May and June 2026

Our back yard is a window to various wildlife!

Jim put a salt block out and it attracts deer.  

After visiting the salt block, this doe came close to the deck; she checked out the bird seed that had fallen from the feeder and then took off!     

Petunia came by to check out the fallen seed another day…

When Jim moved the Jeep one day, he found a turtle had been enjoying the shade under it.

Chipmunks scamper around the yard and on the deck – they are too fast to get a photo, and we occasionally see a fox!

We have had the hummingbird feeders out for a while and Linda tries to keep the nectar fresh!

We often see “hummingbird wars” as the tiny birds battle as to who can get to the feeder… they don’t always like to share! 

And now we seem to some downy woodpeckers that “are identifying as hummingbirds” hmm…

While Chuck spent several months in 2022-3 working in England, he became a big fan of Manchester City FC and found a local pub where Man City fans gather to watch the games. Chuck had been to several games at Geodis Park to watch Nashville SC, our local soccer team, play.

We had a nice lunch out with Chuck, Chris, Eve and Amanda on Mother’s Day but didn’t get a photo; however, Ted sent this photo –  having fun with hats at his church on Mother’s Day.

May 15 was a fun day! Linda was invited to observe Mahjong being played at a friend’s home. What an interesting game!

She finished the afternoon visit by removing tinsel strands from another Linda’s hair; her granddaughter had put them in and Linda wanted them out! She had been told “just use tweezers to remove the clips”… When that didn’t work, she used pliers… (hmmm wonder what THEY were last used for) and we had success! 

That evening, our church had arranged for a night out at a Sounds baseball game. Chris and Chuck joined us – only in Music City would you have a guitar-shaped scoreboard!

After the game, we stayed to watch the fireworks.    

Chris had a dog-sitting stint and had THREE dogs in his care.

Ted and Steve rode their bicycles about 200 miles south on the PCH – a nice challenge for Linda’s brother who just turned 75 last month!

They biked the 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach during their journey.  The Lone Cypress – Pebble Beach uses its likeness in their logo.

Our nephew Tom and wife Missy went to Disney World AGAIN!

Their moms and aunts joined in the fun!

We were very pleased that the trees and flowers we planted last year survived the winter and are doing so well! Our Little Gem Magnolia has had lots of blooms.

The front garden on May 22

The great coneflower is blooming well – we only had one flower last year. The delicate penstemon and bold purple coneflower are pretty. 

A month later on June 22

The great coneflower definitely needs some support – we will address that next year. The anise hyssop and other coneflowers are doing well. They have attracted bees and hummingbirds!

Chuck decided it was time to join the working class and applied for a job at Franklin Engineering. He had on online interview a week or two later, then another week later, he went to the office for more interviews – he was hired as a Senior Process Engineer and began work on June 2. What an answer to our prayers! The office is an hour’s drive from our home, so he hopes to find a place to live that is a bit closer to work. It has been great having him with us these several months, and “house sitting” before that while we were in Florida.

Jim worked on some interior painting while we had some rainy weather. Our doors and all the trim came primed, but needed to be painted! We’ve been in the house almost 2 years, but Jim says the final touches are going to take 5 years to complete… maybe not so long if we stayed home more often! 😊

Our friends Bob & Joyce, who we met on our 2022 Alaska caravan, sold their motorhome and have a Fifth Wheel now. They had just finished another RV caravan and planned to come thru Nashville, so we arranged for some time to visit. We had a nice lunch after church at Jonathan’s and they spent the afternoon at our home. The next day we met up at Yazoo – Jim showed them around, explaining about the controls he designed that keep the brewery running. Then we went out for dinner. It sure was great to see them!

They have another trip planned later this year and will be passing through Nashville again. We invited them to “Mooch dock” in our driveway when they come back!

Speaking of the driveway, Jim has spent many days working on it. The gravel edges were not even and straight, plus the driveway still needs more gravel in places.  The “square” out front did not work well when we needed to turn Acey around,

           so he made it into a circle and widened part of it.  

Once we get the driveway the way we want it, we can put in a sidewalk to the front door – the stepping stones work OK for now…                                     

Tom and Missy have moved back to Oregon (from North Dakota) and Missy just started a job as Deputy District Attorney (prosecutor for the county) in Roseburg, OR. It seems Gus is happy with the new digs!

And they found a nice place to hike not far from their new apartment.

Bill and Charlene took another cruise; 28 days to Alaska! They met up with Jan and Alfred who we all met on our 35-day cruise last summer.

Eve and Amanda went for a week long mission trip to Belize. They were part of a 15-member team from our church that went to Belize to help restore a building where the Path of Grace Church in the little town of Orange Walk Town in Belize meets. The team accomplished much, including painting some walls, giving out “blessing bags” and hosted a 4 day VBS for the children.

Our church had its annual Patriotic Concert on June 28^th you can see it here. And, we had special guests; Jim was asked to be Uncle Sam and there was Paul Revere, Betsy Ross and Ben Franklin as well!

Our adventurous family has had a busy couple of months — and more adventures to come as the summer continues!