Getting my Act Together......

The rains and more rains have paid off when it comes to bringing back our grass. It is a game to see who is going to mow next and nobody mows all at the same time.  I see this morning that my neighbor guy, who has a perfect lawn, mowed in the evening making my yard to be taller than his. I still have a third of my backyard to finish as I had to quit the other day when it just got to hot to be out there.

The Facebook friends are telling me that are all getting multiple hummingbirds at their feeders.  I guess the migrations are starting.  The pelicans have started to return from up north with a few sightings on our lake. I don’t know if the flooded lake destroyed a lot of their feeding sights with the lake 34 feet higher than normal.  I know the shorelines have all been destroyed with the water that high.  It eroded a lot of Iowa soil and took out a new batch of lakeshore trees. I know that the pelicans are fish eaters but the weed beds are probably all changed with that high water level.

The finch are having no problems sharing the feeder.  They seem to be able to get a lot of natural seed from around the area but they do like easy pickings once in a while. They liked being at the feeder when it is raining. I am trying to decide when to put out the wild bird feeder to bring in other variety of birds.  My neighbor’s garden won’t be bothered by them now as it is almost completely harvested. I would like to see cardinal out there again and maybe a bluejay once in a while.  I know the doves will come back too.  I regret the fall weather is here as it is cold in the morning.  I want to get the most out of fall since I am not a fan of snow as much as I use to be.

I was looking for the neighboring town's appliance store yesterday when I was at the old place.  I drove over to buy something for my neighbors and the store has been shut down and vacated.  There was a junk shop there.  I asked questions of the owner about where I can buy appliances in the town and they said there isn’t one now.  So I shopped around in there second hand shop.  I found a cheap serving piece that reminded me of the Mildred dish pattern that I collect.  I knew it wasn’t exactly that pattern but it was very close. For 2 bucks I brought it home and checked it out.  It has a few cracks in it but it is a large piece with the handles and a pedestal. It could be used with the old dishes that we have without a problem. It is big enough to hold bread or to display fruit in it.

It is larger than the photo displays and it is of a 1920’s design. I can store it with the Mildred dishes and make use of when we bring out the pattern.

I will finish today with Mr. Ruffles.  I try to name them if I can identify them. This goes seems to be ruffled during the rain and I really haven’t seen that in these birds before now.

I will wait for the sprinkles to stop and the grass to dry to finish up on my mowing today.  I have other projects that I can do on this cloudy day. I have a couple dozen of globe allium to get in the ground soon.  I appreciate your stopping in and checking out my post today.

Bummer Day.......

When there are six humming birds surrounding the feeders, one needs to keep an eye on all the commotion.

It is early evening and I still don’t have my blog up and running.  I guess it is a loss for the day. I am having busy times and confusing episodes in my life the past few days.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

I went to visit a store today to look for appliances.  The store was closed and gone.  I went in and visited the junk shop that replaced it and bought some small bowls. They look like good ice cream bowls that were made in China and were from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

I made a batch of coffee with this and it was not good. I should have used more coffee but the grind of the coffee was not the right kind. I washed the percolator and placed it at the top of the stairs so I can take it down to the storage room. If we have a day without electricity I can go get it and use it.

I guess my mood is showing through so I should stop blogging. I appreciate your checking in on me today and I will get my act together tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by...........

Middle of the Week.......

One can never have enough flowers.  I was not going to move my many allium from the old place. I was not looking for bulbs, but what can one do when they put it right out in sight for me to see. There are a lot of bulbs in the sack so I will have the next two months to scatter them on the property.  I like how people naturalize daffodils and I think I will do the same with these bulbs. Front yard will get just as many as the back yard.

While mowing my yard yesterday there was a monarch hanging around in the zinnia patch.  Later on while I was out with my camera this black swallowtail was feeding.  He actually stayed most of the day as I could still see him feeding while I was grilling at supper time.  I took so many photos of this war wearied butterfly.  He has parts broken off his tail and damaged wings.

I think our sessions of drought really kept us from having butterflies.  It has been a bad year with just a few of these insects. Normally their are painted lady and sulfite white ones but not this year. I did see swallowtails at our old place.
When it stops raining, maybe more butterflies will start to show.

Having been scolded by just a few about my red liquid in the feeder, I did a little research about those concerns.  Back when red dye was being exposed as a cancer cause in lip stick, the naturalists also decided that the red dye in hummingbird food must be bad.  No research ever was made to prove that the dye was causing the shells of the birds eggs to be weakened.  Anyway, the crowd has accepted it as fact and the information keeps being handed down.

Yesterday, great timing for the very first time, I found this product setting right next to the red dye food.  I am not too lazy to boil sugar and I have done that off and on for years. This product is made in Wisconsin and has vitamins and calcium added to help strengthen those tiny little egg shells. So, whatever is truth or not, I have a concentrate of sugar water to use for feeding my five or six humming birds. They are going to be happy that I use the best.  They are outside right now, having war bomber attacks with each other, and it is in the rain. Walmart is where I found it, in our newly remodeled fancy dancy store. All winter feeding products are on display now as we move into the bird feeding season.

I didn’t go work on the old place today.  The downpour seems to not inspire me to get outside and travel. I mowed most of my yard yesterday here and it did need to be cut. We dodge the rains when it comes to going out with Barney. The two different school buses have stopped and picked up our neighbors’ kids already.  The time for starting school has stayed the same in our town.

Wednesday and I am off to the workshop to do some things. I have a new plant also to put into a bigger pot. If I see the sun at any time today, and if it dries out for a short time, I will finish mowing the rest of the yard.  It got too hot for me to finish mowing yesterday.   Thanks for checking in on my spot today.

Tuesday’s Things...

My morning coffee is changed today with a new mug from Swaziland.  Our missionary friends are on furlough and brought us each of us a very shiny, zebra mug. The gold reflection doesn’t quit show in the photo but they have a fancy surface painted on the mug. Also now your are able to see we can’t see out of our windows.it is so warm and humid outside that the air conditioned air reacts to the windows outside temperature. The fog is on the outside.

I received a scolding from a former neighbor about using the red colored product for my humming birds.  I have red an article about it a few years back and I question if it is an “old wife’s tail” and it keeps feeding itself on the net.  I really think the product would be pulled from the shelves if dead hummingbirds were being found everywhere.  When I run out of this liquid I surely can do the clear water and sugar thing.  I don’t know if our tap water would be good for them as it tastes terrible.

The weather is so strange as you can see the special effects that shows in this photo. The smaller sunflowers are blooming now and they are all lined up against the background of a setting sun.

These guys continue to grow larger as new ones are forming from the blooms on the rest of the vines. I will continue to search for the identification of this squash-like plant.

Monday’s afternoon sky has a sun illuminating the scattered clouds. Some towns had to cancel their Labor Day parades as it did rain off and on during the day.  I dumped a gauge with a measure of two inches this morning.

I am going to mow the yard soon.  The wet grass from dew is about to dry out.  My neighbor is out there roaring away with his mower so I can go out a little later. The grass is not thick but it is tall. I think rain is expect this afternoon and all day tomorrow.  So, I will mow and try to enjoy it.

I hope for all to have a good Tuesday. I am glad you stopped by today.

Better Late than Never....

I watered these flowers a few days ago and then it is now continually raining. I think they will last a long time with this kind of weather.

The hot weather has shut these flowers down.  A few stragglers are putting out one or two lone blooms but it is too late for them to rebound.

The little pink flowers are starting to open on the sedum. The buds are a darker color than the small flowers so it will look pink when everything is opened.

The sunflower that snapped off of it stem won’t hamper its blooming.  The leaves all died but the bud bloomed.  I stuck it in a bucket of water to help but the stem I am sure takes in a little water.

I created this blog this morning and lost it.  I finally found it in limbo waiting for me to finish it.  I had been interrupted and I must have shut the computer down.  We have had rain off and on most of the day.  We escaped to the bookstore mid morning and came home to be with Barney.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Sunday is Here.....

Weather seems to be our major story for the weekend.  A college game was shut down in Ames, ISU, just north of us on Saturday afternoon. I think Nebraska’s game was also canceled. The clouds are still all around us but we are in the clear for now. The neighbor hood boys are out this morning playing trampoline wars pushing each other down to see who is the strongest. Aggressive boys can be identified early in their years just by watching them, five on a small trampoline. I bet the hours of rain kept them inside too long.

Between the three different fronts that came though yesterday I was able to get some really unusual cloud formations.

In the evening, during a break of the weather, I was able to get some photos.

The sunflowers were grateful for rain and I was thankful that the winds were not so strong to blow them down.

I have dumped the measure of rain a few times. In most instances it was full of an inch of rain or more each time. We really needed the rain. My grass is growing back with gusto and I will be mowing during this week for sure.

Life is good when your wife makes a peach pie.  We had our first piece each with butter brickle ice cream on them last evening. Their were some frozen Georgia peaches hanging around ready for to fill up a crust for pie.

The front trees are ornamental pear trees.   They tend to let me know of the doom and gloom of winter is coming. I am hoping that the next two months will be great ones for us. Leaf raking is a while away but it is coming. My son gave me a free snowblower last month so I am all ready for the white stuff when it comes.

We have a temporary sunny period right now and I am glad to see the sun.  I hope all are well and thanks for stopping in today.

Blue.......

The ending sky was showing the clearing of one more set of rain clouds. The rains keep coming today, Saturday, and more is to come throughout the week.

A  still life created by me as I drop off things and don’t put things away. The plastic kids bucket has a long history of being found in the street, being loans to a science teacher, and being retrieved from the dumpster after she threw it away. I use it now to carry water from my water tanks to special areas for watering.  It keeps my climbing rose watered as the rose is too far away from the water hose.

It is almost filled with small things.  The space is limited so everything has to be short to fit into the cubby holes. It is nice to have it as I usually have a drawer somewhere that I place all the odd stuff.  I add things immediately when I find them laying around or they fall out of boxes while I keep unpacking boxes.

While digging out the last of a corner cupboard at the old place, I found a sun tea jar.  One other thing that I found was this glass percolator. It was placed down in the dark corner of the shelf when the new Mr Coffee coffeemakers were placed on the market.  I have it boiling and perking here and will someday try to make one more cup of coffee with it. I think I bought this at a garage sale back in the late 1970s. They don’t sell the big grind coffee anymore but I bet I could roughly cut my coffee beans with my grinder. It will be like a science project figuring out how long to boil and perk and then to taste the results.

The geese are getting the dust washed off of them with all the different rains that we are having.  Our weather forecasts show that we will receive rain everyday for forever. Thanks for checking in on my posting today,