Having a hard time lately....

Things are getting harder and harder, I must say.
It's really nice to be able to come on here and share memories with you guys though...makes it a little easier.

I keep getting flashbacks of my childhood and all the neat things Dad taught us. Adem, you're right spot on with him being a harvester and such a kind soul.
I can't tell you how many baby bunnies and birds he helped me raise as a kid. :D
Every spring, the first mowing of the season would scatter a rabbit hole full of babies. He'd gather the survivors up and bring them in...

We'd make a comfy & warm place for them to sleep...and take turns feeding them around the clock (warm whole milk sweetened w/ karo syrup). Once they were big enough, we'd start experimenting with fruits & veggies for them to eat. On warm afternoons, we'd take the bottom off their cage & put them in the backyard (fenced in) to let them nibble on grass.
Finally, when Dad thought they were big enough (and I could part with the fuzzy butts), we'd let them go hopping up towards the barn.

I remember HoneyBear (our golden retriever) did a 'drive by' one year and snagged a freshly released baby bunny as it started hopping away.
I think that was one of my first lessons about the circle of life. LOL

And then the baby birds/robins! Ugh.
I can't tell you how many afternoons I spent digging up earthworms to feed those little guys.
Reachel, I know you have a baby bird story too...wanna share? :D

Welcome to the blog John we missed you

Dad ,this may sound odd me being the head harvester in this group,instilled in me a healthy respect for nature not so much in what he said it was more his actions and love of the out doors. Waste not want not ,respect the life you take to inhance your own.This said, dad was a bit of law breaker the whole raising wild animals with out a permit is a big no no.Lucky for us he was willing

to take a chance with ping and pong the ducklings ,and the racoon what was its name scatorbox and where did it go pooo?

maybe the only harvester. am I in the right blog?

Whos Wheeza ?

Ray's mouse trap

Back when I was in college I was living in this house with like five friends of mine. It was kind of a party house, always a crowd, and quite messy. I swore up and down that the house was haunted and several of my room mates agreed but that's another story. We first noticed the mice a few months after we had moved in. They liked to hang out in my room for some reason, even though it was the cleanest room in the house. I could never get a real good look at the mice because they were so fast. We had a dilemma in that we wanted to get rid of the mice without killing them. I had looked into humane mouse traps but none of them looked like they would work. They were also expensive and I was a poor college kid at the time. One day when I was visiting my mom and Ray I had told them about the situation and my need for a humane mousetrap. Ray immediately took an interest. It was as if I saw a light turn on above his head as he started gathering components from around the house, one of which was a conventional snap type mousetrap. You know, one of the ones made of wood that spring into action when the mouse steps on the trigger. Ray sat in the kitchen tinkering with the ingredients of what would become a very clever device. It consisted of the snap trap, an empty soup can, some fine wire mesh, and the lid of the empty soup can. I have to admit that I was skeptical but I left Ray to work his magic. After several minutes I came back into the kitchen to find Ray putting the finishing touches on this device. It was a marvelous invention, the soup can was attached to the snap trap to act as a cage, it sort of sat fixed on one side of the wood plank. The mesh formed a tunnel that was attached to the plank as well, this mesh tunnel fed into the can which allowed for the trigger to be set. The lid of the can was attached to the snap part of the trap to act as a door. This was the challenging part of the design but a little bit of cardboard and duct tape made for a perfect door to the cage. Some shredded newspaper made for a comfy little cage for the mouse. It was truly amazing, Ray had taken this device that was designed to kill a mouse and turned it into a humane trap with just a few household parts, it was brilliant! The trap worked like a charm, I knew the mice liked to run along the baseboards in my room, so I put it directly in their path. A little peanut butter and cracker was enough to lure the critters in. I'm pretty sure I caught 9 mice in that trap. Ray had such an inventive spirit and I was inspired by the creation of this humane mouse trap. I’m not sure where that trap is today. I had left it at the house when I moved out in case there were more mice to catch. I think I could make one if the opportunity ever arose. Thanks to Ray for being so creative and compassionate.

thats a nice boulder I like that boulder

Is anyone out there ? I mean besides us kids , I'de like a little something from my aunts and uncles. You all do know how this works dont ya ?

Kinda wish I had a way to turn back time lately.

stuck in a rut

Know the way out just content to stay put

spring is coming

pancakes? how bout the chicken Folks ;{>

Robert must of missed the yogurt with oatmeal pan cakes. Dad seemed to want to try and use all and any leftovers as part of his bisquik mixs at times. What was the deal with dad and jam or jelly did he have some thing against fruit spread ? I only mention this because he was the inventer of Fluffanuter (one part marshmellow spread one part peanut butter ) or my favorite goop , Goop (a little maple syrup a bit of butter bring to a boil and peanut butter mix and spread on bread ) I cant remember having jam at dads . The funny thing is it was good I still like a little Goop now and then but I cant get my kids to touch the stuff. When it comes to cookin I think dads best was on the grill, chicken and ribs. The secret was in the prep. He always used whole chickens and I remember how he showed me how to cut them up. Then he would boil the chicken in a molassus,vinager and spice water mix ,then after the chicken cooled he'd grill. But before he grilled he would have to invent some coffee can charcol excellarater to save on the lighter fluid.
good times dad
Does any one know if dad did any disco on the east coast? that would be a sight and you know he would of at least tried it remember the roller skating?

Pancakes Anyone?

I'm here to tell you - and no offense or injury intended really, but If you have never had my dad fix you a breakfast, well your life just ain't going to be complete. So there I've gone and said it. Sorry.. but most of the folks reading this have had a Ray breakfast. He was a generous soul and an early riser so if you were ever around you were served a lot of tasty goodies in the morning I'm sure.
Most folks have had his biscuits and gravy... but fewer... unless you hung around him as a child have seen him work wonders on the griddle with a bit of pancake batter. Dad pleased us endlessly with pouring pancakes into the shapes of all manner of characters and beasts. Oh sure just to warm up he might do some standards like Micky Mouse pancakes, but then he could get more interesting, maybe a Goofy. But then we'd start making requests and off the grill golden and ready to light a smile up on your face came... horses, a moose, an octopus even.
I'm guessing he came up with this art form on his own. I can't begin to imagine Grandma Marie or Grandpa Clarence doing this so I'm going to say it was all Ray. Now my kids enjoy my special cakes Grandpa style and we always have had biscuits and gravy Christmas morning... now it will just be that much more special.
Miss you Dad
R

Avocado Shooters…?

Ray had a zest for life and one of the ways he expressed that was to use his wonderful mind to innovate and make the good in life – better! Last summer I had the blessing of spending a month living with Dad and Becky in their home in Arkansas. One afternoon, standing about the kitchen having a bit to eat, I introduced Dad to a treat I knew he would like. I sliced a nice ripe Avocado in half and removing the seed made a few slices crisscrossing the tender fruit but leaving the skin intact. Then I sprinkled it with fresh lemon juice and a bit of salt. I handed it to him with a spoon and said “Enjoy”. And he did… its mighty tasty. However, by the time he got through the first half of the avocado and a few exclamations of Hmm hmmm mmm!, he turned and gave me a sly smile and then reached into the cabinet and produced a fine bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila and asked me to make another one. I did and he proceeded to sprinkle about a half shot of tequila into the hole where the avocado seed and been – then he took a big scoop up the new and improved treat and gave it a taste. Hmm mmm good! We did two or three “Avocado Shooters” as he dubbed them and all enjoyed the new taste sensation. My sister Reachel told me he was talking about them in Huston. Had I known I would have whipped one up for him at his bed side. Next time the ingredients are handy – whip one up and have one for Ray!