The Pond Garden

 Green Rippled Reflections

Before you, you will see three little waterfalls and a rubber duckie at the mouth of the stream. The green and white in the pond are the reflections of clouds and leaves, from the maple and basswood. A person could really enjoy sitting next to the pond...if only the mosquitoes would stay away!

I don't understand why the word 'mosquito' has to have an 'e' when it's made plural. I don't like the way that looks. I suppose it's to make the long vowel sound for the 'o.' But there should be exceptions for words that just look better without the extra vowel. Mosquitos.  Every Bolivian knows how to pronounce that.

 Sunken Treasure

Ferns and Mossy Rocks

I don't know the scientific name for the weed in the upper right of the photo, but it seems to have appeared in this neck of the woods in the past 5-6 years. And now it's everywhere! At least it has very shallow roots and is easy to pull, if one feels so inclined. I wish I had noticed it before I took the photo, and that I had felt so inclined.

 The Odd Ball

This is actually a snail on a rock in the pond. The white is from reflections of the clouds overhead and the white at the top of the photo is from a ripple in the pond. I thought it was such an odd photo, the snail breaking the surface of the water.

 Lloyd, Bridger, Misty

My dad loved my dogs. This photo was taken in June of 2008. My dad died in December of 2010, and I'm always happy when I come across another photo of him. I think he's trying to get the chocolate out of his teeth or something. My dad still makes me laugh.

 Faking it

I don't remember if this little fella's name is 'Adagio' or 'Largo.' I think we had one of each. I do know that for a long time I kept him in the bathroom sink where he fooled a lot of people. Now he lives on a mossy rock at the edge of the pond. He likes it out there. Besides, he doesn't want to get into it with the alligator I keep in the shower. When the water hits the alligator just right, his jaws and tail move, just from the force of the shower stream. Every shower needs an alligator. Every pond needs a turtle. Every blog post needs an end -  this one especially.

***

Buy Any Five, Get One FREE

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Store 

Happy 93rd Birthday Lloyd

My dad celebrated his 93rd birthday on Saturday. The photo above shows my dad on the right, seated with his mom Lydia and his younger brother Donald and little sister Lois. The photo was probably taken about 1923.

This photo had to have been taken about 1925, my dad and his sister Ruth posing with their Christmas presents.

In the spring of 1935, Dad was graduated from Barron Senior High School. I had not seen this photograph until a few weeks ago.

Dad and his girlfriend Maxine, later to be my mom. I'm not certain that this was taken before they were married, but I suspect so. Isn't my dad CUTE!!!  And look at those pants my mom is wearing! And the hair! Why is it that men just have the same old hairstyles decade after decade and don't have to look back in horror at old photographs of themselves. But women's hair styles, that's another story!

My dad on the left, along with someone else who apparently was also part of the crew of men who built the Alaska Highway. This photo was taken in 1942.

Having watched the PBS documentary about the building of the Alaska Highway, I have a little more appreciation for what those men went through. This was no piece of cake. Plus, Dad had left his wife and little son back home. It must have been a good short-term job that he would leave them and go so far away. But, when time are tough, you do what you have to do. I can hear him saying that.


Update: Dad fell and fractured his hip in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, but was able to be up in a chair and enjoying company, thanks to Vicadin, and celebrating his birthday on Sunday afternoon, at the nursing home.  Here he is helping light the candles on his birthday cake.

Dad checking out baby Glenn, the first time he's seen him. Four generations:
Lloyd, Judy, Kevin, and Glenn. Happy Birthday Grandpa Nelson.

Over the Weekend

Joe and Courtney. Looking a bit warm and fuzzy.

My dad, Lloyd, with 'the usual' - coffee and a chocolate-covered donut at the BP. Although I can't prove it by this photo, he doesn't look at all like Mr. Magoo in real life. But he was puzzled as to why I would want to take his photo.

Taken on Friday, and already they've grown considerably more! The daffodils. I have several 'spots' of daffodils and can't wait until they're in full bloom!

The prolific Hens and Chicks in garden next to the wee pond.

First signs of rhubarb. I think the only thing I make with my rhubarb are those wonderful bars with rhubarb, strawberry jello, etc. They're worth raising rhubarb! Just ask Angela.

Chives for my potato salad, which Gus loves. And I'll make him some if he comes here from Texas to get it. :-)

Spider on the bathroom wall. This photo taken especially for Dänika, for I knew she would appreciate it. I pondered why it is that I can see a spider and not be bothered, but if a shrew or mouse scurried in... I'm sure it's all my brothers' fault. :-)

Sunday afternoon clouds over field NE of house. Aren't they beautiful!

Clouds over Neighbor Bill's place. Neighbor Bill is no longer of this world, but it will always be 'Neighbor Bill's place' to us.

Misty of spotted-tongue fame. :-)

Lloyd's Siblings c. 1923

Another amazing photograph of my dad and his siblings. These are the children of Victor and Lydia Nelson, before Lois and Elaine were born: Dorothy, Esther, Ruth, Merlin, Lloyd, and Donald. (My dad tells me that Dorothy's middle name was Mary. Esther's middle name was May. The boys used to tease them, singing, 'Dorothy Marry and Esther Might.' There's nothing new under the sun. :-) Lloyd, my dad, is the one looking forlorn, toward the ground. I don't know what his problem is. Maybe his eyes were light-sensitive. So that's where I get it!

I don't know that my grandparents thought of themselves as poor, for they were in the same boat as everyone else. Unlike some of the struggling souls who raised families during the Great Depression, they were able to provide food for their family because they lived on a farm.

Take a look at the house in the first photo. Then think of all we have today...and how often we still feel deprived. Somehow, my grandparents did a great job raising their kids and did it without TV, computers, cellphones, continual entertainment, and the latest fashions. They trusted God, went to church regularly, loved their children, worked hard, milked the cows, tilled the soil, baked their own bread, raised a huge garden, taught their children how to do all those things, and grew together as a family.

My father was a year old when the great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 ravaged the nation. Perhaps living in a rural community may have been the reason that the influenza didn't reach my dad's family.

How quickly we turn away from the values of our forefathers, and exchange faith in God for faith in the government. We demand that our neighbors supply our needs, rather than working hard and asking God's blessing on our efforts. We've forgotten how, or maybe never learned, the simple arts and crafts that were common to survival, that no one felt 'special' for having learned. It was just part of life.

I'm thankful for my God-fearing grandma and grandpa who passed along their love for God and their values and attitudes to their children. I'm looking forward to the day when I will have the opportunity to tell them so.

Do you have a special photo of someone in your family? Not necessarily an old photo, just one that means a lot to you. What makes it special?

A Rich Inheritance

Look at that little boy, proudly holding the skis he got for Christmas, 1927. That's my dad. What a cute kid! Now that little boy is nearly 93 years old and living in a nursing home. And actually, he's still really cute!

My father is not, nor has he ever been, rich in a worldly sense, but he most definitely gave me a rich inheritance. He taught me who God is and who I am. I can clearly see my dad and mom sitting at the table, reading the Bible and praying daily for their children, their friends, their pastor, and their church.

I learned by Dad's example that God is gracious and kind and 100% reliable. Dad never expected me to be perfect, but he certainly wasted no time in instructing me when I'd done something wrong. He brought me to repentance - and eagerly forgave me. And that's what God does.

I learned from my father that I am a sinner, that Jesus took all of God's wrath toward my sin on himself when he was crucified. Because of that great love for me, I am forgiven of not only my sin but also my GUILT. Jesus freed me from the bondage of sin and guilt. Only through Jesus do I have complete joy and peace in my soul! My Dad taught me that.

Even though it is I now who reads the Bible to him, rather than the other way around, Dad has a calm assurance that he is in God's hands and believes God absolutely. He's still teaching me by example. What a rich inheritance!