tournesol

It is hard not to smile when you see a sunflower basking in the sunshine.

Sunflowers are known for turning toward the sun, a beautiful reminder of steadfast faithfulness and the promise to remain true. They grow tall and strong, even through wind, rain, and difficult weather, symbolizing endurance, resilience, and optimism.

In French, a sunflower is called tournesol, from tourne, meaning “turn,” and sol, meaning “sun.” Even its name captures the flower’s quiet instinct to keep turning toward the light.

“I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower. That's because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that's such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life." – Helen Mirren

 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻 🌻

Keeping with National Parks Week, this Google Doodle features the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. 

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

For the past week I let my neighbor's dogs out for a play and potty break around noon. She and her husband had commitments where neither was available to come home to let these sweet boys out. Meet Hatter and Nuggz. Hatter loves, loves, LOVES to chase the frisbee and after he catches it, a game of tug-of-war ensues and then comes the next toss. Nuggz, on the other hand, love to walk the fence line and eat grass. They are both around 11 years old - senior dog sweethearts.

This past weekend Owen and Andrew were here for a visit.  One morning I fixed bacon and eggs for Owen and when he decided he wanted something else, making a breakfast "sandwich" came to the rescue. Ritz crackers, a piece of cheese, a little piece of bacon, a spoonful of eggs, topped with another Ritz cracker did the trick. 

That afternoon, we took a field trip to Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, a little piece of heaven on earth for a 4-year old child. Imagine candy and toys at eye level. That visit was a series of one "WOW" after another and of course our little negotiator talked us into a few must have purchases.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established National Aviation Day. It falls on August 19 to honor aviation pioneer Orville Wright's birthday, one of Dayton's favorite sons. 

A sign of the times. Out at the farm, pennies are getting scarce. This is disgruntling to some of our senior customers who appreciate having exact change counted out to them, even if they get a few pennies in their favor.

Are you familiar with the riddle, "Railroad crossing, look out for the cars! Can you spell that without any "r's?"

We stopped at a railroad crossing, the first car to get blocked by the crossing rails. The train was a long one, taking 7 minutes to pass. Nowadays, trains don't have cabooses and I still miss seeing the very last train cars. Mandatory caboose laws ended in 1988.

The most recent National Parks Week Google Doodle, Yellowstone. This honors the rich history of Yellowstone National Park, the oldest national park in both the United States and the world.

national parks week

August 22–30, 2026, marks a weeklong celebration of all things “National Parks.” This year’s National Park Week theme, “Celebrate America’s Story,” honors the nation’s 250th anniversary and the stories, landscapes, and cultural heritage that have shaped America.

Today, August 25, the National Park Service celebrates its 110th birthday. On this day in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Act, establishing the agency with a mission to “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”

Google is joining the celebration with Doodles honoring two iconic national parks: Acadia National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.

monday's mulling: virgo

Horoscopes are fun, but I don't use them to guide my life. Back in the days when we had the daily newspaper delivered to our door, I always enjoyed reading my horoscope. It was fun to see what the day supposedly had in store for me and to wonder whether any of it would be true.

I am a Virgo, and Virgo season runs from August 23 through September 22. I don't put much stock in astrology, but I do admit that some of the classic Virgo traits fit me surprisingly well: perfectionism, self-awareness, attention to detail, high standards, practicality, hard work, and a tendency to be service-oriented. I am also my own worst Virgo enemy, and sometimes drive myself crazy trying to get everything just right. Deep breath...not everything needs to be perfect and that it's perfectly fine to let things go.

Recently I came across this list of hobbies that Virgos supposedly need in their lives, and gave it a nod of the head. The list fits me to a "T." Writing, editing or proofreading, organizing events, gardening, cooking and baking, crafting, and learning new skills. I can honestly check off every single bullet point.

Now, does that prove astrology is accurate? Probably not. But it certainly makes for an entertaining coincidence.

Hobbies do keep my mind engaged, give me a sense of purpose, and allow me to create, organize, learn, or help. And perhaps the perfectionist Virgo trait is still a work in progress: learning when to stop, take a breath, and let "good enough" be good enough.

weather app

I rarely use my weather app. 

You wanna know why?

My husband is so tuned in to his that he always keeps me informed about what Mother Nature has in store for the upcoming week, the entire day, or even the next couple of hours. He has mad it one of his "jobs" keep track of the weather, and he can hold an entire conversation about what has already happened, too.

Take Thursday, August 20, for example. He remembers that we got 2 to 4 inches of rain, enough to trigger flood warnings and leave basements flooded. And if I’m heading to the farm for my five-hour shift, he’ll make sure I know exactly what kind of weather I’m walking into.

There’s no need for me to check an app when I have a living, breathing weather service right here at home. My personal meteorologist. 

I don't need to check my weather app. 

I, Todd, take you, Diane, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life, and you will never have to watch the Channel 7 weather forecast again.

the friday feed: peaches

One of the more frustrating things at the farm is the way people test the ripeness of peaches. Just look at this peach. Someone had a heyday digging his/her fingers into it to see if it was ripe. Now it is a damaged peach, and no one is going to want to buy it at full price. It will be moved over to the half-off corner and most likely end up in the hands of someone making a peach pie or cobbler.

This is one area where I wish American produce markets would follow the European example. In Europe, you generally don't touch the produce. Instead, you tell the vendor what you want, and he or she selects it for you.

A few years ago, while in Salzburg, we visited the Salzburg Cathedral. In the plaza outside, several produce vendors had set up their stands. Todd reached out to examine a head of cauliflower and immediately received a scolding from the vendor. He didn't realize it but he had broken the rule: look, but don't touch.

This does make sense. When you are selling fresh produce, every squeeze, poke, or poke-and-sniff test can damage something that another customer might have purchased.

I would love it if Treadway Gardens took a lesson from the European approach. Let the people who know the produce choose it for the customers. The peaches would arrive in their bags without fingerprints, bruises, and dents, and the half-off corner just might not have as much damaged produce. But doing this would be be against all norms of American shopping. 

good morning!

I've never been someone who puts stickers on my car, but I sure do enjoy looking at the stickers other people put on theirs. They give me plenty of fodder for blog posts! 😊

The only time I put stickers on my car was when my kids went off to college. During those years, there were just two: two kids went to Miami University (of Ohio), and two went to Ohio University.

Sunday night after dinner, Todd's sweet tooth kicked in, and he wanted to go out for ice cream. We headed to the good ole Dairy Queen that's been in the same spot for years and years and years. My parents took my siblings and me there, Todd and I took our kids there, and with Andrew and Owen coming to visit this weekend, we'll take Owen there for his first Dairy Queen.

Sunday was also the day before the first full week of school, so there was a long, long line of parents and their offspring waiting to order and get their DQ treats. We didn't want to wait, so we headed off to another ice cream parlor.

And that's when I noticed the car parked in front of us. It had this sticker:

"I HOPE SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS TO YOU TODAY."

What a nice message to stumble upon, a sweet way to end a Sunday evening. 

And "I hope something good happens to you today."