Taking Advantage While I Can

Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that we didn’t get any rain yesterday. The good news is that the temperature was in the upper 70s, and I took advantage of it to finally get much of the grass mowed in our backyard. It needed it because it was turning into a jungle out there.

Alli loves it when we’re working outside because she gets to run and play and get plenty of exercise. And I needed the exercise, too.

Since we didn’t get any rain, I also watered the new clover that I planted in the back. I found that the secret to growing Dutch White Clover here is to give it lots and lots of water. In the few days since I planted the seeds out there, they have already sprouted and the clover is growing fast.

While I was doing all that, Terry was busy, too. The cucumber plant in her greenhouse was getting so big and spreading out so much that it was out of control. She trimmed it back, along with some of the other plants that needed trimming. This pretty flower is from her butternut squash plant in the greenhouse.

Terry also refilled the four hummingbird feeders that hang by our front porch. Those little buzz bombs are everywhere, and they are greedy. We love sitting out there just watching them come and go and chase each other back and forth. Unfortunately, the cameras on our phones don’t do a great job of catching them.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Tinder Street, the first book in my Tinder Street family saga. A simple trip to town, a chance meeting with a pretty young woman, and a few words were all it took for Lucas Wirtz to flee his family farm and the abusive father who dominated it. Following Rachel McNally to the big city, he had no idea how much his life and the world around him would change.

Chronicling the days leading up to World War I and the events that followed, Tinder Street is the first book in a saga that will take readers from rural farms to a major industrial city in the Midwest, across an ocean where German U-boats lurk waiting for a target to come within range of their deadly torpedoes, to the bloody trench warfare of France, and home again. Lucas was one of those soldiers, a man who hated the thought of killing, but did his duty. A duty that would haunt him long after the last shots were fired.

This is also the story of the simple working-class people who built America. Farmers, factory workers, streetcar conductors, midwives, and public servants. Their joys and sorrows, their wins and losses, and how these people who struggled together to build a better life for themselves and their children changed a place named Tinder Street to Tender Street, a reflection of one family’s devotion to their neighbors.

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 to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

Did you know that you can find all of my books and sign up for my free author’s newsletter on my website at www.nickrussellbooks.com?

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 – Common sense is chasing you, but God has blessed you with speed.