Category Archives: Weather
Cow Pie Bingo and Late for School (plus a rainbow)
Every town has a summer festival of some sort right? Well our little town didn’t, until three years ago when a committee formed a new annual celebration, and held a contest to name it. So the Irish Spudfest was born. It’s pretty much perfect. Family focus, low-cost, simple and “villagey.” We kicked it off by conquering the 1 mile walk as a family. The girls ran the last quarter-mile or so, because they decided it was a race. Kayla had an injury (blister from those new Nikes) and convinced me to give her a lift on my back.
Following the big race/walk (some ambitious/silly people actually ran a 5k), there was lawn mower bingo for the kiddos (and at least one adult–more on that later), the big tater dig in the community garden, a spud-themed parade, kick ball and bean bag tournaments, inflatables, vendors a silent auction, a dunk tank, fresh-cut fries and sweet corn, a big community picnic (tater salad), and dancing to the harder-than-expected rock of the Neo Johnsons. Did I forget anything?.. Of course–the Cow Pie Bingo. We bought square E11, to no avail.
Today was day 1 of the 2009-2010 school year her in Montrose. And we were late. It’s a long story–something about hair pieces in the wrong spot, a calculator and the ‘meanest parents in the world.’ Nice way to kick things off. The big deal this year is Hope moved to another building, so Mesa is on her own in the first grade. Zoey is kickin it at the daycare as the “biggest kid” (oldest) around. Despite the rough start, Mesa said the first day was ‘fabulous.’
As a parting gift, here’s a panoramic shot of the full rainbow we saw one evening this past week. I used some software that came with our Canon camera to stitch three photos together. I am not a pro.
Oh Hail
Saturday morning I went to set up the Green Project booth at the Sioux Falls Bio Blitz. I stepped outside into a sauna of 95% humidity on the way to 90 degrees F, and wondered how soon this would cook up the kind of south Dakota summer storm we haven’t had yet this year. It only took a few hours. By 2:30pm our garden was trashed and smashed, along with our heat pump and some siding and deck posts. Still beautiful though, don’t you think?
Snowy Morning, plus a Bird Brain
Mother Nature is a bit schitzophrenic these days. About 36 hours ago it was a record 91 degrees here on the rolling prairie. I slept outside for a while Thursday night. This morning, a light blanket of the white stuff. At least the birds are still singing.
Speaking of our feathered friends, there’s a very determined sparrow trying to break through our living room window. He’s been at it since at least 5:15am. That’s when he woke me up. I’ve tried scaring him, tried covering the window with the drapes…no luck. He just keeps slamming the glass every 4-11 seconds. That’s gotta eventually put a dent in the melon. Same stupid action, same result.
Wish I wasn’t seeing so much of myself in that bird as I watch him.
The Snowman Wins
Remember that Burning Snowman ceremony in our back yard a couple weekends ago? When it was about 70 degrees and we were roasting marshmallows? Happy April…
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