Home from Mayo after a less than perfect start this morning. Rick mistakenly set his alarm for 5:45 instead of 4:45 and when mine went off at 5:15 I shut it off!!! Good grief! I couldn’t get Keeper into the kennel, Telly and Hazel knew we were leaving and were not happy, and the van was low in gas. I completely forgot and since I didn’t drive it to church, it never entered my mind to fill it before we had to leave so early.
Oh, well – Rick’s ankle has broken down somewhat again so it’s a new ointment and back to wrapping the ankle instead of relying on compression socks. We will be returning to Mayo in November but we won’t be able to reschedule the hip surgery until he’s been released from the wound clinic. All in a day’s work, huh?
Becky took care of the dogs and the chores for me – thank goodness! We made our customary stop at McDonalds on the way home – such a shame really – all those great restaurants in Rochester and we always have to eat at McDonalds. Sigh.
I finished binding this quilt on the way home – and took pictures – some quilts just photograph better than others – I love this one!



And as long as I was taking pictures I just had to include this beautiful corn from Farmer Tim.

Just to be clear, this is field corn used in making ethanol and many other industrial corn products. This is NOT sweet corn. The kernels are very hard and very dry and NOT edible.









It’s all about the CORN!
Reader quilts:




Here are two pictures I saw online that I love! I have no info on either – I just added them to my Instagram page for inspiration.


So many quilts, so little time.
Everything is lovely! Your quilt is great and did photograph very well – Mary!!!! Thanks for all your time in sharing all you do with us!
Love the quilt. Sorry for Ricks wound, hopefully it will heal quickly. Love the pictures of the corn fields.
Sorry to hear that Rick is starting over with his wound care. Wishing him a speedy healing on his leg .
Beautiful quilt show once again. Love the use of the large leaf print on the table runner. I’m going to have to try that on my next project. Take care and a good night’s rest to both of you after a hectic day right from the start.
I enjoy the pictures of farmer tims corn and the descriptions to help non farmers understand–by the way–i have a similar view from my front porch but never tire of the beauty of our god created world—and yes to sooo many quilts—sew little time
Loved the corn field growing season pictures!
Sorry about the stressful trip to Mayo. But your quilt show surely cheered you. A particularly magnificent assortment. And I also enjoyed the photos of the different seasons of the cornfield. God bless Farmer Tim and God bless America! And you, Rick, and the furry and feathery family!
I LOVE your quilt and want to make one like it! I will look back to see what info I can find on pattern, etc. your color choices are beautiful, as always!!
Sorry to hear Rick continues to have trouble with his ankle. Hope it resolves soon.
Diane – I will email the info to you.
Mary,
My best wishes for a quick turn-around for Rick. And I am so glad you have good friends to help you both. Friends a a precious gift.
I would appreciate information on your quilt too. It is simply stunning in it’s simplicity! I wish I had even a smidge of your creativity.
Thanks for sharing your adventures and talent on your blog. It is always a fun read and so informational. I especially enjoyed the pictures of Tim’s field.
Why do you have to eat at McDonald’s? Rick’s choice? I think my flowers will be done after tonight and tomorrow night. 24° predicted for both nights
Carmen – yes, Rick’s choice so we don’t have to walk inside. Yup, my flowers are done, too.
So sorry for Ricks continued health issues. Are you over your cough? Beautiful photos as always! My hubby complained of blurry vision in his left eye over the weekend and saw the ophthalmologist this afternoon. He is being referred to a retina specialist and will probably have to have surgery. He has already had cataract surgery with implant lens in both eyes. The Dr. said he had a spontaneous hole develop in his macula. Not a torn retina. It is always something isn’t it!
Debbie – my cough is 99% gone – hallelujah! So sorry your hubby needs surgery – yikes!
Orange is the perfect color for this months UFO’s. Beautiful quilts photos.
I hope Rick can tolerate his hip pain till his ankle heals up. Living shouldn’t be this hard!!!
I love the sunset picture. Inspirational colors for quilts.
I got my flu shot today. Second shingles shot next month and I should be good for a while.
I always enjoy Tim’s corn! The fields are so beautiful. Thank god for our farmers!
Hi Mary. My husband goes to Mayo a lot too. We always eat at The Canadian Honker across from St. Mary’s hospital. Very casual and very good good!
Deb – and that’s where I ate when Rick was having a heart procedure – it was delicious! I could just walk across the street for lunch.
It is so convenient! I stayed at the hotel next door and would do carry out. I always enjoy your blog posts. We farm too north of you in west central MN.
Love the quilt that you bound on your drive! Beautiful colors and quilting. I agree, so many quilts I want to make if I only had the time…
I miss coming to your farm for sales or shows. So thankful you blog Mary. You brighten my day. Good luck to Rick. My husband went thru that a few years back. A unna boot helped him. Take care.
Mary Lund – tell me what is a unna boot?
Mary love the quilt you finished beautiful fall colored. The readers out did themselves again with their quilts and table runners. I am working on quilting an improve quilt. Hope to have it finished this week.
Beautiful pictures today. Love your finished quilt. Love the colors.
Fall is quickly fading in Iowa and winter is headed your way. My mom (Osage) pulled all her tomatoes and cleaned up her flower pots this past weekend. She is busy making apple jellies (her neighbor’s tree) and freezing apple pie fillings. Our colors in TN are gorgeous right now but it’s turning cold this week and the rain will make the leaves fall so it’s a short fall for us. I’m sorry to read about Ricks ankle issues, hopefully the wound clinic can get it healed quickly and he can move forward with his hip surgery. I think we get in a rut with eating out at the same places, drive thru makes it easy and you can head for home. Great quilt show today, so many pattern and lovely fabrics and yet so little time. Have a great week everyone.
Hope Rick’s wound heals fast and he can get his hip surgery.
Enjoyed all the pictures. The corn is being harvested behind us now.
I would like the pattern for your quilt too. I can see the squares with a large print. Have some large prints from the 90’s that I never knew what to do with. Your quilt really popped with your color choices.
The Canadian Honker is good.
May the rest of the week be better than the start!
So sorry to hear that Rick’s ankle is not doing so well. Hopefully that will get better soon, with your good nursing care he will be better! Hard to have to put off the other surgery but hopefully that can get done before it gets really wintery! Loved the picture of the quilt you made – so beautiful! The other quilts made for a beautiful quilt show this morning. What a lot of talented ladies that are in this group! I haven’t started my “blue” project yet, darn! We are taking a trip to Missouri this weekend and our second great grandson is on the way in Illinois so doesn’t look like I will get started anytime soon! I know that I will be making the blue project next month – darn, I will be behind!
Thank you for taking the time to blog after a day at Mayo. You both know the way very well now.
Beautiful quilts today as always.
I agree God bless our farmers!
Three so cute helping.
Aren’t sisters the best?!
Loving Farmer Tim 🥰❣️All the hard work he does 😊❣️Thank you for sharing the pictures of his beautiful land 😊 Praying for Rick 🙏 and God give you the strength to help him get better real soon ❣️Love ya Mary ❣️
I like and enjoy your comments and pictures so much. Grew up in Iowa and it is so nice to see the pictures of your home, yards, the fields near by, even the corn and the weeds !! Love it.
Oh, I also like the quilts.
Am so sorry to hear about Rick’s ankle and the awful start to your Mayo morning. What beautiful pictures of the corn and the fields. Three complements your lovely quilt perfectly! Connie to the rescue — again. Love her!
Trucks were a couple weeks ago going by our place we figured filled with field corn but covered as there is an ethanol plant in this part of the state. You can always tell when they are hauling it versus the box trucks going to an Amazon warehouse!
Hope Ricks wound heals soon for him so surgery can be rescheduled. I have a little lady friend who loves drive thru McD’s so we eat in the car and she is quite happy to do that when I take her out. I keep a tray and small aluminum cookie sheet under the seat for us to use on laps. Wonderful quilt show and thanks for sharing so many beauties with us.
That quilt and the cornfield are perfect colors. Your pictures are full of such pretty quilts of all colors, and of course, critters. And the lighting is perfect. These things really make us smile. Such beautiful ears of corn. Perfect in every way. The farmers are always so happy when the crop is in. Then they have to worry about prices, but….. You have to be an optimist to be a farmer–they could work all year and have it all wiped out in minutes in a storm.
A niece’s colors are yellow and blue. That yellow leaf table runner might just hit the spot for her.
You and Rick are really VERY lucky the ankle infectiion showed up before, not after, his hip operation. That could have been awful. I know you and Rick aren’t happy about it, but sometimes things happen for the best.
It was 31 degrees at the house this morning, but no frost yet. But on October 4, 2013, we got Atlas, a snow storm, with at least 20″ of snow with huge drifts. Didn’t get out of the house for 3 days, but we were warm and cozy. I always keep the snow shovel in the house so I can shovel our way out!
Take care, everybody. Betty in Rapid City
Betty – the delay of surgery is what it is and we’ll get through it. I’m going to concentrate on reading books, sewing, playing the piano, and any other pleasant pastimes I can think of! Smile!
Oh Mary sounds a little like my life – day late and a dollar short I think is the phrase – hoping Rick heals and will get the surgery but once again – one day at a time – ugh! I LOVE the quilt and looks like the cat matches it actually – prayers for all of you and hope your cough is better as well.
Mary, the one quilt with flying geese that you loved on Pinterest I believe is the pattern I made for Maddie’s baby quilt. It’s a Zen Chic pattern. You are welcome to look at my pattern anytime you wish. The colors in this one are fabulous.
Beamer’s mom – I thought it looked familiar – I just love the colors!!
Have you ever eaten the field corn when it is young and tender. It is delicious “fried” in bacon grease and a little water. Cook until it thickens. My family loves it.
Dale – no, I have never eaten field corn like you describe. I’ve never even heard of it – are you from North Iowa?
Love your finished quilt. The color combination is gorgeous. And I sincerely enjoy seeing all the reader quilts. Lots of ideas, and as you said, so little time.
We have been cleaning up the garden and flowerbeds. I spoke with a friend whose family is harvesting beans and will soon tackle corn. She said they got most of their farm bins of grain sold/shipped this fall, but not all. The Mississippi river is low, so barges can only travel half full. This slows down shipping markedly and the bean market tanked when that happened. So, they are holding on to what beans they still have.
Being a farmer calls for fortitude, persistence, and faith.
Enjoy your time as nurse for Rick. (smile) Those wounds can be pesky things.
I am so sorry to hear about Rick’s new issues. Thinking good thoughts.
Thanks so much for the lovely fall pictures. They really made my day. You guys take care!
I love your new fall quilt. Three is the perfect match for it!
It seems no one noticed that your cat is a perfect match for your quilt. You must have planned it that way – ha-ha. All the quilts today are an inspiration. Thank you all.
do chickens eat field corn?
Susie Q – yes, chickens eat field corn if it’s cracked or ground up. I mix cracked corn with whole oats for my chickens and goats. I order it from my local co-op and it’s delivered by the ton right into my feed room. With so few chickens left and only 6 goats I don’t use very much any more.
Enjoyed the pictures of the quilts. What a day going to Mayo. Hopefully Rick’s ankle area heals fast so he can then have his surgery. Seems like there is always something. Tim’s corn looks so good. He is very
fortunate this year to have a great crop. Our area farmers won’t be that lucky. I remember those days when I was young. We had quite a few years that the crop wasn’t good from hail to drought. But that is how farming goes. Our temperature this morning was 19. Quite a change, but it is suppose to warm up
again this coming week. Thank you for all of the pictures.
I love that quilt you just finished binding! Is the pattern available?
I enjoy your blog sooo much so I apologize for not giving you my comments. I’m just going to try to do better!!!! I realize you can’t read my mind about all the wonderful things I think about you and what you do. Also, I’m concerned about Rick’s leg and he’s on my prayer list. I know it’s a long drive to Rochester, but I think it’s good you are going there. In the 1950,s when my family lived in Newell, my mother and my aunt each had serious heath issues (at different times) and both had wonderful diagnosis and care with excellent results. Left me with high admiration for Rochester!!! Hang in there. 🙂
The 9-block quilt you finished on the way home is so beautiful!!! I absolutely adore the colors. If I could, I’d give you a blue ribbon! 🙂
By the way, the farmers in Oregon are picking corn now, but nothing like in Iowa!!! 🙂
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that ankle wound again! Not fun at all. I’m not sure why you need to stop at only McDonald’s on your way out of Rochester, but Canadian Honker on 2nd Street across from St. Mary’s has great food and they do a LOT of take out and are really good at it, and fast. Maybe you might have the chance to try them out. If you need to eat in the car, I take trays for our laps and that makes it a lot more manageable. Just a suggestion. 😊
Hello Mary,
I love it that you document so many things going on in and around your life. And lucky for us, you share. I’m so happy to see your photos. My little apartment and corner of the world is beautiful, too, but I don’t get out. So it is something I really look forward to when I see an email from you. You’re not shy, not stand-offish, not afraid to get emotional with words! You are real! Thank you.
Please keep the emails coming; if for no one else but little ole me!
((hugs))
Sally – it will be my pleasure to keep on writing and yes, it will always be real!
Hi, Mary. The small quilt you photographed on the fence is so charming. I just love the wonderful way quilts photograph outdoors!
Would you share the pattern name? Is it a Country Threads pattern?
It’s so nice out again today, I think I’ll take a couple quilts out for a photo session. 😊
Your quilt is a beautiful one. Sometimes the colors are just right for a pattern.
Love your filed corn story. they are busy doing beans here.
MaryLee from Michigan