By Riva Hawkes
On Saturday, April 16, 2016, John Stevens, Barbara Pelletier and Riva were volunteers at the Upper Room in Sherman, which is open every Wednesday and Saturday from 10-2.
Business was very brisk as there were many who came to select just what they needed in clothes, linens, cooking dishes, shoes and pocketbooks. Some left with just a few items but many left carrying out several bags of selected items, and all took their time selecting these items.
Quite a few children came in with their parents, and most of these went home with a toy or two, which are donated free for the little ones, and they have a great time looking them over and selecting what they want, and leave with happy faces.
I have recently heard from a former resident of Island Falls, Clayton Varney, now residing in Humble, Texas, and he reports all is the same there and that his sister, Leithea Porter from Island Falls, had stopped in for a three-day visit after spending several weeks with her daughter, Elaine, who lives in Arizona.
The snow has finally disappeared from my big backyard and so have the deer! I think the ground has become too dry and new growth is hard for the deer to find. I have seen them a couple of times but they were way down back by the woods trying to find a bit of food in that area.
Rain is predicted soon, so maybe the grass will begin to grow faster now and the deer will return to graze.
I threw out some bread crumbs the other evening, as I have several big black crows who light on my big birch tree looking around the area for any handouts. It wasn’t long before they spotted the crumbs and finished them off in no time.
I still have the male and female cardinals arriving at the feeders, along with a large flock of both male and female finches. The males are a very bright yellow, which really shows up so against the dull brownish female.
The dratted squirrels are still around, and the other day the big gray had found a way to get into a hanging feeder. His head was stuck out one end of it and his tail the other while he polished off all the seeds. I have decided not to put out so many seeds now that the weather is warmer, so maybe this will discourage the red and gray pests.
