I think that I shall never see - -

The Lone Tree

(by Sharon)

I am called the Lone tree by everyone around

I am here by myself as the rest of the trees

All were destroyed, rotted or fell down

I am here as a landmark as all you people can see.

Here I stand all alone and by myself

In the summertime heat and in the winters freezing cold

I'm here for a purpose besides being pretty and green

At least that's what most of the people are told.

Some years I have no leaves and am so bare

Then here I am and, "Surprise everyone!!"

I am all leafed out and have turned nice and green

I stand so tall and proud to enjoy the rain and the sun.

In the winter I am brown and very bare

This is the way God meant it to be

I still do my job when I am directing traffic

To those that don't know-- I am the directing tree.

If you are new to the area and not sure where to go

You are lost and have a need to find your way

Just call and ask and you will find

That the message is always the same, be it night or be it day.

The message will get to your destination

Just go to the "Lone Tree" and then you will know

That if you follow the instructions like you should

You will soon be right where you wanted to go.

Snow and more snow

Another picture out my front door this afternoon. It has snowed all day

today and it seems like it just wants to keep right on snowing. This is just snow in the weeds in the shelter belt

to the north of our house.

Now I think this is really pretty. I don't dare tell Jerry
what I think though as he doesn't seem to like snow
very well. Go figure.

A couple of bales of hay just waiting to be fed to the cows.

The days of North Dakota

Yesterday it was a beautiful day. Today it is snowing and blowing. Winter storm warnings in

parts of North Dakota. Some roads are closed.
Now I ask you, "What would you prefer, sunshine or snow?"

A story written by Kaitlyn

My Hero

By: Kaitlyn

One of the biggest heroes in my life is my grandma, Sharon . My grandma, as most grandmas do, has an opinion and I love her for it. She is never afraid to tell you what she is thinking. If she doesn't think the picture should be as high on the wall as it is, she'll tell you where it should be; if the person next to you in the check out line is too loud or obnoxious, she'll tell me later.

Grandma is also amazingly good at riddles, crossword puzzles, and mind bogglers. Whenever I need homework help she is the very first person I call. More than likely, I have been working on this question a long time. When I finish telling her the problem, she has the solution in a minute. Another thing I love about my grandma is that she spoils me. She is one of the only people in my family who will still let me get away with acting like a little kid.

I like to believe that my grandma is one of the most up-to-date grandmothers there are. The reason for this is that before my mom even started wearing carpis, my grandma did. She didn't call them "clam diggers" or "waders"' She knew the more modern term. When she told me this I just smiled, then she said, "What? Isn't that what they are called?" I told her yes, but I didn't know she knew that. Then she smiled at me. I will always remember this.

Another thing she impresses me with is her technology skills. Grandma has an e-mail account, a digital camera, a blog, and even a cell phone! Not one of those "Jitterbug" old people phones, a phone that would be acceptable to my generation.

Something else my grandma does is cook. Trust me on this: You have not tasted great caramel rolls until you have tried hers. She also makes these delicious cookies that taste good warm, frozen, fresh, or old!

The last bit I would like to add about Grandma is that she has beautiful white hair. I hope I'll have white hair like her someday. -Oh yes, and she swears. Not just under her breath when she burns herself, but whenever she is mad at something. Now how many grandmothers do you know that swear?

All of this is what I love about her and why she is is one of my heroes.

Love Kaitlyn

( Kaitlyn and her family had it framed for me and it is now hanging on my wall. What a great thrill to know that you are your granddaughters hero. Of course she is great kid. I love her to pieces!)

The weaned calves

The calves have been weaned and are enjoying a sunny dayYum, hay for dinner

A sunny fun Saturday afternoon

Jerry picking up bales to load onto the stack mover.In his grip and moving towards the mover
Putting the last two bales on. This tractor was the
one that I had the honor of driving.

A burning bush

I have tried several times to get a burning bush that actually turned red

in the fall. Finally one did what it was supposed to do.

This I planted this spring and it is so red

and pretty right now. With the wind today there will be no leaves left

but it looked nice for a couple of weeks.