R.S. Westeren Studio

Social Media - What was good has turned evil by R S Westeren Social media started with so much promise. The ability to easily reach out to family and friends that are not near with pictures and activities was universally accepted and used. To find long lost friends from school and neighborhoods that you long past moved from was like a online reunions that you did not have to travel to. I remember my first experience with social media, MySpace. Friendly back and forth banter making it a truly enjoyable experience. Facebook was next for me. Easier to post pictures and other media. Again friendly back and forth banter with friends and new friends. Pictures of grandchildren, pets and parents passes back and forth with notes of the activities we normally would miss. Instagram and twitter were now available allowing more opportunity to contact with the world using different media. "Facebook is a popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, up

The pond started with an idea that came to me one night in a dream.  The concept was to build a raised bed, like some people do with vegetable gardens, and put a pond liner in it. The original dream it was going to be 12' by 12' and would have a rubber pond lining in the front about 12' by 8' and the back would be dirt to plant back ground plants in. As I started putting the dream in to reality I realized that the size was not the right proportions for the backyard. You see a year prior I had built a 12' by 8' with 4"x 4" framed box that I put a silk tree in surrounded by "grass". Silk Tree in Grass Bed So I started building the frame work for the raised bed. Using pressure treated  2"x 8"x 12' I laid out the first layer of boards using steel reinforcing brackets in the corners. As I moved it around, it became very clear it was the wrong proportions to the area. So adjustment were made, leaving the length alone and adjusting the

All in all we are handling the stay at home reasonably well. It is not how I expected my first few months of being retired playing out. 2020 has not been a good year so far, with my mother in law passing away in January and now the CORVID19 stay at home orders. So we try to get out of the house every couple days even if its just to run to the post office or to get a couple things from the store. Maggie and I take a walk every couple of days, it/'s good for us to get out. I am spending some time in the backyard working on my gardens and pond. I thought I would share some of my recent garden pictures in this blog: Most of these flowers are around the pond which has come to life this spring.So even when life seems to be challenging the flowers continue to grow and flourish. Maybe we need to be more like the flower and bloom. Until next time... Roger