Storm stories

I woke up to lightening and thunder last night.  I usually try to ignore the late-night storms, pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep.  But this one got my attention.  I could hear the wind rattling the windows.  And then I heard another big gust of wind, and my bed shook.  Seriously.  So I figured that was a sign that I should head for the basement.

The tornado sirens weren't blaring, which was a good sign.  But, boy, was the wind blowing.  I tried to turn on the TV to see the weather report, but then the power briefly went out.  After the wind died down and I felt safe the worst was over, I went back up to bed.  The clock read 2:45 a.m.  Ugh!

I woke up at 8:30 a.m. and took a camera on my Sunday morning run.  I was disappointed to see my garden flattened to the ground.  A few of the glads were snapped off.

My favorite coneflower and a pepper plant were horizontal.

But then when I checked out the rest of the neighborhood.  I realized how lucky we were not to have any branches -- or tree limbs -- in our yard.

Trees were snapped in half.  One of my neighbors was hosing off big blobs of mud stuck to the siding of her house.  I saw trees on top of houses and on top of vans.  And, creepily, I had to avoid stepping on a few dead birds that must have got shaken from the trees.  Yikes.

Yep, that tree fell on top of a house.  Like I said, we were lucky.  Now the sun is out, and there is absolutely no breeze outside.  It's amazing how peaceful nature is after a storm.

Raspberry jewels

I convinced my hubby to join me in berry pickin' the other day.  I've been trying to make every-other-week trips to Berry Patch Farms in Nevada.  They have at least a half dozen different varieties of fruits and berries growing on their farm, and something new is ready to pick every time I visit.

We decided to pick raspberries this time, because I've been fantasizing about making raspberry jam ever since my hubby bought me a food mill for my B-day.

The weather was perfect for berry picking.  Unfortunately, the raspberries were overpicked in the spot where they directed us.  The farmer said we could visit another spot, but we'd had our fill of mosquito bites and thistle scratches for the day.  So we only came home with 2-1/2 pounds of raspberries, not quite enough to make a batch of jam.

But I don't give up easily.  I went to our town's little grocery store and picked up a couple cartons of strawberries.  Then I made strawberry and raspberry jam.

I'm a little disappointed, however, because the batch didn't quite set.  It's not entirely liquid, but it's not entirely gelled, either.  My luck with jam-making is pretty hit and miss (mostly miss, but I'm a beginner, right?)

Yet the new food mill worked like a charm at removing most of the seeds from the jam.  So I'm learning something new, everytime I try.

Now if only my mosquito bites would quit itching...

Signs of the times

My work travels took me to the town of Woodbine in far west-central Iowa.  I discovered the old Lincoln Highway runs through Woodbine.  And the town is quite proud of its place in road-trip history.

Today, the Lincoln Highway is paved in bricks.  The old filling stations are still there, although it looks like one is now a cafe.

I loved all the old Main Street business signs in town.  I felt like I was walking on a 1950s movie set.

 And then I literally drove off into the sunset.