Dog Days of Summer!

It has been hot, hot, hot in Minnesota!  Hot and humid for the last week with no end in sight.  Well, no predicted end anyway!  We got Billy off to college, he's all moved in and we don't hear much from him.  I think that's a good thing.

The trip to school is just over 3 hours.  He wanted to get there before his room mate so he could get his stuff put away before his room mate (Tyler) arrived with all of his things!  He and Tyler knew each other from High School, and have been good friends for a while, so it should all work out well for them. 

My comments obviously have nothing to do with my photos, but if you've read my blog before you probably expect that!  Flowers, horses, flowers, bird, flower and then Billy and Eric at ISU.  There...we're caught up, back to the college stuff!

The move in was very smooth.  There were a lot of volunteers to haul things up to the room.  I took one trip with stuff mostly to see where the room was...and then one final trip with Eric carrying the rug.  I think Billy only took one trip as well...then he needed to go and check in and get his key.  His room has air conditioning...which didn't seem necessary when they signed up...but boy is it nice that they have it now!  And the room seemed bigger than I thought it would!

We got him unpacked, we walked around a bit and went to lunch together.  Then it was off to a very crowded Target to find a few last minute things.  I think that reality was sinking in for him...he kept getting more and more quiet, almost crabby.  He was worried that he'd come back to the dorm to find that everything had been moved around.  (It wasn't)  He was worried that his cupcakes would bet eaten. (they weren't)  I think that he was really just worried about the huge leap he was making from life at home to life in a dorm.

I was worried too.  But once he was back in the room and chatting with Tyler he seemed to relax...a lot.  There was a lot of excited chatter.  Then we headed out to look at the campus a bit.  Another freshman was standing by his door in the dorm.  Billy started a conversation with him, reached out his hand and introduced himself.  And all of a sudden I just plain knew that he would be fine.  And then it was time for us to go.  So he could get his new life started.

So we could figure out what our new life will bring.  I surprisingly didn't cry that day.  But I'll admit, I've had a knot in my stomach since.  A long time ago I read a quote that said: "Changes are hard, you fight to hang on, you fight to let go."  I don't know who said it, but I'm thinking it must have been the mom of a college freshman.

Billy was worried that we wouldn't have anything to do now that he's gone, now that we don't have games to go and watch.  I think that we've been doing just fine with keeping busy.  He left on a Wednesday...Thursday we went to a Saints game.  Friday we played in a golf tournament.

Saturday we caught up on some of the house work that has been piling up while we were busy going to baseball games.

Sunday we went to visit our folks and to check on my horses....we sadly were also there when my brothers beloved dog Rusty passed away.  He was a big red lab with an even bigger personality.  It might have been the heat, it might have been the tumors he'd been battling, it might have simply been his time at 13 years old.  We'll never know for sure, we just know that it's hard to lose a faithful friend.  I was glad that we could be there for my brother...even though there wasn't much we could do.

On a lighter note, on Monday, after working in the morning, I took the bus over to the Minnesota State Fair.  One of my friends was in the horse show there...this isn't her!...and I wanted to get a few pictures for her to remember it by.  I didn't talk to her about being on my blog, so instead I am showing a picture of a pretty horse and some random guy.  Maybe that isn't better, I don't know.  Anyway, it was a hot day for the fair!  Two really good things happened because of that...the crowds were much, much smaller than normal, and because of the heat I wasn't very hungry!  One pronto pup, one twisted tater thing, a cone and some cookies to take home for Eric and Brian.  Not too bad for over 8 hours there!

To complete the first week of Billy being gone Eric and I both golfed in our respective golf leagues.  Very few people were on the course where I golfed.  One of our partners decided it was too hot and humid...but my friend Kay and I toughed it out!  The heat index was over 101 degrees...but it wasn't so bad.  We rented a cart, we both scored well, and the beer we celebrated with afterwards was one of the coldest and best beers ever!  Not too many weeks where our summer favorite beer "Summer Shandy" will be available.  It was a little discouraging on my way home to see that the thermometer in the car read 87 degrees at 9:00 p.m.  Air conditioning never felt so good!

This cute little tree frog found a cool spot in my hanging flower pot.  It's cool and moist, and close to the bug attracting front light.  Stay cool little froggy, fall will be here before we're ready!  Thanks for stopping by!

One Day at A Time.

So many changes in the air.  It's that time of year when I really just try to take one day at a time.  The weather feels fallish.  The sunflowers are blooming.

My horses are getting older.  One has a tumor in his nostril.  The vet came out, he sedated him, he floated his teeth, he took a really large chunk of the tumor out to do a biopsy.  He didn't like the looks of it.  The biopsy was sent in, then we waited.  And waited.  Waiting to hear results in any situation is hard.  You try not to think about it, but you do.  The call came, the tumor is benign.  Still need to have it removed, he wants to wait until the flies are gone, it could have been so much worse.  One day at a time.

We spent some time at the cabin.  A nice change of pace.  So peaceful there.  The sunset on the river was beautiful.

After church on Sunday we went to the local Threshing Bee.  It was their 57 annual event.  It's fun to see the big old tractors in the parade.  It's mostly a chance for the local farmers to catch up with each other, reminisce, with a few tall tales thrown in.  My dad would have said that they were "chewing the fat".  I enjoy going there to reminisce as well, but it sure makes me miss my dad.  He loved having all the grand kids on the tractor with him for the parade.  The grand kids loved it too.  One day at a time.

We had some errands to run on Monday night, we didn't get going until almost sunset...so we stopped by a local lake.  Sunsets almost always look better over water!  This one did.

The perennials are still blooming.  The bees are keeping busy!

Crazy looking bee getting some pollen from the Russian sage in my front yard.  Bzzz.

Billy is done with baseball for the year, but he played softball with his dad last night.  All the college supply shopping is done, there is a pile of stuff in my living room.  He leaves next week.  I think he's pretty much ready.  I do know that I am not.  I'm going to miss the sunshine that he brings to each and every day.

Ready or not, changes are coming.  I'm just trying to face them. One. Day. At. A. Time.

Already August

We're already a solid week into August, it feels like the summer is slipping away too quickly!  The flowers in my garden are abundant, so are the weeds.  The good news is that the purple cone flowers are taller than the weeds!

Billy and Eric were gone for over a week on a Mission Trip to West Virginia.  Unfortunately it was during the Sr. Babe State Baseball Tournament.  Fortunately, Billy's team fought their way through the losers bracket to play for the Championship on Saturday, and Billy was able to get back early in time to play on that day.  It was a double elimination tournament, so their team had to beat the winners bracket team twice to claim the title.  They did it!  Yeah!  So exciting that Billy's season wasn't over and that the team got to travel to Oskaloosa, Iowa to play in the Regional Tournament!

The summer has been busy, there hasn't been much time to stop and smell the roses.

Somehow my photo of what is left of my petunias makes them look pretty good.  They aren't.  They are leggy and scraggly.  I think that the constant rain we had early in the summer wasn't the best thing for their root system. Oh well, there is always next summer!

I like to wake Molly up from her naps...she's usually not amused.

I was lucky enough to be one of the mom's making the 4.5 hour drive to Iowa.  The tournament check-in process was very lengthy, but the boys got to practice a bit afterwards.  Pretty days in Iowa!

The opening ceremony for the tournament was right before our game, all the teams were announced.  It was nice, it made the honor of being there sink in a little bit.  This is right before the National Anthem.  Love how tall and straight Billy stands...#16 was making me proud all weekend long.

Making a catch in game one.  They won vs. the host team Oskaloosa.

Had to get a picture in the corn in Iowa.  Most of the boys are too young to know about "Field of Dreams" but the parents got a kick out of it.

Sharing a light moment with a team mate before game two.  I have to admit that I misjudged some of the parents, it was so good to get to know some of them better during the tournament.  The nice boys didn't get to be that way on their own!

Game three the team faced a boy that was throwing a 92 mph fast ball, and a breaking ball that they couldn't see.  They played tough against the team though, ended up losing in 10 innings when the opponents perfectly executed a suicide squeeze play.  Intense game!

Sunday, before warm-ups.  3 teams left in the tournament...happy that Minnesota was one of them.  The boys lost to the host team Oskaloosa...who they had beaten just a few days before.  The two games that they lost were both by one run in extra innings.  Couldn't have been closer.  3rd place in Regions, something to be proud of.

And then it was back home to catch up.  Catch up with work, catch up with laundry, catch up on housework...hah...and take a minute to enjoy the butterflies.

And the flowers in my garden.

And to enjoy these last few weeks before Billy leaves for college.  The littlest bird is leaving the nest.  So many changes coming.  I kind of like things just the way they are, but life isn't like that is it.

The changes are coming whether I like it or not.  I guess I better just face it and go out and buy those extra long college sheets.  And a rug for the dorm.  And all those other things the boy will need.  I think I had better buy a box of tissues too.  And so it goes.