The Good Shepherd and More

I often mention the food pantry, and I thought I would show you a picture of it. 

The Good Shepherd Food pantry is supported by the thrift shop that is part of it.  This little building was a house, built onto. 

The volunteers here come from all the different congregations in Tonganoxie. 

As you can see, our shelves are currently pretty bare.  It's the end of summer. 

Ummmm... there IS some cereal.  We are low on soups, boxed potato mixes, etc.. 

The grocery store here, B and J Country Mart, is extremely generous to the pantry, and there is often salad mix and lots of baked goods to give to those coming in.  

On Tuesday and Thursday, the inmates at the Lansing Correctional Center deliver fresh produce here and several other places in Leavenworth County, to be given FREE to those who would like to have it.  

Our eggs have gone here for several years now, and a another lady has begun bringing some eggs, too. 

Keith and I are trying to get a few extra boxes of food each time we go to the store, and then taking it down with the eggs.  

I want to thank everyone for their kind birthday wishes... my birthday was actually last Sunday, and I had a most peaceful one here at home with my Honey. 

63 years YOUNG! 

Keith took this picture last night at the T Bones last game.  It was 102 when we left to go. 

This picture is remarkable for ONE THING. 

I NEVER WEAR FLIP-FLOPS (Thongs) OUTSIDE IN PUBLIC!!!!

I wore them Friday night and Saturday night, and I was glad I did!  

My gosh, it was hot and humid at the game, but we did enjoy watching our team for the last time this year.  I even tried to eat a hot dog (I can't swallow bread, really) and the kind lady to my left, who was sitting next to me, moved down with her husband when the rest of the row remained open, so we could all breathe a little easier.  Whew. 

I drank a LOT of cherry lemonade this season! 

We called flip-flops "thongs" when I was a girl, and that's how I still think of them! 

I've noticed in the mornings that the chickens in the old henhouse are slower and slower to come out. 

Even the (little) Big Guy didn't want to come out in the morning's humidity. 

Buddy stayed inside with the hens. 

And Boots at the other pophole wasn't much for coming out, either. 

Of course, it might have been Abby, the Scourge of the Chicken Yard, keeping them in.  She had just chased the ducks when I took this picture.  I had to escort her OUT. 

The asclepias is still going strong, and see the most unusual seed pods on them?  Wow!

That's a volunteer sunflower growing up amongst them. 

In fact, the hot border is still giving us plenty of color here at the end of August. 

I took this early this morning while it was still pretty clear, and I'm happy to say it's now very overcast.  I'm going to do some water and maybe cut some grass this afternoon.  I can't believe how much it's growing after the heat of this past week. 

I also ran to Walmart after I delivered eggs this morning, and bought some 1.98 mums in yellow and white. 

I can't wait to show you all what I'm going to do with them this afternoon. 

And what post would be complete without these guys: 

Ritz Crackers taste pretty good now, don't they, Kelly? 

You already know that, don't you, Kody?

Notice that Kelly is now almost as big as Kody! 

This is NOT a dead Polish hen. 

She is SUNBATHING.  

Incredible. 

PS

Keith has just come in from the post office to tell me that it is raining in Topeka, 50 miles to our west.  It is so overcast here that I am crossing my fingers.  

YAYYY. 

Everyone have a safe start to your Labor Day weekend! 

91 in the Shade at 9:04 PM

Yes, that's my birthday present from my beloved, showing you the temperature at the T Bones game last night at 9 PM. 

Here we are in the stands... we try to have our picture taken every year, and a lady sitting behind us last night was so kind as to do it.  

There were about 3000 people there, all fanning themselves. 

I had "dressed up" for the pictures... and fixed my hair... HA!

We were melting in the humidity, literally sliding off our seats. 

 Why does Keith ALWAYS look good in his photos?  Not even hot!  

 Baldwin City Middle School Choir sang the anthem very well.  I taped it on my phone and don't know how to play it, of course.  I did it discreetly because we STAND for the anthem and salute or cross our hearts. 

They were actually more people there than it appears. 

We did a great job of pitching, but lost again. 

It's been a long season. 

Will Frank White be back next season????

It's Friday afternoon, the start of the holiday weekend.  We have our last game tonight, and are going in our coolest clothes, as it is 101 degrees right now. 

So far, we have not lost any animals. 

The little goats are at the door, I can hear them calling me. 

We left the popholes open last night, because right now, the heat is a worse threat than predators. 

We'll leave them open again tonight. 

I'm praying for all who are suffering in this heat... who are suffering from flooding or forest fires... and hope everyone gets off to a good start to their holiday weekend! 

And Now It's Already a (HOT) Thursday!

Well, friends, if we can make it through the weekend, we'll see calmer and cooler temps next week, according to the forecast.  From the high 90's over the next few days, 

to the mid 80's.  Grand! 

A year ago tomorrow, I went to the Santi-Cali-Gon Days festival in Independence, Missouri, 

the Queen City of the Trails, with my cousin Fuh Fuh.  This yearly festival of the three trails features tent after tent of crafters, good festival food, and live entertainment. 

Last year's was nearly rained out. 

We spent the Friday in rain showers, trying to carry our finds back to the car between the raindrops.  The entertainment was washed out, as they perform on an outdoor stage. 

Looks like the festival will have clear weather for this weekend! 

Our local Kansas City Renaissance Festival also starts on Saturday, to run for six weekends. 

Keith has never been, and we live ten minutes from the site and pass it almost daily, so we hope to go this year and he can get a taste of what Renaissance Britain was about. 

Pictures will come, don't worry! 

These eggs were the ones under Reddy that I pictured in yesterday's post.  At least, most of them were... there were one or two from the old henhouse as well. 

See how dirty they are? 

There's an egg eater in the henspa.  I caught her at it on Tuesday afternoon.  I had been finding sticky eggs for several weeks, and figured someone was eating eggs... someone who doesn't go outside and who had been setting for a long time. 

Here is little Snowball, a homebred bantam.  It is she who is eating eggs. 

I'm going to be keeping an eye on her for the next few weeks.  This is not something you want to get hens started doing. 

Despite the late summer heat, the sky has taken on a decidedly fall-like cast in the early morning.  You can tell the seasons are about to change. 

The petunias that have delighted us all summer, and have smelled so wonderful, are giving their last gasp now.  They are soon going to be replaced by mums. 

A simple board in the pasture. 

Beneath it, an entire world and lifetimes (see upper left of picture). 

I don't know where my respect for God's creatures grew so great, though my parents brought me up in a God-loving home.  Even the tiniest field mouse deserves a decent life. 

Another of God's creatures was waiting for her daddy to finish his oatmeal this morning. 

And finally, we made a little trip last night. 

Daughter Amber, her husband Jesse, and son Jace put their house up for sale 6 weeks ago.  It sold in one day. 

They are staying (as of 3 weeks ago) with daughter Andrea, husband Nick, and little Brynn, pictured above with Keith.  It was a good excuse to go see the two little ones. 

Papaw was in his glory. 

The Last of the Beans

You can read a "thank heavens" behind that line. 

'

Yes, there ARE bean plants in this picture.  We are on the "green side".... yellow beans are planted on the east side of these beds.... and the weeds in back are growing amongst the melons, so I can't cut into them for fear of tearing the melon vines up.  The problem in this picture is that the entire middle of this bed has grown up with bristly greenbrier, which HURTS when you grab it accidentally.  Try as I did to dig it all out in the spring, it has all grown back up.  We are going to take the supports out, and dig the whole bed up to remove it.  We... I mean, I am going to. 

The poor pumpkins.  That's what the heat and yesterday's blowing wind did to them.  They got three buckets of water.  Then the other three went on the melons on the other end. 

Can you see the melons peeking out?  These are the muskmelons from Baker Creek I planted... "Collective Farm Woman", and the melon, "Kansas".   Both are doing very well, considering they were planted one on top of the other.  

While I was changing out frozen water bottles in the henspa, I checked the nest boxes.  Lest you think we are buried in eggs... these under Reddy were IT. 

This actually alarmed me, and really, still does. 

The box next to it had a lot of feathers in it, too.  I did a quick look around. 

Here are the three girls who have been setting forever, and they seem to be okay.  I've noticed that we are going into the moult VERY early.  The Farmer's Almanac people announced this week that we are expecting a VERY COLD winter.  Could this be why feathers are dropping already?  Can you see little Bitty in the back of this corner? She has pressed herself up against the wall and is laying her daily egg.  She has also been broody for weeks. 

I did not see little brown Fluffernut, so I am going to look for her tonight. She has also been setting. 

Watch out for the brier, Kody!!!

Everyone appreciates a cool drink at midday, and these waterers will all be changed out again at 5. 

Kelly got tired of waiting for the green beans, and laid down to chew his cud for a while. 

These guys are my granddogs, Shiner and Jester.  I stopped to see my son Jim this morning, as he has become laid up for the next six weeks with a broken ankle.  

Ouch! 

Here he is this morning, still in his soft cast.  Jim works out every day of his life... and drives a truck for a living, so he is going slowly crazy from boredom and lack of activity.  He was trying to show me something on his phone and I was just.not.getting.it. 

The soft cast will be replaced, he thinks, by a hard cast on Friday. 

And finally, 

here are Kelly and Kody five minutes ago at the door. Kelly had been laying there right on the doorstep, but heard me come up. 

And this was the scene on the inside: 

Aunt Abby, who could tell her little friends were out there, was listening for them! 

Everyone try to stay as cool as you can! 

Surviving the Heat

It's hard on animals and humans in the heat.  

I have to say, that the Goat Boys are surviving it very well.  In the afternoons, they have been coming up on the deck or porch to lounge and sleep or chew their cuds.  Yes, I have to sweep some "goat berries" as my mom would have called them, off the porch.  It seems a small price to pay. 

The dogs are getting used to hearing them outside the door, and yes, Kody thinks he should be in the air conditioning, too.  

We are getting ever so closer to Kelly.  He dances just out of our touch, but yesterday, ate a Ritz cracker for the first time. 

We hope to be able to touch him, check his hooves, and put his little collar on him (green), too, very soon. 

This was the very last planter I planted this year, and I got the portulaca, angelonia, and geraniums at Wal Mart, at the almost-end of their flower selling season.  I think I got them for 1.00 each. 

This late heat has made them go live... and I'm watering daily, but my gosh, they are so beautiful to see.  

There was so much portulaca, there is some in a planter on the deck, too, and it's blooming away. 

I put four frozen bottles into the waterer for the henspa.  A new waterer is in order.  I don't know if it's the humidity or what, but this one is rusting.  I clean it out daily and I'm packing it with bottles daily now, in the heat wave.  They keep the water very cool until tomorrow morning.  

The top of the nest dwellers, Fancy and his gal Folly, also get bottles in their plastic waterer, and one on top that they can lay against to stay cool. 

I rotate bottles in and out daily.  These were being sprayed off and on their way to the freezer. 

The ducks have the right idea.  Shade.  Cold well water. 

I'll fill their fortex again before we leave for the game tonight, and their pool was just re-filled, too. 

Stay in the shade, guys! 

Our favorite team, the T Bones, have their last homestand these next four nights, and we have tickets for tonight, Wednesday, and Friday.  We are switching Wednesday for Thursday so we can go see two of the Yoder grandbabies tomorrow night. 

Then that will be it until next season! 

The Box Came The Box Came

Last week, we won a prize. 

It was a drawing that Stella Rose Long had for Benny the French Bulldog, 

who is battling Cancer. 

Look!!!

It was very well packed! 

It is 96 degrees out here today, and everything in the box was FINE. 

It was much, much more than we can remember Stella putting in there! 

There was a beautiful bandanna for Lilly to wear. 

There were 3 fudges, for Mommy and Daddy to eat. 

There was beautiful pottery. 

There was some smell-good soap and lip balm. 

There is a tiny pig magnet that we love! 

There was lavender and a catnip bag, made by an Iowegian lady.  

There was JELLY that Dad will love. 

And lots of things to tell about Iowa, the part where Dad didn't come from. 

There was also a beautiful ornament to put on our tree at Christmas to reminds us that we have friends in Keosaqua. 

We want to thank Stella, Maggie and Gussie, and their mom, Deb, for 

the wonderful box! 

And one more thing is even coming sometime in the next few weeks, we just can't believe our 

luck blessings! 

Bathed in Morning Light

For those of you who don't regularly read
"On the Bright Side" on our sidebar, please try today. 

MA has written a lovely column about blessing versus "luck"... and it's so true. 

We have been blessed here at Calamity Acres, blessed with you, our readers and friends, who leave the best comments anyone can wish for.... for our simple life and good friends in it... for our families... and the list just goes on and on.  

This morning, our home was bathed in morning light. 

From the last hurrah of the garden beds...

The zinnia seeds were the best investment EVER, made in 2012.  I never got them planted... they were the "Old Fashioned Mix" from Landreth seeds.  I planted them a year late and they have rewarded me with beauty for 3 months now.  Yes, they'll be planted again, next year.  

The flowers on deck were glowing. 

I noticed yesterday that the little birds were flying onto the porch and drinking from the dog's fortex.  

I moved the small birdbath you see here out into the center of the deck, and I'll replenish it off and on today with fresh cool water. 

Gosh, it almost hurts to look at the bright colors in the sun. 

The vegetable garden is still going strong, and I need to pick green and yellow beans again today and process them. 

 Hey!  the goats are sunny, too! 

My little companion found a sunbeam to lay in when we had come back in from doing chores. 

This is Elvis.  He would be in the sun but the old henyard is so shady (thank heavens).  

Can you see why I call him Elvis? 

The Three Elvi. 

Have a blessed Monday, everyone, working or at home!