Greek Goddess

When Jen did her Ancestry DNA test, she found out that she has some Greek in her background.  So wanting to know more she gave her Dad a Ancestry kit for Christmas. 

Well guess what? He does not have Greek in his DNA.

So…I must have a Greek Goddess in my background…who knew.

Probably the Goddess of War….maybe Athena who was the goddess of crafts and domestic art…and war!

A cruise ship leaving the Big Island of Hawaii January 2019

Far Side

Wasted Time

I spent several hours looking for something.  Several weeks ago I put the something in a safe place when I retrieved a similar item.  When it was time to retrieve the something I searched high and low, cleaned out some files whilst looking for said item.  I explained my problem to Far Guy who said “I hope you find it.”  I gave up for awhile and began painting on Christmas Ornaments…and thought and thought finally I let my over cluttered mind relax…I knew I had seen the item recently but where?  Finally it came to me, it was in the red basket on my desk.

Lesson learned…either you should just leave things in their proper place or clean off your desk more often.

All that time wasted could have been spent cleaning off my desk.

Wistful Wednesday : 1947

On this date in 1947, my Mothers older brother was killed coming home from work. He went off of the road and ended up in the bottom of Dead Horse Hill. A huge hill, with a creek at the bottom. As a kid I always thought it was pretty spooky, especially after I heard what happened there.

 

Alfred, on his confirmation day.

My Mother says "Alfred was killed in a car accident on Dead Horse Hill on October 21, 1947. We were all very sad, especially Aldon who was just three years old. Aldon took his little wagon to meet Alfred everyday after he came home from work. Alfred would put his lunch bucket into the wagon and Aldon would open the bucket to see what his brother had saved for him that day. Aldon cried everyday for a long time. Ma and Dad were extremely distraught until one day when they came home from town. They both saw a beautiful gate at the bottom of Dead Horse Hill..the gates opened and they drove through. After that their grief was different. "

Alfred and my Mom..1946.

I do believe my Grandparents in their grief saw something. Beautiful gates opening..possibly...maybe. My Grandfather used to ask me "Have you ever heard the Angles sing?" I have not. My Grandfather has...he said " The day the Alfred died, I heard the Angels singing, I have never heard such a beautiful sound..I knew that something special happened. "

My maternal grandfather was not some religious zealot..he was a normal Grandpa, who believed in God and heaven. He believed he heard the Angels singing..who am I to say he didn't. If he got some comfort from believing he heard them then so be it.

From October 21, 1947 to February 21,1948 is just four short months. ..on that day my Grandma gave birth to a tiny, tiny baby boy named James.. he was born and died the same day. My Mom said "He was so tiny he fit in a shoebox, he was beautiful and perfect..just too little."

These sad times in 1947 and early 1948 are part of my family history..just like the story of the angels singing:)

Ah-ha Moment

Sometimes I get the feeling that I am in the right place at the right time..two of those ah-ha moments have happened to me recently.

The first one was back in July at Lefty's, along the river in town. I was trying to photograph an Oriole when all of a sudden out of nowhere a bird landed on my arm, his feathers brushed my arm as he swooped in for a landing. He just sat on my arm, I looked at him, he looked at me, we made eye contact..he flew off onto a lawn swing and I took his photograph. Then he flew away. It was strange, I felt as though I had been kissed by a bird. Much later in the summer a comment at the Pow Wow about the possibility of a spirit bird..got me to thinking..had I already encountered a spirit bird? It is a good thing that I didn't scream like a girl and scare that bird half to death. A long time ago we had parakeets and a cockatiel so flying birds don't scare me. If it was a spirit bird..who was it? Maybe it was Charlie, whatever, just thinking about Charlie makes me smile.

Ah -ha number two was yesterday. Chance and I were bored stiff, it was the seventh day of cold spitting rain..we headed out to scowl at the rain and do a little stop the rain dance. We just drove, picking gravel roads, where there is little or no traffic. We have things to check on, the patch of Milkweed in a nearby ditch, I want to get a few seeds before it is mowed down..I am too late, the mower guy has already been busy with his big honking ditch mower, I hate that guy, he obliterates all the photogenic dried seed heads that will soon be covered with frost. We have to check the river, the water level is slowly coming up with all the rain. We drive aimlessly after that..then all of a sudden we see a herd of deer. Oh boy, Chance is primed to bark, they are on his side of the car, there is no way I can get a photo, it was a mass of white tails in the air as they headed for the safety of the woods. Well that was fun! Right or straight..which way to go?? Sometimes you pick the correct way, sometimes you don't. Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had gone straight ahead? I turned right..luckily for me that is where the ah- ha moment unfolded.

( Doncha just love the way I can drag out a tale?) Okay, exactly how many horses does Joe have? ( Violet never really knows for sure. ) I love to watch the horses kick up their heals and run, imagining that I am riding bareback, flying along, the wind in my hair, the smell of wet horse filling my nostrils, the earth moving faster and faster beneath the valiant steeds hoofs..OKay..enough daydreaming.. the horses came running.

See they are happy to see us!

What happens next is magical, like something out of the beginning of the old western "Bonanza" where the horses and the riders come running and line up perfectly.

Not just a few either..and there are no riders.. I counted fifteen, but it was a quick count, the photos only show fourteen. Then I felt bad, I can't even share the photos with Joe, cause then Violet will have proof he has more than just a couple of horses. Chance and I enjoyed the horses for quite some time, finally we drove on..content with our ah-ha moment:)