Smoke Signals
Most of us remember where we were when the first plane hit the first tower. We were in Missouri at a hotel across from Lambert’s Café where we had eaten dinner the night before. We were headed on a rare getaway. After watching in horror and having no idea what was coming next, we loaded the car and headed home, keeping the news on as much as possible. We stayed glued to the TV for several days in total disbelief. Planes were grounded; there were none in the sky. Travelers were stranded across the country. Our country rallied displaying flags and wearing red, white, and blue. Many things have come from those terrifying days-many rules of flying changed and a wariness of things around us that was not there before.
It has been another week of softball, tennis, and football here in Georgia. Time was also spent searching for the perfect dress for Olivia to wear in the Middle School Homecoming Court. She may have decided that wearing a somewhat “fancy” dress may be more fun than she thought. My time to be needed as an Uber driver is coming to a close for this season. Soon I will head back to Mississippi with my little dog who turned eight while we were here. It is a long drive, but I am grateful to still be of some use to the grandchildren.
On Monday last week, Doug’s niece, who had moved from outside Chicago to South Carolina about 45 minutes away from my daughter, came to visit. It was a great reunion and time to catch up on both families. As busy as these kids are, they are being taught life skills. While not always required to perform the tasks, they can handle basic chores-take out the trash, unload and load the dishwasher, do their own laundry, making sure their uniforms and clothes are ready for the next day, care for the dog, clean their rooms and common areas, and prepare simple meals. Both keep their grades up.
Landon has his learner’s permit and will soon be taking his driver’s test. He works at his mom’s tea shop on Saturdays and other times if needed and available. Olivia makes and sells bracelets and feeds the neighbor’s cats when they are out of town. They never hesitate to help me whenever needed.
I’ve had two different people ask me about keeping ants out of hummingbird feeders this week, so I thought I’d share this simple fix. Most feeders come with a built-in water moat on top of the feeder. For those that don’t, you can buy those separately. Simply fill those with water and the ants have a difficult time crossing the water. The next question asked a lot is how to keep yellow jackets and wasps away. After a bit of research, this is what I am having the person filling my feeders in my absence try. Put nectar in a separate dish, preferably yellow as they are attracted to yellow with a few rocks and set it near the feeders. Supposedly, they will go to it instead of the feeder. Other options suggest feeders that do not have yellow drinking spots and specially designed feeders that allow hummers to feed but not the wasps and yellow jackets. These options require buying new feeders. I’d love to report your news. Contact me by text or call at 901 246-8843 or at jchwagg@gmail.com.