Story Time

Discussion in 'Reading & Writing' started by Gary O'Dan, Feb 13, 2023.

  1. Gary O'Dan

    Gary O'Dan Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2023
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    328
    I can't seem to make 'em fast enough
    Not my intent
    Birders seem to be crazier than even me
    Found out most folks just use them for garden art

    Glad you like 'em, fine lady

    They're all a bit different

    hse 1-6.jpg
     
    #16
  2. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    37,920
    Likes Received:
    9,017
    Wish I lived close enough to buy some of your bird houses @Gary O'Dan they are beautiful
     
    #17
    Mary Robi likes this.
  3. Gary O'Dan

    Gary O'Dan Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2023
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    328
    Thank you @Kate Ellery
    I've given quite a few to folks, but the shipping is killer
    So, I keep it local
    These tiny abodes have been selling for $50-$70
    But, the freight is right around $40 after packing them so they won't get damaged
    Heh, turns out, size DOES matter
     
    #18
    Mary Robi and Beth Gallagher like this.
  4. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    37,920
    Likes Received:
    9,017
    Austpost as our postal system is called wants to get richer and richer as well …..they keep putting costs up but it is now corporate owned where it once was government owned so the shareholders have to get their dividends I suppose
    @Gary O'Dan
     
    #19
  5. Gary O'Dan

    Gary O'Dan Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2023
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    328
    Yeah, our USPS is pretty nuts too
    $40usd will get you about 50mi (80km)
    Our UPS is pretty close to that...just faster
     
    #20
  6. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    37,920
    Likes Received:
    9,017
    Well it’s bedtime for me ….keep up your great woodworking talent @Gary O'Dan
    I believe there is a man at a place called Alford about 50 Km away from where I live that makes birdhouses out of Mallee trees but I’ve never seen them and it’s a tiny town with just a few homes and of course a pub, I’ve traveled through the town but never stopped to ask where the wood carver lives


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallee_(habit)
     
    #21
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2023
    Gary O'Dan likes this.
  7. Gary O'Dan

    Gary O'Dan Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2023
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    328
    Nice

    Glad to know we're out there
     
    #22
  8. Gary O'Dan

    Gary O'Dan Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2023
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    328
    I’ll Never Forget My First Friend

    I was three.
    He was a few months.
    Neither of us had much to play with….but each other.
    We never lacked.

    me.jpg

    He’d look up at me with complete unwavering trust.
    Trying to read my face.
    Ears perked up when I spoke.
    Wherever I went, he followed.
    He rapidly grew, and soon we were face high to each other.
    We’d roam the patch of woods up the hill from our place, him guarding my every step, sometimes blocking my way when I got too close to the cliff edge. I didn’t know it at the time.
    I’d take my naps nestled into his chest.
    He’d lie there, never moving a muscle.

    As I grew to boyhood, he remained a part of me, my shadow.
    We’d wrestle….he’d let me win.

    We’d hunt.

    We’d fish.

    Not that he took part.
    He was no hunting dog.
    Just my companion.
    We’d share lunch.
    He’d listen to my every word, as we sat on the creek bank.

    Years passed.
    I got very busy, but not so busy that we wouldn’t still roam the woods every so often, even though he had a bit of a time keeping up.

    The day came when he just didn’t get up.
    I was sixteen.
    Mom told me to take him in to the vet.
    ‘He’ll be able to fix him up.’

    I gathered him up and laid him in the passenger’s seat of the pickup, right beside me, and we had one of our conversations while I drove the twenty miles.
    It had been awhile.
    Too long actually.


    I sat on the stool beside the exam table, while the vet did his thing.
    Once again my best friend and I were face high to each other.
    The vet was talking with my mom.
    He handed me the phone.
    It was time.
    He had to be put to sleep.

    OK, I brought him in to get fixed up, and now he’s going to be put down….just like that.



    I was told I had to leave the room.

    Can't.





    The vet did…..something. I don’t recall.





    I held my best friend’s face with both hands.


    His ears perked up as we had what would be our last conversation, telling him the reality.
    Then, the vet took him away

    Even though the wipers were going, I had a hard time seeing through the rain drops on the way back home.


    ……..I’ll never forget my first friend

    Wrote a simple little poem about him;

    poem.jpg
     
    #23
  9. Mary Robi

    Mary Robi Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2018
    Messages:
    1,618
    Likes Received:
    3,953
    Gary, I wish there was a "really, really, really, really like" button because just plain 'ol "like" doesn't cut it.....
     
    #24
  10. Gary O'Dan

    Gary O'Dan Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2023
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    328
    Too sweet
    Glad you enjoy the reads

    Y'know, it's funny, when someone posts a sad thing, hitting that 'like' button feels a bit weird
     
    #25
  11. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    15,659
    Likes Received:
    30,122
    My first dog was a dark brown (tri-color) collie mix named Bonzo. My folks had Bonzo before i was even born, and we had him until he finally died of old age. As an only child, Bonzo was my best friend for most of my younger years. When I looked at the picture of your dog, @Gary O'Dan , he looked a lot like my Bonzo looked.
    This is us on top of the snow pile in front of our home in the early 1950’s. You can see (barely !) the roof of the garage behind the snow pile.

    9439ED48-380D-48DE-B3D5-127F7A60F017.jpeg
     
    #26
  12. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    37,920
    Likes Received:
    9,017
    We are currently taking care of this little girl .. ( not our dog) sadly she has dementia so she will just stand staring for hours till her legs get weary.

    she has to be encouraged to eat or she just forgets where her food / water is
    63D05675-11C5-4BAD-B637-7D4AB7FF37F4.jpeg
     
    #27
  13. Mary Stetler

    Mary Stetler Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 30, 2021
    Messages:
    7,304
    Likes Received:
    13,730
    OK, gotta tell someone. Yesterday as I came in through the laundry room door, I felt Emma meet me; the sweetest, softest dog we had ever owned. I hadn't thought of her in years and wasn't thinking about her just then. She was just there--her energy. And then she was gone.
     
    #28
  14. Marie Mallery

    Marie Mallery Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2021
    Messages:
    11,545
    Likes Received:
    10,994
    Since I can't see that good, I skip thru them but I like them too.
     
    #29
    Gary O'Dan likes this.
  15. Mary Robi

    Mary Robi Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2018
    Messages:
    1,618
    Likes Received:
    3,953
    Yep, like a "I'm-sad-that-you're-sad" button.
     
    #30

Share This Page