Third Place
Both the Elk and the flowers below received second place
And the Flyfisherwoman below received a FIRST PLACE!
All these photos were taken on the same day. I must have been on a roll.
Saturday, September 11
Clay County Fair
We have made it to the Clay County Iowa Fair the last few years with friends Dale and Norma Cooklin and Dick and Leslie Cleaveland. They are having all that fun without us because we are here in Michigan BUT Norma entered my pictures anyway and the final results are...
Third Place
Both the Elk and the flowers below received second place
Third PlaceBoth the Elk and the flowers below received second place
Head Cold
The aforementioned caught up with me and smacked me in the behind so therefore I pretty well vegged out yesterday. Butch did get inspired to install our new faucet . I helped a bit with that and it looks and works great as well. My condition has improved this morning so I think I'll live.
Butch ran the bush hog for a couple of hours yesterday on a couple of vacant lots. Later in the day I worked up a job description for the spider fighting we have done. I thought it might be handy for the spider fighters of years to come. And then this morning I read the following article;"Spiders are attracted to the smell of propane but repelled by the smell of a flea collar. So, before we store our RV, we cut a flea collar in two and place the halves in the outside access compartments of our refrigerator and water-heater.". I can picture little flea collars on all the light fixtures. NOT! Actually that could be quite costly. Flea collars are not cheap.
I had to look back in the blog and see where I left off. We did go to Alpena on a grocery run but before we did we went for our usual walk and stopped at the reservoir for a few minutes of fossil hunting. Found several. I only keep the ones small enough to use as "mulch" in my cactus pot. The rocks in that pot are ones I have gathered from many different locations. The fossil ones I will always know came from Michigan. We have never been anywhere where they were so abundant.
For the past year or so Angel-our cat has been crying. It used to happen when she was sleeping and I thought she must be having a bad dream but the last few months it happens at all times. She does not appear in distress when we look at her but it is a mystery we would like to solve. She will be 18 this October. That is pretty old...like 126 in people years
Butch ran the bush hog for a couple of hours yesterday on a couple of vacant lots. Later in the day I worked up a job description for the spider fighting we have done. I thought it might be handy for the spider fighters of years to come. And then this morning I read the following article;"Spiders are attracted to the smell of propane but repelled by the smell of a flea collar. So, before we store our RV, we cut a flea collar in two and place the halves in the outside access compartments of our refrigerator and water-heater.". I can picture little flea collars on all the light fixtures. NOT! Actually that could be quite costly. Flea collars are not cheap.
I had to look back in the blog and see where I left off. We did go to Alpena on a grocery run but before we did we went for our usual walk and stopped at the reservoir for a few minutes of fossil hunting. Found several. I only keep the ones small enough to use as "mulch" in my cactus pot. The rocks in that pot are ones I have gathered from many different locations. The fossil ones I will always know came from Michigan. We have never been anywhere where they were so abundant.
For the past year or so Angel-our cat has been crying. It used to happen when she was sleeping and I thought she must be having a bad dream but the last few months it happens at all times. She does not appear in distress when we look at her but it is a mystery we would like to solve. She will be 18 this October. That is pretty old...like 126 in people years
Thursday, September 9
Down but not out
Butch and I developed head colds the last couple of days. His was and is far worse than mine and that is a bit unusual. He has amazed me in the past as to how he can keep on doing his usual activities even though he has a bad cold. Not this time. If I catch the fact I am getting a cold early enough I can usually keep the effects from doing me in too much. Zicam and the neti-pot are my weapons of choice and this time they have helped me out a bunch as I can tell I am getting better. So this cold will be a 3 day one for me. Butch on the other hand has had his for a few more days and yesterday he really wanted to veg out and do nothing. Very unusual. He is feeling better this morning so we will be out and about.
The ten day forecast does not contain any 70 degree readings. As Howard says I am getting hitch itch-ready to hitch up the car and move on down the road. If we have two days in a row with highs in the fifties it might just become a reality. This morning it is 53 and a predicted high of 63. It could get higher than predicted because the sun is shining. I am definitely a plant of the hothouse variety and highs in the 60's are okay but they are getting awful close to my limit of tolerability. The last two days were very windy! The most wind we have experienced all summer.
We had a big surprise yesterday when Don and Shirley Trow from Pella Iowa pulled in with friend of theirs from Gaylord MI which is not too far down the road. We met Don and Shirley at Snow Mountain Ranch and we have a special tie being fellow Iowans. As well as having several mutual friends at Snow Mountain Ranch. They filled us in on the happenings of the summer in the mountains. It was quite a pleasant surprise to see them.
So my shopping list is long so we will most likely be going to Alpena today...
Till next time...
The ten day forecast does not contain any 70 degree readings. As Howard says I am getting hitch itch-ready to hitch up the car and move on down the road. If we have two days in a row with highs in the fifties it might just become a reality. This morning it is 53 and a predicted high of 63. It could get higher than predicted because the sun is shining. I am definitely a plant of the hothouse variety and highs in the 60's are okay but they are getting awful close to my limit of tolerability. The last two days were very windy! The most wind we have experienced all summer.
We had a big surprise yesterday when Don and Shirley Trow from Pella Iowa pulled in with friend of theirs from Gaylord MI which is not too far down the road. We met Don and Shirley at Snow Mountain Ranch and we have a special tie being fellow Iowans. As well as having several mutual friends at Snow Mountain Ranch. They filled us in on the happenings of the summer in the mountains. It was quite a pleasant surprise to see them.
So my shopping list is long so we will most likely be going to Alpena today...
Till next time...
Tuesday, September 7
Walk This Way
A walk can be a new adventure every day or a way to get from point A to point B. These photos are from todays adventure.
The reservoir. Hole number 7 goes along the fence on the back side of the reservoir.
Notice the touch of red in the foreground?
Sumac- waiting for the blast of scarlet
Maple- the queen of color
This is Barky- so named by me. We have made a game of getting past Barky without a bark. Did not make it today.
Reservoir and hole #7 up on the ridge.
The billboard featuring our RV has been up for quite awhile. I have been lazy about getting a picture of it.
Butch is in a sand trap on hole #5. He does not know I took this shot. This was after attempt #2 in getting out.
Fossil finds
My fossil bed of choice.
Hen & chicks in bloom. Mister Frog has a fancy outfit.
Our path through the fenceline leading back to the RV Park
Forgotten Toys
The reservoir. Hole number 7 goes along the fence on the back side of the reservoir.
Notice the touch of red in the foreground?
Sumac- waiting for the blast of scarlet
Maple- the queen of color
This is Barky- so named by me. We have made a game of getting past Barky without a bark. Did not make it today.
Reservoir and hole #7 up on the ridge.
The billboard featuring our RV has been up for quite awhile. I have been lazy about getting a picture of it.
Butch is in a sand trap on hole #5. He does not know I took this shot. This was after attempt #2 in getting out. 
Fossil finds
My fossil bed of choice.
Hen & chicks in bloom. Mister Frog has a fancy outfit.
Our path through the fenceline leading back to the RV Park
Forgotten ToysHosting Job
With the departure of the campground hosts,Ted & Jan, we will be taking on new duties. With the waning of the season it will not be nearly as much of a job as it was earlier. It sounds like we are not busy now and that is far from the truth. Thunder Bay Resort picks up considerably when the leaf color changes and elk bugling begins. I understand the sound is unmistakable. The leaf color has started but I have yet to hear a bugling elk. We have many tours coming in this next month, many of them overlapping. I am sure they were booked with hopes of brilliant leaf color and noisy elk.
I was thinking this morning...Butch hates it when I'm thinking...that we should do our fall housecleaning. This is when we go through the place and pare it all down, setting aside things for the first garage sale in Magnolia Park. We are in a good place to do a thorough cleaning as we do not have a bunch on our agenda nor many distractions. Yup, I think we will do that!
When I turned on the computer this morning there was a severe weather warning for this area. I say this area but it was actually west of us about 14 miles. It is rare this summer to have a weather alert and in addition to that the weather pattern is much like in the mountains-in other words you cannot tell what direction it will be coming from if any. I am sure the fact of being between two large bodies of water makes the weather somewhat unpredictable. I have come to the conclusion that severe weather such as the plains is subject to doesn't happen here. That will take some getting used to when we return to the volatile weather of the plains states.
Oh yeah, Butch is golfing.
I was thinking this morning...Butch hates it when I'm thinking...that we should do our fall housecleaning. This is when we go through the place and pare it all down, setting aside things for the first garage sale in Magnolia Park. We are in a good place to do a thorough cleaning as we do not have a bunch on our agenda nor many distractions. Yup, I think we will do that!
When I turned on the computer this morning there was a severe weather warning for this area. I say this area but it was actually west of us about 14 miles. It is rare this summer to have a weather alert and in addition to that the weather pattern is much like in the mountains-in other words you cannot tell what direction it will be coming from if any. I am sure the fact of being between two large bodies of water makes the weather somewhat unpredictable. I have come to the conclusion that severe weather such as the plains is subject to doesn't happen here. That will take some getting used to when we return to the volatile weather of the plains states.
Oh yeah, Butch is golfing.
Cool Idea!
By JOSH O'LEARY
Iowa City Press Citizen
Iowa City, Ia. — When Marc Moen heads outside at night to cover the public piano in front of Plaza Towers, he's reluctant to bring the music to a halt.
He's not the only one who feels that way.
The city will allow the two pianos on downtown walks to stay up through October. It has established a permit process to allow new pianos to be rolled out this fall and in future years.
Moen, a real estate developer who began the Downtown Piano Project with business owner Mark Ginsberg in July as a public art endeavor, said enthusiasm has been overwhelming and he expects more businesses to put out pianos.
Two uprights sit outside Moen's Plaza Towers, 221 E. College St. in the Pedestrian Mall, and M.C. Ginsberg at 110 E. Washington St., where passers-by can take a seat and strike up a tune.
"I hate going down and covering it up because almost always I have to tell people it's time to cover it," Moen said.
The initial agreement between the businessmen and the city granted them permission to have the pianos on the public right of way through Oct. 1. The new permits will allow the pianos to be in place March 1 through Oct. 31.
The two pianos are bolted to the concrete and have all-weather covers that are locked each night. Moen said they have had no problems with vandalism in the two months they have been in place.
Connie Champion, a city council member who recently voted in favor of the permit system for more pianos, said her downtown clothing shop will partner with several other businesses to put a piano in front of Herteen and Stocker Jewelers in the north end of the Pedestrian Mall.
Champion said, "You see people of all ages sitting down and playing them for a while. Some of them are good, and some of them are really bad. But that's part of the fun, and the kids seem to really like it."
The pianos require a business' financial commitment of purchasing the instrument, having it bolted down and ordering the cover, and the time commitment to have someone cover it each night, Moen said.
Monday, September 6
Where is the faucet?
It is like someone turned the faucet on and turned down the thermostat. We were going along nicely with warm temps and plenty of sunshine and then September happened and with the turning of the page on the calendar the turning of the weather took place as well. We knew it was going to happen but for some reason it was a bit of a shock. Still is.
Workampers Ted and Jan who were our campground hosts will be leaving tomorrow due to a death in their family. I will miss them. Sure hope we can make connections somewhere down the road. Jan and I are beading buddies,sharing ideas, patterns and websites etc.
I missed my walk yesterday. Mainly because of spending time setting up the new blog for bracelets. That is now done and the maintenance and additions to that will be minimal so now I can move on to my next project. Hmmm cannot pinpoint that right now...
Probably involves SPIDERS!
Workampers Ted and Jan who were our campground hosts will be leaving tomorrow due to a death in their family. I will miss them. Sure hope we can make connections somewhere down the road. Jan and I are beading buddies,sharing ideas, patterns and websites etc.
I missed my walk yesterday. Mainly because of spending time setting up the new blog for bracelets. That is now done and the maintenance and additions to that will be minimal so now I can move on to my next project. Hmmm cannot pinpoint that right now...
Probably involves SPIDERS!
Sunday, September 5
New Blog-http://barbsbracelets.blogspot.com/
I know, I said I wouldn't do it and now I have. This one is for the bracelets. Do I expect to get rich?-No. Will I be swamped with bracelet orders?-Not! But here is a place where they can be viewed and ordered if someone is so inclined. Oh yes, I set up a new email for the bracelet blog as well. Now I will have to remember to check it now and then. That might be tougher than making bracelets!
Barb's Bracelets
I placed the bracelets in a slideshow on their own page with captions and descriptions. On the top left of this page you can find- Home- Barb's Bracelets and Swedish weaving. You are presently on the homepage. I have to find an easier way!!
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