More Fall Flowers

 The Asters that grow wild are so pretty on the edges of the road. 

Far Side

Quiet Days

Far Guy woodcarved for a bit on Saturday morning.  He felt pretty good in the morning but the afternoon was a struggle for him. 

 Far Guy cleaned the bathtub and he scrubbed the bathroom floor for me, I could manage the rest of the clean up in the bathroom.

I did some laundry and had a nap.  

Supper was BLT's and corn on the cob.  

It was a smoky day with very unhealthy conditions out there. So we stayed inside.  Sure hope it rains on the wildfires soon.

The Grey Headed Coneflower or Ratibida pinnata is in bloom in the wildgardens.  I see them swaying in the breeze out the window. 

Minnesota weather:  High was 76F or 25C low was 58F or 15C eh!

Far Side

Warm Spell and Dreaming

 We are headed for a warm spell...low 90's /high 80's for the next ten days. 

Thursday is infusion day for Far Guy and I ran errands.   Everyone and their Uncle was in town.  Only one parking spot at the meat market and I got it so I didn't have to hobble a block or drive around the block until someone left a spot.  Two maybe three more weeks of tourists, many States start school in mid August.  

I mowed yesterday, next door and at my other baby brothers shop.  It was comfortable to mow in the shade.  I have designed the perfect lawn mower many times in my head...too darn old to put it to paper and give it a whirl.  I think about it when I mow...it should be a totally enclosed deck with four mulching blades that are easy to change...no discharge chute...who needs grass flying in the air.  It would have room for two of my main sprayers...poison ivy killer and thistle killer and a spot for my branch cutter....maybe even an attachment that would come out on a robotic arm to trim the grass around trees....alas it is only a dream...but I can still see myself multitasking when I am mowing. 

Far Side

Little blue flower

 I think these wildflowers over at my baby brothers are very pretty.

You can see Baxter provides a good back drop for flowers. 

I am not sure what the flowers are...they look like Forget me nots, but those are biennial and this is the first year wildflower planting. 

Far Side

Busy Week

We had three doctors appointments this past week, so far only one appointment for next week!  A week off for me as Far Guy can go to his Physical Therapy appointment all by himself.

Far Guy has a new Pulmonary Specialist who trained with the Doctor ( Alpha 1 Specialist) that we saw at the Mayo Clinic…so we feel that Far Guy is finally in good hands.  Far Guy is no better, but he is no worse either in regard to his Alpha1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.   The no worse part is in part due to the weekly infusions and staying away from sick people and anyone wearing fragrance of any kind including bug spray.

We had a date night last night and went out for a quick Walleye dinner and then headed over for the Spirit Lake Concert.  It was Bluegrass this week, there was a change of venue due to rain so it was moved indoors to the high school.  We stayed for half of the concert and then it got really warm so we came home and played cards with the neighbors.

We managed to up the total of Christmas Ornaments Ready to Paint: 55  Painted :3 Total 58.  This next week I will begin to paint a few more.

Far Guy is doing R and D on a new flower carving.  Here is the inspiration.

We headed to Sheilas place one night to take photos.  Sheila is attempting to carve Indian Paintbrush also.  I have an idea how I would do it…but right now I just don’t have the time to carve it…only to think about carving it. Sheila graduated from High School with Far Guy and is also in our woodcarving group.

Oh yes Community Education called and would like us to teach another soap carving class this winter. So I said yes…Far Guy and Sheila have agreed to help.

I didn’t mow the lawn this week, but I did spray a bunch of Poison Ivy along the road….It is a job I really enjoy.  I also weeded my poor pathetic flower garden that the squirrels have decimated.

We finally got about 2 inches of rain Friday evening.

Nearing sunset on the runway at Sheilas.

Meet The Clovers

I enjoy the Clovers, looking for a four leafed one is the best, finding one is even better. I used to keep them pressed in between pages of an old book. I also used to enjoy Red Clover, I would pick out the individual inflorescences of the flower bud and chew off the sweet ends..it was like an instant sweet treat for a farm kid.

Red Clover or Trifolium pratense, this one was along our driveway. I was tempted to stop and have a taste from my childhood..but I left the sweet nectar for the bees.

White Clover or Trifolium repens can have plain green leaves or the stripe with the classic clover marking. These were at the Dentists office.

Aslike Clover or Trifolium hybridum, this one I found at a cemetery. It is also called Swedish Clover..I wonder if it is found in Sweden? Maybe Lady Fi can tell us? This is one of my favorite clovers simply for its color.

Now for some weird clovers. I have always liked the out of the ordinary plants.

White Prairie Clover, the experts are fighting over the scientific name of this one. The purple form is supposed to be more commonly found than this white form. I am still looking for the purple. I did find lots of white along our road. This plant is tiny, less than a foot tall and easily blends in with other white blooms. These white flowers bloom from the bottom up.

Rabbits Foot Clover, ground hugging and tiny..you probably can't see it from a car. I found this one last Monday when Chance and I were taking foggy photos about a half a mile from our house.

One great thing about the Clovers, they are in the Pea Family or Fabaceae. They fix nitrogen in the soil, enriching it naturally. Instead of robbing it from the soil, these plants make it and put it back in the soil. This is why beans are part of the crop rotation by the big farmers in our area.. they attempt to replenish..with a rotation of potato, beans (usually pinto), small grain, and corn. The field across from us is Potatoes this year. Last year it was beans. The potatoes grown here are for French Fries at McDonalds, large russet potatoes cut into french fries so they will stand up in the box perfectly. They have no taste, they are grown so huge and so fast that they have no taste left...but they make great french fries that stand tall in the box and taste like grease :)