No more kittens born in my closet!

Patches my cat (Patches is the stray car who came to me out of the woods a year or so ago) has had three litters.

Litter 1 was two kittens. Some predator got one. The other kitty John and I delivered to a lady in the woods north of us.

Litter 2 was three kittens. Some one answered a Facebook add and picked up one. The other two now live at Skip and Carolyn Russell's home. They live under the porch of an out building, Six other cats also live there. I go by every so often and visit them. I feed treats to all eight. When I park and get food out of my trunk one of the two Patches's kittens runs and jumps in my trunk. It is a fun trip to visit the Russell kittens, as there are several dogs, many small horses, and pretty goats to visit and pet.

Litter 3 (two kittens) were born in my closet. By this time Patches was fairly tame and was almost living with me. Having kittens in my closet made her really move in. She became even more affectionate.

I even named the two kittens in litter 3. Red and Orange. We really made up to each other. They would visit me when I went to bed and when I got up. They loved to have me rub their bellies. I would flip them over and rub their bellies with my bare feet. Recently they would paw my feet and lay over on their backs, waiting for a rub.

Yesterday was a traumatic day for me. John and I put Red and Orange in a cage and delivered them to a lady for her home in the country. It looks like the kittens have found a good home with lots of smiles!

I came home from the kitten delivery feeling terrible. I could not believe that Red and Orange were gone. Patches left for the night. I thought, Patches is probably gone for good. Back to the woods.

Good news! Patches came back this morning and spent an hour with me. Getting petted and rubbing up on me. In two weeks Patches and I are going to visit a Vet. The Vet is to fix Patches. No more kittens born in my closet. I do not believe that I am up to another kitten delivery. It is too hard on my heart.

Five Days in Spring.

Day 1. Wed April 20. Track meet at Ruston High starring Ethan Newberry. (a great grand son). We are proud of Ethan.
Day 2. Thurs. April 21. Techster softball game. [Missed football game. Starring Ross Newberry. (great grand son). Ross plays middle line backer. We are proud of Ross.
Day 3. Fri. April 22 Tech Bulldog baseball game.
Day 4. Sat. April 23. Soccer game. Starring Christian Newberry. (Another great grand son). Christian did good. He kicked the ball!
Sat afternoon grand daughter Joy Kathleen ran a 5K in Monroe. She came in second in her group. I missed the race. I an so proud of Joy.
Day 3. Sun. April 24. Birthday party for Joy. (missed a baseball game).

Now wasn't that a busy five days? Made it to one track meet, made one softball game, made one baseball game, made one soccer game, and one Birthday party. Missed one football game,  missed one baseball game, and a 5k run. I missed some grand affairs. I can not get to everything, darn it!

Below are some miscellaneous photos from the five days.

Above is a photo from the track meet. That is Ethan in second place. He came in fourth. That is very good for a freshman. We are all proud of Ethan.

The next five photos are of the Techster softball game. They played ULM.

The next two photos are of a Killdeer and her four eggs. She pulled the old broken wing act on us but we were not fooled. Her eggs were very near a goal at Christian's soccer game. People had placed yellow tape around the eggs. We hope that they hatch, The gestation period is three weeks'

The next seven pictures were taken at Christian's soccer game.

One photo of the Tech baseball game.

Sometimes it gets busy for the old prunepicker.

Sweet, precious, adorable, darling kittens.

I have two. They are now 5 1/2 weeks old. That is close to the most adorable age for a kitten. In the morning while getting dressed I roll them over on their backs with my bare feet and then rub their bellies with my toes. They love it. You should see them pounce on each other. And my feet.

The other day I brought in a basket full of my wash. (fluffy unmentionables) Sat the basket down on the edge of my front room mess. Later I missed the three cats. Mom Patches, kittens Red and Orange. I looked all over, See picture below. They were all in the clothes basket.

These two kittens are really nice. Tame and lovable. They are free. They would brighten your life.

Pictures of the Battle of Angaur.

On September 17, 1944 (about 72 years ago) the US Army gave me a boat ride to the beach on Angaur Island. Angaur is next to Peleliu in the Palau Archipelago. The pictures below are actual pictures of the action. I found the pictures in a documentary film on YouTube. I am sure that I am in one of the pictures.

Long ride in a troop ship from Hawaii to Angaur.

There is Angaur.

Battleships and planes bombard the island.

Landing crafts full of troops form circles.

The boats peel off to form waves. I must have been in one of those boats.

The trees were almost all torn up by the bombardment.

I was not dressed like this. If the enemy could have seen my face they would have surrendered sooner.

Red and Orange are five weeks old!

This has been an eventful week for the two boy kittens, Red and Orange. They started eating solid food and using the litter box. They have spent all of their short lives in my fifth wheel trailer. I have not had one accident. They will make good pets.

VFW Meeting. Thursday April 14, 2016

Had a nice meeting. The local Blue Star chapter had a drawing for a colorful banner. It was won by John Collins. Lucky guy! We also elected officers for the next year which included some young blood. Lucky for the post JD Harper (the bearded one) was re elected Post Commander.

The old prunepicker in uniform.

Memories of Kern River, the Blackboard Cafe, and Merle.

In our lives Merle Haggard and I traveled some of the same roads and were in some of the same places. While I was living in Seal Beach I took my family to see his show at the Anaheim Stadium. It was great top notch country music. Merle's band had members from the Bob Wills Band. His opening act was an up and coming girl singer named Dolly Parton.

Merle's song Kern River tells the story of the drowning of a friend in the treacherous river, that some call the Killer Kern. The river narrows when it comes out of the mouth of Kern Canyon onto the flat desert NE of Bakersfield. The flow speed increases. But the river looks peaceful on the surface. To beat the summer heat of Kern County (temperatures of 110 to 120) many people enter the river. 7 to 10 people drown there every year. Down stream are rapids with large rocks and fast water currents. One time my nephew and I were caught in the rapids. I did not think that we were going to get out of the river alive. We came very close to being killed. So Merle's song hits me with that terrifying memory.

Years later I lived in Oildale and worked out of the Schlumberger shop at 34th and L in Bakersfield. I would sometimes stop for coffee/grub at the the Blackboard Cafe. The Cafe was a couple of blocks away from the shop on Union Avenue. Union Avenue is the main route between Oildale and Bakersfield. The Cafe was an Okie, Cowboy, Oilfield Worker night club. The Cafe was prominent in the development of the country music style called Bakersfield Sound. (twangy) This was largely through the efforts of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.  They sang there during the time my family and I were living in Oildale. The Cafe was torn down in the seventies for the building of the Kern County Museum.

Kern River might be my favorite country song. Merle is my favorite country singer.

RIP Merle.

USAF Concert Band and Singing Sergeants.

I was on the trail of some more culture today so I attended a concert at Tech. It was a two hour program put on by the United States Air Force Concert Band. It was good entertainment. And culture. I enjoyed the program.

Even Mary Poppins. The Singing Sergeants put on a good show.

How cultured can I get?