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Things are very quiet around here right now after another morning of bombs falling on the range. They will probably be out there doing some more Later, but it’s probably time for a break as those piolets have been in the air for quite a while. And eventually they have to refuel. Although they can do that in the air. But unlike a war training does stop for a while, gives everybody a break. Is the topic of a lot of conversation around here this past week and a half. Some people have been talking about how much they have enjoyed watching those planes. I might go out if they start up again later and watch them for a while, as they’re a couple of roads not too far for me here where you can watch them from and you are way out of the way. Our military in action. They have been bombing in the evening till about 11 o’clock at night too. Gotta do some night training. Wars don’t stop at. I can imagine how it must feel in places like Ukraine where they are under constant attack from bombs and rockets and everything, all day and all night. After a while you either live with it or It’s gonna drive you crazy, one or the other. For us it’s just becomes white noise after a while. This particular training exercise ends on the 20th. These babies are flying out there. The helicopters are you doing different things over the lake down by Grayling and also on land. You could hear those rockets when they launch them off those planes.




I just finished putting up a mess of meat into my freezer so I’m all set in that department for a while now. This time of year is when I start taking advantage of sales and start stocking up for the winter months. I don’t wanna jam my freezer full but I do like to have some in there for those cold snowy days. Needless to say, my checkbook got a little bit of a dent But now I don’t have to spend any more money on that stuff for the most part. . Just the day today things and a few canned goods as they come on sale. I use a lot of tomatoes and kidney beans during the winter when I make chili and spaghetti sauces and that kind of stuff. Course there are 7 pounds of blueberries in there too

So that’s about all that’s going on here today. Think I will go and work on my little hose hanger project as I have the white on the flowers done and now I gotta put some lines in them. I’ll send you a picture when I get it done.

Hi Sue & all that check in!

Sue, when we lived in MD, we lived about 45 minutes from the Dover air force base in Delaware and often saw low flying aircraft doing maneuvers which was very common. I'm going to miss that.

From central FL and heading north, we have a weather system that is just now hitting us bringing rain and thunder. We need the rain so no one is complaining. This may last through the night into tomorrow morning.

We have set a date for our 50th wedding anniversary in February where we will renew our vows and have lots of friends over for a luncheon we'll be putting on. If any of you might be in this area in late February, on the 26th, you are more than welcome to stop by. I ordered invitations today and am planning a menu in my head. It should be fun.

I am at a Walmart taking a break from driving. Got another 125 miles to drive to North Rim of Grand Canyon, and I get sleepy after a few hours. Left Monument Valley over 4 hours ago, so really needed a break. There has been a lot of spotty rain around the wider Four Corners area, including Colorado, NM, AZ, and UT. They had at least an inch of rain the day before yesterday at Kayenta and the wider area, so for many miles around, there were puddles in the desert yesterday and today as I was driving. That cooled things off a bit and is making the desert green up. Even saw some water running in dry gulches. Must be summer monsoons, which I am sure are welcome.

I remember when my kids were little in the early 80s, riding our snowmobiles around the Grayling tank trails and bombing areas. We used to stay in the Holiday Inn in Grayling because it had an indoor pool and play area for kids. Of course, there was no bombing or other military activities in the middle of winter when we went, but the tank trails were really nice and level and wide--almost a race track for tanks and snowmobiles. Then, we would ride through the state park, take a break there, and ride back to the hotel for dinner and the evening--sometimes riding 50-60 miles in one day in VERY cold weather. But even our kids had wind-proof snowmobile suits and face masks under helmets, so we stayed warm. Only problem was my youngest son was only 3 or so, so he rode in front of me and used to fall asleep while I was driving. I had to steer with one hand and hold him with the other. Often, we had to take a break and stretch him out on the seat so he could get his nap in!

I assume the endangered Kirtland Warblers have already raised their chicks, right?? For those of you who are not aware, these not-too-bright little birds make their nests on the ground in a bombing range!! And they require jack pines within a certain size range to make their nests under!!

I wouldn't like to hear the planes Sue even though it might be fun to watch for awhile. When I living in San Diego I spent a lot of time on Shelter Island and the planes at night were supposed to stop at a certain time but mostly they didn't. I don't keep much meat in my freezers, mine are filled mostly with strawberries, peaches, around 20 pounds of blueberries and 20 pounds of pecans. Last year I was able to get around 15 pounds of persimmons from a friends tree. I've rationed them out and I think will have enough to last until they are ready this fall. I spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them and put in bags and they taste like fresh.
Not much going on here I had a UTI and I don't do well with medicine so have been watching a lot of Shark Tank reruns.

Lyn I hope you are feeling better. Too bad Anne and Joe can't come and visit. You could keep each other company. I can't image those temps and for so long. We had record heat here this summer and I was a wreck. I kept wondering what we would do if the power went out. So far this is about the third week temps have been in the low to mid 80's with a little rain.

Irmi I'm glad you are getting some rain. Have fun planning your 50th anniversary, it does sound fun.

Judy I can't imagine snowmobiling 50-60 miles but I bet you had fun. Having the right clothing I'm sure made a difference.

Judy, they still don’t really do much bombing during winter, but they do have an exercise like this one usually around January. I don’t remember what it’s called but it is a good training for the troops to work in the cold and the snow, because you never know where they might be sent. Might be Operation Winter Strike. And yes, the Kirtland warmers are long gone. But the majority of their habitat is out of the Military area. South of Grayling.

BJ, the plane don’t bother us, as they can’t come over this way anyway. They’re not allowed to fly out of the air space that is over the range in this direction on those bombing runs They have set flight patterns to follow. That’s not to say that going to and from the range, those planes are carrying bombs and rockets and everything else. About the art arm at that point.They are based in Alpena which is 75 miles north east of here. Or they may come from the southern part of Michigan at another Air National base down there . But the helicopters do once in a while. The population density over this way is one of the reasons why they stay away from here. There are quite a few seasonal and permanent homes around the lakes in this area here as well as the village of Waters not to mention I-75. This intense type of bombing and flying that’s going on right now and only a two week thing. They will have training sessions During the warm weather months, but they may only be like a Monday through Thursday or a weekend or something and then maybe we don’t hear them for a while. It’s been going on for so many years, that after a while you don’t even pay attention to it. Except when they are dropping 500 pound bombs The camp encompasses 146,000 acres with multiple ranges. Some that are closer to the main camp area are small arms fire ranges, howitzers and stuff like that. When do your training session is going on the ranges are open to the public for hunting or whatever. There are a lot of two track and dirt roads running around through them and I have been down some of the dirt roads in the area there.

beautiful picture of the plane...
I made the raspberry jam today put some almond extract in it but don't think I got enough in it... at least when I had a taste I couldn't taste any almond but it is such a strong flavor that I hesitated to put a lot in it for fear of getting to much in it...
got stuff for two batches only enough for one then I was looking in the fridge freezer and found some from who knows how long ago will have to pull a container out after the partial one from today is gone... guess I never looked in the door...
I glued the turtle on the box guess tomorrow have it's set for 24 hours I will see it it worked...then decided that the turtles on the top I need to glue down instead of being puttied down... guess while those set the 24 hours will see if the turtle inside the lid will stay in place if not then I will have to figure out some where else for it like on the outside top of the box... perhaps when I get it finished I'll send Beth some pictures...
then tied some knots... talked to my youngest dd the mover's had picked up everything and they were emptying out the food guess they will take non perishables one car seat was delivered package not so hopefully tomorrow early has they have a long trip...
tomorrow I will need to rearrange the freezer and find a place for the 6 containers of jam that need to go in it...
you all have a great day
sheila

Sheila, does your Raspberry jam have the seeds in it? I'm on a mission to use all the jam I have and the one in the refrigerator is Raspberry. It takes me forever to go thru a jar of jam. I decided I didn't like the seeds in the Raspberry so put it in a sauce pan and heated it. Then I strained most of the seeds out. That was messy but I like it a lot better.

My annual eye appointment was this afternoon. I went to the post office and got gas at Walmart, $3.20/gal. Stopped at the grocery store for 1/2 & 1/2 but had to buy more than that. They had a package of 3 pork chops so got that. Walmart packages have too many for me. The chuck eye steaks were the same price as the rib eyes, $8.99/pound. I would rather have the chuck eye more than the cheap rib eyes. I wanted to get some more cheese but since I didn't have a list I forgot it. I knew there was something I was forgetting but didn't remember until I got home.

Since my mower was back I mowed everything I could. The rain is suppose to start tomorrow and for the next week.

Martha