Good afternoon!

This morning Rick made breakfast for us on our back porch. It was in the 70's, overcast and pleasant. We ate while watching the hummingbirds around the feeder. They are so funny. One guards the feeder from his perch in the pecan tree, swooping down when anyone else comes near. I am surprised they were not named "Twitters" since they do that as much as hum. Satchmo "the city boy" played around the property until something spooked him and then he ran for the back door. Petey stayed at our feet hoping for bacon and barked at the hummingbirds. It was a peaceful morning. Rick is out mowing now and I have peeled tomatoes waiting to be cooked and canned. Laundry beckons and I have wallpapering to do.

We had 14 people over last Saturday evening for a cookout. It was a lot of fun and great to see some people we hadn't seen for months. I hope now that Rick and I are not just "surviving" and actually starting to live again we will see them more often.

We attended the city planning meeting on Thursday. Our neighbor, Elsie, would like to donate her property to her church. There was much confusion about their plans and so the council instructed her pastor to meet with those on the petition before coming again before the planning commission on September 25th. So we still do not know what will happen. We met a lot of our neighbors. Very interesting and nice folks. All of them want the area to remain agricultural. The meeting itself was interesting. Before they got to us we had learned a lot about how they decide things. Rick and I have been married 33 years and for the first time realized that Rick worries and obsesses before anything happens and I worry after. We both pray before, during and after. Opposites attract.

While talking with Denice my neighbor to the west, their black cow kept putting his snout in a coffee can and then shaking his head. It was so funny! Ernie, their brown cow licked the black cow on the face. Denice said they take care of each other. I asked her how they were ever going to be able to butcher the black cow. The black cow apparently belongs to her brother in law. While we talked over the fence, storm clouds were building but, except for a couple of drops of rain it went around us. Night before we had lightening on all sides of us and rain galore! I can't remember ever seeing lightening like that.

Well, those tomatoes are waiting. Have a wonderful weekend!