Main Street Music at Osage Beach!

We're driving to Osage Beach this afternoon to see the Main Street Music Show. Last year we were there with Zach, and had a great time. This time we are taking Dad (his Father's Day gift) and Mom. Bobbie is going too, and remember....where ever we go, there we are and you can bet we'll have a good time! We can't leave until Dennis gets his work done, so while we wait I will try mowing some more grass. We'll be driving back after the show, so it's going to be a "late night" for us old folks! These pictures were taken last year...and NO...that is NOT me in the red hat! Bubba Gumm had the audience cracking up when he came out in his Red Hat get up! We'll no doubt enjoy a fine show this evening. Just wish you could be there too!

Loons Are Beautiful!

I found a photograph of a loon, and since the loon sighting was one of the highlights of our Wisconsin trip I'm posting the picture. Understand that my camera was safely in the car while we were on the beach at Wood Lake, so I didn't get a picture of the actual loon we saw. But this is what he looked like.
Also, yesterday I found yet another one of those Lily Things that my friend Heidi is so fond of, so I snapped a picture of the beautiful blossom just to bring delight to the heart of my friend. Here's to you Heidi!

These Are My Beautiful Lily Things!

I'm posting this mostly for Heidi...since she showed off her lily blossoms on her blog site, I had to put mine on. I think mine is beautiful. The lavendar is also pretty, more so than the picture shows. Enjoy!

Wonderful Week in Wisconsin!

We had a great time in Wisconsin. The cabin was very comfortable and furnished with everything we needed, including towels! The day we arrived it was hot, so we ran the air, but then it cooled off, and we didn't need to use it again. We didn't actually do a lot, but just had fun doing pretty much nothing. One thing we did do a lot was EAT! I think both Wyatt and I gained weight! Good for him, bad for me.
Of course, as usual, the few things that we thought were really special memories didn't get photographed because the camera was in the car! One day we were at the beach on Wood Lake, and a loon popped up not more than thirty feet from us. He sat on the water for quite a while, preened a couple times, and then he dived under to resurface quite a lot farther. He never came close to us again, but we felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to view him so closely. We took Zach to Camp Forest Springs on Sunday afternoon, and while we were there we went paddle boating and a short hike on one of the well maintained trails. We might have walked longer, but we were not coated with Deet and were attacked by insects. At first, Wyatt didn't want to get on the paddle boat, but I pretty much made him do it anyway, and lo and behold, he really enjoyed it! I knew he would, and don't think I didn't remind him often about how smart I am when it comes to knowing fun stuff to do! He would have gone paddle boating every day, but we were not registered campers so we didn't have the opportunity to go again.
We stayed just long enough for Zach to get settled into his cabin, and then Wyatt and I went back to our little cabin. We did a little fishing, swimming, playing in the dirt, catching frogs and hiking. We went to bed pretty early (at least Wyatt did) and he also took naps most days. Wyatt couldn't figure out why he was going to bed because it wasn't dark yet, but I told him that it was the longest day of the year and would not get dark that night. He didn't understand it, but he went to sleep before it was dark. He also tried his hand at cooking and fixed us a really tasty casserole for supper. In fact, he liked it so well, we fixed it again the next night and he's going to make it for the whole family one day soon, perhaps for Sunday Dinner at his house. That was HIS idea! Anyway, it was a very pleasant and relaxing week. We enjoyed it. And I read three books!

Thanksgiving In June!

We are so thankful! Sunday looked for sure like a storm was coming our way with heavy rain, but somehow it completely missed our hay field! We are blessed beyond measure every day, yet so often we just forget to be thankful. We started baling at about 1 o'clock, and the first round was a little rough starting. We had tangles in the twine, and the knotter wasn't tying knots right, so we broke several bales, and had to run them back through the baler again. Once we got that taken care of though, all went smooth as silk. We had a lot of good hands helping. In all there were six young men and an old couple. I am the machine operator....which means, I drive the tractor and baler. Dennis gets to stack it all in the barn. Today, Jeremiah was stacking the wagons, with the rest helping Dennis unload. The boys putting the hay in the barn took turns stacking wagons with Jeremiah. Although it's hot and dusty on the wagon, it's really hot inside the barn! We were all done by 6 o'clock. We plan to mow the rest tomorrow, and bale again on Thursday.

Sunny Saturday, Time to Mow Hay

It's haying time! Dennis mowed our 10 acre field today, and we hope the sun will continue to shine until it's all in the barn! Tyler and family came over again today to ride motorcycles, so I rode with them most of the afternoon. This evening, Bobbie came out and we made some scrapbook pages. That's about all I have to tell. I can say that the days are going way too fast!

Where Did The Week Go Wednesday!???

I can hardly believe that nearly a week has gone by since the last day of school! We've had a busy week, that's for sure. Monday was Wyatt's birthday, and he and Zach came to spend the day. We went fishing, read stories, and lots of stuff. Played Crazy Eights too. For lunch, we had T-bone steak....a gift for Wyatt from old "Burger King"! As you can tell by these photos, Wyatt really enjoyed his steak! I cut it all up into very small pieces, and he ate the whole thing. Wyatt is our picky eater. Over the past year he has learned to try new foods, and in so doing he has discovered that there are lots of good things to eat!
Tuesday was Travis' day off, and he was able to plant 108 acres of beans. They had planted 53 acres Monday night after work. And they finished planting today! So, thankfully, all our crops are in the ground. Now we have to start watching for a few dry days to bale our hay.
Sunday (going backwards) we had a bunch of riders here. What fun we had that day. We had seven motorcycles and two four wheelers tearing up the trails. Again, no one hurt, but a few really big crashes. And naturally, I was not able to capture those moments. Take a look at this group. Might be some you recognize!
Yep, that's TJ. He went flying right over my head! It was a lot of fun watching them all, but I didn't get many good pictures. Too nervous, I think. I'll put in a couple more pictures, and then I must stop for now, because Dennis is home and hungry. I have lasagna in the oven, but need to get back to the kitchen. Here are just a few more pictures.













Wyatt likes to ride with Dennis better than with me, because I'm too scared to go fast and jump over hills. He rode all day with Dennis.


That's all for now! Oh! I took a picture of our gorgeous sunset sky this evening.

Celebrating JUNE!

Wooo-Hooo! June 1st was my first official day of summer vacation! Zach spent the night with us, and he and I went to find some new music for his MP3 player. We had a great day, and then he went home to get ready for his second baseball game of the season. Dennis and I went to the Celebrate School's Out party at Argyle. That was really fun, but we didn't get to stay long because we wanted to go watch Zach's game. Only five kids showed up for the game, so it was pretty short! Zach had some good hits and plays, and we enjoyed watching him. The game was in Donnellson. They have a really nice park, and it was the first time we'd been there. Wyatt was there to cheer for the River Hills Village team, too! He says he's not going to play baseball. I wonder if it's because he got hit in the head with a baseball bat about a month ago, and he's decided he wants nothing to do with that!
Today, Mom, Bobbie and I went to Monroe City for their sesquicentennial celebration and parade. It was a very nice parade, with perfect weather too. There were some really nice entries. Actually, they were all very good, but I'm just posting the two or three I liked the best. The folks on the Opera House float were singing and I thought they were good. They seemed to be enjoying themselves too. I also liked the Garner Funeral Parlor entry. I noticed the funeral parlor as we were walking to the parade route from where we parked. It looked like a really nice place, and we commented on it as we walked by, and then noticed that they had this horse drawn hearse in the parade. Very nice! Another float I really liked was "Saturday Night" Fidelis. I am guessing that it was the Fidelis family, and they've been around for 150 years. Whatever, I liked the float. And, of course, there were the Budweiser Clydesdales....and the dalmatian! Very impressive.
As usual, I failed to get the best picture of the day! We stopped on the way out of town to visit a few minutes with Heidi and Ambrose. I didn't even think about getting the camera out to take a picture of them! I'm so sorry I didn't because Heidi....if you are reading this....you are looking absolutely wonderful. Keep up the good work!
We then went to Quincy, did a bit of shopping and lunch and then back home. We (at least I did) enjoyed the day very much.

Catch of the Day!

Wyatt and Zach were here for most of the day. Zach rode his motorcycle, and Wyatt and I rode the four wheeler. Then they played in the lime pile while I fixed up a picnic lunch. After that we went fishing at our pond. We caught several crappies and bluegill. This big mouth bass was the catch of the day! We threw them all back, so we might catch them again another day. Zach took the picture because neither of the boys would hold the fish! Just before Tyler came to pick them up, we went to play in the big creek. It was a pretty fun day.

Mark Twain Cave, Baseball and Other Stuff

Today, I transported a bus load of second graders, along with their teachers, to Hannibal to tour the Cave. Since Zach is in that class, Kathy and Wyatt also went. I think everyone had a good time. Wyatt was pretty nervous inside the cave, and even more so after the "lights out" demonstration. It's so dark in there you can't see your hand in front of your face. In fact, according to our guide, if you were to remain in that total darkness for six months, your eyes would actually go blind! I've been through the cave several times, but it's always an interesting place. As usual though, you always hear about "billions of years ago...." to explain how the cave came to be there in the first place. I don't know why they can't just leave that part out. Who was here "billions" of years ago, and how do they know there was a great inland sea in the Midwest? Bunch of baloney if you ask me. When we saw the "Alligator", one of the kids asked, "Who made that?" I quickly replied, "God." The kid was satisfied with that answer, and I believe it to be the correct answer. Anyway...overall it was a very nice day. Now I must get ready to go watch Zach's very first baseball game.
I took quite a few pictures while we were at the cave, and so many times when the boys see a camera, they get those goofy grins instead of just looking like their naturally good looking selves. Today, I got an exceptionally good picture of Wyatt. This is what he really looks like MOST of the time, but when you take his picture, he "poses". In this instance, I caught him by surprise! That's quite hard to do, but I did it!
It's time to load up my camera and head to the game.
Dennis and Travis are planting corn this evening. I talked to Dennis earlier and he said they'd quit at dark. This morning when I left, they still had about 140 acres of corn to plant. I hope they got a lot done today!

The ball game was fun. Zach played first base and did a fine job! Naturally, I have pictures!
As usual, I missed the really good shots! I tried to get him running home, but missed, and I didn't get any good pictures of the action at first base. There will be many more opportunities, I'm sure.
Dennis and Travis got another 70 acres of corn planted. I think maybe there are just about that many acres yet to plant for corn, and then they'll start planting soybeans. When the planting is done, Travis and family will be moving into their new house.