10-7-11

Martin: I think this dandelion has just thawed.

Me: Riding in the combine with my brother, Monte.

Mom and I drove to the field to meet my brother, my sister-in-law and hired man to have lunch yesterday. After eating a yummy roast, sweet potatoes, jello and apple crisp with ice cream (thanks, Emily!) Monte took me for a ride in his new combine. This was the first day of trying it out and he was liking his new machine. It was fun to sit in the cab and watch the harvesting of soybeans. Monte said it's been a great year for the crops. That's good news.

Monte & Emily

10-6-11

Martin: Best part about a cold night. Fire at our cabin.

Me: The Bridges of Madison County

Yesterday Mom and I drove from Chicago to Des Moines. We had supper with my brother, Rod and his wife, Kathy and then we spent the night with my brother, Curt and his wife, Nancy. This morning I went on a run with Nancy and then Mom and I headed for Atlantic. On our way back we took a detour to drive through Madison County and view a few of the covered bridges (made famous from the movie The Bridges of Madison County with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep). It was just too pretty of a day to pass up and the drive through the countryside did not disappoint. I know I've said it before but the weather could not have been better. Mom and I were constantly amazed by the colors of the trees all around us. We timed fall with our touring perfectly!

10-5-11

Martin: This day was clear again at first and then it clouded over. The boys wanted to go back to Tambaroora and as all the local roads to points of interest were not sealed and most likely muddy tracks, we spent most of the day back in the creek. Rain held off so we didn't get too wet. Earlier night as we were all tired out. Next morning was fine and the creek behind the cottage had dropped to less than half the flow of the day before. We panned there for two hours before packing up. Then did another three hours at Tambaroora and the boys took two buckets of material from the creek bed to pan at home. Then we stopped for a pizza in Hill End and started the drive home at around 5pm. Reached our place around 9.30pm. In the morning, the boys spent a few hours carefully going over the two buckets of material and managed to come up with some more gold flakes. Looking at the material through a magnifier, there is still a fair amount of gold 'dust' that is not visible to the naked eye so it makes me wonder if there is a profitable amount of this fine material that is overlooked by everyone searching for the visible pieces. Anyway, good time all round and now the boys are planning when we can go back again.

Me: Joan and Mom

Yesterday Joan, Mom and I took Rudy (their Yorkie) on his regular morning walk through the neighborhood and woods. We each collected a large baggie full of fall leaves along the way and used them later for crafts and decorating. It was a neat thing to do! Below is a sampling of our leaf collection. 

10-4-11

Martin: After the rain at the back of the cottage.

While we were panning, Ruth stayed in the car to read a book and by lunch, it had started to rain and it was also on the cold side. We packed up and drove back to the cottage for some lunch and a quick shower then headed into town to look around as the rain kept falling. The town is heritage protected so no new places have gone up in the past fifty years. The rain kept up until well into the night as the creek outside the cottage steadily rose. There was no TV or mobile reception at the cottage so this proved to be a positive in that Ruth and the boys ended up playing a game of 'Pictionary' for a few hours while I read a few magazines (including the latest AZ Highways) in front of the fireplace. The sound of the water passing through the little rapids took a bit of getting used to when we headed to bed but we all slept well.

Me: Nathan cracking up with our new friends.

We met these two on our bike ride yesterday. They too were enjoying the beautiful weather and had some good stories to share. Nathan (Carol's son) just started school at Columbia University in Chicago. He's a film major and is loving it. He lives with his great aunt and takes the train 40 minutes into the city for his classes. It was nice that Carol got the opportunity to see where he lives before she flew home to Arizona.

10-3-11

Martin: Saturday morning we woke to clear skies but by breakfast the clouds had rolled in. We headed to a place called Tambaroora where there was an old fossicker named Ted Abbott who gave  panning lessons. We found him parked on the side of the road with a hand written sign stuck on his rear window advertising his services and another family pulled up at the same time. Ted then took us down into a gully with a small creek running through it, handed a steel pan out to each of us and proceeded to demomstrate his art. He made it look pretty simple but there is a bit more to it to try and get any gold flakes to settle in the one spot. A couple of specks showed up in his first pan and everyone was finding something in their pan nearly each time. One of the other children even found a little nugget the size of a watermelon seed. Children have great eyesight for picking out the small particles. The lesson lasted an hour and only cost $5 per adult and half that per child so it was a good deal. He collected the pans and as we decided to stay on at this spot, he showed us a layer of clay to dig up on on the water's edge and this proved to be productive. This section of the creek was located in a fossicking area set aside for the public.

That's Ted sitting on the bank on the left. He is 79 years old, still smoking, has 7 children and twenty three grand children.

Me: This morning we went for an early morning walk and then headed to my niece's home for a visit. Brittany, Andy and their 1 year old cutie (my great niece, Isabella) just moved into their first home. They've had fun doing some home improvement projects and their home is lovely. Isabella just learned to walk last week and she is basically in a constant run all over the place. She is really adorable and at such a fun age!

This afternoon my nephew, Nathan and I biked the river path taking us through the quaint towns of St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia. It was the most scenic trail through huge trees next to the Fox River. Such a pretty fall day, again! Half way through our ride we met up with Joan, Carol and my Mom at a favorite chocolate & ice cream shoppe. Wow, did we eat some good chocolate and delicious ice cream! Coconut almond ice cream and toffee covered with milk chocolate and nuts were the best.

Brittany, Joan, Isabel holding Isabella, Me, Carol

10-2-11

Martin: We turned up at the cabin about five in the afternoon to overcast skies and the boys already had the fireplace going before we had fully unloaded the car. Then they headed off down to the creek with the two plastic gold pans I had from years ago to try their luck. The only panning experience they had was from watching a couple of youtube clips the night before and I did not even know if this creek had any gold in it as the productive ones were closer to Hill End. Not long before Daniel came back to the cottage all excited about the little gold coloured speck in the top of his pan and sure enough, it was a very little piece of gold. Hard to get the boys to come in for dinner as they found more of the specks. I came prepared with two clear plastic viles so they could deposit their finds. Even when it got dark, Adrian brought a bucket of sand up from the creek and started panning outside with a torch attached to his head! Only one or two specks per pan but talk about entertainment.

Me: This morning we ate breakfast with family, played tennis with our nephews and then cruised the bike path near my brother, Curt's home in Clive. It was another pretty day in Iowa! The splendid green trees are just starting to change colors and the temperature is ideal in the 70's. 

Bob flew out of Des Moines for work this afternoon while my Mom, sister, nephew, and I drove to St. Charles (suburb of Chicago) to spend the next three days with my sister, Joan and her husband Dean.

10-1-11

Martin: The boys are on school holiday so we headed west to a small town called Hill End about a four hours drive from here. It was the centre of a gold rush in the late 1800's but now only has one pub, so that gives you an indication of its current size! 50 tons of gold came out of the area and one mine produced the largest piece of reef gold ever discovered - 286kg. We have rented an old miner's cottage outside of town for three nights and hope to do a bit of gold panning - after receiving a lesson from one of the locals. I think I might settle for seeing a single gold speckle in the pan.

The cabin was much better inside than it appeared externally. Photo taken from next to the creek.

Me: Bob and I flew to Iowa for my niece, Daira's wedding. She was a gorgeous bride on a beautiful day! She and her new husband, Clint live in Des Moines. Clint is a teacher and basketball coach and Daira is a physical fitness trainer. They are a wonderful, energetic, fun and loving couple.

Congratulations, Daira and Clint!