did you meet your spouse?
What have you been doing your whole life? I'll be glad to put it in a
future edition of this newsletter.
Contact me:
dforst1@centurytel.net