Friday is buck day, back before fall

The bucks are showing up more often this past week and here are a couple of examples.

Bee on a thistle

Trying to get every last drop of nectar before the cold winter sets in.

The bee population, both bumble and honeybee, has been down in recent years. This time of year they are attracted to thistles in bloom. Although we are in a battle to eradicate the weed, the need of the bees and assorted butterflies is in conflict with the need to remove this noxious and pervasive plant.

We'll give them a few more days before removing the thistle.

Ray of light

It has been a day full of clouds, rain and the usual depressing type of feeling. I was driving home and found this in the sky:

My first thought was that someone was having the light shine upon them, at least for a brief moment, while the rest of us were left in the dreary shadows.

My next thought was to wish the blessings of a ray of light onto each of my readers. You may be just up the road, around the world or someone a thousand miles away. Maybe the light can give comfort, heal a hurt or add a little joy to your lives. We could all use it from time to time and I truly hope you find a ray of comfort, healing or joy for yourselves.

In my case, I never quite caught up to this ray of light.

Perhaps tomorrow...

If I find mine, I would gladly give it up for someone else if they need it.  Just let me know.

Monday moms - follow the leader

Mom leads these twins between the apple trees:

War on weeds

Enjoyed the weekend of mowing:

Cutting weeds:

And mowing again:

Gotta keep up in the battle against the various weeds and grasses that grow on the acreage.

I hope the rest of my readers enjoyed a relaxing weekend.

Tadpoles on the water

After a long day, relax white watching tadpoles as they swim up to the water surface.

Reptiles in unexpected places

In our small shed, one stall is used for storage of lumber from Dad's estate, small equipment, a small boat, tools... You get the idea. I have a stack of cardboard and used some to transport some replacement windows. While sliding cardboard off the stack, I heard a buzzing sound.

First thought - bumble bees.
 (I've had run-ins with these guys before. They attack the face and I'm ugly enough without swelling from bee stings.)

I threw the cardboard to the ground and stood back expecting a swarm to emerge from the rest of the stack in the shed but nothing. The buzzing stopped. Moving the stack again the buzzing returned.

Now my curiosity compelled me to poke around but cautiously. The sound was on the left in an old tarp. Lifting it, I pulled it back to reveal a tail slapping against the tarp which amplified this ~18 inch fox snake:

Looking at me, it flitted its tongue and continued slapping its tail against the tarp. I snapped the picture a bit late to get this shy snake. It tired of my curiosity and started to climb deeper into the tarp.

I need all the help I can get to keep the mouse population down. Those creatures make their way into the tractor engine where they make nests of bales of hay and tend to chew wires for no nutritional value.

I'll keep the snakes.

Day off - Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Along with our previous day off at the Czech & Slovak Museum, we also spent an afternoon at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. We were unaware that admission is free for the summer (until Sept. 1st), so if you want a few hours of reflection, take some time to visit. A list of current exhibitions is here.

When it comes to art, I know what I like and what I don't like. I'll skip the art of shoes display and the "landscapes" exhibits, along with a couple of others. The following three exhibits are where we spent the most time:

Terra Nova ceramics exhibit and the number and variety of projects stood out. Some serious and others amusing, this exhibit had some beautiful pieces worthy of display. From some fragile creations to a large toad stool like piece that might have trouble getting into a kiln, these three dimensional works were created over a ten-year span.

Into the Blue exhibit gave visitors a chance to view works in the color blue, created by artists throughout Iowa. Artists used a variety of forms, from photographs, oils, mixed-media and others, we were impressed by the work of some of the artists that make Iowa their home.

Grant Wood, of course.

Young Corn

The one painting that stood out for us (for some reason), Autumn Oaks:

It was my first visit to the museum and it was worth it. We may return before the end of the month and visit the Into the Blue exhibit and ask if we can take a few pictures and take notes on the artists. Maybe they have works available because I do enjoy the blues.

A former coworker came by for a visit to the farm several years ago and made the remark that our place looked like a Grant Wood painting. You be the judge:

March, 2013:

August, 2019. towards the cabin:

I don't own all of the hills in these pictures, just a small one that slopes to the east.

Monday moms - eating and resting

After a full day of eating grass and cherry tree leaves:

...it's time to take a rest at night:

Getting cleaned up

It's about time that I cleaned up the damage from the storm in May. The deck and several poles from this mess had washed to the dam and it was interfering with the overflow pipe soon after the storm.

I dragged it away from from the pipe and up onto the dam but I left it and it needed to be taken care of. It really was past time to clean it up (the neighbors were starting to talk.)

I mowed around it for the last time. Now after a couple of days of work, I finished up some of the needed cleanup Saturday. It looks a lot better:

I still have work to do with some debris on the west side of the pond and this water hazard:

With my regular paying job interfering with the farm work, I don't think I can get this cleaned up in time for the Stranded Tree Farm Labor Day Regatta. It might be useful as a marker to make the turn before heading to the landing.

The poles with be used in another project that I've been mulling and the deck has been dissembled. The deck boards will be used to reinforce the little bridges that I have over the pond inlets and to complete the fence around the berries. The 2x8's was used on the target backstop as it was needing to be built back up. My tightwad tendencies require me to recycle as much as I can.

Getting things cleaned up or mowed makes people think somebody cares about the place:

Friday is buck day - off in the weeds

A couple of bucks in August:

Legacy tree update - our Kentucky coffeetree

Planted from seed from David, this Kentucky coffeetree has been one the the highlights of the farm. David gave us about a gallon of seeds and we had difficulty in getting them started. We found many of the planted seeds in 2011 ended up as a food supply to ants but this specimen has been a success.

On 8/31/13, about 2 and a half feet tall:

On 8/31/14, about 3 feet tall:

On 8/9/19, at about 9 feet tall:

It's giving a little shade but what is interesting is that the other coffeetrees are about 4 feet tall. I'm encouraged that we are on the right track when we can chronicle the growth of many trees that we planted and give our readers some idea of our vision.

This tree's legacy represents not only my father, in a sense his legacy is in every tree, but mainly for the generosity and encouragement from David.

Coffeetree was one wood that my dad often worked with. Once stained, it can pass as red oak and he referred to it as a "poor man's oak." I have a bookcase that I built years ago that currently holds much of my video collection with only one shelf dedicated to books.

This is not the true Stranded Tree but is one of our favorites.

Oak quotes

In the same vein as The Sapling, I found a few quotes regarding acorns and oaks:

"The dream in your heart may be bigger than the environment in which you find yourself. Sometimes you have to get out of that environment to see that dream fulfilled. It’s like planting an oak sapling in a pot. Once it becomes rootbound, its growth is limited. It needs a great space to become a mighty oak. So do you." - Darren Hardy, "The Compound Effect"

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In creating, the only hard thing is to begin: a grass blade's no easier to make than an oak."- James Russell Lowell

"You cannot plant an acorn in the morning, and expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of an oak." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never see the fruit." - Marcus Tullius Cicero, "Tusculanarum Disputationum"

Something to think about when I plant acorns this fall and seedlings in the spring.

I have a supply of white oak from the boys, pin oak from the neighbor next to the homestead and red oak from up the street. My previous white oak source was taken down this past year to expand a parking lot - yes, a parking lot.

Some call it progress...

Tuesday Triumph - a look back to June

I'm going through our files for Triumph and here's one from June:

I have no recent pictures and we are missing her. There were a couple of pics from July but after a closer look, I can't be convinced it is her. I don't post any deceptive pictures (unless it is for entertainment purposes only.)

Of course we are sad that we haven't seen her in a while and we're worried. We haven't seen an accident around the roads and I haven't discovered her around the acreage.

I hope no one is offended that I took a few liberties in an effort to inject humor onto the blog with a little editing. 

Maintenance - 8/12/19

I updated the comments to allow non-google accounts but you will have to go to the "View web version" when on a mobile device (at the bottom of the page.) I haven't figured this out how to fix this, yet. Also, the annoying click "I'm not a robot" is there for you as well.

- Sorry -

Fixed a couple of bad links, misspellings and general grammar issues that were pointed out to me. Sometimes I find them after-the-fact and it's annoying embarrassing and I probably haven't found them all.

On the Trail of Shadows

She descended from royalty and displayed a regal countenance along with her fun uninhibited side. She held her head high in public while with me and danced with joyous abandon in private.

Her jet black hair reflected rainbows in each strand while in the sun. She would focus her attention with anyone with penetrating brown eyes.

I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and she returned that love ten-fold. Love which I did not deserve. We were together too short of a time and I'm reminded of her often, sometimes with regret and sometimes with happiness.

Sadie was our first dog, a cocker spaniel and lab mix, "rescued" from a family that really didn't treat her well. She found a welcomed place in our family instead.

She was a proud dog, if dogs have that trait. She held her head high during car rides and walks as if she wanted everyone to see who she was and who she was with. She loved tracking rabbits, mice and squirrels, although she never could catch a squirrel. She took pride in chasing them off, holding her head high in another victory as protector of the realm back yard while the squirrel chattered away in that ash tree.

On her final walk, she defiantly held her head high refusing to lay down as she fell asleep for her rest. Pride still in her character as she went home.

Gone before we bought the acreage, I'm convinced she would have never wanted to leave. In the twilight I she her shadow, nose to the ground, tracking a rabbit back to its nest. Once, on a hot day of cutting weeds, I saw the tall grass part with a black and white spaniel/lab dog coming towards me. Her head held high as her stub of a tail wagged furiously. When I stepped forward, the vision drifted as mist into the wind.

I was probably overheated for this mirage. I miss Sadie and I do sometimes see her in the corner of my eye following a rabbit trail and then vanishes when I look her way.

She was a good dog, better than I deserved.

National Czech and Slovak Museum - part 2

As I mentioned earlier, the Czechoslovakian writing is worthy of further study. I'm familiar with Franz Kafka but there are other writers and filmmakers listed on a wall in the exhibit at the museum.

Quotes on the museum walls:

 All language can be thought of as an effort to achieve freedom... What we seek in language is the freedom to be able to express our most intimate thoughts. - Jaroslav Seifert

Imagine that you are a writer and every word that you have in your book you have to cross out. - Klara Sever

Some of those mentioned were communists who later turned dissidents with their creations banned and their journeys should make for interesting reading. Some left their native land and immigrated to  Germany or France, becoming citizens there. This brings up the question of what were the reasons that caused them to leave their country and family.

A writer not listed that I'm familiar with is dissident and later president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel but not much his background. One of panels at the museum gave a short history lesson but there is more to learn there as well.

Another important aspect of learning more about the artists listed is that it leads to associations of other artists, writers and filmmakers. Rabbit trails that lead to interesting works as well. 

If a museum, presentation or a simple discussion is meant to spark the desire to learn more, then the Czech/Slovak museum accomplished this. They also have an onsite library with many of the books from these authors and biographies of important citizens. Also included are resources for genealogy research which may prove helpful if/when we go to learn more about family heritage.

Worth the visit, if you're in Cedar Rapids. Learn more about a people and their desire for self-determination that spanned hundreds of years at National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library.

Day off - National Czech and Slovak Museum

We took a break from our paying jobs, cutting weeds and other responsibilities to spend some time in Cedar Rapids and at the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library along with the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. I'll share a few postings of each in the coming days.

The Czech & Slovak museum was informative and, in summary, has sparked an interest in learning more. My wife's grandparents came from what is now the Czech Republic while my family probably has some connection with the Slovak region (we came from nearly every other country in Europe.)

A list of exhibits are here but we were drawn to the permanent exhibit Faces of Freedom. With interests in history and literature, the small section of dissident writers has left me wanting to dig deeper and learn more. I'm ashamed to not know more of the history of these countries and their yearning for freedom. These countries have been ruled by the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs, Hungarians, Germans (again) and then the Soviets until the Velvet Revolution in 1989.

I'll leave this today with a couple of quotes found on the walls of the museum:

"Those that say that individuals are not capable of changing anything are only looking for excuses" - Václav Havel

 "Without realizing it, the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress." - Milan Kundera

We were glad to visit and will return. I'll share more of our visit later.

It looks like I have some reading to discover.

Summertime blues, 2019

This summer has been challenging at best and depressing at worst. A cold, wet spring that left us in mud until late June led into a July and now August with barely an inch of rain for 6+ weeks.

No cash crop was planted this year. No sweetcorn, popcorn, beans... Our berries were in standing water until mid June. No strawberries, honeyberries, blueberries...

With mid July bringing us Japanese beetles as they invaded with the result of:

Our aronia berries were already taking a hit because of the wet spring but this beetle attack has reduced our yield to about a third of last year's production. (I made a very dry wine from the aronias last year.) We may not have enough for our use, let alone any to sell at market.

Apple and nectarine trees did not escape the beetle wrath.We are looking at losing several trees, not just this year's crop.


We do have some good news, our pawpaw trees are growing well although still immature. Our surviving chestnut trees are also coming along nicely. We have several oak varieties that squirrels have conveniently planted for us and I look forward to relocating them next spring. So it isn't all bad news.

Pawpaws:

As we've seen this year, nature has its own way of working. We can be blessed or cursed and the only thing we can do is to keep working towards our goals. Learn our lessons, adapt to change and keep working. Success will come our way.

Legacy tree for Jason

As I mentioned in a comment earlier, I had a tree planted for Jason. His nomination passed the selection committee along party lines.

A frequent contributor in the comment section, I've known Jason for almost 10 years since working together in Cedar Rapids. With his positive outlook on the world, I miss his sense of humor and the most infectious laugh of anyone I've met. Yes, I can still imagine it and I think I owe him a couple of bags of jelly beans to refill his TARDIS.

I picked a pin oak for him:

Pin oaks generally grow straight which remind me of Jason's character, he played the straight man to my lead. He easily laughed at my lame jokes which may be the reason I enjoy his laugh so well. It's not a particularly funny tree but I do see a possible park bench in some "On the Road..." remake in the future.

Thanks, Jason.

Tuesday Triumph - a closer look

In the early morning twilight, Triumph gave us a close look at her wound:

I discussed her with my brother recently and his theory is that she lost her leg as a fawn. The instinct for fawns are to stay still if a threat exists, laying low in the grass and hopefully a predator would pass without seeing them. Sometimes a farmer, while cutting hay, will mow over a fawn causing such an injury or even death.

Another possibility is that she got caught trying to jump a fence and tangled herself in the wire. I've come across something similar on the south fence and the result was unfortunate. No one wants to think of an animal struggling or suffering an amputation but it does happen.

-I apologize for these depressing thoughts.-

Back to Triumph, she has been missing for a few weeks and I have no further information on her adventures at this time. I heard an unsubstantiated rumor (because I told it to myself) that a three-legged deer was traveling in RAGBRAI this year. For my non-Iowan readers - RAGBRAI is the annual mobile booze party across Iowa that shuts down highways and small towns as the bipedal miscreants make their way from west to east across the state.

I don't think of Triumph as a beer drinker, maybe rye...

Legacy tree explanation

I was asked recently of the process of "Legacy Trees," as in, "What's the deal with these legacy trees?"

There is a strict and rigorous nomination and acceptance process that one has to go through in order to get a tree. The Nomination Subcommittee of the Public Relations Committee handles all requests.

1. The person making the nomination has to successfully traverse the Gauntlet of Parsnip™. This 100 meter dash through a patch of wild parsnip is performed by the person making the nomination and the result must be zero blisters. (Warning - don't click on the parsnip link.)
2. All nominees must be real people, living or dead. No fictional characters are allowed, for example: cartoon coyotes, Firefly actors and "honest politicians" are not eligible.  
3. Rule 38 of the Stranded Tree Rules will be strictly enforced.
4. Cash is always accepted to ensure a speedy and successful conclusion of nomination petitions.

OR

The owner(s) believe that we would like to be reminded of someone when we are at the acreage. We have trees planted for friends that are gone, friends that have given us assistance in our endeavor and people we don't want to forget. We have planted many legacy trees, here are a few we have posted.

There is no Rule 38 since there are only 37 Stranded Tree Rules but Legacy Trees are not to be removed from the farm as long as we own the acreage. They may be harvested for lumber in about 60-70 years or so and if any of us are around at that time, we can make arrangements for delivery.

A simple process - We want to remember someone and we plant a tree. (Although cash is always accepted)

Curious twins

These curious fawns wanted to come closer but then changed their minds. One somewhat brave while the other follows.



Taken a couple of years ago with corn planted near the cabin.

The Sapling - David Gray

David Gray is a singer recommended from a friend and I have to admit that I never heard of him before. I filed it away until recently when I decided to look to Youtube for a song or two.

I found "The Sapling"

Gonna lay down in the grass
And watch that acorn
Split in two
Slowly take root
While the clock upon the wall
Makes idle boasts
And my mind’s out cruising
Silent coasts

With the number of oaks I've planted, I may have found a theme song for the farm.

Friday is buck day, a few good sized examples

This looks like a challenger is making his move:

This rack in the early July morning:

A symmetrical rack on a young buck:

There has been quite a few bucks this summer at the acreage. Usually they only hang out during the winter and take out a few young walnut trees when they shed their antlers.

We've been wearing out the trail cameras this year with a good number of deer pictures.