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."

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.

Hunting Down All Things Wild and Seasonal in Iowa.

Cheryl has been taking running to a new level recently, by running twice a day instead of only in the mornings.    This helps me because I'm more of an evening person anyway, and I enjoy them far more than early, dewy  mornings.   There is always the risk of the heat being higher than normal,  but with the changing season, comes the cooler air and warm evenings with less humidity.  Basically,  it has become more fun to run as the sun sets.

Hickory nuts

The nuts without their husk

Bitternut hickory,  shagbark hickory

That being said,  Cheryl has been keeping her eyes out for "cool nature things" to experiment with in the shop.   Although we have been selling a few stockings,  there is still a bit of free time to play around with her creativity.   So, in addition to the acorns from the apple orchard,  Cheryl has been collecting  Hickory nuts.  They grow along the same path as many of the black walnut trees, and it took a little investigating to discover their true name...because I did not know first hand the name of this nut.   I actually thought they were hazelnuts.  I guess you learn new things every day!

Even among the Hickories, it looks like there may be variations.   I'm just guessing. I don't really know!  Maybe it is a different nut altogether!   It doesn't matter.   What matters is Cheryl is collecting them for some unknown purpose.  Most likely for a diabolical scheme to take over the planet.

The cooler evenings have brought  out the hunting skills of the cat as well.   Yesterday he brought me a live little bunny!   Isn't he adorable?   This is the second time Hiro has captured one alive for me to pet and put back in the neighbors hedge row.  I think he likes the rabbits of this size best.
Possibly because they are not as fast as the larger adults.  They are, however, more fragile.  And he has accidentally killed a couple in the past.  We'll have to work on his strength control in the future.

A cluster of Hops I gathered. 

Ready for harvest to anyone who wanted to pick them. 

And lastly,   HOPS!  Cheryl wanted to run down the section of path that we usually skip out on.  As a result,  I was able to gather a small cluster of Hops.  Looks like they are in peak harvesting ripeness with the brown tips and light green cones.  I put a cone in my mouth and chewed on it for a few moments to see if the taste had changed since the last time ( was it two weeks ago?).  It HAD!   The flavor started out VERY piney and tapered off to a citrus flavor.   After I spit it out,  the aftertaste was sour and HUGE!   Like a grapefruit mixed with lemon mixed with Pinesole.  Or... A very Hoppy beer!  It is too bad I don't home brew beer.  It seems like a pain and a mess.  But the thought of having my very own Hops gathered from the local biking trail does sound romantic.  I imagine wild hops are not very desireable for the local micro brewing houses around here.  They probably depend on a consistent delivery and easier gathering system.  Anyway,  just thought I would add another "Fruit of the Vine" to the list of possible adult beverage ingredient.

So that is all for now.  I'll leave out the really HUGE apples we saw today, because i did not feel like carrying back the larges sample back to be photographed.  ( It was probably over a pound!)   Chicago is coming up and Cheryl need to focus now.  Our last 20 miler is approaching,  and Cheryl will want to nail it.

OH!  And I almost forgot.... Cheryl registered for The Boston Marathon today.   It has been on her mind all morning and she wanted to make sure she has everything set up and ready.  With all this running news around,  it was no wonder she wanted to run again this evening.   Let's hope she can keep that fire lit for the duration.