Armadillos and Fireflies

It's hard to see, but the little critter scampering off to the left is a LIVE armadillo.  He's a juvenile, the adults are about 3X his size.  This is the first live one we've seen, after 42 dead ones smashed on the roads. 

We were driving out in the country and saw the cutest church, so we stopped to take some pictures, and as we were walking around, we spotted this little guy.  He decided to get outta there, so we didn't get many pictures, and no real good ones, but I do have some video of him, with Sister Johnson chasing.  We were hoping he would curl up in a ball in defense mode, but he was for skedaddling.  They are surprisingly fast.

One more thing checked off Sister Johnson's bucket list - only 2 more to go.

WAIT!!  Since she just caught a live firefly, now there's only 1 more item (a real tornado, and I'm hoping we don't see one of those).  Unfortunately, fireflies are only seen at night, and they light for only about a second.  She and one of her friends caught about 4 in a jar, but they wouldn't cooperate for pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it.  I did get a little bit of their flash on video.  For those who haven't seen a firefly, they give off a surprising amount of light, about like a bright spark lofting upwards from a fire, but they only burn for about a second.  They have little wings and a big butt to carry their lighted rear end around, so they can't fly very fast, and if you can get near one, they are not hard to catch.  I'll try for some more pictures before we leave.

Ties for elders

The next round of transfers is upcoming on June 6th.  Our district is likely to be reshuffled with several new elders sent in to replace elders who have been in their areas for more than 4 - 6 months.  The elders leaving will be sent to other areas in the mission, for approximately the same amount of time. 

To help the elders remember us, and to supplement their utilitarian wardrobes, we held a "tie lottery" at the last district meeting.  Each of the elders (based on seniority in the district) got to pick one (or more) ties from my personal inventory.  Each of the elders is shown with the tie of their choice.  From left, Elders: Gervais, Jones, Johnson, Savoie, Hidenshield, Hatch, and Urry.

I should mention that the ties available for selection were pre-screened by Sister Johnson, and were ones that she didn't care that I bring home, though I thought they were all quite nice and fashionable.  I think she has plans to replenish my tie inventory with new ones, selected personally by her. 

Bounty and goodness

We got a real treat tonight!  Jack and Carolyn Reed from the Starkville branch brought over some tomatoes and potatoes direct from their garden, and fresh tomato soup made from the same.  These are some of the delightful and faithful members in Starkville.  They have children and grandchildren in Utah, so we hope to be able to see them when they come to visit.

the trees and woodcutting never stop!

One of the trees that I felled was so tall that part of it fell into an adjoining pond.  Here's Sister Johnson in the Jeep pulling a small log out of the pond.  There's about 20ft of it still in the water at this time.  Our little diesel Liberty has been the ideal mission vehicle for us, as it gets used for this type of work frequently.  If it got as good fuel economy as my diesel Jetta, that would be the best of all, but sometimes we have to sacrifice economy for function.  BTW:  We'll be pulling a bigger U-Haul trailer home that we came out, with, thanks to the "treasures" that Sister Johnson has found since we got here.

The famous 27 ton wood splitter in action.  Gotta get me one of these!!  This takes a lot of work out of the firewood-making process.  I cut the felled trees up in "rounds" that are about 18" long.  We then manhandle them up to the splitter and flop them down on the foot (underneath the wood).  Then the splitter drives a wedge down and splits the rounds in two, then we keep splitting them to make firewood-sized pieces from there.  A really big round (36 - 40" diameter) is so heavy that we can barely rassle (that is a Southern word, spelled correctly) it in place.  The splitter has the power to crack open that tough wood, excepting the really cross-grained crotch pieces - those go into the burn pile.  It will take up to 20 minutes to work a big round down into small firewood-size pieces, but that's so much easier and quicker than trying to do it by hand with a maul or wedges.  Br. Jack Redwine is sitting down behind me with his hand on the control valve.  Note my cushy garden pad that I'm kneeling on to take some of the hurt out of these old knees.

Sister Johnson is everywhere!  He she is unloading cut firewood from a trailer onto the stack in the background.  Brs Jack Redwine, left, and Larry Foster, center are two of the fine branch members who are helping cut and move this wood for a single sister who lives in Houston, MS, about 45 miles NW of Starkville.

Here's our woodcutting crew at work, or taking a little break.  From left is Sister Brenda Pounders, whose place we're at in Houston.  She set up her shade canopy to give us a little respite from the direct summer sun.  Behind her is Sister Johnson, next is Sis. Pounder's sister who lives next door.  Br. Larry Foster is going for some water and snacks.  The West Point Branch President Robert Honsinger is on his little tractor with the blade - this is a lifesaver, as he is able to push all the cut rounds up very close to the splitter, and saves us much heavy labor.  Br. Redwine is obscured by Br. Cary Wilson at the right.  Br. Wilson had heart surgery/valve replacement and a pacemaker installed about 3 months ago, but he got a clean bill of health just a week ago, and here he is helping out.  We made sure he didn't overdo himself.  Usually we have Br John Shields and his son Lewie with us on these projects, but they were away celebrating Lewie's graduation from West Point High School.

These faithful brethren make up the majority of the active priesthood and leadership in the West Point branch.  Their faithfulness and dedication is very gratifying, and they do a lot to keep the branch going and to support the needs of the members here.

More Friends!

Sister Johnson makes new friends everywhere!  This is her with Sister Cheryl Wilson (counselor in West Point Branch Relief Sociery).  They have a lovely home that's about 8 miles directly north of where we live.  They have several acres, fruit and nut trees, chickens, a swimming pool, pool house, shop - what a great place.  Br. Cary Wilson is the 2nd counselor in the WP branch presidency.  The Wilson's have invited us out several times, including last Friday.  This time, their blueberries were ripening, and we picked several small tubs, as you can see.  They are delicious, but a little tart.  Today, I made a small barch of quick jam from a few that I was able to poach from Sr. Johnson's stash of fresh berries.

The Wilsons have a very nice and sizeable garden, and Sis. Cheryl is very adept at using and preserving the bounty that they raise.  Note the white tube enclosure in the background - this is actually a mobile chicken pen.  They put a few chickens in it, then move it strategically around their grass for the chickens to eat fresh greens, and of course deposit their fertilizer - very clever.

The Wilson's are special people, but so typical of the Church members we have here - dedicated, loving, and very willing to serve and help.  They have made us feel very welcome.

This is Sister Johnson, and another of her friends, Br. Jack Redwine.  He's the "patriarch" of the West Point branch.  He and his wife joined the LDS church about 38 years ago.  His dear wife Betty Jo passed away about a year and a half ago.  Br. Jack is now in his 80's, but still quite active, and raises a big garden.  Note the supersize tomato cages Sister Johnson has her hand on.  He makes these from concrete reinforcing mesh, and they are much larger and sturdier than the typical store-bought tomato cages.  He groups and stacks them for cucumbers, very clever.

Br. Jack is still quite lively, and is a great support to us as the Branch Mission Leader.  He's been a Bishop in years past, has served on the Stake High Council some time ago, and has given much dedication and service to the Church ever since he became a member. 

He also owns a very fantastic hydraulic wood splitter!!  This wonderful machine is a lifesaver in our woodcutting projects.  It's got 27 tons of power, and sometimes it takes all of that to split some of the stubborn oak we've cut down.

Memorial Day in Columbus, MS

We made a drive to Columbus, MS (30 mi east of Starkville) on Memorial Day to see the cemetery.  We'd been there once before, but it was at night for "Tales of the Crypt", a high school event (see prior post).  Memorial Day actually started in Columbus in 1866, when some of the local women wanted to honor the Civil War dead, including Union soldiers.  That idea was not well received at first, but it eventually became widespread in scope, and evolved into the holiday we now have.

As close as we can count, there are about 2,000 Civil War dead in the Columbus cemetery.  About 500 of them are "unknown".  These graves are all together in the older section of the cemetery, and I took this picture of an oak and vines growing up over the grave of one soldier. 

Columbus was founded in 1821, and the cemetery dates to the 1820's.  Since this was the site of the beginning of Memorial Day, I thought there would be a lot more decoration, flowers, and upkeep, but many of the older sites are not maintained all that well.  There is moss an stuff growing on a lot of the older gravestones, and you can tell that there are no surviving family around to maintain them, beyone what is done to mow the grass and weeds.

The family plots are marked by a raised concrete border, as shown here, and in some instances, there are family members from several generations planted together.

more Southern taste delights!

Thought I'd seen most everything here, and along comes Fried Corn.  Frozen in a chub, shaped like an ear of corn no less, with cream and sugar (of course).

Despite our regular exercise, we are likely to come short of our weight loss goals, but at least we will not have added any extra pounds.

On the plus side:  The local/regional produce is now coming on - we've got fresh corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, blueberries, squash, and peaches so far, and it's only the first week of June.  Except for the local corn, most of the other items come from Alabama, which is not very far away.  So delicious.  We'll get a double-season of fresh produce this year, as these items will be available until we leave, and when we get home, our own produce will just be coming on.  Lucky us.

I saw combines in the fields cutting fall wheat on May 20th.  All the fall-planted wheat and barley around here is now cut.  Field corn has tassled.  Soybeans, peanuts, and sweet potatoes are growing, and will be mature in 2 months or less.