retro Thursday ...

  so I'm at the office already -- CNC Day so work before I leave ... touring Nic Cty Courthouse, Cox House, TSHC & the St Peter State Hospital Museum.  The first three I know well, used to carry keys and alarm codes for the Cox House & TSHC --- so, the State Hospital Museum should be interesting.  Well, as interesting as a mental institution Museum can be -- the State Hospital grounds are a beautiful campus this time of year -- if not for the wack jobs (aka child molesters -- not the mentally ill) that reside out there. 

okay these were taken June 17, 2005 --- i'll find camera and dash out tomorrow .... they don't look this good anymore.... it'was a bad year of gardening at the office.

I had the "ultimate garage sale" yesterday -- squash, watermelon & pumpkins out of the office garage ... thinking about doing it again tomorrow ... self serve -- just about everything for a $1 .... anything to get it sold.  I'm really liking the self serve.

TWO DAY'S & COUNTING

D

Sunday Travels & Sights (no flood, I promise)

nick and jake -- never know who you meet on the "road to nowhere" jake looks happier than nick, that dog loves to ride

road to nowhere looks kinda bare after harvest ...

sweet potato vine ...

a lower branch in the Maple is totally red -- the rest of the tree is green, it's an Autumn Flame

so it's gonna be awhile

these pic's came in email today -- explains why the road will not open for a while ....

both Jan and Jackie emailed.... this is just north of us ... about a mile -- 1/2 mile from the old house we used to live in (during the 1960's) ... sucks hey ... but the peace and quiet of no traffic is nice.

okay here is the LINK to the video posted on the St Peter Herald's Website..... for reference we live on mile marker 69 (or 2 blocks above mile marker 69) -- i just found this .... wacky wacky wacky ...

Donna regularly sends me Maxines... love 'em (Donna and Maxine) ...

so it froze

  not very hard though and very spotty.  since i spent oodles of hours in the garden (or selling) the garden yesterday I planned a morning at the office ... work and church on tv ... can it get any more exciting.  me and the cat.

  169N is still closed below the house -- we're really getting used to the peace and quiet -- unfortunately all good things must come to an end.  not sure when.  i'm going to sneek down the southbound side this afternoon on the ATV and see what's up north of us ... lots of rumors and no pictures. 

M

go ahead ....

freeze baby freeze.  i'm ready, stuff is picked, packed and covered.  my little trailer is heaped with watermelons....hope the tires hold out ... i dug dad's car toter/trailer out and well, picked and loaded.  Jean helped with the pumpkins and squash .. the only stuff not picked -- pie pumpkins, acorn squash, and some wee decorative pumpkins.  they can take a light frost and i think that's all we'll have ..  all i have left is to pick some zinna's -- after all I LOVE MY ZINNA's ... i know i've said it many times before.  when i worked at the Greenhouse during college it was always Iris and I still buy Iris' for my desk in the winter, but the zinna's have won !!!  $3.00 of seed have brought way to much enjoyment this summer -- they've bloomed steadily since the 4th of July and I only deadheaded them once.  and the antlered buddies don't like them!

the produce crop was way down compared to last year -- less than 1/2.  and the pumpkin crop was less an 1/8th of last year -- and i think (i know) i had the same number of hills.  unfortunately my antlered buddies are eating heavily (especially since the flooding) and the grub worms are eating spots in 'em. 

melons were better --just having trouble selling them  -- they are large and well it's a lot of melon to eat. 

so......

 the road is open within a mile of home .... it's happening folks !!!!  i still enjoy the peace and quiet of no traffic, 24,000 vehicles a day is a lot of noise.

 the market truck is loaded -- not hanging over the edges or out the back but close.  can't find the camera (again) so use your imagination.  the wind will be blowing tomorrow -- so no canopy ... frost is predicted for Saturday night/Sunday morning so if you want to help pick ... tomorrow afternoon ...

Diva

singing from the hills

that would be the only reference I'll ever use from the Sound of Music.  but here's the deal -- one bridge is open and 169 Southbound is open.  still very quiet on our end but we can LEAVE TOWN .... not that I have anywhere to go ... well I will on Monday but !!!!  

i know quit whining it's only been 6 days.  per the Mankato Free Press --- it might be another week before the 169 Northbound will be open -- evidently the water is pooling and there is damage to the road.  oh joy!

the semi truck/trailer full of soybeans is no longer in the middle of the driveway .... it could have been much worse (worser) ... they ended up augering the beans into another truck and then borrowing someone else's tractor to pull it up and off the bank.  so, lots of lessons learned and well no one was hurt. 

Diva