Midwest flooding

[RM]

Anybody here affected ? It's unbelievable. I guess if you are impacted, you won't be able to post anyway. I know my computer doesn't work under water.

[Jesse Joe]

Nightingale from Indiana has not posted much lately. Hope she's OK !

[lighthead2toe]

I've been following this on the news and it's really quite terrifying. Many things happening these days with climatic conditions seem to be getting more bizarre all the time. It's probably not a smart thing to say "keep us posted" but what can one do other than deal with it the best way possible and hope the pain won't last too long. Ron J.

[Patti]

Be safe Nightingale. I miss you.

[Nightingale]

Don't worry, we are fine around here.

We have had some bad storms the last couple of weeks but aren't involved in the flooding.
I feel so bad for the people that are though...it has to be awful to see your whole life get washed away.

We had a big get together at the creek last Sunday and a storm came up out of nowhere. It was really weird because the wind started snapping tree tops off and it looked like they were being twisted in a circular motion. We lost three full tress that got uprooted and probably a half dozen more got the tops twisted off of them.

The news said it was straight line winds but it sure didn't seem that way to me. We didn't see a tornado but it was a strange experience and didn't seem like a normal summer squall.

Thanks for thinking of me.

Yep, I haven't been around as much. Kids are out of school which changes my schedule in a big way...lol.

You stay safe too, Patti. Seems like you guys are getting your share of these nasty storms too.

[Nightingale]

Jesse joe,
I haven't heard anything about John Mellencamp's estate but southern Indiana has been hit pretty hard several times now.
I know there is a lot of flooding in his area and all around his old home town.

I'll let you know if I hear anything about him. Keep your fingers crossed.

[Jesse Joe]

Thanks Nightingale and glad to see your OK... Maybe a song from John will come out of this ?

[Patti]

Glad you're alright there, Nightingale! Was that creek you were at last Sunday the one called Sugar Creek? That must have been scary when the winds were like that.

Yesterday I was out mowing, and it started to sprinkle just a little bit, so I tried to finish up this one spot real quick, and suddenly there was this flash of lightening, and HUGE crack of thunder right after. I didn't notice how hard my heart was pounding until after I shut off the mower.

[Nightingale]

Hi Patti,

I hope you got your mowing done between storms. It's getting harder to fit things in between the raindrops...lol.

Yes, we were at Sugar Creek. It was scary...
We have an old barn on the property so we all took shelter in there while it was storming. I was a little worried and everyone kept saying that the barn had been there for 70 years but you know, the barn has to cave in sometime and I was thinking that it might be during that wind....lol.

It didn't...just keeps me busy picking up branches and tree limbs out of the yard and elsewhere.
I am not complaining though....could have been so much worse and I am happy it wasn't.

Yes, they will get your heart pumping...lol.
Here's hoping for a sunny day or two this week...

[Patti]

Hi Anne,

Got the mowing all done yesterday. I wonder if lawnmowers attract bears. Last time we mowed, a bear was out in the yard the next morning. Today, I see that something got into my son's behive. It has an electric fence around it, but the wires aren't snugged up enough on one side.

Good the barn was still sturdy enough. If it ever decides to fall apart, it better not do it when anyone is using it for shelter.

I have a big pile of branches and limbs here too. I was thinking of burning them, but I guess I'll go throw them out in the woods.

Today was sunny enough to go out to tan a little bit. The dog came over and drooled on my face, then she licked it off. That was nice of her. lol.

[Nightingale]

Lol....dog slobbers...true love, eh?
I have a long haired kitty that wants to lay on top of me if I am trying to tan outside. I get all hairy and it sticks because I am sweaty...ick!

Bears? Geez, you and podunklander are brave women...lol. I love bears but woudln't want to live with them roaming around my yard. I suppose you get used to them but it seems scary to me...lol.

Your son keeps bees?
Nice....do you harvest the honey?
I plant a lot of bee balm because I heard that the honey bees are fading fast. It's a real crisis from what I hear...maybe I heard wrong but I think the bee balm is pretty anyway.

[Patti]

Yep, true love, that's all that matters. ick

Yeah, my oldest son keeps bees. He kept some for a couple years and one year a bunch of them swarmed up and flew off. The remaining ones were more aggressive. That winter they died, but he is starting over this year and hopefully they will be alright now. I think he will be able to harvest a little honey this year. He gave them a new addition last night (like a high-rise apartment) They all seemed fine even though the fence was broken and their house was thrown on the ground.

I hope more people will plant bee balm. Glad you do. Yes, I heard of the honey bees fading fast. We really need them. I hope the situation improves soon.

[Nightingale]

What kind of dog do you have?

That's very interesting about your son's bees. I hope the bear leaves them alone now(and you too!) so that they can settle down and make honey for him.

High rise addition should make them happy...lol

Let me guess...now you get to fix the fence....

[Patti]

The dog is half Rottweiler and half Black Lab. She took after her dad, and looks all Lab, except she has a thick neck.

The fence is fixed. I helped.

My sister says one way to keep a bear away is to fill a water balloon with amonia and water, rub bacon grease on the outside of it and put it up on a tree.

[Nightingale]

Sounds like a great dog...is she protective like a Rottweiler?
A friend of mine has a couple of Rotties and they are babies. I was a little nervous about them the first few times I went to her house but they are very gentle giants.

That's interesting about the bear....are you going to try it?
Hopefully ,he won't come back....lol

[Jesse Joe]

Originally Posted by Patti

The dog is half Rottweiler and half Black Lab. She took after her dad, and looks all Lab, except she has a thick neck.

The fence is fixed. I helped.

My sister says one way to keep a bear away is to fill a water balloon with amonia and water, rub bacon grease on the outside of it and put it up on a tree.

What happens here, does the bear climb the tree and when he touches the ballon it of course burst and then the noise or the amonia scares him away...

[Patti]

Originally Posted by Jesse Joe

What happens here, does the bear climb the tree and when he touches the ballon it of course burst and then the noise or the amonia scares him away...

Yeah, I think I'll make him climb really high. ...
I don't care if a bear wants to walk through the yard, I just don't want him getting into things or hurting anyone.

[Patti]

Originally Posted by Nightingale

Sounds like a great dog...is she protective like a Rottweiler?
A friend of mine has a couple of Rotties and they are babies. I was a little nervous about them the first few times I went to her house but they are very gentle giants.

That's interesting about the bear....are you going to try it?
Hopefully ,he won't come back....lol

She is just like most black labs, very happy and friendly. We got her when she ran across the frozen St. Croix river with her mom and brothers and sisters when I lived in Gordon. My brother let them in the house. He said keep the black one. At first I called her "little bear".

I'm not sure if I'll try the balloon trick on the bear. That fence should work.

[Nightingale]

Hi Patti...sounds like "little bear" was a keeper...lol. I think Black labs have amazing personalities...so sweet and gentle. I have had so many kinds of dogs over the years but Labs are the sweetest.
So, when she ran across the river, do you mean they were on their own and you guys took them in?
I think animals know when you save them...they know what's in your heart more than people do.

I was kind of wondering the same thing as Jesse Joe...lol. I guess the bacon grease would attract them and make them think it's food and the amonia would stink or burn their eyes????
An old farmer told my father-in-law to urinate around the perimeter of his garden to keep out the deer...lol.
I don't know if he ever tried it or not, but he did always keep a radio playing overnight outside to scare away varmits so I guess the urine thing didn't work too well.

I hope your fence works and you don't have to do anything else that involves climbing trees

[Patti]

Hi Anne, No, those dogs were just out playing in their yard. Since the river was frozen over, I guess they considered it part of their yard. Sometimes we brought them back home because they didn't want to leave, but we got to keep one.

[Nightingale]

Hi Patti

Good for you and good for the dog!

I used to have a Border Collie named "Puck". He loved to go down to the creek and roll in dead fish....ick! Let me tell you, he would smell awful...lol
Sometimes he would rinse himself off in the creek but mostly not.

Hope your bear hasn't come back.

We have had more storms tonight. Again, the southern part of the state got it worse than we did but we got lots of wind and a little hail.
It was really hot and humid and now it's turned cool, I suppose that means more storms tomorrow.

[Jesse Joe]

Hi to Patti & Nightingale,

Just to let you know that if ever I saw a bear in front of me, it would be then that I would know how fast I could run... Is that a terrifying animal or what. Been afraid of bears ever since I saw the movie "Grizzly" in the late 70's early 80's, at a local Drive-In theatre. I can assure you I was not the one that was going to go out for hamburgers & fries to the concession stand...

[Patti]

Hi to Jesse Joe and Nightingale,

My dog has rolled on a few dead fish when we lived by a river. She has rolled in 'bear stink' a few times too. We have black bears around here. Once I saw my dog barking at one, but it stayed pretty mellow about it. I was trying to call the dog off, but she seemed to think it was her job to bark at it. She finally listened to me and I got her into the house. I'm glad the bear didn't get mad. I usually don't feel afraid of bears, and I don't think running away from them is what 'they' advise, but I don't really want to get too close. Once when one dragged a bag of garbage out of the garbage can and into the woods, I was a little afraid when I was cleaning up the mess because I thought it might be watching and wouldn't want me taking it's food away.

We had a quite a bit of rain again last night. The garden had been covered with moss from all the rain, but I got most of it hoed yesterday before it rained. We're getting so many mosquitos this year. Last year there were hardly any.

[Nightingale]

Hi Patti and Jesse Joe,
Yep, more storms this morning but this evening was beautiful. What a great sunset we had...we have been having a lot of gorgeous sunsets lately.

Yes, I am with you on the bear thing, Jesse I think the black bears are cute and even polar bears are pretty, but the really big bears scare me....lol. I wouldn't want to have a bear of any kind in my yard....well, maybe a panda bear but that's about it.

About going to the concession stand during a scary movie...sigh...that's one of those times I am happy to be a girl...lol. Have you ever noticed that it's always the guy that gets it first in scary movies? The girl is always wrapped up in a sheet on the bed waiting for him and he never makes it back
Tough luck bein' a guy and having to go for those fries don't cha know

You know, I never would have thought about a bear thinking I was taking it's food when I cleaned up the garbage. I guess you know a lot more about bears than I do, but that was pretty smart thinking on your part.
I am glad you got the dog in...that would scare me and how horrified would I be if a bear attacked my dog...I can't even say

[Nightingale]

Patti, have you had a lot of garden spiders this year?

You know the kind I mean? Huge spider and they are black and yellow?
We have had a lot of those in our garden this year...much more than usual.

I hate spiders! I would rather see ten snakes than one big, hairy spider and that's no joke.
I was picking raspberries today and one jumped on my chest and I nearly beat myself silly getting it off. Well, actually...I squished it while it was still on me and that made it worse...lol.
It must be from the rain and humidity. Maybe they thrive on it but I wish they would go away...ick!!!