This past week, I’ve been thinking about my father.  It would be so good to sit down and chat with him over a cup of coffee.  I think we’d both like that.  I also have a lot of questions I would like to ask.

LeRoy E Hutchinson — 1919 – 1990

Dad grew up during hard times.  One year, during the great depression, all his family had to eat was what they grew–a field of rutabagas.  There were other hardships, but that might have been the worst.  He worked hard, very hard, to make sure his family never had to go through that same experience.  Extra jobs in evenings and on weekends helped supplement the family income.

And yet he did volunteer work for people in need.  Particularly for widows without families to care for them.

After Dad had passed my sisters and I were sharing the things that he done with us.  Turns out he did different things for all four of us.  Each of us experienced his love in following our individual interests.  He did, however, encourage a love of weather observation in all his children.

Today, I give thanks for my father and the fine man that he was.

Four months have passed since my last post on this blog.  Several times I took photos to post, but they weren’t very good.  There were the snow drops with their early beauty.  The focus was too soft.  Another shot featured our tree trimmer up in the birch tree.  The angle was all wrong.  In some cases, I couldn’t get past the chronic pain (my constant companion) to go for photos.

I’ve shed about forty pounds in the last two years.  This has helped reduce the pain level quite significantly.  In January, I switched to a grain-free diet.  This has reduced hand tremors.  At least it did until I cheated to indulge a craving for fish and chips.  The change was dramatic as terrible tremors returned.

The best thing that has happened in these past four months is that our granddaughter has completed the requirements for an MS degree in nursing education.  We are so very proud of Briana.

Looks like she will be teaching the next generation of nurses.  I feel good about that.

Monday was a great day.  Three events all happened on that day.  It was the summer solstice (longest day of the year) and it was marked by a beautiful sunset.

Behind me, the second event was taking place as the full strawberry moon rose on the eastern horizon.  They tell me that the solstice and strawberry moon happen on the same day only once in seventy years.  That makes it special.  Better than that, this was Briana’s birthday (24 yrs).  That was the first time ever that those three happened on the same day.

Briana was walking to the hospital to report for evening shift when she called to thank us for the birthday greeting and gift we had sent to her.

A half-hour later, I capture the sunset image.  What had first caught my eye was a bank of cumulus clouds.  As the sun was going down only the top of the clouds were bathed in white light.  Toward the bottom, the light was red shifted.

Although not particularly spectacular, it was a nice way to end a very special day.  Sylvia and I slept well last night while Briana made it through her night-shift duties.

If you think that we are proud of our granddaughter, you are absolutely 100% right!

Our favorite nurse came back to Michigan for a family visit.

She was with her parents at their house.

We had a great time together.  The evening meal was especially nice.  Afterward, we all sang Happy Birthday to Bryant.

He had the cords on his phone.  Briana played them on her ukulele.  Too soon it was time for us to go back home.

This is leap year.  Today is February 29.  This will be the longest year (by one day) in the four year cycle.

Today is my sister, Clara, and her hubby Rick’s sixth anniversary.  That’s right.  They’ve been married 24 years.  Because they are special, they wanted their anniversary to be special.  They are and it is.

Sidetrack

I had been thinking about the US presidential cycle taking place during leap years.  Isn’t election year long enough?  I want to take a nap now.  Please wake me up around Thanksgiving.

A rare event occurred this morning.  I was up and out of bed before 7:30 AM.  Sylvia was still sleeping.  I quietly came into the office and looked out the window.  Something was happening behind the barn.

I could see an unusual light in the field beyond.  What could it be?

Whatever it was, it was happening behind the south end of the barn.  Not only the field beyond, but the sky had taken on an unusual glow.

Silly old me.  It was sunrise, which is something I haven’t seen in some time.

With help from Sylvia, I’m moving my schedule ahead.  The goal is to be “early to bed and early to rise.”  I’m already feeling better.  I’ll not concern myself with other benefits.

VETERANS DAY

Sincere thanks to those who have served, protected and defended our nation in uniform.  I was going to post a pic of my younger son in uniform.  Unfortunately in 22 years of service we have very few photos.  So here’s a salute to his paternal grandfather, my dad.