Hopefully Not Needed

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote about having a tornado shelter installed at our son Travis and his wife Geli’s house. There’s a possibility the timing could not have been better, because the weatherman says that sometime after midnight tonight we are going to get hit with some strong storms and the possibility of isolated tornadoes. Hopefully our shelter and theirs won’t be needed, but it’s a comfort to know that they are there.

Our land slopes down from the south to the north, and the higher part of it has been one of the reasons for the drainage problems we have had. After it rains, water runs down from that area into the front and backyards, and the clay soil holds it there without allowing it to soak in. Hopefully with the French drains and the land grading and new ground cover we had put in, that problem will not be nearly as bad in the future. The other day we were standing where the ground rises up on the south side and took this picture. We really do love this place.

When we were in town the other day we got a couple of chairs to put on our back deck, and sitting out there at the end of the day, listening to the wind chimes and looking over our little piece of paradise is a true joy.

Another purchase while we were in town was a wheelbarrow. I guess if you’re going to have land, you have to have a wheelbarrow, right? Terry tells me it’s going to come in handy when working in the garden. Now who do you think are we going to get to push that wheelbarrow?

It’s warming up quite nicely. It was in the 80s yesterday and will be again today. Terry has been accumulating plants and some small trees, just waiting for the appropriate weather to get them planted. Until it is safe to plant them, they have been waiting in the garage. But plants need sunlight, so with the nice days we’ve been having Terry took them outside and watered them. She’ll bring them back in this evening before the predicted storms arrive.

I know that both she and Travis are eager to get things planted and their gardens going, but the local weather guru says not until April 15th because there’s a possibility of a frost between now and then. You wouldn’t feel that was possible if you were outside yesterday, but then I have to remember that just last weekend, we were down in the 20s. It won’t be long now.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Bad JuJu in Cleveland by the late Karl Bort, with Thelka Madsen. When Detective Nicholas Silvano is called to an abandoned house on Cleveland’s east side where four men have been brutally slain, he finds himself involved in a complicated case of drugs, murder, and voodoo! When FBI Agent James Reis begins creating roadblocks at every turn, Silvano teams up with DEA Agent Charley Goetz on a manhunt that takes them from Cleveland to Florida, in an investigation where the stakes become higher when the killer makes it personal, forcing Nick to face feelings he’d been denying for too long.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – At one time or another while they are growing up, most children threaten to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going.