Moment of Time.....

 

I spent the morning replacing batteries for out fire alarm system.  The batteries finally wore out and the system complained about it in the middle of the night.  We have a loud protective system so when it notifies one of its battery drain it is a priority to get them replaced.  The electricity is also connected to the system so we were not in danger. 

I worked out side later then getting some of the white iris planted in two different places.  I still have others to plant as it had really reproduced lots of new roots.  I worked at leveling the new patio squares with some more sand to finish it up. It looks more level now as the settling should be complete now. That was enough work for the day and I am glad to just rest up from it all.  

The State Fair is over now and school starts in many different schools today or Wednesday. The summer has gone by quickly.  I watch the PBS local broadcasts of what happened during the fair and I can pick up on the different things at my own time frame.  We watched the art show yesterday and the crowing of the western queen crowned as the prettiest and best rider of her horse.  We also saw dung tossing contests and the favorite foods at the fair that was for sale. The favorite food was a huge baked potato covered with prime rib, onions, and sour cream.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Checking In Today.....

 

 It is a hazy cool morning.  The moisture is thick in the air but it is not raining.  The grass is greening up a little from some of our sprinkles.  

The volunteer plant that the birds seeded in my garden is putting out its seed. I only know corn so this is a different plant for me. 

The zinnia patch is looking great again this year.  I find in fascinating how genetically some stray white flowers show up or some really small yellow ones blend in too. 

A great example of another genetic kind of zinnia is this one.  I have never seen them for sale ever and yet it did show up among my collected seed from last fall.  I will try to mark this bloom and harvest it for next year. 

It is a quiet morning here and outside in the city. People do sleep in on Sunday and not so many have to go to work. Cooler weather means the swimming pools will be quiet also.  People were out walking their dogs yesterday with the weather being so pleasant.  The dogs are so pleased to be out and about. It will be good to have a day off for me today.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Saturday All Day.....

 We never got the rain but that was good.  The Des Moines area south of us got heavy rain and golf ball sized hail.  The hail broke out a lot of windshields or back windows of cars.  

The warnings were continual but it stayed south of us.  The State Fair people had to head for shelters also as it was a bad storm. 

The one day blooms are so great and the photo shows all the backup buds that will take their turn in blooming.  Some days the sun come out and they are closed up early in the morning because of the heat. A wet cool day today means they will be in bloom most of the day.

I keep bringing in more cut flowers to enjoy inside.  I have so many blooms that I don't worry about cutting them randomly anywhere.

We are not getting rain again today but we do have a light mist coming down.  I took the shot in very damp weather and the flowers can be seen enjoying every drop of it. 

Don't sit down here.  I place things in the camping chair that I want to take inside.  It is a temporary holding site but sometimes I think that looks strange.  I usually pick up the stuff right at the end when I go inside and am finished working. 

I am still not done with this.  I have a few tiles that I need to lift and pat in some more dirt and make them more level.  I share a visual of this again because the two sons check in on the site once in a while and they can see what I am doing.  I have planting plans for around the edges of the new bump out area.  The wood will go away and soil will be worked in up against the sides.  

I feel better today even though I did crash from all the work that I had been doing.  I haven't lifted anything for two days now and am walking almost normally again.  If I don't start work again until Monday I will have some good healing time.  We did go to Hobby Lobby this  morning and we had a great time.  We bought stuff!!!!.  Thanks for stopping by today.

The Friday Finds.....

 

The side view of the sunflower shows the remarkable structure of these blooms.  I have a third stem that just has not started to bloom yet.

 

 Underneath the sunflowers some of the zinnas are shooting up below the big leaves. The seem to like the shade.

Another zinnia that grows there became so tall that it became top heavy.  It is a beautiful red that has enjoyed the soaker that puts out water for everybody in the raised bed.

My first set of blooms from the glads looks like this. It is best to bring them in so they can be view closely.  The zinnias at that patch are so tall that these can not be view from the house.

 

My body has told me now that I have overworked while doing this project.  I sort of took the day off yesterday but then I do remember that I loaded two bags of play sand, two bags of raised bed soil, and six of the concrete steps shapes yesterday.  I then unloaded it all and wheel barrowed it all down the his to the back of the house.  My back seems to have shut down on me so I guess I really will have a light work day today. I am better and can now walk upright again after a few pills and a hot shower I am better.  The hardest thing I have done so far is to make sugar free Jello. My wife takes good care of me.

We had a light rain of two tenths of an inch last evening. We are predicated to have severe storms late this afternoon.  Any rain will be welcomed.  Thanks for stopping in today.

The Things for the Day.....

 

 

It is a young rabbit. The bottom picture shows the real scale of his size in the real world picture.  At one time I had a young rabbit on the patio and also a young robin.  Both did flee when I slid open the door. 

I was out wandering to look at things and I saw this iris.  It is a favorite white iris that blooms so well but now it is too crowded.  I decided to get the spade and remove the whole thing from that area of the garden.  Some of it  had died back in the spring so I though I needed to move t to better soil and away from the wet clay that it was planted.  I can let it set in the pot for a few days while i think it all through.  Getting dug was a big deal so I will get it done.  The neighbor lady who is gone now, gave this to me and I really would like to keep it going. It is a large white compared to the regular sized blooms of iris.

I went out to the front garden and there are just a few things that look better.  Most all of the cone flowers are dead and most of the petunias are too. 

The glads are blooming so late this year and it doesn't look like some of them will ever bud.  This pink one will be a beauty in the next few days. 

Worked outside this morning and made two trips to Ace.  I laid my cell phone down on a tall pile of  bags of dirt while I was loading up another brand into the cart.  I didn't return to get it as the cart went back inside so I just drove away.  It is only a mile a way and it was still laying on the pile when I frantically drove back to get it.  I would have put it in my pockets but theyhad a diabetic meter in it, two sets of keys, and a tape measure to use to pick out the right size of bricks.  You can't stuff a phone in full pockets.  I am tired of being so old.           Thanks for stopping by today.

Wednesday with No Wind....

 

A little bit cooler temperatures are welcomed.  The sky is pretty blue but there are lots of clouds spotted everywhere. 

The tall marigolds at this end of the zinnias have not buds developed yet. The glads at the other end of the zinnias do have about three sets of buds developed. Soon I will have pictures of a few glads. 

I have many red twig dogwoods but this is the only one that puts out berries.  I guess the person who planted these got a different variety than he thought that he had.  The birds love these berries even though they are green. 

The grand kids never played with the new frisbee but it works great for me. I should just toss it out there among the tomatoes from off the deck after I empty it so I don't have to do a juggling act to bring them in the house.  I have chipmunks eating at some of them so I need to pick all the bottom ones early to keep them away from them. 

I put down twelve of these concrete squares this morning.  I need to get some different wood to frame it in to make it more permanent. The design is still being worked on as to how to connect it to the older patio. I may move out some of the plants and fill it in with some brick as a solution.  I do think that there is a new garden area along the new piece for flowers. 

Thanks for stopping.....

Tooosday.....

 We got sprinkles for a long period of time. The measurement was three fourth of an inch.  It is welcomed .  I am hoping people south of us got more as they needed it desperately. 

One lone zinnia of white stands among all the others.  The scant rain did help refresh things but that is mostly because it cooled off.  I am sure it will warm up again as it is August in Iowa. I have never had a white zinnia so using harvested seed can give one a variety of colors. 

I don't really have the time to figure out the movement but this one has amazed me.  The sliver of the moon at the first of the cycle was in the  west behind the trees. I looked out my front door and looked to the right. As the moon cycles kept changing the moon at the same time of the night was in the southwest.  It was to the far left at the front door low in the sky. Two nights ago the moon at the same time of night was in the east.  As it shrinks down in size the clouds were blocking the camera's ability to focus on it. It actually is 180° from the start of its appearance to where it is now. I had to go to the back of the house and see it. low in the sky. off my deck. 

I was surprised that we got so much rain as they were predicting .40 of an inch.  I see by the net this afternoon, the doomsday green people say we will become the Death Valley of the United States.  I guess we all will go hungry as they fly around in their jets talking about it.  I worked in the yard this morn on my patio space project.  It was very pleasant and I had to wear a hat because of the sun.  I have progressed and will start laying squares of concrete tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by today.