March Flowers, and Other Visions....

The Warm, even Hot, weather will continue through tomorrow, before showers and storms arrive by Friday and the early weekend and temps cool off....even then the temperatures will remain above normal{about 50 degrees at this time} for the remainder of the month of March.  Even looking out into the first week of April it appears the worst of the days might have rain and highs in the upper 50s....even with the average by that time raising to the middle 50s..

With the carotid artery surgery continuing on a slow pace, I got out as much as possible in the sunshine yesterday, a short walk, and most of the day spent on the back steps on here in the Air Conditioning and on the computer....which I increasingly despise.  But TV sucks, I do have a book on disk, "The Tehran Initiative" to finish.  The second in the Twelfth Imam book series by Joel Rosenberg.  I will try to get most of that out of the way today...radio seems to be the same songs from my youth played over and over, and even the mystery shows from the old/golden days of radio which I have access to, are just not my cup of tea these days...frankly I am bored as Hell.

The old Airedale, Reagan, is sadly entering her last days on this earth...it's  just a matter of time, she no longer enjoys even her biscuits, and sleeps in a restless manner, 13 years 9 months she would be early next month, making her by far, the longest any of our many Airedales have lived...but her time is about up and I doubt, after nearly 40 years of having at least one or more around, we will raise another.  Don't let anybody tell you that growing old is great...even at a healthy 63, before last week's surgery, it sucks for man and beast.

The warm, extreme warm of this March has brought out the flowers, way early, but with no freezes in the forecast, it appears they will stick around....the grass sure has decided to grow.  Patricia, bad knee and all mowed the back yard for the second time already, and got the main yard done for the first time....but by this weekend, I should be ready to resume my roll of doing that....I will also make plans on umpiring beginning next week.  Frankly if it was tonight or tomorrow, I would back off....I cancelled games yesterday, a scrimmage for tomorrow, and a double header for Saturday, but metal clamps or not, I plan on being back at the diamond Monday afternoon as Paulding host Lima Shawnee in those schools season opener.  It may take a couple of games to venture behind the plate, but I can no longer stand to sit around and wait to heal.

I did order a full Hockey Style Helmet for working behind the plate, I made an order to the Flemings outlet in Columbus on Monday, and to my surprise, it arrived less than 24 hours later via UPS.  The fit was good, the protection as good as it gets{nothing is 100%}, and it will likely be the last plate mask I will ever need. 

People might ask, "If you get hit in the throat with those metal stitches by a thrown or batted ball, couldn't that be real serious"?  Duh!  If I get hit in the throat by a batted or hard thrown ball, WITHOUT the stitches, it's gonna be real serious...all you can do is tighten up your mask, your chest protector, and do the best you can....or you can give up living, crawl into a freaking corner, curl up, and die.  Pretty easy choice for me...reaching 63, and having the latest health issues laid out, it's not hard to figure out..."Sooner or later, you're gonna check out anyway, so you better damn figure out how to enjoy life as it is, and if something happens, let it be living a full life, and not sitting around being scared shitless that something will happen".

So, next week I'm umpiring, and this weekend, I'm driving.....and within the next month, I'm going back to lifting weights....three weeks out from stopping most exercise activity, I feel like I'm wasting away, and I sure don't like it.  Getting older, it's easy to quit and when you do, you lose what you've worked out for quickly....it's also a Hell of a lot harder to gain it back and get back in the rhythm...but that doesn't mean I won't try.

 The one thing that pisses me off about Obama Care and the rest of the "Nanny State"....the nation is obsessed with living longer, and if doesn't matter if that means being drugged up, and having Cadillac Heath Plans designed to keep you relying on the Government Bureanrats.  Sure it's nice to be able to go to the doc or the ER if needed, and know the costs won't bankrupt you...but let's face it, 40 years ago, that wasn't a problem, you paid as you went, and most could afford it...now, nobody can!  It's not the doctors, or the clinics, or hospitals, it's the stinking Government, bureaucrats, politicians, and lawyers, willing and ready to sue or screw anybody at the drop of a hat....the republic is in the crapper, thanks to Government regulations and interference in our daily lives, and most people are just too stupid or gullible to see it.  I thank God that I am 63....as much as I love my kids and grandson, I sure the Hell wouldn't want to be their ages, and face what we are facing as a dying nation/Republic.

Well enough of that off the track rant for today....back later>>>>

Photo-The Backyard Flowers are in full bloom, perhaps as much as a month early....a CD Book I need to finish, and checking out the new Umpire/Hockey Helmet, fitted for greater protection, are on the agenda for today....

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Fall has arrived in full force...the strong winds over the weekend took care of much of the color from the trees locally, a color that lasts just a short while, and with a bit of rain, and some strong winds, it is gone in an instant.

On Saturday I dragged myself out of bed, after a late Friday, where Nick, Tom, and I, had a few brews at C-Town Wings in Celina.  Nick and I downed more than a couple 22 oz Oktoberfest Drafts...but I felt pretty good Saturday AM despite it all.  Tom wanted to go with me, not so much to watch a JV game between Cory-Rawson and home standing Leipsic, but to take a side trip to Deshler to check in with his old horse training friends, to say good-bye before he heads for Florida next week for the winter.

 The game was played in cool and windy conditions, but we finished it up before Noon{after a 10am start), and were on our way to the Corn City Bar in Deshler.  We each had one beer and a Texas Tenderloin...then headed to visit Tom's friends, before stopping by the Stables to check in with one of the horses that he worked with..."Holiday Shopper", a four year old Filly has had a successful career, and Tom was a big part of running and training her.  Done there we headed back to Celina....

When I got home, I watched Ohio State "upset" Illinois...hardly an upset, the Illini were overrated from the get-go, and despite completing only one pass, OSU and it's defense dominated the 17-7 game.  In other sports, Texas and the hated Cardinals both completed their respective American and National League crowns, and will meet in the World Series beginning Wednesday.

Sunday, Sam, home from Columbus, and I worked a youth league tournament double header...a couple of upsets, and it looks like the teams from Celina, may be done....I know the Green and White teams all lost, meanwhile the Celina Black team won, so we will have a final double header on Sunday.   Football for me is winding down for sure....games tonight and tomorrow at Celina, Thursday at Paulding, Saturday at Lima Perry, and finally next Monday here in Celina, are all I have left on my schedule....then some rest, a trip to Wisconsin, then it will be time to get ready for Basketball season, and that first Grandson, who is scheduled to be born in late November.

The Garden's Last Gasp____

Cut off the few remaining Sunflower heads on Saturday...the Squirrels had already taken care of most....which just means less for them this winter.  Although I'm sure that they have been storing my stock for a month or so already.  The Moon Flowers were going great guns, until this last week, and now they appear to be spent as well....despite hundreds that bloomed this summer and fall, I think we will change their location next spring, to take advantage of the fast growing productive vines.  About the only things still blooming are the Marigolds, which are tough as nails, and will likely keep producing until the first hard freeze...and we may have one or two more lawn mowings left in the Toro before the lawn gives it up for the coming winter.  

Have I said "I hate Winter"?  As much as I enjoy fall weather, I am not looking forward to the long cold winter ahead....but then again, I am no fan of hot and humid summer conditions either....

back later>>>>

photos-The Flowers of Spring and Summer are but a memory...and Tom with one of the fillies, and one of his favorites "Manny Shuffle" from the Suggs Stables...

Wednesday..."Hump Day"...

Back in my Health Department days....which in reality is the only period in my working life that I worked a "normal" shift/work week, Wednesday was referred to as "Hump Day".  It was the day you hit mid-week and everything to follow was heading towards the weekend and that is what you lived and worked for.  So, other than those 20 years, and my school and college days, my week has never been controlled by the desire to get to that weekend, which by the time you hit Sunday at Noon, you were fretting that the weekend was over and those clouds moved back in to your life. 

Weekends....who need them?

Not me...Oh' sure, I enjoy the weekends, but as far as jobs, having to do multiple things, and piling them into that short span of time, I just no longer have to concentrate and trying to finish up what I have on the schedule/agenda by the time Sunday night rolls around.  The is one of the good things about being semi-retired.  Let's face it, in the Summer months, and now as we head for fall...I work(officiate/umpire) as much or more on the weekends as I do during the week.  With football having started it's scrimmage or pre-season schedule, I will usually work a JV game on Saturday morning, and then a Youth double header on Sunday...so much for having the weekend "off"....but I don't mind it at all.

Last night I hooked up with Rich from St. Marys and Dennis from Paulding, and we worked a quick Junior High(7th grade) scrimmage at Crestview...we were out of there in 90 minutes, as darkness began to fall on the unlighted practice field....almost like taking money for not working, but sometimes you get $50 for 90 minutes, while on other days you get $45 for 3 hours work, such is the way of Scrimmage season in high school and lower level football.

Yesterday Doug from R&D motors called...his words were that they had found the problem in the Dodge Nitro...a module in the warning system, like his mechanic had thought.  That was the good news, under warranty it would be taken care of...the bad news?  Seems this is a problem with these cars, and some 160 others had the same piece on "back order"...it will be a couple of weeks before it comes in....meaning the Nitro, will be subject to that crazy, loud, embarrassing warming system coming on at anytime, and anywhere.  This will make the Dodge Montana, with it's 175,000 miles on it, the main vehicle in the household, until Patricia gets her Nitro back...

With the Jeep Wrangler sold(see yesterday's post), we now have one car in true working order...with the Nitro on standby and the 1977 Buick not yet road worthy....but as long as the Montana holds out, even with Patricia heading back to school next week, we should be able to survive with one car.

Back Yard Flowers, reach the zenith....

Not a great year for plants, crops, or our back yard flowers this year....the cold and wet Spring, put a crimp in both planting and subsequent growing seasons.  However they have come out, smaller and less in numbers, but the season is reaching it full bloom mode.

The Sunflowers while approaching last season , but not 2009 in numbers, are far off in size and quality of seeds...and the Moon Flowers, while finally coming out, have been disappointing in numbers.  I think next year we will try them along a fence row, so they can spread out more....Patricia's Buzz Bombs, which attract the Hummingbirds, were shorter and less colorful this Summer, and we have yet to see any of the smallish birds in our back yard. 

So with the flowers as with anything else in life, if things don't go right one season there is always, "Wait Until Next Year"....

No games tonight, being Wednesday, or "Hump Day"....lawn mowing over at mom's is about all I have on my agenda...back later>>>>

Photos-The back yard flowers, while not as plentiful, or as colorful, have none-the-less bloomed.  The Dodge Nitro has not aged much of the past 3 months....frankly, with the problems it is having electronically, it may remain "new" for awhile longer.....and finally a close up look at a mammoth Sunflower....double click and the inter workings of these flowers never ceases to amaze me.

Spiders, Goose out of his element, and ?

Things indeed slow down at this time as the northern world begins to work into the later weeks of Summer....

I could talk about our idiot Kenyan President, and his pathetic "It's still Bush and the Tea Party's fault that I'm such a worthless piece of crap" speech after the stock market took a hit yesterday....but if you want to see my rants on that, click on my facebook page.  Frankly Obama bores me, and the 30% that still worship him are either fools, or so reliant on living off the "Nanny State", they are not worth my time.  The economic armageddon days of the US began back in 2008 when Bush first caved to the demands of Wall Street Bankers.  Under this clown, the downfall of the Republic was put on the fast track....and we are about to run out of track as it heads over the cliff.

I could talk about the total collapse of the Cincinnati Reds...a team that played above it's head last season, and has now settled back into the routine that is usual in Cincinnati sports..."Wait Until Next Year"...because now back in 4th place, some 10 games out of first, that is what we Reds fans have to look forward to.  Another sorry loss last night, and delayed by rain for and hour and a half making the misery even longer...glad I didn't stay up for the end of the 10-7 defeat at the hands of The Rockies.

The weather?  Check out my weather blog....a mix of sun, humidity, and an occasional shower...with the hope of cooler and a bit less humid weather is in the forecast....

My first football rules meeting of the local association variety begins tonight in Van Wert....with the State Meeting(on-line) out of the way, the Tuesday night meetings will signal the beginning of football officiating season, which begins for me on Friday at Lima Perry with a varsity scrimmage...but then again, I have mentioned that before...

The Dodge Nitro is running, so far this week, without the electronic problems that have plagued it...but we have put no long miles or hours in it....the system still needs to be checked, and repaired, but we are waiting for our sales guy to get back to work after some medical problems...so nothing new on that front.  Once again, it's hurry up and wait.

On my trip out yesterday morning, I noticed something rather strange....with the thousands of  Canada Geese that call Grand Lake home, it is seldom you see a garden variety farm Goose living among the natives....yesterday, in the morning gloom, I caught a photo of this guy consorting with the Canadians....

And I captured a photo of a lone spider hanging around the Lake Shore Drive trees, in the process of catching it's supply of bugs...

So that's my story as August moves towards it's mid point, and the average temperatures here in the Northern Hemisphere move away from their highest point on July 21st, towards the coldest point in January.  Activity on the Internet and blog visitors slow down, June through August, I have noticed over my four years typing this blog, are the slowest by numbers.  There you have it, not much going on...except the Republic is dying and a nation of sheep whine and still demand "Where is my piece of the Shrinking Pie"?

back later>>>>

Photos-The Moon Flowers continue to come out one at a time...then die and drop off...strange plant/vine...What is Farmer John's Goose doing running with the Canadians?  And a lone spider hanging off a tree getting a great breeze and view of the coming Grand Lake sunrise....while catching his breakfast...

The Moon Comes Out...

As I said, or have been saying, not a lot going on in my world as I wait for Football to kick off the scrimmage season next Friday, August 12th.   I cleared up my schedule, and figured out I need to rid myself of a couple of games down the road....mainly due to the two Vietnam Reunions coming up.  One, the Howard County Vietnam Veteran "Camp Out" in the middle of September...thousand of Vietnam Vets, family, and friends...camping, cooking, celebrating, in the farm country outside of Kokomo, Indiana, in the middle of September.   Then in early October, a smaller, but far more "posh" get together at Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton. That will be the 17th Annual Vietnam Security Police Association(VSPA) Reunion.  This will be my 2nd one, and the first since it was last held in Dayton, back in 2002.  These two events will, added with my football schedule, keep me busy for the late summer and early fall months.  I am looking forward to both.

Yesterday it was lawn mowing....with a bit of rain, the grass, along with the weeds, have started to grow again, although not as fast as back in the April through June months.  I tackled our yard, then headed over to mom's and took care of that one....I then planted myself in the back yard, drank some beer, and proceeded to listen to the Reds lose again to lowly Houston.  Cincinnati is now 7 1/2 back of Milwaukee, and firmly entrenched in 4th place...what a major disappointment they have been, after last year's break out season.

As I sat out back enjoying the beer and a hand rolled cigar, I noticed that a flower, one single flower, had began to peek out from the vines that make up Moonflowers, that we planted back in mid May.  The vines have been growing like weeds on the arbor we placed near the kitchen window...and we were wondering, when or if the flowers would start to come out and bloom in the evening.  Finally last night the first one did....and we noticed at least one more ready to pop out....I am sure more will be forthcoming.

So, that is my story for today...back later>>>>

Photos-The first of the Moonflowers makes it appearance...The VSPA Reunion at WPAFB in October, is proceeded by the Howard County(Kokomo) Vietnam Reunion in mid September...me, Sam Lewis, Sweetie Pie, and her owner Tom McCandless will be at both, well at least Sam, Tom and me, will be at both, The Boar may only make an showing at Kokomo.   And the lone Moonflower hangs high on the fast growing vines...with more,hopefully, on the way.

Meaning of the 4th of July, Umpire Tossings, and More Sun~risings...

Final post until after the 4th of July, unless something spectacular comes up...like Obammy resigning and admitting he is really a Kenyan after all...so seriously,  don't count on any new material until Tuesday July 5th. 

July 4th, What it Means to the far left:

I see where a new Harvard study says July 4th is for us Right Wingers only:
http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/2011/06/30/harvard-july-4th-parades-are-right-wing 

Well you know, the dump is probably right...after all, Democrats and Lefties, for the most part, hate America, hate God, and worship Stalin, Lenin, Mao, and Obammy the Wonder Boy....so you see, Liberals indeed don't like the 4th of July, because it stands for everything they hate and despise.

In a day, not far off, there will be another Civil War in America, not North vs South, Black vs White, or even Legal vs Illegal...it will be Left vs Right, Citizen vs overreaching Government Control.  Look for Obammy, if re-elected, to go for the Holy Grail, and with the help of the left wing press, try to become King of Amerika for life.   All Hell will break loose....and no I'm not joking.  This, or something like, this is bound to happen, and you better damn well be prepared, and hope enough of the military is on "our right" side.  The left controls the Government and Media, they will not give up control without a fight....and at this point I see no Republican(except Allen West who isn't running) that will side with us....the field is littered with the Politically Correct and Wall Street Bankers/Lawyers, who are too gutless to actually make a difference.


There are at least three undeniable truths:  (1) Global Warming is Fake Science...(2) Abortion is Murder...and (3) Liberals Hate America and Freedom. 
--------------------

Getting the "Heave-Ho"...

Last night my buddy Jim, another long time veteran state tested umpire, and I had the winners bracket final of the Crestview Junior ACME tournament at Convoy.  It was Jim's turn to do the plate, and we had a feeling the game might get ugly, because frankly, one team appeared far superior to the other.  {I will leave names of teams off here because the tournament is still going on and both teams are still in the hunt}

Ugly turns out to be a vast understatement....18-1 was the final, in a 4 1/2 inning "run rule" game.  Run Rule is when the trailing team gets 5 at bats and still trails by 10 or more runs, the game is called, and the leading team is declared the winner.

Errors, misplays, walks, etc, led to the downfall of the losing team....for some reason the coaches decided to knit pick calls they thought they didn't like.  Here is a little hint:  When you are down 12 or 15 runs, it's not the freaking umpires fault.  When your team is getting their asses handed to them, don't nitpick the umpires.  So after a few pissing sessions, the head coach comes out, lallygags around, and finally changes pitchers, with his team down 15-0, and we are only in the 3rd inning.  After several warm up pitches, Jim tells coach and pitcher, "Two more warm up tosses"...the coach fires back..."He only gets six?"  "No" says Jim, "While you were talking and messing around, he had the others"....A few more back and forth barbs and Jim tells him, "One more word and you are gone".  So the coach makes his exit from the mound towards the dugout...and makes the mistake of turning and saying something towards Jim....I'm not sure what it was, but, it didn't matter, I didn't wait for my partner to say a word, I just wound up and gave him the heave-ho..."Coach" I say, "You Are Outta Here"...

First Junior ACME or ACME head coach I have ever tossed....now American Legion?, a dime a dozen, tossed many.  High school?  Never, those guys are usually smart enough not to get tossed, it costs them time, games, and money, if they get the heave-ho...I usually just set them on the bench.  Why this guy choose to cross the line that had been drawn in a, at that time, a 15 run blow out is beyond me?   But now with his team playing in the losers bracket final tonight(with me behind the plate) with the winner of the game getting an automatic bid to the District, he will be sitting somewhere other than the bench or ballpark.  He is suspended for two games, and his team may get finished off tonight, and he won't be there to coach them, win or lose.  I didn't enjoy showing him the gate, but there are times you have to do things because you are boxed into a corner.  He was told not to continue to yap, and he pushed the envelope, and paid the postage due.  Sorry about his luck, next time maybe he'll know better.

More Sunrise Photos~

Here are a couple more from yesterday's morning shoot....

back later>>>> have a great 4th of July all you fellow Right Wingers...screw the limp wristed lefties and other American Democracy haters...you have forfeited any respect you think you deserve.


Photos-A cluster of flowers over the back fence...one plant, with the blooms looking much like a bouquet....The left hates America, and what the Flag stands for...Allen West maybe the GOP hope, if we can get him to run. Clint Hurdle of the Pirates getting the "Heave~Ho"...and a couple of shots from yesterday's sunrise shoot over Grand Lake.

Summer moves along

Usually by about mid January I am sick and tired of cold weather and winter in general...the Spring is always slow to arrive in Ohio, and once it does, it is usually windy with rain and the continued cold. By the time things improve in the middle of May...I am glad to see some sunshine and warmer weather. However in Ohio, you never know how long the Spring conditions last before the heat and humidity make one long for Fall.

Last year, the Summer remained cool with low humidity throughout the duration...this year? Not so lucky...it got hot, humid, and stayed wet through June, and with the exception of a day or two respite...it has been pretty miserable to be outside, at least during the daylight hours. Here it is heading into the middle of July, and I am looking forward to Autumn.

Growing up in the heat and humidity of South Florida, along the Gulf Coast in the small town(at that time) of Venice, I can understand why folks move south to get away from the brutal winters of the North and Northeast, I never could understand why one would live there from May through September, or even want to. Rain, humidity, and oppressive heat indexes are the rule of order, and I would never live there for that stretch of time...Hell Ohio Summer's are bad enough, but the deep south, along the Gulf Coast? No Thanks!

So here we are, less than a full month into Summer, and I'm sick of it already...knowing we have at least 2 full months to go....unless, like last year, we have a couple of months of less humid conditions, but with the universal Global Warming Threat(sarcasm insert), that cannot happen 2 Summers in a row...can it?

No games for me today....one college summer game at Ohio Northern University tomorrow evening, then some late season tournament action in both ACME and area Pony League stuff and I am finished with baseball until next March...football beckons, and that is usually pretty warm and humid to start, and then finishes on the cooler side. I'll settle for a season of 70 degrees and sunshine with humidity in the 20% range. What are the chances of that happening for an entire season? Hummmm...that would be ZERO! But we will take what we get, and be glad to still be up and around, running up and down the diamonds, fields, and courts at the age of 61.

I did get out and check out the flowers around the fence this morning, photos included...the Radar says rain is on the way....a good shower would be welcome, if, if, if, the humidity would be lowered...but I see 90-95 will be the temps with humidity to match for the next couple of days...O' Well! You take what nature throws at you.

enjoy your day.....back later>>>

Photos-The lone Sunflower that has bloomed along with some of the fence flowers that are surviving the Summer's Heat....and me in the Summer of 1956 with a Red Snapper that I caught off the Manasota Bridge, near Englewood, Florida. South Florida was a great place to grow up in the 1950s, it was a wild and wonderful place back then....not so today, that Venice and other areas have been destroyed by over development, and it has become an overcrowded expressway to Hell, teaming with traffic, Condos on the Beach, perverts, and illegals. Plus the hot, wet, summers still suck. But hey, I got some photos and the memories of when it was pretty nice. A town of 1500 compared to today's 50,000 souls crowded against the dying Gulf.

Baseball Rainouts and Record Sunflowers

One thing about traveling long distances to officiate/umpire sports, you cannot count on the weather to cooperate. For the second night in a row I had contracted to umpire the ACME Sectional/District for Putnam and Paulding Counties at Leipsic, Ohio. On Wednesday, after the game was complete, I headed to Deshler to down a few cold ones with and stay at my old buddy Tom's place...last night with rain in the forecast, I took Patricia's van(with the window's rolled out of the Jeep Wrangler, and Sam having my Intrepid in Columbus, I was short of options). Driving through rain in the Spencerville and Delphos areas, I arrived at the ball diamond in Leipsic a full 50 minutes before the game, with the skies threatening, and the sound of thunder in the air. I knew this was going to be "iffy" getting this game in, the Radar had shown me as much before I left Celina on the 65 mile trip.

Don, my umpire partner, and I got the teams around and started early, the home squad Leipsic were the visitors on the scoreboard(due to the drawing procedures) and had put up a 3 spot in the first when the first bold of lightning brightened the gloaming around the field. We took the mandatory 1/2 hour off. The skies were still dark when we resumed...but teams hit the ball, neither fielded very well, and the score stood at 8-4 in favor of the Vikings over Ottawa-Glandorf after the 2nd inning...another bold of lightning, some moderate rain, and a few minutes later, we "killed" the contest, and it was pushed back until tonight at 6 o'clock.

I had fulfilled my contract and could have walked away, with paycheck in hand, and would have been within my rights....instead I volunteered my services to return tonight, and not ask for another payday...they will however give me gas money, and have to pay a new partner(Don is scheduled to work Softball in Ottawa and cannot make it). Since I had this night off...I will return to Leipsic for the 3rd night in a row....no complaints from this umpire. Tomorrow the South Regional of the Jr ACME State Tourney begins in Celina, and Garry and I have a double header beginning at 2:30. The humidity will be down, and the rains gone by game time.

A Record Sunflower?___at least for me

Last year I planted and raised about 30 Mammoth Sunflowers, and used them as Squirrel and bird feed throughout the Winter...this year I planted another 2 dozen big ones, along with a number of "different" sizes and varieties of other Sunflowers.

After the Mammoth flower plants began to spring up, I noticed a plant close to the kennel fence had sprouted a bit earlier...it looked the same, and I figured it was a stray that I had dropped. However as I watched the plants growing, this one had slightly different leaves, and when the blooms begin, unlike the Mammoth Sunflowers, this plant was popping buds at a rate that I have never seen for any Sunflower plant. This morning the first flower had bloomed, and I begin count...23 buds so far, and more on the way it appears...although these flowers are not as large, they are big enough. I am wondering how many this plant can hold before it falls to the ground? I'm thinking that I may have to tie it up to the kennel fence to keep it upright, but for now, I'm wondering just how many flowers this plant will have attached before it all ends?

Stay tuned....But I'm guessing it will be somewhat short of the record 834 heads found on a plant in Michigan a few years back. It appears from a little research @

http://www.sunflowernsa.com/all-about/default.asp?contentID=67#30

The National Sunflower Association says my rouge plant is a wild variety and they often have 20 or more heads...although, not a record, mine is going to have many more than that.....domesticated Sunflowers only have one bloom...just another "you learn something new everyday moment".

back later>>>

Photos-The Wild Sunflower plant towers above the rest of the Mammoth Varieties, by at least a foot, and by 2 dozen or more flower buds....the rest of the back yard flowers are going strong, but still competing with the weeds brought on by the heavy Spring rains, and hot sun of the past 2 weeks.

Red Sky at Night, Collar Bones, and More Rain

After a couple of days without the persistent rains of the past month or more, the forecast was calling for an 80% chance of storms and showers for Sunday afternoon....the forecasters did not disappoint...well actually it was a disappointment, but the storms came, whether we wanted them or not.

Sam was scheduled to work the Junior ACME Tournament at Lima Central Catholic, a double header starting at Noon...I was slated to work with my old buddy Jim Runneals at Convoy Crestview, a double header, one in the winner's bracket, another to follow would be an elimination game. The first game was a Marathon contest between Van Wert and St. Marys. I was behind the plate at the site of my 14 inning Sectional Final game in the Spring High School Season. This game was to last just about as long, time wise, 2 hours 45 minutes, but it only took 7 innings. Van Wert carried a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the 7th, but walks, errors, and wild pitches, let St. Marys come away with a 8-7 win, and move on in the winner's bracket....The Cougars meanwhile, were left to take on the home squad, Crestview, who had been thumped on the other diamond by Minster, 21-11 in a 6 inning run rule game on the other diamond.

The "highlight" of the first contest was me...I was a human target behind the plate, getting hit by foul balls no less than 5 times..4 of them solid shots, once in the mask(no damage), once in the shoulder, one a solid hit in a crease of the protector, just above the chest protector....and then the big one...a quick hard foul tip, that caught my collar bone square...I was down to one knee, and walked over to the VW Dugout thinking "That might have broken the damn thing"...but it didn't apparently the Houseworth bones are as thick as the Houseworth skulls....I've got a bone bruise, but otherwise no worse for wear...it has been a rough Summer on the aging body. However, I was back out behind the plate and finished the game off.

Game #2 got started late, and the sun was shining bright.... but another storm brewed and that one headed north into Paulding County, which had gotten blasted on numerous occasions throughout the day....our luck was not to last however, and in the bottom of the 5th, with Van Wert on the verge of run ruling the host school, leading 9-2 with one out, 2 on, and a 3-0 count on the batter, I saw a large bolt of lightning hit to our west...we called the players in to wait out the 30 minute time delay...before resuming the game, we needed not to have bothered. Withing 15 minutes all Hell broke loose and the storm came down on us with a vengeance. 60-70 MPH winds accompanied by straight line rains ended any chance of finishing the contest in the late afternoon.

So here we are, Sam and I will work the finish of the Van Wert/Crestview game then move to the back diamond for a elimination game...then Garry and George will work the other Winner's Bracket contest on the main diamond at 6pm. This however is in doubt at least for today...you see it decided to rain like cats and dogs again about 7 this morning, it's over now, but with as much rain as the Convoy area go last night....I'm not sure either diamond, especially the back reserve diamond, can dry off in time.

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More Rain? Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight?

As I headed out of Convoy, once the game was cancelled for the day, Jim and I headed to the local carry out for some liquid refreshments...I saw one of the biggest bolts of lightning in my life at the west edge of town near the Indiana Border. As we left the Carry Out, the rains returned with force, and the winds with them. As I drove down Ohio 49 south of town, I knew what it was like going through a Hurricane. The winds probably in the 60 or 70 mile range and the rain was blinding...I drove 5 miles through that before coming up on the Intersection of US 224 in Van Wert County...the rain settled down and I made the 30 mile trip to Celina in a steady, although manageable, downpour.

Once home, I grabbed a beer, and watched more heavy rain move in from the west...after than, with Patricia sitting on the porch, I noticed a yellow turned to red hew...so I grabbed the camera, and took a few photos which are included today.

The old saying is, "Red Sky at Night, Sailors Delight"...so I figured the rains were done...not so fast, as I said, another large round of storm came through this morning, making 27 days of 33 with at least some rain...that streak is going to end it appears, as the rest of the week will be dry, or at least so they say! I'll believe a week of dry weather, only after the 7th day.

Meanwhile, rain or not, the Baseball Tournaments will continue...Garry and I, along with a dozen and a half other guys have been selected/nominated to work the Junior ACME and ACME State Tournaments, much of which will be held in Celina....not sure how many, if any, I will be assigned to work, but in the meantime, I have many Sectional and Districts games, as does Sam(along with his baseball work in Columbus), to work in....

Rain or not, the summer is going to be a busy one....

back later>>>>>

Photos-The RED Skies would not have proved a Sailor's Delight this morning, as despite the look out west of my porch last night(notice the scenic power lines)...more heavy rains hit the area around 7AM. The one thing the rains, heat, and humidity bring, is a bumper crop of flowers and weeds to go with them. And my Diamond Chest Protector is not protecting me that well...arms, and collar bone have been the latest victims...might be time for a new one next season, and probably a new plate mask as well.

A Brief Respite from the Monsoons of June

A brief shower hit the Grand Lake Area yesterday morning about 7:30...then the skies cleared and the humidity was lowered, and our 3 week miserable hot and wet weather came to an end, for at least 72 hours. Today will mark only the 3rd day in the past 22(by my count) that will go without rain, by tomorrow night, it could return, then the next 5 or 6 days are calling for heat and at least a chance of a storm each day...guess I better get out and enjoy it while I can.



Without a baseball game, due to cancellations and/or rain since Saturday...I am scheduled for a ACME League game at Lima Perry tonight, nothing tomorrow, then we will see what the weekend brings...games scheduled, along with showers.


In the meantime, I did managed to watch some World Cup Soccer(akin to watching paint dry) and finally got around to trimming the brush and weeds, while Patricia edged the sidewalks around the house....and we have plenty of sidewalk area, both along the streets, and in the back yard to clear up...she had the hardest of the two tasks.






With the sun out....the flowers are coming out, and the Sunflowers are beginning to stand tall...the attached photos are from the new crop of late Spring/early Summer buds around the house.

Meanwhile...with at least one good sun filled less humid day in the forecast....I am out of here...









back later>>>>

June Rolls In....Wet and Warm!

With Patricia away in Wisconsin for the Memorial Day Weekend, I had a chance to do nothing....of course that is not quite true...but it sounded good....the time fly by in the blink of an eye, and I stayed relatively busy. Sam was home for about 1o minutes on Friday, he drove from Columbus to umpire an ACME Scrimmage, then headed back to Ohio State, where finals await. Hal came home Sunday afternoon, we had a few beers when I was done with lawn work, and headed over to my sister's place where the family downed a few and watched the brother-in-law grill some brats and burgers....Hal and a few college and High School friends from years gone by, got out the cards and X-Box and finished off the evening doing those. Hal returned to Beavercreek yesterday afternoon. I also watched daughter Anissa for a few hours each day, then she would return to her place, where the caregivers would work with her the evening and overnight hours.

I completed my First ever Regional Final Assignment in High School Baseball(to go with the 4 District and 3 Sectional Tournament games this season)...last year I had a Semi Final. It's amuses me that although usually, not always, I am the oldest umpire in the crew at 61...I'm not the longest serving when it comes to years served in the high school game. This weekend was no exception.

My Partners for the Regional were Bob Grubaugh, a mid 50s/20+ year Veteran of Baseball, and Softball(he has a State final 4 Softball game this week), and Ron Goleman, who at a few months younger than me, has well over 20 years in baseball and basketball. Bob is also from Celina and Ron is my Association Secretary from Van Wert, who got me started down the High School trail. The final featured #2 ranked Clear Fork against #9 rated Blumdale Elmwood, who had taken out top rated Coldwater on Friday...Clear Fork, despite 6 errors, got out of a bases loaded jam in the 7th inning and held on to win 6-4 to move on to the State Division 3 Championships from Thursday through Saturday this week in Columbus.
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The first 3 days of the 4 day weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, were sunny and warm...yesterday? Not so much....the rains arrived early afternoon, and it poured and stormed on and off for the rest of the day. The next 2 weeks, if you believe the forecast, will have plenty of rain to go with the already wet Spring season...just in time for the beginning of tonight's ACME and American Legion Baseball seasons that will make my month of June full, depending on rain amounts.

June, along with April, are usually the busiest when it comes to umpire work...although April usually is plagued by rain outs, more so than June. Things change to Summer Tournament action in July, and then Football beckons at August signals the wane of Summer. Something I am not ready for....I want some dry and warm/hot to enjoy for the next few months before the reality of Ohio's short warm weather season comes to a close.
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ACME, Junior ACME, the JV of the Summer season is what I have on schedule tonight at Celina's artificial turf...when that is completed, I head to the Dayton Airport at Vandalia to pick up Patricia., although she may be waiting for me to arrive for an hour or so.
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The wet and sun mixture has managed to keep the cash crop of weeds around the growing and changing flowers in the back yard...the 80 or so Sunflowers and other Summer Flowers, are going to have to battle the weeds for water and space....meanwhile the grass, needs mowing about every 4 days....No Drought in Western Ohio, to say the least.

I managed to catch a few Reds games on radio and the tube...and the Philly Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals..sorry to say the Flyers are down 2 games to none, losing a couple of 1 goal games at Chicago. Last night's 2-1 defeat was a much better game than the 6-5 defeat on Friday...I still have some hope, the Flyers have been down before(see 3 games to none, and 3 goals to none in the 7th game against Boston)...and are playing pretty well...game #3 in Philadelphia, for sure a must win for my Flyers.

Meanwhile the Reds. lost big time at St. Louis yesterday, but still find themselves in a first place tie with the Cardinals...2 more games left at Busch Stadium in the series.

June is going to be busy that is one prediction I can make.

back later

Photos-The back yard flowers are changing from the Spring to Summer Variety, meanwhile the first of the Raspberries appear..all will have to contend with birds, weeds, and the ceaseless rain.

Some Flowers Bloom, despite/because of the Rains?

We managed one decent day, well almost a decent entire day in between bouts of rain, storms, and drizzle...

Yesterday I headed out to Elida to work the 2 semi-final games of the Division 3 District there....unlike last year's blowouts, this season the Elida District got off to a good start...2 well played competitive games. Perennial power Coldwater had to come from behind and rally to defeat Evergreen in the late game...last year it was a run ruled 5 inning game with Coldwater winning, this year the Cavilers got a scare before prevailing by a 5-3 count...with me behind the plate for the second straight year in this match up.

The first game, with me as first base umpire, saw Bluffton pull out a tight game over Liberty-Benton by a 4-3 count...plating the winning run on a wild pitch. The 2 winners will square off tomorrow at 2pm...At least that is the schedule, with the overnight rains, and more on the way...time and field conditions will tell. If the games get moved back, we would have that final on Sunday Afternoon.

By the time our umpiring crew had cleared out of the locker room, the clouds had moved in...by the time I arrived home in Celina at 8PM it had started to sprinkle...it became another full fledged downpour in the overnight hours.

Despite little sun and plenty of moister, cool temperatures, and clouds...the fence area flowers have continued to bloom, a variety at a time....the photos today were taken this morning.

Enjoy the weekend, I'll be back with more later>>>>