Its Fall

Fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year. The air is cool and the days are short. It is time to prepare for winter. It is time to harvest this years crops.  Have a great fall and prepare for winter!
The Country Boy

A True Friend

Everyone needs a true friend in this life we live on this earth. You need a friend for the good times and the bad times, the happy times and the sad times. If you find one true friend in your life you are blessed! To have a friend you must be a friend! Friendship is a two way street!

The country boy

Dog Days of Summer

In the South when it gets hot people say it is the dog days of summer. Well, the dog days are here! Temperature in high 90's and no rain in the forecast. It is so hot I saw a fire hydrant chasing a dog. But people deal with it and life goes on. It is good weather to sit in the shade and drink ice tea. Hope you have a good day!

The country boy

Golf

Golf is a game you can play well into old age. I was in my thirties before I began to play golf but I still enjoy it into my sixties. Golf is a game that test both your skill and patience. If you have never played golf then give it a try. So here is wishing you fairways and greens.

The country boy

Bad Day

I think your side is wrong!!

Some days things just don't go that well. But the worst of it is you now have to explain it to the boss! Oh well, you probably didn't like that job anyway.
The country boy

Graduation Time

In 1969 man walked on the moon for the first time, and I graduated High School. To this day I am not sure which was the greater feat!

The country boy

Houses of the past

As you travel along country roads you see these houses of the past slowly falling to the ground. Time, modern technology, and changes in lifestyles, have signed the death warrant on these old homes. Years ago the south was made up of small farms and each farm had a house. Today farms are large and the houses are not needed. These houses tell a story not only about our history but the families who lived there. If only walls could talk we could hear the stories. But most of the stories are lost and now so are the houses!

The country boy

2011 Floods

Mississippi River Flood Waters

Heavy rains and high flood waters have hit out area of the country. Many houses with flood water inside them and thousands of acres of farm ground under water. The Mississippi River is at record levels and still rising. It is time for farmers to plant corn and cotton but it is much too wet! Late crops mean lower yeilds so food will most likely go up in price. High gas and food prices hurt working families. It seems like working families never win!

The country boy

High Gas Prices

Gas prices are rising to almost $4.00 a gallon and some predict prices will reach $5.00 a gallon. When I started driving gas cost 29.9 cents a gallon. Most people bought $5.00 worth at a time and this would last a week. Today $5.00 worth of gas would not get you home from the convince store. I'm not sure this is progress, because it seems more like robbery! If you own a old car and fill it with gas the gas may be worth more than the car. Well, it is what it is!
The country boy

Basset Hounds

This is my day off

It is sometimes impossible to tell if a Basset hound is sleeping or if they have had a wreck! But whatever position they get into they always look comfortable. This is Gracie and she thinks she owns the house and the farm. I am just glad she lets us live here with her, but after all she needs servants. If you have never been owned by a Basset, then see if you can get one to take you in. It will be the greatest years of your life. Thank you Gracie.
The country boy

The Country General Store

The Wal-Mart of Yesteryear

The country general store was the Wal-Mart of yesterday. The general store was where people purchased their food, clothes, shoes, tools, seeds, chickens, pots, pans, stamps, and miscellaneous household goods. Everybody went to the store on Saturday afternoon. It was a time to meet your neighbors and get the local news. This was a social event and a shopping event all rolled into one.

I have fond memories of the country store! The sights, the sounds, and the smells that only a country store can have makes good memories that last a lifetime.

The country boy

The Masters

The Amen Corner

The greatest golf tournament of all time is The Masters. This golf tournament is played in the spring so the dogwoods and the azaleas are in full bloom. The holes  have names like dogwood, flowering peach, and magnolia. This tournament is as much about beauty as it is about golf. People wait years to get a ticket. The best golfers in the world show up to play. This place is to golfers what Disney World is to kids! I got to go one year and the beauty and splendor and the golf was even better than I expected. If you like golf try to go to the Masters at least one time!

The country boy

Spring Thunderstorms

My grandfather always said,"everything that has a positive also has a negative!" I love spring but the negative of spring is thunderstorms. High winds, floods, lightning, and sometimes tornadoes. A year ago lightning struck my neighbors house and it burn to the ground! Last spring floods forced many people out of their homes! Five years ago tornadoes destroyed many homes in this area and killed three people! Sometimes nature is hard to survive. This spring has been wet but no thunderstorms. I hope you have a good spring filled with spring flowers and spring showers but no thunderstorms.
The country boy

Work Truck

If there is work to be done you need a truck

I was born in 1951 and so was this truck in the above picture. These old trucks were work trucks mostly used on the farm. They had a really low gear for pulling heavy loads. Top speed was about 55 mph. but that was fast enough because nobody was in a hurry! A 1951 Ford truck was the first truck I remember my dad driving. I fell off the running board and broke my collar bone. Despite that I still have fond memories of that truck!

The country boy

Horse Sense

Now ain't that funny!

"My horse is as smart as I am," said Bob. "Well, said Bill, don't tell anybody, you may want to sell him some day!" My grandfather always said, "common sense ain't as common as it used to be." Just watch the TV news and you will know this is still true.

The country boy

Sunrise

A sunrise always brings hope

Sunrise, the beginning of a new day! My grandfather would say "the only thing that counts is right now." Yesterday is always behind you and tomorrow is always ahead of you. If you want to change anything you must do it today(right now). We need to try not to worry too much about the past and not to fear too much about the future. Just do what you need to do "right now".

The country boy

Planting The Garden

 

I started planting in the garden today. I set out some cabbage sets and some onions bulbs. No, my garden does not yet look like the one in the above picture. My Grandfather always said, "if you don't start you can't finish." Well, I have started and I hope to show you the finish in the fall!

The country boy

Spring Has Sprung

I'm glad its finally spring!

Spring has sprung and time has sprung forward by one hour! Every spring the earth is reborn. Trees, bushes, and flowers are blooming, and the grass is turning green. Birds are singing and kids are tire swinging. I love spring so let us enjoy it because all too soon it will be gone!
The country boy

Time to "Break" the garden

Looking at this picture makes me love my tiller!

My grandfather would say " you can't grow something unless you break something." That something you break is the soil. Grandaddy broke his garden with a mule and plow. Today I use a tiller to break the garden. I put down 100 lbs. of fertilizer and tilled it into the ground. I will began to plant in about two weeks. There is a old country saying " good soil, good food, good life." You accomplish this one step at a time and today is step one.

The country boy

Disaster in Japan!

The people of Japan have been hit by both a earthquake and a tsunami! Now they are facing a possible nuclear meltdown! But the Japanese people still possess hope. A elderly man and woman (who lost their home, all their possessions, and some of their friends) expressed this hope in a news interview. They said "we are too old to rebuild, but the younger generation will build back even better than before." I believe this hope (to see the future as bright even when facing such a terrible disaster) is why mankind has survived on this earth for thousands of years!

The country boy

My Dad's Birthday

Call the fire department!

My dad pass away several years ago. His was born on Friday March 13, 1921. He would say Friday 13 was his lucky day! He lived through the great depression and World War II. People of this generation were hard workers, honest, patriotic, and the creators of the modern world! Happy Birthday Dad!!

The Country Boy

Earthquake

Reelfoot Lake at sunrise

I live in West Tennessee not far from Reelfoot lake created by the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. Today (200 years later) you can still see the scars on the landscape. Nature and time have actually turned these scars into things of beauty! But the true scars of any earthquake can only be seen on the faces of the survivers. These scars will last a lifetime and will never turn into things of beauty. Let us remember the people of Japan and do whatever we can to help them!

The country boy

golf joke

Bob and Bill (two old guys) are on the first tee. Bob says " now that I'm old I can't see where my ball goes." Bill says " Don't worry about that, I can still see perfect." They both tee off and drive down the fairway but can't find either ball. Bill, I thought you said you could see the ball? I can, said Bill, but I can't remember a dang thing!!
I am now sixty years old and I play golf, so I guess this is my future!
The country boy

My favorite "wife" joke!

Bob, you may be in heaven sooner than you think!

Bill and Bob are talking about their wives. Bill says "I am a lucky man because my wife is a angel! Bob says "you are a lucky man because my wife is still living!!"
The country boy

My Wife's favorite joke

Honey, the rest of the packages are in the car!!

People who say that money can't buy happiness are shopping in the wrong stores!

Money Can't Buy Happiness

Smile And The World Smiles With You

This is both true and false. Research shows that to be happy you must have enough money to buy food, clothes, and shelter. The hardships of not having these basic needs makes life very difficult! Under these conditions happiness is very hard to achieve. But ( and there is always a but) once you have enough money to buy these basic needs any additional money(no matter how much) will not create happiness!
I believe that happiness comes from within. You don't find happiness you create it! Yet, most people are searching for happiness from some outside source. Happiness found from outside sources are short lived and must be repeated over and over! This forms bad habits  that creates unhappiness.  If you want happiness look within!
The country boy

My uncles favorite Joke

This is my uncle's favorite joke. There are two drunks walking down a railroad track. The first drunk says "this is the longest stairway I have ever seen." The second drunk replies "I don't mind that, but these low handrails are killing my back." He probably told me this joke a dozen times, and I would laugh each time. Jerry Clower once said,"I don't tell funny stories. I tell stories funny." My uncle could tell stories funny and that is why you would laugh even if you had already heard the joke before. He passed away several years ago, but I was thinking about him today. When a person leaves this world all that is left of you is pictures and words on a page. People may study the pictures and the words, but they never really know you. They will never know he could tell a story funny or that he loved trains!
The Country Boy

"Time Flies"

I know this is true because today I turned sixty! Time steals our youth and leaves us in the dust and dirt we call old age, with our broken dreams and our fading memories. But if you find one person in your lifetime that really loves you (loves you more than they love themselves) then life is worth all the trouble!
The Country Boy