The Big Day & Tying Up Loose Ends

Well, the big day has arrived at last!  Today, for the first time ever, I will meet another blogger IN PERSON!  My mom and my two sisters will be there, too.  Mom tensed up when she heard the plan included meeting up with another blogger……the internet scares her to death, but she decided to ride along anyway, bless her heart.

Obviously, I won’t be spending time blogging today, but here are a few random loose ends:

Our dear indoor-outdoor cat, Miss Kitty, has been in the family way, growing quite ungainly over the past couple of weeks.  Monday evening, she was nowhere to be found.  My son retired to his room around 10:15 p.m. and shortly thereafter the phone rang.  Oh, I hate answering late night calls, so Husband arose sleepily from his chair to pick up the phone.  Pretty soon he was chuckling and directing me to go upstairs to our son’s room.

Haha……after snuggling under the covers, our son heard a strange little noise coming from under his bed.  Sure enough……there was Miss Kitty, purring to beat the band, with two newborn kitties squirming at her side.  (Son had called our house phone with his cell phone!  Yes, obviously, the phone company guys had spliced the cut cable back together.)

We assumed then that Miss Kitty was just getting started on her litter……because of her large tummy, but this morning there were still only two kitties by her side!  I’m totally perplexed by that; her previous litters have been of four and five.  Well, these two will have no problem getting enough nourishment from their mother, that’s for sure. 

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Here’s another piece of exciting news:  I won something!  Yes, Caution Flag of The Human Race 600 blog kindly held a giveaway drawing last week in honor of her birthday, and I, of all people, WON!  The prize is a unique quilted wall-hanging (examples are shown in the above link).  The catch is that I have to choose a design for it, so I am mulling over that decision.  I may see if my blog’s header silhouette photo would work, with our farm name put in the sky above, but I’m still thinking on it.  Thank you, Caution!!

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A couple weeks ago I received an email from Plinky.com, containing blog prompts.  I don’t use them, but there was a link to a blogger named Margaret Mason who has written a book about blogging, No One Cares What You Had For Lunch:  100 Ideas For Your Blog.  I was not aware that books about blogging existed and at this point doubt that I would ever read one, but you never know.  I’m glad, actually, that I didn’t know about them before beginning my blog or I might have thought it necessary to read the books first.  Like most bloggers, I just jumped in one day and started blogging.  For any of you who don’t blog……know that it is acceptable to do that:  just jump in and start a blog. 

The link leads to the book’s Amazon.com page.  I always enjoy perusing the reader reviews further down on the page.

On that note, tune in next time to hear about my meeting with Laura~Peach of Georgia and the Silence Is Broken blog.  She is visiting relatives in Missouri and graciously agreed to drive up into Iowa so she could personally turn Fred & Bessie over to my care.  Hopefully, they will enjoy being here on the dairy farm.  What if they don’t??!!  What will I do??!!  Time will tell……

I might even choose to blog about what Laura and I and our other guests had for LUNCH…..whether anyone cares or not.  Heehee!

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Here’s how the crocus looked yesterday:

Solitary Gull

Here's a closer view of the solitary gull who hung around my tractor on Friday while I was chisel-plowing. (You can click on any of these photos to enlarge them to full-screen.)

I was unaware that gulls had webbed feet......one of his is visible in the above photo.

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Wow.....he felt comfortable enough to sit down and rest a spell, even with the noisy tractor roaring by.

In the dictionary, the word gull can also mean,

"one who is easily duped; simpleton; fool". Perhaps my gull friend was a holdover from April Fool's Day!

Eventually, off he flew. Sorry for the next tipsy view; it was from inside the tractor cab.

This next photo is for anyone with a hankering to see the tail-end of a meadowlark. Sorry, I hurriedly snapped the shot when I heard his melodious song, oblivious to which direction he was facing. He's the first meadowlark I've seen this spring.

Here's how the newly-planted oat field looks this morning. Don't worry, the snow won't hurt the oat seeds, which rest comfortably several inches down in the soil. My husband echoes an old farmers' adage that oats grow best when they've been snowed on once. Hopefully, it will be only once. Its time for spring to act like spring!

I'm hoping the southern states did not experience the damaging freezes forecast to occur last night.

Colorful Prom Fashions

  The drabness of winter may still hold sway, but splashes of color were evident yesterday at the Prom Grand March in the high school gym: Family and friend packed the bleachers to gawk at the parade of dazzling fashions.  I was late and had to sit on the floor, but it turned out to be a good angle for getting shots of the dresses.

Blazing orange seemed to be a favorite: There were a few wild prints to be seen, too.  My son says he heard a rumor that the dress in this next photo came from “out east somewhere”. 

Eye-catching designs…..that’s for sure!  Color coordination is an important issue nowadays……the guys wear vests and ties which match the girls’ dresses and tresses.  One guy even dyed his hair from blond to black to coordinate with his date’s hair color! 

The gym was decorated in a Hollywood Tinseltown theme:

My son and his date were one of the last couples to promenade down the glittery red foil runways.

This next scene gives some indication of the blusteriness of the day and evening.  Lots of cold shoulders given!!

The dance and the parent-sponsored post prom party were cut short by an hour each due to the sleet and snow which were forecast to move in by midnight.  Thankfully, all the kids got home safe and sound.

Sometimes I cringe and shake my head at prom because it involves so much seemingly wasteful expense.  My son said he had a great time, though.  He said, “It was a good experience to get all dressed up like that and act accordingly.”  (I hope he did.)

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Haha…….the fashions have changed a bit since my high school prom days.  No bare shoulders or cleavage on display back then.  Don’t look for me in this photo; I’m behind the camera.  That guy in the back row must have been quite popular with the girls!

(What are they now?…….3 accountants, 1 bookkeeper, 1 nurse, 1 museum curator, and 1 dairy farmer.)

To see me in a homemade prom dress (wow)……go here.

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Update: Snowy Crocus

These photos were taken five minutes ago!

Yes, we’re having a snowy Palm Sunday here in Iowa!

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The chisel plow from yesterday’s post:

And, the view out our front window:

Palmarum – Palm Sunday

One of the crocuses by the milkhouse door FINALLY bloomed……just in time for Palm Sunday:

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A few days ago, as Husband and I were about to leave Cedar Falls after loading up the wrecked LeSabre, a red light stopped us in our tracks at the corner of University and Main.  Near the intersection of those two streets is Nazareth Lutheran Church (ELCA), long pastored by Rev. Homer Larson of The Christian Crusaders radio show.   Husband listens to that broadcast in the barn early on Sunday mornings.  (Shhh….don’t tell….he enjoys it more than The Lutheran Hour.  Keep that under your hat.)

The photo above combines the Nazareth Lutheran Church cross and bell tower with a tree, power lines, and a traffic light.  There must be a message here, don’t you think?  What could it be?

Maybe:

STOP and contemplate God’s power!

YIELD to peace and joy; let them ring in your life!

GO forward….confident as a well-rooted tree!

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What would be your interpretation of the photo?

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(Oh, dear……she then fell into composing a poem.)

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INTERSECTIONS

Skipping down the careless lane of youth

With letters in hand, no worry in sight

Sunshine of morning dapples the leaves,

Lending to life a joy so bright

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The lane’s destiny unforeseen

Collision of will, intersection of fate

Chance meeting of eyes, the knowing of hearts

Grips the minds with knowledge too late

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Inward wounds, blessedly hidden they be

Prod and propel as life moves ahead

Grace and faith inhabit intersections

As grown-up purpose becomes the road to tread

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A BLESSED PALM SUNDAY TO YOU!

Oats Are In!

Today was the big day……the field was dry enough……time to seed oats!  Once the word got out, everyone was right there to lend a hand…..or paw.  Dinky and Tigger chose the task of inspecting the seed sacks.

The green bags hold alfalfa seed, which is planted simultaneously with the oats.  The oats are harvested in July, after which the field is taken over by the alfalfa hay……we will call it “the new seeding”.  It will be a hay field next year, too.  The next photo shows the sacks of seed oats.

Chisel-plowing is my job for the day.  Next you see the steps leading up into the tractor cab……watch out……bumping your knee on these sharp steps is no fun:

Behold the seat of honor!!  The tractor is an AGCO-Allis 8785, with front-wheel assist.  Its a nice tractor, and is our best and biggest one…….a privilege for me to drive today!  At the end of this post is a video taken from inside the tractor cab.  Be sure to watch it!

Husband made the first round with the chisel plow to make sure everything was set correctly.  The cab has a passenger seat, so I loafed there, relaxing while he drove and gave last-minute instructions, such as, “Be sure not to hit the fence when you turn around at the end of the field.”  Whew……thank goodness he reminded me of that, otherwise I’d have run the fence over for sure!!!  NOT!  It just seemed funny that he even mentioned it……like I don’t know enough not to hit the fence!  Sheesh.

After that first round, I was on my own.  Away we go at a breathtaking 6 miles-per-hour across the field!  Woo-eee!!  Hey, what’s this?  I have company in the field!  Looks like one of those gulls from last week missed his flight with the flock when they departed.  Poor thing.  He hung around the tractor for probably an hour.  Maybe he’s attracted to big, noisy, orange creatures.  I’ll post more photos of him next week.

Pretty soon, Husband and the grain drill joined Gull and me in the field.

If you open the top lid of the grain drill, you will see the compartments holding the seed oats.  Last year Husband planted a mixture of oats and peas to chop for silage, but this year is going with oats only, because he plans to combine the oats for grain.

The alfalfa and a bit of clover seed are placed in a smaller hopper to the rear of where the oats are:
 
The seeds are directed downward through tubes which are attached to round blades which drill into the ground a few inches, making an opening for the seeds to fall into.  Hence, the name of this piece of equipment……the grain drill.

This next scene includes the rear-view mirror on my tractor; Husband in the other tractor, pulling the grain drill; and Buster, trying to figure out which one of us to run with!  He enjoys running alongside tractors, but has the bad habit of darting in front of them, too, which makes me nervous.  I had to brake for him one time yesterday when he stopped all of a sudden to take a leak on a pile of cornstalks right in front of my tractor!

Next is the video.  Please join me and the band Night Ranger on our bouncy-wouncy journey across the field!

Er-Er-Er-Er-ERRRR & Diet Squirt

 

Yesterday, on my way from barn to house, I rounded a corner and suddenly found myself face to tail-feathers with this quartet of clucking chickens.  They didn’t seem to notice me so I stood motionless and listened.  To my great amazement, they were discussing the photo of the chick-on-the-egg-scale which I had posted on my blog yesterday!  They were chuckling over the clever caption ideas in the comments section. (Apparently, the poultry on our farm have internet access in the rafter area where they roost and relax in their spare time.) 

Here’s what’s even more surprising……these web-surfing fowl recognized the baby chick in the photo!  But, its not a baby chick……its their friend Tillie, a full-grown hen who became convinced that she was overweight and got accepted into an extreme makeover program, similar to what you see on TV.   Land sakes…..don’t that beat all!  Tillie now wishes to return to her farm home, but before that can happen, she must gain a little weight back.  I’m not at all surprised to hear that.

The four chickens chatted on, making plans to spend the evening snuggling together on the rafters and watching the final episode of “ER”……Er-er-er-er-errrrrr!  Somehow, they even knew that Marilu HENner would make a guest appearance on the show.  How do poultry know so much!?

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Here’s a goofy little thing that happened the other day…..

 

I never buy Diet Squirt, so how did these cans end up at my house?  We-ell, here’s the story…..and, its a true one…….

On Wednesday evening I rode with my son to Waterloo to pick up his prom tuxedo.  After that, he dropped me off at Target while he went to drop off our recycling items and pick up a pizza to take home.  I ended up waiting for him just inside the exit doors, leaning on my cart of purchases.  Customers pushing squeaky carts moved on by, from the inner exit doors, through the outer ones, brief snatches of their conversations reaching my ears.  I actually love watching and listening to people in a situation like that.

At one point, a family shuffled through…..with no cart, but each of the kids were loaded down with soda pop.  A stout little boy lugged an 8-pack of 24-ounce Mountain Dew bottles in each hand and his even-smaller brother toted a 12-pack box of Diet Squirt.  I thought, “Wow……what a lot of pop!”, and then reached into my purse to find the cell phone so I could call my son to see what was taking him so long. 

When I looked up again, the soda pop family had just climbed into a vehicle in front of the store.  After they pulled away, I noticed cans of Diet Squirt rolling in every direction.  The 12-pack box must have ripped when the little boy climbed into the vehicle.  I thought surely they would drive back around to pick up the cans, but they didn’t.  So I went outside and started chasing down the cans, before they were run over by cars; another customer came by and did the same.  What else could we do, really?  It was obvious the pop’s rightful owners were not going to return.  So, there……that’s how I ended up with Diet Squirt in the house for the first time ever!

Have a happy day!

SkyWatch #38 – April Fools’ Sunset

Last night, the sunset sky seemed to intentionally offer a contribution for this week’s SkyWatch post:

These photos were taken near my home in northeast Iowa, USA.

If you know the scientific explanation for the colorful shaft of light which is part of this sunset, please include it in a comment.

Thank you for stopping by this SkyWatch post. Please visit Skyley.com to find the multitude of other links to beautiful sky scenes from around the globe.

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[Many thanks to Dewdrop who left info about the "sun pillar" in her comment to this post. She states: "A sun pillar is a beam of sunlight reflected upward from horizontal surfaces of ice crystals."]

Chicky Needs A Caption

An email friend, Carrie, sent this cute and clever photo of a chick sitting on an egg scale. It needs a caption, wouldn’t you say! Use your noggin to think of one and tell us about it in a comment…….please, please!!

Retrieving the Wreck

Can you tell my daughter rear-ended a utility truck? From the looks of the license plate area, she must have hit the truck’s hitch straight-on. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and no one was ticketed. The mishap occurred at rush-hour on Monday afternoon in a construction zone on busy University Avenue in Cedar Falls, not far from the college campus. The truck had to slam on his brakes for the car ahead of him whose driver had braked for a turn at the last minute. Not a good idea in heavy traffic……don’t do it!

The ‘96 LeSabre was given a lift to Deery Brothers, about a block away from the accident site. A $65 tow that turned out to be. Its funny, John Deere is a big name in the area, and so is John Deery.

Late this morning found me, half-dozing in the pickup cab, waiting while Husband went inside the Collision Center to pay the towing bill. Ho-hum. Day-dreams of a warm tropical island drifted into my mind. Well, ,my goodness……what a coincidence…….the van up ahead is adorned with an ocean sunset scene! (April Fool’s!)

Let’s take a closer look at the damage…..

Yipes! Scary eyes!

Fortunately, the car still runs and could be driven onto the trailer. However…..ahem…..the sides of the trailer prevented the car doors from opening. Haha……Husband had to climb out through the window. Hahaha. But, then he made me climb in to push the parking brake pedal into place.

Husband, a typical jack-of-all-trades farmer, made sure the car was securely chained into place on the trailer. Here he tightens the chain with a chain binder.

Longingly and with stomach growling, I gazed across the rows of dented vehicles to the McDonald’s beyond. Lunchtime was drawing near, but with a trailer in tow, a fast-food parking lot would be too complicated for us to negotiate. Sigh. Growl, growl.

Soon we were zipping along on the open road once again…..

At one point, for my own amusement, I tried to get a photo of all three flashing arrows lighted up. That’s the only purpose of this final picture.

We arrived home safely and found a place to stash the smashed up Buick. It was a good car with a very comfortable ride, but would cost more to fix than it is worth. Because of the car’s age and high mileage, we had dropped collision coverage from the insurance a few years ago. Maybe we can find someone who wants the engine. Daughter will have to depend on friends and parents for rides now. She’s supposed to go to Europe for the summer, thus she won’t be in need of her own wheels until August, anyway. We’re hoping to find another older LeSabre for her to drive.

Foolish Decisions

I just can’t take it anymore;

so, I’ve decided to burn my blog……

 

And, disappear into the sunset in this snazzy Dodge Ram van……

See ya around, perhaps!