I was sitting in the porch last night about 11 when a roaring wind hit – I’ve always heard how loud tornadoes are and that’s what I thought of first. But it was just high winds – gusts over 70 mph.
These pics were taken this morning.
And these are pics from this afternoon.
And one from Rick. 😖 And his cargo,space is much smaller than mine as well.
I am almost too tired to move but I showered and came back to the porch and now I can tackle this post.
I’m going to post pictures 10-15 at a time and I will start numbering each one so readers can ask questions much easier in the comments.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
During all those hours I was picking up sticks Hazel and Keeper started tearing apart the playhouse – why you ask? There is obviously some critter, could be just a shrew or field mouse!, under the playhouse and they were determined to get it. Here are the results before I noticed what they were doing:
Good Heavens, Dogs!! Argh! I hope whatever’s under there leaves during the night. I’m afraid it could have been a baby raccoon. They’re both exhausted tonight and Hazel needs a bath desperately but I’m not sure I have the energy to give her one. Which means I’m sleeping with a dirty dog.
My goal today was vacuum, dust and pick up – none of that got done, did it?
We’re supposed to have a repeat tonight of last night’s storms – oh, my aching back.
………………………….
So sorry Mary, that you had all that clean up to do. The poor plants. As others have said how stunning the blue butterfly is in picture number 4. What a great idea you have for numbering the photos. I enjoyed the quilt, flower and butterfly show today. Yesterday my son came and helped me pack a ton of stuff. It was nice I could sit and rest my injured knee while he brought me things to pack. Then he moved the box, put together another box and we’d start again. We did so much I decided to take the day off packing and spend some time cleaning up the lavender in my garden. The first bloom is done and I find when I cut that all off I get a second bloom just about as good as the first bloom. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will be back at the packing. It was good to take the day off. I feel regenerated. Have a wonderful day.
Oh my. What a mess. The bright and colorful images today were beautiful. I am surprised that you can still move after the long pick-up day you have had. The lighting was perfect for #2’s purple flowers.
Oh, Mary, your beautiful geraniums!! That’s a heartbreak. Could have been worse, I know. All that cleanup in one day. I can’t even bring myself to weed! I don’t want to kneel on my knee replacement. Sometimes I try on the bed, but no go!
You deserved to sit on the porch with your legs up and an iced cool drink. I bought a bunch of fixings for mocktails. It’s what I want in the summer. Shirley Temples.
#4 and #8 are stunning. And #3 had me take a second look. Completely missed the praying mantis. Someone brought a cocoon to school in the fall. The classroom was warm. And it hatched in the 3rd grade classroom. We had praying mantis everywhere. I’d never mistake identifying one. Ha
Your flowers really took a beating! Last evening (28) we had the wind. The worst of the storm was south and southeast of us. Farm buildings and towns with old trees are a mess with power lines down etc. the farmers corn is flat! It stretched from Sioux Falls to Spencer area.
Oh my, Mary. That is a lot of work for you and Rick. We had a Derecho here about 10 years ago and we lost power for 5 days. It was in early July and so HOT. That’s when we put in the generator. You’ll get a kick out of this. When we were in Iceland walking toward a geyser, there were 70 mph winds. My husband (6;5″ 235lbs) got knocked into a bush and I had to hold onto a light pole with another lady on the trip. It was WILD!! The reader pics are beautiful. Don’t you love how fragile yet so tough Butterflies are? They travel for miles sometimes.
Get a good rest today and I hope NO MORE winds tonight. Keeper and Hazel are a hoot! A man came to our door today with a young, small dog. He said, “He was running around in the street and I knew you’d know whose he was.” It took me a minute, but I recognized Alexander, an adorable little guy from down the street. I will walk tonight to find out how he got out. It helps to be the “Dog Treat Lady” in the neighborhood–lol.
Love your story about Alexander. Aren’t concerned neighbors the best!! Knocking on your door and everything. That’s is worth remembering, keeps up your faith in humanity.
Carolyn, I agree. They have little Daisy so they were concerned. Dog people are great people! I am a cat person, but I like dogs🐶🐶
Looks like severe storm in Garner last night. Hoping Mary & Rick are ok. Thinking of everyone in that area. Pat in Iowa City
Y’all are So Efficient, Mary! Your fall cleanup is done, and it’s only July 🙂 🙂
Do you have somewhere to put all of the debris? That is our biggest problem here; there is such a high fire danger in the summer that the city fire department comes out in May and September for “green waste” debris collection. At other times, we have to figure out how to squish it into the regular trash or find someone willing to carry it away.
Sorry about your mess, Mary. You have had so much rain and wind this summer.
Number 3 reminds me of my mom and dad’s garden. They always had zinnias around the edge.
Number 4 is just a gorgeous photo with white flower background (Hydrangea?) and deep blue butterfly.
Mary, a big thank you for the post and all who contributed photos.
Having a routine eye exam today and doing my usual household chores. Grateful for the a/c.
I missed the Praying mantis in #3, too. So, I had to go back. Then I also found the lady bug among the rocks in #5. Such great shots. #1’s quilt was the perfect intro to all the flower shots!
It was 106 degrees at 9:30 last night. All my flowers are kaput, so I am enjoying all the garden shots and Mary’s farm pictures. (Sorry for the need to clean-up, though.)
Jan
We had strong winds and rain go through Iowa City overnight. A large branch from one of our pear trees came down, along with several small branches from a tree in our front yard. It will be clean up time for us.
I put my last finished quilt top on the frame this week. It is basted and waiting for when I feel I can quilt. I developed bursitis in both heels, so standing, walking and sitting with my feet down are all something I limit. That means my contribution to branch pick-up will be less than usual. I will get steroid shots in both heels in two days. I am looking forward to comfort, though not to shots in my heels. It is amazing how walking comfortably is something we take for granted, as so many of you have made clear with your surgeries and injuries. Take care, everyone.
I’ve been wondering how you faired during the derecho. I’m so sorry for the damage caused but thankful you and Rick and all your fur babies are ok. Did your golf cart sustain damage to the top? I couldn’t tell from the picture if it did or if you’re able to take it off. Your sweet geraniums….I’m so sorry.
Love all the beautiful nature pictures posted with numbers. Not sure which is my favorite. Someone has a wonderful camera!
Take care!
Mary Beth
Mary you sure had a lot of branches and leaves to clean up not to mention the plants that were blown over. I hope you didn’t have a repeat of that this morning. We were woken up a little before 2 this morning with the storms coming through. Fortunately we only had rain and the high gust of Wind at 25. May have a repeat of it tomorrow morning.
Yesterday I pulled weeds in the morning, showered, and then we went to town for a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant for my birthday. A nice way to celebrate.
Beautiful pictures of flowers, butterflies and the praying mantis. Glad it was pointed out and I went back and looked at the pictures again.
Great quilts and fun pictures of the dogs.
Love all the butterfly pics, but I especially like the praying mantis. I found a strange green bug in my GH today, but he hoped off and away before I could get a pic. I looked on Google but did not see him there. It looked kind of like a katydid, but we don’t have them here.
That storm was a doozie! Iowa has had one heck of a summer. Aug. is coming soon. Maybe it will be calmer. (or not) At least the dogs had fun.
Thanks for changing my email, Mimi!
What a contrast between the beautiful butterfly/flower photos and the destruction you had to clean up today. I am glad you are safe and I hope you sleep really well tonight. I also hope the second storm does not appear!
Oh, my! Hopefully last night’s storm knocked down all the loose branches and you’ll not have more to pick up later! SO sorry about your plants!
Great photos – again! Rest up!
Oh, Mary! The name on your cart says it all—WorkHorse. Take care.
So sorry you had so much to clean up after all of the mowing and yard work you’ve already done recently. I’ve been trying to clean out my garage as we got new shelving. The heat is preventing me from spending much time out there. So basically, the new shelving is in place and the space looks like a tornado hit it. It is so hot and miserable, after a short amount of time sorting and moving stuff, I’m totally drenched with sweat. Hope we don’t have a real tornado-could’nt get a vehicle in there if I wanted to.
Loved the pictures tonight. Would be hard to pick a favorite-they’re all good. Cindy K
Mary, I feel your pain! Those golf carts are so handy for picking up limbs and debris’s. Sadly the one we had gave up and is hard to find a replacement. We miss it terribly! It was great for moving heavy furniture too.
This morning when I listened to Al Roker’s weather report on the Today Show, I thought the duration of wind around your area did not sound good. I’ve never been in a tornado but have been in straight line winds. I hope you rest well tonight as you’ve done a lot of work. And no Mary I do not have my mother in laws recipe for her iscicle pickles but wish I did. I do have her soft Christmas cookie cut outs recipe though. She always made us a tin of Christmas cookies and as I was working and a busy mom, I thought I had been given a gold mine when she handed them to me.
Kathy – well, darn! I would have liked to try that pickle!
Mary and Kathy– A Google search for iscicle/icicle pickle recipes yields a lot of results–but be ready to spend several days making them.
Sara – thanks! I’m going to look it up!!
Maybe (hopefully) hardly any more branches will come down tonight since all the loose and weak stuff has already been blown down. Too bad Hazel and Keeper can’t help you pick up sticks—they sure have a lot of energy! Hope you have a good night’s rest and feel better in the morning!
Sara – I told those dogs the very same thing!! Haha!
#4 Stunning photo of the blue butterfly and white flower. Beautiful!
Oh Mary, your poor flowers and plants sure took a beating! There’s always alot of cleanup after strong winds. I hope tomorrow will be easier on your back.
It’s still miserably hot and very humid here. Take care everyone! All the pics were fabulous ! Thanks to all who contributed.