Wiley's

 Does this bring back memories to Hutch folks? Our great big store that now stands empty.

We had family here over the week-end and they were working on some projects. After they left, I found this paper bag. I can't imagine how long they had it or why but it was nice to see a marketing example from a simpler time.

Fishing

Amazingly, I have permission to use this photo from the fisher person. The two older grands went with grandpa to Dillon's Nature Center this morning to drown some worms. This little perch, terrified out of its mind, was thrown back to be fooled another day.
T. was making a fish face and perhaps the hair represents the hook and line.

We had a great week-end. Four visitors and four dogs were here and there was only one dog fight  and it actually involved dogs. No blood was drawn.

This is the other fisher person. Don't ask me why one photo is larger. It's taken me two days to get them on here.

Wish the other family on the west coast could have been here. School is not out yet.

Nature in the Morning

 We  spent the morning out in the woods - well as near what you can call woods in this part of the prairie.

There is an archery range and in the newspaper under things to do today, was an archery meet at 8:00.

After rousing the young ones, we made it out to the river. I was taking pictures all over and then noticed a sign: 
No trespassing and directly below those words was the word CAMERA.
I figured they couldn't arrest me for pictures of foliage.

The archery range is laid out like a golf course with 40 stations. There are various targets from the first, a dinosaur (stegosaurus) to elk, deer, bear, mountain goat and a big frog.

M. did really well and filled out her score card. She can come back this summer and shoot some more!

Visiting Dogs and Tall Lilies

 We discovered a baby bird was what the dogs were so attentive about - expecially after I saw a black bird dive Ingrid, the tallest dog.

L. checked it out and it had expired, possibly from a fall from the nest.

I had a minister tell me once that only magazine subscriptions expire. Living things die. . .

A thing to remember on this Memorial Day week-end.

Portland OR, 1998

 Wonder if this shop is still there. We didn't go in.

Indian and Bear Bank ca. 1903

These banks were very popular near the turn of the century (1900) and this one belonged to my dad (born 1898.)  It was made by the
 J & E Stevens Company of Cromwell Connecticut. The date on the bottom is 1888 but it also says Patent Pending.
From an artcle on the internet, found by our son, the feathers were often missing. They were fragile and not attached securely. These feathers are held on by a fine wire that someone used to keep them with the bank.

The colors look good and would look even better if I had dusted it before taking the photo.

Two Views of a Flower

This was a flower in my friend's yard a few years ago. It was taken with my old Kodak digital camera.

I really liked the feature called "cartoon."

With all the new possibilites on my Canon, it does not have this one.

Maybe it wasn't as popular with other folks, known as Real Photographers.

Haven, KS

My grandmother's maiden name was Cadwell so I guess this belonged to
one of her relatives. Date unknown but guess is in 1920's.
 

Dodge City Airport - weather balloon launch

1955, Dodge City Ks.  This is why our state is called flat.

Old Photo Booth Pictures

 What was the deal with the finger along side the face? I think that fur coat was rabbit (!) And I loved that cape. It made me feel like a nurse - like my mom.  I never achieved that profession. After almost failing high school chemistry, I chose foreign language instead.

Come to think of it, I never achieved anything in that profession either. Made my living talking - a normal condition for me - as a telephone and PBX operator.

Mammatocumulus

 No hail and very little rain came after these clouds passed by.

I always heard them called "cumulo mammatus" but the dictionary has it reversed as shown in the title.

They looked very low and large!

New boards on the fence

In making an effort to keep the rabbits out of the yard, L. replaced three boards that had small openings near the ground.

It will take a long time for them to "weather" enough to match the rest.

Prom Time - 1949

Think pale blue with white floral designs.


P.S. Reference Wednesday's "tip-over" -  I have found the second day is when all the sore spots show up. Wrenched shoulder and neck to name two.

A Mystery

 

 This what-not shelf is in a small bedroom that is seldom used. The other day I noticed that the two vases usually on the bottom shelf were gone.
I looked in the corner under the shelf, behind the dresser and there they were, on the floor, one broken.
These belonged to my mom and I have always liked them even though it seems to me that they are useless as vases.
If you look closely at the bottom shelf, (click to enlarge) you will see the
rings in the dust (!) where they were sitting are far back from the edge. How they ended up on the floor is the unknown.
We have had no earthquakes; the dogs are not allowed in there; how did the vases jump from the back to the edge and over?
L. is going to get a circular  piece of wood from Hobby Lobby and glue the broken parts to it. There were two smaller slivers that made it impossible to glue them successfully without an additional base.

Maybe we're haunted.

Unenjoyable Incident

A new experience today. . . I was leaning over in the backyard while L. did all the work, and I was pulling some grass that was growing in among the ivy.
Suddenly I just kept going forward from my bent over position. I've heard people say, "The ground came up to meet me."
It wasn't like that - I went down to meet the ground and kept going. I felt like the force of gravity was tripled and I couldn't stop. On my knees with my face close to the lava rock, I tried to get up.  The ad from tv flashed through my mind. I've fallen and I can't get up.
Although I didn't feel like it was a fall. It was just a bending over that didn't stop. So glad L. was there to help me to my feet. He kept saying, "You're dead weight." Luckily we were by the swing frame so I hung on to that. No dizziness or blacking out. The only visible injury was a knicked knuckle.

I guess I won't bend over for a prolonged time from now on.

Christmas Ornament on a Pitcher

 No disrespect meant. . . just a funny take on a clever pitcher. This belonged to my cousin, I believe. She sent me the photo.

The Wolcott Building

This seven story office building was proposed as 14 floors in 1931 but the Great Depression delayed its construction until 1936.
Another fine building torn down in 1985. It was removed to make way for a park. The park is nice but this building was the first air conditioned office building west of the Mississippi (I've heard this - it may not be a fact.)
Sorry about the blurry second picture. I was emotional about it being reduced to ruble.

On my desk I have small piece of marble that was from the lobby. One of the destruction workers let me have it. The photos don't show the actual color of the stone - it has more of a pink color than depicted here.

Some people worked hard to  save Convention Hall - now known as Memorial Hall, but we lost the Bisonte Hotel. Maybe we have passed that era of tearing down and we can preserve our older buildings. There is a story that the old Stamey Hotel, now known as the Landmark,  may get a make-over. Let's hope.

Aeroplane Hanger

 This was on a wall
at the FAA office in Kansas City in 1988. I hope it's still there.

Mom

 1904-1964

Dad's Birthday

 This is the 114th anniversary of my dad's birth. Somehow he always wanted to be a year or two younger than he was.
His first hunting license, which we found in the stock of his old gun, had his age listed younger than he was. I always wondered why at 21 he would do that.
That was the only odd thing I ever knew about him. He was quiet and reserved but a lot of fun and I know he loved my mother and me. He missed both world wars - too young for the first and too old for the second. Actually he had a job with the electric company that was considered essential and was almost forty-three when we entered WWII.
I miss him.

Not much going on

Nothing going on around here except some insect is loose in the neighborhood. Two bites later and I know it was not a tick.  We haven't seen any mosquitos but maybe a chigger?

Ah, summer. . . .

Poor Bunny

We have had cottontail bunnies around the neighborhood. In fact, I posted a photo of one not too long ago. This morning one got into our backyard and unhappily, the two pups found it and now it won't be back. Maybe he could have escaped one dog but not two.

I know it's nature but it is sad.  L. is out putting barricades along the bottom of the fence on all the extremely small openings. I hope we find even the smallest spaces that a small rabbit can get through.

A Day Late and A Dollar Short

I had plans to see the Full Moon last night when it was rising. The internet gave the time as 10:34 p.m. in our time zone.
Imagine my disgust when I discovered that was not moon rise time but the time it was closest to the earth and well up into the sky.

I went out and looked anyway.

The Wright Family

This is my maternal grandparents family in 1913.  Married at seventeen, she had her first child about ten months later. In the back row they are: Pearl, 23; Iva, 17; Claude, 13;
front row: Lloyd, 20; Victor, 54; Alice, 40; Selma, 9; and Harlond, 6.
My mother is the young girl in the front row.
They had one other daughter, Retta, who died in infancy.
According to the dates in the family Bible, the babies arrived three years apart.


Almost all the photographs from this time show very grim faces.

Pioneer Days at SWB

 This was before AT&T merged. Instead of a Pioneer, I chose to be a squaw.

Clean Carpets

 Today the men came to clean the carpets. They were here about an hour.

Now we'll see how long it takes before we have a place to spot-clean.

Oh, the dogs are housebroken but you never know what they'll drag in - moths, june bugs, twigs, leaves, larger sticks, rocks. . .

Butterflies

 The peony buds are attracting butterflies today. As soon as the land, their wings close up so I was lucky to get the middle shot with the wings open.

The last one has five of them on the buds. They were actually a flock and as you walked by the plants the butterflies all flew. I wish I could have gotten a photo of that group!