Nothing much going on here

 78º at 10:30 am here in Clarinda, IA with predicted high of 87º today.

Last Monday a very big, fast moving, storm went through central Iowa.  In eastern Iowa, where our son and family live, they believed they had winds from 70 to 102 miles per hour.

These photos are from them, taken shortly after the storm abated. 

Photo at right is looking south, just outside the west side of their house.  This huge tree would have done terrific damage to the house had it fallen a little to the east

This huge storm damaged over 10 million acres of corn in Iowa.  Here is a link to Successful Farming story on the storm.  https://www.agriculture.com/video/iowas-derecho-by-the-numbers

After cleaning up the small stuff, this major tree will have to be
commercially removed.

These are some photos of the crop damage in central Iowa.

We only had a short gust of wind that day and a few drops of rain.  Lucky by location. 

Derecho

Check out this incredible 14-hour GOES East storm-centered IR coverage of the destructive derecho that swept across the Midwest on Monday starting with initiation in Iowa to the formation of a classic bow shaped leading edge racing toward Michigan and Indiana. (Credit: W. Churchill) For a complete list of storm reports visit the SPC at https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/200810_rpts.html

Our youngest granddaughter, Emily, celebrated her 28th birthday Wednesday with her boyfriend, sister and family and her Mom & Dad at Iowa River Power Restaurant in Coralville, IA.

Still staying around the place, mostly.

Lynn

Wednesday

 75º here in Clarinda, IA at 9:30 am Wednesday 

Generally a cool forecast for August!

Some flowers just on north side of house.

Took this picture of the steel frame for the new building  from the hospital parking lot,
while riding trikes last evening

    Not much to report.  Took an elderly friend to Council Bluffs yesterday to Dental Surgeon.  Quick trip up and back.  Crops look good in our area.

GROANER'S CORNER:((   While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft.  Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, "are there any gators around here?!"  "Naw," the man hollered back, "Ain't been any for years!"  Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming toward the shore. About halfway there he asked the guy, "How'd you get rid of the gators?"  "We didn't do nothin'," the beachcomber said. "The sharks got 'em."

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“When the hockey season was suspended our Zamboni driver went missing. We weren't worried as we knew he would resurface.”

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So a burglar broke into my house...
I put the red dot on his chest and my cat did the rest!

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More sometime later, Lynn

August 10

77º here in Clarinda, IA at 10:30 am Monday, with predicted high of 83º. Think it rained Sunday morning and we did get .45" of rain Sunday morning. Humidity up, so A/C back on.

Spent time in Oskaloosa, IA at a Bluegrass Festival starting Thursday. Don't think there were over 40 or 50 people there, but some good music---and some other music.

Sunday we were able to attend a gathering of the Heuer clan at the shelter in the city park. Rusty had returned from Arlington, Washington for the weekend and all of his family in this part of Iowa, and his mother and her sisters were there.

Rusty with aunt Jan

Rusty with cousin Lori, & Aunts Jan & Joyce

House we have been watching being built

GROANER'S CORNER:((    The European Union commissioners have announced that an agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. 

    As part of the negotiations, the British government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short). 

     In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c". Sertainly, sivil servants will reseive this news with joy.  Also, the hard "c" will be replaced with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter.  

    There will be growing public enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replased by "f".  This will make words like "fotograf" 20 persent shorter.  

    In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e"s in the language is disgrasful, and they would go.  

    By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by "z" and "w" by "v".  

    During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud, of kors, be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.  Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German lik zey vunted in ze forst plas.

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More later, Lynn

Still cool in Iowa

71º at 2:30 pm on Wednesday in Clarinda.  This has been a quiet many days--the air conditioner hasn't ran for almost a week now.  Not hearing the electric meter running is a nice sound.  Had a brief shower just before sunrise this morning, but didn't amount to much. Temperature in the low 60's this morning.

Some of the last photos taken of the new house being built north side of Clarinda.

Some photos of the ceiling in the shop.  After almost 12 years, I might get the insulation and ceiling all in place this summer!

Still spending time chipping the branches cut off trees last week.  

After a doctor's appointment here in Clarinda tomorrow morning we will be heading out with the travel trailer for the first time this summer.  A bluegrass and country music festival in Oskaloosa, IA

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It actually starts today, but won't be able to go until after the doctors appointment near noon.  Hope to stay until Sunday morning.

Hope to have some photos when we get back.

Lynn

August - and cool in Iowa (after a really hot July)

77º here in Clarinda, IA at 5:00 pm Sunday - 2nd day of August 2020.

With the cool weather now, we ate lunch on the deck.

In a little while this small, I think young, butterfly hovered around me for some 3 or 4 minutes.

It sat on my arm for several minutes.  I decided maybe he was waiting for lunch, so offered a few kernels of corn.

The youngster spent some 10 minutes working his little "probe" "antenna" whatever it is, in the liquid and down around and under the kernels.  He finally flew off.

Here are some photos I took today of some of Phyllis' flowers around the place.

This tomato plant is almost 8' tall

I drained the fresh water tank of the trailer, as well as the hot water heater.  Then filled with water and some Bleach and let it sit overnight.  then pumped through the system through the faucets, and finally drained everything.  Refilled the 30 gallons with fresh water, plus the 6 gallon for the water heater, pulled it through the faucets and finally drained all again.  Put about 2/3 of the tank full, ready for a trip this week.

Spent some time Thursday watching a new home being erected on the north side of Clarinda.  Came in on several trucks.

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Have been continuing to trim trees and chip up the branches for mulch.

Our next-door neighbor Jan passed away this week.  We had had a contentious relation with her for the last 10 years.  When we got home from Texas this spring she refused to talk with us, even when face to face out near the mailbox.  We didn't know it, but her cancer had returned and she was pretty much mad at the world.  She passed away in Lincoln after a quick trip thee and surgery.  

Our cruise with Country Reunion show and the Larry's Diner show for December has been cancelled.  So many things we usually go to in the summer cancelled.  Would be on the way to State Center, IA soon for the annual Kenwood RV summer meeting, but it, too , was cancelled.

Slow summer.  -- may write later