My Favorite Photos - August 2019

Below are some of my favorite photos - or ones that have significance to me - that I took during August. The month started out, on August 6th, with several monarchs that we were raising going into chrysalises.

Little did we know that the few caterpillars that we were starting to raise, would soon turn into over 40 for the season. This is Sophia with about four more caterpillars that we raised after the first batch went into chrysalises.

One of the things that was particularly interesting this year was that the girls found monarch eggs on the bottom of a milkweed leaf. Sophia read that when the egg darkens, that the caterpillar will be born soon. Sure enough, it was. To see how small the caterpillars are when they are born, we put a penny to the left of the caterpillar and its egg.

During August, as we were getting Sophia ready to transition to college, we were doing a lot of driving around and eating meals out-and-about. We tried new restaurants that we hadn't tried which was fun.

On the 9th, we went to a Hawaiian restaurant and had a sushi bowl and bubble tea; and on the 12th we went to Noodles and had different Asian noodle dishes. Both places were very good.

 

Sophia and I did our final music therapy session at the humane society. After dealing with three wild puppies, we moved to the older dogs. One, Titan, had been there for a long time. In the kennel, he looked scary and barked loudly. However, when she played the harp for him, he sat on my lap - like a puppy - and listened intently. He took treats gently and was such a wonderful dog.

By the middle of the month, Sophia, Olivia, and I were in the full monarch caterpillar-nursery "business." The original screen cage which we've used since the girls were 5 and 7 years old, couldn't hold all the caterpillars we were finding. Pretty, soon the caterpillars were either sharing jars or in their own jars. It was quite the operation for us...and quite different than the 1-2 monarchs we've raised in the past.

Every time I went out to look for milkweed leaves for the caterpillars, I'd discover something new it seemed. I especially liked finding these little spring peepers who would be resting on leaves. They just sat quietly while I looked at them. They didn't move or jump away.

Olivia practiced throughout the month on .22 and trap shooting through the 4-H Shooting Sports program. She chose not to compete at the state level this year because she wants to build her skills a bit more before going.

On the 14th of August, we had chrysalises in some of our jars. We put sticks at the top of the jars and some of the caterpillars chose to go in their "J" formation and then chrysalis using the stick. Apparently, they don't need to do that. The screen mesh at the top of the jar or the side of the jar would have been fine.

That same day, our first monarch was born!

A few days later, a couple more monarchs were born! They were resting on and eating from the butterfly bush in our backyard. The flowers bloomed throughout August - just in time for all the monarchs! We also saw tiger swallowtail butterflies and sphinx moths visit this bush.

A picture that I like of Sophia and Olivia is at a bubble tea, cupcake, and rolled ice cream restaurant. I knew, at this point, that we only had a couple of weeks left to be able to enjoy our time together like this before Sophia would be at college. So, at this point, things started getting to be bittersweet as I took photos and thought about the images more.

By the third week of August, I was taking photos of those "little" moments that I'll miss around the home this year: like the girls watching a movie together at night.

We continued to release butterflies, with these two born on the 22nd.

The dogs loved being outside as the weather now has shifted from hot days and evenings, to cool/cold mornings and evenings and pleasant days.

On the 23rd, we could see a monarch that was almost ready to emerge from its chrysalises.

My sister joined the girls and I to celebrate the re-opening of Crystal Ball Dairy Farm. They had a major fire last year and have spent the past year rebuilding their farm and operation. There were a lot of samples of cheese, meat sticks, milk, cookies, and cake. Our plates were filled with samples...almost like a full meal!

On the 26th, we went to the Minnesota State Fair. Olivia entered her 4-H project in Wildlife Biology about Killer Whales. She did very well and received a blue ribbon.

We went around the fair a bit, dodging the rain throughout the day. We spent some time in the Ag-Hort building while it poured outside; and enjoyed seeing the flower displays.

We made our way over to the coliseum where we watched several competitions of draft horses and wagons. There were 23 teams of six horses - so 138 horses total competing. What we learned later was that the driver has reins for all six horses in his hands - three per hand. Each rein is wrapped around a finger, and the driver can control each horse by moving his finger in a certain direction.

The next day, we came back and enjoyed a cooler and sunnier day. The giant Ferris wheel looked so colorful against the sky.

Olivia got a cup of fresh strawberries and Cool-Whip which she liked. The strawberries were very sweet which she liked.

Sophia's judging of her 4-H project about Sole Hope in the Health division went well; and she earned a Grand Champion on it - the highest level!

When we came home, there were a couple of butterflies to release. As I looked at the chrysalises, I knew this would be the last one that Sophia would be releasing this season since she would be leaving for college the next day.

There was such joy and excitement as she watched it eat from the flowers on the butterfly bush. Despite her smile and joy, it was, again, such a bittersweet time for Paige and me. We both held back tears as we thought about the changes that the 28th would bring for us and Olivia.

On the 27th, there was one last game of Skip-Bo.

Although, these photos below are hard to look at for me without feeling a pang of sadness, I'll post them anyways because they represent the culmination of what our years of homeschooling and Sophia's choice of activities allowed her to do: to get into the college of her choice.

She is excited about this next phase of her educational journey; and we are excited about what her college can offer her in terms of academic, musical, and personal growth.

So, this was the family breakfast before we headed to her college. She wanted to go to Perkins.

The car was packed with her belongings. (We ended up bringing a few more the next day - including her harp which didn't fit.)

The three-day move-in experience/Welcome Week/family time (August 28th-30th) was spent unpacking, setting up her dorm room, attending a picnic for freshmen and their families, and presentations in the auditorium. We had meals in the cafeteria together (there are different "restaurants"/food stations - so that's why we all have different food).

Sophia had her college ID photo taken.

She was excited about some snacks we brought for her.

And she liked showing us how comfortable her bed was with the mattress topper and her new bedding.

 

The campus created a festive, welcoming environment for the students and their families.

The presentations and music in the auditorium were inspiring, encouraging, and...at times...sad.

The message for this year's class was from Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Right now I'm not feeling joyful, peaceful, or hopeful. Just sad. I'm hoping that will change as the year goes along.

My Favorite Photos - July 2019

Below are some of my favorite photos from July 2019. Trust me when I say that this is a small fraction of what I took. Compared to last year at this time, when we were in the midst of recovering from the fire at our farm that happened in May 2018, I didn't have a lot of flower and outdoor photos.

This one - taken on July 2nd - is the backyard. A month earlier the backyard had not been sodded - it was still mud and covered with straw - a result of heavy equipment and trucks in the backyard for repairs. The barn also had not been painted yet. So, this one represents a lot of hard work on our part (we did all the sod) and a feeling of completion with the barn finally painted.

This is another view of the backyard looking to the west. The tan/cream building is the new garage to replace the hobby shed that burned. Our home is behind the apple and pine trees to the right of the photo. 

Flowers were abundant in our back middle garden including roses and strawflowers:

 

This is a purple cleome. They grow quite tall and have these beautiful and unusual flowers. 

These purple flowers are by the back door (which is actually our front door since we live in an old farm home).

On a trip with the girls many years ago, I saw these flowers - lantana - in another state. In Minnesota, they are annuals and I get them every year now. I love the variety of colors in each flower.

Our peonies bloomed this year - just in time for Sophia's graduation party last month (June 29th). They aren't receiving as much sunlight, so their flowers haven't been as abundant as in previous years.

This is the front yard - the hostas at the beginning on the month were quite large. Now, at the end of the month, they have purple flowers that stand a couple of feet above the plants themselves. Hummingbirds love them - though the numbers are down this year because apparently during the Spring migration in April in Iowa, many were killed in the blizzard there.

On July 6th, I finished the squares for a quilt I'm working on. It's part of the Minnesota Quilters' annual mystery quilt project. It's a fundraiser and fun project to do throughout the year. Each month, you get clues to do, but you have no idea what the final quilt will look like. We're getting closer, though, because the blocks now are being assembled. These are Blocks 1 and 3.

Each in July, the girls and I went to Willow River State Park in Wisconsin. We had not been there before so it was a pleasant surprise.

 

There is a very steep walk to get down to the fall (which makes for an ambitious climb back up this hill!). It was a hot day, so the spray from the waterfall felt really good.

During July, Sophia played the harp for quite a few dogs at the humane society. This one enjoyed listening to the music - check out his ears as he listened.

There was a pair of dogs that were from a senior owner who no longer could keep them. This one reminded us of one of our dogs, Danny, who loves to be scratched by his neck and has the same funny facial expression.

A big change for us that we have been enjoying in July was painting four rooms in June before Sophia's graduation party. The dining room has been white since we moved in (I painted over a blue/brown country look paneling board within the first month of moving here). It is now a soft green.

The living room also has the same soft green. Depending on the light and time of the day, it can look like a very light green or a bit darker.

The kitchen walls we painted a light gray (they also have been white since 1995) and did a brighter shade of white for the cabinetry, trim, and doors. The gray walls now match with the flooring which we had installed many years ago when we had water damage from the second floor that went into the first floor and basement.

The main floor half-bath we painted a mint green. Again, the walls had been white since 1995 so it's nice to see some subtle color in the bathroom. The wallpaper was from the previous owner. We kept that. I added the brown towels to tie into the pinecones on the wallpaper.

By mid-July, there were even more flowers blooming in the garden.

They were such pretty, vibrant colors.

We had a lot of purple flowers this year because Sophia's graduation party colors were purple and silver.

The daisies were in full bloom.

The lilies by the driveway also looked beautiful after a rain.

The hydrangeas, by the end of the month, were big snowballs. They about the size of a dinner plate.

I've loved seeing the bumblebees and native bees all over the flowers. There's a constant hum whenever I pass by the flower garden.

We've been seeing more butterflies this year with all the flowers - the ones we've had and the ones we've added.

Earlier in the month, I was filling the bird feeders - including the one on the mudroom roof that is next to the bedroom window. I love seeing the birds up close and watching their expressions. I think they can hear us sometimes - like this bird.

I stopped filling the feeder on the mudroom roof because of multiple visits from the squirrels - gray and red. They drive Cooper crazy and he barks at them to scare them away. Problem is: now they know that even if he barks he poses no threat because he doesn't come after them.

The wrens have been singing daily. They go in and out of their house which leads me to believe they have a family in there. 

In mid-July, the girls competed in the county fair with their 4-H projects. Olivia did very well this year - earning all blues and one red. She entered a lot of projects - with the majority in photography, crafts, and fine arts.

Sophia earned all blues. Her main areas of interest were crafts, fine arts, and self-determined.

On the day that we volunteered at the fair in the 4-H food cafeteria, there was a major storm that was projected for the area. No one knew quite what to expect. It ended up being a serious storm with tornado-like winds, hail, lightening, and downpours that were blinding (both when walking and driving). It was like nothing we had ever experienced. These are the storm clouds moving in.

The people at the county fair had to take shelter at the churches across the street. Power went out, and buildings on the fairgrounds were damaged. No one - people or animals - were hurt. However, the fair closed for that night because of the amount of flooding and no power.

We made it through the rain stopped to get dinner at the Chinese buffet to bring home to celebrate Olivia's 16 1/2 year old birthday. We still do half-birthdays. Somehow I don't think we'll stop - it has become a tradition to celebrate the girls birthdays and half-birthdays since they were young.

July was filled not only with serious storms, but very high temperatures and humidity. We invested in two new fans for the barn. One (shown in the background below) is up higher and gets the air circulating at head-level for Bailey (the black horse).

We got another fan that we put on the floor and aimed it up for Hoss to enjoy. The minute I plugged it in, it was clear that this was where he was going to spend his day. He loved the wind on his forelock and mane.

We went back to the county fair on the 21st to see how the girls did on their projects; and what top ribbons they received. Olivia received a grand champion on her wildlife biology project that focused on killer whales. She will be competing at the State Fair next month with it.

Sophia chose to bring her health project on Sole Hope to the State Fair. She's working on doing a tri-fold display to go along with her booklet to display at the State Fair. Olivia will be doing a booklet to go along with her display. 

The girls received multiple grand champion, reserve champion, and top blue awards for many of their projects. Needless to say, they were happy with the results.

Once the county fair that the girls compete in with their 4-H projects was done, we began focusing our efforts on the county fair that we enter our projects in the open class category. This county fair is the county that we live in, so we've been entering projects into it since Sophia was about 5 years old - 13 years now!

One of the projects Olivia did was a quilted pillow. The pillow itself fits into a pillow holder. This is a major accomplishment because she has never quilted anything so complex before. She was so happy with how it turned out.

What I love about this time of the year is that we do a lot of hands-on projects and sewing that we've wanted to do during the year, but haven't had the time. Our dining room and living room turn into a big crafting area, and we're all working on a variety of projects.

We went to the county fair to see how we did and to see the projects that other people did on July 31st. We were all happy that we got ribbons for our hard work. One of the projects Olivia did very well on was her poetry collection. She got a blue ribbon.

As I look at the display case below, there are five items I made in pottery class during the past year. I was happy to see that my tree platter got first place. It's on the lowest level, left hand side.

Sophia received a blue ribbon for the blue Russian lace necklace she made. She wanted me to wear it for her high school graduation ceremony which I did.

At the county fair, there's a garden area that is maintained by the Master Gardeners. It's a beautiful garden, and the butterflies were loving the flowers.

There were unusual-colored sunflowers which seemed to glow with the sunlight behind them.

On our way out, we saw the cows peeking out behind the fence while they were getting baths.

During July, Olivia continued with her weekly trap shooting lessons on Thursdays. She also started doing 22 and BB gun on Tuesdays. This is a sport she's really enjoying. It's the second year of doing the 4-H Shooting Sports program.

Closing out the month, I saw two sandhill cranes in a nearby field. Almost every day, I hear the cranes. Periodically I see them which is always neat. They are such big birds.

We also saw a Sphinx Month on one of the flowers in the backyard. It is also called a Hummingbird Moth because it is about the same size, hovers, and has the same loud "humming" sound. It stayed around long enough for the girls to be able to see it.

On the last day of July, I found some more monarch caterpillars. We have five now in the butterfly cage. It seems like each time I got out to get some more milkweed leaves, I find another one! This is the most caterpillars we've ever had which is so exciting! 

I can't wait to see them emerge from their chrysalises as monarch butterflies! This is always a highlight of our summer since the girls have been young (around 8 and 6 years old).