Monday Morning

Wow! What a weekend! Friday night we helped celebrate Zach's birthday. Saturday morning, we were off to Ottumwa for a full day of science fair activities. Zach's team competed with the Lego robot they built, presented a skit and were interviewed by the judges. There were many schools represented and his team won the research award. Way to go, Central! Saturday night we played poker. Sunday afternoon was spent racing through the Quincy mall. Shopping is not really an activity I like to do, yet with Christmas just three weeks away, it must be done. Of course, going with the kids, I didn't really get any shopping done, but I did get some good ideas for when I go alone. The boys made out like bandits. Zach found a new coat, Wyatt new shoes, and numerous other things. Mostly, the boys and I raced up and down the escalators and played games.
Today will be my first "official" day on the job. I was offered the position at school and accepted.

November 29...Already!

How can it be? Mom always told us that the older you get the faster time passes...or at least it seems so. As usual, Mother is right! She's been right for as long as I can remember, but in my youthful days I didn't always recognize that fact. I am very thankful today for Mom and Dad! They have always been, and continue to be a beautiful demonstration of God's love for His children. They provided for all my needs....and more (more than I could think or ask), including guidance, love, support, encouragement, food, clothing, shelter, work, luxuries, and discipline. I have the best parents on earth.
I'd go on, but it's time to get ready for school.
I'm planning to blog more frequently. Facebook is okay, but blogging allows me to express myself in a bigger way...and it's really more fun for me. I'm not sure anyone will ever read my posts here, but it really doesn't matter. I enjoy "writing".

October Update

Since taking possession of the newly acquired property, we've spent just about all our time working on the place. It's looking better every day. We've demolished the old mobile home and are working on demolition of the other trailer. Over the weekend, we painted the interior walls and ceiling in the "rec building". What a difference! Thanks to Kathy! She painted eight hours on Saturday, and came back Sunday afternoon to paint the second coat! The boys were also helpful.
The harvest is coming along fairly well. Yields are well below normal, due to the extremely dry summer. It's still very dry here. In spite of that, the fall foliage has been positively gorgeous.










The ponds are at very low levels, and the big creek is nearly dried up, but for some reason, our little stream is still flowing. Wyatt has learned ride the Warrior. These past couple of weeks we've put a lot of miles on poor old Rusty. He hasn't yet figured out that if he'd just wait in the shade, we'd be right back. He follows us where ever we go.

In September, I attended the National Quartet Convention in Louisville. It was very inspirational and I enjoyed it very much even though I went alone. Bobbie was unable to go this year. A few of the highlights were the Gaither Vocal Band reunion, Mosie Lister's 90th birthday, Song of a Lifetime showcase, and of course, the Main Stage events each evening.

Hot August Newsflash!

Jake's truck caught on fire and burned up! From the inside out! He'd parked and gone in the house. The neighbor later saw the truck on fire and called 911. Jake, being in the basement, heard nothing! Same neighbor called Amy, who then called Jake, and by the time he went out to check the blaze was nearly extinguished. Unfortunate loss of his truck, but so thankful that no one was hurt, and also that the flames didn't reach the house and cause damage there as well! Not yet sure what caused the fire. WOW!

SOT Kayaks = FUN

I love the way the color is reflected on the water in this photo.

The boys came over after school this evening to try out the SOT (sit on top) kayaks on our small pond. They're fun and safe. If you tip over, you fall off instead of being trapped in the cockpit. The water was refreshing after a very hot day at school. While paddling around, the boys spotted a big bullfrog. On closer inspection, the frog was being swallowed by a big water snake! Frog couldn't hop because Snake had Frog's feet in his mouth. We caught (and killed) the snake, and the frog hopped into the water and disappeared. That makes three snake encounters in the past two days! YUCK!
We're hoping to close soon on the property we bought in June. We're eager to take possession and start cleaning up. There will be MUCH to do! Watch for pictures and progress reports here.
We had so much rain in June we thought it would never stop. But, it stopped! I think we have gone about 5 or 6 weeks with no measurable precipitation. Everything around here is dried up, brown and withered. Sad for area farmers!
We celebrated our 40th anniversary last week. I also attended my 40th class reunion. WOW! Dennis has a birthday coming up soon, and we're be celebrating at the Keokuk Aquatic Center.
School is back in session and I'm again driving the bus. Not much change in my route this year.
That's it for this time!

Two Hundred Posts!

According to the "dashboard" stats, this is my 200th post.

I'll try to catch up with the happenings around here since my last post back in May.
JUNE: School dismissed for the summer, to resume on August 23. I'm not sure, but I think it rained almost every day. We had record amounts on several occasions. I had two students in the summer school program at Mar's One Room Schoolhouse (MORS). We learned about the importance of character qualities such as self-control, patience, discretion, truthfulness, humility and tolerance. We enjoyed a number of field trips. We went on a tour of the Heartland Dairy, sampled the cheeses made there, ate lunch at the Solid Rock Cafe. We especially enjoyed seeing and petting the baby goats, even though they almost ate Wyatt's hat! We also visited Oakland Mills Nature Center. Zach and Wyatt entertained us with a puppet show. We hiked across the swinging bridge, saw a live bobcat, and especially liked the glass beehive. We enjoyed a Burlington Bees baseball game, swimming, exploring in Sugar Creek, and closed the summer school session with a bus trip to St. Louis for a Cardinals vs. Cubs game. We got to see Albert Pujols his his 2000th career hit. In addition to our summer school program, we attended many little league baseball games. Both Wyatt and Zach had very successful seasons with their respective teams. Zach went on to play with the "traveling" team, but missed two weeks due to a fractured finger. On June 27th, we were the winning bid on the former Sugar Valley Campground property. Closing was scheduled to be on or before August 1.
JULY: Much the same as June, but the rain stopped! Once it quit raining, we really dried up and got very hot and humid. Lots of baseball games and summer school classes. Mowing grass and spraying weeds took most of my "free" time. Our refrigerator quit, so we did a little shopping around and found our best deal to be right in downtown Keokuk. The closing on the new property was delayed. Since it wasn't happening as scheduled, I went to Wisconsin (Camp Forest Springs) for a few days.
AUGUST: We're still waiting to close and get possession of the new property...as of August 16. I'm still hopeful that we can close before school starts on the 23rd. It's so dry that we have no grass to mow and have been feeding the cows hay already because the pasture is burned up. The creek is just a trickle and the water is warm. I've noticed that the days are noticeably shorter, and have seen some leaves already turning color. Summer is winding down and it will soon be fall.
Some of the things I've forgotten to mention: So far, three parties at the Keokuk Aquatic Center, and still one to go. Our 40th anniversary. My 40th class reunion. Fine dining at the Hotel Nauvoo. Sweetcorn! I actually lost count of how much we put in the freezers, but I do know that we won't go hungry this winter. Family reunions....one with Dad's side, and one with Mom's. And much, much more!
Summer seems to have gone by pretty fast, but it's been a great summer. I love summer.

It's Been Forty Years!

Yes! Forty years since I graduated at Keokuk High School, and on Saturday, it will be forty years ago that Dennis and I were married. Wow! How can it be so? I attended my class reunion Friday evening and totally enjoyed seeing many people I'd not seen since high school. It was such a nice time, I've decided that I will plan to attend any and all future reunions.
Pictured below: Anita (Cannon) Hood, Gail (Galbreath) Lewis, me, Connie (Howes) Mann and Ruth Lawson.

Eggs Hatched!

We have babies. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal are very busy filling the mouths of their young. The photos are a little blurry. Hope to get some better ones in the days to come. Watch for updates.


Update: May 10
Cardinal babies are growing. Their eyes are open!

Workin' In The Rain....

Update: Finished the Hutch. Bugs is enjoying his spacious quarters.


Gettin' soakin' wet! Makes me want to sing. It's another rainy day, but the temperature is in the mid-fifties, so not all that unpleasant. It's a really soft, gentle rain. I can see the grass growing and the colors everywhere getting more and more green.


We started building a larger pen for Bugs Bunny on Saturday. Worked on it again today, but after getting pretty well soaked, we decided to finish it another day. It will be about 21 square feet of space, much more spacious than his current lodging. Bugs will just have to put up with his crowded quarters a little longer. The photo here was taken Saturday when we were just getting started. It was too wet to take the camera out today for a picture of our progress.




While the boys were looking for mushrooms, I stayed in the short grass. I like to avoid any potential snake encounters. I did see some nice frogs around the pond.






I did take a couple pictures again from the windows looking out. Everything looked so fresh and pretty. I especially enjoyed the red berries on the bayberry shrubs. They make a nice contrast to all the green. I also noticed we have two homesteaders in the bayberry bushes. One is a cardinal's nest and she's sitting on eggs. The other appears to be a robin's nest. We'll have fun watching their young hatch and grow. Just another wonderful day at our place! We're so blessed!

Spring Beauty....

Each window provides a view of loveliness! Days like today, it seems all I get done is walk from one window to another just looking out. We've had over an inch and one half of rain since we went to bed last night, with more coming. The temperature is holding around 40 degrees. Just not a day I care to spend outdoors!
Enjoy the view with me:




















































I love living here! We are indeed blessed beyond measure.

Since February...

We've enclosed our west deck and turned it into a four season "sun-room". Prior to that, the deck was practically useless. It was too hot to enjoy sitting outdoors most of the summer. The mosquitoes were to pesky to enjoy evenings on the deck. Of course, it was too cold to use in winter, and if it was raining...or snowing.... well, you get the idea. We love the new room!


We celebrated Mom and Dad's 65th anniversary on March 20. It was a beautiful day, and we grilled chicken and riblets. Almost all of our family was able to be there to help celebrate. Everyone brought a dish, and it was just a very nice day.
Dennis has kept busy hauling for us and a lot of other people. He's added several layers to our lane, so it's in pretty good shape. It should hold up well through the spring rains. We certainly hope we don't get rains like we did last year! It's actually raining here at this moment.
Farmers in the area have been busy too. Some already have their corn planted. Travis has been getting equipment ready and preparing fields, but as yet has nothing planted. It's still plenty early.
I've already mowed our lawn twice, and it's only April 15! We've also been battling the weeds. They must have grown under that blanket of snow. We certainly had a healthy crop...but they're not looking so healthy now. Hurray for herbicides!




I put out four new bluebird boxes, and am seeing bluebirds just outside the window as I type. I hope they're moving into one of the new houses. We enjoy all the birds, but are especially fond of bluebirds.








Most recent "news": We have babies! Bunnies. Yesterday I brought two bunnies home. We set up the bunny pen, complete with water bottles and food. Our dog was so excited! He really likes them...in fact, he really wants to eat them! We'll have to be very careful when the kids come to pet the bunnies. Rusty would have them in a heartbeat if given the chance.
Pictured is Wyatt with one of the CFS bunnies. I have not yet taken pictures of ours, but you'll see them soon!





Added Saturday, April 16th. Here is a picture of our bunnies. We're still working on names for them.




Summer plans include some form of "summer school" at Mar's One Room Schoolhouse, several short trips, Cardinal baseball, Camp Forest Springs, lots of home projects....mostly clean up stuff, and Little League games.
And, of course, blogging.....

Groundhog Day!

We spent a good part of the day digging out from the "blizzard of 2011". According to the local newspaper, we had 20" of snow. The county road crew is plowing through drifts as high as 7 feet! It's certainly beautiful. School was called off again for tomorrow. In fact, nearly everything in the whole area was canceled. Even some of the factories told their employees not to come to work. The news says that this storm was worse than the blizzard of '79. I believe this was the first time since we've lived here that we were unable to get out. Travis came down in his backhoe and got our lane opened up.
Even so, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, so spring is coming soon! I took just a few pictures today.















Dennis put out a new bale for the cows:

















And, as usual, we had lots of activity at the bird feeders.

I'm a Bird Watcher...

and the birds are flocking to our feeders today.

We had sleet and freezing rain yesterday, and a little rain during the night. The temperature was 32* this morning and has been steadily falling with light snow. I'm very content to stay inside and look out the windows.

Winter Wonderland!

Why do we hear the "winter" songs only at Christmas time? They're seasonal songs, but they are not Christmas songs. Yet, once Christmas is past, you don't hear these songs played on the radio again until the next Christmas.

Today snow is falling and it's simply beautiful! The pictures don't do it justice. The falling snow doesn't show up well in the photo, but even so, it's pretty. It's still snowing, and now the wind is picking up, shaking the snow out of the trees. It's starting to look more cold than romantic!




Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
In the lane, snow is glistening.
A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird.
Here to stay is the new bird.
He sings a love song, as we go along
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman.
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown.
He'll say, "Are you married?" We'll say, "No, man!"
"But you can do the job when you're in town."

Later on, we'll conspire
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid the plans that we've made
Walking in a winter wonderland.

When it snows, ain't it thrilling?
Though your nose gets a chilling.
We'll frolic and play the Eskimo way
Walking in a winter wonderland!
---Felix Bernard and Richard Smith


Yep...that's definitely a "Winter" song, and should get played at least through February! If I were a radio DJ, you can bet I'd be playing it on days like today.