Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wheat Harvest, Farming:
Here are some pictures that Doug took during the wheat harvest.I love these pictures!
Cutting wheat on the combine ...
That's Jesse in one of the combines ... loading the truck.
There's the truck ... ready to go.
And this is what you do during your break time!!!!!
North Ely Opry:
Yes!
It's Music Thursday!!!!!
Happy Thursday to you!!!!
It wouldn't be Thursday without some Opry pictures for all of us!!!!!
There's Don and Lowell working out a tune.
There's Willy looking something up on the computer.
There's Wes ... giving my camera (and me) the "look".
Shootin' the breeze!There's sometimes more talking than playing! It just depends on what's been going on that week and who all is there. It's actually part of the fun!!!!!
I'm really sorry, but I can't remember his name at the moment ... but it's great to have him there. He plays banjo and guitar and he's always smiling.
Yes ... you noticed the absence of pictures of Doug and I? It's okay ... don't faint! We'll probably be in the next batch!!!!
General, Dragonflies:
I was visiting blogs yesterday and I think if was floridacrackers blog (Pure Florida) that featured some pictures of the dragonflies out at his pond.
I'll share a dragonfly experience that I had.
The other day, while out for a ride on the three wheeler built for two,
we passed a spot where someone had about ten round bales of hay stored off
beside a fence.
There were dragonflies all around it. I had never seen so many in one spot before.
They were very graceful in flight and I watched them for a little while.
This was my first time to see dragonflies in a group, or swarm, or whatever you might call a group of dragonflies.
Last Sunday, while sitting at the edge of the pond, feeding the catfish at the pond and waiting to see the sunset,
I saw one or two dragonflies fly over the pond.
I pointed them out to Doug,
looked up,
and you could see the whole group of them flying in over the tree tops.
It was quite a sight.
I didn't know that they traveled in groups and I didn't know that they could fly so high.
I was amazed.
I was also surprised at how fast they can fly when they're on their way somewhere.
Dragonflies!
Wow!
Going for a drive:
Doug and I went for a drive the other day and he took out on the dirt roads to take pictures and just enjoy the scenery.He took me to an area that he liked which included this stretch of road that was canopied by trees.
It was so pretty there!
It actually made me cry.
General:
Here I am with the PT Cruiser that I've been driving for the last two weeks.It's a very nice vehicle, but I miss my Blazer!!!
It gets great gas mileage though!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
General:
Yesterday I drove down the the Mississippi river front to see the cresting progress going on down there.
The water was just beginning to come up into the parking lot.
While I was there I was watching the ducks.
Usually they are spread out in little groups,
but today they were all together in a large group.
I wonder if the fast running flood waters have anything to do with that?
Anyway,
I counted 28 mallard hens
and only 1 mallard drake.
I thought this was odd since there ratio is usually more like two to three hens to each drake.
I had fun watching them as they flipped up their little duck bottoms to eat off of the bottom of the shore line.
Their little tail feathers sticking straight up into the air!
It struck me funny and made me giggle.
Here's what I saw:
1 white heron across the river on a log ...
1 white heron standing on the shore a few feet down ...
1 white heron standing in the brush (which I thought was odd) ...
4 Canadian geese ...
28 mallard hens ...
1 mallard drake ...
1 white goose ...
and ...
1 white heron flying across to the other side of the river.
(Yes ... that's 4 white herons total ... they were all different birds.)
I enjoyed my visit and then headed home.
I'll have some pictures later.
A Favorite Quote:
Here's a favorite quote for you ...
This comes from the book titled "Wish You Well",
by David Baldacci ...
"A mistake is only a mistake until it is corrected."
At the fair!
Here are a couple of the Angus cows.
Here's one of the Herefords. 
Oink! Oink! It's dinner time! This one must have been someones pet pig because it was just out in the walkway. There were a couple of people standing near by keeping an eye on it.
Now ... isn't that a cute face???? Baaa!!!
And there's a chicken! One of the chickens had laid an egg in it's pen.
And here's a cute little bunny rabbit for you!!!The Demolition Derby!
Here we are at the Demolition Derby in Palmyra, Missouri.It was hot, but not unbearably.
We sat at the very top of the bleacher stand and had our cooler of drinks up there with us.
The car in the top right corner is Tony, Doug's nephew.
The car just entering is Beth, Doug's sister.
I hadn't been to the demolition derby since I was a little girl. It was loud! And the people in the stands were a little cranky, but there was lots of beer involved. Nobody fell off the bleachers though! That's a good thing!Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Dreams:
A few days ago
I had a dream.
I dreamed that I was driving down the road in my Blazer ...
and ...
the whole back end fell off!!!!!
The funny thing is ...
that in my dream ...
I didn't even notice until I got there, got out of the car and saw it!!
How crazy is that?????
I bet the breeze kept me nice and cool!!!
Do you think my hair was blowing in the wind????
Random Thoughts in My Head:
Hmmm ...
when I'm at the library and have to sit my things on the back of the toilet ...
because there's no where else to put them ...
what if something falls in?
Seriously!
For instance ...
if my photo Cd's fall in ... will they still work?
If my keys fall in ... will the car remote still work?
If my sunglasses fall in ... do you just wash them off and wear them ...
or are they toast?
And what if it's your favorite pair?
Hmmm ....
Ball of Twine:
Now ...here's a ball of twine for you!!!
I bet you don't have one of this size just laying around the house, in the shop or behind the seat of your pickup truck!!!
Yes ...
that says 43 pounds of twine!
Yes ...
that says 43,000 feet of twine.
Over 8 miles!
Gee ... that's a LOT of twine!
This brings back memories for me! When I was growing up everyone one baled hay into those square bales and they had twine around them that you used to lift them with. I've carried many a bale of hay out to the horses!!! In my memories, I can still hear the "grunt" that escaped my lips when I picked one up!!!!Oh, I also used to make horse bridles with binder twine. And they worked!
The North Woods:
One of the things that I really enjoy when we're out at the farm is going for walks in the woods. It is so pretty there. And so peaceful. 
These are a few of the pictures of the woods where we stopped to sit on a fallen tree and take a break. There's a creek running below and we could hear it from where we were sitting.
There were also lots of birds singing and making an occasional ruckus.
We had our cooler with drinks and just sat and enjoyed the sights, the sounds and the shade.
Three Wheeler Ride:
Here we are at one of the corn fields checking on the corn.
There's Doug!! Yes ... checking on the corn sometimes includes getting off and posing for a few pictures in the corn!
Here's a shot squatted down looking along the bottom of the corn row.
There I am!
There's the corn as the sun is setting!!!Taking out the scraps!!!
Okay ...it's been said that I am easily entertained.
Maybe they were right!!!!!
Here I am following Doug as he takes out the scraps from the kitchen. His mom had just been working up some of the vegetables that she had brought in from the garden!
Poor Doug and his tag along camera toting shadow!!!!!
Here we are at the fence. In the distance we can see the chicken coop where he used to throw scraps to the chickens. It's empty now, so he just throws them over the fence.
Here's the action shot!!! Now, I would have had some trouble reaching over the fence, but Doug just lifts his arms and over it goes! It was cucumber and tomato scraps ... almost looked good enough to eat!!!!!
See???? I told you so!!!!!
Ouch! Do not attempt this on your own ... it's very painful!!!!! An unknown fact is that scrap dumping can be very dangerous and should always be done on the "buddy system". You just never know when your hand might get stuck under that mean old bucket handle and you might need someone to go for help!Ouch!!!!
Old Threshers:
Went camping in Montgomery City, Missouri for three days at the Thresher's Show they had there. Look at everything that I squeezed into my Blazer ... including the little John Deere Tractor!!!! Can I pack ... or can I pack?????
First, I had to take both tents out, and the instruments and some of the suitcases before we could even begin to think about getting the tractor out!!!!
There's Doug unloading the little tractor!!!!
Almost there!!!!
He had to take the exhaust off and the steering wheel off in order for it to fit into my car.
Almost all unpacked!! What was in there? One tractor, two tents, one guitar, two mandolins, two fiddles, a marble board, two chairs, three coolers, four duffle bags of "stuff", one back pack to carry drinks in, two music bags, my clothes, four pillows, a blow up air mattress, three blankets, a music stand, a music case, some groceries ... and two people!!!!
And ... there it is with it's exhaust and steering wheel put back on! Now ... you may ask why I had a tractor in the back of my car? Well, this particular one is what we ride on ... you know ... instead of walking all over the place. There's a little trailer with a seat that is pulled behind this and that is what I ride on. With my lupus ... it actually keeps me from getting sick from walking in the heat. I love this little tractor and my "rumble" seat.Thursday, August 23, 2007
General:
North Ely Opry:
Now, it just wouldn't be Thursday without some pictures from the Opry!
It's music day and I can't wait to get there!
There's Danny and Doug!!
There's Dimple (Doug's mother) , Onita (his aunt) and Dorothy (his grandmother)!!!
There I am on my Pepsi break!
There's Don, Lowell, Marky and Wes. Sure looks like they're concentrating really hard on a new song there!
There's Bernard! I love to hear him sing and play that guitar!
