Wednesday - They cut my Trees Down!

  
You would think maybe I could show a little of our part of the world here wouldn't ya?  Well, I guess I can, since I do have a few photos uploaded and stored on the proper sites for such doins!  Henceforth and (hopefully) from now on, I'll try to add at least one picture, either from the past, present, or 'way back yonder.'
     Just a warning/reminder, (chose the word that fits here and read it into the sentence) if I may.  I am NOT a professional photographer, nor am I a professional writer.  Therefore you will see some rather 'shapshot' like pictures.  Then there are the 'oops', or surprise shots that came along recently.  The reason for the better quality, is, naturally, a better quality of camera.  One designed for the unstable hand of this Old Owl!  Enough of this.  As to the writings, you get what I have on my mind at the time I write it.  My opinions, my thoughts ..... Enough said about that.
     This evening I'm taking advantage of an extended morning's sleep (another note here:  we sleep way late each morning, usually until noon!) to do a little extra Blogging (I call it Blathering) here and on our Cat Blog called Buddy Bear's Cats' World.   Today's Cat blather having been posted, here's my offering for my blather here.
     I, being a country bird, have little in the way of citified entertainment.  It's all country born and bred.  Sometimes it makes sense to those living in in a Metropolis type environment, sometimes not.  I'll try to make it understandable for one and all.  I said "I'll TRY!"
     Spring moving in causes those things called trees, bushes, shrubs and other assorted pretties Mother Nature has in her loverly Earth wide garden, to sprout leaves, flowers,  to grow taller, to spread out the limbs, and generally take more and more space around themselves.  Annual trimming/pruning of the aforementioned growth is a once a year job the local power (hydro) company takes very seriously.
     Today just happened to be the day the tree cutters showed up with the fancy monster truck with attached long arm saw and the cargo truck pulling the very noisy 'chipper' that grinds full sized trees into very small chunks and spits them out into the cargo truck.  I think you get the message here.
     A little history here:  Roughly 20 years ago, M'Lady Lisa, the cats and I bought and moved onto the acre here, located in NE Mississippi, into our own little home we call Five Oaks Manor.   The full name given is Five Oaks Manor, SouthWoodsUSA.  It's not on the map that way, but we will discuss that later.  As I started to say, when we moved in the acre was sporting 5 Oak trees along the front of the acre along the edge of the country road.  (there is where the name 5 Oaks came from.  Original, Huh?)  The rest of the acre had two large pines, and one hardwood shade tree (breed and type still unknown).  Summers were quite hot in the beginning without shade.
     Having plans to retire here, hang my hammock in the back yard under the maple and white ash trees, I had one problem from the start.  NO maple or ash there.  So I lucked out, caught the local Agriculture Dept. the day they were to throw out the left over tree seedlings they offer each year to landowners in the district.  I offered to remove the remaining bales of pine and white ash they had in stock.  The trunk of my old Lincoln Continental (since deceased) was swiftly and fully loaded, and I went tooling merrily on my way to work.  Break time saw the parking lot full of friends and fellow workers splitting up the bales I had purloined.
     I came home with enough pine seedlings to do a double row of 'wind breakers' on the east and the west side of the acre.  I chose my double hand full of white ash to be planted over the rest of the acre and called the neighbors.  Over 1000 pine seedlings were picked up, and most were planted down the north side of the road going west from my house.  I've been told 'my trees are all over the SouthWoods area.  Makes me feel good.  At least we did what the majority of the folk moving out here do NOT do.  We planted.  Most city folk moving out will raze the property to the ground, then build dwelling and utility sheds and call it finished.  I was always taught to, when at all possible, to replace the trees that are cut.  I guess we did.
     Now my own private little forest is growing nicely, I'm now wondering what I'm going to do now that I'm almost to the point of not being able to rake those leaves and needles up so the weeds and such can be cut regularly!  Well, this is the country.  I don't have the City Mothers and the Home Owner's Association down on me to 'cut and clean and heed the rules.'  My acre in the woods.  My woods.  Go get your own.
     What am I blathering about?  What am I leading up to?  Read on.  The background has been laid.  We carry on.
      Simply put, when I planted my trees there were no overhead power lines running out into the wilderness overhead.  I came home from work one day a couple months after the plantings to find a power pole and a mobile home parked on the quarter acre next door.  The lines ran at an angle across the pines on the east side of the acre.  I didn't think much of it, just wondering what we were in for what with the trailer home crowded between the to properties.  Well, the trouble we ran into before the trailer was abandoned years later is fodder for another day.
     Today, the crew came to cut my trees.  This would be the second year they did this, merely topping them off and leaving the stunted and rather odd looking.  And then there was the next year to think of and the next year and the next ..... what with prices on everything rising down here like the water behind the damn with all the drains closed, the thought is WHY trim every year when they should by all right be taken down to the ground.  I broached the subject to the 'boss' and the deed was did.
     My heart hurt to see my 'babies' being felled and ground into ground cover before my very eyes.  Whatever.  It had to be done.  Still, I planted, I nursed, I watered, I staked and painstakingly pampered those trees, dodging carefully when mowing the lawn, careful not to score the bark around the tree when I did the weeds and grass the mower would not get to so the tree would not die.  I lost 4 in roughly 20 years.
     Then they come and drop half the row.
     I know, I know, they have the right.  The people need their power and it is against the law to refuse access to my property for the running of power lines.  Still .....
     I'm not one to raise hell about something like this, but .....
     And that was my day!  What did you do today?
     Oh, before I quit, here's something to let you know I DO live 'out there in the sticks', and honestly, love the hell out of it.  We even have hardtop roads.  Just imagine!

Five Oaks Manor, SouthWoodsUSA,

home of the 6 Mouskateers,

 their Small One, Lisa

and their Big One, Roy, Sr

     Having problems with the storage site, 'the Bucket' tonight, so I pulled this one from the front page of our private web site on the WWW.  Next episode we'll take a look at before and after the Owl (me) and the Ladybug (Lisa) took proud possession of our acre in the SouthWoods of NE Mississippi, USA.

     Y'all come back again.  We're just getting started on this tale.
     I'm gone .....

     Later .....

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Don't forget to visit Buddy's Blog.  Links to all our holding are on the front page of the Web Site.

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Tuesday's Edition - Is it Respect, or is it Pride?

     Living in a mostly rural area, we 'country folk' have to make the occasional trip to town to the local post office for special mailings.  The other day was one of those days for us.  One letter to go to a close Friend in Canada, 7 stamps to take care of the monthly bills, and some boxes for shipping some goodies the Wife mate has readied to go out to family and friends.
     So, I hopped in the little 'Green Hornet' (Dodge Stratus, circa 2003, dark green in color), my little plastic roller skate, and headed out to the local village a couple three miles down the SouthWoods trail.  Not being the proud owner of a wrist watch, (threw my last one away when I went to put it on one day and discovered it had died on me) I didn't know the late hour of the day.  Never did like battery powered gadgets.  Anyway, being retired I pride myself on NOT being a clock watcher.
     OK, getting off the subject, but not really.  I made it to the post office just as the Post Mistress (What? That's not Politically correct? So sue me!)  was walking out the front door.  I pulled into the empty spot just in front of the small flag pole where the lady had stopped and was fiddling with the halyard for the flag.  Realizing she was about to lower Old Glory for the day, I hopped out, snapped to (that's 'stood at attention' for those that claim they don't know proper flag etiquette), removed the hat and covered my heart (which is the proper salute required of an individual dressed in 'civvies').
     After the flag had been folded, I approached the lady and was told the PO was closed but, for me, she would certainly open.  She seemed flustered.  Inside, I was informed she had never seen anyone stop and salute the flag when she raised or lowered it each day.  All I could say was that, to me it was respect, respect due to the Flag of My Country, and that I had served over 16 years in the military protecting that flag and I was NOT about to loose my respect for it just because the majority of America had lost theirs.
     Well, in the process of getting the stamps, plastering them on the envelopes, her making change, and her telling me again that I gave her a very pleasant surprise, selecting boxes for the next mailings of Ladybug's (M'Lady Lisa) knittings to friends and family, we both forgot the 'book' of stamps I had ordered and paid for.
     Long story short, I went back the next morning, was afforded another complement on my conduct of the day before, swapped apologies for the stamp incident, and picking up my stamps, I bid the lady good day and went home.  I felt a bit flustered on the way home.
     Actually I felt strange.  I did something that, back in MY time, ALL Americans did ..... I paid respect to the symbol of my country, the land I live in, the land I fought for in Viet Nam, the land I gave almost 2 decades of my life to protecting, and was told I did something never seen before in this town by this one individual.
     I'm wonder what has happened!  Where's the patriotism?  Does anyone give a tinkers damn about the country they live in today?  Maybe it's the water they're drinking.
     Sound silly huh?  It's not, at least to me.
     Will someone explain it to me?  I'm not too old to learn something new.  At least I don't think so.  Maybe the powers that be ......
     I'll let this one rest.  Just a rant actually.  Later we may get into a higher gear.  Right now I'm closing this one and hoping all have a good weekend, and don't forget where you are.  It's our land, and we DO owe it at least a modicum of respect.
     Just a friendly NOTE here for those new to the KnightOwl's Blathers:  
     This is a Blather, a personal rambling, a snippet of thought, and NOT an invitation to dive in to the Comments here with an highly over opinionated, 'I know it all' indisputable dissertation.  In other words, I am not posting this and any other ramblings here to open up a debate in Comments, and I will NOT tolerate one here.  Comments, are welcome, and friendly opinions are too, but beware the 'holier than thou', abusive, tirade.  It's not needed, and will net the offending individual the boot from the Comments.  Enough said.        

     Everyone have a great day, take care, and while you are out and about, look around, check out the world about you.  There are many interesting happenings here and there.  Make note, and, if you are a-mind to do a little finger bending, talk to us here.  We're good at listening too.
     I'm gone .....
     Later .....

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Introducing Me, Myself and I!

     This will be the place the KnighOwl, aka Roy, Sr, aka The Wizard Sgt.Pop (I even answer to 'Hey You' on occasion) has his say about this and that, mostly stuff and things from the mind and memory of and Old Man.  I am that old man and I am here to talk.  I'll leave the comments open to all registered members of Blogspot.com with nothing more than the simple character recognition thingie to keep the machines and spiders and such out.  First sign of trouble, or of Spamming, and I will go the Moderated route.  That is, you post your comments, do the recognition requirement and then sit on your fists until I get back to approve/disapprove the posts.
     That latter I do NOT wish to do.  We shall see what happens though.
     As of right now I am working on the post for Buddy Bear's Cats' World's Blog.  When the day's prior commitments are seen to, the cats are fed, we have all had our cat nap, some crunchies and a dish of milk, Me, Myself and I will be in to sort things out.  Buddy Bear will be hanging around as well.  He's our chief owner, human trainer, and night time sleeping partner.  Well, you can check on him and the rest of the clowder at his Blog and of course at his Web Site.  Links to our other holdings and active sites around the WWW are found on the start page of the Web Site.
     Color me gone for now.  But ......
     I'll be back .....
     Later .....

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