Wednesday, June 27, 2012
New Tahoe
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
East L A
Here in East L A(Lower Alabama),
as they drink not from their mama,
the gators relax in the shade
against the trees
with their backs
and without saying please
the man slaps a tax
on everything
perhaps the man
from the tree should swing
as the gator drinks from the can
as they drink not from their mama,
the gators relax in the shade
against the trees
with their backs
and without saying please
the man slaps a tax
on everything
perhaps the man
from the tree should swing
as the gator drinks from the can
Friday, June 8, 2012
Cows, Cowboys and Cops
Even at the best of times, the teen age years are a disaster. Such was the case of Natalie. When she turned fifteen, she lost her mind. The crowd that she started running with were all operating without a brain also. Her attitude went from bad to extremely bad. This put a lot of stress on Sheila and I for we could do nothing with her.To her a curfew was a joke, something not to be concerned with. After spending many sleepless nights waiting on the front porch we were despondent. I guess we soon got used to her behavior and would go to bed a little earlier.
The summers in south Alabama are notorious for being hot and humid. Sometimes the air gets so thick that it is a struggle just to breathe in a little air. The humidity is so thick that sweat just sits on your skin. The only way to get it off is to wipe with a towel and the exertion of wiping, just makes you sweat more. Occasionally the nights are cool with a soft breeze blowing. After the heat of the day, this is a refreshing change. This July night was just such a one. It was late when we went up stairs and cool enough that we raised the windows to let the night air in. The gentle breeze was blowing just enough to move the curtains ever so slightly.
We were so tired and the night air was so comfortable, that we drifted off into a deep sleep. Around two o'clock in the morning I heard a strange noise outside. It had to be different to wake me up. "Moo ma, moo ma, moo ma". I could hear it in the front of the house, then on the back. There were no windows on the side of the house, so all that I could hear there was a muffled noise. As I slowly awakened, I could tell that it was the same noise, just moving around the house, and pretty fast at that. I was tired and in a deep sleep, so I thought that I was dreaming. Sheila finally awakened and yelled "What?" She thought that Natalie had come home drunk and could not get in. She assumed that it was her yelling moo ma, moo ma. She rushed over to the window and looked down. What she saw in the bright moonlit night angered her. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Trying to catch our cows." the young man answered.
Then the whole picture came in. Up on the road, the cops had their cars parked, lights flashing and directing traffic. There were three cows running around the house with the young calf close behind, bellowing "moo ma." Behind the calf were two men trying to catch the four bovines. By the time I got my pants on and got downstairs, the activity had moved to the barn. My neighbor had gotten a rope on one of the cows. As he and the cows rested, he wrapped the rope around his wrist. Just as everyone was settling down, the horsed, who had been watching from the shadows, came up to the fence by the barn.
One of them snorted or broke wind and the loud noise busted the peace. I could see by the eerily green glow of the mercury vapor light on the barn. Two men, four cows and four horses all fighting for relief. All of this seeped into my mind as I watched the man tied to the cow. She bolted and he was a limp rag doll, pulled through several small trees. How he kept his hand from being pulled off was a mystery. When the cow stopped, he sheepishly pulled himself up off the ground. Using a small sapling as a pull up point, he was careful not to spook the cow again. There was blood and torn skin on every exposed part of his body. His clothes were torn loose and only the belt kept his pants up. He smiled an embarrassed smile and one of his teeth was dangling. I am sure he would have cried if no one else was around.
We helped him herd his cows home just as dawn was breaking. In the early light, I could see that the cows were in need of food. They must have smelled the hay stored in my barn and in desperation, they tried to get to it. The neighbor offered everyone a cup of coffee, but I as well as the others declined. We had to go and get some sleep.
As I walked from the road to the driveway, I could see the barn in the soft morning light. Natalie was standing there talking to bob. I waved to her to come on over to where I was. As she walked up, I asked, "Where were you last night?"
"I went to the barn to see the horses, when I came home last night." she replied.
"Almost as soon as I got there, I saw the police cars."
"Then the cows running around the house.", she continued.
"Do you think the man is hurt bad?" Natalie asked.
Relieved at knowing where she was, I answered "Probably not!"
"Come on in and let's eat breakfast."
The summers in south Alabama are notorious for being hot and humid. Sometimes the air gets so thick that it is a struggle just to breathe in a little air. The humidity is so thick that sweat just sits on your skin. The only way to get it off is to wipe with a towel and the exertion of wiping, just makes you sweat more. Occasionally the nights are cool with a soft breeze blowing. After the heat of the day, this is a refreshing change. This July night was just such a one. It was late when we went up stairs and cool enough that we raised the windows to let the night air in. The gentle breeze was blowing just enough to move the curtains ever so slightly.
We were so tired and the night air was so comfortable, that we drifted off into a deep sleep. Around two o'clock in the morning I heard a strange noise outside. It had to be different to wake me up. "Moo ma, moo ma, moo ma". I could hear it in the front of the house, then on the back. There were no windows on the side of the house, so all that I could hear there was a muffled noise. As I slowly awakened, I could tell that it was the same noise, just moving around the house, and pretty fast at that. I was tired and in a deep sleep, so I thought that I was dreaming. Sheila finally awakened and yelled "What?" She thought that Natalie had come home drunk and could not get in. She assumed that it was her yelling moo ma, moo ma. She rushed over to the window and looked down. What she saw in the bright moonlit night angered her. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Trying to catch our cows." the young man answered.
Then the whole picture came in. Up on the road, the cops had their cars parked, lights flashing and directing traffic. There were three cows running around the house with the young calf close behind, bellowing "moo ma." Behind the calf were two men trying to catch the four bovines. By the time I got my pants on and got downstairs, the activity had moved to the barn. My neighbor had gotten a rope on one of the cows. As he and the cows rested, he wrapped the rope around his wrist. Just as everyone was settling down, the horsed, who had been watching from the shadows, came up to the fence by the barn.
One of them snorted or broke wind and the loud noise busted the peace. I could see by the eerily green glow of the mercury vapor light on the barn. Two men, four cows and four horses all fighting for relief. All of this seeped into my mind as I watched the man tied to the cow. She bolted and he was a limp rag doll, pulled through several small trees. How he kept his hand from being pulled off was a mystery. When the cow stopped, he sheepishly pulled himself up off the ground. Using a small sapling as a pull up point, he was careful not to spook the cow again. There was blood and torn skin on every exposed part of his body. His clothes were torn loose and only the belt kept his pants up. He smiled an embarrassed smile and one of his teeth was dangling. I am sure he would have cried if no one else was around.
We helped him herd his cows home just as dawn was breaking. In the early light, I could see that the cows were in need of food. They must have smelled the hay stored in my barn and in desperation, they tried to get to it. The neighbor offered everyone a cup of coffee, but I as well as the others declined. We had to go and get some sleep.
As I walked from the road to the driveway, I could see the barn in the soft morning light. Natalie was standing there talking to bob. I waved to her to come on over to where I was. As she walked up, I asked, "Where were you last night?"
"I went to the barn to see the horses, when I came home last night." she replied.
"Almost as soon as I got there, I saw the police cars."
"Then the cows running around the house.", she continued.
"Do you think the man is hurt bad?" Natalie asked.
Relieved at knowing where she was, I answered "Probably not!"
"Come on in and let's eat breakfast."
Monday, June 4, 2012
Cedar Hawg
This little hog is a swine carved out of cedar. The size is 12x4x3". The knot worked out well for the snout.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Major and the Black Princess
Some days just have magical powers. Today was just such a day. As I awakened from a restful sleep, I just lay there in bed. The memories swept across my mind as if they were clover in mist covered meadow with the soft blowing wind sweeping over them. As the wind blew, the clover danced in wondrous rhythm with one another. Swaying gently front to back and side to side. So it was with my mind. The memories came and went, dancing softly on my conscious, some good a few bad.
The one that stuck was a good one. At least it ended up that way. In 1993, we moved into our house that we had just built, sitting on fourteen acres. We moved in on May 5, just a few weeks after my stud colt, E-Bob-A-Ho was born. He was a typical stud colt, into everything. At that time I had four horses, including Bob, and feeding them was a challenge. My plan was to buy and sell horses to pay for their feed. As you can guess, that did not work out very well. I would buy high and sell low. It was cheaper for me to feed the horses, than for me to sell them. It was like silk screening T-shirts, each transaction cost me money.
Our land was covered by woods, except for the strip under the power lines. That strip was fifty feet by 800 feet. That was not enough grass for four horses and I had to keep them supplied with hay at all times. After we had been there for a year or so, the two spinster sisters that owned the six acre pasture next door, approached me about renting it. At the time the price was reasonable and we agreed.
The horses thought that they were in heaven.With grass up to their knees, eating was now a chore. You would think that they would mow everything down evenly across the pasture. Well no, they didn't.
The pasture soon looked as if a drunk was driving the mower. The grass would be a foot tall in one area and dirt next to that. I spent a lot of time on the tractor, bushogging.
Major was seven years old when I bought him. He had won several blue ribbons for speed racking. A big bay horse, he was a gentle giant, but stubborn as a mule. His master had died and the black man that bought him almost starved him to death. When I purchased him, he was skin and bones, probably four hundred pounds underweight. It took Sheila and I almost a year to fatten him up. During this time we discovered that he had a comical personality, or maybe he was just a doofus.
Honey Babe was ten at the time and sweet as sugar. Not to Major though. She would give him a wide berth and stick her tongue out at him when he was not looking. She worshipped Princess, the bitch of the bunch, and Bob's mother. She, like the others, was a racking horse. However her gait was so rough, that at the end of the ride, her rider was sore. she was well mannered and obeyed every command.
Princess was a solid black, beautiful mare that should have been named Queen. She manipulated and controlled the herd, except for Major. He was not going to let a girl tell him what to do. When she wanted to move from one spot in the pasture to the other, she would just wander off in that direction. All the other horses would follow, except for Major. Not only was Princess a bitch, she was the smartest horse I had ever seen. Leaving Major behind would in her mind, undermine her authority. Shes developed a new strategy. To move to a new spot, she would shriek and bolt off as if something had burst out of the woods and was attacking her. That startled everyone, including Major, into following her. As soon as she reached her destination, she would stop and graze as nothing had happened.
I came in from work that hot summer day and went to the barn to feed up. All the horses were there in the barn yard except for Major. That was unusual, for he like the others, knew that feeding time was always at the same time each day. As you probably know by now I talk to the horses and most times they talk back. Princess was nervously pacing around the paddock. I did my whistle and rang the dinner bell for Major to come eat. Finally I asked Princess, "Where is Major?" She seemed relieved to know that I finally figured out that knew where he was. She turned and slowly walked to the woods on the side of the barn. I don't know how to stress this, nothing had ever gotten her to leave before a meal, so I knew that it was serious. We had gone a couple hundred yards when I caught sight of him. He was in a thicket of thorns and tangled up helplessly in bullis vines. I could tell that he had been there a while. "Be right back, boy." I told him and walked back to the barn.
When I returned with the wire cutters and made my way to him, I could tell that he was agitated. However, he remained still and calm while I cut away the briars and vines. To make matters worse, deer flies were swarming all around and eating us up. He would stomp his feet and swish his tail, but never in my direction. Princess, Bob and Honey Babe were standing at the edge of the woods watching us. As I cut the last vine and slapped him on his butt, he took off. As he tore out the woods, he went around the other horses to get to Princess. I don't speak horse very well, but I understood very well what he said to her. After he kicked her a couple of times, he said."Don't you ever scare us again, bitch!" And she didn't.
The one that stuck was a good one. At least it ended up that way. In 1993, we moved into our house that we had just built, sitting on fourteen acres. We moved in on May 5, just a few weeks after my stud colt, E-Bob-A-Ho was born. He was a typical stud colt, into everything. At that time I had four horses, including Bob, and feeding them was a challenge. My plan was to buy and sell horses to pay for their feed. As you can guess, that did not work out very well. I would buy high and sell low. It was cheaper for me to feed the horses, than for me to sell them. It was like silk screening T-shirts, each transaction cost me money.
Our land was covered by woods, except for the strip under the power lines. That strip was fifty feet by 800 feet. That was not enough grass for four horses and I had to keep them supplied with hay at all times. After we had been there for a year or so, the two spinster sisters that owned the six acre pasture next door, approached me about renting it. At the time the price was reasonable and we agreed.
The horses thought that they were in heaven.With grass up to their knees, eating was now a chore. You would think that they would mow everything down evenly across the pasture. Well no, they didn't.
The pasture soon looked as if a drunk was driving the mower. The grass would be a foot tall in one area and dirt next to that. I spent a lot of time on the tractor, bushogging.
Major was seven years old when I bought him. He had won several blue ribbons for speed racking. A big bay horse, he was a gentle giant, but stubborn as a mule. His master had died and the black man that bought him almost starved him to death. When I purchased him, he was skin and bones, probably four hundred pounds underweight. It took Sheila and I almost a year to fatten him up. During this time we discovered that he had a comical personality, or maybe he was just a doofus.
Honey Babe was ten at the time and sweet as sugar. Not to Major though. She would give him a wide berth and stick her tongue out at him when he was not looking. She worshipped Princess, the bitch of the bunch, and Bob's mother. She, like the others, was a racking horse. However her gait was so rough, that at the end of the ride, her rider was sore. she was well mannered and obeyed every command.
Princess was a solid black, beautiful mare that should have been named Queen. She manipulated and controlled the herd, except for Major. He was not going to let a girl tell him what to do. When she wanted to move from one spot in the pasture to the other, she would just wander off in that direction. All the other horses would follow, except for Major. Not only was Princess a bitch, she was the smartest horse I had ever seen. Leaving Major behind would in her mind, undermine her authority. Shes developed a new strategy. To move to a new spot, she would shriek and bolt off as if something had burst out of the woods and was attacking her. That startled everyone, including Major, into following her. As soon as she reached her destination, she would stop and graze as nothing had happened.
I came in from work that hot summer day and went to the barn to feed up. All the horses were there in the barn yard except for Major. That was unusual, for he like the others, knew that feeding time was always at the same time each day. As you probably know by now I talk to the horses and most times they talk back. Princess was nervously pacing around the paddock. I did my whistle and rang the dinner bell for Major to come eat. Finally I asked Princess, "Where is Major?" She seemed relieved to know that I finally figured out that knew where he was. She turned and slowly walked to the woods on the side of the barn. I don't know how to stress this, nothing had ever gotten her to leave before a meal, so I knew that it was serious. We had gone a couple hundred yards when I caught sight of him. He was in a thicket of thorns and tangled up helplessly in bullis vines. I could tell that he had been there a while. "Be right back, boy." I told him and walked back to the barn.
When I returned with the wire cutters and made my way to him, I could tell that he was agitated. However, he remained still and calm while I cut away the briars and vines. To make matters worse, deer flies were swarming all around and eating us up. He would stomp his feet and swish his tail, but never in my direction. Princess, Bob and Honey Babe were standing at the edge of the woods watching us. As I cut the last vine and slapped him on his butt, he took off. As he tore out the woods, he went around the other horses to get to Princess. I don't speak horse very well, but I understood very well what he said to her. After he kicked her a couple of times, he said."Don't you ever scare us again, bitch!" And she didn't.
Lone Oak
This lonely old oak tree has seen some good years I carved it out of HDU just to see how the material worked. I have used it for several years to sandblast signs with, but I have never used a chisel on it before. I thought that it worked well and I kinda like the old tree.
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