Recovering from Rain......

I was picking apples and noticed the volunteer vine had overtaken the rugged looking windmill.  It is the same kind of vine that is growing up the side of my house next to my back door.  I just let that one grow but this one must have shot up over night.  I know that it is on the back side of the windmill which I don't see very often.  If you click on the photo can you see the two wing insect that I discovered.

It didn't seem to be bothered that I was around.  I don't know if it was on its last leg or if the sun was keeping it in a trance.  I could have taken thousands of shots of it but I got three good ones that I did choose to keep.  I walked away from it and was still in the same position.  I am thinking it is a fritillary butterfly but I will have to look it up.  When I know for sure I will repost my best shot of it with full name labelled under it.

On Sunday night we had a deluge of rain.  It really did come down hard and for a long time.  People near us got up to 6 inches of rain.  I know we had over 3 inches and maybe more.  The whole rain thing challenged the ditches, our town drainage system.  As you can see now that the culvert is fill up beyond half way with runoff soil.  I do know we had enough rain that the water made it uphill to go through our neighbors culverts.  I know this because their opening is packed full of debris.

The electricity was off for an hour on Sunday night in the middle of the night.   They  must have done a quick fix as they sometimes do because last night, Monday night, they shut the electricity off for 2 hours. From that experience we now know we need to find some source of way to be able to hear from the outside world.  Our internet is down when the electricity is off. Our phones are down with no power and our cheap throw away cell phones don't pick up signals here in town.  We could have gotten in the car and turned on the radio to see if someone had sabotaged the electric grids in our county, otherwise we have now way of hearing from the outside world.

They do now sell a weather radio that is  battery powered that I believe also has a real radio included in its construction. I guess that is our first line of action to take.  When we had a tornado come through our town 8 years ago we then had a battery powered hand held television.  We were told to go to the basement through that little set.  That technology of course had to be thrown away and digital invaded everything and the tv didn't work anymore.  We don't have satellite telephone connection but I am assuming we will have to go that route.  A phone that also carries television news broadcast.  I do understand why some people do buy a home generator to start up to keep things going in the house. Pitch black in the house with no services except water is ok if we knew it was going to happen but one had to call in to the electric company during the blackout to be told that it was a planned event.

We had our second rain last night with it being continually dripping all night. It wasn't a true rain.  The rain the night before of course took out all the roses and most of the geranium blooms.  The one on the porch stayed safe and in tact. In most cases I am assuming that all things will be in total decline now and I will start to removed spent stems from the garden through the fall.  Trimming back the spent phlox has made all my paths functional again and I will stay on that job throughout the month cutting them off.

I watched a neighbor lady destroy her yard with the riding mower yesterday.  We have had too much rain and her wheels were making ruts in her yard.  I don't know if I will even try to mow until we have another drying day.  I definitely need to mow.  I am picking the last of the tomatoes now and if the vine seems empty I am pulling it up. I will pick up more apples today as the larger apples are now falling to the ground.  I hear rumors of apple pie today coming from my better half.  If things go well maybe I can get some applesauce going and I can freeze it.  I will be able to give away a lot more apples next Wednesday to the people in our friend's apartment complex.  I sent large sacks of them a few weeks ago and Shari said they were gone in an instant.

Our neighboring town that had pick your own at strawberry town now has pick your own apples.  I won't be picking theirs as I have plenty to do here. I have the usual things to work on today and I will finish off one framing job this morning.  Another waits to follow it and I won't finish that today but will make some great strides on it. We are out of milk and juice so we will frolic off to the Wally mart some time today.  It does get us out of the house and that is good.

Everyone's weather seems to be improving now and things seem a little bit more normal.  We have cool breezes from the North today and that is good.  I hope everyone is doing well today.   Thanks for stopping by my post.

Children's sand buckets are so great to use in the garden. I may pick up another one if they go on a close out sell.