Its been a while since I have been on here as you can tell. I haven't booted up the computer more than a few times in the last month. It took nearly three weeks and a trip to the doctor to get over the crud that I had in my lungs. I'm much better now and working like a dog. We have not had much rain in the past few weeks and we have job sites stacking up. I hope to start back with pictures from work but right now I don't have a camera that is worth taking along. Well one that doesn't cost more than fifty bucks that is, I ain't never going to take my Rebel in the dump truck. I got a better truck at work but have been driving everyone else's but mine lately. The boss said he didn't want to put new guys in the better trucks when somebody is off. I got to drive mine for half a day today until I found a bunch of welds broken on the bed. So once again I had to drive someone else's truck. I got a friend who recently got a promotion a foreman position, he is now in charge of the five cement trucks that the boss bought after he built his cement plant. I found out he is short on drivers so I made him an offer. I may or may not get a better paying job soon. He sounded hopeful about my offer.

In other news here at home, there is a BBQ cook off and festival this Saturday in Huntsville and I want to try to get to that and get some pictures of that. Also there is something going on at the Maple Hill Cemetery Sunday, (thats the cemetery where I took all those fall pictures) Its called The Maple Hill Historical Stroll, or something like that. They do this every year, People dress up like some of the famous Alabama people buried there and give a living history of their lives. Its a really neat event every year. There are many former Alabama governors buried there as well as other high ranking folks like Russel Erskine who was once the president of the Studebaker Corporation. I am going to that, weather permitting, but I have to pour a 7x10 cement pad and mow the grass before Saturday afternoon. I may not have time for the BBQ contest. Thats about all for now, will try to get some pictures going here again soon.

Peace

            I am miserable this spring. Let me give you some background on my past springs here in North Alabama. For the past twelve years I have been driving a truck over the road and have not spent more than a few days here at home during spring. Most of my time was spent out west in the desert where there is very little pollen. Now that I am off the road, I am experiencing the full brunt of the pollen and I am miserable. Sneezing, runny nose. watery eyes and the whole deal. Not to mention a nasty chest cold to boot. I hate living on allergy medication. I did however get out in between the rain and get some spring pictures from our yard. The cherry tree is so full of blooms it almost looks fake. 

these are pansies planted in large pots on our back deck. They lasted through fall and winter out there and came back going crazy this spring. What a hardy flower!

If you look at the purple flower closely you can see the pollen that is coating everything around here. If I don't get better I'm gonna have to go get a shot! I hate needles!

This is Candytuft that is planted next to our garage door.

I have no idea what this is, it is just growing up through the lawn and I though that I had better get a picture of it before I start mowing soon.

The blooms are lacy like womens bloomers were way back in the 1800's so until I know what they are called I'm calling them "Lacy Blue Bloomers"!

Thats all I got! I'm off to kill anything that has pollen coming from it!

Just a short note to let you know,if anybody is still reading, that I am still here. We had a nice Easter then Kim got sick the very next day. She has bronchitis and an upper respiratory infection, and I caught a nasty head cold Tuesday. So we are both sick and feeling like crap! Spring is here and there are many opportunities for some great pictures but we are both too sick to enjoy any of it! I just downed some Niquil so I'm off to bed!

Peace

P.S. send chicken soup!

Today is the day that our lord and savior JESUS CHRIST rose from the dead after dying for our sins. Rejoice and be glad for this is the day your salvation comes to you. I hope you all have a blessed day and may God look down upon you and smile today as you accept his son as your personal savior. Let the festivities begin!

We are having a feast today in his honor!

Peace

Two sisters in Virginia got over $1300 for this cornflake shaped like the state of Illinois on Ebay. Can you believe this nonsense? People are dying all over the world from wars, starvation, disease and many other things, People are living in poverty world wide including right here in the United States, and we are selling a stupid corn flake? Do you know what I would do to that corn flake if I got within ten feet of it? Yes folks you guessed it! I would eat the damned thing and laugh my little head off at the moron who bought it! You see, this is one of the many reasons that people around the world hate us as a society. When a damned corn flake makes the news above many other stories that need to be heard! This was just stupid! If you went and read the story in the link above then you read that the idiot that bought the thing had bought one before that was supposed to be the worlds largest corn flake and it was in three pieces by the time it got to him! BWAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAAA! If I had my way about it this on would be a pile of dust when it got there! We are doomed as a society!

You know? I am entirely tired of being screwed. It come at me from all sides it seems! From banks that just don't give a damn about you anymore to employers who only care about their immediate family and those in the good ole boy club! Lets start with the last two jackasses that got to me shall we. Last week I went to the grocery store and payed for it out of the wrong account. I realized it on the ride home and though, "no problem, I'll just deposit a check from the account that had the money in it and it will balance out when they run the deposit". WRONG! They didn't run the deposit until after midnight! This made them cover the check I wrote at the store and charge me $38 dollars in the process! What ever happened to the system where a real human being with feelings and emotions worked at the bank. You know a day where you could go to the bank and say that you made an honest mistake and need to deposit money to cover the check, and they would just say "sure"?

              This leads to jackass number two! I got pissed at that bank and told them where they could go with their impersonal service. I called work and told them to cancel my direct deposit and that I would just take a live check every Friday. Well today was payday, and let me say this for starters, what a sorry day this is! We worked three days last week, well at least some of us did. Some that are in the good old boy club worked almost 40 hours last week. Hell I may have been payed enough to actually buy a cheeseburger and fries! I'm sorry, I digress, I went to my bosses bank where his payroll checks are cut to cash my check. I have done this before, but this time they charged me $5.00 to cash a check wrote on their own bank! What the hell is this horse crap? Let me get this straight OK? You handle an employers payroll and then turn around and charge the employee to cash his pitiful little paycheck? What is the fee for? I don't get it! Wakovia bank will never see another dime of my money again, and Reed Contracting is on the short list too. I won't be there for long I promise you! Man that really pisses me off. We get payed like slaves to begin with and now there is one more rich asshole in the line to bend me over again? Hell is going to be a very crowded place is all I can really say. It is really like stealing from the poor. I have said enough. I have a headache now and am going to bed. Yea, its mid day Friday and I'm off due to rain again.

Time for a new job!

            With Kim's surgery and it being in the dead of winter, we really have not had the time to take Pepper out anywhere to run. I had a place in mind but it was twenty minutes from the house. Well Sunday we went out there to get a little leash training and to really let her run for a bit. It is the Hays nature Preserve that I had shot some pictures at last fall. We didn't stay long as she wore all the two of us out not to mention herself. I was a bit worried she would misbehave as she is so excited all the time but she really did well. She liked to pulled my arm out of the socket running but this was her real first time on the leash for more than a few minutes. We found a large open field at the nature preserve we were at and we had brought her ball. We took her off her leash and started throwing the ball. Wow did she really have a blast! You could see the excitement in her eyes as she was able to run as far as she liked without getting in trouble. I wish that I would have been able to take some pictures of the whole event but we were really unprepared for her overly excited self as we got out of the car and promptly left the camera in the car. We even forgot her water and bowl and had to go back for the water. We forgot the bowl again and had to let her drink out of my cupped hands while kim poured. Once she ran out her energy a bit she worked on the leash a bit better. There was a lot of people there and she was barking a lot when she got out of the car but she settled down once we got out into this big open field. Hopefully it will be nice again this Sunday and we can go back out there and actually stay a little longer. Maybe even take a hike on the really nice nature trail they have there. Next time I will be more prepared for pictures and actually bring her water bowl. I need to go buy one of those collapsible bowls, and get me a nice back pack. I really like that place I just wish that it was closer. I am still looking for a place where I can take her to swim though.

Peace Out!

              Its a cold cold morning. At 4 A.M.  The temperature is hovering around seventeen degrees. I hum a familiar tune as I pour hot coffee into my thermos. I make a snack out of summer sausage, cheddar cheese and crackers. gathering my provisions I head out the door stopping momentarily to pick up my rifle case. The snow crunches under my feet as I make my way to the garage where my sometimes trusty jeep awaits. After placing my gear in the back I climb into the drivers seat and fumble with the keys with icy cold fingers. The familiar slow cranking sound of a cold engine, battery, and starter motor ensues. "Come on"! I yell at it while pumping the gas peddle. With a stuttering, smoke belching commotion the engine comes to life. I check my gear again as the engine warms up.

             cruising down the highway I go over the plan in my head. I may only have one shot so I need to make it count. Today will end the speeches, today will stop the misery of a country that has had enough. I will be the one making history today. Pulling into the timber where I will park the jeep, I push the 4wd gear lever into four wheel high and ease on down the trail. Its more of a path than a trail, I hear brush scraping along the side of my Jeep. Finally there is the place that I had picked out to park. I pull around and back in so I can get out quickly. Every detail I have practiced over and over until I did it in my sleep. There can be no mistakes. I shut off the engine and just sit there listening and watching my back trail, making sure I was not followed. Nothing! Good! I gather my gear and head toward the hide that I made. settling into the hide I take out my spotting scope and glass down from the woods into town. Making sure that I could still see the town square. Everything is perfect so far, there is nothing in my line of fire. Time to wait.

                 After a few cups of coffee and the snack, I still feel sleepy. There is time for a nap so I set my alarm on my cell phone to wake me up in an hour and a half. After making sure that it is on vibrate I drift off to sleep. Zero hour has come! The alarm failed to go off as I failed to charge the phone last night and now the battery is dead! I grab the spotting scope and look down into town. The square is full of people already! There is red white and blue bunting all over the store fronts and the pavilion. They all have their attention centered on the decorated pavilion! They are listening to the speech! This has to stop! I raise my rifle to my shoulder and jack a round into the chamber. Placing my eye against the scope I zero in just as he is raising both arms above his head. NOW DAMMIT NOW!!! I squeeze off the shot and see a mess explode into the air above his head. I can't believe it! I did it! He's down! The damned groundhog is down! No more lies about winter and spring! Spring is here I say! Here right now dammit! I get a hold of myself realizing that there is massive panic in the streets after the killing shot and I must now escape! I pack up my gear and look for the spent shell casing. I got it! Time to run! Its full daylight now as I Sprint up the hill dodging trees as I go. Skidding to a stop at my jeep I can't believe my eyes! There must be twenty police cars already there at the jeep. How did they know? I jump with a start as I feel  cold hands grab my shoulders from behind, shaking me! Its over, I'm going down for the crime of the century, but at least there won't be any more sooth saying about spring! Come on spring! Come on Spring! Come on spr,,, Honey Wake Up!!! Your going to be late for work again! You better dress warmly because it cold as hell out side! You know that old ground hog said spring is still a ways off right?

AUUUUUUGGGHHHH!

              You are not going to believe the bricks that I found. I posted a while back that I was getting all the brick off of the house they burned, but that brick was charred and nasty after the fire. One day a few weeks ago on the way back from a job site, I found a fill pit full of brick. I found out who owned the land and asked if I could have some of it for some garden projects. The man told me that I could have all that I could haul out of there. You see, they were building an apartment complex and they screwed up the storm drain system and had to rip the whole thing out. Storm drains may look like concrete if you lay down and look inside it. You will See what looks like a concrete box with a cement culvert pipe in it. inside that cement is bricks. These bricks never saw storm water! about 25 percent of the brick in that pit is still whole and was never used! I am thinking about all kinds of projects now! A backyard fire pit, brick patios and walkways, a BBQ smoker, flower beds! My only fear is that they will eventually need room in that pit and will bulldoze the piles to the back of the lot. So everyday that it is not too wet I am going there after work and loading up. I don't have a truck so I load my Station wagon down with the equivalent weight of six passengers. Tonight I got two loads home. So far I have four loads in the yard. I wish that I had a truck! Here are some pictures of the piles in there.

Can you believe this find? Wait till you see the garden when I get done. For now I gotta get all I can before they push it all back and crush it.

              Since spring is not far away and with that comes "Tornado Season", I thought that I would recap some shots from Greensburg Kansas. In case you don't remember, Greensburg Kansas was leveled by an F-5 tornado. I took these pictures after picking up a load of beef from Dodge City.

This is part of a screen door so deeply embedded into a tree that I could not pull it out with both hands.

The town was just gone!

The tornado was said to be a mile and a half wide at the base.

This was a town of approximately 1400 people.

Do yourself and your family a favor this year. Buy the new programmable weather radio.

That was the Pizza Hut.

They are still rebuilding but it will never be the same.

If you ever go through there, stop and buy a coke or something. Go by the bank and donate to their fund. I'm sure they still need help. How long do you think that it takes to rebuild an entire town?