50 degrees

 It was 50 degrees this morning and I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns and get out on the trail. I am listening to an audiobook and the weather is beautiful. Walking in the morning for an hour gets my day off to a good start. I cannot begin to tell you how many years I have been doing it. Thinking back on it I was not walking when we lived in Nebraska. So it must have started when we moved to Lake Panorama in 1979. Wow! That is over half my life. 

This morning as usual I was seeing photos everywhere I looked. Tomorrow I plan to take my camera and do a photo walk. It is different.

Rhubarb patch. A story is behind it. Isn't that always true? When we moved on the property there was a rhubarb patch in existence but it was in a place we had in mind for the RV parking. So we moved it. Of course, we had differing ideas on where it should be located so we each chose a spot. Butch won. Mine didn't make it. Anyone who wants to harvest from it is more than welcome.

H.E.B in Texas carries rhubarb. They sell it for $12 a pound last I looked. 

Iowa countryside

 We drove to Massena IA yesterday for a visitation and we visited with people we had not seen for 20 years. Then we enjoyed a tenderloin and fries in the local bar and stopped at an ice cream place in Guthrie Center which is a hidden jewel.

M & L Ice Cream 106 State St, Guthrie Center, IA 50115-1348 

Local people are very fond of an ice cream place in Glidden IA and the one in Guthrie is as good or better. Butch had his favorite marshmallow malt and I had a small lemon cone. We were both happy.

Another part of the trip was the Iowa countryside. We seem to forget how green it is. We both grew up here so maybe it is just us but the green is so green it kind of hits you in the face when you haven't seen it for a while.

And then...A classmate of mine,Toni Roberts, posted on Facebook and I just had to save it. For me, today, it is the perfect reminder of the "luxurious" life we live.

Have a good and luxurious day! 

One of those days...

On the same day, we found out about two deaths of people we were close to in our past.

Butch worked with Marty Mills for nearly 19 years. They kept the lights on in a big part of southwest Iowa during that time and they enjoyed playing golf. Marty had a very distinctive, big, and booming laugh. When something tickled his funny bone it was not a secret. A friend I worked with for many years, Connie Jones, told us about Marty's passing. 

And then shortly thereafter she told us about another friend who passed, Bev Gunderson. Bill and Bev Gunderson were a big part of our social life in the years we lived in Cumberland IA. I met Bev on ladies' day at the golf course and we played together regularly including in tournaments on other courses. They joined us for square dance lessons and then regular dances. On top of that, we played in a bridge group with them. 

Both of these people were such a part of our life that the memories came flooding back two-fold.

We will be attending services for both, Marty's is tomorrow and Bev's is on Saturday.

Spring Pics

 Grosbeek.

Cardinals are ground feeders so this is typical.

Iowa Drought Conditions?

I came across this map of Iowa drought conditions. They are greatly improved by the way! But when I looked at the map I saw something different. It looks to me like Lady Iowa has extreme pain in her chest and abdomen. Is it just me again? Pareidolia?