Certainly has been an interesting week! Actually started off calmly enough. Forgot to feed the ferals on Monday because I was concerned about my ice cream melting. They expect to be fed by noon every day and I try very hard to live up to their expectations. Other normal events included star gazing and bird watching. Had a very vocal pair of brown thrashers in my yard this week. Instead of all the nice melodies that the internet gives for them, the ones in my yard just kept repeating a sound like the handle hitting the side of a metal bucket. I was close to the birds so I knew what they were without the call.
Think my strawberries are finished as the high temperatures and lack of rain did not treat them well.
Finally got some of my garage cleaned out and taken to the recycle center in Colchester. Took them pop cans, food cans and various pieces of scrap metal. Nice to get some junk cleaned up and even nicer to get paid to do so.
Has also been a week of meeting new people. A lady stopped by the store and introduced herself. She is living tin the home that Bill and Arlene Clayton built east of Plymouth.
Have been watering every other days because I have lots of potted plants as well as a bit of garden. It was amazing how quickly we moved from too much rain to too little. Not sure which I like best.
Sometimes I think that I do not lookup enough in the day light. Looked up in my back yard this week and discovered four trees that were partially dead. I believe I have four ash trees in my yard. The poor trees are growing new small limbs out of their trunks. Not sure if I can save half dead ash trees or not but just have not had time to check this week.
Spent three days packing and loading for 3rd Sunday market. Tried to get that done before the temperature became really hot. Succeeded.
Met two gentlemen that I converse with on the internet this week. The Collectors of Illinois Pottery and Stoneware has a face book page and I felt I already knew these people because we see posts from each other most every day. One came with his wife and dog to pick up a piece of stoneware which he had already purchased and found three more pieces in my shop. The other came to photograph some of my stoneware for a book he is writing on Macomb Stoneware. I meet the nicest people who also collect stone ware.
Also had two lovely ladies with family ties to Plymouth at the B&B on Friday evening. Was so nice to meet them. Only problem was that I had three house guests and it stormed all of Friday night. I was mostly awake and worried about the storm, my home and guests. Turned out the two ladies did not even hear it but the third guest was as worried as I was. I had to tell my guests that I needed to leave fairly early on Saturday morning to go to Bloomington but fed them a good breakfast and we had good conversation before we all left.
Got to Bloomington and got my booth set up with no problem. Father’s Day is often not one of my better shows. Perhaps because there is also a big show in Walnut Iowa on Father’s Day. My booth is next to the bathroom and the food vender, a great place to be. There were a lot of empty tables and chairs in that end of the building where people can sit and relax or eat. They were filled for a large part of the day. Really a big crowd for Father’s Day. Sales were going pretty well until about 2:30 when a rumor of a big storm approaching swept through the building and most venders began packing. I don’t believe in packing early but I too began packing about 3:00 pm even though the show is supposed to run until 4:00 pm. Got packed in good time and my niece came just as I was finishing and helped me load. Headed home and thought the storms had missed my path.
I got home in time to watch the “Good Witch” on Hallmark Channel and was just astounded when my phone went off and told me that we were under a tornado warning and to seek shelter immediately. Checked my NOAA radio and the Channel 10 and found the warning was actually for the Fort Madison area, not Plymouth. For the next hour and a half, kept an eye on the storms with Channel 10. Have I told you lately how much I dislike storms.
Anyway, the show was fine, got home safely. The storms have not hit Plymouth but I did see extensive storm damage from Canton to near Bloomington as I traveled to Bloomington and home. Saw one house completely smashed with the tree still on it. The Pekin Cemetery had extensive tree damage and lots of corn was flat. Saw caravans of power trucks in the area to help. There were ten trucks in one group outside Banner probably headed toward Pekin.
The gasoline prices in Macomb have not been uniform lately. When I went through Macomb on Saturday, even the two Casey’s had differing prices. Sunday evening all the stations were at 2.99. Filled up!
Hope your week was a bit less exciting than mine. Hope you got rain but no storms. Hope you too made some new friends. Have a great week and remember to Scatter Kindness.