I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May you be at peace with yourself and receive the joy this season has in store for you. Xavier

Christmas for the Vets

It's that time of year again. Our Chapter of Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association visited the nursing homes in northeast Missouri to thank the veterans there and give them some Christmas gifts. It always touches my heart visiting with these great gentlemen and ladies. There is always one or two that bring a tear to my eye as they tell thier stories. America owes them a lot and our group does what we can to show them our appreciation. The bottom picture is of me and my nephew. He served in Dessert Storm and is now the Sherrif in a neighboring county. X.

Misc. Pics

Top picture, the button on my hat says it all. Middle, trip to the woods on mothers farm. Bottom, found this print, loved it, bought and made a frame.

'New Stuff'

In spite of this horendous heat and drought conditions,I've been able to raise a few crops. In the top picture is one of my 'Moon and Stars' watermelons. In the same picture, in the upper left hand corner you can see a baby butternut squash getting a start at life. In the middle are a few tomatoes hiding in the leaves. In the bottom picture some of our sweet potatoes which are growing in one of my raised beds near the green house. If I hadn't watered things we would be without anything, I'm sure. They are calling for cooler weather this week, in the mid to upper 90's :^) X.

"Old Stuff"

I'm a perfect fit! X.

Bucket List Crew Takes a Trip

For a number of years some of my former classmates and I have been talking about a trip to Wisconsin to visit one other classmate. During the past year several of us have had some serious health issues come up. So, we decided it was time to take that trip that we had only been talking about making. Last friday morning we left in a caravan, mostly campers, with me on my bike. We had a great visit. It was extra specail for me, as I hadn't seen some of the group in years. We arrived back home last night to be greeted with 100+ temps. X.

A great Fathers Day

My daughters Tanya and Trisha and my middle grandson Layn were up for the weekend. I had a great visit with them. Don't see them as much as I would like to. The picture above was taken a couple of years ago and is one of my favorite pictures of me and the girls. I used to give them piggy back rides to bed when they were little. It's one of my fondest memories of that time. One of them reminded me of it this weekend. Kids grow up to damned fast. X.

Garden Stuff

What garden vegetable is this a part of??? This guy helps me watch over things in the garden. This is the bits and pieces I picked up this spring after I tilled my garden. I own the house next to where Gi Gi and I live. it is a two story house that is at least 125 years old. It was my grandfathers house and I lived in it for years before we got married. My main regret is that I haven't saved all the pieces that I have picked up every year. I would have quite a colection of old glass, dishes and crocks. X

Feast or famin!

After having an abundance of rain early this year, the last month has been hot and dry, with no relief in sight. It reminds me of the weather we had in Oklahoma when I was a kid.

Potatoes blooming in our raised box.

A volunteer pumpkin in one of the strawberry beds.

Blackberry plant with some early berries.

Green beans on the right and some new Tom Thumb Blackberry plants on the left near th flags. In spite of the drought like conditions the garden is not doing to bad at this point, due to the 700 gallon stock tank I captured rain water from the April showers. X.

The Cost of Freedom

This weekend is very close to my heart. To all my brothers who died in Vietnam. And to all my brothers who have died since from the effects of Agent Orange, I salute you and thank you for my freedom. SXW

Profile Cloud

Gi Gi snapped this picture of a cloud the other day. It looks like a persons profile. X

Happy Mothers Day !!!

I would like to wish a Happy Mothers Day to all the great mothers out there. Without you, we would only be a gleam in our Daddys eyes;^) Xavier

Fruit Garden

My fruit garden has both fruit trees and a variety of other plants. My grape arbor has 3 types of grapes. I also have rasberries, blackberries and blue berries. The blue berry crop looks promising this year, with almost all of my small bushes having berries. My newest addition this year is an apricot tree which probably won't bear any fruit this year. X.

Fenced In

With the help of friends and family I was able to fence our back yard a couple of weeks ago. We normally have to walk the dogs on a leash to potty them outside. This fence has made that chore much easier. Besides they love it. They have had a great time playing chase every time we let them out. The birds also seem to like it better since the neighborhood cats can't bother them. Zeus is fawn and white with a black mask, Greta is a brindle color. X.

Uncle Steve gives bike rides

My two sisters grand daughters were here last week and wanted a ride on my bike. At top is Cheyene and bottom is Grace. A couple of future 'Harley Ladies' I'm sure. X.

Strange Weather

Except for a couple days in the single digits, this past winter could almost go down as the winter that wasn't. It started warming in mid February and much of March has been in the 60's and 70's with several 80 degree days. I sure hope this isn't an indication of a hot and dry summer. It's not just here in Missouri, it looks like much of the mid west and upper states are having the same thing going on.
Whatever the reason I've been enjoying what's been dished out so far. Have planted some early garden and hoping to reap an early bounty. X.

Prospectives!!!

I used to follow this cartoon on a regular basis. I found this one in my toolbox. It was one of my all time favorites. The guy who does this cartoon had a dark sense of humor which was right down my alley. Xavier

Fingers Crossed

With all this warm weather, many of my fruit trees and blueberry bushes have been putting on buds. It's way to soon for that; knowing that Mother Nature has more winter in store for us. Seems we're being set up for a fruitless year here in northeast Missouri. Maybe it's time for one of those ancient chants or something. Last year wasn't exactly a bumper crop year in my fruit garden.
I'll try and get some photos the next day or so. Xavier

Luck Of The Draw

I sit here,
Deep in thought.
How much more luck could I have?
Blessed with so many things
My talents
And the people around me
Some people
Walk miles for water
I walk to the kitchen
Others just don't have a home
I have 2
Some have only 1 parent
I have 3
How much more could I have?
Already gifted with so many things
The ability to write
Yet, the right to write as I please
I really shouldn't complain
I should look at my life
And be happy
I mean
How lucky could I be?

Anonymous


Sometimes I need to be more reflective about the positive aspects of my life. This poem helps to clarify that thought. Xavier

Desperados

Grandsons Layn and Carter.

Happy Valentines Day!

The picture is of me and my little sister, many moons ago. X.

Take Down Bow

I've been working on a take-down bow recently. It is out of a piece of Osage Orange stave that I have had in my stockpile for about 14 years. So it should be aged about right to make a very effecient bow. I added some recurve to each limb. You can see one of the limbs in my form waiting to cool down. I usually heat the area to be bent with a heat gun (paint stripper).
This bow is left handed. I shoot both left and right handed but prefer left. I have a pair of rattle snake skins which I will apply to the face of the bow sometime this week. I'll post the finished bow once it is done. X.

Agent Orange: A Country Without a Conscience

I was going to post this on my other blog 'Darkside of the Moon', but deciced it should go here. During the Vietnam War the United States sprayed over 80 million gallons of chemicals in that country to kill anything that grew from the ground. The concentrations they used were 13 times what our own USDA recommends. This figure was only recently revealed. They had been lieing about the concentrations for years, imagine that!
Above you see some of the planes spraying this liquid death. I saw this first hand, up close and personal. They didn't bother at times to make sure there were no troops in the jungles below them. Our unit had this stuff sprayed directly on us. Little did we know then what this would mean, although many became sick shortly after.I would venture to say that the number of american soldiers who have died from this is many times over the 50,000 some thousand who were killed in combat. Sadly the body count goes up every hour of every day. The death and destruction to the country of South Vietnam and it's people goes on daily as well. Many children in Vietnam were born with deformities.
The country that did this is the same country that decried Saddam Hessein for his use of chemical warfare. What hypochrosy.
I have battled with cancer and diabetes which was caused by Agent Orange. Many of the soldiers I served with are either dead or are suffering the ravages caused by Agent Orange. Over 50 of the soldiers in my company from Vietnam have died since returning home, as a result of what Agent Orange did to them.
Occasionally there will be a mention of Agent Orange in the media. However, not enough to suit me. Americans will wave the flag patrioticly when it suits them or there egos. But those same patriots stand quietly by as many a brave soldier dies a slow death in the heartland. I see my anger is starting to rise to the surface. It has been there for years and I know i must let go of it.
Those of us who served in Nam, and our plight have been shoved aside as collateral damage by a government that has no 'Soul'. Steven Xavier White

I love old barns

Speed Bump

I had some blockage in my right carotid artery. Had surgery wendsday and spent the night in hospital. Got home last night. Am doing good, just can't drive for a few days or do any lifting. Should soon be back up to snuff. X.

More Birds