Blog

If U C a calf and momma cow in the header, it is on our Texas ranch in 2003 and calf is only minutes old.

Today I do office work — you know paying bills, balancing check books and things like that —

Oh and I will add a small page to this digital diary called Jim’s Daily– which I started years ago and continued sporadically for my Grandchildren — Just so they could know what I do and think — See, that is a change, because years ago most families lived near Grandparents — they could  bop over each day for dinner and casual chats.  — so this is my digital casual chat!

My Grandpa made no entries in his dairy on June 15 — so I opened his diary randomly and came upon Feb 10, 1900  “Sleet turned to snow — “Norman Ripple here for dinner. Cut some ice in PM”  I will explain — Norman Ripple was Grandma’s father (Thus for my Dad that meant Grandpa popped in for dinner in real life — not digitally) — cut ice meant they went to the pond and cut some ice for the refrigerator (Ice Box)– no electricity you know.

As you know I did not get my weeding done yesterday — so I must change the way I weed — I can do it via digits!

C photos below –Oh, C is for see:

Well, guess I better go to work so that I can really pull those weeds and free up the afternoon to work/play with Perla — we are making great progress — photos and details on what I mean by progress next week.

Hey, sure love retirement and Island living — As we began horse activities the other day, around 4:00 pm, my  friend ask me  “And, what did you do  today on Whitney Bay”  What do I say? ? ? ?   After thought is said “Retirement stuff”  That meant play around with my blog, my photos, my garden  and  “read and sleep” — call that R & S around here.  some times more S then R. It really is hard to explain what I do with my time sometimes.  But I may try to explain a little today!

Early on this morning, my wife said lets play golf this morning — Now I am not a good golf player BUT I have a retirement rule — If asked to play golf — drop everything (That is safe to do so) and go play golf — so it is almost time to go do horse work — play — and train and I did not mow, weed, or clean windows or wash the car, or power wash the house and barn or …………………….  or   ………………. or   …….  u got the idea.

Here is what happened so far — 1/2 hour to shave/shower/etc,  2 hours golf, 1 hour on phone with a photo club friends discussing her web site development challenges – love doing that stuff (guess I am just a computer nerd at heart), 1 hour eating lunch and breakfast, 1 hour reading and discussing news with my wife, and 40 minutes driving to from golf course and visiting at the pro shop, oh at least 1 hour doing the blog.  See folks those 7+ hours of retirement were worth every minute.   — love it all — that other stuff can wait!

Oh what about change I will try to write about that each day: I will give u one day from Grandpa’s diary — u tell me what it means: “1903 April 18 ” Took props to Hooversville, Finished plowing long field, and planted trees. Had A. Manges mare. paid 25 cents.” Was that mare sentence saying he rented the mare as if I  would rent a front-end loader for the day?

— well in golf here is a change from most other golf courses I know about — Fist thing I was wearing jeans (not permitted on our community course in Titusville Fl), Second the gentleman (a friend here) mowing the course was wearing a three layers of coats , tule, (Drummond for sailer’s knit cap or ski like cap) and a hood, and see photos for some of today’s experiences different from golf in Titusville, FL

Change – Change – Change

Since Grandpa and Grandma made no diary entries on June 13, I searched for items of change — thought I would look for some changes in expenditures:  “Jan 18 1900 Bought overshoes for 75 cents.”  Jan 20 1900 ” Bought brush for 25 cents, soap for 5 cents, shoe tacks for 10 cents” Feb 3 1900 “Paid 20 cents to get hair cut, 25 cents for coal, bought suit for $9.00 and hat for $1.00”

I have 2 thoughts for you to ponder:

1. When you went to Wal-Mart today how much did you pay for shoe-tacks and coal?

2. My keyboard has a dollar sign($) but no cent sign — question: why is that so? Grandpa’s keyboard must to had one — at least his diary entry  did show the “cent”sign.

Yesterday I tried to show the mood of a foggy day on the Island.  After the rain and fog, today my goal, is to show the change that has been made — the result is a bright last evening and bright this morning.

That is it for today — After the rain and fog, I must get my act together and pull weeds, mow the paddock, trim the lawn, repair the driveway, clean the debris from the porch — all because of that “beautiful rain and fog.”

To my way of thinking and feeling, living on an Island is special.  To my way of thinking and feeling,  changing weather extremes are special  (assuming the extremes are not dangerous). So, I love it here — because Islands and weather changes go hand in hand.  Fog is often one of the conditions that sunny days change into in a 10 minute time frame — happens often here on our Lake Huron Bay.  All morning, I tried to capture the mood of the fog on this Island paradise, using my digital camera. Not sure I was successful, but I had fun.  Oh, I  can not show U but the freighters and the fog horns are sounding constantly — becoming a primary base for the mood — all day and all night.  – not like living by a light house as we once did — there they had a set pattern and a set sound — here it all depends if she (the freighter) is heading up or down (Up 2 the Soo Locks or Down from the Soo locks) or targeting the Straights of Mackinaw for Lake Michigan or South on Huron for Detroit and Lake Erie. Each with different sounds and different patterns  — but each freighter has a big fog horn!!!  U can tell when a small weekend boater does not clear the way fast enough — with the fog horn the freighter really gives them hell — some times so angry sounding that it makes me want to run for protection.  Sort of like a New York City cab driver threatening  to run U down and kill U. — with the universal finger sign in constant display!  Wonder if freighter captains display the sign??

U may want to hear what it sounded like all night — well not quite that loud — but as I said no two horns around here are the same sound — go to this link  then hit the back-arrow to returnhttp://www.sanpedro.com/sounds/foghorn.wav

No Grandpa entry on this day — So I went back to March 5, 1902  — “Snowed deepest snow ever seen, took grain and hay up home. Horses stalled at David Berkey’s — Mr S. Young helped me out.”  Guess Grandpa liked weather as much as I do.

Here are the photos I selected to convey the mood of a beautiful dewy foggy morning — all taken from the lawn of our Island home on this June 12, 2013.

In 1903 Grandpa was a school teacher and entered into his diary “Too lazy to write from 11 to 19”

So lets go to May 11 and see what he did — bet U can guess: “Warm. Hauled props. Put post in.”

That is boring so let go to April 11: “Rained all day. Worked at yard fence. spread a little lime and loaded a load of props”

How ’bout March 11 “Cloudy and very foggy in forenoon. Clear after night. Worked at fences after school”

Hope you are able to form a mental photo of 1903 in the hills of Pennsylvania. Not a lot of change it seems.

What do you think Grandpa would think of the modern technology that allowed my friends to travel from the U.S. to Finland to Moscow  and return — all in 10 days — and send messages via satellite  — even send that photograph — is that change or what?

I am on the subject of change due to it’s relationship to horse training. Not really training — just getting the horse to “change” from what it would being doing at any given moment to to what I want it to do at that given moment.

Today I want to show you 1 more change technology has brought to our lives — well if you are young it is not change for you — but 4 me it is a change — different then that thing hanging on the wall that U cranked to talk to someone!

This is the new digital times — Called HDR — High-Dynamic Range — built into all (almost) phone cameras, and point and shoot camerea and very expensive professional camers. We old folks must change to get with it –must change to get with it — and I truly do love it .

HDR will not let U capture, in photo, the dreary morning feeling.  So b sure 2 turn HDR off if you want to capture the feeling!

I am sure U 2 will love all this digital change  — start by using shorthand.  And do not b fooled by what U c –the dog photo I showed 2 days ago had a leash attached 2 it’s collar — there were other changes that I will not tell U about — she might.      Just keep on 😀 ‘ing  or 🙂 ‘ing  not 🙁 ‘ing

Guess what Grandpa wrote on June 10, 1903? U got it — no change

“Took log to Hillsboro. Worked around home and plowed for buckwheat after supper.  Rained and hailed at noon.”

Today I am trying to do the total Blog on my iPad, with a new piece of software. U mite ask “Why”. Please do. In the mean time I will see if I can come up with an answer.  

U may notice my short hand — same as I use in texting to the kids — they seem to demand it.  But I find it hard to perfect the change, but I try.  This old man has lived in, and really enjoyed, numerous communities. – from a homestead in Pa to the suburbs of New York City to Islands in the ocean to a Texas ranch to a Great Lakes island. Still I resist change – just like everybody else.  I c u r confused – what the hell am I talking about?  My horse Perla, of course. Well maybe any horse. I am really learning a lot about a horses resistance to change –  and mine 2.

Last year I built the large beautiful corral (the one filled with the beautiful flower weeds in the header to this blog-I tell folks I built it to house the flowers – they just shake their heads and and show great sympathy for that poor dumb old man from down below – below the mackinaw bridge that is ) for Perla but as of yet it not used — because she is herd and barn bound – she is home bound. She goes bonkers if removed from the herd. Did u ever sit upon a 1000 pound horse and say “get up” and nothing happens?  Then slap her on the rump and just like a rock u r at the same spot on this large earth as you were. Try kicking – nothing   –  try screaming “get-up” loud enough to scare the birds and bears in the forest — four feet crushing the same yellow flower stems as before.  

Look at this – Pure contentment at home. No trips to W’Al-mart, no rush hour traffic, no airport screens. Not even a tv full of advertisements.  WOW!

Bye 4 now and I will keep u informed of my passion 2 get Perla to consider me a friend and my coral a temporary home away from her peaceful home and horse friends.  and I must tell u of yesterday’s trail ride — few have had such an experience — I feel fortunate to have the opportunity!  Keep going till next Daily News.

Let’s see what Grandpa had to say about life in 1903 June 9. First I need to go to the draw and remove the diary from it’s protective bag. — “Moses Lohr helped to make props in forenoon.  Took logs to Hillsboro in afternoon” Sure wish I had pictures — no tractor, chain saws, or trucks you know.  Just teams of horses and hand saws. We must create a mental photo to get the feeling of these tasks in a day in the life of a Pennsylvania homesteader in 1903. So create in your mind the 1903 photo.

Because our feelings of the moment are established by input to our senses — sight being a very strong one  — here are a few 2013 photos with my feelings (thoughts) — what do they say to you?

That is my story this morning — off to mow lawn, have lunch, go for trail ride.  Maybe I capture photos on my iPhone to see if we can come up with more captions.

Lots of digging, raking, hauling horse manure, and watering — Lets see what we get in a week — I will keep you all posted.

OH!! Let me tell you what Grandpa wrote in 1903 June 8: “Made 22 props and plowed for buckwheat in forenoon. took props to Hooversville in afternoon”  (Props are like fence posts used in old coal mines to prop up the mine roof as miners dug the mine shaft and removed the coal)

Garden flowers planted – Seventy five of them — It is time to wake up this horse and go for a trail ride.

Behind me – the photographer is the first log building  — the Sauna which the Fin’s lived in while building this home — so I am told by the rider and owner on the horse in the background.

Shot from the front — or — back camera of the iPhone – self inflicted self portrait.

After a few hours on the trail, it is time for Perla to eat and for me to drink a beer on the bunk house porch with friends.

That is pretty much a typical day around here — well not really — each day has some new experience — I will keep those secret until I write and post new photos