Weather and politics

We finally got a break from the rain and the temperatures dropped like a rock. Other parts of the country won’t be so lucky today as severe weather is forecast for parts of our nation. States that have already been hit by severe weather will see it again.

Some would say that the bad weather is due to climate change and we’re all going to die. News flash, life is a fatal ordeal. Nobody makes it out alive or if anybody has they’re not talking. Yet those who wish to micro-manage our lives want us to believe they can save us from ourselves.

Being among those who believe we don’t need saving and the whole man-made climate change is nothing more than verbal voodoo, I get amused. I can honestly say that I think if any laws are passed concerning the subject it will only succeed in leaving us with less of our hard earned money in our possession.

Once things settle down, weather wise, the talking heads will move on to another crusade to save us from something else and lighten our billfolds. Nothing new there but we’ll give them an ‘e’ for effort. I don’t think much is going to change in my lifetime anyway. Makes one wonder how we got anything done before politicians took over and screwed things up.

Enjoy our Monday and our new week. Now I hear the coffee pot calling my name and feel the need to answer the call.
Comments are always welcome.

Advertisements

Random thoughts

I’m going over to see Dad today as the wife was out of town and had the car Monday and Tuesday. Donuts will be along for the ride as I cruise over to his place for a visit. If anything interesting occurs I’ll fill you in later.

The flood and the new interstate bridge is the talk of the town and since our Mayor isn’t running for re-election he’s hard to figure out. Our city council members and mayors have been against a flood wall for as long as I can remember.

Now, the outgoing mayor said if people say they want a wall he will talk about it. We won’t see anything change in the foreseeable future I’m sure. Those running for his seat on the council, and all the other politicians running for office, will come out with promises that will never be filled.

I remember the time I wanted to put up another garage on our property. Along with the expected distances from other buildings and property lines I was told a variance was needed and I would have to tear down the existing garage.

So when I explained I wanted to keep the old garage AND build a new one too the fun started. Was told if I wanted to keep the old garage I’d have to take out the overhead door and replace it with a regular entry door. When I asked why they told me that was so I couldn’t use it as a garage!

Good thing I didn’t show them the house plans. It would have been an 800 square foot home with an attached 8-car garage. On that happy note, enjoy our Wednesday as it’s the middle of the work week. Now for more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Soggy day

We got so much rain during the storms overnight a hippo was seen at a local parking ramp. Ok, it wasn’t that bad and the picture is actually from our trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo, but what a rain storm! Here on our portion of the east coast of Iowa we got 2 inches of rain overnight and there are even some power outages in the area.

We here are not claiming it’s due to global climate change, it’s just a soggy day and we’ve seen worse. We also know it won’t help the flooding which has been at major flood stage for a record number of days. But we’ve been there, done that, and have the t-shirt.

Some people foretell of doom and gloom at times like this but we look on the bright side. I woke up breathing again and can’t mow the yard in this slop. It will be a little taller when things dry out but we’ll get it done. The storm knocked the local TV station off the air for about a half hour and people who live in low-lying areas might have some problems and we wish them well.

I will be checking the basement and hope I don’t find a hippo or a swimming pool, although that would be something different. If there isn’t any water I’ll check later and if the water is over the sump pump I may go buy a kayak to survey the damage.

Enjoy our Monday as the new week begins. Now I need more coffee and the ad from the farm supply store to price kayaks.
Comments are always welcome.

What’s the odds?

I chose this picture of the Highway to Heaven for todays post even though it isn’t a two lane road and doesn’t have anything to do with the post. I just like the picture.

A little later today the wife is going to cruise about 100 miles north for work while the area is supposed to get hit with up to 8 inches of snow, cold temperatures, and high wind gusts. Here in our portion of the east coast of Iowa we’re supposed to get rain ending with some possible snow.

The snow is possibility aand the low here tonight is supposed to be 28 degrees with wind gusts over 40 mph. I wouldn’t mind a little white fluffy love from above if the wife wasn’t going to be driving into the heavy stuff. At any rate it shouldn’t stick to the pavement and dresses things up sticking to lawns and trees.

Since she is traveling for work the wife will take the four lane divided highway. If she chooses not to do so we know some two lane blacktop roads that take longer but have some great views. Perhaps we’ll save them for the summer.

All that said, one has to wonder about this snow storm in late April. What’s the odds of this happening? Between that and it being about 25 degrees colder than average leads me to believe we have to turn all the wind turbines the other way.

Now I’m going out in the rain to feed the critters before breakfast and a lot more coffee. Enjoy our Saturday as the weekend is half over
now.
Comments are always welcome.e

Back roads

Some ask why I like two-lane roads instead of the Interstate highways and this picture answers that question for me. I haven’t seen a sight like this on any Interstate. And I didn’t even take it, the wife did.

Sure, it’s slower going and one slows down even more going through the small towns that dot the landscape, but strangers driving by will wave and most times there is something to see for miles in any direction, weather permitting. We don’t travel gravel roads as often as we used to as the dust gets into everything in the car, including cameras.

And this picture couldn’t be taken on any Interstate we’ve been on. It’s a scene that puts a smile on most faces we know. The poles and wires bringing electricity to the farm, the red barn with the white roof, the silos, and the rolling green hills. To us it’s therapy.

No putting up with somebody going slower in the left lane or trying to figure out how fast to go so you don’t pass everybody or slower so everybody passes you. Road rage is almost unheard of and those in big hurry just pass you and go about their business.

When we went to Oklahoma last year we were told it could be driven in 12 hours straight through. We took the back roads and made it in a day and a half while retaining our sanity. A small price to pay.

Enjoy our Friday as it means the weekend is here and on the east coast of Iowa so comes the rain. Now I need coffee so as not to bite anyones head off.
Comments are always welcome.

Not trying that again

Yesterday after my chat with Dad, lunch with her Mom, running errands, and getting various little chores out of the way, I made the decision to stay up and go through around 100,000 pictures taken and stored digitally. The task actually started a while ago but I was only up to the July 2017 file when starting last night.

Not noticing the time slipping by I opened the last folder on the last thumb drive at 2:45 this morning. So before going to bed I had a cup of coffee and smoke. Thinking I’d lay down at 3:30 and get up around 6:30 I put my head on the pillow.

Woke up feeling great and decided the nap was worth it when I discovered it was almost noon! Jumping up to get the morning chores done, medications taken, and breakfast, I vowed not to do that again and found out I’m not as young as first thought.

The brain is still young but my body said that if I ever did that again it would bring me pain like never felt before. Even so, it was worth it as while looking at all the pictures I found myself strolling down memory lane. Not believing others when they mentioned I was documenting our family history, the point came to me last night.

May share some of these pictures at a later date as they still aren’t sorted. Once sorted and in separate files I’ll share some good ones here. Sorry this is late but do feel my time well spent. Enjoy our Wednesday as we will. Now for more coffee and look outside to see if it stopped raining.
Comments are always welcome.

Uncle Bill is where?

Before we get to the main point of this thought we’d share a mediocre picture of the moon from the other night. It has not been edited other than a simple crop and the colors are how myself and the camera saw them.

Now on to what really confused me yesterday and made me wonder if there is even a need. Washington state is set to pass a bill that would allow human composting. I saw an article yesterday that made the claim.

And in home gardens no less! The very thought makes me shudder. Billed as a ecologically friendly death-care option the law could go into effect as early as May 1st if the Governor signs the bill. Much like when the debacle over how many genders there are began, I’m one confused redneck.

Do we really need “natural organic reduction” funeral homes? It is not comforting to me to know that properly composted human remains are safe enough to use in household gardens. I’ll just say that when my time comes I won’t be fertilizing any tomatoes. Unless said tomatoes grow in the cemetery.

Cremation reduces the body mass and can be spread over the deceased favorite place but don’t nourish the soil when strewn upon it. Washington state has the right to do as it wishes but this sounds a little to far out there for me.

Enjoy our Monday as it’s going to be another nice one here on the east coast of Iowa.
Comments are always welcome.