Bird Feeder.....

As the bird feeder becomes a busy place for the birds, the larger than life squirrel starts to fatten up for winter.

Action.....

Our oldest grandson, AJ, is almost always on the move.  He has so much energy and he needs to let steam off every once in a while.  We visited the Des Moines Science Center where there were lots of things for AJ to explore.  He is cranking on an elevator device that moves plastic food up a conveyer, like a farm elevator.  As he cranks, the food goes up and lands in a bin below. The whole room was a farm scene area with an American Gothic house model in the room.

Bearing Gifts at T-day.......

We had Thanksgiving shopping to do for our grandsons.  I know it isn't a tradition of the Pilgrims but when you don't see your little guys very often, you buy gifts on every special holiday.  AJ loved his truck and kept telling us thank you for the truck.  Teddy is in the reach out and grab stage in his young life so he immediately grabbed his toy stuffed animal.  It is designed to play music when a child hugs it.  Our little guy did just that and smiled when he heard the tunes.

Happy Thanksgiving Day........

It isn't green out there in the garden anymore but the memories in photos show that we did have an abundant growing season.  The fall celebration of a good harvest and a time to appreciate family and friends is upon us.  I hope everyone has a good day today whether it is sharing times in a large group or spending time at home for the day.  It is good to stop and enjoy a day of giving thanks for all that we have in our lives for the past year.

First Bird Shot.......

No snow is on the ground but the birds are starting to feed anyway.  My shot isn't so great but the shot through the window did sort of work.  The lighting on the bird was not great but I can't tell the bird to feed at a different port. The leaves on the ground are on top of the lower bed so I am not moving them. Rain fell most all of the day yesterday and the birds stayed away from the big feeder.  When snow covers the ground the whole scene will change with birds coming in wanting a free meal.

The Des Moines River.....

A view from the train shows the water lever high from some heavy rains the weeks before. The river actually is dammed up crating the Saylorville Lake. The over flow of the dam continues to keep the Des Moines River being a full blown river once it goes over the dam.

The train track that we travelled on was placed along the river as it headed to a coal mine northwest of Boone, Iowa. Because it was a cola line owned by the company, the track had not been taken out like some of the regular train tracks have been. The photos were taken a month ago and now those leaves I am sure are all gone.  The train rides are shut down for the season also.

I Can See.........

I have lived here for 40 years. Yesterday for the first time I noticed I can see the silos 3 blocks away.  They belong to the  one time operational farm on the edge of town. We walk Barney down the alley as he finds the properties up an down it so interesting.  It also is a more protected walk for humans than going down the sidewalks.

The farm silos have not been in use the last 40 years. I am assuming that at one time the guy ran a feeder cow lot and sold cows for slaughter. That would mean that the smell of a herd of cattle could be a part of the city.  I had never thought about that before but tolerance of farm smells was better years ago. than it tis today.  The photo has a little bit of a lean to it but it adds to the strange things that you see down the alley.  The one neighbor parks his boat in his drive and a snow blade there against the fence. Looking down the three block length a red maple tree is still full of reddish leaves.  The alley stops there at the two leaning tree trunks and it becomes a pasture for now about a dozen cows.