Found --- one baseball! That was my reward for mowing my back yard yesterday. Of course it belongs to the kids next door and I'll return it to them or maybe just throw it back over the fence. I wonder why they didn't come knock on the door and ask if they could look for it. Probably because they have more and didn't care. Or maybe we weren't home to ask; --- it doesn't matter. They will get their ball back.

So, my day didn't go totally as planned yesterday. My yard and Dan's yard did get mowed. Between my mowing and trimming, my yard looks good. Ms. Kate put out a lot of Round-up to kill some of the weeds around here. I got to the store and picked up a 100 pounds of black oil sunflower seed and filled all of the feeders. I even had to refill the bark butter feeders a second time. The dang starlings had pretty well cleaned them out since yesterday morning.

I had planned to go do my church stuff yesterday afternoon. However, this cold that I have been holding at arm's length slammed me hard. Perhaps it was the outside air and pollen, although I did wear a mask, but by afternoon I was a walking, sneezing,  mucus factory with a sore throat. Dr. Jackson already has me on antibiotics so last night I used Afrin spray and slept in the recliner. I got a good night's sleep but at 0700 it all hit me again. Crapadoodle! I had really hoped I would escape this thing. It has had hold of Ms. Kate on and off since St. Patrick's Day. I don't have time for this. I did call my pharmacist and ask if I could safely take Mucinex with the antibiotic and she said that would be fine.

We are having what folks call a Dogwood Winter around here. Last night it got cold enough for patchy frost. I guess it is called Dogwood Winter because even though it is the last of April and the Dogwoods are blooming, we still get a night or two of temperatures in the middle thirties and some scattered frost. I imagine those energetic folks who have early tender plants put out had to cover them up last night.

I think my sister and brother-in-law are heading out to the Black Hills this weekend. That is a great vacation spot. As kids, our parents took us out there several times. Ms. Kate and I have done that trip too. It is beautiful country and I wouldn't mind doing another trip out that way myself. The biggest problem of driving out there is that once you are through Kansas City, there is a long non-changing flat scenery to drive through. But, even that can be beautiful at the right time of year.

God has filled my yard with birds again this morning and the song of the mockingbird fills the air. It is indeed a beautiful morning as the flowers simply glisten in the sunshine. Ms. Margaret's lawn service is back there working on her yard. They seem to do a good job for her. She and her sister mowed it up until last year, but both of them are really too frail to be doing that anymore. I offered to do it for her with my John Deere but I guess she didn'want to feel beholding to anyone and I wouldn't accept pay.

Time for a coffee refill so I'm done here for today. Have a blessed day.