Out and About July 9-16

Thursday, July 9th began with that eerie, preternaturally beautiful, morning light I'm so bewitched by.

Sunrise tinted the altocumulus clouds a rosy pink.

Mornings really are the best time of day.

Today was the day I also realized a little creature I saw was a baby dragonfly. The first I've ever, knowingly, seen. So cute.

Friday the neighbor gave me some rhubarb.
When I got it all cleaned and sliced, I had seven cups.
I went through Mom's recipe box looking for her Rhubarb Crisp, but only found, Rhubarb Crunch, Rhubarb Cobbler and one for Rhubarb, Strawberry Crisp, but I didn't have any strawberries.
Oh, well, into the fridg until I decide what to make. Worse case scenario, it goes into the freezer.

The 10th was also the day I discovered Japanese Beetles were decimating the ivy and the rose bush on the north side of the house.
I have never seen them so bad; so many.
(The next day I tried a "how to get rid of" homemade recipe from the internet, but then decided to cut both roses and ivy clear back instead.)

Friday night, no bright colored sunset, but look in the lower left corner of this photo, doesn't that cloud look like a waffle? I thought so. I couldn't find a scientific name for a waffle cloud.

There were so many different lilies here when we bought our place.
This yellow one began blooming Saturday, the 11th. It is one of my favorites.

Saturday was such a lovely day I took my book out to the patio to read. I hadn't been out there much because of the heat which is why I hadn't been running the fountain.
I noticed a hornet working around the nozzle and waited until it left to take a closer look. It was completely blocked. When I cleared it, it was full of hornet larvae. Yuck! I'm running the fountain almost daily now.

Also while out there, a young woman walked by, talking loudly. She was either talking on a phone or into a recorder. She was saying something like, "Checking out this trailer court, seeing if it is the kind of place you'd want to live." Then she started taking photos of the neighbor's flowers. Okay, I do that kind of thing too, but she also took photos of the house and car port. She continued on down the street taking photos of some other homes including the one on the corner that does have a for sale sign up. Maybe she was just looking on behalf of someone that might want to move here. But she was wearing a large trekking backpack and had the legs of someone who does a lot of walking. In my imagination, she was someone spending her summer hiking across the country, recording notes for a travel blog she was writing about her adventures.

Sunday started off so cool there was steam coming off the pond. It was a day we could have spent with family if not for Covid. We were invited to my granddaughter's for her stepson's combination graduation/going to basic training party. Michael called to thank us for the card and money I had sent. It was nice to talk to him and wish him luck. He left the next day for Ft. Jackson, SC.

My horoscope for the 12th must have said something like: "You will hear from friends and family today." After Michael's call, I heard from my friend Kristina and had a really nice lo-o-ong chat with her. Then I talked to brother Ron as well as Les and my sister-in-law Susan.

Perhaps the nicest family update came in a FB post from my niece Christine announcing she and Dale are moving to Bloomington, IN where she will be working on getting her Master's in Public Administration at Indiana University. She writes that the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs is considered the top MPA program not only in the nation, but in the world; that never dreamed she would be accepted.

Not even there yet and she's already wearing her Hoosiers tee.

I am so happy for her and know she will excel not only in her studies, but whatever position comes after she gets her degree.

Also on Facebook Sunday were pictures from Sawyer's 7th Birthday Party. He is #3 of my great-grandsons.

I am so grateful to the parents of my great-grands for posting photos of them once in awhile. They grow and change so fast, I might not recognize them by next year. 😏

The next day, Monday, July 13, Sawyer's big brother Ridge turned 11 years old.

Pictured here with his dad, Brock, my eldest grandchild. So, oldest grandson and oldest great-grandson. 😁💜

Finally used some of the rhubarb in a cobbler. Mmm, so good. And all mine, HD doesn't like rhubarb.

The yellow and orange day lilies out front are blooming.

We went to the Farmer's Market for only the second time this year. When we went to the first one six weeks ago, there were only about four vendors and very few buyers. Today it was packed with people, but my favorite vendor, Bridgewater Farm, was not there. 😞

Bud had told me yesterday  Black Lives Matter had been written on the underpass and someone had crossed out Black and written All in red. Today the whole thing had been painted over.

The only photo I took on the 14th was of ripples on the pond near the cattails.
It was a stressful morning for me. Under protest, I was forced to go out to the hospital/clinic for my annual wellness visit. I tried to talk them into renewing my prescriptions without me having to go anywhere near where Covid patients would be. No luck. I had to go or they wouldn't renew my scripts.
It wasn't as bad as I feared, though there was one guy there not wearing a mask even though it clearly states you have to be wear a mask to enter the area. It's probably a good thing I went when I did, our county's confirmed Covid cases went from 29 Tuesday to 50 today. Next week it will probably be 100 or more.
A quick trip to Fareway as long as I was out and then home. Between 8:45 p.m. and midnight, we had 2.65 inches of much needed, very welcome, rain!

From the time I first heard and then saw and then was able to identify this little bird, I've been trying to get a picture of the Carolina Wren. I had such a good opportunity Wednesday morning, but this was all I got. They are so skitterish and move so fast. I'll keep trying....one of these days....
I didn't even know we had Carolina Wrens in Iowa.
The only other thing of note about the 15th was we had another 1.05 inch of rain and I wrote another blog post about a favorite poet.

July 16 always begins with me thinking about my Grandma Lynam. She was born 129 years ago today which was also a Thursday. I, too, am a Thursday child, "with far to go".  Grandma did see and do much in her 96 years. She was a dear, sweet woman.

It was so foggy when I got up this morning I had to wait for it to burn off before taking my walk.

Another of the lilies started blooming. I really love the soft apricot color of this one. Also one of my favorites.

Noticed while I was taking the picture of the lily  that the start of chives I got is blooming.
It not only survives, it thrives.

Bud brought me another 'treasure' found on his walk. This is the outside half of what looks like a small round rock.

And this is the inside. As I was thinking about how to describe it, "about the size of a marble" came to mind.
As quick as that I wondered if maybe that is what it was - an old clay or stone marble?


Oh, the things you see, and find, when you're out and about - and paying attention.