By Lula Anderson
April first. Fishing season starts, the weather is still changeable, but we are getting so many signs that the warm weather is on its way. We have been able to open windows more now, some nights we were able to sleep with them open, listening to the spring night sounds. The peepers are out, pussy willows are in fuzz, I hear robins calling outside my window in the morning, and the geese are looking for nesting grounds. My daffodils have started to bud and I watch the lilac trees starting to bud. I hope they don't go too fast, remember the year that they were budding out and we had a very deep freeze. I worry about them when I hear the WRIP weather announcing overnight temperatures in the teens. To everything there is a season.
Thanks to Patti Lawyer, I had a great day on Thursday. Patti took me to Home Sweet Home to visit with Leona Knox and Lola German. It was nice getting a ride and visiting with old, good, friends.
Jack Gates and his daughter, Brenda, spent the week with me. They went out to visit Joan several times, along with visiting with friends in the area. They called and said they made it safely back to North Carolina.
The Ashland Community Church had a good turnout on the Mountain Top Parish Fifth Sunday gathering . Fifty members joined us for the community worship service. It's nice to have all the churches get together .
With the warmer weather, many are starting their spring cleaning. When it's nice outside, we see people cleaning their yards, removing the branches and limbs that have been blown off the trees, raking up the sand and hillocks left behind by the plows. My winter "couch blankets" are washed, and replaced by lighter weight ones. At night we still need something while watching TV, just not as heavy. I want to take my winter blankets off my bed, but it's way too soon.
Prayers and get well wishes to Lois Banks, Sandy Kiley, Joy Maglie, Ginny Gurley and Janice Maben.
AS I REMEMBER IT
I recently told you that I heard Scott Tuttle is giving up the ghost: Milking cows. I can't blame him as it seems that farmers are on the bottom of the list these days. I guess it would be a few years before his daughter would take over the farm, and It's gotten too much for him. People go by and see his equipment and think how well he's doing if he can afford all that. They don't realize the work it takes to be a farmer, and the equipment is to replace the farm hands that were always available.
I grew up on a little farm, only 200 acres. The day began just before the sun rose, 5 or 5:30, depending on the time of the year. Animals don't know Daylight Savings time, or standard time, they only know when the sun rises it's time for someone to come and take care of them. I don't know of any farm that didn't have at least one live-in apprentice from the Cooperative Extension, for a week or two, or a month or two, during the summer to help out with summer chores which were always more than winter ones. Milking or not, planting or not, there was always something to do on a farm. Everyone had a big family and each member was required to do his share, no matter the age. The younger ones took care of the chickens and weeding the garden. The older helped in the barn and the haylot. Summer vacation meant no school, but we still had chores to do.We learned how to do things by ourselves and how to fix things. We learned to fix the equipment and how to keep it running.
If a farmer had to present a resume for the job, it would include plumber, carpenter, auto mechanic, everything about water and soil conservation, animal husbandry, sales and budget, you name it, we did it, and not a lot of compensation. As children, we never complained about being bored because we would ge another job added. We learned to do our work quickly so we could get the afternoon off to swim and play. Looking back, I realize I had the world in the palm of my hands. I feel sorry for the kids today that can't find anything to do, so play with their phones and don't take the time to look at nature and appreciate it.
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