The Littlest Soldier

This little boy was so proud to march with his Uncle during the West Paris Memorial Day Parade...

West Paris Memorial Day Parade

The beautiful weather brought out a big crowd for our town parade this morning! This teamster was so happy to haul the Grand Marshals...although judging by the grins on their faces, I think the Grand Marshals were just as happy!

Lots more pix from this fun day to come...

Interesting Roof

I particularly like the way the roof of this charming old farmhouse & barn looks.

Just Off Main Street

Everyone's yard looks so nice all dressed up with flowering bushes & trees...

Evening Sky

I happened to look upwards during our walk yesterday evening...

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Sweet Violets

Our wet spring may be dampening our spirits, but it has given us a bumper crop of wild violets! They are all over the fields & so pretty!!

I chose the title of this post from one of my favorite old-time songs. My aunt taught us to sing it when we were young. Here is what I found on Wiki-pedia...

"Sweet Violets" is a surprising mix of humorous lyrics. The song consists mainly of couplets, except that the last word of each couplet, which can generally be inferred from a combination of context and the ostensible rhyming scheme, is instead cut off by the start of the next couplet or by the chorus.The following excerpt from the song is an example of the style:

There once was a farmer who took a young miss
In back of the barn where he gave her a...
Lecture on horses and chickens and eggs
And told her that she had such beautiful...
Manners that suited a girl of her charms
A girl that he wanted to take in his...
Washing and ironing and then if she did
They would get married and raise lots of...
Sweet Violets, sweeter than all the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets.
- O. Williams, Amherst Point, Nova Scotia, collected by Claybe - minor edits by J. Glennie, Niagara Falls, ON

O. W. says there are more verses: "the father was going to call the..." - expected word was "cops" but the next line started with "Minister"; "doing her..." - expected word was "wrong" but the next line started with "Right".

The girl told the farmer that he'd better stop
and she'd tell her father, and he called a...
Taxi and got there before very long,
'Cause someone was doing his little girl...
Right for a change and so that's why he said:
If you marry her, son, you're better off...
Single, 'Cause it's always been my belief
Marriage will bring a man nothing but...

Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets

The farmer decided he'd wed anyway,
And started in planning for his wedding...
Suit which he purchased for only one buck
But then he found out he was just out of...
Money and so he got left in the lurch
Standin' and waitin' in front of the...
End of the story which just goes to show
All a girl wants from a man is his...

Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets

A classic example of a "censored rhyme" lyric, the anticipated words "kiss" are replaced by "lecture" and "legs" by "manners"...and so on.

The chorus is from the song "Sweet Violets" by Joseph Emmet, from his 1882 play Fritz Among the Gypsies - "Sweet violets, sweeter than all the roses...covered all over from head to toe, covered all over with sweet violets."

It was recorded by Dinah Shore with Henri René's Orchestra & Chorus in Hollywood on May 20, 1951. The song was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4174A (78 rpm record), 47-4174A (single) (in USA)[1] and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10115. The Dinah Shore version was arranged by Cy Coben and Charles Grean. It reached # 3 on the Billboard magazine charts. The song (in all its versions, combined) reached #1 on the Cash Box magazine best-seller chart.
It was also recorded by Jane Turzy and Judy Lynn. .

Numerous versions exist in which the implied lyrics are more risque.

What's in the box?!

CHICKS!! We let each of the kids choose what breed they wanted to raise. We now have Americaunas, Black Giants & Light Brahmas, as well as some broilers to put in the freezer in a few months....

Precious Cargo

This morning we took a quick trip down to the Post Office to pick up our chicks & bring them home! The girls & I were sure excited!!

Finally!

Due to difficulty with scheduling, we had to keep putting off the girls' birthday party...until today! We had a great time with the whole family & the kiddos didn't mind extending their birthdays at all...we even celebrated my nephew's birthday too since the family couldn't get together on the proper date for his birthday either....I'll show you his cake later on this week.

Bird's Eye View

One of the girls took my camera the other day & took lots of pictures around the farm. I liked this one looking out of the door of the chicken coop into their run...

We called his bluff...

He said, "Sure I could wear my head shaved." I said, "Well, we could do that for you!" The girls were a little bit nervous about actually doing it. They were afraid that he would get mad, but he just smiled as they shaved all his hair away...

Daffodils

We're so happy to see their cheerful faces!

Drawing

I don't like it Buddy, I LOVE it!! Thank you!!!!

Signpost

You can travel the world...without leaving the state!

Laundry Day

This is how I spent most of the day yesterday...washing & hanging everything out on the line 'cause it was a 'picture-perfect' drying day...warm, sunny & breezy. I washed everything I could get my hands on! Boy, did that bedding smell wonderful when we climbed into bed last night...

Guineas on Patrol

Our guineas are free ranging now that spring is here. We are really hoping that they will control the tick population. They sure do roam EVERYWHERE & they are constantly picking & scratching at the ground! Let's keep our fingers crossed that they find each & every little tick before it can reach us!