Tuesday, July 25, 2017 – Caladiums in the Women’s Garden, Working on the “Sunset” Stage

Today was another hard day of work on the grounds of Old Nauvoo. Richard and his grounds crew planted a variety of plants including beautiful “Red on Green” Caladiums all over in the women’s garden. There were over 140 large mature Caladiums in addition to the other plants. The Caladiums are full of bright colorful leaves and everything was planted in all of the flowerbeds in the Women’s Garden.

For the past two months since all of the annual flowers were planted in the flowerbeds, many of the annuals have been eaten by deer, destroyed by possums and raccoons, pulled out of the ground by guests or died for one reason or another. Today Richard and his crew filled in all of the blank spaces as well as other empty spots in the gardens with large variety of plants including those beautiful “Red on Green” Caladiums. They make a great display and brighten all of the flowerbeds in the Women’s Garden.

Sis. Johnson and I along with our crew of Elder Kyle Johnson and Elder Cantwell worked the whole day on the hedge of shrubs at the “Sunset on the Mississippi” stage again. Yesterday we got the first half done and today we almost finished the whole thing. There is only about 40 feet left to weed, rake and clean up plus remove the rogue trees. 

Our cleaning project is always complicated by the occasional large patch of Poison Ivy we come across. Everything comes to a screeching halt every time we find Poison Ivy. I have to put on my protective gear while the others have to wait until every stem, leaf and root of the Poison Ivy is removed and disposed of properly. 

Our cleaning project is always complicated by the occasional large patch of Poison Ivy we come across. Everything comes to a screeching halt every time we find Poison Ivy. I have to put on my protective gear while the others have to wait until every stem, leaf and root of the Poison Ivy is removed and disposed of properly. 

Monday, July 24, 2017 – Pioneer Day, May Flies & Swallows, Poison Ivy on the “Sunset” Stage

Today is “Pioneer Day” which means all of the paid staff at FM have the Utah State Holiday off.  There were still a lot of us in this morning’s FM’s Prayer meeting, about half of the chairs were occupied and we still had Jordan Bodily (FM’s Director) with us to conduct. As full time missionaries all of us serve every day including holidays except for our P-day. 

As we entered FM’s “E” building for our Prayer Meeting, the outside walls and doors were covered with May Flies. Many of them were dead in spider webs but most of them were alive.  In the air over the building there were hundreds of “Tree Swallow” birds flying, dipping and darting back and forth catching May Flies in mid air. It was a sight to see. What a feast for the Tree Swallows, they’ve got to be the best fed birds in the state, at least for now during May Fly season.

Today our first cleaning and weeding assignment was at the “Sunset by the Mississippi” stage. We found a lot of Poison Ivy in the shrubs there and they all needed to be safely removed. We also cut down and poisoned rogue trees. We weeded and did a general cleaning of the area too. It looks much better now and with the Poison Ivy gone, it is much safer for the guests.

Our final two cleaning areas for the day were first, the historic home of William Weeks and second, the beautiful flowerbed at the corner of Partridge and Young streets. This particular garden is like a welcome sign that everyone sees as they drive to the Visitor’s Center. It is just beautiful and it sets the tone for the visitors as they feel the spirit of Nauvoo. As garden caretakers we are honored to do our part in sharing and spreading the spirit of Nauvoo.

Sunday, July 23, 2017 – John Taylor Home Tours, District Meeting & Dinner

This afternoon we had the opportunity to serve in the historic home of John Taylor and give 15 tours to over 120 people. Sis. Johnson and I were very busy and enjoyed our afternoon meeting a lot of people and teaching them about the life of an apostle and Prophet. We had a wonderful variety of guests come take our tours today. We not only had families from all over the US but from Canada, Guatemala and Brazil as well.

John Taylor was one of the greatest men who ever walked the streets of old Nauvoo. He listened to the Spirit and was committed to serve the Lord. He was a tender husband and father, always mindful of his family. He survived the tragic events in Carthage that took the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. Even though he was shot four times at close range by musket and pistol he recovered from his wounds and lived to help build a “better city” in the Rocky Mountains. In 1880 John Taylor was sustained as the Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was truly a great man!

This evening we had our regular monthly District Meeting and dinner at the home of Elder and Sis. Van Horn. I love these monthly district meetings with our friends and fellow missionaries because they are always long on friendship, conversation and good food, and short on boring Meeting! Next month Sis. Johnson and I will get to host the next District Meeting and dinner.

Saturday, July 22, 2017 – Bagpipes on Mulholland Street, P-day River Road

This morning on our way to do our P-day grocery shopping we drove through down town Nauvoo. We were surprised to see the Nauvoo Bagpipe and Drum Corps walking down Mulholland Street. They were playing one of my favorite tunes on bagpipes, “Praise to the Man” as they walked along. The Bagpipe and Drums ensemble is used extensively throughout Old Nauvoo during July for the Pageant, the vignettes at the historic sites, Country Fair, in the visitor’s center shows and many more places. 

The Navuoo Bagpipe and Drum group not only play “Praise to the Man” but they also play two other of my favorite hymns, “If You Could Hie to Kolb” and “Amazing Grace.” I love all three of these pieces on bagpipes. I could listen to them all day and never tire.

On our way to go grocery shopping we drive the “River Road” about 12 miles south to Keokuk. The river and the scenery are particularly beautiful this time of year with the Lotus plants filling the shallows and Lotus blossoms everywhere. Even though the Mississippi River is muddy year round, on a hot day in July it sure looks like an inviting place to cool off, at least it would have looked that way in the 19^th Century to Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer” or “Huckleberry Finn.”

Friday, July 21, 2017 – Cleaning and Deadheading in the heat, Lunch for FM, Flowers from Clara, Sunset Cancelled Again

This morning was another hot and humid day for us in the gardens. We worked at the Visitor’s Center cleaning and “Deadheading” again. However another “Excessive Heat Warning” cut our work day short. The “Feels Like” temperature when we broke for lunch was at 109 degrees so that was the end of our work day.  

For lunch today the President of the Nauvoo and British Pageants, Pres. John L. Ricks, brought in a catered luncheon for all of the FM staff, employees and missionaries. In a short “Thank You” message before the luncheon he thanked everyone at FM for their hard work and tireless efforts to prepare the facilities, grounds, stage and make this year’s pageants possible. 

And what a great lunch it was. The Hy-Vee in Keokuk was called on to cater the “Chinese Food” with all the trimmings and it was delicious. There was more than enough for everyone. I haven’t had Chinese food this good in years! I think I’m going to have to start eating at the Hy-Vee Deli & Lunch counter now.

This afternoon Sis. Johnson got a very pleasant surprise. A floral delivery truck pulled up at our house and she received a flower delivery from the Hy-Vee Florist in Fort Madison. The flowers were sent to her by our dear friend Clara Naylor Annis in Mesa, AZ for no special reason other than she was “Just thinking of you.” To receive flowers for a special occasion is good but to get them when you don’t expect them is even better. Thank you Clara, we love and appreciate your friendship and thoughtfulness.

Yesterday when “Sunset by the Mississippi” was cancelled because of the “Excessive Heat Warning” we were afraid tonight’s show would be cancelled too. Well our fears were justified, at show time the “Feels Like” temperature was still too high (107 degrees) and the outdoor show was cancelled again tonight. Sis. Johnson and I really enjoy singing our duet, “Senior Moments” and now we won’t get to perform it until next Friday. But this is only an inconvenience for us, unfortunately there are many family and friends of other Senior missionaries that are in town to see their parents or grandparents perform in “Sunset” and they won’t have that chance. It is really sad when a show has to be cancelled. 

Thursday, July 20, 2017 – Cleaning Brigham Young’s home and Visitor’s Center, Heat Index

We got a lot done this morning considering it was a short day of work. We started at the historic home of Brigham Young and weeded and cleaned for several hours. We hadn’t been to the Brigham Young home in three weeks and it was due for a thorough weeding and cleaning.

 

We finished our morning at the Visitor’s Center Flowerbeds. It had been a couple of weeks since we did a comprehensive weeding there. A whole new crop of weeds have sprung up and all of the flowerbeds needed attention. Several varieties of flowers and the “Day Lilies” especially needed to be “dead headed.” Most of them are all going past bloom now and all of the empty dead stalks and stems needed to be removed.

 After our mid-morning break we evaluated the heat and humidity and determined that we could keep on working even though it was very warm. But by 11:30 the “Heat Index” said the temperature “Feels Like” it was 110 degrees. We were really hot and we decided it was time to call it a day. It was a good thing we did; by mid-afternoon the “Feels Like” temperature was up to 116 degrees.

The National Weather Service posted an “Excessive Heat Warning” today because it was so hot and humid. The Excessive Heat Warning was in effect until 8:00pm when the “Feels Like” temperature was forecast to finally get below 105 degrees. As a result, tonight’s “Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo” outdoor stage show had to be cancelled. And from the looks of the forecast for tomorrow, “Rendezvous” will probably be cancelled again tomorrow as well, but we hope not. Sis. Johnson and I really enjoy performing on stage in “Rendezvous” and especially tomorrow because it is our turn to sing our duet, “Senior Moments – Brain Freeze.”

Wednesday, July  19, 2017 – Four sites, Josh Fuller BYU Study Abroad Group, Pres. McCoy & Golden Ticket, New Bicyle

We were very busy today and we got four sites completely cleaned. However it was a very hot day and since the “Heat Index” was so high, Richard sent us home after lunch. That was very nice of him, I was already toasted!

While we finished the “George Laub” home we got to meet one of the students that is living there for two weeks. His name is Josh Fuller from Gilbert AZ. He and the other student are with “BYU Study Abroad” group. They’ve already spent time in Canada and in other location in the US. He was glad to see us there because there is a large wasp nest on their back door that prevents them from going out to the back porch. One of FM’s managers, Louis Hernandez, came with a can of Wasp and Horne Jet spray to kill them all. Now the house is safe for the BYU students and also safe for us to finish our work.

Today Sis. Johnson and I got our final “Golden Ticket” from Elder McCoy. This time the Golden Ticket is our assignment to speak in Sacrament Meeting on the 30^th of July. During their 18 month mission each Senior Missionary is given four Golden tickets. One is to teach Sunday School, another is to teach either Relief Society or Priesthood meeting. Another Golden Ticket is to give the opening or closing prayer in Sac. Meeting and the last one which Pres. McCoy gave us today is to speak in Sacrament meeting. We knew we would get our final Golden Ticket sooner or later but we just didn’t know when.

After work today Elder Kyle Johnson picked up a bicycle from Kendall Gallaher, FM’s Auto Mechanic. Bicycles are available for the Service Missionaries while they are working for FM on their missions. The bike looks brand new. It isn’t fancy, it only has one gear but Elder Johnson is delighted to have his own transportation to get around Historic Old Nauvoo. It looks like a really nice bike.