This is tonight’s view from my deck.
The Mr. checking on his young stock.
And to the west….God’s magnificent, amazing, glorious artwork, free for the viewing.
See the bird flying into the sunset.
It just kept getting grand”er”!
The sky looked like a rolling wave of fire.
Doesn’t it remind you of the wave of water I took in Maui?
“Be exalted, O God above the heavens, and your glory above all the earth.”
Psalms 108:5
Pigeons are everywhere. It is probably the most popular, unwanted bird in the city and they can also be a messy nuisance on the farm. But, I love pigeons. I love to watch them, I love the cooing noise they make and I love their colorful feathering.
Pigeons will make a mess in an old discarded barn or silo. I remember as a child daddy would occasionally find a nest of pigeons in the hay barn. We would have pigeon rice soup for supper. Just in case you don’t know, pigeon is very good to eat!
I have occasionally photographed our wild pigeons here on the farm.
I also have a pen of Tumblers-have had them for years. Tumblers fly in circles and then do a head over heel tumble or somersault out of the sky. Just between hitting the ground they soar to fly again. It is so neat to watch. I used to fly my birds but I had difficulty in retrieving them all back to the pen because of the wild pigeons. If you notice in the flock of wild pigeons on top of the silo there are some brown hues. I had a brown Tumbler that would not come back to the pen but was attracted to the “wild side” of town! The effect is still noticeable. Now I just enjoy the beauty of their colorings of blue, brown, white and everything in between and listening to them coo.
Short clip of my Tumblers cooing and protecting their nesting area from other intruders.
Baby pigeons nurse by inserting their beaks into the throats of their parents-yes, male and female. As you could see in the video clip the adults are very protective of their nesting area and when another pigeon invades the area will peck at it until it leaves.
I was barely in the door yesterday when Ryan wanted to know if I wanted to shoot basketball. Now I haven’t played basketball for years upon years upon years. It gave me flashbacks of Junior-High PE at John C. Myers School in Broadway! My knee was hurting like crazy but I bravely said, “sure”. His next comment was, “Do you wanta play horse, pigs, grandma or….”. Now I realize we were not just shooting baskets, we are playing a game and knowing Ryan, he will be very competitive! I chose pigs-I decided it was the safest as it was the shortest. Maybe I could make it through. My strategy was to get this game over quick and then I could go act like a grandma with a swollen knee.
When we got to the concrete pad outside the garage door I was given detailed instructions on how to dribble, do layups and shoot. I told him I used to love to play basketball and I was pretty good but it had been a long time since I had played.
His first instructions were to practice shoot a few balls and I could choose my ball. We both bounced our ball and randomly shot numerous balls “towards” the hoop. All missed. He decided to lower the basket so I could do better! He showed me how to aim for the top of the square painted on the backboard and it would go in. His didn’t.
All of a sudden I hit my groove and we decided to start playing. It did not matter if I shot from the left or right, straight up or a layup of sorts, I was sinking the ball and he was missing more than he got. I smiled to myself when he decided he needed to raise the basket! We had fun and he was a good sport even though I skunked him at “p-i-g-s”. As we put the balls away he said, “Grandma, you are better than I thought!” I felt a twinge of guilt for beating him so bad but it did feel good at the ripe old age of 63 to still be able to sink the ball in the hoop.
Today we spent the afternoon with our Hostetter grandkids. They love playing with Legos and have been collecting sets for quite a few years. They have put together quite an impressive spread.
They both are taking music lessons; Karla the piano and Ryan the drums. And the best thing is these kids do not have to be prompted to practice! This grandma was very impressed!
Karla showing me her piano playing skills. Her goal is to play for the Jazz band at school in two years.
Ryan showing me how he is learning to play the drums. You can hear him humming along as he plays. I do believe this boy has budding talent!
I love the counting and head bobbing on this video.
Lindale Mennonite, here are some future worship leaders!!!
Once in a while a grandma just has to brag on her grandkids! Way to go, Karla and Ryan. Keep up the good work.
Recently another local family-owned business passed down through two generations, Davis-Merchant Equipment, was sold. We started thinking about the hometown businesses that are left in Powhatan. One by one they are quietly disappearing and in their place is Haley Chevolet, Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply, Food Lion, Advanced Auto, McDonalds, Wendys, Sheetz (Powhatan now seems to need 2 of them), Pizza Hut, Subway, C&F Bank, Essex Bank and the list goes on. All the local gas stations have been sold to foreigners.
I remember when Al’s Market was owned by a real Powhatanian, Al, and Red Barn by Larry and Juanita Adams. There was May’s Hardware and May’s Grocery where they knew you by name and the meat was actually cut and packaged in the store. Remember…. The Bank of Powhatan, Yates Ford, Yates Oil, Maxey’s Store, Brauer and then Adam’s Pontiac, Nichol’s Store, Powhatan Farm Supply, Dr. Bradley, Powhatan Locker Plant, Bloxton’s Pharmacy, Hatcher’s Restaurant, Gene’s Auto Parts, Goodwyn’s Lumber, and Browns Chevrolet. Did you notice how many of these business carried family names?
Bloxton’s Pharmacy was sold to another Powhatan Family, Jim and Carol Gregg, and morphed into Powhatan Pharmacy and Powhatan Plaza Pharmacy. Yates Oil was sold to the Adams family-another Powhatan long-time name, but one by one, most have simply disappeared.
Have you ever stopped to count how many family-owned businesses are left? Goodwyn’s Lumber was started in 1932 and is now managed by the third generation of Goodwyns. Frisby’s Convenience Store was started by the Moore family in 1978 and about five years later their daughter opened the side-door restaurant. This is a favorite hangout of the locals. The chicken & dumplings and fried chicken can not be beat by Wendys or McDonalds. Hertzler Farm and Feed had it’s humble beginnings in an old dairy barn in 1983 and has grown into a full-fledged retail store. Henry’s Market was started by Henry Ford Harris in the mid 80’s along with Powhatan Station Shopping Center which is filled with local-owned businesses: Sign Design, Country Food and Furniture and Flat Rock Glass. The County Seat Restaurant, featuring southern style home cooking and hospitality, is run by 4 generations of family members and Dr. Spaur is still a small one-man dentistry in the village of Powhatan. There are numerous other local-owned businesses but the well-known older businesses are quietly slipping away, replaced by box stores and national name brands.
Time moves on and change comes to every community but is sad to see the big, mega and national names replacing hometown. Please remember to shop and support the local businesses and let them know you appreciate their contribution to the community.
Note: There are numerous other family-owned businesses that are making a significant impact on Powhatan community. I can not list them all but if you send me names I will add them to this list.
Spot, one of our favorite cows because of her unique coloring and personality, has a newborn calf born yesterday afternoon, March 9. Spot is part Simmental, part Angus and part…. who knows what. She looks like a Holstein but according to Gene, her mother was black Angus and so was her daddy. It amazes me how he knows and remembers all this. He doesn’t keep records; he just knows. She was bred to a Hereford; thus the white face on the calf, and this is her sixth.
Congratulations Mrs. Spot!
To read more about Spot check out my blog post: Spot
This was our second trip to Maui, the first was in 1991. This was a gathering of Purina dealers from all across the US who qualified with increased sales. We were one of the lucky ones to earn the trip. There were approximately 500 of us there. 
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa in Lahaina, on the west side of the island. Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles. (46 miles long and 26 miles wide). Lahaina was the capital of the islands until it was moved to Honolulu, Oahu. The climate is tropical and hovers between 70-85 degrees year round. It is truly a lush, tropical paradise with colorful birds, flowers, palm trees and beaches.
Our view from our hotel room.
They have very fertile soil and grow coconut, macadamia nuts, cocoa, pineapple, coffee, tropical flowers, sugar cane and papaya. The agriculture is dwindling due to high cost. I am not sure if I remember what all our tour guide told us but even if I am wrong, you will get the picture. In years past they planted close to 150,000 acres of sugar cane. This is now down to 37,000 acres and within ten years they will plant their last crop and the land is being sold to a developer. They can import from other countries cheaper than they can grow, process and sell in their own markets. They are now growing only 1000 acres of pineapple. They have developed a sweeter pineapple than is grown anywhere else in the world but again it is no longer feasible to grown their own. 
Sugar cane growing in the field.
Aging sugar cane mill.
Cocoa Pod
Slimy cocoa beans inside the pod. It is a fascinating process they go through to make coco.
Maui is the leading whale-watching center in the Hawaiian Islands due to Humpback whales wintering in the sheltered ʻAuʻau Channel between the islands of Maui county. Since this was prime season you could catch glimpses of spouts and whales flipping out of the waters. The whales migrate approximately 3,500 miles from Alaskan waters each autumn and spend the winter months mating and birthing in the warm waters off Maui, with most leaving by the end of April. The whales are typically sighted in pods: small groups of several adults, or groups of a mother, her calf, and a few suitors.
I happened to have my camera focused on this boat when the whale rose out of the water.
I never got a picture of a spout. By the time you saw them, it was too late to take a picture.
One of the fascinating attractions in Lahaina is the famous Banyan Tree, taking up a whole city block. It is the second largest of it’s kind in the world. The largest is in Egypt. All the different trunks represent one tree.
A sampling of other pictures around the hotel.
The island in the background is Kahoʻolawe. It is known as the deserted island due to it’s lack of fresh water and wood. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States military used it as a training ground for the military and navy. It is now owned by a billionaire and there is a beef ranch and a deserted leprosy colony. Before they had a cure for leprosy, persons contracting the dreaded disease were banished to this island to live out their days.
Yes, they even had penguins.
No place is complete without a pink flamingo!
Their doves have a black and white checkered band around their necks.
My love of tiki lanterns started when we were here in 1991.
Their Polynesian culture and religion is part of the uniqueness of the island but it is so sad to see their worship of gods. Do you see the face in the waterfalls? (One of the ancient gods). See the closer view below.
A lot of their livelihood is based on tourism and water. Some of the things you can do is whale-watch, snorkel, suba-dive, fish, take a submarine, sail, surf, kite-board, etc.
I loved watching and listening to the waves crash onto shore. One day I went to the beach by our hotel and sat in the sand by these rocks and let the waves crash over me. It was so refreshing.
I was going to sit on one of the rock and just as I was in the process of sitting I spied a “thing” that made me change my mind! It was the same color as the rock-barely visible, and I don’t know if it was a spider or a crab. It looked like a spider body with crab legs. It was maybe 3-4 inches across. I am not sure what made me even see it but I was so grateful he did not end up inches from my down-sitter! I was wishing for my camera but I hadn’t taken it along to the beach.
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So there we are folks. I enjoyed sharing glimpses of our trip with you.
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On our recent trip to Maui, we took a very interesting submarine tour of the coral reefs. At 125 feet below the surface there is a whole different world of God’s grand and glorious creation.
As we peered through the port holes, we saw brightly colored schools of fish, an eel, several sharks, different kinds of coral plants and a submerged ship being used as a reef and habitat for fish. The plants can only grow as deep as sunlight penetrates and small fish can only live where the coral plants grow. When the sub moved off the reef, there was nothing but dark, murky ocean water.
In the sub there were 47 molded seat indentations on the bench going the length of the submarine and they fill it to capacity-47 people. You could not scoot down a few inches to give your seat mate additional space. So there I sat, squeezed in between “the man” and my husband, shoulders hunched with my arms pulled in towards my middle trying to make myself smaller. It was not a pleasant ride. I kept glancing sideways at “the man” who was head and shoulders taller than me with his arms crossed, resting on his ballooning, well-endowed mid-section. I knew he was feeling the squeeze but I only felt sympathy for myself. My cynical, critical mind critiqued him well!
Later I was thinking about this obese man and several others I encountered along the way. There were people on our airplane that could hardly navigate the aisle much less fit into a seat. The thought suddenly hit me. They were just like me at one time. Just like me! I can not pride myself with thinness. The only thing I can smugly say is “I am not like them”. I admit I am “a little” overweight. I know it and am seriously, actively working on it. But because I did not see myself like them, I bestowed on myself the credentials to judge them. Hummmm.
The liar didn’t start out intending to lie and the murderer probably never dreamed he would kill. The prostitute was once pure and the list goes on. We choose, through a series of many decisions, to let ourselves become who we are; often unintentionally, often never imagining we will become who we are. Very few obese persons really desire to be overweight. If we don’t stop our destructive habits before they get bad, they will control our lives. One lie does not make a person a habitual liar nor does 10 pounds make a person obese but it sure can put us on that path.
Usually I will strike up a conversation with a seat mate but this time I sat there miffed that I was the one who had to sit beside him and his equally oversized wife. I did not say one word to this fellow Purina dealer. The Apostle Paul said, “Those that compare themselves among themselves are not wise” (II Corinthians 10:12). Jesus had some sobering words, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:1-2)
“Just like me” may not be the safest yardstick of measure. Paul says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. The yardstick needs to be against the truth of God’s Word. “Against such there is no law”. (Galatians 6:22-23)
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