They’re almost here! As I write this they are 1 hour and 20 minutes away!!! We’ve spent the day finishing prep and I seriously Forgot to blog this morning…
The Jose’s are just in time for fresh green beans, an abundance of squash and zucchini, tomatoes of all kinds, bell peppers, cucumbers–all the crops seem to have turned for their visit!
They probably will be gone by the time this canteloupe ripens, but isn’t the sling charming?
The Garden is waiting expectantly for little hands helping harvest…
The New Yorkers will be in town for two weeks and we have a lot of time after August 1 for anyone who wants to visit. Just send one of us a message and we’ll add another plate to the table.
This is your intrepid girl reporter with the Latest News from Sonnystone Acres…
Melissa was in a fender-bender, nobody hurt, Eliza slept through the scary part. Her car was totaled by the insurance company. Her visit with us was planned for around the 26th and she thinks she can buy a new car and stay on that same timeline, but I want her to just breathe. Of course, I want them here Now, but I want them here safely. That’s all I know for now, but that’s just a week away…
Meet Hopper, our resident bunny…
Hopper was a wee fella* when he presented in the veggie garden and destroyed a few green beans. We covered up all the holes he was using to get in, and he learned to be quite content around and in the Peace/Bird Garden, munching on leaves, clover. He’s rather tame and will often stay eating a couple of feet away from where we’re working or sitting as if he were invisible. We’ve seen neither hide nor hair of a mama or siblings, so I believe he was pretty smart to set up camp here near our house and away from the coyotes and hawks. I probably shouldn’t name him, but name or no name, I’ll be sad if something happens to him. *He may be a gal and that’s okay, too.
We’ve added on (again) to our veggie garden, moving the fence back about four feet and adding a gate. I’m full of ideas for a shade garden that lines a gravel path leading down to the firepit. I also potted up the parsley, sage, and rosemary to make room for the tentacles of the watermelons and cantaloupe.
We’ve got a windowsill full of tomatoes, a colander of green beans, and several bell peppers from The Edible Garden…
It’s been a challenging week here at the Acres…nothing Serious, just a lot of aggravations. Since retiring, I’m easily disoriented to date and time, so last week’s Holiday that wasn’t a Holiday just threw me off. Then I got obsessed with my hair, hating it etc. culminating in a Nightmare at the Beauty Shop. It’s fine now, just fine, but I’m still ranting in my mind.
I did get out to the track on Friday and won $13! It was a day for longshots, so that’s a good sign, isn’t it?
It’s rained fiercely and we’ve done a lot of propping back up in the gardens, running outside between rains, especially in the Peace&Birds Garden.
The Edibles are prolific.
The New Yorkers will be here before we know it, so it’s time to start planning for Camp Sonnystone 2021. We still are sans Theme Word. Ideas? Thoughts? We’ve already used Peace, Love, Joy, Dream, Family, Music, and Together. If we use your idea, you will be gifted a free Day at Camp…who could ask for more?
Hope you’re enjoying yourself and that your hair is better than fine…
America is beautiful, just as the song says. As we travel to see the multitude of Wonders that make up the USA we are struck with awe; when we return we are more appreciative of the beauty in our own neck of the woods. I believe if you love this “country”, you should love this Earth, this lovely land of which we are stewards. I don’t think we’re doing all that well, “Murrica, but as individuals we must continue to care for this blessing and teach our children and grandchildren to do the same.
Enough Preaching! Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July!
Behind the scenes of the scintillating life that I share with you on this blog is my Real Life. In my Real Life there are many relationships and each of them takes their turn at drama. Most of my family do Not read my blog, so I’m often tempted to spill the tea about them, but really I would rather just let it all be. However, Real Life intruded just last week when I delivered my Aunt Shirley’s ashes to her son Jeff’s house. I brought her ashes up from Florida last March and she’s been sitting on a shelf, surrounded by other family pictures. She’s been inspiring me — Shirley never was one to be quiet. — but it was time to move her along, getting her verry close to her final resting spot beside her Mom & Dad.
Aunt Shirley just before setting off on the last leg of her last trip to Grayville…
At any rate, I’ve had too many dramatic scenes played out for me this year, Distracting me from Ancestry research that I started Last Year and I was beginning to think I would Never Finish! I’m here to announce that I have, at last, added my great-grandmother’s family to my ancestry blog in a 3-part series published right Here: https://allmyancestry.wordpress.com/kinkade-mcwilliams-walker/
I still need to write a 4th chapter to tie up some loose ends, but I really need to move away from the family tree for the summer. Genealogy takes up so much time that I have to make it a seasonal hobby to make room for my gardening and travel, not to mention my Living Family!!
Here’s What’s Happening in the Gardens…
We decided to stake our zucchini this year…
…so far it’s working, but it isn’t helping them get pollinated so I need to attract bees. We’re looking at Bee Houses to attract Mason Bees, but it may be too late for this year…still studying. Any suggestions?
Ellis Park starts live racing Today…another reason I have to put away the genealogy. I’m skipping Opening Day, but I’ll be there In-Person on Thursday or Friday, or both…depends on the weather.
Happy Father’s Day to all the Super Dads out there, especially my son and son-in-law, Junior Casey and Eric Jose’. Hope you’re getting Mega Love and Attention which you surely deserve!
And it’s the first day of Summer, the Longest Day of the Year, the Solstice. From Ancient times the Solstice was celebrated as Midsummer and even today the Scandinavian Folks are partying like champs, drinking vodka and dancing around the Maypoles until they are dizzy.
We were out on Wednesday to feed the Budgies!
I love watering the gardens first thing in the morning, then sitting outside in my Thoughtful Spot and/or the front porch swing. It’s a great time to Praise and Thank.
I’m bemused by the hydrangeas…we have all colors growing side-by-side, a veritable rainbow. We’ve never put any lime or whatever it is people to turn them different colors. The pink one, by the way, was a gift from my old Bunco Club when my dad died 24 years ago; we call it “Dad” and it just keeps giving.
The Edible Garden is going to be actually edible soon…
I suffered through another rainy, gloomy week and we’re now rewarded with sunny skies and oppressive humidity; it’s almost summer, finally, and as I sweat through my shirt I wonder why I longed for it.
Samantha went with us to the New Harmony Antiques Show yesterday.
I found some old sheet music, well-preserved, to buy and discovered we hadn’t brought cash with us, just enough for some drinks and treats. The prices at the show seemed very high, just like everything else lately, but I wonder how much they sold. It was a paltry showing of vendors, but the crowd was good.
10 years ago on the night before the last day of school (I was still working as a school nurse), May 25, 2011 to be exact, a straight-line wind blew in from the southwest and tore off the tops of the very old, very tall trees that were standing in its path.
We had just mowed and straightened the yard and porch that evening and I was taking my after-supper-nap – not to be confused with the rest-up-for-bed nap – when Casey woke me up to tell me that there was something coming our way. I’d slept through the first siren, but the second went off shortly after I woke. It looked bad outside, black skies, pouring rain that was coming down sideways as it was hurled by the wind, and I took shelter (with Wink) in our guest bathroom…even Casey came back and stood in the doorway with us as we listened to the rumbling and howling of the wind. I was seriously freaking out when I heard the sound of cracking trees and the whooshing of falling branches over the room where I’d just been laying…
When it passed, we surveyed the damage… Step into the WayBack Machine and let’s revisit 2011…
it’s been a tough several days…i’ve gone from dazed and confused to feeling trampled underfoot (tee-hee). anyway, now i know what i’ll be doing with my summer:
Before and After…Above 5/22/2011 Below 5/26/201111
AA
i feel the loss of those 2 trees acutely, but it’s so stupid to complain about it…manymany people have it a lot worse…still…i’m bummed. definitely keeping busy, though.
we’re definitely making progress…here’s a view from 5/26:
here’s the way it looks today:
of course, i use the term “we” loosely–you can bet that casey will not stop until this is cleaned up. i’m not safe with a chainsaw, but i can handle a lopper and a rake. we’re hauling the branches down to the woods (where, surprise, there’s a whole bunch of trees down) and starting a new hedgerow. it’s all okay…
except for the fact that i forgot it was thursday and missed a vbs meeting, it’s been a very productive day. you see, all the gardens are fine and happy…it was only the front (west) of the house that was affected by the storm. much like facebook, where you can lurk all day, i know that a lot of people have been driving by the house…first looking at the damage, then marveling at how fast casey is clearing it away. honestly, watching the man wears me out…i’ve had to take all his naps for him…
one week after The Trees Fell…
all that’s left is to actually drop the trees, and the tree guys that we called the day after the storm Promised they’d be out this week. i’m in no hurry, though; in fact, i hope they wait and let us take a day off tomorrow. and wink, the first one out of the room when we heard the trees falling, claims he never was afraid…
It’s clear I was bummed by this event, but I’m here to say it again: I was Terrifically Bummed. The only thing that made me feel better was the idea that I would screen in the porch, which we did in 2012. All’s well that ends well.
We’re headed into a week of scattered thunderstorms…May all of Our Trees stay upright…
We got a late start to our Cemetery Loop Trip yesterday because it was so cold in the morning. We finally set out at about noon and modified the map to only include the Kinkade-Maynes and I’ll get over to Grayville another time. It was both fruitful and disappointing.
We went first to Lick Prairie Cemetery where my 3x great-grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Mayne, is buried alongside his last wife, Phoebe. (my actual 3x great-grandmother is buried near Springfield, Ohio). This pretty little cemetery even has a full list of “residents” with a code to help you find their spot.
As we drove up the road towards Parkersburg, we drove through West Salem, a village where my great-grandmother’s family lived. I’d gotten the address where Grandmother lived with her Aunt Hattie in 1900 and I hoped to find something there, but what could be old enough is certainly falling down, or the house may have been where a large church parking lot now covers a block. We did see this, though:
Yes, that’s a hog on the front porch…
Next stop was Oak Hill Cemetery in Parkersburg, IL where I hoped to find my 2xgreat-grandmother, Analiza McWilliams Kinkade, and 2x great grandfather, Alexander Kinkade. I did find my 3x great-grandparents, Joseph and Mary Ann (Walker) Kinkade…
The last time I visited Oak Hill cemetery was with my great-grandmother Mayne when I was a kid and I can picture her standing in front of her mother’s tombstone crying. My memories turned out to be useless. Whilst searching around (I love cemeteries) there was another couple and two kids running around and we struck up a conversation. Turns out the fella is a Kinkade! They are retired military, living up the road in a town called Oreo, out decorating graves with their two grand-daughters. He’s from the line of Albert Kinkade, though, and I’ve never been able to make a connection to that family, though I’m sure we all go back to the Scottish Clan Kinkade. We never did find Analiza…
We moved along the road to Marion Church Cemetery, one where I feel right at home; my 2x great grandmother, Emma Eliza Mayne, donated the land for it (and the church). You have to traverse three miles of gravel road to get to this cemetery, but the church is still in use and they take excellent care of it. Emma and her husband, Leander Mayne, are there, as well as my grandfather, Robert A. Mayne, Sr. There’s also Uncles Chester and Herbert, both of whom died in 1880s, and their stones are in bad need of cleaning. I need to do that some day.
Guess who was also visiting the Marion Church cemetery? The Kincade couple that we met up at Parkersburg. The gentleman is also related to the Blood Family who are buried there; (great) Grandad’s sister, Nellie Mayne, had married Frank Blood back in the 1890s and they had two children that my 2x great-grandmother Emma helped raise. We are all truly connected, eh?
I told the lady that I hadn’t found Analiza and she called her sister, who works at the County Clerk’s office and she checked some records and said that Analiza (who died in 1877, age 31) was back in the Oldest Section alongside her parents, my 3x greats, George and Catherine McWilliams. I wasn’t even thinking to look for them and had focused on the Kinkades. I didn’t do my homework well, either, as I should have known that Alexander Kinkade is buried in Bethel Cemetery alongside his second wife, Josephine. Definitely another trip is in order, and I’ll bring some tombstone cleaner with me.
I was not happy with the temperatures falling back into the 40s this week. Spring is such a tease. It’s nice to turn the page of the calendar to June and start the final stretch of the Vernal Season.
When Spring decided to give us some planting weather, she did it right. We’re sleeping with the windows open, waking up with the birds, and loving every minute of these gorgeous days. I got Everything done: planted squash, watermelons, parsley, sage rosemary, thyme, basil, green beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, cardinal vine, marigolds, then polished them off with a splash of Miracle-Gro.
The coreopsis in the Peace/Bird Garden is so Cheerful, don’t you think? The purple coneflower blooms are beginning to open up and check out my strawberry!
We covered the pool area with new heavy-duty woven fabric and moved the umbrella table/chairs onto it. Today the pool goes up.
I’ve made some new discoveries regarding my Kinkade/McWilliams ancestors, and learned new Grandpa Eaton information, so I’ve spent any non-gardening time working on that. I’m planning a Cemetery Loop Scenic Drive for Memorial Day. I like to imagine that my 3x great-grandparents will be thrilled to have a visitor, as it’s been at least 50 years since any of our side has stopped by.
Oh, do you remember that we had to cancel our trip to London in June 2020? We received credits for our hotel and I rescheduled for June 2021…next month. UK is still requiring 10-day quarantines, so I cancelled out that date, as well. However, the folks at Queens Gate, where we’ll be staying, say things are opening back up soon and that quarantines should be lifted by July. We’ve decided to take our trip the last week or so of September and I’m full-on into making that happen. Sooo excited!
So that’s my week here at Sonnystone Acres… Hope you’re enjoying the Season wherever you are!
