Dexter Iowa Community Site

Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

A few random thoughts for this week just to keep things lively…

1. I so enjoy mowing the yard. This weekends mild cold snap certainly was enough to make me rethink wearing shorts to mow in. Just a tad bit on the chilly side on Saturday.
2. The garden is coming along nicely. The lettuce, spinach, peas and cucumbers are all up now and the green beans are slowly trying to poke their heads above ground. It won’t be long now till the joy of reaping the harvest is upon us.
3. For those of you in the area, you may have noticed more train traffic than usual lately. With the ethanol plant in Menlo in operation there won't be a decrease in rail traffic, which always makes train watchers happy. Be prepared on Saturday morning for a little extra traffic around the rails. The CNWHS will be bringing a passenger special through town Saturday morning and then returning Saturday afternoon. The special leaves from Des Moines at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to return about 4:30 in the afternoon, so be on the look out for this train, and the gaggle of chaser following it through western Iowa.
4. For the last few years I’ve had a pair of Orioles nesting in the old tree across the driveway. I hadn’t seen them yet this year and was beginning to worry, but saw the old guy Sunday afternoon perched on top of a fence post singing up a storm. All is well.
5. I took a trip to the Dollar Store on Sunday looking for a light bulb for the refrigerator. The one I paid $9 for last month in Des Moines had already burned itself out, which isn’t that big of a deal until you reach into the fridge and feel something fuzzy reaching back. Found one there and now I can see all those things tucked clear back behind the eggs. I’m always on the lookout for strange interesting things to bring home and will let you know how A&W root beer freeze pops are after I’ve had one.
6. Speaking of strange and unusual. I’m crazy for household gadgets. You know the ones I am talking about. Those things they sell off the infomercials. Like the hard boiled egg maker that comes with a microwave bacon rack, that keeps the bacon upright and out of the grease? Well I was at the Wal Mart in Creston over the weekend and I found something I’ve needed for a long time. It’s a round object that you put into your tuna can when you take the lid off to strain off the juice. How have I ever lived without one?
7. The big mushroom hunt turned out to be a bust this year. I’m hearing that they were pretty spotty as it was.
8. And if my week could get any better…I was stoked to go camping this weekend. All by myself.  Just Dad, some beef sticks, a case of Root Beer and the great out doors. I had been working on and off getting the camper ready to go and the last thing on my list was to flush what was left of the RV antifreeze out of the water lines. So into the tank I stuck the garden hose and turned on the pump and lifted the handle to the faucet. Nothing….not a drop coming out. I thought maybe the hose had fallen out of the tank so went outside to check only to find water running out of the back of the camper near the water heater. So off to the shop the camper went and it looks like my weekend camping will have to wait for a few weeks.
9. Finally this week, I have noticed that my dog is sure becoming quite friendly with all the other dogs in the neighborhood. I’ve come out some mornings to find him wandering around the yard with a couple of the other neighborhood dogs. Max asked me where he was the other afternoon and as Buddy came running on my yell up from the hunting area, Max said, “Dad I think he’s been visiting his friends again.” Well at least he’s not found his way back to town.

See you next week. Remember, we’re all in this together.