More of Sunday

It was time for some new photos while the weather was still good.
My meeting on Sunday was in Beloit, Kansas at Joyce and Ken's house in the country. They own a landscape and greenhouse business in town.

We took some walks around the acreage to see the sights.

This is their pond, complete with Koi. They are getting this area ready for a wedding in June. To the right is a free standing screened in porch area and in the back is their garage which is an old schoolhouse moved onsite long ago. It still has chalkboards in it. So cute!

Many properties have these old pieces of farm equipment and machinery.

This one is a really neat old combine.

Down by the creek, the shadows were long. Time for a self-portrait.


On the drive home, I stopped by to see the harvest work going on where hubster was working and driving from there, saw this large flock of wild turkey crossing the road, there were probably triple that amount, but by the time the camera was out, this was the tailend of the group. This is out the windshield and a little impromptu and hurried, but you get the idea. I stopped and listened to them trickle on through the woods doing their little turkey calls.


And from the section road just a mile from my house, this great Kansas sunset! Ahhh, the perfect end to a perfect day!

Where I Stand Sunday

The planter sows the seed
the earth opens wide..
it nurtures
it keeps
it welcomes the sun and rain.
Patiently, the harvester watches
as the crop evolves.

This is the sweet corn patch, we have been watching and praying for every day, for the last 59 days. The rain the other night laid some of it flat in the center of the field. Hubster is making a plan to go into it and prop it back up. It is truly a labor of love. Compared to last year's crop, this one is a big success so far. Notice we have wire strung, high and low. The low stuff has an electrical current running through it. Today I got to (I mean "too" - can't believe I mispelled it) close and found out how much of a zap it has. Wow. But...it has kept the critters from getting into it and devouring it to nothing, like last year. This field is out of our sight, it's around the trees, so we can't babysit it. I am amazed at how things grow here. You can almost hear it grow. Here are a few more photos of our beloved cornfield. The beercans have coins in them that rattle when the wind blows...did I say wind blow? Ha. Try gale, most of the time. I knew there was a reason we were drinking all this beer!

and lastly - the pond, whose level goes up and down with the rain. Right now it is just below the 3 foot mark. The (poisonous) tiny toads are approaching our house and dog enclosure at a high rate of speed...Herman tries to eat one daily. Hope he makes it through the rest of the summer.

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell. If you would like to also post this subject, please let me know. There are several of us (see my sidebar) and we would love to add your blog to our list.

The Busy-ness Crescendo

It has started. This morning we drove 19 miles to Nebraska to buy wood for a storage closet in the studio. Got to the P.O. to mail off Valentimes (as my brother used to call them when he was little). Hubster got some new toys at the farmstore for outside, and a big woodstove (on sale of course) with blower to install in the shop that will heat the shop and studio next cold season.
The crescendo is beginning - now we are outside more. Looking around at what needs tweaking. Erosion and run off is a happenin' thing today. The run-off is happening again from the acreage to the south. We have a "river running through it"! Will have to contact 'Mr. Conservation Farmer' to remind him he is losing farmland - to us. We thought about letting it go and letting it be an extension of our already pond. Less mowing. But more bugs, I suppose.
We graveled the muddy driveway last year, but the mud is pushing through the gravel. It's not as yucky as last year, though when we literally had pieces of cardboard to walk on from the house to the studio. I felt like I was jumping on lilypads. Ribbit - ribbit.
I have discovered a new surface to do pastels on called "Pastelboard" by Ampersand. Wowee! It is expensive but very great! I started a new pastel just this afternoon. It says you can do acrylic painting on it too. I will have to let you know on that one. I did buy two pieces in Denver - a big one and a little one. Guess which piece I am using right now?
So, I think I will get back to the studio and do a little more. Later! Hope you are painting today too!