Naked Ladies...

Nope, the title of this post is not a mistake, it is about Naked Ladies. The flower that is...

My wife noticed them coming up alongside the driveway and soon after in a few other spots where an outbuilding used to sit. They bloomed at the beginning of August and have now faded away. For those of you who want to refer to them as another name they are also called a Belladonna Lily.

 

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Family Reunion & Traveling

The first weekend of August was spent along the Iowa/Minnesota border attending the Anderson Family Reunion; extended family of Alyssa. Plenty of time on the lake, the river canoeing, and sitting around a fire. The boys were able to play with a puppy (all 50+ pounds) and the chickens at the house. The boys reinstated the idea that we need to have chickens, and I think by next Spring that'll probably be in the works. The oldest also got to drive a jet ski, with some help of course, and never wanted to leave the water. The youngest two had one night of camping in the tent alongside Alyssa and I, and I think that ended up being enough for them.

The boys also had a few science camp experiments thanks to a former school teacher that loves interactive play. Here's the middle boy having his fun during science time:

 

Following the reunion I had a trip to Hutchinson, Kansas with work so the next thing we knew we were headed into the middle of August!

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Catching Up...

It has been awhile...

This past weekend was finally cooler, albeit still well in 80s and humid, and we managed 1.77 inches of rain with a few rounds of thunderstorms. Friday night we headed out to another rodeo, this one in the small town of Circleville just to our north. Not too many riders showed up, perhaps because it was the Friday evening rather than Saturday, but the boys still enjoyed seeing the animals. The youngest is convinced that he wants to do Mutten-busting and has been wearing around his cowboy hat since the weekend.

Alyssa and I have also started and been working on our big project... Our new bedframe and headboard which will be solid wood, stained, and finished in the coming week (hopefully). I'll have a full post on this project once it is completed.



Oh... Last night I attempted to install the light in the basement bedroom, and ended up failing. Thankfully this wasn't really a fault of my own. The electrical box for the cieling fan was not mounted low enough to be flush with the drop down ceiling, hence the light fixture can't screw on. And for the icing on the cake, the screw into the center of the box for support broke at the base of the nut when I was going to attempt to lower it. Another day...

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County Fair Time!

This week was the local Jackson County Fair which included a parade Wednesday evening in Holton. The boys enjoyed picking up some candy after a few tense moments of not knowing where to put it or not realizing they were competing for it with adjacent kids. There were the usual local businesses, schools, 4-H groups, and of course politicians. Those were followed by tractors and horses, but there was one group missing, the fire trucks and ambulances. Just prior to the parade a local volunteer Fire Department truck was involved in an accident while in route to the parade. One of the firemen involved lost their life and the other had serious injuries. All of the surrounding fire departments agreed to drop out of the parade as a show of respect for their fellow volunteers.

Here's a few pictures from the parade, and a few from the fairgrounds as the boys checked out the animals. Rabbits have, at least for now, entered the top spot in animals we need to have just ahead of chickens. Goats are still in the running too, and of course cows and horses are always mentioned but are out of the running due to lack of barn and acres.

 

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Wildflower Identification: Prairie Blazing Star

We've entered the hot, and quickly drying, portion of the summer and as such many of the spring and early summer wildflowers have come and gone. But, a new selection of wildflowers have made their way into view. These will bloom during the heat of summer, July and August, many resilient to heat and drought conditions. A neighboring field had a few of these flowers, and when the oldest boys and I ventured back into our tallgrass we saw several on our property too! The Prairie Blazing Star lives us to its name being 3-5 feet tall and full of bright violet/purple flowers. It is also called Thickspike Gayfeather, being a part of the liatris (Gayfeather) genus of plants. There are several other liatrus wildflowers that have varying flower types and heights including Button, Dotted, and Scaly Gayfeather, but this is the tallest of them all.

 

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Rodeo Weekend

The heat continued into the weekend with heat indicies well into the 100s. We kept it cool through the day on Saturday and headed up to Holton Saturday evening for the Jackson County Rodeo. The boys enjoyed the animals in general, and had to pet a few of the sheep and steers used for the kids events and roping. The rodeo had bronco riding, mutten busting, steer riding, steer roping, team roping, barrel racing, and the finale of bull riding. The final bull rider, an incoming high school freshman, took a hard hit from the bull bucking. His helmet flew off and he was knocked unconscious, but it sounded as if he was going to be okay.

The remainder of the weekend included a trip to the farmers market for sweet corn, green beans, and more; mowing the lawn; and a look through the electrical fuse boxes to ensure they are marked correctly.

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Fun in the Sun(setting)

It's been hot outside here, as it has been for much of the Plains with temperatures in the 90s to near 100 and heat indicies in the 100s to 110s each afternoon. The boys have been bearing the afternoon heat by playing water table, sprinkler, or kiddie pools. Playtime in the cool downstairs is always a great alternative too, of course provided the three boys can handle being within a few feet of each other. The best time to enjoy the outdoors has been after dinner as the sun begins to set, and the temperature is only around 90 degrees.

There's the swing, trampoline, the usual water enjoyment, Frisbee, and more. A ride on the lawn mower was a request too after I finished the west side of our lawn. The dumping of the water after finishing play always leaves a few puddles to enjoy too.

Looks like the heat will subside for next week with more bearable temperatures near 90 degrees. We will also see the potential for thunderstorms return with chances nearly everyday next week too!

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Mowing...

I've mowed our 1+ acre yard with a 22" push mower many more times than I wanted to. It was taking around 8 hours and either many evenings or one very long weekend to accomplish. I was hoping to find a good used riding mower, but they are much harder to find than you'd imagine. Most purchase one and use it until it becomes destined for the scrap yard. This weekend I found a used Cub Cadet 46" riding mower that I was hoping didn't sell before I could look at it this afternoon. Unfortunately, it did. I decided to peruse through for sale postings once more as I left work and found another used Cub Cadet, this one a 2011, well taken care of, 50" cut, 25HP two cyclinder engine. Best of all I got it for the same price as the older, smaller one and the guy delivered it this afternoon.

The lawn was in desperate need of a mow so I got right to it this evening giving the boys a ride as I went up and down the yard. It's going to be a touch over 2 hours in the first go-around with the new rider, and I'm certain I can have it down to 1.5 hours once I'm used to the handle and width. The only negatives I've found is a glitch with engaging the PTO, the mow in reverse option must be on, and it seems as if in deep grass/weeds the blades are missing a swath. The cutting dilemma may be fixed with sharper blades and a few adjustments, but otherwise in typical grass it seems to do just fine. Finally looking forward to a bit of mowing!

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Wildflower Identification: Blue Verbena

A common wildflower with the plant varying in height from 2-7 feet tall, and most common along edges of gravel roads or other locations with gravely soil. Flowers appear more purple than blue, but nonetheless our flower below is called a Blue Verbena and is native to Kansas. There are several similar varieties of Verbena including Rose, Dakota, White, Woolly, etc. The Blue Verbena is however the tallest growing species in the Vervain family.

The inflorescences (remember that word from a prior post?) are narrow and spiky, measuring 2-6 inches long with many individual flowers. The flowers themselves are typically less than a 1/4 inch wide and are 5-parted. The example above has just started to bloom, so you can see a good variance in what the inflorescences may look like.

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Blowing In The Wind

Living in Kansas, and in the country means there is no shortage of wind throughout the year. The boys found a few pinwheels and have placed them between the house and detached garage. This past weekend we added a few more decorative pieces that are made to blow in the Kansas wind.

Turtle wind chime on the detached garage

Bee with propellers that will move in the wind

Reclaimed wood spinner painted by my parents

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