A Tour Around the County

We have been in a drought, a "moderate" drought as the weathermen call it. 

Remember last fall???  (I don't, very much, actually) 

The Farmer's Almanac warned that our area was going to have a bitter winter, 

with lots of snow and prolonged cold. 

Did.Not.Happen. 

We need moisture.

This was my favorite little pasture pond last week. 

Look at it tonight!  In fact, that was this afternoon before the last big rain tonight. 

If you squint, you will see four blue winged teal on it. 

Hmmmm... maybe two mallards, two teal (one was to the left). 

This is the drain at the park where we walk all the time on the 5th: 

It's not your eyes, the picture is blurry.  I was watching this daily, 
knowing that the water source for the animals in the park was 
drying up day by day. 

This is the drainage ditch that goes into it. 

I take weird pictures. 

Oh, yes. 

My side yard. 

And my back yard. 

There were a LOT of good smells in the park. 

Turn up the volume and hear the frogs! 

Frogs and Gardening

Before I talk about frogs or gardening, I have a comment to make. 

I had to run to Walmart yesterday for suet, and for some 

diabetic supplies. 

Here is what I came upon: 

Folks... these were Easter Candies (and baskets, at the far end of picture one). 

There were two more tables set up in the long aisle similar to the one in 

picture one.  

I'm sorry, but to me, Easter is the most important religious holiday there is. 

We always colored Easter eggs, and we always got baskets, but 

they had some candy in them, no toys.  We liked eating the hard-boiled eggs just as 

much. 

There is such a mind-boggling array of candy, I wouldn't even 

know where to start. 

We have 11 grands, but we are seeing only two of them before 

Easter, so we are making only two baskets this year.  I can guarantee 

they are not getting the full array you see here. 

Off my soap box now. 

These are coming up in the begonia pot inside.  Yippee! 

These are the garden plants I transplanted from the old house last summer.  Everything is thriving... but... I need to edge that bed pretty quickly. 

This morning, the dogs and I walked early, in the brisk air.  The Bartlett pears don't give a long show, but it is beautiful while it's here! 

Look who we ran into on the way home from walking! 

Here is the funny thing... these are ALL BOYS.  

Everyone. 

Please click on one of the pictures to make it bigger so you can see how beautiful the colors are. 

I am going to try to upload a short movie of the frogs singing in the wet area in our back yard. 

They are loud, and I can hear them at night and all day long. 

Hope you enjoyed our spring chorus! 

A Tiny World

I went down to refresh the bird's water this morning...

I am not seeing as many birds lately, and now I have not seen hummingbirds again 

since midweek last week. 

Look who was sitting in the niche where the faucet is! 

He let me take several closeups.  

When I went down again two hours later, he was gone. 

Something has burrowed down into the middle of the garden at the old house... 

snake? turtle?  (not big enough) 

Vole?  There are lots of voles out there, but they don't usually make such an obvious opening. 

I am still picking tomatoes off the plant on the patio here. 

And I picked a bucket full off the volunteer plants at the old house. 

I took them to a friend, and she was going to pick out the good ones for herself and her daughter, and the rest were going to her chickens.  

There are still some ripening out there. 

Though the portulaca has about given up the ghost... the daisies are having the last blast of summer! 

I spent some time doing this.  I'll be doing it tomorrow, too.  

I know you're all envious! 

More Rain, Wind and Baseball

Yesterday we had a lovely day, with clouds going in and out... though it was 

windy.  The wind built throughout the day. 

Grandson Jaxton had a scheduled noon tee ball game... and 

then at 2:30, they were to make up a rained-out game from earlier this week. 

So... we went to the park at noon... watched that game... then son Jim took 

wife Amy and Jax to her family reunion at Wyandotte County Lake for lunch...

and then met me back at the ball park at 2:30 for the second game. 

I had not planned on going to the second game, but I was SO GLAD I did. 

Here's Jax on first base.  

I love this tee ball team.  There are four coaches, one woman and three men... and they are all out 

on the field during the game, directing the kids ("Throw it home, throw it home!")  They encourage the kids from the other team as well... you see, no score is kept... and errors are not noted. 

However... yesterday... Jax hit 3 home runs... and also caught 4 pop flies for outs, and caught and threw the ball to first base and got 4 more people out. 

At the end of the game, the umpire presented the game ball to the Pirates... this has never happened before. 

The Pirates had a circle and Coach Jessica talked to all of them... and I need to say that by this time, they were all exhausted from two games and blowing wind. 

Anyway... she explained about the game ball... and that they were going to award to the Most Valuable Player of the Game...

Jax!

I got goosebumps... even though the kids really didn't get it.  Jax lives and breathes Baseball.  When Jim gets home from work at night... he begs to go out in the yard and throw some balls before Jim can relax. 

But here's the best thing about the whole deal...

Neither one will ever forget these times. 

I stopped at the old house on my way to church to get something... whew... the lillies are strugging to be seen.  

Keith and I just talked... I am going to go out there and work on these beds in about two weeks, spending (I hope) three days getting things in order in them. 

He's going to cut the dead bushes out for me with the chain saw... whew. 

The yucca is all blooming on the sides of our road. 

And it's hard to see here, but the fragrant umbels of the milkweed are also blooming... they are hard to see... but so sweet to smell! 

This picture does NOT do this guy justice.  He was a BIG turtle.  He even had moss on his back, do you see it?  

He was in the middle of Highway 59, on my way to Garnett.  I drove over him... carefully... and pulled over in front of a single house surrounded by fields.  As I walked back to where he was... a man came running out of the house.  We walked together up the highway, and somehow, everyone coming down the highway managed to avoid the turtle.  

From a distance, we thought he was a snapper, and they are dangerous to move... however, as we got closer we realized he was a BIG painted box turtle.  The man moved him to the verge with his boot, and then I asked him to please move him into the grass where he was headed, and he did.  I thanked him... he told me his daughter had seen something in the road out the window, and asked him to look at it.  

When we returned 30 minutes later, going north to our house... the turtle was gone into the grass. 

I saw at least 7 other turtles today, in terribly hazardous places.  This was the only one I could help. 

I stopped in Lawrence for a moment to return a milk jug to Iwig Dairy.  I took a picture of this 

beautiful little garden at the foot of their stairs.  Small it size, it packs a wonderful punch, doesn't it? 

The boys and I stopped at the old house to meet a friend who was picking up some things 

she had bought from us.  This little guy was in the chicken yard and hopped onto my shoulder for a ride. 

The old henhouse yard... has almost no sun getting through to dry it out.  The canopy of trees has met overhead, and I would have had a LOT of trimming to do in there this spring.  

The spot on the right is where the duck pond was. 

I had told my friend she could have the little white grow-out pen for her chicks, and Christopher cut a path to it through the foliage with the corn knife... but we could not budge it... and it has to be lifted over the fence to get it out.  We had to leave it. 

My friend Diane and the three boys DID manage to get the 4 x 4 pen out into the yard OVER the fence... and Christopher got stung by a wasp in the process.  It is in the yard, waiting for her to pick it up with a friend's truck. 

And here's our front yard this morning... the biggest Bradford Pear (a notoriously weak tree) split in two during the strong winds last night.  Keith will cut it up this week and we'll run it to the transfer station. We were going to cut the whole tree down... but we haven't decided yet. 

We are working all day tomorrow at the old house to get things to the consignment sale which will be held on Saturday at the fairgrounds in Tonganoxie.  In a few weeks, we hope to get the dumpster in to dispose of everything else, and then we'll work on the house and get it ready to rent. 

Yes, it hurts to see my henyards overgown, but, as Diane said, someone will move in, get chickens, and they'll be cleaned up in no time! 

Song of Spring

There are many songs of spring, and here is one around Calamity Acres today:

Be sure you turn up the sound! 

Linking to Farm Friend Friday, at Verde Farm! 

Thanks, Amy!