Southwest Florida Eagle Cam & Misc.

I know some of you like watching the eagle cams.  We have one here in Iowa in Decorah but the eagles here have been getting their nest ready so the female can lay her eggs soon.

Two eaglets have recently hatched in Florida so if you watch this web cam you can see them being fed several times during the day.

http://dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html#

Bill and Tim have been keeping busy going to various farm related classes since Christmas.  Bill always goes to the dentist, eye doctor and gets a physical this time of year. We've been working on all the paperwork for taxes and are now just waiting on the rest of our 1099's.  Farmers have to file taxes by Mar. 1.    

I've been keeping busy with P.E.O., Tues. Bible Study, and lunch & shopping with friends.  Great Niece, Lacey, just had her 11th birthday party which we were invited to at the Pocahontas bowling alley (6 lanes!).  We all had supper there and bowled a couple of games.  She got lots of nice gifts.  

A couple of weeks ago, I got to have lunch with friends at The Chocolate Season in Algona, a link to their web site is HERE.   It was very good, and I'm looking forward to going back.  They make everything there including quiches, soups, sandwiches, salads and desserts.  And very fancy chocolates.

I had the wild mushroom soup (loved it) and cranberry turkey sandwich.  For dessert I had chocolate truffle cheesecake - so good!   I also had the little bite of brownie you can see in the picture.  They serve a bite with every meal.  If you like chocolate, both of these desserts were amazing!  

We've had snow on the ground for quite a while now.  This weekend is warmer so some may melt.   We're supposed to get 1-2" of snow tomorrow and then around 4" and lots of wind Tues. and Wed.  They were thinking LOTS of snow at first but now we're down to 4".  The blowing snow will be the problem.  I have 3 things to go to on Tues. of course.  All may be canceled.   

Trees are Blooming!

The crabapple trees have been blooming in our area the past week or so.  I think they are so pretty.  We've now planted three of them in our yard.  Unfortunately, the little red bud tree seems to have died over the winter.  This was the second winter for it.  The leaves of all the trees are just coming out.  We have cut the grass once so far, and it's really growing fast.

Yesterday we got just enough rain to stop field work before noon, but then the sun came out and we were able to get going again by late afternoon.  The weather looks good now until Sun. night and then rain for several days.  They're saying 1.6" for us. 

Girl Fun

Today I have a couple of friends coming over for Bible Study and then lunch.  I like to do "girl food" like this and make it pretty.  Have learned a lot about "garnishing" and  presentation from my friends Terri and Debbie.  Today we are missing one of our friends.  She is just getting a cold and if it's anything like what Bill and others have had, it's terrible and she'll have it for a while.   Bill is still coughing pretty bad.  He's had his cold and everything that went with it since just after Christmas.

Today's menu is homemade chicken salad with pecans and grapes in a waffle bowl, French Breakfast Muffins that melt in your mouth, and fresh fruit.  I'll post the Betty Crocker recipe for the muffins next.  They are so good.   

It was very cold yesterday so we had sun dogs.  The picture below was taken at sunset.  This morning the sun is shining brightly but the temp. is -8 and -21 wind chill even though the wind is only 6 mph.  Brrrrr. 

 

Snow Yesterday

This is what it looked like here yesterday.  We got about 5" of snow.  Today the roads are good and it's a bright sunny day.   Even with the sun shining bright, at 3:45 pm it's 5 degrees and -11 wind chill.

Bill is working on our corn head.  He sent me to West Bend on a parts run.  Very small parts this time.  Dropped off our recycling in town on my way through.

In the first picture you can barely see the train coming on the right.

 

Very Cold & Windy

Like a lot of the country, it is super cold and today, very windy.  Yesterday the wind chill was -24 most of the day.  As I was driving home from visiting someone, the car said -12 at 6:00 last night.  I've been staying home as much as possible and lucky to be able to.  We were planning to go to Ft. Dodge today with Bill's mom and celebrate her birthday but will have to postpone that.  It's snowing now - and blowing.  With light snow, we have white out conditions here if it's windy.

A couple of days ago, we got 6" of snow so Bill was out moving drifts.  Luckily he has big winter toys to do it with.

Usually when we get a lot of snow, we can still see grass or pavement because it always blows around so much.  We just have drifts.

Looked like we had visitors Tues. night!  Lots of tracks around the whole house.  Maybe they were looking for a way in with it so cold!  The robin's nest is staying put no matter what the weather is!

We've been having sun dogs with it being so cold lately.  This one was yesterday morning as the sun was coming up.  I hadn't heard of sun dogs until moving here so if you also would like to know more about them, click HERE.   And HERE are lots more pictures.

 

Clay County Fair

Thursday, Bill and I went to the Clay County Fair in Spencer.  The link/web site says it has the second largest agricultural exposition in N. America.  Everyone here likes it much better than the Iowa State Fair which is in Des Moines.  It was an overcast, cold day to go, but that meant less people.  

I really didn't take pictures this time - just these of Farmer Bob. It was "Thank a Farmer Day" at the fair.

I still appreciate not working and being able to do these fun things during the week!!

We always split up - Bill goes to check out the new and bigger farm equipment and looks at tools, and I go check out all the booths in the buildings and occasionally a show.  Last year I wasted a bunch of time watching cherry pie judging so didn't make that mistake this year.  (they didn't talk about the pies entered at all so I didn't learn any tips)   We meet for lunch and then split up again until we're done.  

Even though it was cold this time (last year was perfect!), we always look forward to going at the end of the summer and before we get busy, and then it's kinda sad when it's over. 

This morning the temp. was right around 33 so we had a little frost in the yard but looks like my flowers next to the house may have been spared this time. 

Fun Spring Porch Decor

We've had about 2" of rain the past five days or so and are trying to patiently wait for the fields to dry to get back out there.  We have our corn planted and have been working on the beans.  We have about three more days of planting to go to be done - about 700 acres.  Some of the corn is starting to come up.  Temperatures are still cool and our furnace is running at night for sure.

Spring is finally slowly arriving.  The leaves are just barely starting to come out, the grass has been greening up and a few people have cut their grass.  I'm going to cut ours for the first time today.  

Another sign of spring is what I've been watching on our front porch.  A pair of robins started building a nest in the corner of our porch swing!

They did a real neat job and they were fast!  As soon as the nest was done, the female layed four blue eggs within two days.  

I Googled info. about robins' nests and found out that they normally lay four eggs.  It takes about two weeks for them to hatch and then about two weeks for them to fly away.  It's been fun watching the process, and I wonder if they will come back and build a nest in the same spot next year.

The beautiful Orioles are also back.  They are such a bright orange and black.  I love to see them.  The feeder for them is right near the robins' nest so I can see them both from the couch or chairs in our living room. 

Signs of Spring

After many days of near zero or below this winter, but with almost no snow, we're finally starting to see some signs of spring.  Today we had a couple of sprinkles but now at 6:00, it's sunny, windy and 55.

We were on our way to Peggy's house a couple of weeks ago and saw her neighbors riding their horses.  This is still such a fun sight for me to see since we didn't see this in my area of Indiana.

Recently I was in a hardware store and faintly heard some chirping and came upon about 5 containers of baby chicks in various colors/breeds for sale.

I've been watching to see if the new tulips and daffodils I planted were poking through the ground but they're not.  Today I thought to look to see if the older ones next to the house with south sun were coming up and they are!  (about 2" tall)  Daffodils are my favorite flower so I hope to have LOTS of them planted around here eventually.

Some bad news though is that we have two of our two year old new grove trees that look very dead and we're worried about several others that aren't looking too good.  If you've been reading the blog for a while, you might remember we planted 175 new trees two springs ago and watered them during these past two years of drought.  Bad timing for a new grove.  We sure hope most of them take off growing good this spring and summer.

The third Decorah eaglet hatched this morning - yay!  They thought the eggs might not hatch at all this year due to the extreme cold and snow they had in northeastern Iowa after the eggs were layed.  Here's another link to watch the live web cam.  HERE
 

We Need Rain

While my home state of Indiana has gotten 3-5" of rain causing flooding today, we have gotten just some sprinkles off and on.  We keep hearing of more peoples' wells drying up in this area since we've had very little snow or rain for two years.  We're supposed to get a couple of inches of snow tonight. 

Several of you enjoyed watching the Decorah (Iowa) Eagle Cam a couple of years ago.  Here's the LINK again.  The first eaglet hatched just yesterday.  

 
 

Winter Continues

I had never heard of sun dogs until moving to Iowa.  With the super cold temps. this winter, I've seen a few.  Most of the time it's hard to take a good picture of them since they're usually not real close to the sun.  This week, they were especially pretty one night at sunset.  Not the best picture since I just took it from inside the house!

Yesterday the roads were good so we were able to go north to Blue Earth (MN) to watch our niece play basketball.   She usually does the tip off at the beginning of the game.  (below - Ryanne in the dark uniform #33)  Unfortunately, her team lost but it was fun getting to watch them play, and Ryanne does a good job!  Bill's mom went with us and brother-in-law Dave's dad and significant other came from Omaha to see the game so it was a nice size cheering section for Ryanne!   After the game, we all went out for supper before we headed home.  

Ryanne, #33

We got 1-2" of snow overnight and this morning.  It's 17 degrees now at 4:15  and the sun has been out, but going to be well below zero again the next couple of nights. 

 

Beautiful Mornings

Friday and Saturday this week, we had especially pretty days.  We had hoar frost for the first time this winter I think.

Yesterday, I was babysitting and we went to Family Table for breakfast and then drove around Pocahontas looking at the trees.  The girls got a little tired of my picture taking, but they thought it was a pretty morning too.

It was 39 today - really warm compared to all the mostly frigid temps we've had all winter so far.

the Pocahontas County court house

Very sad that the Colts lost last night, but at least Denver won today.  It would be fun to watch them in the Super Bowl.

It's time to work on paperwork for taxes.  We got a real good start on that today.  

 

Dangerous Job

My brother and two of my nephews are trucking these days out of the Indianapolis area.  The roads there this week have been bad enough that the schools have remained closed after Christmas break all of this time.

Glenn was driving his semi south yesterday and saw all of these wrecks that this trucker took pictures of and made a YouTube video of.  My nephews were back on the icy roads yesterday too after some days off due to the weather in Indiana.

Last winter I went to Iowa City a day after weather like this and saw lots of trucks and vehicles still in the ditches like this.  After seeing something like this in person, it really makes you think twice before going any place during bad weather.   And makes me worry more about our guys out there every day.

January 2014

Like much of the country, we have record cold here in NW Iowa.  Unlike much of the country, we just have a little skiff of snow on the ground.  Today it's been very sunny but the temperature at 4:30 is -5, -27 wind chill and the wind is about 15 mph out of the west.

Last night most of us around here, including all of town, lost power for 2 1/2 3 hours at about 7:00 6:15 (corrections by Bill).  We hear that people's houses got down to around 50 degrees by the time the power came back on with the wind chill being so bad.

A few years ago, we bought a generator that will run our furnace, refrigerator, lights and more.  It was the best thing we ever did because after that, our power never went out!  Until last night.  We waited about 45 min. to see if the power would come back on quick like it does most of the time but it didn't, so Bill went out to fire up the generator.  We had our propane stove on in our living room the whole time, and it really warmed the place up.  It will run without power.  I've had it on this afternoon too.  While we waited for the power to come back on, Bill suggested we take down our Christmas tree which was a good idea.  It was down and all put away in no time. 

We are getting back to walking on the treadmill and trying to eat a little better.  Thought you all might enjoy this like I did.

What January Is For

Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house,
nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I’d nibbled, the fudge I did taste,
all the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I remembered the marvelous meals I’d prepared,
the gravies and sauces and beef nicely rare.
The pies and the cakes, the bread and the cheese,
and the way I never said, "No thank you please."
As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt,
and prepared once again to do battle with dirt--
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can’t spend the winter disguised as a man!"
So away with the last of the sour cream dip,
get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished,
‘till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won’t have a cookie, not even a lick,
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore ---
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot ...
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

-- Anonymous


 

Go Colts !!!

I was starting to work on a blog post about growing vanilla on Tahiti and looking for all the pictures and info. I wanted to use which got me organizing ALL the pictures of the trip to make blogging about them easier.  One thing led to another. 

The temperature is dropping.  We were in the balmy high 20's yesterday.  It's been about 14 most of the day today and windy.   The arctic temperatures are due here too this weekend like much of the rest of the country minus the big snow Indiana is to get. 

Bill is out working in the shed.  I went out and took pictures yesterday of what's been going on out there lately for a blog post soon.

Now it's time for the Colts playoff game so will just say for now:  GO COLTS!!! 

We Are Done

As of today, we are officially done with harvest.  Bill & Tim got done with anhydrous today, and I ripped the last field.  We got done combining Thurs. evening just before the elevator closed.  I was right behind the combine ripping that field when Bill's brother Jim got here so he took over.  Then he ripped the bean field end rows over the weekend.  Now all of the equipment has to be power washed and put away before the snow starts although we did have an inch one day last week.

We had a fairly warm but windy day yesterday so I got busy and took out window screens and scrubbed them and our outdoor chairs and things to get them put away clean.  Also cut off iris leaves and some other perennials.  I'd like to get a few windows washed but supposedly rain is coming in the next couple of days so maybe it's a good thing I haven't gotten to them yet. 

the anhydrous rig - long!

corn peeking above the top of the combine

our last harvest meal made for us by Aunt Bette Jo

the snow we had already last week

Concrete on a Very Hot Day

The concrete trucks started arriving this morning at 7:25.  The guys are pouring the last third of our machine shed & shop today.  The temp. is supposed to get up to 92 this afternoon.  Humidity is 97% right now. I think Bill said we'd have 8 loads of concrete today to finish the floor.  This shed is going to be really nice for the guys to work on equipment in when it's done.  They've been doing that at Uncle Tim's shed, but the equipment has gotten bigger over the years and they're running out of space.  

While they're out there sweating and working hard, I'm in the air conditioning making deviled eggs and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies this morning to go along with grilled ribeye sandwiches and potato salad for lunch.

We are still needing rain.  We've really only had two rains this summer - 1" and 1/2".  The outlook for the crops is not good.

I finally got to try Zumba Wed. night.  My friend, Marie, and I went to Jazzercise faithfully for several years and really liked it so I've always been curious about Zumba since it sounded similar - and it is.   It's just faster paced.  I know a couple of women, one older than me and one younger, who love it and have both lost 60 pounds.  I don't know if I'll go back or not.  It is hard on the knees due to the speed that you do everything, but it was fun!  (mostly young girls that look like Barbie dolls there . . .)  I just need to get in the habit of at least walking either on the treadmill or outside.     

Back to the cookies ...

Visitors

We had visitors today.  One of our landlords died last year so her daughter and son inherited the farm.  The daughter used to visit her grandparents on the farm when she was young and had not been back for many years.  She lives in eastern Iowa.  So she and her husband drove over today and had lunch with us and Tim.  They negotiated the cash rent we'll pay them for the next year and we took her to see the farm and where we all live, town, etc.  Bill helped her find her grandparents' graves in the cemetery.

We fed them a good summertime farm meal of breaded baked pork chops, corn on the cob, fresh green beans with ham, sliced tomatoes, and cherry pie with ice cream.  

We are having near 100 degree heat this week.  Kids all over Iowa are getting out of school every day after lunch since most schools here don't have air conditioning.  Seems like that's a good reason to not start back when it's still Summer!  The crops will not fare very well in this heat we're afraid - and without rain.  We are going to water our trees this evening. (we planted about 175 new trees last summer and had to water them through the drought of last year but they have made it so far)

So Cute

Monday was Diane's little one's 3rd birthday, and we were invited for supper and cake.  Diane said I could come early and help with the cake as Camry wanted a Barbie cake.  But it was actually going to be a Tinkerbell cake because Tinkerbell was one of her birthday gifts.  Diane had me Google Tinkerbell doll cakes, and I saw the one she wanted to try to make:

Then I Googled fondant icing and told Diane I would try to make some so we could make these leaves.  A recipe I found was melted mini marshmallows (in the microwave), a lot of conf. sugar and some kneading.  So I made the fondant and thought it seemed like it was right and took it over to Diane's where Lacey & I rolled it out and cut the leaves out by hand and made marks for the veins with a knife and she snipped the edges of some with kitchen shears.  Diane matched more icing to the fondant color and frosted the cakes and wrapped Tinkerbell's legs with plastic wrap and stuck her down in the cake she had made in a Pampered Chef batter bowl.  We were quite proud of how ours turned out!

 

 

with her guitar on her back

In other news, we had another dry day today.  Here is Bill and Brian leaving to go try to work a field to plant and then Tim leaving to roll a field so I assume some beans have been planted.  I haven't called to see what's going on since the conditions they're working in are not good.  ** He just got in and said he got 90 acres done - out of 950 that needs to be done and the rest of the fields are too muddy.  Not good.

Bill & Brian with field cultivator

Tim with roller

More Rain and Standing Water Plus Damage

After having another half inch of rain this morning, Bill came home for lunch and I suggested that we go up to Emmetsburg to Sum Hing for lunch - nothing else going on with all this rain we've been having.  So we did, where we had some good Moo Goo Gai Pan and Sweet & Sour Shrimp.  Then we went east to Lost Island Lake.  I had never seen it.  Always fun to drive around and watch people having summer fun at a lake at their campers or lake houses and dream about living somewhere with a view of the water and riding around on jet skis.  Today it didn't look like so much fun with all the mud everywhere.

Lost Island Lake, Ruthven, IA

Came across this cute little church.






Then we drove back south - and west of Pocahontas - just west of Diane's house.  She had told me this morning that there were straight line winds during the storm last night ( we got .8" with that storm) and quite a bit of damage to places that had been destroyed only two years ago by a tornado.  Sure enough, some of the same people who are rebuilding were hit again.  In this first picture is a new house under construction where their house and a greenhouse was destroyed before.  They say they'll have to start over on this house now.

Shed destroyed and pieces scattered.

The right end of this building is torn up.

These people go to the church I do.

Lots of debris scattered in fields again and some was still on the roads.  This next picture is not part of Lost Island Lake - it's in a field.  We saw lots of this today and worse in this area around Pocahontas than ours.

There are lots of lakes in the fields.

We had company from Indiana yesterday - Bob & Judy Huber.  Bob farmed for years and had hogs so he's been wanting to see our operation.  Mom has known them since her school years.  (I forgot to ask if I could take their picture)  We showed them around, had lunch and they were off for Omaha.  We checked the radar which showed purple where they were going so called them and they came back to wait until the storm passed.  We hope they didn't still drive through bad weather on their way southwest.

Glenn is driving a semi in the Colorado Springs area where there are wildfires.  This weather is crazy.