I visited a local greenhouse this past weekend that had just opened, just to stroll around and look at all the beautiful flowers, bushes, plants etc. and to get some ideas on what I wanted to do this season especially on planting a few new perennials and got some instructions on the asparagus planting. I’m thinking about a climbing yellow rose bush, some ornamental grass, some lavender, and maybe try my hand again at a butterfly bush. I picked a nice bouquet of flowers from the yard: assorted colored daffodils, bleeding hearts, grape hyacinth, and some tulips. I remembered back to the beginning of February when I went to Alabama to my brother Jeff’s (and wife Karen) place when he and I traveled to Florida to visit our brother Art who was residing in a hospice house, and their tulips were in full bloom. Apparently they are about three months ahead of us, growing season wise. I talked to my niece in Lancaster this past weekend and their tulips have been gone for about 3 weeks – coming on right about Easter time. She was busy tending her dozens (literally) of pots of flowers and garden getting ready to plant more tomatoes – a different variety suggested by some of her Amish friends, grown especially for canning. If you want information on gardening and canning, Amish country is the place to be at.
You know it’s spring and warmer weather when I dig out the solar tea jug and make iced tea. Plus, I’ve been sneezing my head off out in the yard. According to the television report it’s pollen from oak, maple, and birch. We have oak and maple both on our property. Another spring chore is getting the crocks ready for the cemetery – before Memorial Day, May 25th. It’s so hard to jump into all this so fast when we’ve had such a long, hard winter and it’s been so cold right up until – now! We have so many big buds on the lilac bushes as well as our apple, cherry and pear trees. With so many bees I’ve seen buzzing around already, I’m in hopes for much pollination taking place and gathering lots of fruit!
Vacation Bible School date has been set at our Alba Church. It will start Sunday June 28th and run through Thursday July 2nd, from 6:00 until 8:30 each evening. It’s open to children ages preschool through those who have finished 6th grade. For more information on “SonSparks Labs VBS” you can call Kathy Cole at 297-2680.
Thanks again, folks, as Ron and I continue to receive cards expressing sympathy in the passing of our brother Art Shoemaker.
Britain has a new princess! The beautiful Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, and her husband Prince William have a new baby girl to join their son Prince George, born in 2013. She has been named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana – how very lovely. I always thought that Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana, was one of the most beautiful women in the world – both inside and out – and it’s heartwarming to see that this couple is following in her footsteps in that respect. The Prince is handsome like his mother and the Duchess is gorgeous – even in her picture taken just a couple of days following the birth of their new baby. Congratulations to the Royals! It’s so nice to have something positive and beautiful in the news for a change.
On May 7, 1847, the AMA (American Medical Association) was founded. May 8, 1886, marks the anniversary of the introduction of Coca-Cola to the public. On this day in 1886, pharmacist Dr. John Pemberton introduced Coca-Cola at Jacob’s Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, where it sold for 5 cents a glass. This day is often confused with March 29, 1886, when Pemberton concocted Coca-Cola. On May 9, 1754, in response to French military action on the western frontier, Ben Franklin printed in the Pennsylvania Gazette his “Join, or Die” illustration depicting a snake cut into pieces. It was America’s first political cartoon. This Sunday, May 10th, is observed as Mother’s Day. And, according to “Lore & Legend”: May 11, 12,and 13 were known collectively to old-time almanac makers as the “There Chilly Saints”, named for three early Christian martyrs whose feast days occur now. These days are traditionally cold. Sensitive crops were usually not planted until after the 13th. On May 13, 1607, one hundred English colonists settled on the banks of the James River in Virginia to found Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. Also on the 13th, in 1918, the first U.S. airmail postage stamps were issued. On May 14th, 1904, the United States hosted its first Olympic Games, an ancient Greek festival revived in 1896. The games opened on this day in St. Louis.
Quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes: “The world is always ready to receive talent with open arms. Very often it does not know what to do with genius.”
Food for thought: The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.