Weather

Just a short note on this Labor Day.

All of our Iowa friends have 'blamed' the weather on us coming from Southern California. They say that we brought in the heavy snow this Winter. (Like it snows so much in LA!)

So, how come we get blamed for the extra snowy Winter and the extra rainy Spring... but the extra cool Summer - nah. No one has said thanks for bringing all of this nice cool weather!

Today marks the 6th day over 90 degrees this year. So far most of Summer has been quite wonderful and we have taken advantage of the patio for our meals and enjoyed the great weather.

Well - Summer's almost gone - I wonder what Fall is going to be like - I'll be sure to get some of the color from the area as it changes.

I did finally see that elusive state bird this vacation... the goldfinch - eating in our backyard no less... Oh yeah - I still need to do the bird blog so you can see what we have seen in our year in Iowa. Have a great rest of summer. Stay safe in the hurricane zones and we'll be praying for you.

Ron

Summer Green

Hi All - I have been asked by a good friend to show some of our Summer greenery. (Southern California is still in a drought).

Here are some pictures of our back yard. These are taken from our den window.

In the distance you may be able to see the walk/bike path along Duck Creek.

I have a few pics of the house taken in the back yard that you may like.

And - finally - here is what you see when on the swing. Including when you look straight up!



Remind me next time to write about the different species of birds we have here. I have some great pictures of those too.

All of our So Cal friends and transplants are welcome to visit any time - we would love to have you!

See you next time.

Ron

After the Rain

Here are some pictures from the Downtown Davenport flooding. Now, remember, the flood plan is to let the water flow into the parks, parking lots and on River Drive. So, the plan really works. The water is still a novelty and there are lots of lookie loos wandering around downtown. It's supposed to crest sometime tomorrow, so I may have more dramatic pictures

This picture is looking back up Brady Drive. I work on Brady and 2nd street. River Drive is really first street.

This picture is looking down the railroad tracks toward the baseball stadium.





This is the water coming up Brady Drive toward the office. It's taken from the exit to the Parking Garage that I use.





Here is the after picture from our back yard. This is the same apple tree that was mostly under water in the privious post.

Flood Waters

As Promised - Here are some pics from the backyard. Yes, the creek did flood on to the bike path. I'll have to get you the 'after flood' pictures so you have a comparison. But, the creek usually stays behind the trees in the background. And there's a bike path near those same trees.

Enjoy - pics of the Mississipi to come later. And, yes, it's pretty close to where it was in April. Forecast is for rain today and a sunny Saturday. Maybe that'll help.

Addendum

Well - we are having quite some storm tonight!! It rained cats and dogs on the way home from work - then it stopped. It rained after dinner - then it stopped. It rained while we were hanging pictures - and the lightning hit somewhere near the creek. Boy, was that loud! Then we went out to look at the fireflies (lightning bugs for you Iowans reading this). I have to say - sitting in the dry back porch watching fireflies, and seeing the lighting flashes almost 270 degrees around was quite exciting. But when the tornado siren went off, we went back inside, turned off all of the stuff upstairs and brought mom and the dogs into the basement. While I went back up to get our flashlights, another one hit right down the street. Now, mind you, we have had flashes of lightning for the last few hours or so, and as I am writhing this at 11pm, the thunder still has not stopped! I'm sure there were a few times when the sky wasn't lit up somewhere or another, but this storm put all the storms in California and even those cool Arizona summer storms to shame.

Supposed to be at least two inches of rain - I bet it was more. I'll keep you updated on the flood, but I bet the creek behind our house is working its way past the bike path and the river is working its way toward my office building. They are talking about this being worse than the flood of '93. If so, the water may hit the basement of our building and the power will go out. So we would have to work from home. I don't know what that would do to the creek behind the house. We'll just have to see.

Since I have started writing this blog - another round of lightining has come and it is still nonstop - but louder!! So, we are talking at least from about 8:30 to well past midnight for this storm - flashes everywhere. Everyone went back upstairs when the Tornado Warning lifted at 10:30, but I'm still in the basement with my laptop. Too comfy. Now - I love thunder storms. So this has been pretty exciting for me. However, that one flash/crack when I went up to get the flashlights and turn off mom's lights... That was a bit close and got my heart pumping. Other than that, I have enjoyed this storm. I do need to get some sleep, and we will see tomorrow (Friday, June 13th) what damage this storm did - I'm sure you will all see and hear - but we are still ok. Thanks for caring about us.

Yes - Iowa is still here!

Not Flooded

This is for all my California Friends... We are not flooded out. However, the park down the street from the office has water in it. Here are a few pics from the last time in April. If it get's that far this time, I'll let you know.

All is RIght

Sorry - no pictures this time.
All is right with the world! We just moved into our new house a bit over a week ago. Today, I came home from work, had to go get dinner (5 minute drive), we walked with mom and the dogs along the creek trail and walked up into our backyard, and I sat on the screened porch and watched for fireflies with my mom. Simple, yet breathtaking all at the same time. Yes, I did start some work after 10pm tonight. But I did it with my feet up, sitting on the couch with Lo sitting on the couch near me reading a book. I marvel at the things we have been shown here in just 10 short months. I hope to never get complacent here. Since we moved here, we have seen out our back windows:
Chipmunks
Squirrels - Red, Grey and Black (sometimes all within minutes of each other)
Bunnies
Deer
Cardinals
Blue Jays
Robins
Grackles
Mourning Doves
Sparrows - Two kinds
Chickadees
Ducks - We do live near Duck Creek!
I think a woodpecker - I know I've heard them
There's another small bird living in a birdhouse in the back of the yard - maybe a Titmouse
Fireflies - too cool - can't wait until there's more than a few.

Now, you see, in Southern California, we don't get this variety unless we live near/in the mountains or foothills. Nothing like this in the 'city'. And after living there so long, maybe we just took for granted some of these wonders and looked right past them. I hope to never take creation for granted again.

After seeing so much while driving from So. Cal to Iowa twice. Going through the Rocky Mountains, we saw God's awesome majesty. Going through Greensburg, Kansas last November, we saw God's awesome power. Traveling from Kansas City to Bloomington, MN and from Galena, IL to Indianapolis, IN. There is so much to see in this great land of ours. How can I ever take it all in? How can I not marvel at the great creation that I am part of? How can I ever thank God enough for slapping me to my senses and putting me here in the heartland of America?

Ever since we arrived in Iowa, I have said that my life is a do-over, because there is nothing the same except my marriage. We have looked at everything new with wide eyes and wonder. I know that it's God just saying "Hey, wake up. Look what I've done. Why don't you notice any more?". My wish for you is that somehow, sometime, God grants you a do-over. It may not be as drastic as picking up everything you own and moving halfway across country. But just to see life through His eyes now and then. I've been given a great gift. Maybe by sharing this story, I can pass that gift along.

Spring has Sprung!!

OK - for all of our California friends who are wondering how we survived the Winter I will get to that in a later post. Because, this Spring has been quite amazing and I have to share some of the photos that I have taken as the green came back.

Things have been coming up for over a month now and I just had to share some of what we've seen so far. Not to mention, the house we are renting had all kinds of flowers planted that we were clueless about since we moved in last November.

The first flowers that we noticed were Hyacinth on the side of the house. Wow, did those smell good. They started popping right out of the snow. Along with the daffodils, these flowers had their little green shoots even after it snowed the last couple of times.

Next came the daffodils and the tulips. These all came in on the front of our house. I would say that there were about 150 blooms when they all came out! When the small Magnolia tree bloomed, we had a great burst of color that I got to drive home to every day. I may have gotten a bit spoiled by all of the color we had. It appeared that our house had the first blooms on the block.

These iris came up on the side of the house when the daffodils went away. There are more waiting to bloom in the back yard. I can't tell you how many different trees and bushes there are all over the city. There is color everywhere. And I hear there's more to come. Just can't wait to see what's next. We have a bush in the back yard with little yellow flowers on it as well as a whole section with Lilly of the Valley. Those really look awesome. But are hard to get a good close up picture.

I show these pictures to locals, and they say 'Wow these are incredible!'. But the funny thing is that they live around these things every year. I think I bring a fresh perspective to the world around me. Maybe we can all take a look at the things that God does around us for a 'fresh perspective' every day. You shouldn't have to move across country to do that.

These pictures are from around town... Some from the park, some from our street we live on, and even some from the local mall! If you click on them you'll get it full size.What a wonderful way to 'wake up' from Winter. I'll talk more about our Winter next time... Until then - Enjoy.

Welcome

Hi all -

Here's a little background for those who don't know me very well.

I was unemployed for close to two years and received a job offer in Davenport, Iowa. Now, having lived all but two years of my life in Southern California - this seemed like an interesting proposition. (The two years I didn't live in California, I lived in Tempe, Arizona - get the picture?). We were getting very tired of the whole So Cal scene (if you can believe that) - with the traffic, politics, prices and many of the other things that were not weather related. Not to mention the Santa Ana winds that were weather related. My brother can relate - but that's another story.

So, trusting God and his wisdom of a great job offer - we packed everything, took my mom and dogs and moved to Davenport Iowa! Yes - I said Iowa. Sometimes I have to remind myself. Technically - we still live west of the Mississippi - more on that later. I intend to give a little insight and perspective to living in the Midwest for the first time with this blog. There will be lots of pictures and hopefully, a fresh view of what the Midwest has to offer. So welcome and have fun. I know that I am having fun here.

Ron