THE PARTY BELL IS READY.

Gene is sprucing up Granma Dorothy's cement birdbath and Granma Yvonne's farm bell. The birdbath weighs at least 200 lbs. and we've been dragging it around every time we've moved since "River House" in San Marcos.

Big pot, little pot and some kind of wierd lock. The date on the bell is 1886 and it was on a farm near Amory, Mississippi where Yvonne lived and worked as a little girl. She picked cotton and dug peanuts.

UGH...the huisache (and everything else) is blooming. The blooms are strange little pom-poms. I never knew that.

This little fellow was keeping a close eye on us while enjoying a pecan. We have dozens of squirrels here. They are pretty bold and will come within a few feet of us.

Done! Yvonne had this cross shaped holder made to hold the bell and pots. We have moved it 5 times. It is very, very heavy. It took Gene and Toby 3 hours to dig it up at Yvonne's house. They used shovels and a pick axe and "the Colonel" brought it from San Antonio to San Marcos. After that we only set it in cement once and that was in Pecos...and used VERY little cement. The bell is VERY loud!!! We'd like to get rid of it but have no idea who would buy the thing.