Wake Up!!!

I was awakened yesterday by the sounds of heavy equipment and the incessant beep-beep-beeping of a back up alarm out front. I dressed quickly, grabbed my phone, and headed out the door to see what was going on. The highway dudes were clearing up the rockslide that occurred a couple of weeks ago. Cool!

I came back in and fixed my coffee. The morning was fairly warm and breezy with intermittent clouds and showers. I took my knitting out on the front porch and worked while I listened to the birds. I don’t have feeders out here anymore. But I had plenty of company out there amongst my furry and feathered friends. The cardinals, blue jays, robins, wrens, sparrows, woodpeckers, towhees and a gorgeous red-tailed hawk were joined by chipmunks and grey squirrels. It was quite the show!

Along about 1:00, I decided to take a drive over to the next town to check out the new Dollar General. I heard it was a real humdinger and they were right. This thing has a huge grocery section which is quite a convenience when you’re twenty-five miles from a real store.

Next was an impromptu stop at the church thrift shop. They weren’t officially open, but there were several cars out front so I took my chances. I wandered around a bit and didn’t find anything I needed…till the last aisle. There was a magnifying floor lamp with my name on it. $10! I saw them in January for up to $250 so this was just what the doctor ordered. It will really help when I knit at night with dark colors.

I debated where to go next. Back to the farm or on up the road to visit Berdine’s Five & Dime to get some chocolate covered peanuts and then a stop at the cemetery to visit the family.

It was 73° as I sat on the headstone and happily munched on my “penny candy” in the little paper sack and chattered away. I told Grandma all about her pretty posies that are blooming. I told Pop-Pop I thought I’d finally figured out how to fix the pump and all I needed was a good strong pipe wrench. I told my Uncle Sonny that I spoke with his fiancé a couple of weeks ago. I apologized again to my Uncle Bob for not always being nice when he teased me. He was differently abled and I was a petulant, headstrong child. I told Mr. Virgo I was glad I placed some of his hair in the ground alongside Mom’s headstone since I can’t visit him often in Colorado. And, I told my Mom I saw the most beautiful purple dress the other day that she would have loved.

As I turned to leave, I glanced to my right and there, at the edge of the woods, was a redbud tree blooming. Oh, I love it when they bloom! They look like airy purplely pink clouds floating along the winding country roads and they just make my heart sing. I went to the truck to get my camera to capture photographic proof that spring has indeed arrived in West Virginia, whether it snows again or not.

I came back to the farm. Rather than knit, I stretched out on the bed to read and before I knew it, I dozed off. It’s been a restful couple of days even though I haven’t had running water. I’ve listened to the owls call at dusk. I’ve slept in Grandma’s bed. I’ve eaten chocolate covered peanuts and watched the flora and fauna running rampant and rich.