Good-bye June

I'm sure that you, like me, can hardly believe that June is over already. Man...where did it go? Seems like it was just May!!! Well, last weekend was my mom's birthday so I decided to go to her house and spend the weekend with her. I mean - what better present could she possibly have gotten from anyone??? LOL ya-right. Anyhow, we started the day by going over to Keokuk and indulging on tacos from Papa Chico's. My oh my is all I can say. What a treat for us both!! Then we went to the hospital to visit my Aunt Judy. She was very dehydrated and also had a kidney infection. [she's better, btw] Sis, Amy, Bo and Emily were there and Al strolled in later. Little Emily Jo is getting so big!! She is a tiny little TJ!!! Poor Amy - neither one of her kiddo's resemble her whatsoever!!! I believe that Bo will be a whopping 8 this August. WOW Time certainly flies, that is for sure!!! After we left the hospital we had a couple of things to pick up from Walmart and then we headed home. We had plans for later - the Relay for Life was in Kahoka and that was going to be our entertainment. It started at 6:00 with the "survivors walk" (I think...) but we did not get up there in time for that. {sorry we missed watching you, Ruthie.......}It was after 7:30 when we got there if I remember correctly. Lou Ann & Gerry happened to be in town as well, so they met us at the park. The square was blocked off and lined with all of the luminaries of cancer survivors and also in memory of those who lost their battle. Mom had purchased some in memory of my dad and my Uncle Bob. Pictures of their luminaries are THE only pictures that I took.......so sorry about that. The luminary memorial service was very nice. They read each name in alphabetical order, of those who had luminaries in their name. Then a couple of people spoke very briefly. Family members were asked to light their luminaries. I lit my dad's and also my Uncle Bob's when they started to name them from the beginning. Once it got dark, it was very pretty................. Of course, my pictures don't capture that - they just look like white bags.....but it really was dark and the candles in them were burning. After they did the little memorial service - they had some local entertainment, primarily done by the relay teams. Some of them were funny and some of them...welll...you know - it's all for a great cause! Later on, the band Silver Streak played. I thought they started out pretty rough but they did get better as they played. Mom and I left after 10 I think. Then we went home, ate (more) birthday cake and checked emails!!!


Let's see.......what else has gone on this week. Well, WE finally got some much needed rain around here. It did rain late Monday afternoon, in town, but not at our house. I can tell you that 'someone' has been rather cranky due to the lack of rain. However, that changed Wednesday night. It sprinkled just a little right as I was getting the pork chops finished up on the grill. Around 8:00, it started coming down a little harder and it was just a very slow, gentle rain. Seems like it continued all night and all day Thursday till about 4:00. At our house, we had 3.7" in our rain gage!!!!! Needless to say, Mr. Hays was in a better mood!!! I was able to take my walk in the evening....so I took a few pictures. This first one is our lane. This is looking NE towards the highway - from "the dip" - which is what I call about the midpoint. It really isn't the midpoint, but it dips down and always floods here. As you can see, the entire road isn't covered but almost....and it's covered for quite a few feet. Yes, it does make walking a little tricky. It's called, walk in the weeds that run in the middle!!! I can't walk in the grass off to the sides, as it reeks with poison ivy and we know what happens to me when I come into contact with THAT CRAP!!!!! I also found this - just a few feet further. I'm not sure where the nest was located, but obviously the wind/rain took care of it. My guess is that the little bird had already hatched but one never knows I suppose. As I went on up the road....I noticed that there were wild blackberries on the other side of the fence. I asked Ambrose how long they have been there and his response was "they've been there for awhile"....well, I'm not sure how long "awhile" is...but I can honestly tell you that this is the first time I have seen them!!! LOL Then again, this is the first time that I have been walking UP the road to the highway also!! Speaking of that walk, I have recently increased my "mileage". It is 1.1 miles from the house to the highway....Then I had increased it to cross Hwy 36 and up the road to the first house on the left. To that point and back, it equals 2.8 miles. Since I have been stuck in a rut with my weight loss for 7 weeks (up 1.4, down 1.2, up 1.2, down 1.4 and so on), I decided to go a little further. Instead of turning around at the normal place, I keep going and I go up to the RR tracks, cross them, round the corner and pass the next house on the left and turn around at the far edge of their yard-which is also the first gravel road. To THAT point and back, it is 3.2 miles. It takes me exactly 58 minutes to walk it. I can't seem to get it any faster (without horrible shin splints that is) SO.....we'll see how it goes now. I have been getting up about the time that Am leaves for work. I pretty much throw on my glasses, some shorts/tshirt, socks and shoes and grab the headphone radio and head out the door. On a normal day, it is 5:20 or 5:25. It's much cooler and prettier in the morning and watching the sunrise is still incredible. The other morning, it was beyond words. Did I have my camera......LOL...no I didn't. I also see what I think is the same two deer. Even when I do have my camera, I can't get their picture. They are just too fast. They get spooked and are gone in a flash!
Susie has asked how little Chancie is getting along. Chancie is fine. Can you believe that?? "Who woulda thunk it?" I thought the thing was on it's death bed.....apparently not!!! She's rather skittish now though. She runs even when it's just me. I'm like ....'what did I do besides save your rear, kitty..you shouldn't run away'...lol Gracie is still ornery. Those teeth are gonna have to go!! As are the claws! I can't wait to get her declawed. Caught her last night climbing up the window screen. AAAHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGg {I'm shaking my head} She got sprayed down today with flea/tick spray - just in case. Couldn't do it till after she is at least 12 weeks old. Today makes 13 weeks. She was a very good patient. She only wiggled a time and never growled or hissed at the spray like Nala did or how mom's cats do!! LOL We'll see what happens next time. She sure smells pretty though!!!

Well I can't think of another thing, so on that note, I will quit boring you to tears and wrap it up!
Till next time...........................................

2 lives down 7 to go

I am happy to report that little Chancie seems to be FINE!! She was running around when I got hom from mom's this evening. I saw her again after my walk and she was playing w/ one of the other kitties and they were playing chase! She also ate well so I would say that she's good to go. Amazing. I'm wondering if she learned her lesson. She was a good 6 foot away from Rudy (and she was in the garage he was not) and she saw him and she got up on a box, puffed up and just hissed and hissed and hissed!!!

I have nothing else to report..............sorry.

Have a good one.

Pooooor kitty...........

I have bad news.....
I came home tonight and there was a kitten in the yard - of course being taken care of by Rudy. WHen I got in the yard - the kitty was defending itself but it was soaking wet as being mauled I'm certain. It was even "cool" to the touch. It has taken me a few hours to determine which kitty it is......as most of them are black/white and look very much alike, but it's little Chancie. You know...the one I saved because it fell off of the shelf it was born on??!!!! Poor little thing. I have her in the house right now - I had put her back in the garage and then found her a lil bit ago laying on the rug all alone in there by herself. Figured if she's going to die - she might as well be comfortable, right? I don't see blood but you can just tell the poor thing is hurt inside. She doesn't even mew....and she's the loud mouth. Won't eat, drink...nothing. She's in Gracie's "bed" right now. Might as well be.....Gracie and Molly don't lay in it! Gracie hates the kitty and they're from the same litter. Funny how soon they forget each other! She swatted at her and hissed. So I thumped her on the head. lol

Anyhow.....I have the feeling this is Chancie's last "chance"...................................

I'm going to be at mom's this weekend and you can rest assured that AM won't tend to this kitty. He'll just look in the shed to see if she's dead yet so he can FLING her over the fence. :(
I know....crude - but that is the kind of things he says..... lol

OK..that is all....................

I hate these stupid lilly things

BUT.....they make a nice picture with just the bloom!!! I like to call them "those ugly orange things". My friend Diane just LOVES them. She said it reminds her of her growing up days back on the farm. I told her to feel free by coming here and digging up all she wanted!! LOL

Nothing much to report - except I'm hot! Am turned the air back on this afternoon. We have had it off 2 or 3 days. We do that.....on and off...on and off! Supposed to be HOT this weekend... good A/C weather.....{hint to someone}

***Ruthie.....................thank you for the nice email!!! Glad to know that you ARE a faithful reader!!!***

Life on the farm

It's that time of year again.............good ol' "hay season"..................I think we ended up getting 34 bales or something like that. Several more than last year.
Well...some of you could care less about this post - but a couple of you will be able to "relate". I guess that is what you all get for either dumping me and not reading anymore or you have stopped posting comments. I think that my mom and Susie are my only readers anymore.... I got the idea of posting this from Susie's blog page......but mine will be different - as we have big bales rather than little square bales. This first picture is the raking process. I didn't have my camera the night before for the mowing part! lol....I know, who cares.



Then we have the baling process.......and of course, Mr. Hays has to 'INSPECT' the goods afterwards! LOL
I get a kick out of him sometimes. Notice I said sometimes!!! While we were down in the pasture roaming around and inspecting the goods...Rudy thought it to be necessary to get in the creek and cool off. Wasn't that bad of an idea but not somewhere you'd catch me taking a dip!!!! I prefer a nice pool!!!!
Other than hay week.............there's really nothing else to post. Pretty much the excitement around here for awhile!!!! Next on the agenda is trying to get Rudy in the truck to take him to town on Saturday for his shots. THAT otta be a treat. Permitting how well he does with that we're going to get him scheduled for a "hair cut". Just depends how the first trip goes!!! Gracie will get her shots also. Speaking of the little twit.......she's becoming the devil's evil twin. I do believe that she won herself in the house with her cute looks...............HOWEVER....she's going to turn out like Nala in the "cat from hell" sense [if not worse...I dare to say] As I type this, I just heard a noise in the kitchen................flipped on the light and she was standing up on top of my cookbooks that are lined up ON TOP of the microwave cart. {insert eye roll feature here} and by the time I got my camera.....this is where she was next
I also found THIS when I got home this evening.....not sure if she did this today or when.
If you have absolutely NO CLUE what this item is......this is a brand spankin' new roll of VIVA paper towels.......that was still in the wrapper mind you................

What a sunset last night had!!

I'm not sure how well these will look on here - but downloaded onto my computer and viewing as the whole screen - they turned out great.
There was an awesome sunset last night and I couldn't pass up taking a picture.

Have a good one. That is all I have to report.

Sesquicentenial Weekend!!

Well - this weekend has been quite the celebration here in Monroe City. This was their sesquicentenial weekend. 150 years....wow. Some people are still around that can remember the Centenial celebration. I know my friend Deb at work was just a little girl (like 3 or 4) and she was in some play or something. So for most of us.....this is the type of thing that we'll never see again. Water Tower Park was buzzing with HUNDREDS of people. And I don't think that hundreds is an overstated amount!!! There were many different stands set up for people to enjoy or look into. As well as food (yeeee haaaaa the kettle korn man was there!!!!!! I knew this Friday night - I staked him out after work!!)

We went to town around 9 and since the middle of town was soooo full we just opted to go out to the incoming road and park. The route was actually going to go down the business loop. We parked at the Vet Clinic and waited. Susie and crew came all the way to Keokuk to see the big event. She has a few pictures on her blog site that are much better than mine so check hers out if you like. (the link is on my page) In fact, my picture of my favorite entry of the parade (Garner's Funeral Home's first horse drawn herse) will NOT load onto this blog page as the whole picture. I've cropped it down so much that it's not even capturing the drivers, the horses or the light posts on the side. Anyhow, here it is and you can get the general idea. The big highlight of the parade, was of course the famous Budweiser Clydesdales Hitch. We see them at State Fairs; we see them at Grant's Farm; but there is nothing like seeing them clip-clopping down the streets of your own little home town such as Monroe City!!!!! [I apologize for the lighting of my pics......I think I had my finger on the lighting button instead of the zoom.....gaaahhhhhh]

See how light it is? You can barely even see the little dog up there on top. He was decked out in some kind of gold thing around him. Fancy Schmancy! lol

Those are the highlites. There were entries from the local banks, the feed store, the doctor's office, misc. clubs from town, horses, military personell, the high school band, the fire dept. had their 1928 first motorized fire engine in it, the good ol' Shriner's that ride their miniature bikes and cars. Those men scared the crap out of me as a kid......I still didn't really get into them. I think they left a lasting impression! LOL It was just a good ol parade all around. Am and I both really enjoyed it.

After the parade was over we talked with Susie, Bobbie her sister and their mother. They were fortunate to watch from "downtown". They were leaving as soon as the parade was over so they hunted us down and stopped at our perch on their way out. It was just a short visit. We made our next stop at water tower park. We roamed around for awhile and made our way to one of the L O N G food lines. I mean, it's noon and there's a million people doing the exact same thing - looking for food! LOL We were in line for almost an hour!! But it sure was good. The rain started shortly after we ate. Just a little bit - I mean it was not a down pour but it was much more than a sprinkle. It lasted 10 minutes probably. It stopped and I found my date with the kettle korn man!!! :) Down the block and to the North, we went over to North Park to the car show. They had a nice turn out also. Am's favorite was this car. I think it's a 1966 Chevy Impala Super Sport.

I only say "I think"...because I can't remember if it's a '66 or a '69 but I'm pretty sure it said 66. We milled around there for awhile and took one more look at the Clydesdales. They had florescent yellow "paint" stuff on their legs. I found out that it is whitener. It helps keep the white hair on the bottom of their legs white. I bet you didn't know that - did you!!!! As you can see, Am and "Smokey" were talking it over one last time. lol

We left and went out by the grocery store where they had several old tractors on display. Heaven forbid we didn't go look at THOSE!!! lol Then we went home for awhile and ended up going back to town around 8:30. There was to be a fireworks display at "dusk"......however, it didn't get started until about 9:20 - which by the way is NOT dusk....it's DARK!!!!!! I guess since the parade miraculously started on time - they had to screw up something!!!!! Once it got started it was nice. Until the rain came. They really didn't even get to have a "grand finale". I'm sure that the rain had much to do with it. Oh well. This is as good as the outcome got on my camera!!! I guess the speed of light doesn't take too well when you have a lower speed camera!! HA

We intended to go back to town this afternoon for the birthday cake/ice cream social - but we didn't. I hopped on the mower instead. And as with a few things yesterday, I mowed until the rain kind of downpoured that I had to stop! And I had only ONE STRIP left.....but it was a long one and Am was waving me in and had the garage door open for me! lol

Welll.....as Porky always said at the end of the cartoons........."bbbth bbbbtthhhhbbbbbttthhhh bbbbbttttthhhh THAT'S ALLLLL FOLKS........."