Underwings, Hawkmoths, Hops, And Almost Healed Runner.

 Cheryl is very excited that she is once again, the  cover-girl of my blog.  As if I would have anyone else...  Mostly because she is almost able to run again.   We have been going out for short one to  two mile runs.   The injury is still tender, but at least she is capable of running a little.   Which makes her almost happy.

What also makes her happy is going to the Muscatine Farmers' Market.   Today we set up the display so she will have a full picture of the set up.   Minus the annoying ragtime tunes...

The key feature will be "Rabbits with Attitude!"  We shall see how they sell.

Not a lump of mud after all. 

Five-Spotted Hawk moth.  Tomato Horn Worm adult.

While heading out to the bike the other day,  I noted a large "muddy lump" on the bike tire.   Turns out it was a 5 Spotted Hawkmoth!    For those who may not know,  this is what tomato Hornworms and Tobacco Hornworms become when they mature.   This one was very fresh with most of his color still intact!  A very cool find.

Isn't he/she cute!  

Released on my tomato plants.   

My grandfather used to kill  them as soon as he found them.   Me, on the other hand.... I like all God's creatures.   Mostly I would keep them as pets...  It's easy enough to feed them. And look as this awesome adult!   Who would not want to see  these guys reach their full potential?   Not to mention my tomatoes have been rather slow on the uptake this year.   Why not let them have a chance at them.   I don't eat the leaves, after all.  And this late in the season will probably not hurt the plant much.  (Note:  Adults do not eat tomatoes... only the caterpillars do.  But adults DO lay eggs.  Maybe next year.)

An Underwing visits our flowers

I wonder where the name comes from?

White-lines Sphinx Moth larva

In addition to the Hawkmoth,  We found an Underwing. He did not hold still long enough to get a good picture of the colored hind wings.  Still,  seeing a large moth is always exciting.

White-lines sphinx moth.   

With the soybeans turning color,  time to find those White-Lined Hawkmoths coming out of the bean fields.  They look similar to tomato horn worms...but have dots along the side instead of stripes.
 The adult matures  into a very cute hummingbird-type day flyer.  Watch them sip nectar from the same flowers your hummer enjoys. All we found was this Woolybear.    Larva of the Isabella moth. Still,  Stinging hairs are fun to pet... sometimes.

Hops!   Growing wild on the Trail.

Let's give it a taste.

And finally!  HOPS!   Cheryl and I went for a walk yesterday down the trail... looking to see if the hops were out yet.  They ARE!   We did not go very far into the forest ( where there should be many many more!)   but still found a few to have some fun with.   We both had to taste them...  very Piney!

Cheryl accepts the dare

Do they smell like pinecones?

 A truely lovely bitter flavor of pinesol!   Cheryl found it a little too bitter for her taste.   I find that lightly sucking on the small nuts at the base of each cone leaf releases the most flavor.  No citrus taste in these guys!

Octoberfest in September!

So after playing dress-up,   we brought some home to tack above the door.  Perhaps it will bring good fortune and happiness to the household.  

Posting on building for Luck and happiness.

 I'm sure at least a little happiness will be realized...  after I drink a seasonal Hoppy beer!  A new one from Alaska!   I can't wait to try it out later tonight.

Bring on that Happiness!

From Alaska!  Hoppythermia!

So that is all for now.   Cheryl is busy scoring and I continue to fold and blog about her.... sometimes.   Like an old Movie Actress,  She is only popular if she is active in her field.   In Cheryl's case... running.   Or tasting hops.

What does she think?

I'll take that as a "thumbs down."

Remembering Labor Day. A Uniquely American Perspective.

I like this commercial.   It reminds you where things come from and who provides them.  (HINT:   It is NOT government!)   It is the millions of workers, farmers and entrepreneurs in this Great Country.   Enjoy this!   And Enjoy living in the greatest country in the world.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor day.

The Odd Hobby of Origami

If only they could talk.

Who wakes up one day and thinks they want to do Origami?  (Other than Robert Lang...) It is a thankless and tedious task where you give and give and give and never get anything back... ( unless you are Robert Lang)

Robert Lang,  A origami god!

  Oh the hours!    Wasted?   Maybe.   Does everything have to be measured in a dollar amount?   Sometimes.  If that is the case,  then I waste a lot of time on Origami.

Case in point.   I wanted to show the progression of one small fish.   Simple!  Right?   So without me blathering along...   I'll let the pictures do most of the talking...

Methylcellulose.   Wallpaper glue mixed with jello gelatin. Make it thick!

Rolling out tissue paper. (2-3 layers thick)  Let dry.

24 hours later.   Start folding the paper.

Fold 10x10 grid in middle.

Double that!

This will be the top.   Start from the head and work towards the tail.

Layer the paper, dividing each square in half. 

Continue this for the next two hours. 

Done!   With that part at least....Now the fun part!

On the underside.  Start from the tail this time.  Lock each scale into place.

Like this.  

Do this 421 more times! 

This is the top side.   Scales are locked in.

Sit back and watch your life drain away....

3 hours later.... Almost done.

Top side:   Checking in each scale to make sure they are set.

Want to add some color?   Do this as you make the paper.  Before folding.

Rinse and repeat!

Tada!   Wasn't that easy?   2 days per fish.  

And if you mess up anywhere along the way... say goodbye to your effort. 

Certainly easier than folding one. 

Now wasn't that fun?   I could stick with the "easy" stuff...   But then I would not have anything to gripe about.   ( Or blog) I still want to make an Asagi koi.    The blue paper was supposed to be that;  but stuff happens.   Mistakes were made,   usually upon various comets and asteroids. And when that happens,  the paper never makes it to the blog.

So before considering origami as a therapy,   consider fishing instead.   At least you get to eat your catch at the end of the day.  And it gets you out on the lake in the great outdoors!   Origami... not so much.

Cheryl Almost Fixed, Muscatine Farmer's Market, Cute Little Girl, And Ripening Tomatoes.

Cheryl testing the waters.... or trails.  

Happier times!    Today I will focus on the good things and not the inevitable demise of humanity.  (Do I usually do that?)
Today Cheryl decided to give running a try.   In case you missed it a month ago,  Cheryl broke herself and has been kind of insane ever since.  But it has been about 6 weeks since that injury and she is willing to test the waters one mile at a time.  So now I once again have a job.   Not one that pays, mind you.   But the self esteem I gain is worth so much more than a simple paycheck.  (Or so it was explained to me.)

Still in one piece.   Horray!

The goal is to eventually run to the HOPS that grow wild along the trail.   It is about three miles down  from West Chester...so I'm hoping she does not break herself again until then.  The hops should be in season now... or at least visible from the trail.  I'm not sure what I will do when we find them.   Maybe I'll harvest a few and show them off to total strangers.   Adding to my "mystique"  ( or creepiness...)

Back view.  

The "Pre-Marathon" legs

So Cheryl is ready to get her sexy, hardcore legs back.   I snapped this picture as a reference in a few months to show her the progress.   Who knows,  there is a possibility she may still run in the Quad Cities Marathon in some capacity.  We shall see how things go.

Muscatine Farmer's Market.   With Gray skies...

Cheryl evaluates her Display

In other news,  a slight recap of the Muscatine farmer's market.   A fairly consistent show,  and nothing more.   But the people are getting used to us now and sometimes come to visit.  They buy our stuff and we buy theirs...  (Usually to break larger bills for change.)

Heirloom does NOT always mean Tasty

Heirloom Melon.

 But sometimes  we discover something cool...  Like this heirloom melon!    So cute and aromatic! As far as flavor goes..kind of bland.   But two out of three is not bad.

Cute little kid with a rock.

A "Muscatine" rock.  Hidden for people to find and blog about. 

One of the vendor's kids found a Muscatine painted rock.   I guess there is a long standing tradition where people paint rocks and hide them.   And people are supposed to find them and post them on their Facebook page.. or something like that.  Either way,   Easter egg hunts are always fun.  And I'm blogging about it...so I guess it works!

Finally a red tomato!

And finally!   Our tomatoes are finally changing color!    I may give this a few more days before picking it.   Looks like they will all ripen around the same time.   This is great because I will no longer have to beg the neighbor for any extra tomatoes.   (I don't beg.  He offers them to me.

A few more hidden ones turning. 

Looks like They will all ripen at once.

And I accept them...   But I make sure I'm always  available in case he has to "get rid" of  any.)  I may have to keep a few of the seeds and see if I can start them earlier next year.   Last time I started them in February inside.   And I had more tomatoes than I knew what to do with. Perhaps six plants was a little too much.

So that is all for now.    Later this week I'll have to show off my latest Origami creations.   And the utterly senseless amount of time I spend on each one.  If anyone thinks being an artist is "cool"... they are wrong.  I would highly not recommend this "occupation" or anyone.  But that is just me, I guess.

The Subjective Subject of Blues and Ragtime Music.

First,   Disclaimer:   This is all my opinion.   I fully acknowledge this and understand that one man's noise is another man's music.   That being said... let's begin.

I like music.   I like a variety of music.   However,  I would never say I like All music.   And sometimes I find certain genres simply earsplitting.  (Think: Rap Music)

But mostly I can at least find something in most every other genre.   But today I was introduced to a brand of music that simply irritated me.

Perhaps it was because my coffee had not kicked in or it was simply too early...  But the guy next to us at the Farmers Market was playing music while we set up.   Playing music during the operational hours is a no no.   But they old man next to us must think the rules do not apply to him.  Either that or he thinks set up time is the perfect time to blare his tunes to everyone.

I don't think this is real music....

Now if he actually played decent, mainstream music... this might not be a problem.   But he seems to like "fringy" stuff.  Last week it was Roy Orbison.  (And not his "famous" songs)   This week... it was Ragtime/blues  music.   (Or:  Noise!  As I would call it.)   I did a search on youtube for this music.  Normally I don't mind blues...  and I actually like certain ragtime songs.   But this!

Cannon Jug Stompers Found the noise!

I finally found the only band that played this music.   The Cannons Jug Stompers!   How this band manages to perfectly meld Ragtime AND Blues into a cornucopia of noise is beyond me!  I will NOT post a link to their videos/music on this blog.   The sooner I wipe the "ear-worms" from my head.. the sooner I will be able to sleep at night once again.

Someone should tell him...they DO!

Mostly, I'm annoyed that this guy was not obeying the "rules."   And everyone else was too polite to call him on it.  And thus this is the hidden flaw in polite society.   When one person decides everyone else can "screw off" and no one wants to be a jerk to tell him to stop.  Heck, I like Barbershop Quartet music...  and I know it is an "acquired taste."   Yet you don't see me blaring it from my rusty Chevrolet!

Or use them as an excuse?

And has this not happened to all of us at one time or another?   We wait patiently in a long line...when it comes time for us to be served, someone either asks or cuts in front of us as if we did not matter.   I personally LOVE the middle age lady who claims she is in a hurry because her children are in a hot car and is it possibly to cut in front of you.  What are you going to say in polite society?   "I'm sorry, but your children will have to wait in the hot car an additional five minutes as we check out ahead of you."  ( Though I would love to say that.)   I know my brother would...  sometimes I envy the Genther side of the family for their frank and forward personality traits.
Whether it is true or not, we let it slip and then fume about it later on our blogs.  Or maybe it is just me.  Anyway,  perhaps next week I will blare some heavy metal outside the Subie...  or better yet!   KPOP!
Ok,  I feel slightly better now.  Cheryl did not like the music either. (two weeks in a row now!)   Sorry for the rant.  But maybe blogging is better than therapy. ( at least it is cheaper.)    Hopefully tomorrow I will have a better post and happier times to chat about.   Until then,  thanks for stopping in.