For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There is no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can
change or stay the same, there are no rules. We can make the best or the worst
of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle
you.
I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with
a different point of view. I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find
that you are not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sophia and Poppy
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Here is a story I wrote on Saturday - Living and Learning
While settling in my new home, I planned to start a vegetable garden. I went to hometown nursery in Paso Robles and purchased vegetable seeds for my raised
beds.Mr. Cardinale assisted me at Hometown Nursery.He was a small framed
man, wore a big hat and had a great sense of humor. I then went to Orchard Supply to buy a weedwhacker.I didn’t know anything about weedwhackers
until my housekeeper’s husband said, they work well.I had an older fella help me and he said, are
you sure you want to buy this?I
said, “yes.”I purchased the ECHO and extra
trimmer line along with the blended 2-stroke oil. I had been pulling weeds manually.It was good exercise but 3 acres.Hmm, lets rethink this.While
I was there, I purchased 120 flower bulbs.I would plant them around the trees coming up the hill and around the
front entrance near the main gate.It would
add a splash of color.
I arrived home and unloaded my car. I put the oil into the weedwhacker
and pulled the cord.It started just
like that.I went down the hill whacking
the weeds to the right then came back up and did the left side.It was easy to use and it was really giving
me a workout. My neighbors were sitting on their porch and yelled, “you sure got a lot of energy.”I
said, yes, I do not want the weeds to get the best of me. They smiled as they watched me.I then made it back up the hill and put the
bulbs into my red wagon and headed down the hill to plant them.I stopped at each tree and planted 12 bulbs near
the irrigation line near the tree.I
then went to the front entrance and planted around 30 bulbs to the right and 10
on the left side.As I walked up the
hill, I planted 15 more on the left side in between the lavender plants. The rest
of the bulbs I put near my door entrance under the headquarters sign. I would work on the
raised beds tomorrow because I ran out of daylight.
That evening, I sat on the patio deck and thought about my friends working in the large firms.If they only knew about this weedwhacker machine.Instead of punching a bag at the gym, they
could weed whack and be out with nature.I then chuckled.That night I
slept like a baby.
Let me leave you with
this quote – Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.
Poppy
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Here is to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers. The round pegs in
the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of
rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them,
disagree with them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only
thing that you can't do, is ignore them because they change things. They invent.
They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward. Maybe they must be crazy. Because the ones who are
crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
-Jack Kerouac
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Here is a story I wrote on Saturday - Little Jersey
It was my second year in Paso Robles and I decided to check out the small animal auction in Templeton.As
I drove into the parking lot, I had a flashback as a child going to
the 101 livestock auction with my dad.I found
a parking and went into the café to find a cup of coffee.People were selling animals outside of the
auction, chickens, ducks, geese, and some cattle dogs. I made my way into the auction house and found a seat in front of
the round corral.As
the auction started it was interesting. They
had cows, goats, pigs, and horses.Halfway through the auction I saw a little
jersey bull calf come in the pin.People
started to bid on him.I looked at him,
he was small and scrawny looking, but I liked his color markings.As the guy hit him with the cow paddle, I
could see his eyes and he was scared.I
decided to bid on him, and I won.A
whopping $125. I had a few eyes on me but I did not care.I was going to take the little jersey home
and give him lots of TLC so he could get big and healthy. They loaded him in the trailer for me and when we
arrived home, I backed the trailer into my pasture and opened the
door and said this is your new home. I am going to call you “Little Jersey.” He
did not want to get out.But when he saw
the hay in the trough, he came out quickly. He then found the water. Every day I would go out and see Little Jersey.When
he saw me walking down the hill he would start to buck and run around the pasture. He was gentle and ate right out of my hand. The neighbors watched as I fed
him, and they would yell across the field "he loves you." While washing my dishes I would look out of the window to see what he was up to. One
time he was chasing the chickens. It was funny. As time progressed, he started
to look healthier. He was growing into a handsome jersey bull. As I
entered the pasture, I would talk with him and he followed me around. As I
checked the water trough, he would snuggle up against me. He was getting big and he almost pushed me into the water trough when he wanted to snuggle. I even crocheted a necklace for him. He was all grown up and strong and it was
time to take him to the auction.He
was ready to reenter the world but this time healthy and good looking.
I hauled him over on a Saturday morning
and I had my bill of sale. They had separated him and put him in a pin by himself. I
went into the office and the lady said she had called the branding inspector because
she thought I was a cow thief. I had already showed her my bill of sale, but she did not believe it was the same jersey bull. She
said my papers were not in the system. I
had to call an old rancher friend to talk some sense into this woman. He came and set her straight along with the branding
inspector. Apparently, the auction
office was not organized, and had misplaced a stack of papers, which included mine and a few other peoples.
After all this mess was said and done.Little Jersey weighted in over 1,000lbs.
and was sold to a dairy in the valley.I
went over to see when they were loading Little Jersey into a fancy large aluminum
trailer. A man came over to me and said, “mam, he is gentle and healthy.I said, “thank
you” and waved goodbye to Little Jersey.
As I drove off in my truck, I was happy that Little Jersey went to a good home and will have lots of
babies.
Let me end with this quote - Having a tender heart in a tough world is a superpower.
Poppy
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You do not need to see the entire
path to take the first step. You can
take the first step with fear and doubt.You can take it with hope and trust. Too often we think we need to have
it all figured out and planned before we start.But the truth is, the best journey’s taken are not planned from start to
finish.They take unexpected twists and
turns to lead us where we need to go.They take longer than we think they will.They teach us things we could have never
prepared for.
So, if you
find yourself at the foot of a path, do not worry about everything ahead. Just take the first step, you will find your way.
- - Nikki Banas
Chief Inspector Poppytheauthor
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Today I will be reading a story I wrote Saturday – Country Time
After working in Monterey County, I
decided to move to the country. I had always
liked Paso Robles because of the friendly people, country roads and the hometown feeling. I eventually moved there. I found my home through an agent in
Atascadero.The moment we drove up to the gate my belly said, "this is my home." The agent said, the owners are
home.Would you like to meet them?I said, yes.Mr. Wilson was a nice man, he explained to me why he had the house
facing north versus south. How many nails were in the roof, why he cross
fenced the way he did, and the place was set up for pig farm with small pins. I fell in love with the bright sunny kitchen
with its natural sunlight, and the smell of jasmine coming in from the
windows.
The day I moved in my agent was out of town, so
I found my keys under the rock near the gate.There was so much to do.I unpacked
slowly and watched Leo and Zachary running around in the field chasing birds
and looking for ground squirrels.They would
jump into the water trough to cool down then it was nap-time in the sun. They were having fun.
I loved to watch the
sunset from my porch.At night, the sky
was so clear you could count the stars.I
worked in the garden planting and tending to the many rose bushes, grape
vines, and the fruit orchard. I went to the small auction in
Templeton and purchased a few chickens since I had small pins already set up.I bought a hampshire pig and had it
delivered.My neighbors were
great. I bartered with them during spring with eggs from my chickens and
grapes from the vines.I received tomatoes,
zucchini, and eggplant.We visited each
other and had coffee and cake and great conversations.
Every day, I would wake up and walk down the hill
and feed my chickens and let them out to stretch their legs. I would then open the main gate and take a walk to the end of the road with Leo and Zach. It was peaceful.
One weekend, my daughter came to visit, I was
working out
near the road trenching a line to drop the irrigation line down the
hill for my lavender plants.I started
to dig my holes and plant the lavender when I heard a honk,It was my daughter at the gate, as I turned
around Petunia had uprooted two of my lavender plants and was throwing them in
the air.I looked at my daughter as she
laughed.I ran up to the house and grabbed
a basket of grapes.I walked over to Petunia
and said, bad girl.Follow me, as I
dropped a few grapes at a time.She
followed me into the pin, where I left the gate open.I filled her mud bath with water, and she jumped
in while she ate the grapes.I ran to
the gate and my daughter was laughing.She said mom, a corporate woman turned country.My daughter only remembers me wearing suits and working in the
large firms. I smiled and said, that was years
ago.Zachary had to give her one of his
high fives before she entered the house. I dressed and took her into town where
we had lunch at McClintock’s and walked around the park.She also met my neighbors and said, Mom, you
look incredibly happy.I said, yes, I am,
and we hugged.
When she left that day, I sat and smiled because
she turned out to be just like me. Such a beautiful, intelligent young lady. When I look back over my life, I realize that I did a fantastic job in raising my daughter. I applaud myself, as a professional single mom and loving mother. I
made sure she had a good education and my mom (grandma) made sure she was
a child. Being in the corporate world as a woman was no joke in my days. My daughter was and is the world to me.
Let me end with this quote – The greatest gift I
gave to my daughter was my time, my love and mostly my attention.We can only love others as much as we love ourselves.
Poppy
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Your heart is meant to be full of love and your belly is supposed to ache
from laughter. Your eyes are meant to crinkle on the edges from smiling so much and your soul is meant to
feel joy with each new day you are gifted. You are meant to feel peace when you rise each morning and again, when you lie your head down to rest each night. My beautiful friend, this is what your natural state is.
This is what light feels like. Peace, Excitement,
Love, Joy, Laughter, Happiness and Gratitude. This is what you
are made of and this is what you are made for. - Nikki
Banas
Poppy
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