Tractor Parade

We watched a tractor parade last weekend. I vaguely remember reading about it in the local newspaper, but since we live so far out of town, I didn’t pay much attention. Just and Gene and I finished our 3 plus hours of mowing, we loaded up in the Kubota to go fertilize some trees. As we headed down the hill, I could see the line of tractors coming towards us. We parked at the end of the drive and watched a line of 20-30 mostly vintage tractors drive by. Each displayed an American flag and most of the drivers were standing and waving at us as they went by. We got several thumbs up as they pointed at our Kubota Utility Vehicle. I’m certain they were envious. We do, after all, have air conditioning! It was quite a site to see a long line of tractors climbing the hill on the county highway. I suspect that their parade route was over 30 miles long. We had quite a chuckle as they passed and we saw a few cars that were unfortunate enough to be on the road at the same time. They all seemed to be taking it in stride.  What a great celebration of country life!

You know it is humid when . . .

You know it is humid in Iowa when even the frogs want to come inside.  I opened the door last night to see a tiny frog clinging to the screen door hoping to get a blast of air conditioning.  I'm not sure he appreciated the flash on my camera.

Weeds are a Good Thing

I use to be a perfectionist in caring for our lawn in town. I mowed every five days and hired a lawn service to come out and spray weeds and fertilize five times a year. We have already discussed why I'm done with fertilizer (See July posting). Now I have decided that weeds are a good thing. They quickly fill in the bare areas that have developed in the August heat. They have pretty little flower that seem to pop up overnight. And clover is really, really green! When I look at the 50 gallon tank and think about filling it with weed killer, I convince myself that weeds are a good thing. The only place that I really can't tolerate weeds is in the two mile long drive (notice that the driveway is getting longer as the heat and humidity settle in?)