Waiting For Hops!

The Hops are OUT!  

On the trail,  The first cones appear.
They may still require a little time
to ripen. 

As I watch the Hops on the corner of the building slowly take their time to ripen,  I discovered that the wild ones along the trail are not taking such liberties.   They are beginning to form their cones and, although not quite ready yet,  will possibly be able to be harvested by the end of the week.  (Maybe...)

Always there to state the negative
side...

There certainly are a lot of them.
and there are more plants on the
other side of town!

I'm very excited.  My plant is just beginning to lose their flowers. They have not even begun to form cones, leading Cheryl to doubt that they are even Hops!  (  There is always someone who wants to crush your dreams...)  Even if they are not going to form cones this year,  ( Sometimes they do not their first year out.) I still should be able to find a few along the trail.    There were at least several plants with full canopies of cones on the north side of West Chester.  On the South side,  there are even more plants!   I shall keep an eye out.

In addition to running out of yellow,
I was in constant danger it would
rain!  

Haters are gonna hate. 

I spent the majority of the afternoon creating a butterfly on the park sidewalk.   It appears that my Dragon had been vandalized near the other spot.   That's fine though.   I was not really attached to that mural anyway.  I could look at it as someone was voicing their criticism  rather than destructively vandalizing a work of art.  Maybe people around here think it was some symbol for a satanic cult or something. ( Do "satanists" use dragons as their symbols?)   All I know is they did not vandalize the Lion next to it.  But in my own defense,  I was not finished with it.   It is unfair to judge a half finished work in progress. 

Maybe I should
leave this one out. 

The Root Beet taste test is a some-what success.   I say "some-what" because it has bubbles and is palatable...  But it tastes more like medicine and less like Root beer.  I think I may have added too much Ginger and Dandelion root.   The slight bitterness is slightly Too bitter.   I finally received my Lactose and I found some Spearmint leaves so I may leave out the ginger and dandelion root and add in those items instead.  I also wonder how much the Sarsaparilla root adds.   Since I can not find any locally,  I can only speculate that it may be the missing link.    But for now,  I think I need to leave a few flavor notes off.  We shall see.

Flowers are appearing again, but I still
think they could use some more rain. 

Hope everyone is having a pleasant Monday.   It rained a little here today.  The clouds continue to hold the sun away, but it appears the rain may be finished for now.   Cheryl says there is rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.    We could definitely use more rain than what we received just today.  But I will take the clouds and cooler temps any day.   Thanks for stopping in.

Muscatine, Murals, Time Travel and Cat Swappin'.

I guess Lots of People have cats that
are not theirs...

I imagine Leo. the "part-Timer"
cat will be in one of these
photos some day.

It has been a few days since my last blog post, and not much has happened since then.   I have been trying to keep busy with my chalk drawings and stay cool at the same time.   A heat advisory has been in effect for most of last week, and Leo the "Part-Timer" cat has not shown up for three nights in a row.   Cheryl suspects that the "Other Family" is keeping him inside during this little bout of heat.  I certainly hope he is staying cool.  

This is Rocket.  He is NOT our cat. 

But he is acting as a temporary
replacement for Leo, The "Part-timer."
Cat. 

As it is,  we have been taking care of Rocket, the neighbor's cat for the last two days.   This is not by our choice!  He simply walks inside and makes himself at home.   His stays have been getting longer and longer.   In fact,  I practically have to kick him out at night time... I don't know how "Cat Swapping" became a thing in these small towns...but it seems to be happening on its own without any Human Influence!

Cheryl and I traveled to Muscatine yesterday and discovered that the air along the Mississippi river is slightly more tolerable than the air around Wellman.   I blame the Humidity.   The heavy humidity seems to make the air difficult to breathe.  Cheryl had dropped her daily runs to about 5 miles.   She tries to run 7 miles along the Kewash Trail, but usually ends up walking about a half mile of it in total.   Better to take a walk break than to actually break because she wanted to be "hardcore". 

The cooler/ milder weather was not lost on other folks either.   The Muscatine Bike Trail was very busy with walkers, runners, and cyclist galore!  We also visited the Farmer's market and bought some more Wild Local Honey.   The Bee Keeper is From Wellman and his honey is one of the tastiest I have ever had.   Mild, sweet, light color.   It is milder than Clover Honey, but still has that honey flavor that is lacking in "Wildflower" or "Goldenrod" honey.   He says he just lets the bees do their thing, so there is no specific flower they are most attracted to.  

As mentioned before,  I have been working on the chalk drawings when the hot weather allows it.   I went down to the Park and fussed around with a Dragon near the Lion Mural I did a few days ago.   Without a reference, I had to do the drawing from memory,  so it was not turning out as I had originally planned.   Add in that I worked on it for 2 hours and finally called it quits after my chalk supply began to run low.   I was considering working on it later this afternoon, but I have been getting a headache from my Time Traveling and I doubt I will be tackling it for the rest of the day.  ( I always get a headache when I travel back in time...  Unfortunately,  I lose my memory of the future, except for moments of Déjà vu.   And the headaches are always a side effect and sign that I have been traveling...  I should write a paper about it someday...) 

But back to reality!  I figured I would stick closer to home and fill in the small section near last week's cat mural.  Three singing mice seemed like a good fit.   Perhaps they are serenading the cat.   

And lastly,   I have finally been working on the Root Beer  recipes.   I was held up for a while because we could not find any Sassafras root.   However,  I discovered StringTown Grocery has Sassafras Tea Concentrate!   

I set out to boil and simmer the other root combinations.  There are LOTS of different combinations of roots,  so why not just experiment for the first batch.   I was missing the Sarsaparilla root for this attempt, but figured I would compensate with some pumpkin pie spice.   ( This recipe did not call for Cinnamon....  Most other recipes do.)

You add the Sassafras root ( concentrate) last because it will boil/simmer off if you add it too soon.  Then add Sugar,  let sit for several hours and add the Bug ( Wild Yeast).  Mix it up,  add to bottles and store for two days.   Today will be the second day and Cheryl does not want an explosion in the kitchen...  so I will be moving the three bottles to the refrigerator later this evening.  I will have to blog about the flavor later, when I finally open one of the bottles up.  

There are many things I did not add,  Lactose sugar for the creamy mouth feel that Rootbeer is famous for.  There may be other spices I should add or subtract  for taste purposes.   For now, I'm keeping the batches small,  mostly because I do not have a very large pot to do any of the steeping.  When I  finally DO get a recipe I like,  I will upgrade to more bottles and a larger pot.   Wish me luck! 

Hope everyone is having a fine weekend so far.  There is a prediction that it will rain tomorrow.  Lord knows we could use some water here in Iowa.  It has been a  rather dry month this month.   I did manage to find a mushroom in the yard yesterday, but it was very dry.  I doubt much of anything is popping up in the forest.   Maybe the rain will trigger a few late fall mushrooms to make an appearance.    We shall see. 

More Murals.

Slight mist on the pavement,
Helps it stick. 

After the last chalk dust adventure,  I decided to continue my journey through the Artistic World Of Mural Making by attempting to draw something out of the sun.  I was not too keen on the last sunburn part of the last project...  so  I decided to wait until the sun was on the other side of the building and work on the front doorstep.

All dry,  Patio Furniture back,
Hopefully it will last..

Well, the concrete was certainly better and easier to work with.   I also discovered a new technique of dampening the sidewalk before, during and after the project is complete.   I think the theory is that the water will force the chalk dust to settle into the cracks and crevices so the color will not fade as fast or blow away.  ( Like the last mural's problem.)

Lion in the Park. 

When you apply water is I guess a matter of preference.   I experimented with all techniques except the "soaking of the Chalk" technique.  That just breaks down your chalk too quickly.

I hope, with a little protection from the rain,  it will last longer than the first mural.   And maybe people will enjoy it a bit.

Lion Complete. 

With that success,  I decided to take my talent on the road!   We walked down to the park and decided to put something in a slightly more public place. ( That still had shade...)  I set up shop in one of the picnic, common areas that had a cover over the top.  Bonus!  The Concrete was even more polished than our front doorstep.

It should be protected from the rain. 

With the entire world of possibilities,   I chose a lion.  I also considered a Dragon, but chose lion  for no real reason....  That is the problem with having a blank canvass (Or slab of Concrete) and no project in mind.   The possibilities are paralyzing!

Too hot to run in Muscatine. 

Shorter miles, no evening Bike ride. 

Eh...  What are you going to do?    I figured it was good enough and called it a day.   It is unbearably hot these days.   Even in the shade!    Cheryl and I have been skipping our evening bike ride.   And Cheryl still ended up walking for part of her morning run.   She is dealing with a niggle in her knee and I have been dealing with a gimpy ankle.  Part of the aging process, I guess.

Leo the Lion, in a Vanilla Camera Filter...  Nice!

Hope everyone is surviving the Heat Wave.   Leo the "Part-Timer Cat"  had been missing for two days now.   He usually arrives at 8-9 pm like like clockwork.  But Cheryl and I are guessing his "Other Home" is keeping him inside due to the heat advisory.  ( We don't actually know if there is another house he frequents, but we are hopeful.)  There is rain in the forecast... maybe it will actually happen and trigger the Late fall Mushrooms.   I would not mind looking for some...  it seems like such a long time ago.   And I would not mind cooler temps and cloudier conditions...  My plants are shriveling up in this heat and endless sun.     Fingers Crossed for some milder weather.  Thanks for stopping in.

Fun With Chalk...

Rocket the Neighbor's cat guards the
supplies.

This looks a little "too advanced"
for me. 

Being a bored "artist" ( Or someone who enjoys dabbling in the "arts"...as they might say more accurately...)  Have have decided to give sidewalk chalk a bit of a go just to see how things would work out.  I watched a bunch of You-Tube videos and finally decided that Epstein didn't kill himself.

This looks like something I can
tackle...

Outlined in Charcoal..then Add color!

I also watched a few people doing sidewalk murals and got a few pointers.   Sure,  there are certainly a bunch of people that are better than me.  But I choose to compare myself to the 6 year olds who do it.   By setting the bar so low,  I look like a genius!

At least I have a shadow for this
part.

Coloring in the fish first. 

The toughest part is finding inspiration and deciding to go with it.   I could find nothing!  So I fell back on the old "koi swimming in a pond" theme that I often do when I have no direction.   Sometimes it is good to start with something familiar before moving on to the more complicated.

Cheryl snaps pictures. 

It still is very hot outside.

Quite honestly, I really had no idea how it would turn out or what I was getting into .  I have drawn on the sidewalk with chalk before.  But there is the Iowa Death Sun,   Rough driveway concrete, and the lack of dark colors.  Who knows what will happen?

Not too bad so far. 

Fish and lilys complete. 

The actual chalk was supposed to arrive in the afternoon.  I thought I would get a jump on things by outlining my design in charcoal.  (Thankfully,  I had a bag of Kingsford!)   I drew the basic shape and had to retire until the sun set later in the evening.

Rocket attempts to "help." 

I can back to it after the chalk arrived.   The sun was setting fast, so I only finished the fish and lilies ( Lily's, Lillies?  lilys?  Spell check hates them all except the possessive...  What is the plural of Lily?)  I found that the neighbor's Cat enjoyed watching me and walking over the chalk,  leaving colorful footprints all the way back to the apartment.

How is THIS helping? Both of you
are USELESS!

Today, I finished up the rocks and re-outlined the fish.   Every time a car drives over the mural, it smudges things up and I have to clean up the edges again.   It does not help with a cat AND a kid ( who is not my friend) attempting to help me.... by not helping me at all!  Everyone is a critic, but no one ever wants to help.

Koi Pond Chalk Mural finished... and Just in time for the Full Sunlight to hit it! ( with me out of the death rays!) 

He is only five, after all.  And staying in the lines during coloring is not taught until 1st grade...  So I guess I should not have expected much.   Still,  Kids have an unlimited energy with crayons,  I thought moving up to Chalk would not be that big of a leap.

Got a little bit of sun...

And a lot of Chalk on my face.

Eventually,  the shade that the tree provided had disappeared and I had to call it quits.  I think I was able to get it completed, though I'm sure I could waste  an additional hour or two just shading and filling in the gaps.  I was half-heartingly attempting a 3-D scene,  but I will have to settle for this level of "Monet"-ish art for the moment.  I still have plenty of Chalk to attempt another mural or two for he future.  It will all depend on the Iowa Death Sun and how motivated I feel after I recover from this Sunburn.   We shall see how things go.