Archive for May, 2008
May 31, 2008 – Ames Under Water
I found out that the small floods in Marshall County were magnified in Story County. This morning I drove to Ames and was surprised at the flooding there. These photos are from along Hwy 30 on the south side of town. Last night Hwy 30 was closed due to flooding and one lane of I-35 ...Read more.
May 30, 2008 – Enough Rain Already!
We had about 4.5 inches of rain here yesterday and on top of saturated ground, that was enough to start local streams to spill over their banks.
This stream usually ends at the tree in the foreground, but has found much more room to roam. This is near hwy 14 between our house and Marshalltown. Knock ...Read more.
May 29, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #120
Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer. Put your guess in a comment below.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
one year ago…”Soap Making Day 2″
May 28, 2008 – New Car for the Girls!
I’ve been looking for a few months for a car for the girls to drive (very soon I hope!) and finally found one that looked like a good deal! I thought I’d use it as an opportunity to get a 4wd vehicle as we don’t have any all-wheel drive cars, and sure could use ...Read more.
May 27, 2008 – Weeding Raspberries
After lots of excitement on the farm, it’s back to work that has slid with all the recent activity. Some of the raspberries needed some weeding attention.
Here’s a stretch of berries with weeds doing a good job of competing.
A section showing the weeds lost the battle with Linda the weeder and the berries once again ...Read more.
May 26, 2008 – Memorial Day in Parkersburg Iowa
Sunday night the most powerful tornado (EF5) to hit Iowa in 32 years obliterated half of Parkersburg, Iowa. The tornado picked up headstones at a cemetery and carried them 1/2 mile, took houses off their foundation and ripped tile and carpeting from floors. In a stroke of good fortune, the town installed a tornado warning ...Read more.
May 25, 2008 – Skystream Summary
Doesn’t she look good up in the air? I’ll try to use this post to summarize some of the most-commonly asked questions about the Skystream. It is on a 70 foot tower (although they are commonly mounted on 35 foot towers in more crowded locations).
The machine is connected to the utility grid so ...Read more.
May 24, 2008 – Flat Martin (aka Flat Stanley)
Flat Stanley is a popular children’s book where Stanley has the misfortune of being flattened underneath a billboard that falls down on him. He soon discovers that life paper-thin does have its advantages, like being able to slide under closed doors, being used as a kite, and being able to cheaply mail himself for ...Read more.
May 23, 2008 – Oil Change Girl
Ok, farm girls need many skills! One of group of skills consists of basic mechanical and maintenance tasks.
It was time to have Emma do her first oil change. An oil change is a big step in a young teen’s life, if nothing else, to get to do something very few of her classmates ...Read more.
May 22, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #119
Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer. Put your guess in a comment below.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
one year ago…”Spring Garden/Garden Fed Kids Healthier!”
May 21, 2008 – Final Connections for Skystream
Nothing nearly as exciting as yesterday’s tower raising tody.
Making the trench to run the underground wire from the tower to the utility pole.
The trench from the utility pole and along the shed.
The other half of the trench. I’m including these more for my own records so years from now I won’t have to say “Now ...Read more.
May 20, 2008 – Up, Up and Away!
Today was day two of the wind turbine installation.
Here’s Linda a GJ checking out the turbine blades just out of the package.
Everyone want to get in on touching the blades that will be spinning high in the sky in a few minutes.
This is the main unit of the wind turbine. This is the “magic ...Read more.
May 19, 2008 – Wind Turbine Assembly Day 1
Today, the wind turbine tower assembly began!
Here’s the automatic pipe cutter doing its job on cutting a pipe to length. Last week five 21 foot long pipes were dropped off at the end of the driveway and I moved them closer to the turbine with the tractor. The pipes are heavy – about ...Read more.
May 18, 2008 – A Stroll in the Park
One of our favorite parks in central Iowa is Ledges State Park, just a bit west of Ames. The landscape is very rugged where Peas Creek goes through a small canyon on the way to the Des Moines river.
The creek has a mostly sandy bottom, and seldom gets over waist-deep, so it is great ...Read more.
