I just finished reading The First Paper Girl in Red Oak, Iowa by Elizabeth Stuckey-French. Her stories were interesting, but I didn’t like anyone in them. I wonder if she liked the people in her stories much.
Well, I’m the only one here.
I just finished reading two books by Iowa author Mary Kay Shanley, The Memory Box and She taught me to eat Artichokes. They are both warm, touching and just a little bit sad. But maybe that’s just me.
We’re smack-dab in the middle of this blizzard. The wind is still raging outside. The kids are going a tad stir crazy. I’m hoping the wind dies down at some point today so we can get out and see what the sleds will do out there.
In the meantime, we’re trying to figure out our LP-gas hot-water tank. According to the manual, the settings have changed because something is blocked. (By snow perhaps?) Anyway. It smells like gas, so we need to figure it out. We’ll try to call the plumbing & heating company, but I’ll bet they’re hunkered down like the rest of us. If we can get anyone on the telephone, though, maybe someone knows more about this than we do.
Here’s the snow drift in front of the barn. The tractor with the snow blower is in there.
More drifts block the wood shed.
Half of the snow fence has been gobbled up by the snow. But, hey, it looks like it’s doing its job.
See that dark spot in the middle of the photo? That’s where the LP tank is.
I just finished reading Lights on a Ground of Darkness by Ted Kooser. Have you ever read Kooser, the 13th Poet Laureate of the United States? Oh, you must. You must!
I just finished reading Zillah’s Gift by Lois West Duffy. It’s in the 9-12 age category, but it’s a great read about an orphan girl in ancient Persia, who experiences an adventurous journey that involves kings, bandits, shepherds and a precious gift.
I got to meet the author last week, and it was fun hearing her tell the stories behind the book.
Here’s half the snow fence. The other half to come … before the snow, I hope.
Tractors and combines kick up lots of dust these days.
But not MY home, please? Like the birds, the sheer numbers are … creepy. What’s next. Locusts?
They’ve been harvesting the bean fields lately. Ladybugs (aka, Asian lady beetles) apparently feast on soybean aphids. No soybeans, no food, no home.
Freeze frame!
