Tall Tales from Kansas

are spiders like knitters who follow a pattern?

It's the time of year for candles, getting out the fingerless mitts, and flipping through magazines with fall images. This combined with zinnias that are still blooming, and an afternoon high in the low 70's, is the perfect time of year. The best of 2 seasons mixed into a transition. 

The jeans have come out for morning walks, at the wetlands mist rises from the water in the cooler air.

The spiderwebs are everywhere. Do you suppose they are like snowflakes? As in no 2 exactly alike; or are spiders like knitters who follow a pattern but incorporate some individual uniqueness as they spin? My money is on the latter.

Last week gardeners were preparing to put in the mums at Kauffman gardens, while the Cannas were still in bloom at Loose park.

The craving for a BLT for dinner persists, but if Chris said we were having chili and cornbread tomorrow I would not complain. 

Last night I had crazy mixed up dreams about going around at work to check the status of the coffee and coffee filters in all the break rooms, then it morphed into making sure there was toilet paper in all the bathrooms. Jeez. I am fairly certain there is not a seasonal reference there, perhaps just the transition between sleep and waking. Combined with the need for coffee and the call of nature?   

when the proper season rolls around again

Before the unexpected cold snap, or in case I get lazy later, let me just show you right now how the succulents out back fared this year. 

These guys are sort of on their own out back. I mean they get a drink occasionally but since I worry about overwatering them, I try to leave them alone. They could likely use a bit of protection from the sun at times too, but I don't move them around. 

It's not a succulent, but the bougainvillea really did well this year too. I should have tucked some of those branches up through the support earlier on to encourage upward growth more than out to the sides ... maybe?

Now I just need to take a few cuttings to bring in for next year. For sure that crassula sunset jade, some of the ruffled echeveria, and maybe the panda plant. The trick is to bring in a few, but not so many that there is no "winter break" from gardening. That is one thing I like about living in a climate with 4 seasons. It gives one enough time without something, to miss it and want to get back to it when the proper season rolls around again.

many a golf club has been cleaned sitting in that very chair

This past week, using his stagehand and technical theatre background, Chris replaced the webbing on a lawn chair.

The appropriate placing and setting of grommets is a skill with many useful applications.  

It was at my insistence that one of the old strips be retained. Because as much as this is about re-using, and not replacing, it is more about the fact that this "antique" has been in the Moss family for many, many years. Ray and Angie would always pull it out and sit in the driveway or out back at their house. Many a golf club has been cleaned sitting in that very chair by dad, and mom brought it along when they came to visit so she could supervise any gardening chores. 

I gave Chris an A+ for completion of this job in a timely manner, and with great skill.  It will be traveling with us to the cemetery in October. 

There was also the beer for a job well done. It is important to reward and recognize hard work. Especially when you may have ideas for other things that could use his skill and attention. 

her classic pitch adds greatly to the overall experience

After listening to the Diving In podcast about Ann Patchet's Dutch House, I put Bel Canto on my list of must reads. It happened to be available at my library with no waiting just when I found myself in need of a new story for the daily commute. 

This audio version is read by Anna Fields who has the perfect voice for the story. Melodious without being affected, able to perfectly take on the accents without going overboard. In a book, set in South America, where an opera singer is featured, her classic pitch adds greatly to the overall experience.  

This is the story of a group of people taken hostage while at a dinner party where an opera singer has been brought in to perform for the guest of honor. You are introduced to some of the hostages, the terrorists in charge, and the Swiss negotiator. Time passes, lines are blurred, how will this end? Not like I expected. 

I had to stop regularly to re-listen to the way Ann Patchett puts words together, like this realization by Oscar Mendoza (one of the hostages), "... a new smaller set of freedoms began to raise a new light within him, the liberty to think obsessively, the right to remember in detail. Away from his wife and 5 daughters he was not contradicted or corrected and without these burdens he found himself able to dream without constant revision."

Excellent writing, well developed characters, wonderful to listen to, highly recommended. 

with a multi-grain monster cookie thrown in for good measure

This morning, at 8am when it was a glorious 59 degrees, with filtered sunlight, Chris and I headed west to the Konza Tall Grass Prairie to walk the Kings Creek Loop trail.

For those of you who only see Kansas from interstate 70, let me tell you it is more than flat grassland. This hike starts with a nice rise and has some wonderful vista's - pasture, planted fields, small towns and a river in the distance, all very picturesque. 

We have done this hike several times over the years, and each time we return I am reminded just how peaceful it is. Today there were monarchs floating on the currents, tall grasses that look like a moving ocean when seen from a distance, and of course sunflowers.

There are creeks that run through the prairie, with wooded areas that follow along the path. Today we saw a flock of wild turkeys down there. Running and foraging.  

The remains of the Hokanson Homestead are fun to look at, I always like to imagine what it would have been like to live in the middle of this great prairie 100 years ago. 

And of course we brought lunch with us. There is a wonderful scenic overlook several miles from the trailhead and the few times we have been there it's never crowded. We opened up the back of the Subaru, and reveled in the richness of our view, while we ate.  I swung my feet in the breeze - is there anything more delightful than releasing your feet from the boots after a hike and putting on the Birkenstocks?

P.S. Krissy please tell Joe about this. The Subaru, hiking, Birkenstocks, trifecta with a multigrain monster cookie thrown in for good measure. 

sharp-witted women who are walking ahead of me on the path

The absolute pleasure of a day spent with a dear friend can not be underestimated. Especially when you have been in separate "bubbles" for the past 6 months. Today was all about catching up, supporting local businesses, anticipation of fall, reminiscing, enjoying looking at pretty houses and landscaping, and then the unexpected pleasure of lunch with Nancy and Marti.

If you are in the KC area, and have not yet been to the marketplace at meadowbrook, get yourself there. We started with a latte that was fabulous (I might have taken photos of the wallpaper inside to attempt to draw later), headed to Kauffman gardens, skipped over to Jadore where we found everything to jumpstart our fall decorating, and then lunch.

It is not everyday you get to have lunch with a 96 year old, with whom you can share stories about what to do when your "dobbers are down". I don't know about you, but I need contact with sharp-witted women who are walking ahead of me on the path. 

You may want to know the roses at Loose Park are spectacular right now and the swings aren't bad either. We also encountered a dog named Jimmy at the park whose owner schooled us in the benefits of furry 4-legged friends.  Below is the candle and a box of matches I could not resist at Tyler Kingston Mercantile in the Mission shops. 

Finally, when we returned to where we started the day, I was forced to purchase an old-fashioned and a jalapeño-pinapple margarita to go. This is what I will say about that... the opportunity to pour a perfectly mixed drink over ice, in the comfort of your own home, without having to drive anywhere later, and sip on it while you discuss plans for a hike in the prairie on Saturday, is a benefit of the pandemic that I for one may be indulging in again. Holy biscuits - who knew getting a cocktail to go was a thing? The old fashioned was delicious. I might have also gotten a monster cookie for dessert after the hike. In case we wear ourselves out and need reviving. 

P.S. A smart reader pointed out to me that Nancy and Marti are sitting very close together for pandemic times. Good for you for calling this out. Marti is Nancy's mom and they are in the same bubble.

look as long as you like

I haven't made it out to either of the larger fields of sunflowers located near Lawrence this year, but that in no way means I have missed out. On everyday excursions I have spotted remarkable specimens in neighborhoods, on the table, in the morning light - from the front and back, newly opened and almost spent. 

Later in the day, as part of a bouquet, or standing tall along the bank of a river. 

Each and every one a masterpiece. No charge for admission, look as long as you like, no need to ask permission to photograph.  

in a private car, on a journey to a place you have been longing to visit,

Below are the five random regular things I most want to share with you this week. They are not rank ordered. I sprinkled them from the camera and this is how they fell out.

The incredibly fragrant rose I liberated from a bush at the park, where I sat with my "orange blossom" latte, after a walk. 

My new favorite "mask up" sign, seen downtown, on the door of the Dusty Bookshelf, on Massachusetts street.

The red-headed woodpecker, spied overhead on a walk, when I just happened to have the Nikon with me. I have not previously seen a woodpecker whose ENTIRE head was red. 

This latest vase of zinnias which are still producing like gangbusters. I have already told you to plant some of these next summer right?

The curve of this railroad track. Can you look at it and not imagine being onboard, looking out the window, while you sit in a private car. On a journey to a place you have been longing to visit, notebook open ready to write about what you will see and do, because you don't have to bother with driving. Knitting beside you if your hands want to do something. 

I think before I die I must take a long train ride west. To see what I can see. 

my fall frame of mind

On Saturday, the first miniature gourds of the season were spotted at the farmers market. Butternut and acorn squash too. If you hadn't already been convinced of the approach of fall. Consider this your confirmation. In Kansas anyway. 

I spotted this helper at some point and was glad to catch the whole family later and find them most agreeable to my photo request. 

I really wanted someone to come home with me who could spoon something savory and creamy into these squash blossoms, then flash fry and serve them alongside an omelet stuffed with asparagus and prosciutto and a piece of rustic whole grain toast, lightly buttered, and a glass of dry white wine. But there was no one in the vicinity who seemed capable, so I walked on. 

I did not try to squish this baby in leopard tights, but seriously, the thighs, the neck, the cheeks, were all begging to be. 

I did not get pickles this week, but must remember to get a few jars for the pantry, for the winter. I only make refrigerator pickles, and leave the real "pickling" to the experts. 

Someone like this lady. She seems like just the sort who would be a capable pickle-maker.

The squash, kale, and parsley were combined with lentils for lunches this week. After getting home from the store I realized that there is a difference between sprouted lentils and regular dry lentils. But it all worked out. 

This recipe did not call for kale, but I added some anyway. I thought about a few raisins too, but stopped myself. Everything can not have raisins. 

Finally there was this lovely bouquet with the lillies. Such a pretty color. Perfect for my fall frame of mind. 

a vulgarity that starts in "girly cursive" and ends with a smiley face

On a recent walk by the river, instead of going left, I decided to go right. Under the bridge, away from the corn fields, to see what was over there.  

It turns out, there's quite a lot. Including but not limited to a new view of the river from a boat ramp area.

Cool street art under the overpass of the highway. Forgive the curse words, but I found this all very creative. 

You gotta love a vulgarity that starts in "girly cursive" and ends with a smiley face. I have been trying to call to mind a picture of the artist. 

There was a new path that looked interesting and will require further investigation.

And all along the way, cool cloud formations overhead.