Better days

This little one greeted me yesterday as I stepped outside and her look reminded me the food bowl needed filling. It didn’t take her long to dig in once I fixed that problem. Then I visited Dad and while it was a short visit he had a lot to say.

It was short because by sister and brother-in-law were taking him to the county fair. Dad was in the mood to talk horses and he asked if the Budweiser Cydesdales were going to be at the fair ao I told him they had already arrived.

Then he switched gears to talk of a cousin who raises and shows Morgan horses and the old draft horses that were on the farm. And how Grandpa always said tractors were a fad and the horses could be put to work if the tractor quit running.

Yet times have changed since the Model T and two-cylinder John Deeres were the things to have. But I’ll admit I’m still drawn to the sound of an old two-cylinder running with their distinctive popping. That sound brings on memories of an earlier time that won’t be replicated.

And the Antique Farmer was right with his earlier prediction that we would have a drought after the monsoons of spring spring dried up. Our area is now in minor drought stage with no rain in the extended forecast. Funny how that worked out. We’re 8 inches above the normal rainfall numbers for the year but down almost 3 inches for the month.

In about two weeks we’ll load up the Fusion and head to Oklahoma as the wife needs another vacation and I’m the designated driver. Not sure how that will turn other than we’ll have a good time. Like last time we’ll keep the posts coming. They just probably won’t include too many cat pictures.

Enjoy our Wednesday. Now for more coffee and a plate full of donuts.
Comments are always welcome.

When it rains…

Yesterday morning the sky was making faces at me and Mama cat gave me the look. From there things didn’t improve much. With the wife working some goofy hours she asked me if I could finish the laundry again. No problem, until it was.

The dryer finished running and I folded the clothes before putting hers in her basket and mine on a shelf. The washer wasn’t running so I thought I’d take the clothes from the washer, put them in the dryer, and be well on my way to being done.

That’s when the problems started. I opened the washer to discover it was full of water and only half way through the cycle. So I got a bucket and a big cup to bail the water out of the washer. After filling the bucket five times the washer was as close to being water-less as I could get it.

I tried moving the knob to get the machine to spin the jeans in an attempt to get some of the water out of them and nothing happened. Then I wrung the jeans out by hand, threw them in the drier, and waited for them to be water free.

So after I go visit Dad today I’ll be trying to figure out if I can fix the washing machine from hell or if we should just get a new one. After all, we brought the washer and dryer here when we moved in 25 years ago so they could be worn out. They just don’t make things to last like they used to.

Enjoy our Tuesday as I know what needs to be done later. Now for some coffee and a bunch of bacon.
Comments are always welcome.

Getting cloudier

We had another cloudy day yesterday here on the east coast of Iowa and the sky looked like my brain felt. Several things have been happening and the opinions of the media have been non-stop. From local to national this redneck can’t make sense of it.

Locally there is talk again of making a couple of downtown one-way streets into two-way streets. This discussion has come up many times in the past and the claim now is that it would be better for business. If this does go through I’ll find a different way to get around.

Our politicians must be smoking the wacky weed again. Their hatred of Trump is not even thinly disguised as a difference in policy. Yet in our mind all their arguments are in vain as they are not based on facts. So the hot button topics get pushed like racism and socialism.

The only problem with that line of thinking is the accusers are the only ones guilty of the crimes. And I think this whole impassioned plea to address global climate change is nothing more than a money grab to justify more taxes.

Much like Bernie Sanders ‘Medicare for All’, which would be free but relying on a higher tax to the middle class. Democrats have admitted this is so which means it isn’t free. Why don’t they just say they would be happy with 60% of our paychecks and we could have the rest.

And after not doing much all year Congress announce an almost two month ‘spring break’. Must be that those who write their speeches need time to come up with new, and more convincing lies. These people are truly legends in the own minds.

Instead of a pay raise we suggest a pay cut. Straight $15 an hour with no overtime and no retirement benefits. How many would hang around if that was law?

Enjoy our Monday as this is looking to cloudy, but dry day here. Now for more coffee and leftover pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

The preacher’s 5 year-old daughter noticed that her preacher father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day she asked him why.

“Well, Honey,” he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages, “I’m asking the Lord to help me to preach a good sermon.”
“Well then, how come He doesn’t do it?” she asked.

Those darned clouds

Shortly before sunset the western sky put on quite a display that only improved as the sun sank closer to the horizon. The heat of the day was easing off and pesky night time bugs had yet to arrive.

And then the sky was on fire. It wasn’t the best ever seen but it was one of the better sunsets this year here on the east coast of Iowa. All these sights from just outside out back door made it a perfect end to another great day.

Even earlier in the day the clouds made for some neat pictures. I saw the bird circling, snapped the shot, and discovered I liked the cloudy
background more than first thought.

Around noon the western sky looked as shown above. With all these distractions not much work got done outside yet we’re ok with that. Said chores can be done today if started early enough.

Every time I spot this bunch of bandits the gang seems to grow in number. First time I spied them there were 3, next time 4, and this time 5. They were so chubby I could only get 4 in the picture but there was another one. This time they ran off when I opened the door. I figured the luck I had using a broom had run out anyway. They are bold little buggers.

The Bix 7 run is today which means we won’t be going anywhere for a while this morning. We are surrounded by the race course. Enjoy our Saturday as before long the leaves will be dropping.
Comments are always welcome.

Lifes little distractions

When I went out yesterday to get some chores done this little critic was inspecting the undercarriage of the wifes car. She looked neither impressed nor worried.

A little later Mama cat was under the car but she was just enjoying the shade while keeping an eye on her kittens. Said kittens had a lot more energy than she did.

Tried to get a portrait of all the kittens but you know what they say about herding cats. This bunch doesn’t sit still long and getting them all focused on one thing was impossible. This is the best I could do.

These three hung together the longest as they scampered about the neighborhood looking for trouble. They didn’t find any but were chasing bugs, birds, and squirrels with no success.

The three jokers ended up by the car again and all we can figure is that car is closer to where they were than the bushes. Not sure what was being plotted but hope it doesn’t involve digging up any ferns.

And this little gal was happy to roam alone and make her own fun. At one point she seemed intrigued by a large flower pot sitting on the concrete. At least she studied it for quite a while.

For now, we’re back from the grocery store and later I’ll take the wife out to lunch. Figured it’s the least I can do since she puts up with all my distractions and “selective” hearing. Enjoy our Friday as we will.
Comments are always welcome.

A question

A friend shared an email that asked two questions. The first one didn’t do much for me but I’m still thinking of the second a week later. We’ll share it here and see what you think.
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It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts. Here are some facts about the three candidates. Who would you vote for?

Candidate A

Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with an astrologist. He has had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B

He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C

He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.

Which of these candidates would be your choice?

Want to know who you voted for? Read on, the candidates are revealed below.

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Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Candidate B is Winston Churchill.

Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

Enjoy our Thursday, we’ll get back to posting a few pictures in tomorrows post. Now for some coffee and lots of bacon.
Comments are always welcome.

Short one

The clouds were out in force yesterday and put on quite a show. In places dark clouds took over a good portion of the sky but rain never came. With the cooler temperature and lower humidity it made for some enjoyable outdoor moments.

Papa cat showed up at the food bowl and would back off when the kittens showed up for their kibbles. Mama cat showed up later to get her fill before finding a shady spot to sleep. Not sure where papa cat went after he ate.

We’ll see what’s in the cards today and get more pictures, if there is anything to take a picture of. Some days I get lucky and all sorts of critters, clouds, or flowers catch my eye while others the picking is slim. Not sure what to expect today but know the lawn mower is coming out of the garage and getting a workout.

Next month we’ll be heading to Oklahoma and posting from the road or wherever we end up. Not sure with the laptop and motel wifi how things will go but it should turn out alright. Enjoy our Wednesday as we will. Now I need more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Talking about…

Yesterday I was watching a dragonfly on the telephone wire again and today I went over to visit Dad. He was asleep when I got there but soon got up and had breakfast as we talked. After his breakfast he had one the donuts I’d brought and we had a chat.

For some reason we started talking about food in Navy, in particular all the powdered junk we ate or drank. Things like powdered eggs, powdered milk, powdered gravy, and powdered bug juice. Not sure of others but we agreed that after being offered powdered green scrambled eggs during our enlistment we couldn’t even look at scrambled eggs for some time after we got out.

And we talked of family and who was where. I gave him the short version even though I knew he wouldn’t remember any of it after I left. His short term memory is terrible yet he remembers Model T Fords and Model A John Deere.

He mentioned that at his doctors visit he found out he’d gained 12 pounds and was up to 220 again. So I asked if the doctor recommended a diet. He looked at me like I’d grown horns and said at his age he didn’t even check expiration dates on produce! At 94 he had a point.

Now I’m back and getting ready to wash the bugs off the wifes car from her trip to Dubuque. The front end and windshield look like she hit every bug between here and there. But it’ll look like a new on shortly.

Enjoy our Tuesday as tomorrow the camels get pesky. Now for more coffee before getting wet.
Comments are always welcome.

Odds and ends

The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, or RAGRRAI, began yesterday. This event has been going on since the 1970s and is the longest bicycle tour in the world. And it started in the rain this year on the west coast of Iowa.

The clouds were out here too but didn’t see rain on our little portion of the east coast of Iowa. The forecast says no rain for any part of Iowa in the extended forecast. While that’s good for RAGBRAI, I bet the farmers wouldn’t mind a little liquid love from above.

This picture isn’t the greatest but thought we’d share it anyway. As I was taking pictures of the cats I noticed what I thought was a butterfly in a tree about 100 feet away. Even after snapping the shot we didn’t know it was actually a hummingbird until we uploaded it and saw the picture full size.

This kitten was thinking of attacking a squirrel that was bigger than she is. Surprisngly, the squirrel looked like he was praying she wouldn’t. After some fancy footwork the kitten decided to enjoy the food in the bowl instead.

This kitten is one of the adventurous ones but ran to Mama for some Mother’s love. She looks contented in the bottom photo. We’ll end things there as while we have more ends we’ve run out of odd.

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