Year of the Cicada

This was the year of the cicada, oh the noise! We had such swarms that an ice cream place in Columbia came out with cicada ice cream. People bought it, then realized it had bugs in it, then there was an uproar. You would think something called cicada ice cream would be questionable, but then again, I guess I am just using common sense. The cicadas left these shells behind everywhere and looked like aliens coming out of them...all white with these bid red eyes...ugh!

Edible Plants

Summer is the best for all the fruit that the orchard provides, assuming that the conditions are optimal.


For the third year in a row, the cherries have escaped us. Three years ago the tree just didn't fruit a lot. Last year we saw the cherries were just about right for the picking the next day. The next day, they were completely gone...stinkin birds. This year we decided to net the tree, that was a hoot, and all for nothing. They got nice and red, but mom and dad said that they should get a deep red, so we waited. Apparently we waited too long, they rotted on the tree and never got to that deep red. Dad said that next year, he is just going to eat them green.


The grapes have been another problem fruit for my parents. They ripened the first year, and ever since, the japanese beetles get to them, along with some kind of rot. This picture doesn't look like concord grapes, but hopefully this year, they will get there.
The strawberries did wonderfully in the garden. Funny really, my dad decided that putting up the fence around the garden was just too much trouble this year, so we left it off. We thought for sure the berries wouldn't make it with any the bunnies and deer that come around. You know what, we had a plethora! My mom must have made 4 batches of strawberry jam and we had spinach and strawberry salad every night for a few weeks (I'm not complaining, that stuff is delicious)!

Around the yard

My mother has a wonderful green thumb and has planted some cool things around the yard, now if only I remembered the names...









I know this one...it's an iris.

Three years

For our third anniversary, we decided to go to Ha Ha Tonka State Park, don't ask me where the name came from. Besides the manor house, they had a natural bridge. If we hadn't stopped to see that one on the way back from Idaho I think this one would have been more impressive. Nonetheless, it is still amazing. In this picture I was trying to get that cool water stream effect, but I couldn't get it to work.


After running around the park we went to the three putt putt golf courses they have in Osage Beach. We recommend these (the third just failed in comparison). I guess I had to admit that William won the first two courses and I the third. I'm not sure if it worse to lose by a lot or a little. The first he beat me by 3 points and second course by 1, only 1.

Ha Ha Tonka

They say these are old castle ruins, but it is more like an old manor house. Still, it was pretty impressive. It was interesting to see the way this "castle" was placed on the cliff side, along with the carriage house and the water tower. I feel bad for those who had to make that trip from the water tower to the house.


It was supposed to rain that day, but we made the journey anyway. Go figure, the weather people were wrong once again and it turned out to be a really nice day. Note for the wise, get to parks early in the morning when no one else is around, it makes for a much better experience.

Quarter of a Century

Can you believe it?! William and I are now a quarter of a century year old. How did this happen? On top of that, I had my hair cut the other day and the lady found a white hair...not gray, white. I told William he must be stressing me out too much.

Nature in Missouri

Turtles are very common around these parts. Mostly in the variety of snapping turtles and box turtles, though you are most likely to see them squarshed on the road. Do you know how to tell the difference? Box turtles look like boxes, and snapping turtles snap, duh?!?! When they are younger, the best way to tell is to look for the red on the belly...if it's red, it's dangerous...meaning a snapping turtle. This guy pictured is a box turtle that was hanging out in the yard when I was mowing.


This blue bird had an unfortunate accident in colliding with my parent's living room window. William witnessed the event and figured he would go see if he could help the thing out (good thing since it's kinda of what he will be doing for a living). The poor bird had knocked itself out and so William placed it on this bush so it wouldn't be easy prey. That is how I got this amazing picture. Maybe I just should have said it was my amazing ninja skills that got me so close to the bird, not the fact that it was recuperating from the flight incident it had.


It always amazes me all the critters and creatures that I get to see in Missouri. I must have forgotten all the life that is in the world being out in Idaho in the middle of no where for so long :). Just kidding...some things live out there too, just not in the abundance that is back east.
The view outside of the window that birds like to fly into is this tree. We usually hang a humming bird feeder from the branches, but that is beside the point. I would like to talk about this devious little squirrel. It has found out that by sitting on top of the bird house and hanging it's body over the edge, it could gain access to the bird seed inside the house. I was trying to get a picture of it in the act, but this was the best I could come up with.


Now for the grand finale. Have you ever seen a white deer? If you have, then you can stop reading because this is meant to impress people. On the way home from my grandpa's house we spotted the one and only white deer on the face of the earth!! Believe me, ok, it was a long shot. Apparently they aren't that rare, but it was the first time I had ever seen one, and I didn't have to pay to get in. I thought it was pretty cool.