I’m off to San Antonio again. It’s getting very close to Canada time! The girls and I are leaving on June 29th and staying gone for about three weeks. I wish I had the stamina and money to take all seven grandkids but I’m afraid it will have to be in small groups unless parents decide to come along.

The Thousand Lakes area is a beautiful area and I know the girls will store up many beautiful memories. We plan to stop at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky and Niagara Falls. I have seen the falls in the summer and winter. Both times they weave a powerful spell of beauty and power. I can’t imagine being foolish enough to go over the falls in a barrel! Just being close to the edge makes me shiver in fright!

My phone has not been ringing off the hook with people who would like to do the column while I am gone. I would try to do it from Canada, but it seems to me I tried one time before, and it didn’t work. Operator error no doubt! I think it was lack of a computer to be honest. Either way, if you feel you’d like to try for a few weeks, call me and let me know.

Russ has been plowing with Floyd all week. Since we’re down to one car at the moment, it has been a bit of a shuffle. As I was driving down the road to pick him up I noticed there were several farmers out plowing fields. Floyd tells me that you have to plow while there is a little moisture in the ground. Mind you, with the wind speeds we were having today, the moisture will disappear quickly. I did see one field with lots of watermelons planted. I can see I have not given my melons enough room! I think I actually have one ready to pick. I thumped it and checked the stem, plus I turned it over to see if its little bottom was yellow. It sure makes gardening exciting!

My daughter-in-laws are waiting for me to bring them some cucumbers. I will be able to fulfill their desires. Those vines just keep making cucumbers! Russ and I are arguing over one plant in the garden. It was supposed to be a long necked squash, but it is in the butternut shape. I think it is a gourd, and he thinks it is the butternut. So we’re going to see how they develop.

Mrs. Burkhart and Mrs. Harris are working hard at summer school. They have a full house of kids. The school has a full quota of kids working this summer too. Thanks to some incentive money, they were able to employ more young people than usual. As a result, the rooms are getting a good clean, storage rooms are being cleaned out and repaired. The grounds look especially sharp.

I keep meaning to mention this because several residents have said something in passing and unfortunately I keep running out of space. The fact is we are pleased to see police cars roaming our neighborhood. Sherriff Brown promised he would be visible, and he has kept that promise. I know we all hate to get tickets, but that comes with the privilege of having the police around. Thank you for patrolling our streets. They are still working on finding the thieves who broke into the sports area and took all that valuable equipment and data.

Valerie Gossett wanted me to remind everyone to keep saving their box tops. We bought several hundreds of dollars worth of books for our library last year with your donations.

Mr. Fowler was telling me we improved our reading scores tremendously this past year. Part of that is due to the excellent work of Valerie Gossett and Paula Miller. They, along with Mrs. Peggy Tompkins in the dyslexia program, have helped make us successful. It is a proven fact that good readers are good students.

Please have your student read out loud to someone, even if it is the TV, for at least 15 minutes a day. It would be better if they read to you of course, but I understand busy schedules.

I have been working with Emily Smith each morning this week. We are determined to do better in tennis this coming year. That means much work and determination. We have a great group of kids, there just aren’t very many of them, and they are all stretched thin. That’s one of the perks of a small school. You get to be on teams that you might not even get close to in a big school. We’ll see how we all do budget wise this year.

Jason and Candi are trying to raise the school attendance level single handedly! They have the cutest group of foster kids in tow at church on Sundays. I guess that is why they are growing those huge tomatoes; so they can feed all those children!

Jody had some goats stuck in the fence last week. Brittany Bush and the Grady girls went to free them. Brittany had the right shoes on; the other girls were in sandals. I was afraid they might run into snake problems, but as it turned out I was the one who ran into the snake. It was headed for the playground. I ran over it, but it crawled away into the Bush pasture. I guess it was going to check out the new playground equipment. I’ll have to see if it is the grouping of equipment that Nathan Allen requested. Either way it looks great!

Woody and Joanne Carroll went to Houston for some tests and ended up staying a little longer than they had planned. Doctors worked with calcium levels that were out of control and Joanne worked on prayer. The result is Woody home safe. Bev Cohn is home safe. A little sore no doubt, but busy as usual about her Father’s business.

One of her sad duties is helping to arrange details for the passing of Sputnik Bush. The meal for the family was on Monday. Our hearts and prayers go out to his young family. We were also saddened by the loss of Bernice Wilton. Her funeral is Wednesday.

The Powell family reunion was held this past weekend at the Powell family campground. I hope I can get a picture in to show you this great happy group. Russ and I went to take pictures. The reunion began on the 40th anniversary of Reed and Robbie Powell; this would have been their 100th anniversary. To honor this event some 74 members of the Powell clan gathered together to enjoy some down home fellowship! The kids played in a deep sand bed that has entertained kids for generations. Old 50’s styled stoves and tire swings add to the outdoor playground. They came from Colorado, New Mexico and all over Texas to love on one another and renew old ties.

This is no one day event. Powell’s were camped in everything from motorcycle tents, campers, on site campers, horse trailers; you name it someone was sleeping in it. They stretched out along the creek bed.

Sunday morning they have an onsite church service and if I know Wayne Powell, a sing along! There was plenty of great food and one item was a home run hit; a 5 gallon home made ice cream freezer!

What a sight to behold, and I can vouch for the finished product. Of the remaining brothers and sisters, two have celebrated their 61st anniversaries, but one has only been married for 57 years! That’s quite an accomplishment for one family. All in all it was a wonderful celebration of life, love and family.

I’ll try to get next week’s column out before I head north. It may be a little short. Don’t forget the Richland VFD Fish Fry. I love that fish but I love the folks better. See you all there! Don’t forget me on the 4th! Last year we rode on a float, this year I will be far away, missing all the fireworks. Have a wonderful 4th everyone.

Please remember that God is in control, but He likes to hear our prayers. Remember our government, our President, our super precious troops and their families and our country.

I guess we’ll have to add rain to that list even though the weeds are about to take us over. Love your community; mow your yard. It’ll make everyone smile! Another thing that makes you smile is having your grandson, Jason, sing with you in the choir. Have a blessed week.