Plymouth County

I got some early fall pictures in this morning. These were taken near Moville. Perfect examples of Iowa. The Loess Hills. It was a "Picture Perfect" day. as you can see. Can we somehow postpone winter? Can we stay in this spot awhile longer? Fall is such a grand time of year.

Clay County Fair

It's been at least 2 years since we've been to the Clay County Fair. I jumped at the chance to go with a friend and have Ron come get me later on. So I did all the usual things andenjoyed a really warm day. We went through the 4-H building. Didn't seem to be as many as exhibits as when my kids were doing 4-H. And from the club they were in, I didn't recognize any of the kids' names. We saw the comercial buildings with all the vendors from wash machines, to vibrating chairs, to baskets and mops and seed corn and, well, you get the idea. If I'd been any bit impulsive I'd have bought these great pruning shears. They had extendable arms so they could reach 6-10 ft overhead, there were smaller pruning shears and clippers as well. 3 different sets all for only a fair special of $75.00. Cool.
Then there was this really fabulous steam mop that had all the bells and whistles. I liked the water holder on the top of the handle, and that the water heated beyond boiling, and and, and the mop covers were thrown in to boot! Only $129. Well, I looked. I longed for. But I didn't buy.
We watched the acrobat show. That was pretty neat. Acrobats on a sway bar 80' overhead. Juggling and balancing and that sort of stuff.
And how could I forget the food. Nothingtastes better than fair food. Nothing is probably more fattening either... Oh well, don't think about that. Ate a pulled pork sandwich from Oak Tree, and had a strawberry smoothie. Delish!
We did not go through the animal barns, and did not see the KICD train this year. We did run into old friends. All in all, it was the fair at its best! I didn't have my camera along, so you'll have to use your imagination to picture the fair.

Thursday evenings

I love Thursday evenings in Orange City! Don's and Woudstra's grill Bratwurst and..some other grillable meat. And tonight as an added treat there was pfoerjtes. You know, that yummy dutch treat that every one else in the world only gets during Tulip festival time. Those of us that live here, though, get them occasionally during the summer. Mmmmm yum. Hmmm. Seems to me I was saying I was back on the no eating wagon earlier. Way too easy to fall off! Anyway, Bratwurst and Thursday night go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Salt and pepper. Tonight was no different. yumm.

Dreaming Hoping

We took a bike ride at a place called the Adam's House Preserve near North Sioux City on Sunday morning. It was the most perfect of late summer days, and the trail itself was stunning. We rode through sunny meadows, past the big wide Missouri River, through shady tree lined paths. There were wetlands, and fields. I felt like I was riding through a dream. It was a hint of a place I've been to before, or maybe it was like a place that I'm waiting for. As I rode through all I could think of was 'what is this strange feeling i have inside?' Overwhelming.
"O Lord, make me kow my end and what is the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting I am...And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

Supper

This is Edgar's in Elk Point, SD. Someone had told Michelle about this place-a pharmacy with a soda fountain. We had to try it out, but our problem was we didn't find out that it closed at 6 on Friday and wouldn't be open for the rest of the weekend until it was late in the afternoon. There was nothing for it but to have ice cream for supper if we wanted to try it out at all. Oh, the sacrifices. Ron and I did share the sundae on the left, though. It was a peanut butter cup surprise and it had two scoops of ice cream. One cherry nut, one vanilla. Plus it had two whole peanut butter cups in it. I could have eaten the whole thing myself. I'm glad I didn't though. It was plenty to get me through to...oh wait, we had pudgy pies later. Man, it was an eating weekend. I'm back on the wagon tomorrow. Honest.

Little Dutch Boys

Ok, so I know it's way past Tulip time but really there are so many more opportunities to do all the 'flower' pictures and the touristy sorts of things this time of year over May. See those marigolds behind the boys? Looks pretty good, huh! Really, just as good as any old tulip picture, and way more unique I think! Besides, I have a ton of pictures of these boys in the tulips. And that dutch shoe? Now that was a hit! The boys could have played in there all afternoon and had there picture taken over and over. In fact, they had to take my picture too....

Well, I was too big to fit in the frame, and the camera was definitely too heavy to hold up high enough. This was good enough, don't you think?

So anyway, I have this great new set of Dutch, Orange City pictures of these little Dutch Boys. It's great!

Grandkids

We spent the weekend with our two oldest grandsons. Then sent them home to their unsuspecting parents! Actually, they probably suspected all along that we are pushovers. Want seconds of dessert, or ice cream for every meal, or 3 snacks a day, or to stay up and bounce on the bed til exhaustion sets in? Ok, so it wasn't quite that bad, but close enough. We played in the park, walked the dog, ate a bunch of really unhealthy stuff so that by day 2 (Saturday) I could hardly get up off the couch. Do you think they'll want to come back again? I think so!