Sunday snicker

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up and it started to thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.

Although it hadn’t begun to rain, thunder and lightning began cutting through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child’s school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile. When the mother’s car drew up beside the child she lowered the window and called to her, “What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?”

The child answered, “I stop and smile because God keeps taking my picture.”

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Just a couple events

It’s been a while since we’ve mentioned upcoming events on
Friday so here are a couple to think about. One is in Minnesota
and the other in Iowa.

The first is the Minnesota Street Rod Association (MRSA)
sponsored 45th Annual Back to the Fifties Weekend at the
Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. It runs from
today through Sunday and last year had over 11,000 vehicles
registered for the show.

We’re told this show is one that some don’t even see all the
cars at the event even though they spend the whole weekend
trying. One of these years we might even make it up there to
check it out.

If you’re around eastern Iowa around Labor Day, you may want to
head towards Mt. Pleasant and take in the Midwest Old Threshers
Reunion. This event runs from August 30th through September 3rd.

We won’t make this event as we’ll be cruising west toward
Idaho if everything works out. That said this is more for those
who want to know what it was like back in the day. Over the
weekend you can see horse pulls, the Cavalcade of Power on the
track, concerts, museums, steam tractors, take a trip around the
grounds on a train, and get some good eats and souvenirs too.

If you wish to know more click on the links and get the
information from the source. Enjoy our Friday as we will now
that rain stopped and the basements’ dry. Now for some more
coffee and some much needed sunshine.
Comments are always welcome.

Great weather for ducks

Yesterday was a day we’ll remember as we are ready to build an
ark due to the heavy rainfall here. Rivers and cricks are out of
their banks, streets are flooded, and many basements have become
swimming pools. We even had a tornado warning.

So here shortly I’ll be pulling on my rubber boots and going to
the basement to start the sump pump and pump out the water so
the water heater doesn’t float away. A storm like this hit in
the early 90s so we know what to expect.

With all this rain the weeds are growing like, well, weeds. As
soon as things dry out the yard will need attention also. And in
a few weeks this storm will be mostly forgotten and a new topic
of discussion will take its place.

On the plus side we haven’t heard of anyone being hurt even
though there were some rescues of people stranded after trying
to drive through standing water and getting stuck. One day soon
the sun will come back out to dry things out and the farmers
needed the rain for their crops.

Now I’m heading to the basement to remove the wading pool and
dry the floor. Enjoy our Thursday as that means the weekend is
just a dream away.
Comments are always welcome.

What changed?

Yesterday I wrote about the good old days down on the farm when
life was simpler and people didn’t lock the house at night.
That brought the thought of what else has changed. And so many
things have.

Those were the days of wing windows on cars with manual
transmissions and no power accessories with seats that would
recline and no seat belts. Riding in the bed of a pickup truck
wasn’t a crime but sometimes the only way to get everybody from
point A to point B.

People had common sense, didn’t throw out anything that could
be used again, including coffee cans which usually ended up out
in the garage filled with nuts and bolts. Nobody went around
asking “who’s going to help me” when things went wrong they just
fixed the problem and moved on.

We didn’t have near the taxes and restrictions we have today,
and people said what they thought not worrying if you had a
safe space in case you got offended. Respect was given to those
who deserved it and if you didn’t work you didn’t eat.

Family dinners were a daily event with Sunday dinner being a
more refined affair. Kids asked permission to leave the table
and were seen and not heard. Phones had dials not virtual
buttons. Even air conditioning was a luxury known to few in
our circle of friends.

Time outs were unheard of but if we acted up, whoopings
weren’t. We drank unpasteurized milk and water from a garden
hose and did chores until they were done. Some of us may think
it terrible to have to live like that while others look back and
smile at the memory.

Enjoy our Wednesday as I know we will. Now for some coffee and
leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Fond memories

The picture above is of the gift we got Dad for Father’s Day.
When he saw it we began a walk down Memory Lane that meandered
through 220 acres of the old farm. And it was quite a walk.

We talked of how much different things were back then with no
running water or plumbing in the house, a 60 foot walk to some
water from the well, and the upright piano in the parlor. Of
course a trip to the outhouse was about the same distance in the
other direction.

The down mattresses and feather pillows, the Hoosier cabinet,
the mudroom, and the big pantry were also talked about along
with the willow tree where we cut off a switch to get whooped
with when we misbehaved. And how the house was hot in the
summer and cold in the winter.

A crick (creek) wandered diagonally through the farm and we
even had a wooden bridge so tractors and other vehicles could
reach the other half of the farm on the south side of said
crick. The barn, the pig pen, chicken coop, and stable for the
horses, even the machinery shed which held the tools of the
trade.

Of course that took us to the John Deere Model A which Dad
claims had the power of a 4-cylinder and a distinctive pop. That
thing would idle so low us kids would swear it was going to just
up and die. It never did. Some today can’t imagine living like
that yet to us it was our little slice of Heaven here on Earth.

Enjoy our Tuesday as here on the east coast of Iowa we have a
few cool days ahead. Now I need some coffee to keep this smile
on my face.
Comments are always welcome.

Just a few

Thought we’d share a few pictures of the moon and perhaps a
critter or two. The two above are from the moon on Saturday as
it wasn’t much more than a sliver. The second picture above also
shows Venus off to the right.

Sunday during the heat of the day I noticed this beetle just
hanging around on a shady leaf. Not sure what he was doing on
the rose bush and also sure I wouldn’t like the answer.

One of the feral cats was around all weekend so we kept him
and his friends watered and fed. This one now comes up and wants
to be petted.

I knew it was hot out yesterday when I saw this guy hopping on
a nearby roof. He didn’t hang around long either before he was
seen in a neighbors tree.

Finally, last night’s moon. With temperatures staying above 90
degrees at 10 o’clock last night, we’re glad a little cool off
is on the way tomorrow. The high is only supposed to reach the
mid 80s and if there is a heat index it wouldn’t reach triple
digits.

Enjoy our Monday as that means we got the weekend out of the
way. Now for coffee and leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Enjoy our day