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Awnings
By Abraham Lincoln
We finally got our cloth awnings installed and they really make a
difference in the outside appearance and now the afternoon sun no
longer streams in and heats up the house. We have had awnings before
and liked them but they eventually wear out and we waited several years
to have them replaced. The awning company we used is the same one we
had used originally—from Fairborn, Ohio; Glawe Awning and Tent Company.
We are no longer physically able to mow the lawn or to trim—in fact
there is not much that either of us can do outside—most of it is hired
done. We still feed and water the birds each day and what falls on the
ground is always consumed by birds, chipmunks, squirrels, opossum,
raccoon or a rabbit. We seldom get to see these guests because they
come around at night but sometimes they are seen when they are
illuminated by the patio lights.
The photograph shows the two awnings in front and the landscape we
maintain year round. We try not to plant things that attracts insects
like aphids but the three bushes in the picture do attract aphids that
get some nourishment from the tender leaves.
In the past I have purchased boxes filled with Lady Bugs and released
them hoping they would eat all the aphids we had on roses, but the
minute I opened the box with millions of Lady Bugs I stood and watched
them disappear into the sky.
That is much like the two hives of honeybees that were living in a very
tall maple tree. Last year they decided to move and the first hive
landed on the ash tree and swarmed for a few minutes and then all took
off leaving me standing there with mouth open in disbelief. Then a
second hive came down and landed on the last branch of the spruce tree
or collected there and my daughter was standing there watching them and
in a sudden poof they were gone into the sky and she was left standing
there in disbelief.
Time marches on with us or without us. I didn’t think much about it
until I turned 80 years of age and am now a few months away from my
81st birthday. I remember that I was worried about living to be 30
years old and made that without any effort on my part and I made 80 and
will soon be 81.
We all get older and some say we are only as old as we feel. I know I
am not able to squat and jump back up or if I do get down on the floor
I have to have something to grab just to get up on my feet again. I am
not much for wearing shoes or dressing up because I seldom go anywhere
unless it is to the doctor. We both have to go to the foot doctor just
to get our toenails trimmed—because we are no longer able to bend aover
and clip them ourselves.
A good chair with a view and a TV with a remote control is about as
high tech as it gets. I do own computers—a PC and Mac and my wife and I
use them every day. We stay in touch with friends and family using
email and programs like Facebook. You can log on to my Facebook page
and see what I am up to.
Just type in https://www.facebook.com/oldmanlincoln
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