Goose Jam

Now you have seen a Minnesota Goose Jam:)

Lady’s Slippers

The Showy Lady’s Slippers are in bloom.  This week looks to be the best time to see them.

Many are heavy in bud.

AND Some are blooming beautifully!   This bunch was in Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.

We went from there to the Shell Lake area.

It is safer there than some areas.  The Snellman Hill is full of Lady Slippers but the traffic was terrible.

The weather must have been perfect for large clusters of Lady Slippers this year.

I always look forward to their blooms.   It is one of the highlights of the summer for me.  Welcome to the Minnesota State flower The Showy Lady’s Slipper or Cypripedium reginae:)

She and he and what I see

She walks to work every morning, head bent as she walks.  I can tell if I am running late by where I see her on the opposite side of the road. Last week she wore her red rain coat and her head was bent down even further..she must like to watch her feet. She doesn’t look very happy..but then most mornings I probably don’t either.  I know where she goes and I know what she does when she gets there.

On to “Adonis” who rides his bike on good days, shirtless.  As the summer progresses he will bronze just like a statue.  I think “I wonder when he will get skin cancer?”  I watched him all last summer.  Some days he walks..his shirt dragging along on the ground like a runway model.  He is easy on the eyes. Sometimes as I approach him he runs his fingers through his long hair.  I wonder where he goes and what he does when he gets there.

I see the new foal that was born last spring.  Most mornings he/she is all stretched out snoozing in the pasture.  He/she has really long legs. He/she makes me smile.

I watched a field of trees become farmland, first they ripped out the trees and stacked them up to burn, then they removed the stumps..and tilled the soil.  Soil that had not been turned in 50 years. Big farmers getting bigger..small farmers disappearing.

I watch the garage sale signs go up at the end of each week.  One lady has a perpetual sale going on..and has nothing but junk that no one wants..perhaps she is senile.

I see the spot in the road where a drunk driver burned to death in his car a few years ago.  The asphalt got so warm it melted and it created an everlasting reminder… slow down and for goodness sake call for a ride home if you insist on drinking.   He struck another car and screamed all the while he burned to death…the young man he collided with also died.

On an average I meet 33 vehicles on my way into work every morning.  I have 14 miles to drive, that is 2.3 vehicles per mile on an average.  Most mornings I can drive the first four miles without meeting a vehicle.  The only traffic jams we have is when a farmer is moving a tractor from field to field:)

Painted Daisy

Iowa Peony

A good blog friend from Iowa shared his Fern Leaf Peony with me.

It is going to be a beautiful bloom if the heavy rains don’t get the best of it.

We got four inches of rain Thursday night..and more is predicted for Friday night ( last night).  Chance’s pool filled to over flowing…he won’t use it if it has too much water in it and he doesn’t like dirty water either..he is a picky dog.

Perhaps the mosquitoes are drowning..a gal can hope:)

Summer is here!

Finally summer is here, the temperatures are warm and the mosquitoes are nearly as big as birds. There is a joke out there that has a ring of truth to it.  Minnesota’s State Bird should be a mosquito.  If you ever have the pleasure of visiting Minnesota in the summer you will understand.

If enough of them land on you ..you will wish they would just cart you away. They are vicious little buggers..and it is only the females that bite ..the males just buzz around annoying me trying to fly into my ears and up my nose.. have you ever swallowed a live mosquito?  I have.. it felt really strange..until it died.

Chance’s pool came out.  He needs a new one.  Far Guy dumps it out every other day so it doesn’t become a mosquito hatchery. The smell of wet dog permeates the air…it is a good summery smell for me..along with sweaty horses, rain falling, freshly mowed hay, the river and Minnesota lakes.  ( Yes the river smells different than the lakes..I think as it flows the smells waft up out of the water.)

Far Guy’s lilac is blooming.  I am not sure what kind of lilac it is..a late lilac for sure.

It has three of these long blooms this year.

We are getting thunderstorms at night. Chance hides in the safety of the bathroom.

It has been a really busy week at the museum..hardly time to catch my breath. Yesterday morning I could barely keep my eyes open on the drive in to work..too many early mornings and extra activities at the museum.  There really should be two of me some days.

I will enjoy the 15 hours and 53 minutes of daylight that we have achieved. The sunrise is at 5:23 AM and it sets at 9:16 PM..it is all downhill from here…every day we lose a few minutes. ( That was not a very cheery thought..was it.)

Oh well it is what it is:)

Chance: Look what I saw!

Hiya it is me!  My turn, my turn.

Wanna see what I saw?

Brace yourself…

Is that a handsome mug or what?  We went for a ride, at the crossroads we usually go right..but this time they agreed to go left for a change. An adventure!

I saw a deer far away, it moved so I barked at it.

This one didn’t move for a really long time..you know that deer stuck in the headlights look?

It was covered in mosquitoes.  Click on the photo to make it larger if you dare..those bugs are ugly…and that poor deer must be miserable.

Then we saw this..a long ways away.

A coyote. 

It was a great adventure! :)

Wistful Wednesday: 1953

Yesterday I wrote about the Jack and Ella McGrane place where I used to visit.

My very first party was held at that old two story brown stucco house with the east facing porch.  It was Corrine’s birthday..she was three.  Her Grandmother had a wonderful party for her and invited neighborhood kids.

Barry, Corrine and Danny

Me, Sharon and a little girl I do not remember (Caroline I think)

This huge step was on the south side of the house and this part faced west.  A perfect spot for a photo.  It must have been a real pain in the neck to get that many small children to sit still for a photograph.

Barry and Sharon are Far Guys cousins.  Barry is the guy I call Alaska Guy. We see him several times a year.  Sharon comes home every few years, she lives on the east coast.

I posted this photograph on Corrine’s Facebook page the day of her birthday.  Danny just lives down the road.  Since I don’t remember the other little girl I have no idea what happened to her nor do I recall where she used to live.

Apparently I didn’t like that baby doll very much:)

Iris and area news

My Mom’s Irises are in full bloom.

No wonder my eyes are all itchy.

The buds are covered in pollen..as is just about everything else.  It rained a bit last evening just enough to settle the dust.

There was a bit of a rainbow amongst the smoke that was in the air.

Someone started a fire with some accelerant..maybe some old tires on the old Jack and Ella McGrane place. I used to love to visit this pretty little farm with the stucco brown two story house with the big porch that faced east and was always in the shade of huge Oak trees.  Their Granddaughters were my favorite playmates. There isn’t much left there that resembles that old farmstead..an old white shed is all that remains.  There isn’t even a footprint left of where the house used to be…but I know right where it was.  I can almost taste the Kool-Aid and the cookies and feel the cool breeze on that porch.

It was such a cold spring that many of the potato fields are empty.  The seed potatoes rotted in the ground because it was too cold.  Some of the fields were dug up again..but it is getting a little late to plant anything. Long French Fries in a box may be going up in price…who knows what the potato plant in town will do…it employs lots of people…perhaps they will transport in potatoes from other areas.

What crops are in are slow growing except for the small grains.  The corn will have to grow some to be knee high by the 4th of July:)

Museum: High School Memory Room

We have a room downstairs in the basement of the museum that is dedicated to High School Memories.

Last year it ended up on my list.

Before:

It was a mess “stuff” was falling off the walls.  The carpet was dirty and smelly..uffda.  The old cabinet that used to be upstairs in the courthouse held High School Yearbooks and if someone put them in the proper drawers..you were in luck.  There was one light.

During:

We moved everything out of the room and rolled up the carpet.  Found a hole in the floor..back right..so a new cover was made for it..no one knows what it was for..perhaps the water supply years ago.

The walls were repaired, sealed and painted.  The floor was painted with a special concrete floor paint.

One of our members owns an Electrical Business.  One day he came by and asked what projects I had going and where did I need some help.  That afternoon new light fixtures were installed.  What a difference a little light makes!

Over the winter with the proceeds from a grant we purchased 10 display cabinets.  7 of them are huge units..perfect for museum display.  The only problem was..they were pink on the inside.

Gravy spent several days painting for me.  When he was done, he and Dawn spent two days arranging the room and it’s contents.  Every time I turn on the light and welcome people into the room I say a quiet thanks for great volunteers!  It is now a room to be proud of.

After:

The middle cabinet is used for storage of duplicate High School Annuals.  We took the doors over to the High School and one of the art students did the painting for us.

The next thing on this rooms list is painting or wallpapering the inside of the two lower cabinets that we kept open.  The one pictured here holds Obituaries from the newspaper.  They should be moved..so far I have not found another spot for them..maybe soon.

This room holds High School Annuals from the three high schools in the county.  Class reunion memorabilia and photographs.  Photographs of classes and schools through the years.  It also holds an index of Class Lists from 1900 to the present time.  I think the oldest High School Annual is 1909..back then it was called “The Moccasin.” There is a great collection of Homecoming buttons too!  There is also a section that holds all the Miss Park Rapids Pageant Scrapbooks and Video Tapes.  Oh and trophies..lots of trophies.

I am very pleased with the progress made on this room.  The paint was paid for with a grant, as were the display cases and the new lighting fixtures were donated so it was a great improvement that we didn’t have to include in the budget. ***The light fixtures on the cabinets are non working, they would have to be rewired to reach the outlet..of which there is only two in the room.

I will remind all the local people that read my blog to keep one eye open for High School Annuals at Estate and Garage Sales:)

Happy Father’s Day

I made a card for my Dad.  The photo was taken 60 years ago.  I took my parents out for lunch yesterday to help celebrate the day.  We went to a health food café because they have gluten free items on their menu..we had Sour Cream and Raisin Pie for dessert…one of Dad’s favorite pies and mine too. 

My Dad and me in 1953.

 

Far Guy and his Dad in 1950.  Far Guy’s Dad died in 1994 when he was 80 years old. 

“Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.” ~Reed Markham

Happy Father’s Day! :)

Long Week

It has been a long week, the programs at the museum seem to take up a lot of my time.  Making sure all the t’s are crossed and the i’s have dots.

Both programs were well attended this week.  We received good comments both days. Chance was the official greeter for “Flag Day” yesterday…he did an excellent job!

This week I met some new people, helped out with some research and organized a few things.  Cleaned some..dusted some..answered the phone and questions.

Google called numerous times this week wanting the museum to take out an ad.  I keep pressing two to be removed from their list.  I accidently left the phone off the hook after pressing two to be deleted yesterday..I was wondering why it was so quiet for over an hour..it seems I forgot to hang up the phone.  Oh well.

I managed to make an non friend when I was asked to appraise a piece of land that had ancient burial grounds.  I said a bunch of dead bodies wouldn’t necessarily make his land more valuable.  I referred him to one of the Tribe offices.  He wanted to know if someone on my staff couldn’t just pop out a number for him..ha ha ha staff.

Someone else was downstairs and came up shivering and asked why I didn’t turn up the heat?  “What heat would that be?” I asked.

I made up a batch of brochures to take to the Chamber office.  Two days later in the mail I got a critique of my brochure by a new business in the area..they felt they could do a better job and they were sure that their consulting fee and the printing would be well within the advertising budget.  (Little do they know that I have no advertising budget..I am lucky to have ink and heavy cardstock.)

This week we did get some good news/bad news.  We got a grant to purchase some UV filters for the windows in the Military Room.  The bad news is that we only got half of what we asked for..so I will have to try to come up with donations someplace else to make up the difference..either that or the project will have to wait another year.

It ain’t easy working for a non-profit.

A pretty picture of a pink pansy:)

Bluebirds

We finally saw the Bluebirds.  We had been seeing a flash of color here and there.  Nothing for sure.  After a while you can imagine anything if you think about it long enough.

I am not certain which nesting box they are using.

Mr. Bluebird

Mrs. Bluebird

Before we had so many Bluebird nesting boxes they picked the one near the house and were easy to photograph.  Then Far Guy built many homes for them.

Bluebird House

Our nephew Logan was visiting a few weeks ago.  We were sitting outside enjoying the evening.  I told him to brace himself for old age..when going out for the evening means sitting on the patio watching the birds:)

Bath time

Chance and I were entertained by an American Redstart.  Look at him! He is poised almost like a high diver!

He checked out the birdbath…it must be Saturday night?  When I was little we bathed on Saturday night so we would be good and clean for church on Sunday morning. Yesiree we bathed once a week whether we needed it or not.

Water was splashing all over.  I was laughing and Chance was looking at me like I was nuts, he of course spends much time surveying his domain..so he is used to the bathing birds activity.  I think he is a little jealous..his pool is still in the grain bin.

The little Redstart had a blast!  I watched to see if I could spot a female American Redstart..I think I saw one but didn’t get her photograph.  Perhaps she is shy.

How did we survive with just one bath a week ?  In the summer we went swimming or played water games in the yard squirting each other with the hose.  I was in third grade before we got a real bath tub and toilet (Yay!!!!) in the house.  After that we took more baths.  Nowadays we would never think of missing a daily shower/bath:)

Wistful Wednesday :1952

Another wonderful photo of me when I was little.  This one was taken 61 years ago.

Connie June 1952

My Mother must have taken this photo.  It was taken at my maternal grandparents farm.  That is the grainery behind my head and off to the left is the chicken coop..I can see chickens out there..and a woodpile. The outhouse with the two seater was off to the left.

There was a circular driveway, it circled past the house, by the pump house, past the grainery and then by the garage and down the lane. Cars would be lined up there every Sunday afternoon.

You could walk to Grandpas huge garden which was way past the chicken coop.  You had to watch where you stepped with or without shoes going past the coop. When I was really little they had a garden up near the house.  Grandpa must of thought the soil was better elsewhere.

Grandpa always liked it when I walked down to the garden, the rows were perfectly straight and the aisles between the rows weedless..and it was a huge garden.  He must have spent hours everyday in the garden.

We used to have vegetable gardens.  This year Far Guy has two tomato plants in buckets in the little red wagon.  It is easier to cart them around should the weather turn nasty.  He also has two tomatoes planted out back in his “garden.”  “Garden” consists of a few raspberry plants and two tomatoes.

I never could grow rhubarb.  I was at a garage sale last week and they were giving it away so I chopped it up and froze some for next winter.

Sometimes you don’t have to have a garden to get produce..you just have to be at the right place at the right time:)