The rest of the story

The last post about the crick did not contain the whole story and we would like to finish where we left off. Don’t worry, we’ll finish the story with just 2 pictures.

When you remove dirt from the bank you have to put it somewhere. Not exactly the best shot, but this large lump of green covered dirt is what happened. It was just a plain dirt pile for quite a while then decided it needed more color to match the surroundings.

This is the beast that moved the dirt to the pile that made a mountain out of nothing. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but the landscape is pretty level and the huge mound of dirt is noticeable even while driving by. Not sure if the city will move the dirt or make something out of it, but when we know you’ll be the second to know.

Now that we know the rest of the story we should be on the same page. It’s a nice little park and we’re happy to see the improvements done. Enjoy our Tuesday.

The crick

Killed a little time yesterday on the way to visit the wife at the hospital and decided to take some pictures. The pictures below were all taken along Duck Creek off 29th street by Eastern Avenue.

Saw a mama duck with a bunch of ducklings in pursuit. Not sure how may ducklings there were but I counted 15 at one point.

This is looking west just off the parking lot and they have got most of the trees out and put a gentle grade down to the water instead of the drop off that used to be here. The rocks along the shore were added to keep the banks from washing out.

This is looking east from the same spot. Again, the trees are gone, it’s gently graded down to the water, and we like it. Even had the sound effects that sounded like a gurgling brook. We like the changes.

In this one, you can barely see mama duck swimming around the shore with one duckling. We’re sure there are more, but that’s all we saw.

We’re assuming this is papa duck swimming behind this mate and their little ones. Couldn’t get closer but will try next time. He was hard to miss with his bright green head.

Finally, we believe this is another female, but aren’t 100% sure. At any rate, that’s almost all the animals we saw at the crick. We say almost because out of the corner of my eye I saw a skinny brown creature playing on the rocks along the shore.

Thought perhaps it was a mink or maybe an otter. Nope. Turns out it was just a common brown squirrel playing along the bank. Enjoy our Monday, Memorial Day, and please take a moment to thank those who gave their all.

Sunday snicker

Sullivan & Duffy were sitting outside their favorite pub in a village in Ireland, having a few pints. Just across the street is a house of ill repute and the two Irishmen were just enjoying their libations as they watched the people walking by. After a little while the Methodist minister happened to be walking along across the street & just as he gets astride the brothel door he glances up and down the street before ducking inside. “Aye Sully, did you see that?”

“Tsk, tsk that I did Duffy. Tis a sad thing when a man of the cloth, falls to the sins of the flesh!” “Oh it tis, it tis.” A little while later the Baptist Reverend is walking along across the street & just as he gets astride the brothel door he also glances up and down the street before ducking inside. “Aye Sully, now did you see that?

“Oh my tsk, tsk that I did Duffy. Tis a sad thing when another man of the cloth, falls to the sins of the flesh!” “Oh yes it tis, it tis.” A little while later along walks a Catholic priest across the street & just as he reaches the brothel door he also glances up and down the street before ducking inside. “Aye now Sully, did you see THAT!? “Aye I did indeed, Duffy. That I did.”

“Oh how sad it is!” Then both in agreement say,
” Aye, One of the girls must be terribly sick.”

An update

The wife is doing better but they want to keep her for a few more days and I found out I’m now a great grandpa! But before I cruise back up to the hospital, I thought to share some pictures I got yesterday from the window of the wifes hospital room, and here they are.

Looking out her window I noticed this older brick building and when I showed it to the wife, she wanted to know what it was. Not sure what they call them now, but I remember it as Sudlow Junior High School.

In this one you see the top of the steeple that I’m fond of taking pictures of. It is a lot closer at our place, but this gives me a perspective. The hospital is about a mile northeast of our place.

I like this shot, but you have to be from around here to get it. The hospital is on the east end of Davenport, Iowa and the water tower clearly says Moline, which is in Illinois. Funny how from the 6th floor of the hospital you can see a little bit of Illinois.

This is a picture of the back of a cement truck. I added it just because I was a cement finisher at one time and spend a lot of time then looking at the back of a cement truck. It’s not for everyone yet reminds me of the younger days when we could work all day and party all night.

Don’t know whose car this is but had to get a shot. It just screamed youth and optimism at me begging me to take a shot. We don’t know them but thank them for putting a smile on our faces. Enjoy our Saturday.

A short note

The wife was just taken to the hospital by ambulance, so I’m headed that way to be with her. As soon as things calm down and she’s stabilized we’ll do a post later. Thank you for understanding.

Just a few

It’s been raining and that trend looks to continue today, and we haven’t been taking pictures. So we thought we’d share a few from earlier in the week. These will be birds and a few feral kittens and we think you might enjoy them. So here we go.

This mourning dove was on the peak of a roof having a look around. The wind ruffled the feathers as he remained calm and carried on.

Later, another mourning dove flew up into the pine tree and made for a Kodak moment. We were glad the bird posed for us in such a colorful spot.

This female cardinal looked peeved about something. She was in such a mood we didn’t dare ask. She sat there for quite a while, so we got a shot. The whole time she perched there she didn’t call out once.

From the latest batch of feral kittens this is the one we see most often. In this shot it looks like she just got up from a nap. But she did come out for a picture. The kittens and their mother are staying in a building behind our place so it’s a short walk to put a smile on our faces.

These two are a pair to draw to. Usually seen together and often playing as kittens do. The mostly black one is fearless. As we approach them, all but the black one scamper off to hide. He just sits and watches and we haven’t tried to get close enough to see when he would run.

Here is the other white kitten of the litter. Altogether we believe there are 5 kittens in this litter and each different from the other. The littler before this one had two almost identical tabby kittens that we still can’t tell the difference between months later.

Now I have to get ready to take the car out to the dealership for an oil change. Enjoy our Thursday as that means Friday is only a dream away.

Here we go again

We would like to give our sincere condolences to those affected by the recent shooting at the Texas school. It gets even sadder as the death toll rises. We also noticed politicians wasted no time in bringing up gun control laws. These functioning idiots don’t even realize the problem isn’t the guns.

We will say again, we have a mental health crisis that isn’t getting better on its own. Add to that a broken justice system that seems more geared towards politics than the law, and you have a perfect storm. There is a reason we have a legislative branch of government and a judicial branch of our government. One should not be telling the other what to do. Unless an unconstitutional law is passed.

The mental health issue has been around for some time now and we don’t see things getting better any time soon. In most cases these things don’t happen overnight but fester for months. Something needs to be done as the system we have now is broke.

With the judicial branch, we need to end the nominating of judges based on their political affiliation. They need to be seated on their understanding of the law as written and not their belief that one political party is better than another. Those are my thoughts on the issue, yours may vary. Enjoy our Wednesday.

The split

We believe there is something going on with this tree. It could even be that this split is a portal to other dimensions. Not much happens during the day, but as the sun goes down it gets busy. We’ve seen an owl, some elves baking cookies, a squirrel, a leprechaun, and a few bats come out of this tree.

Last night we even thought we heard some tiny voices singing ‘Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go’. But we can’t swear to that. Yes, it’s a busy tree in a nearby back yard that only sees sunlight during the day! After seeing this good sized split we wonder how the tree stays upright.

But when we think about it, if it is a magic tree the magic would keep it upright. Could also be that the split is so full of mythical creatures it can’t collapse. We will keep an eye on this one and see what else comes out of the tree. When we know we’ll fill you in. For now, we have critters to feed and water. So enjoy our Tuesday, since it’s here anyway.

Lucky daze

Most days, if it weren’t for bad luck I’d see no luck at all. This past weekend that was not the case. Usually I’ll get the camera out and not see anything to take a picture of or the lighting is so far off I can’t get the shot I want. So here are a handful that we like from the past couple of days.

This little one sat calmly as I got close enough for a decent shot. These feral kittens are older now and have started to explore the neighborhood. So far things have went well for them.

This one had a look on her face that led me to believe her friends had left without her. Not sure what happened but we thought she looked like she missed the bus. Later she looked happier so whatever the problem was, it got fixed.

We think this one is the cutest of the litter and is an adventurer. She won’t run away as fast as the others and looks right at you as you approach. She will run off, just not as quick as the others.

This is another kitten with a mournful face. The kittens are a lot of fun to watch, and photograph. Don’t remember what she was walking away from at the time this picture was taken.

Here are 4 of the 5 kittens from the last litter. Even though it was cool out yesterday they stayed out for most of the morning before going off the hide and nap. Did see them again later in the day, but didn’t get any pictures.

Saw this little bird sitting on a phone line and got a shot. Usually by the time I focus these birds fly off. This one hung around just long enough for a shot. We believe this is a black capped chickadee.

Finally, the cardinal was enjoying a Sunday brunch and we got this picture. He had his fill before flying off to a tree or the neighbors bird feeder. We didn’t get a chance to see which.

Enjoy our Monday as it’s the start of a new week and the rest of our lives.

Sunday snicker

“What Is The Resurrection”: A Child’s Answer

A True Story: Asking questions during children’s sermons is crucial. But at the same time, asking children questions in front of a congregation can also be very dangerous.

A Baptist pastor was presenting a children’s sermon. During the sermon, he asked the children if they knew what the resurrection was. A little boy raised his hand.

The pastor called on him and the little boy said, “I know that if you have a resurrection that lasts more than four hours you are supposed to call the doctor.”

It took over ten minutes for the congregation to settle down enough for the service to continue.What Is The Resurrection: A Child’s Answer
A True Story: Asking questions during children’s sermons is crucial. But at the same time, asking children questions in front of a congregation can also be very dangerous.

A Baptist pastor was presenting a children’s sermon. During the sermon, he asked the children if they knew what the resurrection was. A little boy raised his hand.

The pastor called on him and the little boy said, “I know that if you have a resurrection that lasts more than four hours you are supposed to call the doctor.”

It took over ten minutes for the congregation to settle down enough for the service to continue.