Verlon & Sadie's Kite Flying

Verlon has had a long time interest in kites which goes back to his childhood at our East Bradford house here in Seward. It progressed from early kite building at Cape Cod to building Japanese type kites in Richmond, VA . He was involved with a Smithsonian Kite Fly,  had a show in the Virginia Science Museum, and in teaching classes on making and flying kites. He made many "bird kites" including one of a life-size Canada Goose for me that hung in the NE Natural Resources Commission office for a number of years. He made 36 of that model as well as a number of Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, and  Owls. He says, "Kite flying makes everyone young" including those in care centers.

When we came across a little kite in the basement that dates back to Julie's childhood, he recovered it and gave Sadie her first kite flying opportunity. The wind was pretty strong most of the day but  late afternoon provided the opportunity. Slight adjustments helped it to reach a very steep angle but after a while, wind currents swirling around the house, took it down and broke one of the old brittle plastic rods. It was enough to get her introduced to the pleasures of kite flying. She and Verlon then drew and erased kite drawings on her Fisher-Price drawing board. She will probably not remember much about what she learned today but will think she always knew it.

Old Seward School Complex

I was among the students who were the first to inhabit this "new Seward Elementary" school building when it opened after the Christmas Holiday and New Year's Day in January of 1932. We moved out to Dad's family's farm on the 8th of February so my time in the building was very limited. I remember one boy who sat next to the windows scratching the new floor under his desk because of his heavy boots. There is nothing but sky on the other side of the openings shown. We could see a front end loader  occasionally making an appearance through the big opening. 

The shell of the above building is shown from its back side in the middle of the picture to the left. The low white wall remaining is the inside of the most recent addition to the whole complex. I'm not sure but don't believe it was over 15-20 years old. The building to the left will be coming down also. It is the oldest of all and is where I had the first semester of my 1st grade while the above Elementary building was being completed. I like to see old buildings maintained if they can be utilized but would rather see them demolished and the space utilized than to see them "rot" down. 

The Future and the Past

Sadie, Julie, John & Carolyn stopped by this evening. We have had some of Julies "play things" in storage for many years. As an only child, she took excellent care of all her toys. It made her a bit nervous when Grandma Elaine  & Sadie brought up her doll house and all its furnishing to play with. It didn't take long for Julie to pick up and put some of the fragile things in a safe spot. The only casualty was a leg knocked off a little table but it can be repaired with a drop of glue. She also called me on our cell phone, played with dough, and turned somersaults among other things. She is never quiet for very long but a real joy to all of us.

This afternoon Elaine and I went to the Library where Charlotte Endorf presented a program on the North Platte Canteen. She is an author & speaker from Hadar , NE, and has written a book on the Canteen's activity during WWII providing a few minutes of food, drink and friendship to troops as they stopped at the very busy RR station. They welcomed up  to 10-12 troop trains every day for some 53 months with everything being donated by area residents. We had heard another speaker some years ago who had been a volunteer during the Canteen's hay day while this lady spoke from interviewing those who had been involved. It will remain an outstanding example of many people helping others in time of need. 

Busy, Exciting Weekend

We made 3 trips to the City "burnpile" with the brush that had been cut earlier in our back yard. It is only open to the public on Saturday mornings from 9:00-12:00 so we were loaded on this frosty morning and down soon after it opened. It appeared to be one of the busiest places in town with about 3 "customers" unloading each time we were there. As is shown on the picture, we laid the brush on top of a plastic drop cloth and were able to just pull the load off at the pile. It worked great. We finished the job earlier than anticipated and stopped at the Farmers Market for more of the Trouba Kolachies. It was a job well done and don't believe we lost even a "twig"along the way.

We went to Bee for Fish Dinners last evening at Lou & Maryanne's which is always a "must" when we have family visiting. Carolyn, Julie, John and Sadie came to visit after we got home. Sadie is fascinated with my camera and took several "selfies". It amazes me that a 26-month old has the understanding of aiming and pushing buttons to do what she does. I'm also surprised at myself for letting her play with it. I would never have let our kids or grandkids touch my camera. We stayed up to watch the Royals beat the Orioles in the first game of the American League Championship Series. The Royals have been "our" team all season, and they are playing at the top of their game during this post season play. They just finished winning the second game of the series with a 6-4 victory. 

Backyard Fence and Alley

Rebuilding this gate was one of the top priority projects during Verlon's "Home Maintenance" visit. The gate's original framework was rotted and replaced with the 2 x 4's. The upper and lower ones were pressure treated and the "Z" treated with Linseed Oil. The Red Cedar Staves have held up well and re-nailed to the new framework. The bottom also got cut off a couple inches to facilitate the gate swinging back to the position shown. It was also necessary to replace the support framework on the 8' section of fence attached to the gate post to provide a more solid anchoring for the gate's hinges. It is this kind of maintenance that extends the life of a stockade fence that is approaching 30 years of service. It was an ideal fall day for this type of work.

This is the way the gate and adjacent section of fence look  from the alley. The Hollyhocks at the base of the fence are volunteer but have produced some beautiful blooms. We make limited use of the alley but several of our neighbors have their garages located in back of their houses and park in them from the alley. The garbage haulers and utility lines also make use of them. One of the new Lincoln subdivision has a section developed with alleys. The houses in that area are of the architectural style popular in the 1920's & 30's. It is a very attractive area with beautiful front porches. It promotes a more friendly neighborhood. 

Multiflora Rose

This picture is of the farm we had in NE Seward County NE after the native grass we seeded  become well established. I am standing next to the Multiflora Rose "living fence" that we planted on the 2 sides of the quarter section farm next to the county roads. Multiflora Rose was used as Quail habitat back at the time of the picture in the late 1960's. It made an attractive field "border",  but it lost favor as it tended to spread beyond the initial row. Maintenance of county roads also was a factor in its demise as chemical weed control became  more prevalent in the '70's. It did provide ideal Quail habitat with the berries it produced and the protection it afforded from predators. We sold the farm several years ago but drive out past it every fall. The farm is still in grass and has been used for summer grazing . However, cool season Brome Grass has largely crowded out the Native Bluestem, Indian, Switch and Sand Love grass that I had seeded and what is shown in the picture. There was a small amount of Brome in the original mixture but didn't expect it to become so aggressive. The change may have been because of the way it was managed, fertilized and the weather. Interestingly, the last time we looked, there were still a few Multiflora Rose plants surviving in "out of the way" places. 

A Busy Day of Work & Pleasure

Sadie & Carolyn came by this morning to see Verlon. He and I got an early start at tree trimming in the back yard and welcomed a break when they arrived. It always takes Sadie a few minutes to remember people that she hasn't seen for a while. Julie came a bit later. I not only enjoyed their visit but the chance to rest. There is a lot to be said for Verlon getting back every fall to work on our major home maintenance. We make a project of it every year and the older we get, the more important his help becomes. We also look forward each year to our visits and getting some kolachies from the Farmer's Market like we enjoyed this evening. 

Part of our tree trimming included cutting off the lower branches of the Concolor Fir tree as shown here in the picture. It was among several seedlings  we planted about 30 years ago in a "nursery" setting at the farm. When we bought our "town house" a few years later, we brought this tree to town as a 2 1/2 footer. It was an anchor to the landscaping in the corner of the yard and our pride and joy as it grew into a beautiful specimen. People often wish that trees would grow faster but sometimes they grow too fast. I wish this one could have stayed like it was about 10 years ago. We had the City Tree crew here earlier this year to trim branches that were laying on utility wires.