The Week in Words and Pictures 5/31-6/6

Sunday - A day of birthdays.... Walt Whitman born in 1819.

Clint Eastwood born in 1930 - oh what a crush I had on him when he played Rowdy Yates on Rawhide. I was 16 and he was 29. That was a crush which has lasted my whole life.

My sweet little daughter, Kari Leigh, born in 1969. I adore this photo of her. She was so happy playing in the dirt. Does she realize the connection between her and Clint? Not just that they share a birthday - but that had she been a son instead of a daughter, her name would have been Erik Fleming. Eric Fleming was the star on Rawhide - trail boss, Gil Favor. Some weeks I had a crush on him, too. But it didn't last like the one on his assistant, Rowdy Yates.

And my grand-niece, Keira Calise who celebrates her very first birthday today.

Monday - A beautiful day to begin June; sunny, calm. Another birthday:

My daughter-in-law, Shelly, born in 1963 - pictured here holding her granddaughter Lily almost three years ago.

June 1 also saw the season opening of our local farmers' market. Ideal weather for it.

Not the bunches and bunches of radishes I hoped for, but I did score these heirloom German Giants. This was the first time I had tried this radish variety. Also known as the Amish radish, these can grow to the size of a baseball yet still remain mild, sweet and crispy without becoming woody. Hope they have more next week!
I also got a small strawberry-rhubarb pie. It was okay, but not even close to the deliciousness of Shelly's strawberry-rhubarb pies!

Tuesday - Remember the comments I made about how many maple seeds there were this year?

And how we would be having little maple trees sprouting all over the place? These are just a few of the ones coming up between the stepping stones - and I have black weed blocker mulch under the stones!

Fortunately Bud keeps our eaves cleaned out, otherwise they would look like our neighbor's!

First time I've seen any deer for quite awhile. This photo is a good example of why I need a new camera. So many of my pictures look fuzzy.

Wednesday - Awake to rain on the roof. Seems to be an ongoing refrain. A good day to read.

When I decided to re-read Rebecca, I had no idea this was what the cover looked like. Perfect for someone whose blog title is Chances R. Right?

Thursday - How quickly they grow -

This year's goslings on April 23. (There were only two this year.)

And today, June 4. The babies are almost as big as the parents. Mom & Dad with their heads up keeping watch as the little ones feed.

Friday - Sunny and in the 60's at 6:00 a.m. And the humidity - 97%! Don't even have to exert any energy to start the perspiration dripping. Something I've been meaning to do when at the Y is walk across the street and take pictures of the labyrinth.

You see, they mowed it completely off this spring. There are a few flowers blooming, some daisies and cranesbill, but the weeds are taking over. I know what a huge job this would be to keep looking as nice as it did when I blogged about it August 5, 2010. Too bad there isn't a garden club willing to take it over.

This is what the labyrinth looked like then. What a difference. It was so lovely and really nice to walk the path in contemplation.

Saturday - Why is there not even one mention of D-Day on any of the news sites today? Just because last year was the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion shouldn't mean it doesn't even get mentioned this year.

Two weeks ago we decorated the graves for Memorial Day. Today was the day I decided to go back and pick up my flowers since most of them were new this year and should be good for another year at least.

 South gate at Prairie Rose. You can see by the sky the kind of day it is. Did get sprinkled on a bit.

The prairie roses for which the cemetery is named - Iowa's state flower, the wild rose.

Wild prairie rose or rosa arkansana. I used to pick these walking home from school and could never understand why they didn't last in water after I got home.

While at Oakland (Quincy) cemetery, I took this photo of the woods off in the distance. This is the one area I know of where you can still go of an evening to hear this call.                                                

This is the week that was.