Mrs ERJ and I attended a funeral yesterday. It was for the husband of a couple we had known at church. They were the parents of one of our kid's soccer coaches and Mrs ERJ had worked with their daughter. There were other intersections in our lives, primarily shared difficulties that most people don't have to deal with.
The deceased was 84 years-old and died of dementia. That is a tough way to go. Tough for the person who has it. Even tougher for the close family and caretakers.
One thing that was notable was the number of people who attended. The average Sunday service in this church is about 100 +/- 30 people. There were about 130 people at this funeral, a number that is phenomenal for somebody of that age at a funeral on a Saturday in the middle of the summer.
It was a tribute to the quality of the deceased that several of the people who attended the service were EXTREMELY uncomfortable in church. Their body-language radiated "I want to escape". And yet they were there. They hugged the family members who they were there to support.
Garden news
About 40 feet of row were planted to Daikon radish seeds yesterday.
The lawns in the area are turning brown. Looking at the last 30 days of rain and evaporation-potential, income is about 3" short of outgo.
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| Chinese cabbage, Japanese iris and bayberry seedlings |
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| A week ago |
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| The fall-and-winter vegetable planting guide from Territorial Seed Company. There is still time to plant those unused corners of your garden. Territorial Seed is based in Oregon. |
If you live in the northern tier of states, then you think of "summer" as June, July and August. By that measure, summer is more than half over.
For the record, I picked our first two cucumbers yesterday.
The Family Event
My sister organized a fishing derby for "the grandkids"
Poles/rods and reels and bait were provided. The kids were taken out on a pontoon boat or were allowed to fish from shore. "Q" was at the head of the Leader-board with 10 fish. "L" caught the biggest fish. "S" was given the award for being the bravest because she kissed every fish she caught. Every kid got a prize for something.
A pretty piece of music
Kids and their parents out picking wild berries. For the kids, the adventure is half work and half play. A rain comes up. It is not a big deal.
I enjoyed the background music even though I couldn't understand a single word of it.
Memories are made.
I sure enjoyed that video. Made me wish I was there with them.---ken
ReplyDeleteThe song is based on a poem by Sara Teasdale titled "There Will Come Soft Rains". I DLed the .srt/subtitle file and translated using the intarwebz then used that to track down the origin. Beautiful song. Wish I could find out who the singer is.
ReplyDeleteThere Will Come Soft Rains
(War Time)
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
What will you do with the Japanese Iris? We have lots growing wild but I never thought to use it for anything.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the table ERJ. Given that I am much more Northerly than I used to be, it is definitely a mind shift.
ReplyDeleteThat attendance is a great testimony to the deceased. Recalls an earlier age where we could disagree and still regularly be there for each other.