In May, we had a visit from Keith's Iowa cousins Chuck and Kevin for a few days. It had been at least 35 years since Chuck had come for a visit and it was the first time for Kevin. They had all gotten together at Keith's mother's funeral in Iowa this past March and reconnected. We took them to Bagnell Dam on Lake of the Ozarks. I think they had a good time. I guess we will see if they come back!
Good photo opportunity on the Bagnell Dam strip that made my day with purple and yellow!
Cousins Keith, Chuck, and Kevin
Of course, we had to make sure the cousins had the opportunity to visit Richard's Relic Shack on the strip because there is no place like it and they will likely remember it!
Back home in Hermitage, life goes on as usual with bluebirds brooding.
Bobi Kitty watching over his Kingdom from the front patio chair...
...making sure the drunken gnomes are behaving themselves!
The Japanese maple tree sentinel continues as it has in that spot since 1978.
The regular visitors are always welcome and also get free meals. This is a summer tanager. I always hear them before I see them and make sure they have plenty of suet cakes available.
This is a female oriole. There are several orioles that come around and at least one pair stay long enough to nest close by. I make sure there's plenty of sugar water, grape jelly, and cut oranges for them for a couple months. By then, their babies are ready for meaty things like bugs and worms and the wasps and bees take over this sweet feeder so I take it down especially when the temperature stays hot!
So the gardens are beginning to grow and the poppies are showing off their double pink blooms. These poppies are self-seeders and I choose which volunteers I allow to grow where I want them each year. This area is basically a lily garden. The poppies can have it until the lilies get a couple feet tall then the poppies are removed after seeding again for next year.
By the time our personal gardens are planted and we are caught up, we begin planting the gardens at Settlers Village in Wheatland, Missouri. It is our service project as Master Gardeners.
Many of the plants in Settlers Village are Missouri natives that come back on their own each year and we also have added many other perennials. After our yearly plant sale fundraiser, we plant some colorful annuals here and there from the sale leftovers.
Usually the first week in May brings the Pomme de Terre River Outlet Park below the dam alive with a variety of unique individuals that stay for a few days and camp. This is located about five miles from where we live in Hermitage. The theme is from the early French trappers around the time this area was settled; mid-1800s. The annual PDT Rendezvous has always met with at least one rainy day during the 3-day event for nearly 40 years. There are crafts and events open to the public. This year had no rain and was very pleasant weather for a change!
This display is one of many we see in front of the tents. Each item on it is from a different encampment. Many of these people travel around the country just for these events. They meet up with people of similar interests and keep many traditions alive. That's what Rendezvous is all about. Probably some of them have regular jobs and do this thing for fun and interest. But I have no doubt that some people spend much of their time living the life of the past.
On May 11th, Keith and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary with a nice steak dinner at Longhorns in Springfield. We kept it simple this year because we have decided to make our 50th anniversary very special by spending a couple weeks in Rome and Florence Italy! Plans are being made now.
When visitors are gone, gardening caught up, and the weather temps below 90 degrees in the morning, I begin to bike the Katy Trail! This is my 29th year!
Our granddaughter is soon out of kindergarten and will be staying with us in our home every other weekend soon. We had her for all the long weekends during her school year which was about once a month. This spring her family got some cows and the calves came soon after. One mama cow had twins and only wanted to care for one of them. So this little fella had to be bottle-fed. Since they lives 45 minutes away from their ranch, it happened that this chore involved bringing the baby home to where they live in Springfield for a couple months. His name is Gizmo. This unexpected visitor is back on the ranch by the time I posted this at the end of July.
Gizmo getting one of his first bottles when he was just a couple days old. He was really thin for the first week or so!
Backyard in Springfield playing with Kayleen
A little grain now with the milk and Gizmo is filling out fine. Time to halter train and Kayleen learns to lead Gizmo around instead of just following and running after her!
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