Legs in the Sunset

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Welcome! This was supposed to be next Friday's SkyWatch post, but I'm sitting here using my daughter's laptop and can't upload any photos, so decided to click "publish" on this post which already contained photos. No, the laptop is not quite mine, yet........probably in another week it will be.

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Upon exiting a high school gym one evening last week, I was treated to this colorful sunset scene:

While my eyes beheld this beautiful sight, my ears were hearing the sound of someone telling me rather unsettling news. I keep telling myself, "Take a deep breath......relax......the situation could be much worse."

There are no guarantees in life......guarantees that the best will happen........and, likewise, no guarantees that the worst will occur, either. So, what's the point of worrying......right? (I'm writing this mostly to remind myself of that.) Simply live each day.......and pray along the way. Easier said than done, sometimes.......especially when loved ones are involved.
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The second photo shows large grain bins topped by geometric-looking "legs"......long pipes which contain augers that move corn or soybeans up and down to various storage areas. Click to enlarge the photo.......way at the top of the tallest grain leg is the outline of a star shape which was lighted during the Christmas season.

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Sorry I've been making myself scarce with blogging and reading blogs. Oh, and did I just say that there are no guarantees in life.......of course there are! DEATH & TAXES!! Tax preparations will take up much of my time this coming week. If you're self-employed like us farmers, you know that your taxes are due March 1......so, GET BUSY!!

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Full Moon Morning

[HOLD EVERYTHING! If you want to see much better photos of the SAME full moon, taken the evening before and many miles to the west.........

Go to Deserthen's blog: Gravel Roads & Daiquiris in the Dirt! ]

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The full moon this morning:

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These photos aren't the greatest, of course........zoomed with my point & shoot camera........but, at least the moon looks big......
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If you're a reader with a blog and you feel I've been ignoring your blog.........you're right. Its been busy......the weather is good, so being outdoors is the place to be. Tiredness is the result, though, and I haven't been staying up to read blogs in the evening. Besides that, my son usually needs to use the computer for schoolwork in the evenings. Getting up early to read blogs is really not my thing......although it probably should be.

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I've taken many fall foliage photos around the farm and the neighborhood, too, lately, so I'm thinking of posting just those types of photos for awhile. No distracting text, except for short explanations, possibly. We'll see.......I'm not very good at keeping blog promises.......

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Have a wonderful day!

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Morning Fog Over Cornfield

This morning I sleepily walked into the kitchen to make the coffee and happened to glance out the window:

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In my flannel nightgown, I ran outdoors to take a picture! A person just can't hesitate in such matters........go for it!!

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Apple Moon

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This photo shows last night's full moon........around 8 p.m. or so., in the eastern sky........smack in the middle of September! Its not a "Harvest Moon" or a "Hunter's Moon", but I'm calling it an "Apple Moon" this time!

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White Lobelia

I shouldn't do a blogpost today.........since The Cows already did one; they can be just so considerate at times! But, I had to show you this wildflower from the road ditch:Its a pure white lobelia, a rare occurence, so says some of the wildflower literature I've read. Elsewhere in the ditch are the usual blue-colored lobelia. Evidently the pure white variety is just an occasional fluke........if you keep the seeds, they won't grow back white again, so says the literature. You have to do a root cutting, it said. There's only one stalk of this white one and I hate to mess around with it, but would love to somehow transplant it to my flower garden. I'm goofy like this, but I think this flower was sent in honor of my son and daughter-in-law's wedding this summer!

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I also wanted to show how amazingly gorgeous the sky was this morning! We're having much cooler temperatures now; I've worn long sleeves all day today. Autumn is my favorite season......so BRING IT ON!!

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The Cows mentioned the wedding videos, I see. Sigh. Yes, its wonderful to have the lovely ceremony captured forever on video.......but.......but........I won't whine anymore.

Husband's brother did the videotaping with his new little video camera; it records on those smaller-sized CD's. He was here today and we were trying to figure out how to make copies of them, without success. I did manage to copy them onto our computer, but cannot burn them to a DVD........an error message keeps popping up: "Copying disabled." OK, whatever.

Besides the wedding ceremony, Brother-in-law taped the whole receiving line coming out of the church, as we parents greeted everyone. (The bride and groom stood in the church aisle and greeted guests as they exited from the pews.) The receiving line is really fun to watch, for you get to see everyone who was there! And, there's my voice shrilling in the background, saying for what seems like hundreds of times, like a broken record: "Thank you for being here!" Good grief. When my next child gets married, I'll need to come up with some variants of that greeting!

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Pearl in the Sky

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Welcome, SkyWatch Friday readers as you traverse this week's sky scenes from around the globe!

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One evening a couple weeks ago I was out driving and saw this cloud formation in the eastern sky which looked like a pearl on its shell. I'm not sure how that little round bit of cloud came to be lighted up that way........a reflection from the setting sun, somehow.

It seemed appropriate because my "Pearl" wedding anniversary was just a few days away! YES.........that's right.........I take cloud scenes very personally!! You should, too!!

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Near the spot where I stopped to photograph the pearl cloud was a patch of wispy asparagus stems entangled with some Queen Anne's Lace, whose real name is Wild Carrot. There's a cornfield in the background, too.

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Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a wonderful time exploring SkyWatch Friday!!

Arrow in the Sky

Welcome, SkyWatch Friday readers!!!

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"GO WEST, YOUNG MAN!".........or anyone, for that matter!!

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Is it just me, or do you, too, see an arrow branded into the sky in this photo?

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Incidently, the arrow IS pointing WEST!!!

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For anyone viewing this Skywatch Friday post from outside the United States, and you don't understand the saying, "Go west, young man!".......here is the explanation: This phrase was made famous in the mid-1800's by a New York newspaper publisher, Horace Greeley, as his advice to the unemployed in his city. The phrase was actually first used by an Indiana newspaperman, John Soule, in 1851. (So says my World Book encyclopedia.)

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SKY WATCH FRIDAY now has its own blog, spun off from Wigger's World, a fascinating blog from the U.K. Explore there if you have time!!

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Iowa Mountain Range

Occasionally, when the conditions are just right, we see a mountain range here in Iowa! This evening brought such a sight, on the northern horizon:

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When I was six years old, I went on a trip to Colorado with my family. Oh, how I enjoyed gazing at the Rocky Mountain peaks! When we left there, I was turned around in the back seat, watching through the car's rear window as the mountains disappeared from sight, tears running down my face. After that, whenever I'd see clouds resembling mountains, I would imagine really, really hard that they were truly real!!

Solstice Sunset

Well, there you have it..........the 2008 summer solstice sunset, as seen from my vantage point here in the northern hemisphere, in Iowa, U.S.A. And, right on time as officially predicted, at 8:51 p.m. CST.

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I couldn't have asked for more gorgeous birthday weather than we had today!! Actually, June 20 rarely turns out to be a bad weather day. Spring volatility has passed, and early summer takes over, warm and mellow.......in most years, anyway!!

Solstice Sunrise

Ok.......drum roll........(which I was able to do many years ago as a drummer in high school band)........here it is:

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Summer Solstice Sunrise - June 20, 2008

Klinger, Iowa, U.S.A.......or thereabouts:

Latitude 42.65667

Longitude -92.21917

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Click here to look up YOUR latitude and longitude!

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Officially, the sunrise today occurred at 5:32 a.m. CST. These photos were taken at approximately 5:50 and 6:00 a.m. CST, looking in a northeasterly direction. As you can see, the lucky ol' sun had to work its way through a blanket of clouds before breaking into open sky.

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If I survive turning 50 today I will try to snap a photo of this evening's sunset and post it forthwith.

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If you have a hankering to take a gander at many lovely sky scenes today, then visit Wiggers World blog from the U.K. for the weekly Sky Watch Friday, which contains links to sky scenes from around the world!

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Have super day!!

Parkersburg Area Tour

On my way to pick up my daughter's yellow Lab, Izzy, last Saturday, I made a point to drive through Parkersburg, the town hit by an EF-5 tornado on Memorial Day weekend.

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The twister cut a path of destruction along the south side of town; this watertower stands undamaged a bit to the south of that area. (Something else I did notice, in connection with something I wrote about in a previous blogpost, is that that the same high-voltage electric line runs just south of Parkersburg near where this watertower is.......meaning the tornado basically followed that electric line all the way east to the Dunkerton area! At least, I presume it is the same line.) That pile of stuff on the left is ruined household appliances!

There was lots of clean-up activity going on........dump trucks and endloaders at work everywhere in the rubble. These photos aren't terribly good.......click on them to see them larger.

Notice the A-frame house in the photo below.........it remained mostly intact while houses around it were destroyed. The Waterloo Courier had an article about this........the shape of the roof offered nothing for the wind to latch onto to rip it away! (I tried to find the article on the Courier website, but without success....... click here to go to the WCF Courier archives for articles about the Parkersburg tornado.)

In the foreground below is a signboard spray-painted with "Lincoln Street".......that's how they label the streets right now.

East of Parkersburg, and just west of New Hartford, this road was washed out in the recent flooding of Beaver Creek.

Below are the damaged grain bins of Sinclair Elevator Co., east of Parkersburg, near the intersection of county road T-47 and highway 57. Floodwaters from Beaver Creek are still hanging around.

Now, this was just too unusual and lovely to pass by.......a random patch of colorful flowers on the ditch embankment on the north side of highway 57, just east of Parkersburg. There were no farmsteads nearby. Mostly, the blooms were "forget-me-nots".........someone would have to have planted them here sometime in the past. I wonder why........did someone have an accident here, once upon a time, perhaps......and these flowers were planted as a remembrance???

Oh, brother........we couldn't get through the day without seeing a storm, of course!! I first noticed this one as Izzy and I were getting set to head east on U.S. 20 from I-35. I thought, "No problem.......those clouds are far away to the south......nothing to worry about."

Ha! Little did I know........the further east I traveled on U.S. 20 (which, by the way, and to my dismay, had unusually heavy semi-truck traffic on Saturday because its the detour for I-80 due to the flooding near Iowa City), the closer my path came to intersecting with the storm clouds! To avoid the nasty-looking mess, I turned north on highway 14 and went through Parkersburg again, stopping to snap this photo on the slope below the curve south of New Hartford.

Then.........onward Izzy and I drove, keeping our eyes on the patch of blue sky which was our goal, to reach home there, "on the sunny side of life", beyond the border of the menacing storm clouds!!

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This is going to sound completely idiotic, but as I drove around, taking pictures, a dog beside me there in the pickup cab.........I suddenly was reminded of Robert Kincaid from the novel, The Bridges of Madison County. Of course, he was a photographer on assignment for National Geographic.......but, he did drive a pickup......and had a dog with him, I believe.......and survived mostly on Snickers bars, apples, and Coca-Cola........sounds good to me!! (I read the book years ago because the setting was in Iowa, the author being from Cedar Falls.) Eventually, I watched the movie, too, which was filmed in the vicinity of the covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa, near the town of Winterset. The movie was so-so, but there's one scene in it which I found absolutely gripping......when Francesca [Meryl Streep] is on the brink of jumping out of her husband's pickup and running to Robert Kincaid [Clint Eastwood]'s truck, which is leaving town for the last time.....!!! Oh, I'm such a sap.......my heart was in my throat! What did Francesca decide to do?? Read the book or watch the movie to find out!!)

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Back to reality.......my son just returned home from playing summer league basketball and informed me he accidentally tossed his retainers into the garbage can at McDonald's!!! Arggh! Well, there goes $200, and we'll have to make another trip to the orthodontist's office for impressions. My son will pay the bill himself, and hopefully learn a good lesson!

Hay & Fathers' Day

While I was traveling to pick up Izzy on Saturday, Husband was finally able to cut some hay. I hope you can see the swaths lying on the ground in the photo below. Husband had to quit cutting when he was chased out of the field by......what else.......a downpour of rain!!

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"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

Red sky at night, sailors delight."

(Is that how the old saying goes??? I can't recall for sure.)

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Here would be a version for the present:

"Red sky at sunset,

Iowa, more storms you will get!"

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This was our sunset scene from Saturday evening........Fathers' Day eve:

Those clouds near the horizon, brightly outlined with light were very intriguing! I should have known, though, that they were towering thunderheads headed in our direction. (Also, doesn't that bird appear to be flying above the flames of Hades!!!)

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A few hours later, at around 1:30 a.m., I awakened to thunder and lightning to the west. Great......ANOTHER storm coming through. Despite the ungodly hour, I put on my bathrobe and squished through the wet lawn to try and get a picture of a lightning bolt. A few nights ago, I had tried, too, but with no success........ I could never catch the lightning flashes in time.

I turned on the weather radio and listened through the static to the recorded electronic voice which sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It reported that this storm front was going to miss us........it was headed in a more southeasterly direction, toward......where else.......Cedar Rapids and Iowa City!!

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Fathers' Day dawned cool and clear. After chores, church, and noon meal, I was exhausted and sank into the recliner to read the Waterloo Courier and Des Moines Register. The rest of the gang went outdoors and played "Blong Ball" (The photo loaded the wrong way for some unknown reason.), otherwise known by some as "ladder golf" and "_____ _ _ ___" ( a name I'd rather not say, but rather appropriate for Fathers' Day).

The fam kept hollering for me to come out and play, too, but, golly, I absolutely did not want to. I so strongly felt the need to sit for awhile.......I've had a sore knee lately, which is very unusual.......I've never had knee trouble, and I don't want it!!! Probably, now, because I'm about to turn 50, things are going to start going kaput. Sheesh!

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So, I enjoyed the newspapers, and then began to doze. At some point I saw the dreamy reflection of this windmill in the window nearby, and was prompted to get up from my cozy recliner to find the camera and take a picture. Exciting, huh!!

I hope your Father's Day was as peaceful and pleasant ours was here!!

Sky Watch Friday

Hey.........go visit Sky Watch Friday at Wigger's World blog.

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I joined the Sky Watch list for the first time today, with this cloud/sky photo.

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There's many, many, many very beautiful sky and cloud photos from around the world on Sky Watch Friday!!

Looking Southeast

This photo was taken from our mailbox this afternoon, looking toward the southeast.........Cedar Rapids is located in that direction, about 60 miles away, as the crow flies. You can see the dark blue cloud mass over that area in the distance. Besides the massive flooding going on today in CR, there are also heavy rains falling there, adding insult to much injury.

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Another thing I've noticed the past couple days is a low, deep rumble coming from the south. I think that would have to be the sound and vibration of all that water rushing through in the Cedar River, which runs northwest to southeast, about 14 miles south of us, as it heads toward Cedar Rapids.

And once more, I'll have to say........the clouds have been simply fascinating during this past week with the storm fronts coming and going.

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I just now stumbled into this acerbic blog.........but, he has a cool photo of the flooding in Cedar Rapids, and a link to the CR Gazette, where he used to be a religion(?) columnist.

I Need A Cloud Book

On my bookshelf are two bird books, a rock book, and three prairie flower books, but not a single book about clouds. Hence, I can't tell you the name of this particular cloud type, seen above our farmstead late yesterday afternoon.

As I had commented in an earlier post, this wild, volatile weather pattern gripping Iowa right now seems to produce unusual cloud scenes, especially between storm fronts.
From listening to the meteorologists, I've gathered that the bright sunny weather between storm fronts is actually a bad thing........it causes the air to heat up and lots of energy is then available for the storms to use in a violent manner. I never knew that before.......that sunshine could be a dangerous thing......(besides the UV rays which damage skin, of course).

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Evidently then, we should be grateful that the sky is overcast with rain clouds this morning. During the night, we were gifted with another two inches of rain.......causing lots of little rivers and ponds in the fields again.

But, I am not complaining........this is very, very minor compared to the massive flooding going on along most of the rivers in Iowa. Not to mention, also, the horrendous experience those Boy Scouts in western Iowa had last evening when a tornado ripped through their camp in a wooded area near Blencoe, killing four boys and injuring many more. Here's a link to an Omaha TV station that has info.

Depression Observations

Depressing weather brings thoughts of......what else.......depression!!

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Two years ago, I was diagnosed Bi-polar/Type 2 following an episode which I suppose in former times would have been termed a "nervous breakdown." I spent several days in a hospital psychiatric unit. After talks with the psychiatrist, and analyzing memories of past bad spells in my life, I realized I'd probably been struggling with this type of depression for many years. I hadn't known enough to take the problem to the doctor. When I would reach a point of collapse, my mom would come over and help with the kids for a few days, and I rested. Probably, rest was mainly what was needed, anyway, for I felt just totally depleted and drained during those times. In the hospital, I recall feeling like a deflated balloon.......flattened, like roadkill, or that "Flat Stanley" or whatever his name is who gets sent around the world by schoolchildren.

Once in a while, when I was a kid, I'd hear my mom mention in hushed tones that so-and-so had had a "nervous breakdown". I'd envision the person lying collapsed on the floor, quivering; I couldn't imagine what else a "nervous breakdown" could possibly be like.

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My parents would also speak of people being taken to the "Silo", that term being a corrupted form of the word "Asylum", which in our area means the Mental Health Institute in Independence, Iowa. Its eerie, gothic buildings were built in the 1800's, and I imagine anyone who "went crazy" or had a mental episode back then was taken to that spooky place, sometimes staying indefinitely. It gives me chills to think about it........I could have ended up at the "Silo"!!

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Actually, my parents each had a sibling who spent time in the "Silo".......I recall those times from when I was a kid. Now, after my own experiences with mental problems, I feel these aunts of mine were probably bi-polar, but misdiagnosed as schizophrenic, and put on scads of medications for the rest of their lives. A major depressive episode can include delusions, which mine did.......and it doesn't necessarily mean there's schizophrenia going on.

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After much pondering, I also wonder if the ones who "go crazy" do so as a result of trying to deal with the "normal" people in our lives. Since my breakdown, there are certain people-----close family members, even------who I must avoid spending much time with. I can just feel something adverse happening in my mind when I'm around them. If the person is someone I can't get away from, then I must construct a barrier in my mind and ignore certains aspects of the person. And, no doubt, there are things about me that others must ignore........maybe "normal " people do that naturally, and it simply took me the good share of a lifetime to figure out that barriers and boundaries are necessary.

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One of the blogs in the list to the right is written by a Lutheran pastor who wrestles with depression, I Trust When Dark My Road. He blogs anonymously, so I have no idea who he is or where he lives, and I have no idea if he ever visits my blog. Its courageous of him to do a blog on depression, especially since he's an LCMS pastor, part of a denomination which has historically sort of looked the other way concerning the subject of mental illness. Ach! Good solid Lutherans who trust in Gott won't get depressed!!

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Most likely, "normal" people in society have always feared the "crazy" ones. Fear of the the odd and the unknown prevailed. Things have improved much over time, as knowledge increased about the true nature of mental disorders........that they have a physical origin. Gosh, certain theologies must have had to scramble to change their view that depression results from the sin of not having enough faith and trust.

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Occasionally, I leave a comment on the above-mentioned blog, whose author refers to himself as "DMR" (for Dark My Road). I think of him as "Deemer". He probably doesn't care for what I say in the comments; I'm not in favor of taking medications, and he believes otherwise, and that's OK. Also, I don't mention God, or the Cross, or the Bible very often, for I worry about coming across as smug, which Christians often do, especially Lutherans, in my opinion. Each person's journey with depression is unique. Do I believe God has helped me.......yes, of course! God, who sets our path through life, brought the depression into my life in the first place, for some reason which ultimately has a useful purpose. I have learned much about myself and others through my experiences; I wouldn't want to be without that knowledge now.

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I believe Deemer is in the process of writing a book about his experiences as a depressive pastor........good for him! I will hope to read it. He has also stopped taking meds, and I pray the best for him in that area, too.

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Fields can have depressions.......did you know that? A few evenings ago, shortly after a rain, I took a walk down to the "crick" that runs through our farm. The "crick" is basically a man-made drainage ditch, providing a place for water to travel through the fields in a contained manner, preventing soil erosion. Sometimes, the rain comes so hard and fast that gullies are formed in the fields, anyway, which you can see in the photo below:

Water will simply always find a way to flow from the higher areas to the lower.......to the depressions in the fields.

The water flows relentlessly to the depressions, filling them up, then must find a way to move onward, eventually leaving the depressed place empty. Below, you can see that water has broken through and formed a channel from the field depression into the drainage ditch. Once the depression is free of the excess water, it can dry up and be a productive part of the field again.

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It may sound corny, but this blog is my channel to release excess thoughts that build up in my mind, helping me to maintain normal everyday mind functioning. I would much rather do this than take medications.......I was put on meds at the hospital, but it was intolerable-----I felt off-balance in body and mind-----and stopped taking them shortly after I got home.

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Blogging is my way of digging a channel for excess mind activity to flow through. Lots of walking, also, helps keep the feel-good chemicals flowing in the brain. Adequate sleep is crucial for me, too, as well as plenty of solitude. Perhaps if I took meds, it would eliminate the need to blog, or walk, or spend time alone, or get enough sleep........but, that's not a trade-off I'm interested in. I need to be myself, and live what I am.........what God has created me to be.........a depressive.

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Does blogging provide a therapeutic haven for other depressives? Writing in general can serve that purpose, perhaps, but not many of us will ever get a book published. Blogging may be the next best thing. Depressives could do worse things than blog; that I do know for a fact!!

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I'm certainly not fishing for anyone to 'fess up in the comments section.......the subject of depression was on my mind, that's all.

Ominous Sunset

The volatile weather pattern holding Iowa hostage does at least provide for some spectacular sunsets. This evening, the beauty is tempered by the fact that a severe thunderstorm is going on 40 miles away where those dark blue clouds slant upwards on the northwest horizon. The storm area includes the Osage vicinity where the Sugar Creek Farm blog originates. She hasn't posted for a few days, making me wonder if they are dealing with flooding at their farm. Thoughts and prayers go out for them.

There's record high flooding going on right now along the Cedar River.......Waverly, Cedar Falls, and Waterloo are inundated with water. We watch the news reports in horrified awe, and hope and pray that the weather forecasts for more heavy rain the next two days are absolutely wrong!!

All is fine here at our farm. Fields are damp, but we're in no danger from flooding, as we don't live near a river. The worst problem this evening is that there's a bat flitting around on the porch!

Proof of Three Facts

This photo is being posted tonight as proof of these three facts:

1. The corn is growing!

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2. The fields are wet!

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3. The sky was amazing this evening!

(Click on the picture to enlarge it, and then you'll see the rows of corn and the water in parts of the field.)

Tornado Beater

This beats a tornado any day!

We had no rain here this evening, but evidently some fell to the east, allowing us to briefly behold a RAINBOW!

Busy Monday, Monday

Remember that song, "Monday, Monday" from the Mamas & The Papas? No reason for asking, but that tune is running through my mind as I write this post late Monday evening (to be posted on Tuesday, of course).

A very busy Monday it was.........Husband cut the rye field..........you can see the winrows lying on the ground in the evening sun. The rye will be chopped and bagged in a couple days for silage to feed to the cows. Rye is seeded in the fall, so it will start growing right away the following spring.

My day was busy, too.......too busy for my liking; not hard work, just too much running around. The milk check had arrived over the weekend, so I had to coax and plead with it to stre-t-ch over all the bills waiting in a pile on the desk. It did......barely, as is normal.

Then as soon as that two-hour-or-so task was done, it was fill the dishwasher, fill the clothes washer, and run to the bank in our nearby small town, and then drive to Waterloo for groceries and garden plants. (I should have stayed home and mowed the lawn, but the cupboards were getting pretty bare. Actually, I was hoping it would rain as forecasted so I wouldn't feel guilty about gadding about shopping, but it didn't.) On my way to Waterloo, I detoured over to the pioneer cemetery near where I grew up.......to take some photos, what else!!

Rarely do I see people I know while shopping in Waterloo, but today I ran into my sister and niece at Walmart, and an old friend from childhood at Target. Oh, my......we gabbed and laughed in the bread aisle for probably 45 minutes........she was there to buy supplies for her son's graduation party next Sunday. Its her first time for doing that and she's nervous and worried about having enough food prepared. I told her to make it as easy as possible, and don't stress too much over the food........most of the guests will be making the rounds of many graduation parties and probably won't eat much.......that's been my experience. If you run out of food......you run out of food.....no big deal.

All that yacking delayed me from getting home in time to feed calves; but, not to worry, because now that the track season is finally over with, our son gets home earlier from school and can do more chores. Lucky him!

As soon as I got home, the sky was turning absolutely beautiful and needed its picture taken, so I had to run around outdoors and do that before putting the groceries away and fixing supper for Husband and Son, who were hungry as bears. There's just no rest for the wicked!!

Above are grape vine leaves still opening up and looking pink. I really like the photo below........it is WEEDS silouetted against the lovely sunset sky. WEEDS! Finally, they are good for something!!

(Oh, shoot, I should have cropped out that weird little dark mouse-shaped cloud on the right. Sorry!)

Have a tremendous Tuesday! (Now I'm wondering who sang "Tuesday Afternoon"........that was a good song, too.)