Changing Scenery

Summer has arrived in Iowa with the unforgiving relentless
heat and humidity that we have every summer. This past week we have had highs
in the mid 90’s with dewpoints in the uppers 
70’s resulting in heat indices above 110 in the afternoon.  Iowa is, indeed, a climate of extremes.
Things are slowing down a bit with the end of the baseball season for our
grandson’s little league team.

I was mowing Monday morning enjoying my surroundings and thinking about how much things have changed since our arrival in late April. The roadsides and timber lines where I mow have changed remarkably. The flood debris is all but gone. The dried winter weary grass in now lush and green. The white blossoms of the raspberry bushes along the roadside are now ripe berries waiting to be eaten by the wildlife. Early spring wildflowers are now being outshined by the summer stars; Milkweed, Coneflower, Compass flower, Butterfly bush, and a yellow ground cover flower that I can’t remember the name of. Trees that were bare when I mowed the first time are now full with bright green leaves. It seems like just yesterday, the butterfly gardens were either bare or just starting to emerge. In the blink of an eye the flowers are in full bloom and butterflies are everywhere. The Zennia seed in one of my flower beds has grown to foot high plants ready to bloom and the grand kids are growing as fast as the grass.

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  Water Break Time

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  Another View from my mower

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  Road behind our rig heading to the lake

I spent 5 years of my 12-year banking career in a corner office of our branch. I had so much natural light there were days, I didn’t turn my lights on and no one noticed.  I thought I had a nice view there with floor to ceiling glass facing the lobby entry and 6-foot high windows surrounding my desk on south and west sides.  My office was filled with plants and had more the feel of a greenhouse than a bank office. That was nothing compared to the view I have this summer from my ‘office chair’ on the mower I use most days. The view of the lake is ever present as I mow my designated areas. Not only am I surround by plants, but I encounter wildlife throughout my day. From shore birds standing along the shoreline, to the swallows and bluebirds that swoop down by the dozens eating the insects I stir up in the grass, to the deer I flushed out of the ditch this morning. She was a bit confused and ran along-side the mower for about 20 yards before she turned into the woods. I had to wonder if anyone has ever been trampled by a scared deer mowing an area like this. She could have just as easily turned toward me and kicked me in the head as she jumped over the mower instead of over the brush between us and the timberline.

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  Showy Milkweed

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  Butterfly Bush

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  Canadian Horse Nettle

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  Song Sparrows with dinner

The best part is the smell.  The milkweed is blooming and the air around me is filled with its sweet powdery aroma mixed with the smell of the fresh cut grass coming from under the mower deck. It really doesn’t get much better than this for me.

We are getting plenty of time to see grand kids, kids, friends and family. I have to admit even though we came home to a flooded lake and the weather stayed colder that we would have liked early on, we are finally having a summer like we imagined when we went full-time three years ago. We love our volunteer duties at the lake and are getting lots of time to hang out with everyone and just be home, as it were. The 4^th of July is around the corner and the Iowa State Fair will be here before we know it. Summer is in full swing and ticking by fast already.

Until Next Time...