Wildflowers

AWOL

Ricky Bobby went AWOL!!!

We had plans to hook him up with a girlfriend - (of course he would be getting fixed) but he didn't hang around long enough to meet her. We're going to give him a little more time to come back home before we get a replacement for him.

Meet Miss Bobby "Sue" Boucher (pronounced: boo-shay).

Deja Vu

Last Friday was the last day of school. We headed out to visit all of the family. We came home to this...

This limb was the alternate choice for our tree swing... So relieved it wasn't hurled onto our house.

No real bad damage. - Mainly just a big mess to clean up. I don't mind dragging all of the limbs to the street, it's all of the little sticks and twigs that need to be raked up that drive me insane.

The irony of this latest occurance is that five years ago, this very week, in this same town - we came home to this...

Obsession

Today was the last full day of school - aka - last day of freedom for me. I went to Cleveland to grieve. I picked up these "sweet things" on my way home. Today we sampled "Delta at Midnight". Saving "Lemon Drop", "Strawberry Fields" and "Red Velvet" for another day. I was scared there'd be a riot at the suggestion that we all "sample" each one. After the first bite were all in agreement. - Pass the water please.





I fed my obsession at McCarty's Pottery and bought three more chimes. I think I still need at least three more to fill up the space. I'm trying to create a visual wall in that corner of the patio. I could spread them further apart but then they would never touch, therefore they would never "chime". It takes a pretty good gust of wind to get them to swing. To give you some perspective on size - the long ones are about five and a half feet long. I think they'll make a great backdrop for my next photo shoot of the girls.

New Addition

We've got a new addition to our family - a cat.

He showed up in our window sill a little over a week ago.

"Can we keep him?"

It really has been interesting to see his transformation. We loaded him up with food the first couple of days. Despite the illusions from his fluffy coat, he was pretty scrawny and had a few war wounds. The first couple of nights - he'd sleep upright on the patio couch - his ears constantly twitching every which way, listening to all the noises of the night. Before long, he was sleeping all spread out - not a care in the world. He pretty much stays on the patio all night long and during the day unless he's following one of us around. He sleeps A LOT. I was concerned when he first got here that he didn't know how to groom himself. That changed after he got a few days of food in him. I guess he just didn't have the energy to care. Looks like he's here to stay.

I introduce to you...Ricky Bobby.

All the Buzz

All of the news stations have been trickling in. CBS was here yesterday. Fox News was here today. They were interviewing people that have lost homes on Lake Ferguson - people that live inside the levee. So for now, when there is a story of flooded homes in Greenville, MS, these are homes INSIDE the levee. The rest of the town is pretty much dry except for some areas that are having some seepage do to the rising water levels.



This was a local reporter. He didn't have a crew. He was winging it on his own with a tripod.

After the interviews, the news crew loaded up in the boat to take some of the homeowners out to check on their homes.

There's been an increase in wildlife around town. This deer swam across the lake trying to flee from the rising waters.

Levee Watch - follow up - 5-9-11

This is the level of the water last week...

Here's that same building yesterday at about 3:30pm. The water is predicted to stop rising by next Monday. It's supposed to rain at the end of this week. Ugh!

The levy is closed to all foot and car traffic. But if you want to witness this historic event, there are two sets of levy stairs that they are letting people use to go "take a look"...

Catfish Race

We had a pretty busy weekend. It included having some company, a "fun run" for the girls and the local festival. It was so nice to get out on such a pretty day and not have to listen to all of the "levee talk" - even though it was less than a mile down the road.

One unique event at the festival is the "Catfish Race". Each long trough has one catfish that starts out at one end being held back with a plexiglass divider. On "go" - the divider is removed and the sponsor does whatever they need to do to get that fish to swim to the other end without touching it. - In my observation, just waving your had in the water behind it seems to do the trick perfectly.

Levee Watch 2011

Watching the levee water rise is a hot topic around here. This is the levee to Lake Ferguson. The Mississippi River spills into this lake.

The approach onto the levee...

The flooded Yacht Club...

Down to only four parking rows. There are many more rows that are submerged.
Submerged picnic area...

Notice the lamp posts.

There are two floating casinos located in this area. They will be closed soon for safety reasons - even though they won't flood (they float). The levee will close to the public Saturday night. The fear is that the water will keep rising and spill over the levee (see first picture) and into town or worse - that the levee will break.