On the farm again

We left Beeds Lake State Park about a five days ago and stopped at a county park near Baxter, Iowa.  We're hosting an RV group there in mid June and we wanted to verify the setup and arrangements.  Plus we went to Newton to line up some tours for the group.  All went as expected  and we should have an enjoyable weekend.

Presently we're on the farm and kind of wondering why we're back here.  We have a 30 mph wind out of the east with a light rain right now. The temperature is a cool 45 degrees (not very nice with this wind.)  We really have nothing to complain about.  While we write this, we also have a tab open with the Decorah Eagle Cam on it. Mother eagle is huddled over her offspring on the nest about 80 feet up in the air overlooking the Iowa Fish Hatchery.

Only when one looks closely, is it obvious that it is very windy on her perch.   The nest appears to be very stable  with respect to the camera.  But then it is obvious that there is a fair amount of wind when you see her feathers move as the wind passes over her.  Plus while the nest is stable, the road in the background is doing a real dance as it moves about.   Yes, she is in some wind.

We parked on the farm and then I made a quick trip to Amana to see mother.  She is two weeks shy of turning 100 years old and my guess is that it will be a race if she'll make it.  I was there 45 minutes and while she did recognize me, she was not really awake.  She is very comfortable and well cared for.

Thursday morning before I was awake, I heard a strange bell, finally realizing that it was our telephone. I was too late to answer it.   But some reason, I pressed the button to see who called and while it was an eastern Iowa number, I didn't recognize it then.  So I called it, expecting to hear that my mother had passed away.  The number was really my brother's cellphone and it was his wife Ruth, calling to inform me that my brother Gordon had been hospitalized the day before.  But during the night, they very unexpectedly lost him.  (He had cancer of the colon and while we knew that his time was limited, we didn't expect it to be so suddenly.)  As the Lord said, "it comes like a thief in the night."  He will be missed.

If you have been following the Midwest weather the last couple of days, we're getting it right now.  We have had a 25 to 30 mph wind from the east, which is against our passenger side as we're parked here.  Even with the leveling jacks down, this boat seems to rock more than a little bit.  Perhaps we're learning what it would feel like to be parked in an earthquake area.  I guess our rocking in the wind is the price we pay for parking on a hilltop with out trees to the east.

Gene