The Red Bellied snake attack

Tales from the Backyard…  We had family friends we used to visit while on the farm and they had a son my age (Dennis) and we were good friends and even when we moved to Forest Lake, I used to hike back out to where he lived and play for the day.  I was ten and full of adventure.  Their neighbors had a barn full of stuff, one of which was an old rail road hand truck, the kind used for moving workmen along the tracks by pumping up and down on the handles.  We got excited and thought we would put it on the tracks again and take off for parts unknown, but it was so heavy we couldn’t even lift one corner.  On the way home along the tracks I surprised a Red Bellied snake basking in the sun.  Rather than slink away, he started to attack.  Luckily the railroad bed is made of rocks and at ten nothing got away alive, but by the time I finally hit it with one, I think I had made a hole about a foot deep; such was my accuracy with throwing objects.  Later

Very first job

Tales from the back yard…   When I turned 10, I was able to work and I got a job at Houles Berry farm in Forest lake picking strawberries.  After toiling away in the hot June sun that first day, I realized that this was not going to be my career and after making 70 cents for the day, I quit.  That was the first of many jobs I would have in my life that I would just walk off.  No 2 week notice, just see ya.  Hey, it worked fine for me.

Spring Rain

Tales from the Backyard…  Sitting on the back porch looking out at the various flower beds, sipping an iced tea having just come in from weeding, nothing spectacular at this time of season, our tween time.  The spring showy flowers have come and gone, then the Irises with their spectacular blooms (thank you the Presby Memorial Historic Iris Gardens for your contributions) and only a few left amongst the slender stalks of flowers past.  The peonies have come and gone in days, it’s so dry.  A fluffy cloud passes and drops a few sprinkles, not enough to moisten the dry soil.  Looking out I see the Hollyhocks have come in bloom, how did they take over my yard.  The Salvia is in full bloom in the bee garden and is being used.  The apple trees have for the first time in 20 years, little bunches of apples.  The plumb had a full complement of fruit but they all fell off,   its coming down this week, as well as the ornamental pear.   Janice said she is going shopping, “what kind of beer do I want, Sam I said”.  She leaves as another cloud passes from west to east as usual and she said “looks like more sprinkles”.  The cloud does a 90 degree turn to the house and by the time she gets to the end of the driveway its pouring.  That was 40 min. ago and it hasn’t stopped. The lightning is so intense Chip is barking to chase it away, and Cady is shivering, something she has never done.  She crawls in my lap and immediately stops, then hops down and goes inside.   Janice just got home, the backyard is awash, from the sprinkles I guess.  Did I mention I love my back yard.

Thunder storms

Tales from the Backyard…Probably the best days of growing up on the farm was when it stormed.  The lightning would flash and the wind would howl in the trees and rain would fall and it was time for my brother and I to go out and round up all the pretend cattle in the woods.  We would mount our pretend horses and off we would go, running madly through the storms, from one end of the woods to the other, much to my mother chagrin, but she didn't stop us.  One storm the wind was especially bad and trees started crashing to the ground around us and here she comes through the rain and wind and falling trees to collect us from the storms wrath.  She couldn't call us in, the wind was too loud.  We didn't resist… After we moved to town and my brother got sick with Rheumatic Fever, we were never close again.

Boat vs Van

 Tales from the Backyard…  Heather mentioned we are  looking at another boat and it got me to thinking of all the misadventures I have had in boats.  The first I will relate to you is after a day of family fishing the mouth of the Williamson River in Mass., I brought the boat back to the ramp and docked.  I told my son of 14 to back it back out and trailer it, after I brought the van and trailer back down.  He was ecstatic, but the current was at its steepest, sideways to the ramp and my son, after 3 failed attempts to bring it in straight, just said he couldn't so he brought it to the dock and everyone switched places.  As my family and onlookers were watching, I backed up, came in slightly against the tide and revved it a little and up the trailer we went.  A little too fast and I hit the winch station hard and bounced back, which knocked me forward and down I went with my hand still on the throttle and off we went again, I hit the winch and bent it over and into the back of the van I went, a perfect ten, as I hit dead center of both doors.  Even above the roar of the engine I could hear the gasps of the onlookers.  Nothing to do now but take a bow and start laughing.

Kids are Kids

Tales from the Backyard…  Kids are kids where-ever you live and park brats are no different.  There was a 3 and 4 year difference between ages from my son, the twins and the older boys they wanted to play with.  The older boys really didn't want the younger kids around so one spring they said to the boys, if they go over and eat those plants, we’ll let you play with us.  The young ones would do anything, so they did.  Unfortunately the plants were False Hellebore, which when young are deadly, they were young spring plants.  One of the park rangers (Dave Panabaker) just happened to be driving by and stopped to talk and see what was going on.  Realizing what had just happened; he rushed the three tots away towards the twins’ home and gave each of the boys some Essence of Ipecac to get them to throw up.  Leaving the twin boys to their mother he rushed to our house with our son and the news.  We called the hospital, about 60 miles away.  Their response was, get them to throw up or if they don’t, rush them down here, “BUT ITS PROBABLY TOO LATE.”  What a thing to say to an already stressed out mother.  Donna called, the boys just threw up, we rushed Tom to the bathroom and he did also.  Enough weeds to kill a horse.  None had any ill effects from it and from then on left the plant eating to the deer.

Dowsing

Last night as I couldn't sleep, I remembered an interesting story about my work in Acadia NP.  I was there for the summer running odd projects, one being, to replace the dilapidated water line for the park.  At the Jordan pond house, we had to dig through the lawn, somewhere in it lay a high voltage electrical line.  I have always had this kinetic energy about me.  I could never wear a watch, as after a couple of days they all just stopped working.  Even as a youngster as I walked down the streets at night, the street lights would go out and then come back on as I passed.  Probably a mere coincidence but after a while it was disturbing.  One of my friends in the park was a dowser and I asked if I could borrow his rods to locate the buried cable, which he did and showed me how to use them.  I arrived at the site and began walking the path of the new trench to be dug and soon the rods became active and then magically crossed.  I marked the spot and walked away, turned and reversed my travel.  They crossed again at the very same location, so I put out a flag and sprayed orange paint, marking the location.  The next morning, the contractor found the line exactly as marked.  Telling this to my wife who was visiting that weekend, she said I was full of it and she wanted to see for herself, so off we went. I walked the line and bang, the rods crossed right at the buried cable.  She said " I don't believe it, you must be manipulating it somehow".  I said "you try".  She took the rods and walked the line and nothing happened and she yelled "see".  I said just a minute and with her over the cable with the rods outstretched I came up behind her and with my thumbs and fingers pinched her ears, one in each hand and immediately the rods crossed.  Taking my fingers away, the rods went straight again.  She said "do that again", the same thing happened and she could only say "I can't believe it".  Ah to have the magical power.