Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Weeds

There are three sure signs that summer has almost fully arrived in south Georgia: heat,gnats, and weeds. We have not had a rain in two weeks now. I just counted my two trillionth gnat today, and our temperature hit 92 before lunch. Almost everything is wilted and drooping around here with one exception, and that would be the weeds.

 The famous writer , Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said," What is a weed.? It is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered". Mr. Emerson's friend, Henry David Thoreau, lived on Emerson's farm when he wrote his famous book, On Walden's Pond. I got curious and looked up where that farm was located, and it was in Concord, Massachusetts..

 Now I hate to bust the bubble of anyone living in New England, but y'all have obviously never seen the kinds of weeds that grow in the south. I can almost guarantee you that Pigweed has no virtues whatsoever and no redeeming qualities yet to be discovered. It grows very fast, has a thick stalk, will stick the mess out of you, and plays havoc in a sweet corn field or even in a food plot. Nothing eats it, and nothing likes it. Once discovered in your field, if you do not already have a plan B to attack it, you have no plan at all since it is so hard to kill.

 If Mr. Emerson was alive today, I would be glad to ship him a few tons of Pigweed along with a few billion gnats and wait for him to find their virtues!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Mother's Day

As we approach Mother's Day weekend, I just wanted to post a short blog in praise of mothers. My beloved mother went to be with the Lord in 1985, and I still think about her most every day. I truly believe that a mother's love is the closest that we will ever come to experiencing God's unconditional love on this earth. Growing up with Mom also taught me how to be a better husband since I learned that women are sometimes in doubt, but never wrong. I will never forget Cader IV telling me one day that " Dad, Mom is just flat wrong on this issue". I calmly backed him up against the wall, and explained to him all of the sacrifices, pain, and love that his mother had endured in raising him. I further threatened to pummel him into submission if he argued with her any more on the subject in contention. That is what I told him, but what I was thinking was this, "You have two older sisters and a mother, and you still have not figured it out. I sure have wasted a bunch of money on your education up to this point if you have not figured out the female mind yet".
 My mother was my greatest cheer leader and supporter. She also taught me so many things:
 She taught me religion--" You better pray that stain comes out of my carpet.
 She taught me how to exaggerate---If I have told you once, I have told you a million times.
 She taught me about anticipation--You just wait until your Dad gets home and he is going to tear your fanny up.
 She taught me about receiving--You are going to really get it when Dad gets home from work.
 She taught me that mothers do truly have a pair of eyes in the back of their heads,
 She also taught me that women have "wolf ears" since she could hear a muttered comment from 500 yards away.
 I still miss her, but she was very pleased with my choice for a life mate, and felt certain that Martha would continue my training. AND she has for almost 45 years now..In closing this tribute to mothers, I wish that I had the address of that mother in Baltimore who jerked her son out of that mob and slapped him back to the straight and narrow. This nation needs more Moms like that, and we definitely need Dads in the homes who have been properly trained to be good role models!
 Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers still with us, and to those who are with the Lord now !