Friday, August 31, 2018

Outdoor Mom's Journal - August 2018

During our outdoor time this week we went....around town a bit. Saw Sandhill Cranes in pastures. They are around - even if we don't see them. Their sound is peculiar and memorable.



We spent time outdoors at the local farmers market. Sophia was asked to play her harp there on August 8th, so she spent a few hours there. I was at the market for about an hour or so, brought Olivia back home, and then returned to the market when Sophia was done.


We enjoyed watching a lot of geese cross the road on August 17th.



On August 21st, Sophia and I took Olivia to target practice. She used my dad's .22 rifle that my brother inherited and let us borrow.


Target practice was held in a mine that no longer is being used. Although the weather was nice, there were a lot of gnats. Thankfully, we had bug spray with DEET...the only spray that repelled these annoying insects away from our faces and heads.


I spent time outside on August 21st checking out the garage that is being built to replace the hobby shed that burned on May 5th.


The clouds on August 21st were beautiful.


The sunset was breathtaking too as it set. The newly-paved roads were slick and wet from the recent rain.


There was a rainbow in the east - a full one. Wish the power lines weren't in the photo, but that's the view from the front of the house.


Another view of the sky shows the southern part of the rainbow and some unusual and colorful clouds under it.


I enjoyed seeing the colorful clouds and their shapes. 



What was particularly interesting for me was seeing clouds that were flat on one side - it is like someone took an eraser and erased the bottom portion of them. 


At the August 22nd farmers market, we spent time outdoors collecting donations for various non-profit organizations as well as making shoes for children in Uganda that used jeans that people no longer wanted.


We traced and cut pieces out of the jeans.


 On August 28th, we spent the evening at the Minnesota State Fair. We walked around outside as well as spent time inside in some of the buildings. Olivia was being judged for her photograph in the 4-H photography project area.


We returned to the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday, August 29th. Outside the Eco-Education building are face cutouts by plants they represent.


Both the girls were good sports and stood by them.


Olivia and I watched a parade at the State Fair while Sophia was being judged for her illustrated presentation.


Afterwards, we found some new sculptures. This one was by one of the historical buildings.


I really like this photo of Olivia by the cow.


While we were waiting for Sophia's judging session to start for the craft project area in the 4-H building, we all tried our hands at target practice. Olivia had the top score, then Sophia, and then me.


When we were done, we went on the giant Ferris wheel. The timing was perfect with the setting sun.


We had an amazing view from the top.


By  the time we were done, the lights on the Ferris wheel were more visible.


The most inspiring thing we experienced was...seeing the hibiscus tree blooming. There are three different plants that are braided together, so the tree is colorful and beautiful in full bloom.



The blooms last about a day...two if we're lucky. Yet, there seems to always be at least one flower on the tree. 

We were a bit concerned early on when the leaves kept yellowing and falling off. It looked rather dismal with few leaves; and we questioned whether it would survive.

So, we bought a moisture reader and found out that we were overwatering the plant. It needs to be within a 1-2 reading. When we have the soil in that range, the plant does very well.

Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…how wildfires and the smoke in the west and north can affect the way the sun looks in Minnesota. 



It amazes me that the entire sky and sun can be completely changed by the smoke several states away (or even in another country).

In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting...
we are getting some tomatoes and herbs from our garden. I'm thinking that the raised beds - or perhaps my growing skills - are resulting in meager harvests in terms of produce. I may not go through the trouble next year of planting vegetables.

The flowers are doing well, however. This is one of the blooms on the hibiscus tree.


This is a pink rose that is very fragrant.


I added nature journal pages about...nothing yet for August. However, I do want to learn more about hail. We had a hail storm here on Sunday, August 26th. There were dime- and quarter-size hail that pummeled everything for quite a while.


The hail made almost musical sounds as it hit the propane tank. The size of the hail and force that it the tank made the sounds different.

I am reading...
I finished reading all the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazines. It's nice to get caught up with reading them. Each issue is packed with beautiful photographs and interesting information.

I am dreaming about…
a time when I can go outside and not have to deal with gnats, mosquitoes, or horseflies. 

A photo I would like to share...
these flowers have a pretty combination of orange and pink.


They are growing next to moss roses which have equally as pretty and delicate colors. 


Thank you to Barb the Outdoor Hour Challenge for the idea of doing an Outdoor Mom's Journal.

1 comment:

Rita said...

Love when you show pics of how beautiful it is around your home there.
Busy days. I am also waiting for fall and bugless weather. :) :)