Been sitting on the porch most of this beautiful day. Warmer in the yard than the house. It’s six o’clock and the porch is as pleasant as a spring day at dusk. Saw a beautiful sunset from my swing perch but when I went inside to get my camera the peak of colors had changed when I got back. Never noticed all the hues of purples I’ve been seeing lately in the sunsets. I’ve seen some pinks and oranges but the purple and blue tones are so beautiful and new to me. The colors are reflected in the clouds, too. It’s amazing that dust particles trapped in the atmosphere produce these pink and reddish clouds. Looks like God is coloring with his pastels today instead of his water colors. He is a gifted artist!

Been working on my Wally World grocery list and trying to separate necessities and wants. I want some ice cream but not sure it’s a necessity. But it might be a necessity for my sanity. Things are still going up in price. I’m looking forward to tomato sandwich days! Got two of my garden pots cleaned out…only 4 more to go. Really had good luck with my pot garden last year. By pot, I mean the pots are big plastic cow mineral containers. Am not growing medicinal herbs. Might help my arthritis, though.

Forgot to tell y’all about my Burger King burger. Came back from LaGrange the other day and decided to, ooops, just looked up from the screen and suffered a coronary! Someone has hung a long winter coat from the ceiling of the porch across the street. Looks just like someone has hanged themselves. It’s slowly turning around. Just like a hanging on Gunsmoke. Yep, I’m back in the house now! Woooooweeee!

Anyway, I called Stew to see what he wanted at BK and headed to order. Was starving so I didn’t get the junior whopper as usual, just looked up after I ordered Stew’s and got the impossible burger. Looked just like a regular cheese burger. Had no idea it was a PLANT burger, didn’t even read anything about it. It was really good and as I put the last bite in my mouth Stew says, “Wonder why the wrapper has green writing? Bet it’s a plant burger!” He starts laughing, not believing me when I said it was good. Bet it was a salt burger! Well, after looking it up on the internet, and reading about it, I’m sticking with the whopper junior. Every time he walked by my room for the rest of the night, he’d say,”Feeling any affects from the plant burger yet?” He’s still laughing.

Oldest brother and his friend came just came by and sat on the porch with us tonight. We sat outside till good dark. I think Spring has sprung! I told them about the hanged overcoat when they walked up to the porch but when we looked over there it was gone. I know they think I’m crazy! Oldest brother has all his garden pots filled and ready to plant. He spent yesterday cleaning out around some native azaleas in the woods by his house. They’re beautiful when they bloom. And he’s got a couple packs of black-eyed Susan wild flowers to plant. Oldest brother and his friend and I didn’t talk about our birds today. I forgot to brag about all the cardinals in my yard. We talked about our garden pots and tomatoes and our pansies. It must be heart breaking not to have family and friends. Not to have any loved ones. I know I’m fortunate in having both. And I enjoy sharing my porch with my family and friends.

The front porch of this house is such a big part of my life. Four generations of my family have enjoyed this front porch. To me a porch just conveys a sense of home. We’ve all lulled our babies to sleep in the swing, stolen kisses in the dark, and caught the toddlers by the seat of their diapers when they toddled over to the steps. Been eaten alive by mosquitoes and had cap gun and water gun battles from the swings.

My wondering kicked in and I read up on porches. I was wondering when porches became a fixture on homes in America. Research says front porches became popular in the 1880s. Front porches played a part getting the private sector and community sector together. The porch was an extension of the house and functioned as an outdoor living room, cooler than the stuffy hot house. People sat outside on their porches after supper, people walked through their neighborhoods and chatted with families sitting on the porches, and children played out in the yards. I remember these happy days, chasing lightning bugs and playing tag while my parents sat on the porch. When we got tired we sit on the steps and listen to our parents softly talking.

My grandmother McMurray had a great front porch, too. Hers was screened in and had a swing with worn pillow cushions and two big heavy rocking chairs. Loved to visit there with my daddy and listen to them talking and telling stories. Lots of visits in the summer would find my grandmother and her sister sitting on the porch and shelling peas from my daddy’s garden.

By the 1960s, house plans put the porches on the sides or back of houses. Homes had air conditioning and television replaced the porch sitting after supper. One article I read said the tv put the “nail in the coffin” of the front porch. Our porch here at the Gran, my nic name for my house, is where my family shares our stories, sings our songs, and escapes the heat of the Gran because she’s still not air conditioned. My grandchildren and I play “Let the cat die,” in the swings when they visit. You swing real high, stick your feet straight out, and no pushing till the swinging stops. The swing stops, the cat dies. Sounds morbid but it’s fun to let the swing stop on its own. We also love to let the swing be an airplane and off we go. This Christmas we flew off to New York. I piloted in my feeted pajamas. Emerson chose a different destination so he didn’t board the plane.

Let me know if y’all are sitting on your porches.