Heeding the advice of Outdoor writer Jim Collins, the hummingbird feeders have been boiled, filled, and hung - yes, two of them, so we can avoid conflict.
I finished the lawn mower job on Friday the first of May and actually got part of the grass cut. In the past I would do all of it in one day but not anymore.
I saw another one of our close neighbors with a yard cart. The type you hook up to a lawn mower in order to pick up lawn debris or dog souvenirs, but she was pushing this one up her driveway by hand. I wanted to enlighten her but I thought better of it.
The highlight of the week had to be our trip to New York on May 2nd. We two, along with fifty-one others boarded a bus early Saturday morning for the ride to Battery Park and the beginning of our tour which included the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the World Trade Center Memorial.
These things were all part of the tour, but of course we saw many added attractions at no extra charge. After all we were in New York City, the "town so nice they named it twice." We saw very few homeless or supposedly so, but as this has become a profitable sideline for many, who knows? One lady had a pair of expensive-looking name brand sneakers on her feet and another fellow (complete with dog) didn't appear to be in dire straits. Both he and the dog didn't appear to be starving.
It was a very informative and fun trip but as I, and I think, a few others are approaching elderly status there was just a bit more walking involved than I like but I also realize the need for it. We walked from Battery Park up a few blocks to the Trade Center for yet another airport-type screening. We had one at the Statue of Liberty where my wife tried to sneak in with a couple sandwiches and two oranges. These items had to be placed in a locker which cost $2 and after the Statue tour we reclaimed our lunch and consumed it before our return to Manhattan.
If you have not visited any of these attractions I urge you to do so. The Trade Center should be a must but please make sure your children have learned respect before you take them. Oh yes - be sure to take money - lots of it. A nice trip with nice folks including three former Alba residents and another neighbor we did not know was going. Our thanks to Rev. Bonnie Browning and her "staff." Also thanks to our driver Bill who is very knowledgeable about New York. In a past life when I was a freight relocation specialist I was considered a New York expert also, but not the same parts of the city.
We arrived home about midnight and had one of the best night's sleep in years. Good thing, because on Sunday we had to endure - oh, I meant to say attend - a Tee-Ball game where a couple great-granddaughters are star players. Thankfully, their games are only three innings long and we enjoy watching the players look for four-leaf clovers or bugs or look up in the sky for clouds or airplanes. Certainly not fly balls.
Did you know that only six to eight per cent of donations to the Clinton Foundation actually are used for charity? The rest is for salaries and administrative costs. Well, that explains it. Attorney Lanny Davis says a $2 million to $3.5 million mistake on Hillary's IRS form is not a major thing.