Signs of spring

Bush across the road.

Tulip tree with buds, it has yellow blooms

Red Maple

Planter where I planted the new

hollyhocks

Potty chair, lol, 

The root ball where the two trees uprooted and fell on the house, this will be

a new flower bed, we think.

And below, my dreams for summer this year.

Some of the trees damaged or down from that ice storm

I'm ready for spring, see my green.

I haven't done much photography since surgery, so I went out this morning and snapped a few things. 

Here is just some of the wood from the 2 trees that were taken down by the ice storm.  Wish I'd gotten some of them while they were still on the house.

Stump from the Hackberry tree,

the Cherry stump is behind that section

of fence that you can't see through, because of the propping job.

One of the Maples got a limb 

broken off, too, in that mess.

I'm sure glad it didn't take these two 

trees down, they are over 4 ft across at about

3 foot up from the base.  

Both are huge Red Oaks

that were probably standing

when Abe Lincoln was President.

I love the small cherry that is casting it's shadow on the largest of the oaks.

It will come down soon, as we are removing the

brush from around that area.

And here is Booger, trying to

catch the strap on my camera,  this morning.

He got a face washing right after this, which

he still says, doesn't seem like a real mom wash, I didn't use my tongue.

More photos from around the yard.

Where the most damage was done, right over our

bedroom. It reaches all the way across.

Brush in the back yard from the trees.

Cherry stump

3 ft high root and dirt ball where the roots lifted when the trees

tumbled onto the house.  The stump you see is the hackberry, the cherry was a bit closer to

the fence.

Just a tiny fungi, about 14 inches across, that is at the base of one of the Oaks.

6 Week surgery update

It has been 6 weeks since I came home from the hospital.  In that time, I've gone from walking with a walker to a cane, to now I am using just my own two feet.   I still have a bit of a limp, but that will eventually go away, when I get it in my head I don't need to limp anymore.  I'm still going to PT 3 times a week, and am now working on tightening and working all those muscles that haven't worked well in a long time.

I start on Tuesday on getting to where I can bend more than 90 degrees, with this new hip.  I know I can do it, I just know it may be one of the hardest things I've had to accomplish, since surgery.

I still plan on dancing in the streets on July 4th, if not before.

Last year at this time, these were blooming, this was taken on March 17, 2013

I haven't seen anything blooming here, yet, this year.

BEYOND THE SHADOW OFTHE BROWNSTONE by Valerie Lawrence

The characters in this story are all believable and very real feeling.  The story itself is very gripping, makes you want to slap some sense into a few of them, and to hug and comfort some of the others.

The story is about a family who grew up in a brownstone in NYC and how their lives changed, as they grew farther away from their 'old country'.  It is about struggles that a lot of families deal with over generations, and how this particular family deals with those struggles.

I'm saddened by the fact that this author was killed before she saw her book published, and that she will never know how hard her husband has worked to see that it was published.

It is a very good book, I'd give it 5 stars easily.  

I was given a copy of this book to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  All opinions expressed here are my own, I'm not required to give a favorable review.

Ryan's Father by June Foster

I had difficulty deciding how to rate this book, after reading it.  I've put off reviewing, and kept searching my concience, hoping that an idea would come to me.  
Finally, in desperation, I contacted a friend, and she gave me some great advice.
Ryan has an attraction to someone of the same sex, he's a christian, and he doesn't act on his feelings, but they are still there.  I think we all know someone who
doesn't quite fit the 'perfect mold' in fact a lot of someones, all of us. June Foster did a good job of telling this difficult story, without making you feel  bad, sorry, or angry, at any of the people involved. 
She made it believable and the characters all work together, to tell this story well.  So you don't like the subject matter, then you need to put your flaws in that place, where Ryan's flaws are placed.  Then sit down, open your Bible, and understand that  we are all sinners, working to become better people
I was given a copy of this book by the author, to read and review.  She knew she was treading on a subject that might disturb some people, but she didn't ask to read my review before I posted it.  All opinions expressed here are my own, and I was given no other compensation for my opinion

Poor Flash

He's become a wanderer, going here and there, since the fence is broken.  

Yesterday morning, as I was leaving for PT, he came up to me, and acted funny.

His tail was tucked under, and he was shaking.  Hubby came out, and messed with him, he didn't even want on the porch, he wanted in the garage.  We've determined that either he got in the way of a car, or made a neighbor upset, and they whacked him.  We can't find any real wounds or bad spots on him, but he sure isn't interested in running around.  He comes out of the garage, goes to bathroom, and wants back inside.  He will lay on porch for a bit, but not like before. 

Don't you wish they could talk, so you could know what has happened to them?

He is a good dog, he has his issues, like hating cats, and the UPS and FedX guys.

But they weren't here overnight, I'm sure.