Are they Gone?

It often seems as if the hummingbirds say goodbye before they leave, hovering near the windows and looking in at us at the end of summer...and then *POOF* they are seen no more.

That is just how it was the other day when a female fluttered in front of the window over the sink buzzing up and down, up and down, tail fully splayed, every feather showing.

She wasn't hunting, just looking in the window. Haven't seen one since.

So maybe she was saying goodbye.

Or maybe she was checking on the sugar water.

Because, yeah, the other day I made some up, one part sugar, four parts water, and had it sitting on the counter cooling, a bit of paper over the top to keep out contaminants...like houseflies.

I went about my business for a while, went back to the kitchen to get the feeder ready, when lo and behold.....

The paper was on the floor and the blue measuring cup nowhere to be seen. I soon discovered its whereabouts though, over in the kitchen sink, empty.

I spoke to all and sundry, but there were no culprits to be found...until I thought about how tall our little girl is getting to be and how delicious sugar water might be if you were two.

Sure enough, when presented the evidence she quickly admitted that she had taken it. And drank it. Good thing I only make a cup at a time, because evidently paper is no defense against a toddler..

Rain...and caption this

Caption this

Shortly after our race to get the critters fed and things buttoned up the storm began. First round was nuttin' but rain, with an odd grumble or two in the background.

Wet, but no big.

Second set came through, a whole nuther ball game. Looked out the big windows to see leaves....lots of leaves...spiraling up into the sky. Then the low, scudding clouds began to show clear rotation.

The wind straightened out, the rain began to lash, and we sure did have some weather. It's been really dry around here...... so the driveway washed out and most of it ran off. 

Still, where there has been one limping morning glory each day...and only if I water the plants...there were three great big ones, all unfurled and proud, hanging out over the driveway.

The grass is all green, and although it is hot and humid and sticky, we really needed it.

I kinda wish my son and brother weren't working on a job at the bottom of the river though....just sayin'.

And this

High tech, Low tech

Stepped outside to walk the doggies. Looked up. Listened. Felt the air.

Took down the laundry and brought it inside. .

Sent people feeding, bringing in.....taking care of all that was outdoors.

Came in, pretty well caught up, well enough prepared.

Then my cell phone signaled a text from the emergency management folks.

Severe thunderstorm warning for Montgomery County.

Yep, gotcha covered there already.

Gold Dust

Autumn sprinkles morning with soft orange light; dainty golden dust shines on every plant and blade. It knows no calendar...winters are long here and it needs to get its show on the road before the snow flies all too soon.

The dusty glow clings to cottonwood leaves, curls up inside, and leaves them fading tender yellow just before they turn loose of the sky and fall. You can smell them on the wind, that elusive fragrance of fall, like potatoes cooking in a country kitchen, calling, who knows where or why.

An hour after daybreak it's all gone, that delicate hue of dawn, replaced by the hard bright of midday. Then the morning glories take up the call and try to out blue the sky before they furl their nautilus curls and fall silent until another day.

Answering the Big Question

This fascinating critter is a potato roaster for the top of a wood cook stove. I wish I had taken the camera to the fair the second time I visited, as the antique department folks had a potato there to demonstrate how it works. 

The tubers sit upright between the little metal dogs, against the center cone, and cook very nicely I'll bet. Too bad we don't have something like this to use today....oh, wait, we do! The kind gentleman who owns it purchased it in Long Lake.

Best guesses go to Carol Williams here on the blog and Tom Cassidy and several who agreed with him on Facebook.

You'll Get That with the Big Jobs

It may have been mentioned that the waterbed wherein I sleep recently sprang a small leak. 

It was just a little bitty one, but leaks in such items of furniture are bad things, very bad things.

We planned and plotted how to drain it and replace it with an air bed, but the job was put off and delayed and procrastinated about until Alan came home. He is home now.

We hadn't seen him in close to a month. The boss and Becky brought home the parts that were needed and today we did the job.

Or rather Alan did the job. When you have a guy that does things with hydraulics and hoses and gravity and all as part of his job, you might as well take advantage.

I was worried about getting it done in a single day...thinking maybe I'd have to sleep in my chair for a couple of nights...and dreading the whole affair.

Instead he took me over to the fair for breakfast...can't recommend the Pancake House highly enough....and then we came home and got it done in a couple of hours. Now I have a nice, dry air bed.

Good deal huh? I think I'll keep him.

Beyond Cows and Horses

L. J. Hand's New Booth

Our favorite farm store has a booth under the grandstand this year. It is very attractive and has Peggy-approved lollipops as well.

You can sign up for drawings to win cool stuff, chat with the nice people taking care of things, and check out the fine products offered.

Make sure to stop by when you visit the fair. 

Peggy at the Fair

What is It?

As I strolled through the antique and farm produce building at the fair a nice gentleman of our acquaintance presented me with an object, the likes of which I had never seen before.

Mind you, when I was seven or eight, Mom and Dad opened an antique store so we grew up surrounded by cool and mysterious items of all sorts. Let's just say you can't fool me with a potato masher or a single row hand corn planter very easily.

However, the best I could do with this thing was some kind of bundt cake pan or something like that.

Alas, I was wrong.

Let's see if you can do better than I did. Answer in the comments and at the end of the fair I will share the answer.

Best guess will get credit for same.....

Do You Know...

I shamelessly stole this picture from someone...probably mom, herself.
 These two sure know how to have fun.

How long 65 years is? 

It is pretty darned long compared to most human doings. I don't have personal experience with the number as I am a year short of that particular age.....this is an important distinction by the way....but it seems like a pretty big deal, at least to me.

On this day in that long ago year......

Come on a My House, by Rosemary Clooney was number one on the Billboard charts.

Harry S. Truman was president.

Dragnet, I Love Lucy, Roy Rogers, Sky King, and the Red Skelton Hour were brand new TV shows, in black and white of course. Westerns were hot and adventure was high.

Iconic 1950 Chevys were barely broken in. Big, fat, rounded fenders were hot stuff and chrome was a boy's best friend.

Alice in Wonderland, (how perfectly fitting) African Queen, An American in Paris, and A Streetcar named Desire were big new movies.

In a small town in Upstate NY a young couple was getting married. Mom says that everyone told them that they were too young.....

Everyone was wrong I guess, because, all those years later, they are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary today. In the interim they raised a family, started and operated several businesses, one of which is still in operation today, showed us all how much fun it is to be passionate about life and our interests and loved each other through thick and thin.

So Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. We love you both.

Becky's Horse

Of course she has a real one too, Jack, but she sometimes makes horses and cats and such for our special friends.

This is a Halflinger she made for one of our family's dearest friends, who gave me my show ponies and taught me a large part of what I know about horses and ponies.

This is where you spend your time if you have a white horse.

Gambit

Gambit didn't place, but it was fun to watch him go. Very few ponies had any clue about side passing down the pole and putting their front feet in the hula hoop and pivoting around in a circle.

Diamond at the Fair

This is the pony-in-hand obstacle class at the Fonda Fair. Most of the ponies, ours included, had never been asked to side pass or pivot a circle with their feet in a hula hoop before. However, they all gave it a go....some with more success than others.

Diamond did us proud and came in third. The voices you hear are me shushing Peggy, Peggy singing, and the dairy judge in the other ring giving reasons.

Shopping for Beef

The boss and the kids went shopping yesterday and brought this guy home. He is a milking shorthorn from a nice herd near here. We like shorthorn beef better than anything else we have grown, although ours were always half Holstein.

As you can see he is well armed

The Only thing You Hear

Is crickets

I am ashamed to say that I find even minor mistakes in books awfully irritating. Like I was reading an otherwise entertaining novel yesterday and there were crickets chirping in the early spring.

Yeah, yeah, way beyond minor I know, but when you live by the seasons and are listening to three or four billion of them chirping around your yard.....and it sure as heck ain't spring....you begin to suspect that the author lives in town and observes the seasons through a closed window.

Fin loves crickets. He thinks they taste like chicken, only grittier.

There are myriad other insects as well.

Some of them are even pretty.

Bug

Very soon the box elder bugs and lady bugs will begin to filter through the walls like so many inopportune ghosts and I will wish, as every fall and winter, that there were out-sects!