Crisp Mornings

It’s that time of year when the mornings feel crisp, the grass looks thin and tired, and if the wind is right you catch the smell of a tobacco barn in the air.

RA CAMPOUT. The boys and I went to the annual RA Campout at Coldstream Camp last weekend. We had a lot of fun together. They boys tried their hand at fishing. We haven’t a clue what we’re doing because they didn’t get a nibble and everyone around us was catching them left and right. Vicki and Jenna had a girls night out and went out to eat at the Brickyard Cafe in Franklin.

WALNUTS. I’ve mentioned in previous years how the boys love to play with the walnuts in Kenny and Lori’s driveway as they wait for the bus. This has been a favorite activity of Nate’s again this year. If we get there early enough Nate will gather a dozen or so and line them up on the road parallel to the white line.

All the cars driving by move over a bit to miss them, but not Alice. When Alice drives up in the bus she makes it a special point to roll over those walnuts with the right tire of the bus. They sound like a string of firecrackers going off and Nate gets so excited he jumps up and down. I pulled up to Alice’s window before she drove off one morning and told her that was probably the easiest thing she could have done to make that boy’s day. She laughed and said, “It makes my day too!”

POPCORN, GET YOUR POPCORN HERE! It’s popcorn selling time for the Boy Scouts. Yesterday the boys and I went to Kroger in Springfield to sell popcorn and I was very proud of how they engaged all the people. This is easier for Nate who is more outgoing than Ben, but you couldn’t tell that yesterday.

We did really well, selling all but five bags of our premium popcorn. They offered to bring us more but after three hours of being baked in the sun and we noticed the store was less busy we decided to pack up and go home.

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK. Friday night we headed over to Centennial Park to catch the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Vicki and I made this outing a date night to see Much Ado About Nothing last year, but since Jenna was miffed that she didn’t get to see the play we decided to make it a family outing this year.

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect evening to enjoy an outdoor play. Like last year’s production all the costumes, set, and props are modern while the dialog in the original form. This makes it a little hard to follow the plot but we all want to go back next year.

THAT DOG, SHE’S A NUT! Maggie is such a fun part of the family. She is so excited when we open the door in the morning she is beside herself wiggling and dancing. Snoopy at suppertime has nothing on Maggie’s dancing. She loves to ride in the truck with me and I take her when I go over to Mom’s to mow. She also likes to be with me when I am in the shop and has laid claim to the old recliner out there (Vicki won’t sit in it now).

I got a good laugh at Maggie the other day. I came out that morning to feed Maggie and then went out to the shop to get a shopping list for the hardware store. I had left the door open to the shop so I heard Maggie running across the yard to see what I was up to. As I turned to look I saw this black streak coming toward the door. Then she tripped over the threshold, fell on her side, and went sliding across the floor. She wasn’t hurt, but no matter how much she twisted and wriggled she couldn’t get her feet under her. She slid 20 feet before she got to me and I think she would have gone another 10 feet and crashed into the back wall if I hadn’t put my foot out to stop her.

Speaking of excitement, Maggie had a happy reunion the other day. Maggie and her sister were strays that showed up at my cousin Amy’s house. The other day Amy’s daughter, Bonnie, dropped by. Maggie hadn’t forgotten Bonnie was beside herself with joy.

My cousins, Greg and Kathy, have Maggie’s sister now. She’s named Lucy. We need to drop by and let the dogs visit one day. I’m betting both dogs will lose all bladder control.

Joe