Stephen Graduates College!

Stephen graduated from the University of Tennessee on May 12 with a degree in Journalism and Electronic Media! We had a party for him and his friends. It was a happy day. Oh happy day. Now what?

That Dam May Training

Dear Dam Racers,

I apologize for being late with May’s inspirational missive. Finishing up this semester at Harvard was quite traumatic for me and Russel. But we have now recovered and are feeling much better; so is Mary.

May is a great month for training. Here are a few lines that MAY inspire you as you continue your dam training.

April is a promise that May is bound to keep.

~Hal Borland (That means you should have reached your dam goal of 4.7 miles in under an hour in May.)

He that is in a towne in May loseth his spring. ~George Herber (That means you should be in the country, Mantua, in July—that's possibly a bit of a stretch, but then stretching is important.)

"The world's favorite season is the spring. 
All things seem possible in May."
- Edwin Way Teale (That means it is possible to reach your dam goals.)

"By the time one is eighty, it is said, there is no longer a tug of war in the garden with the May flowers hauling like mad against the claims of the other months. All is at last in balance and all is serene. The gardener is usually dead, of course."
- Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman (That means you’re not 80 yet, so you’re not dead, and you should be doing your dam training.)

'But I must gather knots of flowers,

And buds and garlands gay,

For I'm to be Queen o' the May,

mother,
I'm to be Queen o' the May.'

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

(That means each dam racer will come in first in his or her Dam Race age group.)

"Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers."


-Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry, 1557

(That should really say, “April showers Do spring May dam runners.)

Is it so small a thing

To have enjoy'd the sun,

To have lived light in the spring,

To have loved,

To have thought,

To have done [run]...

- Matthew Arnold (That means tis no small thing to have prepared for the Dam Race.)

May the dam force be with you and May you stay Forever Young.

Rebecca

Pic: The May Queen preparing for the dam race. (Barefoot, of course. It's all the rage.)

Rhodendrons

Thankfully, in the big hail storm of 2011, my rhododendrons had not started to blossom; they were still in a very tight bud. Plus they were protected on one side by the house. So while pretty much everything else got stripped--the day lilies, the clematis, the just-purchased gerber daisy, the asian lilies that were doing so wonderfully, my rhododendrons survived. And they bloomed, just in time for mother's day. Now isn't that sweet?! Rhodendrons are tricky to grow because they like frequent water, but need good drainage. You have to plant them above the soil a bit. I should know, I have lost my share of them. This is the second season for this one, and it looks like it is going to make it.

I think my day lilies will comeback, since the stalks had not yet shot up. So, despite the mangled foliage, hopefully they will appear in June along with the magnolias.

Mary pr'd (personal record) today in three events at the heptathlon at Yale: the hurdles, the shot put, the 200. She was in first place until the 200's, because even though she pr'd, she's not that great at the 200s. So she is in second place going into day 2. . . . now if it just weren't for the 800s!

24 in real life

The Navy Seal operation to get Osama looked like it was lifted right out of the show 24. On the television show when they showed the segments of the president and his/her cabinet watching a realtime dangerous operation going down via satellite, I thought it was pure theatrics. And the fact that the Seals all got out alive, was movie worthy as well--though these days in a tv show, a couple of Seals would have been killed. It's nice that at least in this case, real life was way better. Now in the tv series 24, all of them would have been killed, except one who was badly injured and one who heroically finished the operation and rescued the injured man. And that one heroic person would have been, uh, duh, Jack Bauer.

I saw on the morning news an interview with an ex Elite Navy Seal from team six who has written a memoir about his life as a Navy Seal; it is due out the end of May. Wow! what good timing. I'm getting it.

Hail Storm

Speaking of the weather down here, it has been brutal. We had golf-ball sized hail--I mean really. I often hear weathermen talking about golf-ball sized hail, but I've never actually seen it hitting. Huge balls of ice smashed into our windows, and doors, and house. We were lucky, none of our windows broke. The car of a friend who is staying with us was dented all over. Fortunately my car was in the garage, and we didn't really care too much about Russel's old van.

There were 284+ deaths in Alabama and 34 or so here in East Tennessee; Alabama had 170+ tornados, one of them a mile wide, and we had an EF2 tornado--whatever that means. This morning when we walked around our subdivision, I was expecting a lot of damage, but mostly the streets were just littered with green leaves and debris, and the whole area smelled heavily of a combination of Christmas trees and freshly cut grass. We found a hawk or falcon with a broken wing--Russel and took it in to the UT wild animal hospital. Today is beautiful and sunny.

Easter in Pictures

It was a glorious Easter. In fact it has been a glorious spring, and I meant to rave about the dogwoods, and then about the azaleas, and soon the rhododendrons--don't you love that name! I remember reading it in a book long ago and not knowing what rhododendrons were, but thinking the name was so intriguing and high brow! Anyway, we had a splendid Easter as you can see. Russel and I dressed the yard for most of the day Saturday, and then Sunday morning went to Easter service at 7:45. I know, crazy--but Aaron had to work at 11:00, so we went to the earliest of the 3 Easter services, then came home and made brunch--pancakes, ham, and eggs; stuffed Easter candy into plastic eggs, yes, this was for the grownup kids. Stephen won this year, Eliz usually wins of course.

The pics from top to bottom:

Russel refueling after hours of work--note the hose dreadlocks

Reb brandishing tools

Dogwood spring beauty (a week earlier)

Fruits of our labor--Azaleas and edged sidewalks!

Russ and Reb in Easter finery

Stephen and Joyanna in Easter finery

Russ off to church

Joyanna and Stephen off to church

Stephen's "If you take one more picture, Mom, I'm going to lose it" look.

The Easter Service

Back at home stuffing eggs

Having Easter brunch

Looking under the tramp for eggs

Leaping over the deck rail on way to eggs

More egg hunting pics

Counting the stash (Stephen wins!)

Coloring eggs

Egg wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, I declare an egg war! (My egg was the winner :))

The Dam April Workout

Well, so, it is April and time to get in serious shape for the big dam race! (Prizes will be awarded--really good prizes!) HERE'S THE APRIL WORKOUT SCHEDULE: Five days of the week: a minimum 35 minute run (or run/walks, if you must!). If you are seriously out of shape, and neglected to do your March workouts, you can start at 20 minutes a day. Sixth day: a minimum one-hour run/walk. (Keep track of how far you get in that hour, and try to increase the distance each week. The race is 4.7 miles, so you will want to cover that distance in under an hour!) Three to Five days a week: Do your dam core exercises (and a little yoga stretching on the side) For many people, especially the older you get, your training is slowed or sometimes interrupted because of a weakness in the core, which causes aches, pains and injuries--all can be avoided by strengthening the core!--and proper warm up before you begin. You can follow this link to the core exercises and print out your own copy: http://www.bicycling.com/print/942 If you do not have an exercise ball, not to worry! Just do exercises 2, 4 ,5--ha! good luck with the transverse plank!, 6, 7, & 8. I also suggest improving your diet by increasing fruit and veggie intake and cutting out sugar. I'm just sayin--you gotta get your mind in the game--we need total commitment from team Mantua! PS: I am taking submissions for the 2011 Dam Race Hall Cheer. You may submit in text form or performance video.