Poll Results

The results of the poll "What's your biggest pet peeve about other drivers?" are as follows:

• People talking on cell phones (2 votes)
• People who pass on the right (1 vote)
• People who tailgate (5 votes)
• People who don't use turn signals (1 vote)
• People who drive under the speed limit (2 votes)
• People who read, apply makeup, etc. while driving (1 vote)
• Slow traffic in the "fast lane" (0 votes)
• Speeders (0 votes)
• Other (0 votes)
• I don't have any pet peeves (0 votes)
• I don't drive (0 votes)

Well, it looks like everybody has pet peeves! I was a little surprised at which one got the most votes, but then being out here in a rural area, we just don't have that many tailgaters. I can see how in big cities it'd be more of a problem. I voted for the cell phone users... seems like every other person I meet is talking on a cell phone. Then again, maybe that's more common in a rural area, too, where driving isn't quite so dangerous? Or is it just as common in the cities?

I got an email from someone who wanted to vote for every one... heheh. Yeah, ALL of those things can be aggravating! She also suggested 'texting' might have been included. Yep, I totally forgot about that one! If anyone wants to change their vote to texting, feel free to do so in the comments! ;-)

Thanks for voting!

One of Courtney's friends

He's so pretty! But Courtney still misses her favorite, the black one, who went AWOL a couple weeks ago and has not returned. I don't hold out a lot of hope for him anymore. :-(

The Red Admiral

I guess he thought he was a hummingbird. :-) But really he's a Red Admiral butterfly. He did seem to like the sugar water, and he kept coming back for more. Rather pretty, isn't he?

(Click to enlarge.)

Oh, yeah... Willow 'n Wispy really enjoyed watching him. And no, he did not fall into the container of water. ;-)

Winter's a-comin'...

... and it's not far off, the way it feels this morning! It's barely 50° and WINDY! The online stats even mention a 'wind chill'. Brrrr! I'm not ready for this yet.

But here's a pic to warm your heart. Courtney's cousins got a new puppy last week, and they brought it to her other grandma's place yesterday, so Courtney got to see it there. It's a 'schnoodle' (cross between a schnauzer and a poodle). Totally ADORABLE!

I'd say that's definitely puppy love! Can't you just hear it... "Mommy and Daddy, can I get a puppy???"

I'm not sure if the puppy's in love or not, though. ;-)

(Photo from Grandma H.)

Done!

Before:

And after:

That should keep the cattle fed for awhile. They haven't put the tarp on it yet because it was too WINDY yesterday!

Grandma's little garden helper

She got to take that cantaloupe home with her. I hope it was good!

Wish you were here, Mark!

Harvest is on, and our guys are a bit short-handed... they could use your help!

Anyway, here they are making a pile of corn silage. This first pic is just for size perspective.

They started building the pile at our place yesterday. Hey, Mark and Cindy... you've walked this ground! :-)

This tractor (driven by Grandpa's brother) pushes the silage onto a pile and then drives back and forth on it to pack it down.

An impressively huge machine. These pics don't do it justice!

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Here are a couple of videos of the action. Be sure to turn your volume way up for the full effect. ;-)

Below is Courtney's daddy bringing more to add to the pile.

The pile will of course get much bigger. When they have enough silage on it, they'll cover it with tarps (like the stack of bales in the background) and feed the cattle from it over the winter.

'Roun' 'n 'roun'

On Friday nights during the summer, if the wind is just right or if it's pretty calm out, we can hear the stock car races at the local track... seven miles away! I sure am glad I don't live in town on those nights!

It sorta sounded like that here on Tuesday. Courtney decided she wanted to ride her "bike" in the house, and she discovered it went really well in the kitchen. The one thing I've always hated about this linoleum is that it's very hard (which is why it's lasted over 30 years) and sorta bumpy, which makes anything rolling over it (think toy tractors, chairs... anything with wheels) seem quite noisy. Take a listen!

It sure was fun though! (Notice that Willow found a safe place for herself. Grandma had to scramble out of the way a few times, too!)

And even MORE orange

What's that you say? It's not very orange? I know. I was very disappointed that my camera wouldn't capture the color right. The sun going down Friday evening was a very bold orange. Maybe too much light for the lens or something. But it made for a pretty photo, anyway. I thought Mark would like it. ;-)

Here's another that I tried with a different camera setting. Still no orange.

A nice view of the hills and windmills, though. Click either photo to enlarge.

More orangey goodness

Cantaloupe this time... Iroquoise, in fact. The only kind I've consistently had really good luck raising. This is my first for this season... about a month late, due to having been planted late and then having the cool summer. But thanks to no early frost, this one made it and there are many more that are close to ripening.

Grandpa and I ate half of it for dinner... lunch?... well NOON yesterday, anyway. :-) And it was as delicious as it looks!

Yep, it was bigger than that last watermelon!

You know that old saying....

..."While the cat's away, the mice will play". Well, this time it's the cat who's taking advantage while Courtney was away (taking her nap). Willow thought the doll blankies were a pretty good place to take a nap herself, so that's just what she did. :-)

Innocent-looking, isn't she?

Ingenuity

When the necklace is too long for the baby, you figure out a way to make it work! Around the arm... between the legs... it was a loooong necklace. :-)

Watermelon update

My New Queen watermelons, though few in number (due, I discovered too late, to something going along and eating all the blossoms off the vines... gopher? woodchuck? rabbit?), have been DELICIOUS! Think crisp, juicy, and sweet!

I ate this one... yes, the whole thing... for lunch today. :-) It was tiny and had lain in the garden so long, as I waited for it to grow more which it didn't do, that I didn't really think it'd be any good. But it was yummy!

Note in this first photo that this is not a full-size dinner plate.

Here's a better idea of its size!

Yep, I highly recommend this kind of watermelon. They're early to ripen, which is nice, and look at that rind... hardly anything there!

And of course to Jess I'd recommend them for the color. ;-)

Scat!

No, I'm not telling you to go away (please don't do that!)! I'm telling you, in the nicest way I could think of, what I found on my deck this morning. Grrrrr! Since it was mostly fresh corn, undoubtedly a 'coon was the culprit. At least it was fresh and washed off easily. And better yet, it wasn't on the mat... this time.

What a blog post, eh? Just be glad I didn't gross you out with a photo. ;-)

Running out of room

We used to have overhead power lines going across our yard, and the swallows would gather on them... getting ready for their trek south, I guess. Sometimes the lines would be nearly solid with them. The overhead lines have been taken down and replaced with underground, so the swallows had to find a new gathering place.

This is, of course, our TV antenna.

What do you suppose they're saying as they chatter?

This is why...

... I've been unable to post every day. I shipped these to Jess today.

And I just now got a custom order for a couple more buckets [would you believe I've already made 57 (and sold 50 through our Etsy shop) of those babies?!!], so I'll continue to be busy! But never fear, I've kept my camera busy, too, so I have more to post. Keep checking back!

Sometimes...

... ya just gotta put your own clothes on the baby!

Like maybe if the baby gets all messy at daycare and doesn't have any of her own clothes along?

Anyway, Courtney decided on her own to do this (for whatever reason), and she thought it was great fun! Grandma did have to assist a little bit. ;-)

How to wash a carrot

How's that for a title? Or maybe better yet... "Grandpa moves fast"? ;-)

Grandpa had pulled a carrot from the garden and was having Courtney (who LOVES using hoses) help him wash it. She was more than happy to oblige... and then some.

Enjoy!

Wanna go for a walk?

Let's go get Grandma's mail! Gotta have your garden gloves on. ;-)

(I love that little skirt!)

Always distractions along the way.... and on the way back....

And by the time Grandma was ready to work in the garden, Courtney had already shed her gloves and was busy in the sandbox.

Happy Labor Day

Is Monday your laundry day? Let's hope it's NOT today, since it's a holiday.

Stone thrower

Grandpa and Daddy taught Courtney to throw stones for the kittens to chase. Here she is with her wind-up!

She thought it was pretty cool when she actually got one close enough to the kittens and they chased it. Great fun! And I think she could spend all day at it. :-)

Kitten massage

Courtney was delighted that the kittens were all there when we went out to feed them last week Tuesday morning.

And they're all tame enough to pet now. (Especially if they're very hungry.)

I wonder how they liked that back-and-forth massage. ;-)

Now that the secret is out...

I can show you a recent new sewing project. It's a little zipper pouch that I made for a sister-in-law. She chose the design and fabrics (Jess's, of course) when she was here a few weeks ago, and I finally got the hardware needed, and then took the time to put it together. It was a first for me on making a zipper pouch, but it was fairly simple once I figured out how I wanted to do the strap, etc.

I mailed it last week but didn't tell her it was done and on the way, so she'd have a surprise. I got an email yesterday saying she'd received it (and "LOVED IT"), so I can show you now.

It can be used either as a wristlet (above) or strapped to belt loops or whatever (below).

The colors in this bottom photo are the most accurate.

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, for a first attempt. Now I might even make one for myself.

Backtracking a bit

These videos were actually made on August 12th. Maybe I'll get caught up someday.

We finally had nice enough weather on a "Grandma day" to use the little pool outside instead of in the house. Here's Courtney's first (and only) day in it with water added.

Hmmm.... I wonder which was more fun... the pool or the towel. ;-)