Category: Uncategorized

Weeds, Cats and Harvest

Looking west from our dinning room

The summer here in north central Iowa has seen an abundance of moths and dragonflies…and weeds. The country grass and weeds around these parts is tough, and can grow back quickly after spraying or pulling it. Shelly and I are guessing the abundance of rain this season might be the cause of the large groups of the above mentioned insects. The eclipse of moths and and flight of dragonflies have been larger and more plentiful than any previous years we have lived out here on the acreage. (for more names of groups of animals check this out.) All the rain across Iowa has also eradicated the years long state wide drought.

The feral cat situation has changed, with Sammie replacing Tom a couple of months ago. How that happened we don’t know, but are guessing it was a territorial issue between the two. Sammie started as Samantha until “her” testicles dropped and Shelly renamed it Sam Winchester.

Harvest began around us early September and many fields are infected with rust. Currently we are experiencing a warmer than normal fall in our state, which is very nice as we slowly pack things up around the acreage in preparation for the coming “W” word.

The Roundup

Encounters: A few weeks ago during a mini road trip we stopped for drinks at a small town gas station. While I was standing and stretching a middle age man walked out of the station toward me and we both realized I was blocking his driver side car door with my passenger door. We chatted for a bit as I moved out of his way and he got in his car. Turns out he is the bass player for a local band called Burnin’ Sensations. To wind up our conversation he stated they were “STD free since 2003.”

Read: Words I Wish I Wrote By Robert Fulghum

Observed: My first experience with an online auction. This was for my Aunt Judy’s estate, and I was able to purchase several family heirlooms and some just plain interesting items (and at least 100 books for pennies on the dollar or less) My observation is to follow the auction through to the very end if there are items you really want. I followed the items I really wanted for over a week, and got most of it.

Website: Burnin’ Sensations or Facebook site

Recipe: Creamy White Bean Soup Tip from the recipe: If you’re not following a strict vegetarian diet, you can opt for chicken broth instead of vegetable, add shredded rotisserie chicken or set out a bowl of crumbled bacon as an additional garnish.

Good News

Shaboozey By Daniel Prakopcyk

Man, what a hell of a year it’s been
Keep on bluffin’, but I just can’t win
Drowned my sorrows, but they learned to swim
Man, what a hell of a year it’s been

Head in a bottle for my heart in a case
Yeah, it’s gettin’ harder to act my age
Play a sad song on a tiny violin
For the man at the bar confessin’ his sins

I need some good news
Sittin’ here, sippin’ on cold truth
Nobody knows what I’m goin’ through
Bet the devil wouldn’t walk in my shoes
Wish someone told me
Livin’ this life would be lonely
Tryna get away from the old me
Still stuck singin’ these blues
All I really need is a little good news

Love keeps knockin’, but I just stay home
Cause I ain’t pickin’ no flowers from the seeds that I’ve sown
They say it gets darker when you’re coverin’ those doors
Still lookin’ for the right at the end of my wrongs
At the end of my wrongs

I need some good news
Sittin’ here, sippin’ on cold truth
Nobody knows what I’m goin’ through
Bet the devil wouldn’t walk in my shoes
Wish someone told me
Livin’ this life would be lonely
Tryna get away from the old me
Still stuck singin’ these blues
All I really need is a little good news
Is a little good news

I need some good news
Sittin’ here, sippin’ on cold truth
Nobody knows what I’m goin’ through
Bet the devil wouldn’t walk in my shoes
Wish someone told me
Livin’ this life would be lonely
Tryna get away from the old me
Still stuck singin’ these blues
All I really need is a little good news

Ooh, oh
Ooh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

All I really need is a little
Something bring me back to the middle
All I really need is a little good news

By Shaboozy

Writers: Sam Romans, Jake Torrey, Nevin Sastry, Michael Ross Pollack, Sean Cook, Collins Obinna Chibueze

The Roundup

Encounters: My wife and I were walking across a parking lot recently when an old man approached us from the opposite direction. We both slowed down as he turned to the nearest car and began to get in it. He moved so slow and wobbly that I wondered if he needed help and I moved closer in case he did. He finally made it into the car and shut the door. “You know why Smokey the Bear never had kids,” he asked us through his open car window. We smiled and shook our heads no. “Because every time Mrs. Bear got hot, Smokey would throw sand on her.”

Read: This Man Kept a Meticulous List of All 3,599 Books He’d Read Since 1962. I started a list around five years ago of movies and shows I have watched, as well as a list of books I have read. My dad did the same.

Observed: For years there was a dusty, untouched booth in a flea market mall we used to frequent that sold nothing, as best we could tell. The owner was just paying rent to store her junk.

Website: What Dan Read

Recipe: If you have some extra cucumbers from your garden you could try this recipe for homemade pickles.