Memorial Day weekend on the homestead

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, etc...rarin' to get out of the greenhouse and into the garden

Vietnam:

As an advisor and liaison I lead native troops but nonetheless was looked upon as the "supreme local power", way too much power for a very young man, just out of adolescence. I used my power as a good soldier at first, fighting who was perceived and inculcated in me as the enemy. . .and if I didn't do it, I had the definite impression that very little would get done. . .However, after nine months I had an epiphany in the form of a chopper pilot asking for permission to engage, "Three military aged males with packs and weapons evading"...rote, scripted, common parlance. For some reason it was too pat, too familiar. I asked for his altitude, to which he replied some distance which would make identification of packs and weapons or gender nigh on to impossible. I suggested he go closer to find the true nature of his target. I didn't hear back from him for an inordinate length of time. So, I keyed the mike and asked if he'd identified his intended target. He responded, "Yes, disregard...it was a mamasan with two baby sans doing their laundry by a river." How many times in the past had I cleared requests to fire? Never again in any time of uncertainty would I be so gullible. I became the meanest bastard in my area of operations...unless there was contact, I generally denied requests for fire. I became very anti-war at that moment...always before it had been a song at camp, an idea...not a mind blast of reality. I was forever changed.

Mother's Day is coming up

My mother was born on 21 June 1913...she passed in 1997.  I do miss her.

She's the one in the rumble seat...not quite 17.

In the greenhouse

Peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, squashes, basil and other tender plants...growing stronger, and taller...

Usually it's not until Memorial Day that all chances of frost have passed...this year, again, is a weird one...we had high 60s (F) a month ago...followed by snow and ice storms and consistently cold weather...now we're back in the high 60s and the forecast isn't showing a hint of frost...even on the "lilac moon" or shortly thereafter.  Full moon on 10 May.

Dragons

Dragons guard my ground
at my feet, my moccasins
The trees, a slight breeze