Tracks In The River

Tracks In The River

A stream flows through the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon.  At least it’s a stream until there’s a West Texas cloudburst.  Over the years we have arrived at the Canyon rim only to be told there would be no camping in the Canyon because of the rain.  There’s a nifty private campground right there that we stay in when we have to.  John loves it because there is always a wind on the rim; I’m not too thrilled about it because there is always a wind.  I’m not talking breeze.  I say what I mean, and I mean what I say:  WIND!  This is the kind of wind that lays the tent flat on your face as you lay on the ground in a sleeping bag.  It’s the kind of wind that lifts the raincap of the tent and blows rain in on everything.  And, oh yeah, there’s SERIOUS thunder and  lightening to go with it all.  Rather exciting really.   

We have even set up on the rim and watched helicopters go down into the Canyon to rescue stranded campers!  Fun for us; not so fun for folks who got their things washed down river…  (well, not really “fun,”  maybe “entertaining is a better word.)

 

One time we were in one tent and our brave grandsons of, oh, about 12 years old were in another.  A storm blew up just after everyone said the “Walton” goodnights.  Thunder and lightening to beat the band!  John and I had the granddaughter in our tent.  We tried to talk the boys through the storm.  My, but they really were brave!   If I’d been 12 and over there with no adult, I would have been terrified.  Ultimately the wind demolished the tent and soaked everyone and everything, so we all spent the rest of the night in the van.

Sun dawned bright and early.  We spread the soaked sleeping bags on top of the juniper bushes, and by the time we were ready to load them into the van they were dry as a bone.  Things change quickly in the Texas Panhandle.

But, Back to tracks in the river...

One can get an old west lesson in animal tracking at the stream’s edge.  We can find deer tracks, bobcat, turkey, rabbit, raccoon… well, just about every critter that prowls the Palo Duro.  We could probably even find horny toad tracks (Horned toad to you non-Texans.  Horny toads are an endangered species because of the influx of fire ants from some horrible freighter docking in New Orleans I think.)

So, we’re checking out the edges of the stream and, what to our wondering eyes appear, but a doe and her fawn.  They are beautiful!  She’s not at all concerned about us though she keeps a sharp eye out.

Palo Duro is a marvelous place and our family has made great memories there in the past.  There are many more memories to be made, too!

 

Blogging On The Go

Blogging On The Go

From Palo Duro to Red River, New Mexico

We are SO going to enjoy this trip!  John can listen to his MP3 player and read his history books; I can lounge around looking at our photos and writing the blog.  You guys are gonna LOVE IT!

Whoa, there, girl.  Not so fast.  You just thought you were gonna blog online.  Guess what?  No 3G signal to be had anywhere in New Mexico except Albuquerque.  Even though we have the MiFi, and it sends a strong signal, and the computer receives it loud and clear, if there is no 3G, there’s no internet connection.  Not even on the iPhone.

Aargh!

So, besides blogging, how am I supposed to handle our personal business, like paying bills and putting our Dish satellite service on vacation hold or check account balances?!  We even have to drive from our campsite beside the trout stream at Junebug campground INTO the town of Red River to get enough phone signal to call AT&T.    

I’m sitting in the van trying to stay connected to the AT&T agent to figure out the problems, and John is strolling through town taking in the ambience.  Sigh.

The third agent I go to without having the call dropped tells me New Mexico isn’t the greatest connection state they have (in a whole lot more words than that!)  However, going through Colorado should make for pretty good connection, and should definitely have no problems in Yellowstone.

She was right about Colorado, but Yellowstone has been a whole ‘nuther story...

A Newspaper Man Who Could Neither Read nor Write

More on the fascinating life of Goodnight...

Goodnight lived until 1929 - my momma was nine years old when he died, and they both lived in the panhandle.  Cool.  My momma could have KNOWN Charles Goodnight!  When we go to Palo Duro we usually turn off of the highway in a little town called Claude.  That's Goodnight's place, and they're refurbishing his home and turning it into a historic museum.  It should be open in the next year or so, and I would LOVE to go!

Wikipedia says that "Goodnight is also known for rousing and leading a posse against the Comanche in 1860 that located the Indian camp where Cynthia Ann Parker was living with her husband, Peta Nocona, then guiding Texas Rangers to the camp, leading to Cynthia Ann's recapture.^[2] He later made a treaty with her son, Quanah Parker."

Where we live in East Texas is really close to Fort Parker where Cynthia Ann's family lived (Fort Parker) at the time she was originally captured by the Comanche. Texas may be huge, but we all seem to be connected anyway.  Cynthia Ann's son, Quanah, has a town named after him.  It's just a few miles from my momma's birthplace of Chillicothe.  Quanah hung out in a place sacred to the Comanche, a place called Medicine Mounds.  You could see it from momma's childhood home.  John took a picture of it on our way to Palo Duro:

This photo was from the rest stop that had the rattlesnake warning.  Momma always said Medicine Mounds was full of rattlesnakes and for us to never, ever go there.

Goodnight married in 1870. He developed a practical side-saddle for his wife to use, paid for a Methodist Church to be built in town, established a school for educating beyond the primary grades, and funded a college.

In 1876, the Goodnights preserved a heard of native buffalo (American bison) that survive today in Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas panhandle. Some of these were taken to Yellowstone in 1902. Some of them also went into large zoos and ranches throughout America. Goodnight also crossbred buffalo with domestic cattle, calling them cattalo

In 1880 Goodnight helped found the Panhandle Cattleman's Association.  (That's a big, BIG deal in Texas!)

Goodnight's JA Ranch ultimately covered a million acres of panhandle real estate. There he crossbred the wild Texas Longhorns with England's Hereford cattle. There was a movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Maureen O'Hara telling that story! (Go-o-o-o-o-d movie!)

His first wife died in 1926.  In 1927, at the age of 91, he married a distant cousin whom he had corresponded with over the years and who had nursed him through an illness following his first wife's death.  A few months before he died he was baptized into her church.  The pastor said that Goodnight had "always been deeply religious and reverential by nature."

During his life, Goodnight had worked as a banker and newspaper man (though he never learned to read or write!), also invested in Mexican silver mines (a losing venture - which ultimately cost him ownership in the JA Ranch...) and for a time lived in Pueblo, Colorado where he even owned a part in the opera house.

Historian J. Frank Dobie said that Goodnight "approached greatness more nearly than any other cowman in history." Goodnight is also sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle."

If this one man could do all of this in his lifetime without ever learning to read or write, you, me, ANYONE can do ANYTHING if they will just get up and DO IT!


P.S.  After Goodnight left the JA, Tom Blasingame came to the ranch and was to become known as the oldest cowboy in the history of the American west, dying in 1989. Good grief! I was nearly 40 by then! I could have known Tom!

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Why is Palo Duro not a National Park?  When applying for National Park status someone apparently sent black and white photos for the presentation rather than color photos (or so the story goes) and Congress wasn't too impressed.  That's okay.  Texas is good with that.  Palo Duro is all ours!

You can scroll down to our earlier post (that would be about 150 posts ago...) to "The Very First Thanksgiving was in ... Texas!"  I suppose that's the beginning of white men in Palo Duro.  The Spanish didn't manage a very good foothold in Texas back in the 1500's, so Palo Duro remained in the hands of the American Indians - Commanche, Apache, and Kiowa - for several hundred years more.

The first thing we see though certainly harken back to the Spaniards:  Longhorn cattle.

Isn't he a magnificent brindle?

And yes, we do still brand out cattle in Texas.  Branding is the only sure way of marking one's stock.  In the wild west, modifying those brands was one of the ways cattle rustlers survived, and they came up with some pretty cool over-branding.



We love camping in the canyon. 

This is a "Texas" tent - intended for maximum breeze capturing.  See how huge that window is?  There's a rain cap that goes with this tent and covers those windows - but we didn't have to use it this night and so, with a very bright, full moon, we watched the stars as we drifted off to sleep.

When we woke up in the morning, standing right outside the window was a deer:

We usually see turkey and certainly racoons.  We didn't see them this time, but one of the other campers said that during the night she had a raccoon trying to work the zipper on her tent...

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

Granpa decided we would leave Monday morning about 5:00 a.m. for Palo Duro Canyon outside of Amarillo.  It's a long drive, but it's a familiar one.  So Sunday after church we pack the van and prepare to head out before dawn - GREAT time to start a trip!  No, really!

I set my iPhone alarm and try to sleep.  About 4:00 a.m. I wake up with a headache.  By 5:00 it was a raging migraine causing dry heaves.  Granpa spent the next half  hour trying to think of everything he could to comfort me: cold cloths to the forehead, neck rubs, Tylenol...  By 6 it had eased a bit, and I guess I went back to sleep.  Around 7 I woke up and told Granpa that, if he didn't rush me and keep things pretty low key, I would try to get the final loading done (ice chest stuff).  What usually takes me 30 minutes took 2 hours - and most of what got done Granpa did.  He is SUCH a treasure!

Our first destination is our son's home in Dallas.  I was unconscious most of the way; Granpa loved listening to his music.  Just before we arrived I sent a text to my daughter-in-law asking if she could have a cup of strong hot tea waiting for me.  I knew she would anyway - I just wanted to be sure, thinking it might help me recover. 

After two cups of tea I'm feeling a bit perkier, and we get a tour of their home.  He has a new projection TV in his home theater room that he's very pleased with.  He keeps trying to talk Granpa into buying one for our traveling as it's not much bigger than two laptops stacked on top of each other, and you can even project the picture onto the side of a tent!  They showed us their aquariums, the four-poster log bed he designed and built, and the walls of artwork our daughter-in-law has done.  Because of my fragile state they chose to leave their Great Dane, Omega, outside.  She might decide to lean against me and I'd fall down!  The grandkids, however, loved on me tenderly, and it was wonderful!

We headed on up the road toward Gainesville, Texas intending to turn due west from there.  I was still not a hundred percent, and when we got to Gainesville there was road construction.  For whatever reason the exit signs had been sanded, and so we missed our turn.  I checked the maps and Granpa decided to head on up into Oklahoma and head west from Ardmore.  (My momma and daddy got married in Ardmore so that was an okay visit by me!)

The highway took us back into Texas around Chillicothe - which is the area my momma grew up in.  We knew we were back in Texas by the warning signs.

We were back on track on Hwy. 287, and I'm feeling much better.  Next stop:  Palo Duro.

Looks like we're gonna make it about 8:30 which is nice because the heat of day will be way past and setting up camp won't be a trial. I had survived the day!

Now. How to get to Washington State from East Texas?

We've been vacationing in the general Walla Walla, Washington area for decades.  Usually we have nine days to get to "wherever" and back.   This time we will probably take fourteen days to go one way.

Direct, shortest route from Tyler to Walla Walla is 1,959 miles according to one map, and it estimates 30 hours of driving time.  At 2012 IRS rates, it estimates fuel cost to be $1,087.  (That's based on $0.555 per mile.)  We'll see. 

Usually we make a (very) long drive of it from Tyler, Texas to Cheyenne, Wyoming by the way of Oklahoma and Kansas, camp in Curt Gowdy State Park, and then our next stop is the Grand Tetons or Yellowstone.  We're not in a timeframe crunch so, we may mosey around Colorado altogether.

We could go due west into New Mexico and up through Utah and come into West Yellowstone.

We could go up through Oklahoma and all-l-l-l the way through Kansas, into Nebraska, then turn west to Casper, Wyoming.

But they've been forecasting rain for Colorado, so we may dilly-dally around Red River, New Mexico a day or two and then shoot on up Interstate 25 through Colorado into Cheyenne.

These are the reasons I don't want to make reservations in advance.  These are the reasons I like to tent camp because I can stop early or drive til the last 30 minutes of sunlight and pitch our tent then.  We have even set up camp by flashlight...

The temperatures in Oklahoma and Wyoming are going to be really uncomfortably warm; the temperatures in Red River and the Tetons/Yellowstone are going to be really cold - like a low in the 40's!  Cold we can manage as long as we have our "Big Bertha" sleeping bag.  Not much one can do about heat when you're in a tent other than taking a fan.  Plug it into an inverter, and we can run it off the "jump box" or car battery.

Heavy rain forecast for one of these areas - hot or cold - could color our decision, too.  So y'all will just have to stay tuned to discover which way we go.  :-)

Granpa is in the Dog House

Granpa likes woodworking the way I like critters.  He's decided he is going to take some of the leftover log-ends from the construction of our home a few years ago, and he's going to whip together a log dog house before we leave for Walla Walla.

Junior is our Inspector General...

These are leftover from the construction of our cabin.  They are 9" high and 7" thick -  pretty good insulation against heat and cold.

 

All that is left to do are roof and shingles!

Now. To stain/paint or not to stain? Does the customer want to do his own ? Should we just do a quick sanding ?

Anyone wanna buy a dog house?

Makin' Candy!

Okay, I surrender.  I couldn't get this posted via iPhone.  But YOU get it the old fashioned way - which I guess is appropriate because we made the candy the old fashioned way!
You start with a deep pot full of sugar, peanuts and water with a dash of salt.  Add a candy thermometer and some steady heat...

Boil it, stirring often, until it starts to turn a rich golden brown and reaches "soft ball" temperature...

Add vanilla extract, stir a few minutes, and pour into a luciously buttered cookie sheet...

Ever done a taffy pull?  Pull off bite-size chunks and wrap in squares of waxed paper!

Then we moved on to making peanut patties...

Not too bad for a day's work, eh?  I made peanut butter fudge the day before and peanut brittle the day after!

Photo Test

Nothing in life is simple...

The text test from iPhone to blog went slicker 'n snail snot - but I tried to immediately send another test post with a photo.  That was about fifteen minutes ago...  Nada.

Maybe the blog is checking for a virus?  Maybe it'll show up in a bit.  Until then I will tease you with the title:

Makin' Candy!

Testing mobile posting option

If this works as easily as it implies, I can update the blog from my iPhone!   Here's hoping!

"The Woman YOU Gave Me..."

Funny, funny truth!  Bear with me.  Before you're through reading you'll be shaking your head!

In church last evening they used some scripture (that I hadn't thought about in awhile) as a springboard for discussion:

Genesis 1  (That's right.  Wa-a-a-a-y back in the beginning of the beginning.  Nothing is new under the sun - which is why the Bible might be a good resource for figuring out where today's problems come from...)

Genesis 1, Verse 27:  God created man in His own image...

Genesis 2

Verse 9:  Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Hello.  Think about that...  Think, think, think.

So God created man, and then He caused the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to grow.

Verse 16-17:  The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."
God laid down one law.  I know, we have THOUSANDS of laws we have to obey now, but God gave MAN (not woman, man) one, uno, 1 law - and he's gonna blow it!

Verse 21-22:  So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.  The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

Ok, folks, this is where the phrase, "God's gift to man," comes from.  Did you get that?  WOMEN are a gift from God.  (Yea-a-a-a-a-a!)

God gave man and woman only one responsibility:

Genesis 1: 28:  Be fruitful and multiply...

I can just hear all the men saying, "YES!!"  (So why aren't they stampeding through the church doors saying, this is MY kinda God!  I wanna follow HIM!)

So, anyway, on to Genesis 3.

Here we have mankind adding to God's Word in verse 3 about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when she told the serpent that God said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it..."  

God didn't say not to touch it! 

It's not a good idea to add to or take away from God's Word... not a good idea at all!

So, the serpent and Eve are chatting, with Adam standing right there listening.  Now we come to the first lie ever recorded (which is why Satan is known as the father of all lies...)

Verse 4-5:

"The serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!  (Lie!  Go back up to Genesis 2: 16-17.)  

For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Now, stop right there.  Knowing good?  They already know that, for heaven's sake!  They're in the Garden of Eden!  Knowing evil?  WHO, in their right mind, would want to know EVIL!  Eve mistakenly equated knowing good and evil with becoming "wise."  If you ask me, I don't have to be bitten by an alligator to know it hurts!  I don't need to "know" evil!!

But, no-o-o-o!  Eve let her appetite and the beauty of the fruit and desire to be as wise as God get the better of her.

Verse 6:

...she took from its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Mighty nice of her to share.  Have you ever noticed how "friends" who are getting into mischef are always trying to talk others into joining them in trouble?  I've always said, a dog by himself is just a dog; put 2 or more dogs together and you've got a pack of trouble!  So anyway, she gave Adam a bite.   Back to Genesis 2:16-17.  God told ADAM that from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.  There he is, munching away on the beautiful fruit.

B A M !!

Like a bolt of lightening ...

Verse 7:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked...

Verse 8 - 11:

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

God does not ask a question for information.  God KNOWS where you are; He just wants to get your attention, help you focus.

He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

And He said, "Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

HERE we go!  This is the foundation of all of man's trouble.  Instead of saying, "Yes, sir, I ate it,"  what did Adam do??  He dodged responsibility!  In FACT, he blamed it on GOD and Eve!

Verse 12:

The man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."

O-o-o-h!  And what did Eve say about that?

Verse 13:

"...the serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Verses 14 - 17 describes what God did to the serpent.

Verses 17 - 19 describes what God's punishment to man would be. 

I especially like what God said in Verse 17: 

"...because you have listened to the voice of your wife..."

But guess what God did to Eve?  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip. Well, except for that pain during childbirth thing... but that only lasts for a little while and then it's forgotten (or we wouldn't keep havin' em!)

Why didn't He mete out more punishment to Eve?!   SHE was apparently the one who struck up a conversation with the serpent!  SHE bit the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil first!  SHE gave it to Adam!

God did almost nothing to Eve (except for throwing both Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden forever and posting "cherubim and flaming sword which turned every direction" to stand guard - verse 24) because God made MAN the head of the family, the spiritual leader of the household, the chief-chicken-in-charge, as we say in Texas. 

"The woman YOU gave me..."  What a hoot!  HEY!  Cowboy-up there, Adam.  Be a man.  Accept responsibility.  God says the buck stops with you, Adam.

And The Winner is: Walla Walla, Washington!

Wonderful Walla Walla!  The city so nice they named it twice!  Population about 32,000 in 2010.

Think Idaho.  Now go left just a tad into the state of Washington.  Okay, now go down to the Washington/Oregon state line.  Just thirteen miles into Washington from the state line you have Walla Walla!

I guess the earliest white men to come to this area were fur trappers for the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company working out of Fort Nez Perces (named after a tribe of Indians.)

Granpa's Granpa*

Before the Civil War, in 1836 a missionary and his wife arrived in the area intent on converting the Indians to Christianity.

Named for an old American Indian tribe, Walla Walla the river joins the Columbia River and flows to the Pacific Ocean.  In 1859 the U.S. military built a road to connect people overland from the Walla Walla River to Fort Benton, Montana.  From there you could ride the Missouri River eastward to the Mississippi River.  From that connection one could travel either east to the Atlantic seaboard or south to the Gulf of Mexico.  Rivers were the super highways before automobiles.

Walla Walla the town was incorporated in 1862 on that road. 

Sometime in the next ten years there was a gold rush to Idaho.  (I've always wondered if someone "leaked" "there's been gold found in..." in order to start a stampede of fools off to populate a particular area.  I can just see some land speculator back east going into a saloon or tavern and "letting slip" the fact that gold had just been found in so-and-so.  Like the restless wind of old, men run home grab a shovel, kiss their wives or mothers and head west.  I suppose there are worse winds that they could follow.  I've always found that slow and steady wins the race - not the chance at a lottery.)  The gold rushers and other immigrants (mostly Italian) moved on into Washington state and settled into the largest community in the territory of Washington, Walla Walla.

Walla Walla in Indian means "Place of Many Waters," but when Walla Walla gets translated into Latin and then into English it means Elk Valley.  Either way works!

A few of the folks that hail from Walla Walla? 

NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe and
Wide receiver Charly Martin,
TV's Batman, Adam West,
Connor Trinneer from Star Trek: Enterprise,
World War II hero Jonathan Wainwright, and
William O. Douglas graduated from Whitman College in 1920 and went on to become the longest-serving Supreme Court justice in history.

So, come Monday, Granpa and I will mosey our way up to his next contract hospital and check out the hearts of Walla Walla!

*Not really.  That's just Granpa tryin' to fool ya!  Tho' we DO live in a log cabin ... in Texas.

Dates

This is the simplest list of retirement date summaries I have ever run across - and includes some deadlines I've never heard of.  Generation America is the conservative alternative to AARP...

MessengerVodpodYahoo BookmarksBeboMister-WongWordPressGoogle ReaderOrkutXINGBufferEvernoteNetvibes ShareStrandsPosterousBusiness ExchangeArtoTipdSmakNewsPlurkAIMYahoo MessengerIdenti.caMozillacaBlogger PostTypePad PostBox.netKindle ItPinterestNetlogTechnorati FavoritesCiteULikeJumptagsHemidemiFunPInstapaperPhoneFavsXerpiNetvouzWinkDiigoBibSonomyBlogMarksTailrankStartAidKledyKhabbrMeneameYoolinkBookmarks.frTechnotizieNewsVineMultiplyFriendFeedPlaxo PulsePingSquidooProtopage BookmarksBlinklistFavesYiGGWebnewsSegnaloPushaYouMobSlashdotFarkAllvoicesJamespotImera BrazilTwiddlaLinkaGoGounalogHuggDiglogNowPublicTumblrLiveJournalCurrentHelloTxtSpurlYampleOneviewLinkatopiaSimpyLinkedInBuddyMarksAsk.com MyStuffViadeoMapleWistsConnoteaBackflipMyLinkVaultSiteJotSphinnDZoneCare2 NewsHyvesSphereBitty BrowserGabbrSymbaloo FeedsTagzaFolkdNewsTrustAmazon Wish ListPrintFriendlyRead It LaterTuentiEmailRediff MyPage

Google GmailYahoo MailHotmailAOL MailAny email

 

Generation America

 

Social Security, Medicare and More -- What Are the Dates to Remember?

Jun 18, 2012

Dear Readers: As more and more of the boomer generation heads toward retirement, I get a lot of age-related questions. Can I tap into my 401(k) early? When should I take Social Security? Should I apply for Medicare if I'm still working? The answers all have to do with certain dates and deadlines that you'll want to keep in the top of your mind.

While you may think by the time you reach your 50s you've passed most of life's major milestones, think again. From 55 on, there are a number of age-related financial milestones that you can't afford to ignore, no matter how young you feel. Miss them and you'll not only miss some of the perks that come with getting older, you may also be penalized for your lack of attention.

So before you declare that you'll never acknowledge another birthday, at least put these ages on your mental calendar — and keep this checklist handy.

Age 55: Possible penalty-free early 401(k) distribution.

If you're 55 or older and lose or leave your job, you can take a lump-sum distribution from your 401(k) under what's called separation of service, without paying a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. And just for the record, if you leave your company before age 55, you can still set up a schedule of "substantially equal payments" and avoid the penalty. You will, however, pay income taxes on either type of distribution.

Age 59 1/2: Penalty-free withdrawals from any of your retirement accounts.

Whatever type of retirement account you have — IRA, 401(k), 403(b), SEP, SIMPLE, you name it — at 59 1/2 you can begin making withdrawals penalty free. Once again, you'll pay income taxes on the earnings and any contributions that were tax deductible. However, in the case of a Roth IRA, if you've held it for five years, contributions and earnings are tax free, as well as penalty free.

Age 62: Early Social Security benefits.

This is the soonest you can file for Social Security, unless you're disabled. But if you do, your benefits will be permanently reduced by approximately 25 percent. Plus, benefits will be further reduced if you're still working and earn beyond a certain limit. You can apply for Social Security when you're within four months of the first full month you turn 62. However, this may not be the wisest choice. SSA.gov has a convenient online calculator to help you determine the best time for you to start benefits.

Age 65: Eligible for Medicare.

If you're already receiving Social Security, you'll be automatically enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B at 65. But if not, you need to apply. Ideally, you should apply three months before the month you turn 65. Just call or visit your local Social Security office, or call the SSA at 800-772-1213. You can also apply online. Note: You can choose to decline Part B coverage, but you may pay a penalty for late enrollment.

AGES 66-67: Full retirement age.

You can begin collecting full retirement benefits when you reach what the IRS designates as full retirement age, FRA. For boomers and younger, FRA ranges between 66 and 67, depending on when you were born. (Check with the SSA.) At your FRA, you get full benefits, even if you continue to work. However, if you delay, your benefits will increase by 8 percent a year until age 70. When you decide to apply, you can easily do it online at SSA.gov.

Age 70: No further increase in Social Security benefits.

Social Security benefits increase up to age 70, but not beyond. There's no reason to further delay taking benefits — you earned them!

Age 70 1/2: Required minimum distribution, RMD.

At this age, you're required to begin taking money from your tax-advantaged retirement accounts with the exception of a Roth IRA or your 401(k), if you're still working. Your minimum withdrawal — your RMD — is determined by a formula based on life expectancy and the amount you have in tax-advantaged accounts. Your tax professional can help you determine your RMD. Some financial companies do it automatically for clients. And there are a number of online calculators to help you do it yourself.

Important Note: You absolutely must take your first RMD by April 1st of the year after you turn 70 1/2 or face a hefty 50 percent penalty! And if you wait until that date, you must take your second RMD by Dec. 31st of that same year. You don't want to miss these deadlines .

At any age: Planning for retirement isn't just about dates and deadlines, it's about planning ahead. So be sure to review your retirement strategy well in advance — and save as much as you can for as long as you can. If you take the time now to secure your financial future, you can enjoy every age to the fullest.

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(tm), is president of Charles Schwab Foundation and author of "It Pays to Talk." You can e-mail Carrie at askcarrie@schwab.com. This column is no substitute for an individualized recommendation, tax, legal or personalized investment advice. To find out more about Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2012 CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. MEMBER SIPC

DIST BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

P.S. to the Lime in the Coconut

Our son did a bit more research on the poopy caterpillar.  If it's a product of evolution, I am so thankful that God CREATED me!

Seems that the caterpillar not only is camoflauged as bird poop, but when threatened and those orange antenna come out?  They spray an ammonia scent, so they not only LOOK like poop, they SMELL like poop, too. 

Evolution vs. Creation?  I'll take creation every time!

"Put the Lime in the Coconut..."

Well, we don't have a coconut tree, but that lime tree our son got our daughter-in-law for Mother's Day sure is putting out some interesting stuff!

There's a lime growing to the right of the center of the photo, and one at the top right corner.  It's still covered in itty-bitty limes just like when she got it.  That's a good sign it'll make it forever - if we don't have a seriously cold winter here like they did in 2011.

Larry and Lori were out on the back - back porch (Yes, they have two back porches - one 54 feet long covered and screened in and another at the top of the back steps, no cover, no screen.)  So, as I was saying, on the back-back porch they were checking out how the new lime tree was doing, and our son noticed some bird poop on one of the leaves.  When he thumped the leaf to knock it off  IT GREW HORNS !  Menancing orange horns!

Mercy Gracious Goodness Alive!  THAT is the craziest bird poop I ever saw!

Looking closely at the leaves on the lime tree and, sure enough, we see that the leaves have been chewed on by a caterpillar!  That's not poop, it's a bug!

A bit more research by our son and we discovered it'll become a gorgeous butterfly:

Now,  to leave it to feast on the lime leaves, or not?  Hey, we have acres and acres of green growing things!  Let that bugger go get his supper somewhere else!  THUMP!!

Rain

Our dusty Texas driveway lusting for rain

Blessed rain!  Personally, my mood is affected by extensive periods of cloudy days.  I don't think I would ever survive in a place where the sun didn't even come UP for months at a time.  However, rain and the occasional (non-damaging) storm is exciting and wonderful to me.

Looking across our front yard and the hitching rail

Maybe being from Texas is what makes rain so very special and good.  Historically, rain in geographically dry places can bring joy because it sooths and refreshes.  My grandfather was a farmer in west Texas.  He swore it would rain right up to his fence line and stop.  I suppose it has to stop somewhere...  John's father used to say that the Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust - and he always seemed to be just in between.  (I thought that was pretty funny!)  But rain, or even cloudiness, in places prone to flooding causes emotions to stress, especially in men.

Rain is so very important in some places like Botswana that their word for rain is the same as the name of their money!  Now THAT's a joyous reaction to rain.  I've heard of money (not) growing on trees, but falling from the sky?  That would be fun.  But, come to think of it, when it rains it grows crops and crops can become money - or food that money can't buy.

Don't you just love the smell in the air after a good rain?  That fragrance is caused by petrichor, an oil produced by plants.  The earth and things soak up the oil, and the rain releases it into the air during rain. 

While we were in Kauai the tourism literature said Mount Waialeale was the wettest spot on earth.  But the Himalayas have gotten the highest average rainfall - and it almost all comes between April and September.  Maybe that's why Kauai says it's the wettest because it rains nearly every day of the year - not just the occasional flood.

But, back here in Texas, I just love the rain.  All the dust gets washed off of the leaves and fences, the flowers look brighter, the grass gets greener that ANY amount of garden hose water would EVER make it.  Even the animals seem friskier!  I love the rain and a good thundering, lightening flashing storm!

Kittens are taking over the world !

It's a mouse !!

GOOD KITTY!!

No, baby,  Junior doesn't have any mommy-milk...

 

Porthos is looking a bit frazzeled.



A Tribute to Lobo

When we got home to Texas our son's dog, Lobo, wasn't feeling well.  Lobo is the last remaining dog from a litter our other son had from a he-wolf, Whisper, and a she-dog named Bear.  Unfortunately, the pups took on the looks of momma...

... and the habits of daddy.  There was no holding those pups back.  We had taken two with the understanding that if they killed any of our stock they would have to go.  Several chickens and guineas later...  

Another of the pups (and Lobo) were very adept at climbing fences. They climbed more like monkeys or lions than dogs.   Lobo was with our son longer than any of the other dogs,

but he was such an escape artist that he had to live his life in a cage.

After we became travelers, Lobo and our dog, Junior, became best buddies. 

Junior is a pretty tricky fella himself.  He's an Austrailian Shepherd, and loves to try his paw at herding anything.  I think he'd even try to herd spiders if you could get two of them together in the same place! 

Let either Lobo or Junior outside and things were fine.  Let them both out, and they became a pack.  They would run for hours before coming home - usually wet from jumping in ponds and filthy from rolling in cow patties.  But, oh my, were they happy dogs!

Unfortunately, a couple of days after our getting home, Lobo took sick.  For several days we all imagined what might be the problem and our son gave him medicines.  Finally, though, it was apparent the vet had to be called in.  Lobo passed away while at the vets.  Our son was told it was a blood clot that had found its way into Lobo's heart. 

He was the last of the litter, but our son, his brothers, in-laws and out-laws (that's an ol' Texas saying.  Doesn't mean our kids are outlaws, just means inside of marriage and out) including Granpa and I, loved ol' Lobo very, very much.  Thank you, Larry, for hanging on to him for as long as you did.  They were all pretty special critters.

Another "Coming Home" Joy !

A church home is a wonderful thing.  It's interesting how being gone for almost two years allows friends to drift away.  They should, I suppose.  They need relationships that will help them - and that they can help - get through the struggles of daily life and share the joys of daily triumphs.

Going to our home church, Friendly (yes, Friendly - and they are VERY friendly folks!) we wondered if anyone would remember us.  We hardly got through the door before men began coming up to John, joyfully shaking his hand and asking after us.  We sat in our usual place and friends began catching sight of us and waving excitedly.  One couple invited us out to eat after services today if we were still in town.  My friend Julie I thought was not going to let me out of her hug - but the feeling was certainly mutual!  There was very little I could tell her about our wanderings because she says she is a faithful reader of the blog.  She even says I should have this puppy published in book form.  LOL!  No one loves me like Julie!

Our beloved pastor, Dale Perry, has moved on to an interim position at a cowboy church in Athens, Texas.  (THOSE are some lucky church goers!)  Bro. Dale is an amazing, wonderful, dedicated, Christian, pastor and preacher.  We might even mosey on over to Athens just to hear him preach before we move on to our next contract...

The rest of the church staff is still at Friendly and things are running as smoothly as ever.  We did see two churches in Tyler FOR SALE, so the fact that Friendly is still vibrant and baptizing is especially good.  (Churches for sale.  What is this world coming to?  In all our years we've never see churches for sale!)

We've also attended our son's church here in Tyler, Sharon Baptist.  We have lots of friends there, too.  Once a month they have a free health clinic.  Our daughter-in-law writes the newsletter for the clinic and helps out there during the clinic.  She also teaches Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.  Our son helps out around the church meeting some of the electrical and maintenance needs.  They are also training together to run the sound booth. 

God is good in so many ways.  Giving us two church families here, one in Hawaii, and one in Virginia is blessing above and beyond any we ever imagined!