Kelly in Kansas

More morel hunting yesterday but later online research indicates we need some more warm days before they will pop. So, maybe next weekend will be a fruitful harvest of morels.

I spent a few hours at the humane society again. The university's biology club was there to walk dogs and play with the animals - it was a great day to get them outside. I also helped the shelter put their upcoming mall adoption dates on their website. Hopefully these will be more and more successful when people see these great animals just looking for a home. Andy, the Cairn Terrier, let me sit and pet him for awhile although he didn't want to know he liked me. Most impressive, however, was Dr. Pepper's peering out at me when I was sitting with several groups of dogs in the middle glassed in area between the main office and the kennels. I asked Aaron about getting Dr. Pepper out and he said he had probably been overstimulated already. But, just before I left, Dr. Pepper let me pet him through the kennel gate door. What a sweetie.

It was also a great day to do some outdoor work so I mowed for the first time and took my second big stab at the heavy duty blade weedeating along the back fenceline. My second trip to get gas (this time for the weedeater) proved to be very beneficial as I ran into my plumber who was able to get me connected on some other repair problems I'm dealing with. He does a great job - he sends people in an emergency right away and, in return, I give him a window of opportunity when I do things like poor a burned batch of candy I'm making down the sink and ruin the garbage disposal (at least it was 15 years old and not brand new).

This morning has been spent grading given that I am apparently not enticing the grading fairy to show up.

P.S. I'm actually beginning to feel like I have actual weekends like the real world and don't feel overwhelmed with working the whole time (although grading was bearing down on me - but everyone needs occasional breaks - esp. given the breakneck pace of last week. . or it could just be because weekends are a normal expectation of a working adult . .. ;-) )

Labels: animal shelters, dogs, farm, humane society, hunting, lawn, morel, mowing, mushroms, resuce dogs, weedeating, woods

I spent some time yesterday walking around the north side of my property - there is a creek I don't remember being there but was a great discovery given that it takes water to produce morel mushrooms. I'll have to ask the neighbors if they are finding any morels yet. I have yet to find them on the farm since I've had it. It's truly an art and the secret to finding them is not readily shared. My guess, however, is that the deer and turkey get them before I can even look for them. Then, I spent some time getting the logs and limbs from the two large trees we cut in back. We didn't realize til we tried to cut on them this last fall that they were still growing so they are cut into pieces to be easier to cut in smaller pieces. But, now that the 4wheeler is running again, I was able to get move some of it up to where I will burn it eventually (since obviously I can't burn in the woods near the house). The landscaping has held up relatively well given the large amounts of rain - which is hopefully good for growing. I will soon start bringing over some more ivy from mom and dad's to help contain losing more of the dirt. A never ending battle with nature - I just wish I had realized what was happening when I first moved here. I can tell I haven't gotten out here enough lately - it's great for my mental health when I am here. In the last month or so, I've just had time to run out to check on the basic upkeep, spend the night, and go home.

Today I'll do some grant writing work, some grading, and some fun, fun housecleaning. The last two tie for being the most fun. I just get so frustrated when students choose to not review the directions before submitting assignments and miss easy points.

Labels: creek, farm, grading, housecleaning., morel, morel mushrooms, water