Early Color in Burning Bush

I worked out in the back yard for a while this afternoon and picked this twig from our Euonymus alatus (Burning Bush).  It was a south facing branch in full sun but most unusual to color this early in the fall. I was unable to detect any damage or infestation which may have been a factor nor any other branches showing color. The bush has been in our yard for some 30 years and don’t recall ever seeing this happen. Wikapedia provided the following information: Euonymus alatus, known variously as winged spindle, winged euonymus or burning bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to central and northern China, Japan, and Korea.This deciduous shrub grows to 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) tall, often wider than tall. The stems are notable for their four corky ridges or "wings". The word alatus (or alata, used formerly) is Latin for "winged", in reference to the winged branches. These unique structures develop from a cork cambium deposited in longitudinal grooves in the twigs' first year, unlike similar wings in other plants.^[1] The leaves are 2–7 centimetres (0.79–2.76 in) long and 1–4 centimetres (0.39–1.57 in) broad, ovate-elliptic, with an acute apex. The flowers are greenish, borne over a long period in the spring. The fruit is a red aril enclosed by a four-lobed pink, yellow or orange capsule.

The common name "burning bush" comes from the bright red fall color.

Friendly Goats and Paths to Success

Carolyn came down this afternoon with her laptop to show us the pictures taken yesterday while on the farm tour with the Owens family. This is one of my favorites. Sadie seemed to relate to them as friends. This family has a large heard of goats and produces Cheese commercially. I have an affection for goats after being “raised” on goats' milk. It seemed that I was unable to digest Mother’s milk nor that from cows so Dad followed the Doctor’s advice and spent $60.00 for a Nubian goat that had just “come fresh”. It worked and I weighed 25 pounds when 6 months of age. We continued to have them around out on the farm for a number of years. 

I also learned to “wrap text” around pictures while continuing the writing of our 1987 narrative. It took several “trial runs” to learn what would work but finally found a productive path. It may not be the most efficient but it works and I have it documented for future use. That becomes more important for things that are only done occasionally as one gets older. It’s almost embarrassing once you learn the “path” that it took some many “failures” to finally find “success”. I wonder if that's a miniature model of life. Unfortunately, the failures on computer trials are usually not as “costly” as those of real life. 

Airplanes, Tractors and Old Times

We got out to the Seward Airport this afternoon where small planes were stopping by on the way to an Air Show over in Iowa. Whistler Aviation manages the airport and has made it a vital part of the area economy. In addition to the collection of small planes  they also had a number of antique tractors which are always interesting to those of us that used some of them. However, I spent much of the day working in the narrative of 1987 as part of my life story.

I have written thousands of words on my “Life Story” with 25 Chapters that covered up to the time we came back to Nebraska from Virginia in 1980. Since then annual narratives have replaced chapters, however some of those busy years it didn’t get done. Since retiring, I have gone back and picked up those years and today I started on 1987. While we listed 3 pages of Highlights from my Daily Journals and 2 collages of pictures, it is the oldest one that hadn’t been done. I have done most of them with Microsoft Word and incorporated pictures into the text for some of them. However, it has been 2-3 years since I incorporated pictures and am having trouble finding the formatting that will allow me to put them where I want them and wrap the narrative. Any help would be appreciated. Speaking of old times, we are listening to Eddy Arnold sing “Make The World Go Away” on PBS, and I am reminded of the time son Jon and I drove our VW Bug up to the Shady Grove Theater in  Gaithersburg, Maryland to hear him in person.

My Walking Cane

This is my Walking Cane that I have had for some 30 years. It was cut from a volunteer Pin Oak growing up in the fence line. The Handle was part of the tree trunk and the “stick” part was actually a limb. The twist that is visible was caused by a Grapevine growing around it while still small. We moved soon after I cut it to a neighborhood with several dogs running lose where I did a lot of walking. I used the Cane on my walks as protection against the dogs but also appreciated the additional stabilization.  During the past years, I have used it very sparingly; usually at Auctions where it was necessary to stand for some time. The other day I used it to walk the couple blocks over to the Hospital to see Charley and realized the Cane felt longer than I remembered. I realized that I’m not as tall as I once was which accounts for the change. I remembered reading of a Circus midget who walked with a Cane in his Act. The story told of midgets occasionally growing after their maturity which was a concern of the Circus performer. As a trick, some of his Buddy's secretly cut a small chunk off the end of his cane periodically and  the guy became convinced  he was growing and would probably lose his job. It was a cruel trick. I was back with my Cane again today to see Charley and the Therapist working on him, told me that I need the "extra length" in my Cane to provided for flexibility.

Interesting Day

Elaine and I enjoyed “Happy Hour” on our deck this afternoon following an interesting day. We had a “spirited” discussion at coffee this morning after news of the Virginia shooting, following the recent French Railroad incident. We cannot hope to solve the problem but should    look to what can be done to reduce it. Suggestions will  range from more “gun control” to arming more citizens with “concealed carry permits” to counteract the “shooter”. I believe more research into the “why and how” people develop the hate that leads them to such acts should also be pursued. 

Elaine enjoyed a visit with the Great Grandchildren, and  Carolyn while I was at coffee. We did Home Delivered Meals. Our last “client” is down in the Manor, next to the Lied Senior Center so we enjoyed the Potato Bake. The Monthly Potato Bake is as much a Social Event as it is a place to eat. We bought groceries down at Pac-n-Save and visited with a young man stocking shelves with material brought down from the “defunct” Mike’s Market. We did catch the closing of the stock market on Wall Street and got the recap of another volatile day. Then, worked in the yard for about an hour including the “harvest” of mature seed heads from the Black Samson (Echinacea angustifolia) from along our driveway. The Royals won this afternoon so tonight we are watching the weather instead of a baseball game as well as enjoying John Sebastian Presents: Folk Rewind (Archival folk pop performances on NET). 

                      

Elaine’s Shoebox of Rocks

Here is Chuck examining Elaine’s box of rocks. Petrified wood came into discussion yesterday so I took in the box that included a piece of it. The group around the table is much more knowledgeable than I on such matters and identified several different types. Neither Elaine nor I know much about rocks, but she began her collection when we went on our Wedding trip to California. She has always been more fascinated with them, and never passes an opportunity to add  unusual ones. They have come from our travels all over the US and may even be a few from overseas. While Elaine and I were raised under very similar conditions; I grew-up in the Bohemian Alps glaciated area where we had an abundance of rocks. Only 7 miles away where she was raised in the Loess Plains area, there are no rocks. I knew what it was like to hit a big buried rock while listing corn and get the planters beam bent out of shape. It may have influenced my “love” of rocks even if they were unusual. 

Robert T. Gale Historic Monument

The Kiwanis Flag Display at the east entrance to Seward gets the attention but just across the highway is the Robert T. Gale Memorial. Mr Gale and his family were the first to homestead land in 1863 that became part of Seward including that where the monument and flags are located. It was dedicated by Secretary of State John Gale on October 7, 2002 who is not aware of any relationship. The “First Impressions Committee” of the Seward Chamber of Commerce provided the research, design, material and labor to have the Monument built and approved by the Nebraska State Historical Society. Jane Graff, author of “On a Bend of the River” was a member of the committee and provided research. 

Pictured here are: (L-R) Pat Coldiron, Jane Graff, Tony Vrana, Lyle Muelller, Clarence Wattier, Greg Majerus, Dorris Marxhausen & Melvin Bolte. (Lisa Bennett not pictured). Lyle Mueller another member and built the Monument by “laying up” the glacial rocks that had been collected from the north-east part of the County. Most of the rocks came from a piece of land that we farmed as a young man and later owned so I had probably picked up some of them earlier and put on the rock pile. Lyle did an excellent job of masonry, after 13 years there is no evidence of any deterioration.