The Farm - Celebrating Russell's Life!!

 

Our camper has been through a lot!

     Today, Sunday, September 25, is the third anniversary of Russell's passing (I usually use the word "death," and Luke always corrects me and says I should not use "death"; I should say "passing, so I am trying to be more careful about that). We have been planning all week to spend the day on Saturday at the farm. Russell's brother Bob and his wife Nona came for the week-end and brought their oldest grandchild, Mya (11). As it happens, today is also Nona's birthday--we won't say which one!--so we decided to celebrate Nona's birthday and Russell's life at the farm.

     I have posted some pictures of the farm in previous blogs because Sheri, her boys, and a friend of hers have been working tirelessly for weeks to get the farm in the shape it is in now. It is absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful tribute to Russell and his dream. The farm now looks like I know he envisioned it in his mind. I could never see it. I do now.We had so much fun. The weather was perfect (low 80s), low humidity, and the bugs did not "bug" us either. We had Taco soup (delicious, thanks Alicia), and we cooked hot dogs, hamburgers, and smores. We were going to have a bonfire but decided against it at the last minute--next time. 

     Landon, Luke, and Sheri took turns "ferrying" all of us around in Landon's "mule." They showed us where all the deer blinds were, all the boundaries, and just where all the work had been done.

 The kids ran, petted the horses, ate a lot, and just enjoyed being outdoors.  Ryan got to practice shooting his new shotgun, and

Lizzie got to ride her four-wheeler all over

Elizabeth got to ride the "four-wheeler" she got last Christmas. And, of course, Megan was adorable in her little rubber boots. She really got a kick out of the horses. Landon's friend, Justin Goodwin, spent the week-end with Landon so he was there also. He and Landon had done a lot of work on the farm over the week-end.

Sheri and some of the "girls."

     We also had birthday cake and all sang "Happy Birthday" to Nona. All in all, it was an almost perfect day. It would have been perfect if Russell (and our little Anna) had been there. Russell would have been in his element and so proud to share his dream with his kids and grandkids. We all knew, though, that he was there in spirit and was extremely pleased with how well his dreamplace is being cared for.

I was sitting opposite Lizzie in back of mule!

Megan and Mya--they loved the horses!

What a ham!!

Poor "shy" little thing; we have GOT to bring her out of her shell!!

A "blurry" Craig playing football with kids

      Earlier today (Sunday) I went to the cemetery to put some fresh flowers on Russell's grave. I talked to him, as I always do when I go. But I knew I didn't need to tell him all about the week-end because I know he was there with us. In fact, I told Nona that he probably stayed there!

Most of grandkids plus second cousin Myra and friend Justin-sorry, Justin!!

Bob and Nona, Sheri, Landon, Stan, Sheri's friend, Megan

   






     Good food, good friends, family, a beautiful day at the farm--it doesn't get much better than this! Oh, and that "blur" is Megan. She was running all over the place in her cute little rubber boots.

     I can't wait til we start harvesting pecans. It looks as though it will be a good year for them. Just being on the farm makes me feel closer to Russell. We plan to spend a lot of time there over the next few weeks, until it gets too cold anyway. And I know that Landon and possibly Luke and Craig's boys will be hunting there a lot also. Just what Russell wanted. We miss ya, Honey!!

    

 

The Farm - Again

"The Farm” – Segment 2

                Well, the boys had another week of football games and, as usual performed admirably, so I won’t bore you with more football. They do absolutely love their football!

                The focus this week is again Russell’s farm. My heart aches every time I go out there. It looks  so beautiful, especially with the horses (4 of them) running under the pecan trees. I got one of Anna’s nurses to come stay with her this past Saturday and was able to spend about six hours out there. My main “chore” was cleaning up the camper. 

                Russell and I had bought a camper in the spring of 2003, just a small one-bedroom with one slide-out. This was also part of our retirement plan. We were going to travel—a LOT! We were looking forward to joining the many, many retirees who travel with campers and RVs (we were eventually going to get an RV but decided to start small until we learned the ropes). We set it up at the farm so that we had a place to stay when we went out there on on week-ends. We also pulled it to the ranch in Texas in the spring of that year with one of Russell’s brothers, Bob, and his wife Nona. (I've previously posted some of these pictures.)

                That was the only “traveling” trip we made except to a local campsite a few miles east of Vicksburg. We took Landon with us on that one (he was 5 I think). We had a ball, and this was a good learning experience for us. This was before the long trip with Bob and Nona.

This will make a great bonfire!!

 

     

                Russell and several of his brothers and several nieces and nephews pulled the camper to the Texas ranch a couple of times after that (I have included some pictures of some of these trips in earlier postings as well). The last such trip was probably in December of 2004, maybe 2005. But it was the last one Russell could enjoy and we knew that. So we have had the camper at the farm since that list trip. We have been letting Landon, Luke, and their dad use it since then when they hunted the land.

      Landon had a friend with him this week-end, Casey, who also loves being outside. There was a piece of metal (among other things) that washed up on our land during all the flooding a month or so ago. Landon and Casey decided to make a deer stand out of this metal. This picture is what they have done so far. That's Landon's "mule" that he and Luke and Casey use to ride on the land.

     They bought some brown and green spray paint to camouflage the stand. They had so much fun. Casey spent both Friday and Saturday nights with Landon so he could spend a lot of time with him on the farm.

Landon's friend, Casey, painting "new" deer stand

 

Casey and Landon painting stand

     I didn't realize how bad a shape the camper was in; it was really a mess!! I only got about half of the camper cleaned to a satisfactory condition. But I am planning to go back out there after school tomorrow (Thursday). I'm hoping Landon at least will want to come with me. The other boys have football practice after school. I want to finish cleaning out the camper because we want to spend a lot of time there this week-end.
I took pictures of the camper, but I won't share until the camper looks better!!

      Our pecan trees are loaded this year, too! We are planning to try to harvest as many as we can. I'll take some picture of the pecans on the trees as well this week-end.

     Thought I would share this interesting picture, too. Sheri and I were riding around and she was showing me all the improvements she and the boys and a friend have been making. There was this "thing" that had apparently been washed onto our land from the flooding. It looks sort of like a piece off a console from a boat. We thought we would leave it a while as a conversation piece!

     We are going to spend a lot of time out there this week--end. I will take lots of pictures. It will be a bittersweet time. But we will relive older, funny memories and try to make new ones. Russell would be proud!! We love you, honey, and miss you. I know you are still with us, and we will spend time together this week-end.

We had lots of "gunk" washed up onto our land when the Mississippi flooded.

              

Hunting Season

Hunting Season  

     I can't begin to write this blog today without first commenting on the significance of this day (Sunday, 9/11/11). I know that any of us who were around on September 11, 2001, will never forget that day and will always remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when it happened. I was in my office at school, waiting for my first class at 9:30. Sheri, who at that time was still staying home with Anna, called me and told me that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers. I thought at first that it was just a small plane that had accidentally gotten off course. However, while still on the phone with her, the second plane hit and we knew then they were passenger planes.

     I wasn't near a television set, so I went to the CNN website on my computer and was riveted like everyone else. THAT was my class on that day. My students and I watched our computers in total disbelief as the events of the day unfolded. I watched the commemoration events on tv all day today and cried all over again. My heart still goes out to the families of everyone who lost someone on that fateful day. We should never forget and should always commemorate this day every year.

      My goal when I began this blog was to prepare a post to be published every Wednesday. It never fails that, as soon as I post on Wednesday, I immediately start asking myself, "What in the world can I talk about in the next post!" I worry sometimes that I won't have anything to write about. But something different and/or memorable happens every week it seems, and this time it is the beginning of hunting season, particularly alligator and teal hunting in South Louisiana.
 

8'5" inch gator!

     Sheri and her two boys (Landon and Luke) went to Gueydan this week-end. Gueydan is Russell's hometown in south Louisiana. Landon had asked his uncle Bob, one of Russell's brothers, if he could come down and hunt with him. Bob hunts alligators every year, as well as teal and later bigger ducks and geese. Craig used to LOVE going hunting with his dad and his brothers. He said he didn't care if he ever shot anything;

His limit of teal.

they just always had so much fun! Russell AND his brothers are all excellent story tellers (like their dad) and joke tellers! So his experiences in their duck blinds was priceless.

     And now Russell's grandsons are doing the same thing. Landon is an avid outdoorsman. He loves to fish and hunt and just be outside--just like Russell.They had a great "first day," catching an 8'5" alligator the first day and also killing his limit of teal (4). He loved it! It just made me so sad, though, thinking that Russell should have been there with him for this and would have been. I know Landon doesn't look very happy in these pictures, but, trust me, he is! This is just how he takes pictures.


     I found some earlier pictures of Russell and Landon when he was a lot younger. He didn't actually "go gator hunting," but after Bob and Russell went they picked Landon up and took him to the processing place

Fun, huh!!

so he could see (and sit on!!) an alligator. The quality of these pictures is really poor. I couldn't actually find the original pictures; these are actually scans of copies of the pictures. The other little boy in the pictures with Russell and Landon is Gage, Russell's sister's youngest.   He's about a year older than Landon.

     I love these pictures. I am so glad that Russell's brothers are able and willing to take Landon and the other grandkids fishing and hunting with them because this was part of his retirement he was so looking forward to. In fact, we probably would have bought at least a camp in Gueydan so we would have a place to go to during the summers when the kids were out of school. Thanks, Bob and Chris!!
 
    

Landon sitting on an alligator--it's dead!!

     

 

     The weather is really cool today, very "fallish," a good day to be outside. This week-end Sheri, her boys, and I are going to spend some time at our farm in Yokena (about 8 miles out of Vicksburg). We have been doing a lot of cutting and cleaning up down there--getting ready to harvest pecans and getting it ready for the boys to hunt. This time of the year and especially spending time at the farm really make me miss Russell--a lot! But we are hoping for some company in a week or so and are planning to spend most of the time at the farm--that's where Russell would be if he were here. September 25 will be the three-year anniversary of his death; we are going to celebrate his life down at HIS farm.

"The Farm"

Russell's love for land

     Russell and I were married on June 1, 1968. At that time, Russell still had six months left in the Army; so our first home was at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, Texas. It was a WONDERFUL six months, however--a six-month-long honeymoon. We went to Juarez nearly every week-end. We would go to the dog racing track. Anyone could watch from the air conditioned club room and slow gin fizzes were only 50 cents each!

Our two lots looked a lot like this land!

     We also traveled a lot while we were there--Carlsbad Caverns, the Grand Canyon, New Mexico. We were so close to so many beautiful places. From Day 1 of our marriage, Russell said that he wanted more than anything to own some land. So once when we went to the Grand Canyon, he saw signs advertising land for sale.Well, he took the bait and we bought two lots in the "Grand Canyon Subdivision," an as-yet undeveloped subdivision. Why, we supposedly could see the North rim of the Grand Canyon from our lots! I looked and looked but I couldn't see it. We did not have much money, so we paid for those two lots ($1,000 each!) at $10 or $20 a month for FOREVER! I was convinced it was a scam, but I didn't want to destroy Russell's dream. I don't have any pictures of our lots there, but here is a picture of Russell on one of our traveling trips during that time. Isn't he handsome!!

     We have been paying the taxes on those two lots every year since. This past year, however, there has been quite a lot of interest in this area and I have been getting some pretty good offers to sell. I hate to do it, though, without going out there to see what is happening. I did have it appraised so I could at least evaluate the offers better. I have had one offer that I would consider, but I think I will let that one pass for a while also.

We spent a lot of time "just a swingin'"!

Side view - huge back yard to the left

     During our entire marriage, Russell was always looking for more land. In the mid-eighties, we bought a cute little farm house on 9 acres (with a pond) about 30 miles south of Vicksburg. It had a 3-bedroom house that was built around the turn of the century--even had a swing on the front porch. We LOVED that place; it was our week-end getaway. We spent a LOT of week-ends at the "farm." The kids loved it--at first--however, it soon became nothing more than a week-end of WORK-mostly yard work. We took a portable TV out there, but we had no phone and, of course, none of their friends were close by. There was a pond that we could fish and an old barn that was sort of grown over. We had pecan trees in the huge back yard.

     We had several family get-togethers at the "farm." It was only three bedrooms, but it had a big kitchen and living room and a screened-in back porch which we drove under to park our car. We loved sitting on the porch in the morning drinking our coffee and in the evenings drinking our cocktails. Easter was always a good time for us to invite the extended family. And we ALWAYS had a ball--EXCEPT for that ONE "week-end from h___"!

The kids are fishing at the pond.

     Russell's parents and almost all of his brothers and their families and his sister came for the week-end. We were having so much fun. The weather was perfect, and we had a table with all kinds of goodies set up on a table outside. While playing football in the yard, one of our nephews suddenly got sick and threw up outside. In a few minutes, so did I. After that, it was like a line of dominoes! One by one almost ALL of us got terribly ill. We had evidently gotten food poisoning from something--but we could never figure out what we all had eaten. There were a few people who did not get sick--but not many. And we were all stuck there, in this wonderful old house, with just one bathroom!!! Nine acres was almost not enough to "accommodate" everybody who became ill. Ah, we still talk about that week-end when we all get together!!

     We kept that place for a few more years; but as the kids got older and more involved in school activities, we found less and less time to go there--plus we had been robbed a couple of times. The last time the hot water tank was stolen! So we sold it. A year or so after we sold it, we found out that the house had burned to the ground! That just broke our hearts. We loved that place. Russell and I went to see the lot about ten years ago, and there is now a housing project where the house was. You can still see the pond behind the housing project.

     I guess the next piece of land Russell bought was a 12-acre slough in Isaquena County, Mississippi. He and his brother Ed bought it together. The plan was to use it for duck hunting. I think they may have hunted a couple of times. I think I went up there once or twice, but that's it. It is about a 45-minute drive.We still have that one!

One of our week-ends at the farm.

     Next, the brothers found a 38+-acre tract of land about 8 miles south of Vicksburg. Half of it was in very old, beautiful pecan trees. At one point, they had leased the non-orchard part to farmers. That was kind of fun. Eventually, they decided to put that part of the land into a CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) program. We planted trees and are now just watching them grow. It's so pretty. We have also harvested pecans--some years great, some not so much. Eventually Russell acquired all of the acreage, and our grandsons are crazy about it! They deer hunt every year; two of them killed their first deer there. We have had bonfires out there from time to time and several relatives have brought their campers and camped with us, too. Russell and I had talked about eventually building a "Louisiana home" out there when we retired.

Part of the orchard--after cleanup!

     Recently, Sheri and her boys and a friend of hers have been really "sprucing" up the place.  They've been picking up and moving fallen limbs and other debris under the pecan trees and burning it. We did get a little flood damage this year. We had two campers out there that we weren't able to move that got wet and a couple of storage buildings as well that I think are not salvageable. But it is still such a beautiful place. This is our "farm" now. Russell would be spending all of his time there with the grandchildren. He got a old tractor that he used (when it would work). We let a friend put his horses out there in the orchard, which is now fenced. Landon and Luke also have a couple of horses out there. Russell was so looking forward to his retirement and spending time at his farm.

     Here are some of my favorite "farm" pictures. This was one Thanksgiving (2004 maybe??). We were staying at the farm in the camper. Sheri's boys, being boys, started playing in the mud. It had rained a lot a few days before. So she just let them "be" boys and took these adorable pictures. I think she may have used one for her Christmas card that year.

 (I have to share this story. I had been looking everywhere for these pictures so I could include them in this blog, but I could not find them anywhere on the computer or on any of my flash drives. I had one of them framed, but I wanted to put more than just that one. Yesterday (July 4), Craig asked me if I could keep Megan while he and Alicia took the other kids to a movie. Of course, I said, "Yes." When she got here, she went straight to a digital frame I had on a table. Not sure why, but she did. So I thought that she would like to see some pictures on it; thought that would keep her busy for a while also. Well, don't you know that these pictures were on the flash drive I put into the digital frame! You can't tell me that Russell didn't have something to do with that!!!)

Russell and Bob on our first camping trip to Texas

Russell and brothers on the last trip taken

      And that brings us to Russell's latest land purchase--his Texas ranch. His mom is from San Marcos, Texas, and he has always loved that part of the country. For several years we had thought and thought about finding a few acres somewhere in the hill country. Russell even subscribed to a TEXAS FARM AND RANCH MAGAZINE, which contained information, including pictures, of available land. We took many trips to that area and to south Texas, and finally one year we were traveling there and I told Russell that he needed to go ahead and get his ranch. I said I didn't want him to be 80 years old and hear him say, "I sure wish I had gotten that land in Texas." Ironic, huh! Anyway, we looked at several places and he finally found one he loved.  So, in December of 2002, he bought a 71-acre tract in another "undeveloped" subdivision that backed up onto a huge exotic hunting club. We had access to a water well but had to use a generator for the camper. It is way down in south Texas, about 30 miles north of the Texas/Mexico border

     We spent a week there the following spring with Russell's brother Bob and his wife Nona and had an absolutely wonderful time!  There were a couple of deer stands and one small old building; but the land was beautiful and was exactly what Russell wanted. He made several subsequent trips with his brothers. Once some of our nephews went also, and some of the nieces got so envious that they went the following year! They cooked and made bonfires and hunted and ATE very, very well! Those boys are some good cooks and they were not planning to "live off the land." I am copying two links to a couple of Powerpoint files about the Texas ranch. The first one is of Russell with the realtor "walking" the land. This was in December of 2002. The second one is from our first camping trip with Bob and Nona. We had a ball!!! (If you will just click on the links, and click the link after "Go to link:,"  you should be able to view the file; hope that works).
   
https://skydrive.live.com/#!/view.aspx?cid=6C1C4E487DF902F0&resid=6C1C4E487DF902F0!206

https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx?cid=6C1C4E487DF902F0&resid=6C1C4E487DF902F0!205

     I think that at least Russell's dreams about owning land were fulfilled before we lost him. I am very happy for that!

Ryan's Birthday

Ryan's 11th birthday and other events of the week

One candle = 11 years

     I wasn't sure what I was going to write about this week. However, today (Sunday, the 28th) is Ryan's 11th birthday. Thought that was a good place to start. Like all days lately. it was so hectic the family was having a hard time finding time to celebrate. Craig dropped Megan, Elizabeth, and Ryan off at my house while he ran Kieran out to baseball practice. Alicia was working at the hospital today, and Craig didn't want to have all of the kids out at the ballpark--understandably. Alicia was going to pick all the kids up at my house when she got off work and take them to Ryan's soccer game.  I'm so confused!!! This is just a typical day; the only thing different today was that it was not a school day on top of everything else.

All the kids weren't here but we still had fun.

  
      Anyway, I was glad they came. I had planned to bake a cake to have for them the next day after school. Instead, I asked Luke if he wanted to make the cake today so we could celebrate Ryan's birthday; that could be a birthday cake from us. I found one birthday candle, which worked out fine. Luke made a yellow cake with chocolate icing. (Luke's my "live-in chef.") I was "assisting" him and I suggested that after he cracked the eggs into the mix that he put the shells into the box that the cake mix came in (you know, just to cut down on the mess a bit). However, I was cleaning up as he worked and moved the box. His comment was, "Boy, it sure is hard to get good assistants these days!" Watch it, boy!!

Ryan and Megan sharing cake.

     We were going to wait until Alicia got there to light the candle and sing "Happy Birthday," but before we knew it the clock showed 4:15. Ryan did not have much time before soccer practice. So we lit the candle and sang "Happy Birthday," and I was just about to cut the cake when Alicia got here. So we had one little party here.

     Alicia had gotten a cake and ice cream to take to share with Ryan and his soccer team. Ryan was also planning to have a private birthday party with his family tonight when (and if!!!) they got home. So I think his birthday will really get celebrated today after all. Hard to believe he is 11. Time keeps slipping by so quickly!

     You might notice that Megan is just in her diaper. Want to know why? When she first got to my house, she saw the bowl with the cake "remains" and, of course, she said "I want that." (She has always been my taste tester.) She also said, "I need to take my shirt off," and proceeded to take her clothes off to avoid getting cake mix all over her. She knew the routine!
   
     The boys had their first home football games this week. On Monday night, the 8th graders (Landon) played; they lost but played a great game. Landon plays center and was in on a lot of tackles. Last night the 4th graders (Luke and Kieran) played at 5:00, and the 5th graders (Ryan) played at 6:00, and they were both so exciting! Some of you might just want to skip this part, but I have a LOT of family members who read this blog so I have to share this information with them. In the 4th grade game, Kieran got two of the four touchdowns, intercepted a pass, and caused a fumble. He is just like his dad--unbelievably FAST. Once he gets a little lead, there is no one even close to him--on either team. The 5th grade game was amazing. After the first half, they were behind 21-0. But they came back fired up and WON 22-21. Ryan caught a pass for some long yardage, AND he caught the winning two-point conversion. It was unbelievable!!!

Great catch, Ryan!

      Someone on the sideline was taking pictures and sent us

Love his face in this one!

these two pictures of Ryan catching the ball for the two-point conversion.

The parents of the 4th and 5th grade players have to do everything at their games--man the gate, work the concession, drag the chains, even call the game. Craig called Ryan's game (he was nervous, but did a great job!). He also gave the invocation for the 4th grade game. Sheri worked the concession stand for the 5th grade game also. I know Russell would be SO PROUD of the family he made. I look around in the stands and see some friends of ours (married couples our age), and I can't help but be envious because I am not able to share this with Russell. But I see his influence in his kids and now his grandkids. That's how I know he is still here!

      Okay, no more football (at least until next week). Megan, on the other hand, is ready for gymnastics evidently. The other day, she said out of the clear blue, "Grammy, I do 'nastics." Her older sister, Elizabeth, took gymnastics for a couple of years and is now enrolled in a competitive cheerleading program. Here are some examples Megan's "nastics" attempt.Here is a picture of her after one of her "routines," and a short video of a "performance." She really gets into it! 

The end of one of her "routines."

     Hope you all keep reading. See you next week!