Nice, but dry, weather in Iowa

Clarinda, IA 78º clear as a bell and calm.  Predicted high - 88º

    We just got back from a 7 mile ride on the recumbent trikes, taking a couple sacks of cans to the redemption center and then voting in the Iowa Primary today.  I know, they make a big deal abut the Iowa caucus in January, but they actually have a Primary Election in June.

 Last Friday evening we went up to the square here in town and the Clarinda Circle 8 Square Dance Club did an hour exhibition square dance during the Relay for Life Event.  For an hour or so prior to our square dancing, they had girls, from 6 or 7 clear up to high school age, doing performance dances.  There was a huge crowd watching and clapping for them.  When they got done, though, the crowd dwindled to a few old folks who maybe weren't able to get up and leave, plus the ones who were still walking around the square for the relay for life.

With only one square in the street, we didn't provide too big a spectacle.

 Yesterday I clipped the lawn, though it was only to take off the few grasses that had some heads on them.  With the extremely dry, and windy, weather lately the ground has dried up and brown is becoming a predominant color in yards.  With our new street last summer they laid sod next to the new curb.  With the heat lately I think the concrete temperature helped dry out that sod and it sure looks sad a foot or so from the curb.  I put a drip hose along it yesterday and let it drip most of the day, hope that at least will save it.  There is no rain in forecast for some time in the future.

Talking about the grass, here a some photos taken the last few days:  The cigarettes on the street, and in our grass is getting to be quite a problem.  With the new hospital across the street opening just this last January, we have the new problem of their employees standing on our street and smoking.  Of course the Hospital has a rule that the employees cannot smoke on their property, so they come over near ours.   We are on a hilltop, and with the predominate southerly winds all their smoke blows over to us and their discarded cigarettes blow over our way, even climbing up the rounded curb and landing in our grass.  Since we were in Texas this winter and didn't get home until early April and the hospital opened in January, I picked up small buckets full of cigarette butts and the filter (which, when hit by the lawn mower fluffs out and flies all over just like cottonwood fluff)

Here are some photos I took out our front living room window showing the "smoker gang" lolling about on their break:



Now, I tried a little smoking some 50 years ago when I was in business school, along with some alcohol and other ridicules things.  For the life of me, I cannot fathom spending

 the money that people do to have a filthy habit which ruins their health and is so trashy. And, of course we are talking about people who work in the health profession.  But, I guess everyone has their own vice!  As we ride our trikes all round this town of about 5,000 population we see evidence of cigarettes everywhere, along with pop and beer cans thrown out.  Of course, I am making a fortune from the pop/beer cans.  Iowa has a nickle deposit on these containers and in the last year since we spent part of the kids inheritance on these recumbent trikes a year ago, now as we ride around I pick up cans.  I probably have already recouped

 maybe $15 or  $20 which I am applying to the several thousand dollars each trike cost.

Anyway, sure is hard to see why supposed adults would spend their time and money on this smoking habit.

 Sunday Phyllis & I were ushers at church, then after lunch we walked the half-mile over to the http://nodawayvalleymuseum.org/  where we were part of a 1st Sunday program which this month honored the 61 years that Clarinda Circle 8 Square Dance Club has been in existence.  Square Dance Caller Elaine Peacock from Elk Point, SD called the dance and there were 3 squares up most of the time since people came from as far east as Humeston, IA.  Though the temperature was in the high 80's they held the event in the alley-way of one of their big buildings and there was a good breeze coming

through all the time.  After a couple hours there we walked back home and then drove the couple miles to Nodaway Valley Park http://traveliowa.com/attractiondetails.aspx?cat=6&id=27&destid=2158
where our church had an Ice Cream Social, getting together the people from the two services for the afternoon.

Quite a mix of the older people and younger ones with families.

Many of the younger set took part in a scavenger hunt around the park and are turning in their required find at right.






This Thursday starts the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Festival  http://www.glennmiller.org/festival.html  Phyllis has been quite active for years helping with buses that come in.  This year, though,  there are not a bunch of buses coming (1 year there were 17 buses) so she, and I, will be helping with the ushering at several of the events.  If anyone out there can make it to this even come on.  Always a lot of the 1940's big band era music.

Till another time, Lynn (:>)