Starting the Summer with Mustangs & More

Now that they live in Montana, Sarah and Todd are spending a lot of time traveling and visiting the parks and scenic areas of the West. The Memorial Day holiday was no exception.

They drove to the Bighorns and looked for mustangs and moose.

Two mares with foals and a third pregnant mare. (I love how Sarah talks to me as she films.) I don't have any more pictures from the herd yet, but I will post them when I do.

Here in Indiana, Curt and Vanessa invited us to join them for a BBQ. Knowing my family members well, I made potato salad to share.

A BIG bowl. While Curt loves potato salad, Mila takes it to the next level. She will tell you that it is her favorite food of all. No birthday cake for her; make her a potato salad on her big day!

Sure enough, she filled (FILLED!) a dinner plate with the potato salad, grabbed a book, and snuggled into some blankets. No hot dogs or chicken, no pasta salad or fruit, just potato salad.

Now that school is out for the summer, we can play games later into the evenings. Curt had joined Jessica and Andrew earlier this spring in Las Vegas for a board game convention and he'd come back with some new ones to teach us.

Tumblin' Dice was one of those games. Easy to learn and play, it's a lot of fun. Lukie beat me again - I don't know how he does it, but almost every game I play with him, he wins!

Down at our park, I got to check on the mallard family I have been watching. It is an unusual group of two males and one female that I first noticed in March. It is not uncommon when females are in short supply that two males will share a female mate but I had never seen it before.

They have five ducklings that they are raising together.

Pepper and I walked the lake's perimeter a bit and discovered some mulberry bushes that have taken root along the banks and are currently fruiting. The birds will love those! (So will the turtles, and the raccoons, and the muskrats, and the deer...)

I also came across a patch of purple crownvetch. 

I always plant my flowers around Memorial Day and this year was no exception.

Because they are pretty, easy to care for, and will grow quickly and fill out a planter, I always plant begonias. White, pink, or red, I love them all.

I wish I could figure out how to repair this fountain's pump so I could use it as a fountain again, but it does look nice as a planter.

My patio is bookended with two large planters, both with horsey garden stakes in the middle. The one closer to Nan's house has my dragonfly solar light next to it. When her husband died last year, I bought two - one for her and one for me in his memory. I always make sure she can see mine from her windows.

It's been years since I planted a large tomato garden and canned all the produce. My canning days may be behind me, but I still like fresh tomatoes straight off the vine. So, yesterday I planted two tomato plants and one bell pepper. I still need to put in some support stakes as they will grow and branch quite a bit.

I hope to finally get to the front porch flowers today. And the stepping stone garden needs some weeding and new mulch. Ian, Mila, and Lukie are going to help me with that.

It's not quite summer yet, but it's feeling like it!

Memorial Day: Saturday & Sunday

Second Post of the Day

Saturday was one of those beautiful days where you want to be outside enjoying the weather. And did we ever take advantage of it.

After walking the dogs en masse as a family, we headed to Dog & Suds, an old fashioned hot dog and root beer stand.

We chose to eat together outside in the pavilion rather than stay separated in our cars.

That was the right choice. While the food at Dog & Suds is pretty average, the experience is not. Craig and I like to go there occasionally in the summer and eat in our car at the drive in part of the restaurant.

I was glad to be there with everyone - earlier that morning I'd had to go to Urgent Care. My eye had been bothering me for a few days but I hadn't thought much of it. Hawkeye Sarah wears many hats, one being a nurse, and Trinity is in her fourth year of nursing school.

Between them, they both agreed that I needed to head to Urgent Care and have my eye examined. I did as they asked and now I am on meds to clear up an infection. My eye is still swollen and puffy, but it is improving.

After lunch, we packed up the dogs and headed over to Local Son Curt's home where we spent the rest of the day.

Vanessa has been experimenting with juice drinks - the one she'd made that morning was delicious and did not last long.

Some family members played indoor games, while others went outside for a game of backyard softball.

Pepper, Tammo, Gus, Nash, Mama, Blue, and Rhett were with us, coming in and out of the house at will and enjoying the beautiful weather, too. 

The indoor dogs waiting for someone to open the sliding door so that they can join the outdoor dogs. (Pepper, Tammo, Blue, and Rhett.)

Pepper keeping my feet warm while I played a game of Wizards.

Curt grilled brats and chicken for dinner and we stayed late, playing games and chatting.

Sunday was an unexpectedly topsy turvy day and I did not take a single picture. Not one. We all went to church together, and then came home expecting to spend the day relaxing, playing more games, doing more chatting, and then having pulled pork sandwiches for dinner.

Unfortunately, that did not turn out as planned. Instead, Blue spent over 6 hours in Purdue's Emergency Vet Hospital.

Todd had taken Blue, Tammo, and Rhett to the dog park and Blue and a husky got into it with each other. Todd was bitten by the husky while separating them and Blue ended up with a deep and painful open wound on her chest.

It was deep enough that the vet was concerned that she might have a pneumothorax, so she had to stay not only for cleaning and stitches, but also for observation to make sure that she could breathe okay. (I'm not showing any other pics of the wound than this - they are disturbing.)

Needless to say, it was a long day for us all as we waited for Blue to be released. She came home late that night, slept fitfully, but seems better this morning.  She's been cleared for the drive home plus her pain meds will make her drowsy, so she will sleep most of the trip back home to Iowa. 

The visit closed on a somber note. Still, it was fun to be together as a family, and the family dogs had a lot of fun together. They know each other well, and while Tammo was the new kid on the block, he integrated well and he played hard and slept hard. (I expect he and Pepper will crash and sleep as soon as Sarah, Todd, and Trinity leave!)

One more thing... Sarah surprised me with a request about a piece in my collection. She asked if I would put her name on the tag of one of my Breyers so that she could have it. Any guesses as to who she might want? Hint: she's a wildlife photographer.

Stay 'tooned for the answer!

Memorial Day 2024: Sarah's Tornado Begins It

It started with the tornado sirens blowing.

Twice.

I had just sat down to write yesterday's second post of the day when I received that video from Hawkeye Sarah and a one word text.

"Welp."

Welp, indeed. She and her family were preparing to drive from their home in Iowa City to ours and a line of tornadic storms had just reached them. Thus began a flurry of texts between us.

The tornado passed their home by less than a half mile but they were safe, thank goodness. Iowa City suffered some damage, but compared to other recent tornados in Iowa this spring, the city was fortunate.

Needless to say, I never finished that second post of the day - I had some errands to run and some cleaning to finish before they arrived. (They ran into more heavy storms on the way, including one as they pulled into town.)

The hay in the neighborhood hay field was baled and ready to be taken to the barn.

I don't know if it was picked up before the storm system blew through here; I hope so.

We laid in a supply of necessary snacks - always a priority because we will be playing games late into the night all weekend.

Sarah and her family met Tammo for the first time. They'd brought Blue and Rhett with them, and we were a little surprised that Blue accepted Tammo immediately. (Then again, look at that face. Of course she did; wouldn't you?)

We'd ordered pizza for dinner. Lukie helped carry the boxes in. (With some help from Cousin Trinity.)

The pizza pick-up crew. Trinity, Todd, Ian, and Lukie.

The games began right after dinner. The adults were still sitting around the dinner tables and chatting when Lukie piped up, "Aren't we going to play cards or a game or something??" (Craig, Todd, Vanessa, Curt, and Lisa.)

Curt, Lisa, Sarah, and Trinity.

Of course, we played Bank, a game that can have lots of people (regardless of age) playing all at the same time.

We had some very high rolling games!

Okay, I am hearing noises from the guest rooms and Blue, Rhett, and Tammo have all popped in to say hello. (Pepper got up with me and is by my feet as I type.)

Posting may be sporadic this weekend, but I'll do my best.

Stay 'tooned!

Memorial Day & Old Glory

Happy Memorial Day! My Old Glory is out on the antique player piano for a little holiday decor, and since I hadn't shared him on the blog yet, today seemed the perfect day.

But first, a little music to celebrate the holiday.

I love Breyer's clearware, and Old Glory is a showstopper in my book.

The back of the box says that those stars and stripes were painted on,

 but the stars and stripes are actually stickers. (There are hobbyists who have peeled them off.)

There is a second error on the box, but you have to look closely to find it.

Despite what the label says, Old Glory is not a unicorn.

There was a bit of masking stuck on his tail but I was able to easily peel that off.

Another bit of masking was in the middle of his tail on his near side. That, too, peeled away.

Besides the tidbits of masking, there are a few flaws but I am not bothered by them.

He's a gorgeous piece, and I am really happy to have him.

Happy Memorial Day and bring on summer!