Clarinda, IA 86º - Just checked Miami, FL temp and it is 85º there; though their "feel like" is 90º ours is 87º so we are somewhat in the weather of my brother down in Miami.

Went to the auction held at Wibholm Hall on the Page County Fair Grounds here in Clarinda last night that

 was held for raising funds for the new Methodist Church building.  Lots of dishes, etc. that went dirt cheap.  And lots and lots of other stuff.  Auction lasted 3.5 hours but understand this morning that something over $4,500 was raised.  That included the food stand and quite a lot of pies, cakes and bread that was also auctioned off.

Phyllis picked up a set of 6 insulated U of Iowa glasses.

These two pictures were taken in the morning, when we stopped in while riding our trikes on our 5 mile ride.  Not all the stuff was there yet.

I picked up a box of quite a few 1967 issues of Saturday Evening Post magazine, along with several other items grouped together--couple of hand auger drills and some other stuff.  Another item I bought was a small shop vac for a buck, but got an electric typewriter with stand and a fan that is probably 50 years old.  Lots of pies were sold and we snagged a blueberry one.





Did our 5 mile ride this morning and I drove out east of town to set up having front brakes on the Excursion worked on sometime in June at Browns Automotive shop.

More later, Lynn

Warm in SW Iowa

Clarinda, IA 84º with 55% humidity.  That compares with 92º and 52% humidity in La Feria, TX at our winter home.

  This morning, before it got too warm, we went for a 5 mile trike ride.  Actually it wasn't 5 miles--my odometer showed 4.99 as I parked in the garage.  Only went down to the airport, with a few side trips, and around the concrete there (not on the runway itself); it is about .82 mile around the edge of the parking area and the aprons in front of all the parking buildings.

Have been cleaning out some of the paint cans in the basement and ran across several old, dried out cans.  Several are Acrylic which is water-based.  Several, as the photo at left shows, are so dehydrated that the paint pigment is left as a solid.  Separating the two so can will go with iron to scrap yard and paint into garbage.  This is allowed with acrylic, but not with oil-based paints.

Have been working on several small projects in the shop.  Photo at right shows the red wood boards that I took out of our swing set and have sanded down and re-covered with Spar Urethane.

Transplanted a small tree from the railroad right-of-way behind us to center of front yard.  See if this one will live.  Last couple didn't make it.  Got the Walker lawnmower back Monday, was kind of glad.  I had been mowing with the push reel mower and as tall as the grass was getting, it was getting a little hard to push.




Is cool here in the basement, but must head out to the shop to putter away at the projects.

Later, Lynn

Memorial Day weekend

 Phyllis put flowers on relatives graves Saturday.

Ours to left, Phyllis's parents to right

Phyllis' Aunt-Uncle Millicent & Ed Guthrie center

In Front - Phyllis' Father's Parents

Phyllis' Mother's parents

My sister Louise Miles' grave

 Thursday evening Patty Steckelberg came from Shenandoah and we then picked up Bonnie & Leland Brown here in Clarinda and then drove to Villisca and picked up Mary Jo and Oliver Herzberg.  Continued on to Corning, Iowa where we ate supper at There C's restaurant and then went to the Corning Opera House where we enjoyed more than 2 hours of entertainment by Terry Smith from Nashville.  We have enjoyed seeing and hearing him every year at the Rio Grande Music Festival in Mercedes, Texas in February.

This is photo of the baby robins just a few seconds before they all leaped from their nest.  All but one, who was hanging by his neck; we cut off the plastic netting that he apparently stuck his head in when smaller and grew in to it.

One of the birds in the grass before he headed for the hedge and then the underbrush behind it.











Light rain last evening and through the night; more forecast for today and tomorrow.
More later, Lynn

Another week

Whoa!  A week has gone by with no post............

Got a nice one-half inch of rain yesterday.
Garden - tomato plant almost above the edge of the plastic bucket -- can't see the pepper plant here.  

              Herbs that are in the garden - can't recall the name of them.

Peony just budding in front yard. 

      Petunias in concrete basket on front porch

A butterfly catching some sun rays in front of the shop.

Caught a possum in our live trap by the deck one night recently and next day took him down to the farm.  Was going to give him a bit of .22 lead, but turned him loose.  Picture at right shows the corn just up, with some frost damage to it.  This is looking west from the east end of the 80 acres.

Robins yesterday - with feathers filling in.

Robins week or so ago - almost naked.

This is a collage I put on Face Book day or so ago.

Wednesday we drove to Shenandoah where we picked up Patty Steckelberg and then drove to Panama, IA (about a hundred miles) to visitation for Carol Herbst.  She and her husband Dan have spent several winters in our Kenwood RV Park in the Rio Grande Valley.  She was taking treatment during this last winter for brain cancer.  She had worked -- previous winters -- with Phyllis and Patty at their Thursday sewing sessions at Share & Care at the rec hall.  She had had a rough winter and passed away last Sunday.

Photo at right shows, from left to right, Patty Steckelberg, Don Herbst (Dan's brother) Charlie Serven, Phyllis Miles, and Terri Serven.  Charlie & Terri live near Prairie City, Illinois and are across the street from the Herbsts in Texas.

Picture of cousin Kent Miles in San Diego, CA.  He is still getting along, getting a little weaker and needing a lift to get from hospital bed in the living room to his recliner or wheel chair.  Here is enjoying some California Sunshine and cousin Louise Lassen took this photo.  She spent a couple days with Kent and Karen, coming down from Costa Mesa, CA.




More later, Lynn

Emily's graduation

Clarinda, IA Temp now 54º but was about 34º when we woke up about 9:00 am.  Yes, that is 9:00 am.....we drove home from Ottumwa, IA after attending youngest daughter Emily's graduation from Indian Hills Community College -- some 150 miles.  Saw a lot of deer, especially west of Lenox, IA, probably 6 different bunches - one had as many as 10 in it and were on both sides of the road as well as on the road.  No, I didn't get any photos, was dark and after Midnight!

This is a graduation collage I made in Picasa.

Em gathering with some of the over-400 graduates at the back of the auditorium.

  

                       Em just ready to go on stage.

 Em getting a congratulation kiss from her Dad.

 Emily & Vince

Sister Ashley getting in a hug.

The onlookers while photos taken

After graduation we made a quick stop at Riverside Family Restaurant.  Photo at right - Lynn, Phyllis and Ashley.

 At right - Ashley, Vince and Emily

At left - Cam and Patty.

  I interrupted the mother robin to take another photo below the windmill platform -- the last egg has hatched (the last little robin is on the left side - no open mouth).  The older ones are certainly ready to eat!


Till next time, Lynn

Cool in the midlands

Clarinda, Iowa - 52º now, but was 40º this morning and predicted 35º tomorrow morning.

Took this photo from under the platform on our little windmill about 6:30 pm.  Three hatched and one egg still left.  Saw papa and mamma both flying to the nest, imagine they are bringing worms, etc.; had seen them working the lawn in front of the house.  Ugly birds, but imagine if/when feathers fill in that will change.

Though this looks like maybe some scalping was done, it is just evidence that Phyllis cut my hair.

In our basement.  Phyllis' work station in the front, with the "new" small Singer sewing machine in the front (that she will carry in the travel trailer) and her bigger machine at the back.  My work station at the back-left.

Phyllis at her cutting area on the counter top.









We had Oliver & Mary Jo Herzberg stop by and we went together across the street to the Clarinda Regional Medical hospital for there "1950's picnic".  They advertised having Classic Cars on display, but only 2 showed up and one of them left right away.  At least we got to look at a 1965 Mustang from local owner.  Then we went to Westridge Quality Care & Rehabilitation
(Click on that for their web page) to hour-long square dance and on to Runza for supper and meeting on Clarinda Circle 8 Square Dance Club's 65th year starting in the fall and promoting it at first dance of this fall with Mike Hogan and invite all who have been dancing in the past as well as current dancers.

Mowed our lawn and neighbor Bob Brown's lawn yesterday morning.  Two days difference (mine earlier) since had mowed last time and mine was quite tall, but did not "windrow" badly.  Bob is in hospital right now with some complications of his cancer treatments.

Year ago today I posted  Aztec, New Mexico  where described our visit to several places in the area of Aztec, NM and said we would head in to Arizona the next day.  That was the day we had trouble with the Turbo Charger in the diesel and ended up spending 5 days behind a Burger King in Kayenta, AZ on a Navaho Indian Reservation.  Click the link just above if you want to read that blog post.

To go to Ottumwa, IA tomorrow for granddaughter Emily's graduation from Indian Hills Community College   Will meet her and Vince for late lunch about 3 pm and then go to graduation in evening and drive the 158 miles back home after.

More rain, but no storm

Clarinda, IA  Had another 8/10th inch of rain overnight, early this morning and is now misty out.  However, we did not get the storms that showed west of Lincoln and on into Iowa - west  of Des Moines last night.

This robin continues to sit on 4 eggs.

When the wind gets blowing, the tower shakes because of worn housing for the swivel to the upper part.  She sits there vibrations or not.

Scanning old photos.  Think this is Michelle picking cherries from the ladder truck bucket in the orchard in the summer of 1996.

Summer of 1996, I am trimming walnut tree just east of the house.

Roger & Carolyn at one of the Bridges of Madison County, near Winterset, Iowa in 1995.

       Carolyn, Ashley & Michelle at Cam's in Osceola, IA summer of 1995

Roger, Carolyn and Pauline at Cam's in Osceola, IA 195

Just-planted trees on our acreage, photo taken sometime in the early 1990's.  We had quit having livestock and planted the trees.  They are all 20 feet or taller now in 2014, though we don't own the acreage any more.

Found this photo that had been taken for the newspaper of our crew at Coin Grain Corp.  Presume it was in later 1980's.  Left to right; Lynn Miles, Bob Miller, Charlie Long and Larry Guthrie in front of the Big A, nurse truck, and the liquid fertilizer mix tank.

Will be copying more old photos.  Only putting a few in the blog.

Keep looking back on this blog to a year ago -- Ocoma - Sky City, NM - Pueblo Village  We were in New Mexico.  Spent time with cousin Tim Miles and his family.  We view slide show of our trip last year, changing it almost daily, at meal time.
Later, Lynn