Unbelievable

A record early fall start for the Kemnas.  This is the dairy's corn and it was starting to fall due to the drought so they wanted it combined even though the moisture in the corn itself is a little too high yet.  Bill says our corn is still standing.  Lots of other guys are combining now.

Bill in the combine, Tim in the tractor

Quick Post

I have so many more pictures to post and things I've seen lately to talk about!  

Today is the start of combining for us!  This is record early - Bill says they've never started this early - and everyone is starting with corn which is also unusual.  Other guys have been going for a few days but we didn't have any ready until now.

Still no rain and we're in the group of NW Iowa counties in a Red Alert for fire due to the super dry and hot conditions.  It was close to 100 yesterday and very windy and to be in the mid 90's today with no rain in sight.

I'm watering trees this morning while Bill & Tim are getting started combining.  You can see how much the austrees have grown already even in this record dry and hot summer thanks to lots of watering!  You can see what they looked like in the pickup.  We had to plant them about 2' in the ground and then cut them off at waist height.  Now they're taller than me.  We will still have a few windy winters with the old grove being gone until all the new trees get bigger.

new austrees

2 rows of them on the north edge since they are fast growing trees

getting tall and wide

    

Still Dry

Much of the state has received nice amounts of rain lately but still not us.  We got 2/10" a couple of days ago.  We're hoping some comes from the hurricane but it's looking like it's going to go south and east of us.

I'm mowing our yard today only because it's long around the four new trees we planted in the yard this year and have been watering, where the septic system is and we have a couple of long strips on the north side of our house.  The weeds keep growing no matter what seems like. 

There is some corn being combined east of Peggy's house today.  The colors of the landscape are changing - early! 

The American Gothic House

My most anticipated and fun stop on my trip home from Peoria across southeastern Iowa was in Eldon, Iowa to see the original American Gothic House and the pie lady, Beth Howard, who lives in the house and sells her homemade pies every weekend in the summer. She calls it the Pitchfork Pie Stand.  I had read about all of this a few months before so planned that I would come home through this area which was only a little out of the way.

First I stopped in the new looking American Gothic House Center where there was the famous painting, displays and a gift shop.  They have costumes and a pitch fork so that you can pose in front of the house - which I did.  They will take your picture for you for $2.
 
Then I went over to the actual American Gothic House to check out the pies.  Beth was on her way out for a trip to appear on Marie Osmond's show so I didn't get to meet her.  I did buy an apple pie and her signed book, Making Piece a memoir of love, loss and pie.

Her life has been interesting.  She was not happy with her marriage to a workaholic so asked him for a divorce hoping that that would get his attention.  Instead he kept working and died suddenly.  She felt like she killed him and missed him terribly.  She threw herself into making pies which is her therapy.  I won't tell you more - you'll just have to read her book!  I'm about half finished with it now.  I'm including some links HERE, HERE and HERE where you can click and read about the famous American Gothic House, see some videos of Beth, inside her house and her blog, The World Needs More Pie.  My next post will include some more pictures of my very fun visit. 

More of Southeastern Iowa

Here are a couple more stops I made on my way home from my stamping weekend in Peoria, IL.  I saw this neat little shelter with cross and benches and the tree trunk carved into praying hands outside a church near Altoona, IA.

Pretty shelter with benches

Ivy Centennial United Methodist Church

I stopped at this farm stand and brought home the best cantaloupe!  I didn't realize I was in the Muscatine area or I would've bought more than one!  Read about this area that is known for its melons HERE.  The sandy soil near the Mississippi River south of Muscatine, Iowa is ideal for growing fruit and vegetables.  

Farm stand in the Muscatine, IA area - known for Muscatine melons

Pella, Iowa

Another fun place I ran across on my trip home from Peoria was Pella, Iowa.  Uncle Neal and Aunt Jan stopped there on the way to see us the year we got married and thought I'd like it so I've always wanted to go there. They have a big Tulip Festival every spring that I'd like to go to sometime.  This year with the early warm spring, the tulips bloomed much earlier than their festival time.  The tulips line many of the streets.  You can see where they would be from the last pictures where the summer flowers now are in a row between the sidewalk and the street.

I was going through Pella on a Sun. so most things were closed.  Will have to check out all the shops another time.