This is Reality

Okay, folks. 

This. Is. Reality. 

It's hotter than two weeks ago. 

Lawrence, 15 miles from me, was 100 today. 

They are talking heat indices of 115 for tomorrow. 

That's what the smaller of the two pools looked like at 3. 

I had gone out at 1:30 and put some cool water into each. 

Notice that the henyard has pretty much dried up in the sun. 

All but one duck-dabbled hole had dried up.  It was stagnant scum. 

The ducks can hear as I start to fill the pools, they like fresh water. 

The teenagers were so excited they started jumping in with only two inches in the pool. 

The big white bullies came running from the yard. 

And ran the little ones out of the big pool. 

I have decided now that there really ARE four drakes. 

They are without a doubt the largest Pekins I have ever had. 

EVER. 

These little ones are so delighted with the water. 

I bucketed that whole pink pool onto garden beds. 

I am determined to keep all my new perennials alive. 

And this is how I looked when I finished and sat down to wait for the pool to fill. 

I had sweat rolling off of every bit of me. 

What I do is go out and work for 20 minutes or so in the heat, 

then go back in and cool down inside.  The dogs are literally out 

for only five minutes at a time. 

Smush-faced dogs need to stay in and suck on their teddies. 

I put a frozen bottle in an open water fortex in the little hen house, because the 

water literally was getting hot in their water fountain. 

They were perplexed at first, that's Singleton looking at it. 

He has turned into a beautiful cockerel.  He is now starting to get some brown 

shading on the tips of his feathers.  He was Biddy's first hatch this year. 

(and the little two better be the last!) 

It didn't take them long to realize the water was COLD, and they started 

drinking it.  I'll bring that container in tonight and re-freeze it, 

and will go buy a couple more tomorrow. 

Yesterday was our annual meeting at The National Agricultural Center, and 

I led a tour before the reception. 

I posed with part of the Oz Exhibit... we are participating in 

a presentation of The Wizard of Oz to be presented August 1 to 5, at 

Providence Medical Center Ampitheater (right down the street from us) by Theater League. 

We are going to turn the grounds into Auntie Em's house and farm, and characters will 

be roaming around.  

It should be great fun for families IF we don't have this terrible heat by then. 

Tomorrow morning, Lauren, our intern, and I are leading a tour for a day care 

group.  I am praying it isn't horrible at 10 AM, because I think those poor kids 

are going to get a shortened tour so they don't bake in the sun. 

Everyone hydrate and stay healthy! 

Two Posts in a Week... It's the Heat!

It's the heat, folks.  Northeast Kansas has been rolling in the heat for a week. 

I walked out the door this morning at 7:15 to be gobsmacked by humidity already. 

My job is now refreshing water for all the living things here multiple times a day. 

The teenage ducklings are  now out of their little pen and on the loose!  They are so much fun to 

watch. 

Yesterday morning, I moved the two small Cayugas out of their brooder 

and into the pen the older ducklings had vacated.  It had dried out in two days, but the 

Cayugas soon took care of that.  There was lots of excited quacking going on. 

This is what the duck pond looks like in the morning, and I am 

now bucketing it and putting it on the new perennials. 

Yes, it's a pain, but the flowers are loving it. 

I give them a full new pool in the morning, and again in the evening. 

I use my little red wagon to drive the water around. 

That was the sum total of eggs I got yesterday.  I have been getting nearly 20 a day. 

I did find one extra one in the little hen house, a hen had gone in there to lay. 

Saturday night, I posted this hen on Insta and Facebook, saying I did not 

think she would make it through the night. 

She died. 

Sorry for the blur... I found this one this morning, 

in the hen spa.  I have a fan going day and night here. 

The heat is getting my girls. 

Some of the flowers loving duck water. 

I always have a helper with me. 

The sheep are actually handling the heat pretty well, I refresh their 

water daily, and I keep a fortex full of cool water in the shade for them.  They 

are smart, and go in the barn in the heat of day, then come back out to graze. 

I have really enjoyed their living here. 

Milkweed is beginning to bloom. 

I have a patch of weeds at the south end of the south garden that 

I have not dug out yet.  I am going to try to establish a big patch of milkweed in the 

spot.  It won't be in the next few days, though, unless this heat breaks. 

I actually did pretty well in it until today. 

Last night, I went to the Yes 50th Anniversary tour at the Midland Theater in KCMO. 

I worked at the Midland for five years some time ago... and it is always fun for me 

to see a show there. 

Here are some shots of the show: 

Billy Sherwood, bass player, who took over for Chris Squire when 

he became ill and subsequently died.  He sings, as well. 

(I was in the second row)

Geoff Downes, who had on sequined tennies (I could not get them in the picture) 

We share a birthdate. 

The very fragile-appearing guitar virtuoso Steve Howe, 

on the left.  

Tony Kaye, who was in and out of the band over the years (weren't they all?) did 

the last four numbers, as did drummer Alan White, one of the original members. 

Alan White is also fragile, having back trouble, etc., and looked tired

 out. 

Jay Schellen did the drumming for most of the show. 

I did not get a good picture of John Davison, the singer for this 

version of Yes. 

Ooops... I'll upload a bit of Roundabout and you can get a glimpse of him. 

One of the other critters around here that appreciates water and clover. 

The four big Pekins are purebreds, and the two tiny Cayugas, as well. 

These "teenagers" are mixed, Rouen and other mixes... but I think they are 

so pretty.

I noticed this morning while doing chores that the grass has stopped growing.  

I had to walk down in the pasture to dispose of the hen... help me out, vultures.... 

and noticed that after I cut last week, nothing appears to have grown.  I'm not cutting again 

until we get some rain!

Livin' in the Heat

Our sky, early this morning.  We had thunder and lightening all night, but no rain. 

The thunder was low rumbles... and the lightening flashed and flashed. 

I've been going downstairs and outside every two hours to change the water in the water fortex.  The doves and sparrows appreciate it so much.  

Keith has gotten me a lovely new wooden feeder, with slots for suet... and he is 

going to mount it on a wooden 4 x 4.  If you biggify this picture and look under the feeder, 

you will see that this swinging plastic feeder wastes TONS of seed.  Yes, the birds are 

eating it, but it won't all get eaten. 

Unless we have another horrible winter. 

I took this through the screen when I came back in from filling the water two hours ago. 

That's Lilly, on her back, out in the sun. 

Two minutes later, she was like this. 

It's 100 degrees out! 

I gave her five minutes, and called her back in the house. 

Folks, without making you think I am asking for well wishes... today is my 

64th birthday. 

Keith gave me a day of beauty at a spa in Leavenworth. 

Two years ago, I would never, ever have taken time to do this, take four hours for myself. 

I was always too busy with the animals, with the gardens, and trying to keep 

everyone alive in the heat or cold. 

I am looking forward to taking four hours out for a massage, a facial, a manicure and pedicure... pure bliss! 

Thank you, Sweetheart! 

There are so many things I still haven't done in my life, but so very many things I am grateful to God for having done, or experienced, or for the people in my life, friends and family, who have 

made me so happy. 

For those of you who wished me well on Facebook... thank you so very much! 

We are having a quiet evening at home... it's way too hot to go anywhere. 

Maybe by Wednesday, our heat will break and some rains will come. 

How wonderful that will be! 

I'm still praying today for all the people of the world to get along together... 

recent national events have made us so very sad... and that's my birthday wish this year. 

Every few minutes, a hummingbird goes by the window here, near where the computer is. 

I'll end today's post with a little video of the hummingbirds I took yesterday. 

Summer Heat!

It's Baaaaccckkkkkk! 

I am just glad (I admit it) that I am NOT having to carry cold water to the animals.  

Here was the car when I got back in at the hospital today, after helping my brother with his lunch: 

I was in the shade and had a sunscreen up!  

UGH. 

I did get to go take my friend's pups out for a while... a short while, because of the heat...

They are getting HUGE!!!

Big sister was with them. 

I can't believe they were the tiny little babies I 

cared for 3 months ago.  

Really, the sun was too much for all of us, so 

I did not stay long.  

They were glad to get back in their cool kennel, where 

they could cool off on the cement and be out of the sun. 

And, on a happy note... the repairs to our basement and laundry room started today! 

The ceiling is now whole again, and the walls complete, mudded, and taped.  The work will continue tomorrow, and the painting will be done on Thursday. 

The crew were nice guys, who worked fast and neatly. 

Their supervisor was out of camera range when I took this picture. 

I'll sneak down there first thing in the morning and take another picture before they get here. 

I'll be glad when we are back in one piece and can put this behind us. 

A Different Load on the Duck Pond Express

This morning, I carted the debris Chris and I had cut down to the brush pile, which grows ever larger in our pasture.  At least little critters have some cover under it! 

I wish some quail would move in!  We have not seen quail here now in three years. 

Then I came back up to start the sprinkler in the garden for a while, since the hot sun these last few days has really beaten down everything. 

Pitiful, huh?  It's the pumpkins. 

They are getting water daily, but the sun is just beating them to pieces.  They were all perked up and nice this morning.  The draining raised bed is not for them, I'm afraid. 

The garden mums are about to start their fall display, just when the petunias have ended their summer show. 

I am watering in this bed this morning, but this mum and the one behind it are about to burst into flowery flame. 

I cut down the now-spent sunflowers, and Chris and I cut weeds and pulled vines off the compost area. 
That's a small tree growing there on the left, and I am going to cut it down this week.  Chris will be back up in October or late September to cut down a number of saplings.  You see my helpers were hard at it this morning. 

There is still some color in the beds... and you can see the sunflowers that were about to get loaded in the cart and moved down to the brush pile.  As much as we enjoyed the sunflowers, they are going to be planted somewhere else next year. Their massive stalks had to be sawed through, literally... and their roots will pull up big holes in the beds, that I'll  have to haul dirt to fill in.  I want to pass on that next year. 

And here's the Duck Pond Express, loaded with fall decorations for the house... let the decorating begin! 

Please PLEASE don't go to work, Daddy! 

Sprinkler Time

We were sprinkling...

And swimming...

And wading....

And drank lots of cold, good well water...

Because guess what? 

Guess what else? 

The petunias gave it up in the heat. 

Let the fall  mum planting begin! 

(your blogger went down for the count after morning chores and church for a good three hours.  I revived to do afternoon chores... twice... so everyone has had good cold water multiple times today, and the popholes are staying open again tonight. 

In other news, the goats ate half of the balsam on the deck. 

Oh, well.) 

Okay, So This is Ridiculous

Here is what the temp was on my way home from taking Chris to Garnett.  As I got about two miles from home, it dropped to 103.  Whew. 

I was stunned to see that everyone was okay when I went out to do the waterers. 

Every single waterer got done this morning and this afternoon, as soon as I got back from taking Chris home. 

This pool was full this morning, to the top... so you see that the ducks put it to good use today.  The thing that works so well here is that the pool keeps Swamplandia wet and cool. 

And you can see that Mary agrees, and was standing in the small puddle when I got to the yard. 

Look who finally found the downed tree, and had a great time climbing up and down it! 

As you see, Kelly has no chain collar on.  We had one on both Kody and Kaycee, if you remember. 

Yesterday, I went outside, and called Kody to put him in his pen with Kelly. 

He did not come, and I realized that Kelly was calling me loudly from the chicken yard, and yes, this is unusual because Kody is usually louder and first. 

Kody's collar had hooked itself by the little plastic clasp to the side of the 4 x 4 chainlink pen I used to keep the juvenile birds in.  He could not get loose, and thank heavens, was standing, but pulling wildly against the chainlink and the BREAKAWAY COLLAR DID NOT BREAK. 

No more collars. 

Except when they are being trimmed, no more collars.  It was too close a call and scared me badly. 

Chris and I cut a lot of weedy debris down, and tomorrow, IF it is a little cooler, Keith and I will haul it down to the brush pile in the pasture.  I'm leaving the popholes open tonight, because the heat is the worst enemy. 

Here's Chris and Me this morning, before we left for Garnett.  I remember when he was knee high to a grasshopper! 

Now he towers over his old gran! 

Today my brother Mike and sister in law Robin celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary... my gosh... I was 13 when they married, and the day was as hot as this one has been.  

I can't believe how times flies, but the proof is in the above picture!