Tomato Plant

I feel out of place here

I’m one of a kind

Surrounded by colorful blooms.

Who even cramp my space.

A stake was pushed in the dirt behind me

Then twine to splint us together

Like some old man who can’t stand up straight

And needs a cane for support

The rain came today and wet me down

I drink it into my roots up to my limbs

The dirt beneath me remains moist

Helped by my lady who cares for me 

Every morning my lady looks at me,

Touches me gently (oh so nice)

And just oohs and aaaahhs

For I have produced three small green tomatoes

I stretch myself tall reaching for the sun

 I don’t want to disappoint her

I have heard her say if I produce

She will have more of my kind next year

Wish I could be there with them

But for now I do my job alone

Making it hopeful for others to follow

In my place for I will be gone.

Doggie Days and July activities

The Friends of the Dog Park at Mosquito Lake State Park are sponsoring their second "Doggie Days" competition. I missed last year's competition so I don't really know for sure what to expect. Ken and I will be going to watch for a while and then Ken is going to be one of the judges during the competitions. The event is today from 12-3 pm in the Dog Park which is near the beach at Mosquito Lake.

We are taking a camera so I'll try to post some of the pictures later today or tomorrow after we get them cropped, re-sized, etc. (That's Ken's department).

There has been a lot of activity at Mosquito Lake this weekend. Yesterday there was a WARA event at the marina. We didn't have time to stop to check it out but there were people with booths or EZ Up tents set up. We are guessing that WARA stands for Warren Amateur Radio Association.

Cindy, the naturalist at the campground, has had a lot of new activities this year. Friday night she lea a bike hike and gave information about the park. She looked like the mama goose with her goslings coming down the road, many bikers following behind her in single file. I am hoping to join her soon for one of these bike tours.

Joe's Marina is sponsoring live bands next weekend, July 2-3-4 from 5-8 pm. He always has great bands and we are looking forward to hearing them until it is time to go show movies at the ampitheater. Bring a chair and sit on the lawn and enjoy or join the crowd of dancers if you choose. Joe has food available for sale also and it is good.

Next weekend the campgrounds should be full. A good family time for mid summer fun! This summer is slipping past too quickly like most others!

The Campground Friends group has many activities planned for the holiday weekend and throughout July including Red, White and Blue days where campers can decorate their campsites to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday to be held on Friday, July 1. The friends group is also sponsoring their second Craft show to be held on July 16. We had a good turnout of vendors and customers last year so plan to attend this year if you missed it last year. Also, on July 15 the Christmas in July event will be held and campers can decorate their campsites for Christmas. A busy month for campers at Mosquito.

New Blog In Town!!

There is a new blog to follow. It should be pretty special because my nine year old grandson, Aaron, will be the host. It will be called "Professor A Speaks". He just got it started today.

Aaron is a good writer and also is very artistic. He has said that someday he would like to be an author and illustrator. This will be a good tool for him to get started.

go to http://www.professoraspeaks.blogspot.com/ to see this new blog
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR BLOG AARON.

Eyes Wide Open

I see the darndest things early in the morning when walking Clayton. This morning I went down to the boat dock in the campground. As I was standing near the water, two male joggers ran toward me. When they reached the docking area where the trucks back into the water, they stopped, dropped and did eight pushups each. What a wonderful site to see. Two physically fit guys jogging, then doing push ups right before my eyes. They then got up, and started jogging back up the road as if it was nothing.

Fathers

I didn't post on for Fathers' Day because I was busy enjoying time with Austin and Andrew on Saturday and part of Sunday. We went swimming here at Mosquito Lake on Saturday. I was playing in the water with them, pulling them, tossing them (as best I could) into the water, and just having fun. A little girl about four or five asked, "Can I play with you too?"

I was more than glad to let her in on the fun. First I asked her if she knew how to swim and whether she could go under water yet. She said no to both questions. "Okay, then I won't do anything that makes you go under water," I told her.

She then asked me, "Can you pick me up and twirl me over your shoulders like my daddy does?"

"No, I don't think so. I am too old," I told her.

"My daddy is very strong," she told me as she demonstrated the twirling motion her dad used. I could tell he was someone special in her life. Her innocent description of her father, just goes to show how children idolize their dads.

I know my grandsons think their dad walks on water. He is so good to them, so patient and giving. A lot of men would not do the things he has done with and for them without even thinking twice about it. It just comes naturally to him. I know that Bill loves being a dad and loves his boys unconditionally. I have watched him on Christmas morning with packages being opened in all directions around him, people walking over gifts and pets, children all over, and one of his boys will ask him to put a toy together. Withhout hesitation, he will do it. He doesn't say, "Later, or wait a while," he just does it. That has always amazed me.

My grandsons have made comments about their dad that lets me know he means the world to them. One day when Aaron was about five, we were putting his socks on his feet. He stopped me and said, "Daddy says the grey goes on the bottom." That was it. Dad said it, it is  now gospel.

So many dads are not a part of their children's lives. The children as well as the dad are missing out on so many opportunities. The dad's responsibility is being taken on by someone else and that dad's influence is not being bestowed on those children.

I was lucky to have my dad throughout my childhood and into adulthood. My parents remained married and raised us together. He was a perfectionist in anything he undertook. He was smart, had a sense of humor and worked way too much. I missed him a lot during my younger years when he was working seven days a week. I used to think that I would rather not have so many things if I could just have my dad around more. If this sounds like you, take more time with your kids. Material things will fade away but your children are waiting for your attention.