Happy Holidays to all my blogger friends all over the world. Here's one boy that is glad that Christmas is finally here. Several eight hour and twelve hour days loading & moving trees, taking down the tent sides - then putting them back up at night. He made lots of money and came home "sappy" every night! I have hopes and dreams that all of us blog pals and our families stay safe and healthy this year. Take care all of you and be careful during the holiday season! Best wishes from Florida - where we are Christmas shopping in our t-shirts & shorts!
If you've read my blog for any length of time you probably know that I have a pigeon coup in my backyard. I have about 30 homing pigeons. Pigeon fanciers raise these birds and join clubs to race their pigeons against the clock. I don't participate in such clubs, I just enjoy the birds. I like watching their habits. I sometimes sit out there and just watch them. Other times I load up about ten of them and take them a couple of miles from the house and let them fly home. Most days I just let them out in the morning, they fly around for a while, then return to the loft. Sometimes they have a tragic encounter with an area hawk. Anyway, it is fun for this old bag. I have a lot of projects in the works right now. One of these tasks involves moving the old "shed" (12x20) out of the backyard to make room for the new one. Well, the pigeon house is attached to the old shed, so I will be building a new one. In the meantime, we are tearing down the old coup. I made a temporary home for the pigeons in a smaller "apartment" which is several wire cages attached together. The only problem was that one pair of birds was sitting on new hatchlings. I carefully caught the parent pigeons and put 
them in their own private cage. I moved the nest with the babies into the cage. The parents were so disoriented that they just ignored the babies, would not feed them, and just began stepping all over them. I finally had to remove the little ones because the parents would not take care of them. The babies are in foster care (but now they think they are people, not pigeons!) and they are thriving. I can't let the flock out of the apartment cage right now or they will home to the area of the old loft! After I get them in the new (yet to be built) cage, I will teach them where home is again. Many studies have been done on homing pigeons, and there are many diverse theories on how they find their way home. They must be very smart - but they sure are stupid about their babies!
I had a birthday recently and I was suprised at some of my distant friends, that I hardly every hear from, remembered and sent me best wishes. I wish I could return the polite favor, but truthfully, I do not even know what month some of these people were born in, much less the day! I just don't have a memory for that sort of thing! I try to see that my family always knows that I remember them on their special days, and I try to at least make them a cake, or take them out to dinner. On the flip side, some people close to me, that I thought knew when my birthday was, didn't even remember or just didn't even bother to to acknowledge it in any way. This whole thing has given me a strange feeling, happy & sad. Happy for the wishes from distant places, but sad that my family doesn't think much of me. What a cry-baby I have turned out to be! You'd think after having this many birthdays that it wouldn't be such a big deal. Pardon me while I go eat some dark chocolate! I think that I will ditch the housework today and get out and take some photos. It is unseasonably warm here (79 degrees expected high today) Maybe if I get out and do something different I can drop the "whine!"
While I was in Virginia my son, Preston, had a real scare. He was driving with two friends in his car, deciding what they were going to do for the afternoon. He was back in the new, undeveloped subdivision behind our neighborhood. Truth be told, he was going too fast to take a turn, and ran into a curb. The curb was high enough to hit the cross bar underneath the car, and the airbags deployed! There was no damage to the car, and the boys were not hurt. I guess that teenagers must learn through their mistakes. I think he learned that you must slow down more for that turn! We discussed the consequences of his actions, and what "could" have happened. I told Preston that he must pay for his mistake, that I would not be footing the bill for the repair. In the meantime, the car must be parked until it is fixed. I was happy that he called me right after it happened. Although I was out of town, and couldn't do much about it, I was thrilled that I am the one that he turns to when he is scared or in trouble. He took a job at the local Christmas tree lot to make money for the repair.
I got home from Virginia last night. I am so glad to be home. My mother is getting better everyday. I think it helped that I was there to give her a little TLC. However, she is 88 years old, and her age is starting to show. She has arthritis, and she has trouble rising from a seated position. She is slow walking & turning and loses her balance sometimes. She still has weakness in her right hand, but it is getting stronger everyday. I had her walking a lot, and squeezing a ball with her right hand. The worse part is when I told her that the arthritis is a chronic condition, and that although it was managable, it was not curable. She was markedly disapointed.
She thought that she would be getting better. Maybe I shouldn't have told her. Taking her out is like taking a toddler. (her petite size of 55 inches is toddler-like) I have to help her into the car, and buckle her seat belt. She complains that she cannot do this herself, and that she must be such a chore for me. I comfort her by telling her that she took good care of me for my whole life when I was a kid, and that it is my pleasure to return the favor. It is sad to see my mom getting so old and helpless. 
I helped her by buying and wrapping some Christmas presents, and setting up her decorations. She was happy to see me for ten days, and I think I saw her getting stronger while I was there.I also got to spend an afternoon with my older brother. He took me up in his newly painted, newly renovated Cessna airplane.
The interior is not completed yet, but the new leather seats are deluxe! Although it is perfectly safe, it is still a little un-nerving to be in a light plane without the headliner, you look up and see just a sheet of aluminum between you and 
the sky!
