the CROPS farm

I've put in some volunteer hours this summer at the Community CROPS farm on the outskirts of town. The work has been hard at times (hoeing) & also relaxing (picking spinach) but I have loved going there to get away from town. The roar of traffic is a decibel or two lower. The gardens are amazing with their vegetables (tomatoes, butter lettuce, okra, basil, eggplant, peppers, spinach, beans, peas) & there are even chickens to add that farm feel with their clucking. On one visit though I went exclusively to take photos. The produce is sold at farmers' markets in town & also sold weekly to people who sign up for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes. There are more CROPS gardens sprinkled throughout the neighborhoods of Lincoln. These gardens are tended by low income & often immigrant families as a way to supplement their food. I have enjoyed my involvement with this group.

marigolds

reception #2

Don & I were in Iowa City over the weekend to host a reception for Austin & Yizhi with their friends there. They chose the Sutliff Cider Company in Lisbon, Iowa as the location & it was a great venue. There was inside & outside sitting. If you chose to sit outside you had a view of a corn field across the paved road. The weather was perfect & most of us enjoyed their ciders (alcoholic & nonalcoholic) more than the beer. And it was great to see the newlyweds again.







Some people enjoyed the beer more . . .

Janie

I visited my sister, Connie, this past week. Her lab, Janie, was underfoot all the time. She wasn't too thrilled with the camera at first but she got used to it. I noticed that she seems especially attached to Connie.









She sits nearby while Connie is on the phone . . .







Luke spent some time getting her to do tricks for a treat. She knows quite a few tricks too.







And when Connie naps, Janie is at her side still.



Man's, I mean, Connie's best friend.

remembering 9/11

Ninety-seven percent of people asked said they remember where they were when the towers fell. I'm no exception. I was at work in cardiac rehab at BryanLGH & caught footage on the tv in the lounge for nursing students. I just wanted to leave & get my kids out of school & be home with them. A terrifying day that we won't ever forget.

Nancy's clothespins

road trip

It was such a gorgeous day here that I suggested we take a road trip . . . on the motorcycle! And I had a place in mind. The Audubon Spring Creek Prairie just west of Denton. It is closed on holidays, but the sign said it was ok to walk around.









Don was the one who noticed the turtles sunning themselves on the finger of land reaching out into the pond.





I love "blooming" milkweed.







Then we headed to Denton & ate at the steak house. Great burgers!