Well, you could say we provided a public service to the bird community after all. A few days after forcing our feathered friends to relocate (by filling the entire nest building area with various containers to keep the space UNAVAILABLE...) we experienced the storm of the century. Not a mere wind and rain storm. It was more like being in a car wash! The wind blew in torrents and the rain came down in sheets. Luckily I had taken a picture of the Cherry Blossom trees near the entrance of the town homes the day before. The day after the rain there wasn’t a blossom to be seen. And what is more, we discovered in retrospect that we had actually saved the lives of the birds after all. Everything we had “plugged” into the space as a deterrent to nest building had blown away by the force of the wind. So our guilt at making Mrs. Robin relocate to birth her children was lifted and we felt more like heroes (of sorts...cough, cough). It wasn’t until a couple of days later that Ruby and I discovered some of the missing containers which had relocated into the back yard during the storm. Incidentally, we discovered the robins had relocated across the street as well. End of bird saga.
Unfortunately we did not see all the people we had hoped during our stay. The Stocks were not available, didn’t touch base with Darrel Fuller and his family or Ryan Nelson and his troupe and Jeremy was not four hours away - try 8 - which made even meeting half way a bit unrealistic. But we did get to see Millie Segura and Bunny (Verna Beth) Ririe and that was fun.
When Grandpa arrived on Monday, the 14th, he brought sunshine along. It was a gorgeous series of sunny and warm days.
Despite the fact that Kerri had barely given birth and little Hattie was only a mere 2 1/2 weeks old, we forced the Johnson's into some touristy type events. Jeff took a couple of days off and we all ventured to Mt. Vernon for starters.
Oh my goodness what a beautiful place. Did you know the buildings are actually constructed of wood and then transformed (by a tedious process) to look like stone. Amazing! And did you remember that George was childless - Martha was a widow with two children? And did you know that George’s first love was neither politics or military service, but actually farming? And he actually died in his bedroom at Mt. Vernon after only three years of retirement, of a throat infection that closed his windpipe at a very young age of 67. Trust me, this is young...
He and Martha are entombed on the property. Every room, ceiling, paintings that lined the walls, carpets, draperies, views, etc., were a sight to the beholder. Next trip we have decided to devote a day to soaking up the beauty. Sitting on the porch viewing the Potomac was delightful as well. Ruby especially loved the long horned cattle and I tried to view the rare spotted hog, but it remained incognito and only gave me a nuff, nuff (Swedish for oink) grunt or two to verify he was actually there.
I do believe Hattie was the youngest tourist ever to tour Mt. Vernon.
We had called Millie Segura to touch base and to our surprise she delighted us with the opportunity to tour the East Wing of the White House. She is a correspondent secretary to Laura Bush and oversees a group of volunteers that contribute their time as well. She gave us a personal tour for a short while, but then had to return to her duties so we just continued on with the masses of other folks on the tour. We so appreciated her arranging our tour on such notice and it was delightful getting to see her. My goodness but she grew up tall, stately and very lovely. Parking in DC is no easy fete so by the time we got back to the car we decided it was enough workout for all of us - not to mention our new little mother. The remainder of our “touring” in DC resulted in “drive by shootings” CAMERA that is...of the monuments, etc. Sadly we did not get any pictures of the White House lawns, gardens, gorgeous tulip displays, etc. We were only allowed to bring ID, cell phones, and keys on the tour... Obviously Dad and I were the lightest packers with our drivers licenses being the only things we toted.
Saturday we went into DC once again to visit with Bunny, had lunch and toured the National Cathedral. She lives right across the street! Another spectacular edifice. Did you know that Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy are buried there? And the funerals of Presidents Ford and Reagan took place there? Absolutely breathtaking stain glass windows, gardens, ceilings, various chapels, etc., etc., etc. And we happened to get in on a bagpipe, drum and horns concert by visiting Scots from various clans. Very impressive. Kerri and Jeff discovered the lookout tower which we missed. Maybe next time. Sounded like quite the viewpoint.
Poor Kerri needed us to leave so she could sit down and rest.
We really pushed her to the limit with all our touristing about and walking everywhere. And although I am sure she and Jeff and little Ruby and Hattie will be glad to have their home back to themselves, I admit it was hard for me to say goodbye. The hardest part of having our children and grandchildren so far from us is that when we do visit them - the time always comes when we have to say goodbye... Hard on old ladies.
We stopped at Pot Bellies for lunch before departing for the airport. Cute, fun and yummy sandwich and soup restaurant.
We kept hitting turbulence on the flight home, but I want all of our children to know I don’t white knuckle it quite as badly as I used to. At my age I guess I figure “so what”, eh????
Emily, Max and Jane picked us up at the airport and we had a fine feast when we arrived at their house. And there was David shining up our car: vacuuming, polishing, etc. Wow. I don’t think the inside of our old Honda has ever been so clean and cared for.
The tree out front is in glorious pink array and the daffodils are in full bloom. The remaining tulips that haven’t been eaten by the deer are just beginning to bloom. Thanks Kerri for the hair-I told Dad to spread it around quick so we could enjoy some tulip blooms rather than just stems...(Kerri was kind enough to send Dad her hairbrush hair - pretty funny - she entitled her card “OH DEER” - hair around tulips keeps the deer away you know. And it apparently really works far better than the repellent we invested in...
And there you have it. Home again, home again riggity jig as they say. Back to reality and life... I wish I knew how to savor it more. Love you all and hope you are all well and happy. You are a joy in our lives. Love, Mom and Dad
1 comment:
What a fun time you must have had. I can't wait til we can go visit the Keffi and Jerr. I can picture your beautiful tree in my mind and YOU GET DEER TOO? They've put a terrible damper on my love of planting flowers - that and the clay. I hope you got to enjoy your tulips.
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