Went to the writing shed to write something. I did sort of have a plan to write more on a murder mystery idea that has been brewing in my brain but then I got side tracked by the view. The crabapple trees were nine days later blooming this year when compared to 2016. I only know that because of a series of memories that popped up on Facebook.
            In 2016 the blooms on the trees appeared on April 16th. This year (2019) the blooms didn’t start to open until April 25th. I’m not sure of the significance of that but the two cyclone bombs and lingering winter probably didn’t help. Today is April 30th and the blossoms are simply stunning. I think it might be the most beautiful I have ever seen it – or maybe I say that every year.
            I purposely placed the shed windows so I would have adequate light but limited distractions.  It works quite well on most days but today I am distracted and pleasantly so. This particularly breathtaking view will only last a brief amount of time.  In a day or two the blossoms will begin to fall and then in a blink of an eye the ground will be covered in pink and the tree will green in earnest.
            The branches of the tree sway gently in the breeze – catching my eye often.  The pink called to me – “you better enjoy me while you can”. Phone in hand, I left the shed and wandered through the garden. I was busy snapping pictures, attempting to capture the spectacle of it all. The stunning awesomeness and beauty of Spring… and then I saw it – a bird nest.  
            No one seemed to be home but I am pretty sure this is a new, 2019 addition to the garden. Oh, I hope it is a Robin’s nest. For two years a Robin family had made their home on top of an old cupboard on the patio. We watched the Mama lay her eggs and patiently keep them warm. Once the babies hatched, you would see both parents feeding their hungry young. Rai and I watched as the babies grew, fighting for their parent’s attention. We worried about the little one who always seemed to lose out to the larger and feistier siblings. We cheered when they finally flew away – although it seemed to soon and we missed them when they were gone.  
            ​The birds probably built their nest in the backyard with the hope of being free of our intrusion.  Sorry birds – you built that nest directly above the garden and just a few feet from my deck swing. Rai and I will certainly try to be respectful of your space. I’m just hoping Daddy Bird doesn’t get his knickers in a wad and try to tell Rai and I where we can or can not go in the garden – oh, I hope it is a Robin’s nest.  
            ​​Hopefully… to be continued…
 
            

            As I recall, the public trash cans that Keep Fremont Beautiful purchased in the 1980’s cost nearly $400.00 plus tax and shipping. Unfortunately, vandals threw one of those expensive public trash cans off the second level of the downtown parking garage. The trash can, suffered fatal injuries. The KFB Committee wanted to replace the trash receptacle but desired a more durable model. Thus, the concrete, 900-pound, public trash can, was developed, dedicated and distributed throughout the town.  
            The public trash cans weren’t exactly beautiful but they were “hardy” and absolutely functional. The idea of repurposing the leftover concrete was appealing to an organization dedicated to reducing waste. A few of those weighty behemoth monsters remain on duty, gobbling up discards from the passer by – ever on the ready to reduce litter in Fremont.
            Funding continued to be a problem for replacing the trash cans as grant funds were reduced year after year. Luckily, the Fremont Mainstreet program was able to secure funding for downtown seating and more attractive public trash receptacles. I must admit that the trash receptacles available in the downtown area today, are much more attractive than our homemade concrete receptacles from 28 years in the past. 
But I also must admit that we never had one of our 900 lb. trash cans thrown off the upper level of the parking garage. I wonder if any vandals suffered hernia damage in their failed attempts at destruction of public property – I sort of hope they did…  
            I may have a point with all the public trash can reminiscing – the public trash cans (attractive or sturdy) are available in convenient locations throughout our beautiful downtown area. Keep our downtown litter-free – use the public trash cans when visiting Historic Downtown Fremont. 
            Also, in the column that appeared in the April 6, 1991 issue of the Fremont Tribune, was a section on tree planting:
            April is a great time to beautify the community by planting trees!  The Barnard Park Historical District Society will host a tree planting get together at Barnard Park on April 21st. Refreshments will be served and plans for future beautification efforts will be on display – all Fremonters are welcome to attend.         
       ​As I recall there were lots of people – children, teens and adults – who attended the event. The block long border of trees planted that day in 1991 have matured – adding beauty and color to a highly visible public space.    There is no guarantee that if you plant a tree today, you will be around to see it mature or even see it bloom in the spring. 
            I am grateful, that once again, I am here on planet earth and able to witness the miracle of Spring and the beauty of the flowering trees. I hope that the trees we planted in 1991 will continue to grace our public park for years to come. Far too many of the people with us on that day have passed, however, their presence at the event and the contributions each made to keeping Fremont beautiful will forever be held as a precious memory for me.  
           ​Celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree. What better tradition than creating family memories, helping the environment, cleaning the air and providing for a more beautiful community.    

            I have told Troy many times “Thank you for making me look good.” Now he just proudly tells me whenever he has done something totally magnificent on behalf of Oma Publishing  – “I made you look good.”
            Troy is the owner of Max Designs here in Fremont. I began working with him when I was Executive Director of Keep Fremont Beautiful several years ago. His company set up, printed and mailed our newsletters. Max Designs also printed information materials for KFB such as the ordinance sheets, the recycling opportunity lists, the inserts for the Department of Utilities, the Household Hazardous Waste Brochures and dozens of other print material projects.  
            Max Designs also supplied KFB with yard signs for the Recognition Program and banners for various public events. Troy always made sure that Keep Fremont Beautiful looked good and we appreciated his expertise and dedication to our little non-profit.  
            When I decided to self-publish my first book, I researched the possibilities online and was pretty much intimidated. I wanted to control the process and be hands on with the development and final project. I knew the perfect person to ask for advice – someone I trusted to have my back – Troy.
            He was intrigued by the book idea and was confident that Max Designs could produce a good product in a timely fashion. I worked with one of his designers, Allison Taylor, on developing and setting up each page of the book. I was very hands on and both Troy and Allison tolerated me very well. I took over their counter space and time – I made myself at home and they let me!
            As the book was nearing completion, I started throwing out ideas for other products that I would like to sell. Troy said sure – whatever I wanted to do – t-shirts, prints, bags, stickers – he thought it sounded like fun – and Max Designs could do it all. 
            So, with other products in development, Max Designs started working on the Oma Publishing Website. Elena Paz was tasked with that project and spent many hours helping me develop the site and fine tune the details. We set up a payment account and Max Designs would fulfill all the orders received on the website.  
            Recently Max Designs helped me design a t-shirt for our Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscle Walk Team – “Gracyn Maehem”. Gracyn Mae is my granddaughter. She is three years old, soon to be four and has muscular dystrophy. She wanted a fierce looking character on her t-shirt. Fierce Freddy wasn’t exactly fierce looking enough for the guys on the team – so we went with a tiger. I drew the tiger’s head and Elena added the fierce font. Gracyn chose blue, pink and white for the color scheme – so we made it as fierce as possible using some really pretty colors. 
            Max Designs helped create a MDA Muscle Walk sign up sheet for our team and made the neatest donation box for collecting change for the MDA. Max Designs is pretty amazing!     
            The book, the website, the t-shirts, the prints, the stickers, the posters and shipping the orders near and far, have been completed professionally. Everything that Max Designs has done for me and Oma Publishing has made me look good and for that I will always be grateful.                                            

            I had a collection box for people to donate their change to the MDA and we had a sign-up sheet for the MDA Muscle Walk. Gracyn has a Muscle Walk Team called “Gracyn Maehem”.  The Muscle Walk will be held in Omaha on May 4th and if you would like more information you can contact us at omapublish@gmail.com  In just two hours, we collected $47.20 in change for the MDA. Finding a cure is important and every bit raised, helps!
            Leila Hybl, Executive Director of Keep Fremont Beautiful, attended the book signing and handed out information on the Great American Clean up and future KFB programs and projects. I was so glad she and her daughter were able to attend, given the recent flooding disaster in our community. Annabelle and Gracyn became fast friends and they were so adorable playing together.                 
            Oma Publishing also had Posters and T-shirts available for purchase – and we sold a few! The profits from the “Freddy Fierce” Posters are for Flood Relief. From now until Earth Day, April 22, 2019, we are offering Freddy prints for sale with donated funds going to the Fremont Area United Way Flood Relief.  You can order a print on the website or if you live in Fremont, you may call Oma Publishing at 402-721-0977 to place your order.  
            Oma Publishing will be hosting more book signing events and we hope that you will check our website for upcoming dates and locations.  I would also recommend that you check out the Keep Fremont Beautiful website at www.keepfremontbeautiful.org for more information on upcoming events.