Dunlap

I have been talking to many people lately. I always do this over the holidays and at the beginning of the new year. I catch up with friends who’ve become distant. One of the things I’ve been sharing with many of them, especially the ones who live far from here, is how great it is to have all the opportunities that come with a life in Dunlap, Iowa, USA. I’m going to focus on that for the next few weeks, and I’m going to be sharing some of those thoughts here, too. Hopefully I will inspire you to do the same! More to come…

Aren't Kilts and Bagpipes Scottish?

What do you wear under your kilt? Click the link for a short, low quality video (all I had was my point & shoot camera and I shot into the sun) of a piper marching down the street on Saturday at the front of the parade.  It was a bit larger this year than last year’s parade, if I remember right.  Welcome, Spring!

Sometimes time flies, even when you aren’t really having much fun. The last part of February and the first part of March it seems I got very ill. I don’t know what it was for sure, but it did beat me down. But I got up again. And you’re never gonna keep me down. OK, no more song references in this post.

Anyway, I am back now and thought I’d update you on March activities.

First off, I started several tomato plants from seed. This is a yearly tradition in the spring, and I set many of them out myself, while giving many away to family and friends, too. This year I have about thirty varieties growing, including numerous low-acid types.

Picture: Tomato Plants

As evidenced in the picture linked above, I use my washer and drier as heat mats to aid in germination and growth. These seedlings will soon be moved into pots with soil where they will be grown to 8-12″ tall, then transplanted outdoors. The plants got a very fast start this year, and I am going to be a little ahead of myself if I guess right, so it could get interesting in May (hope we don’t have any late frosts!). To the left of the tomato flat is a muffin tin with peppers, which have yet to poke through.

Another March item has been the beginning of the end of Christmas. I have begun, finally, taking down all of the Christmas lights outside. I meant to get to this earlier during some unseasonably warm weather in January or February, but it seems like it never came. Then the above-referenced illness showed up and I didn’t get much done. No pictures, but you get the general idea.

Finally, I recently took in the annual Dunlap St. Patrick’s Day parade. Again, no pictures (I don’t know why but I forgot to take pics!).

So if you’ve been missing me and wondering what I’ve been up to, it is summed up as follows: very ill, starting seed, un-decorating, and St. Pat’s. There, you’re all caught up.

I’ll do my best to keep up to date through the rest of spring.

I told myself I wasn’t going to begin posting in earnest to my blog until after Christmas, when I could have finished some formatting and polished the presentation part of the site. But I just couldn’t wait. Although my little blog isn’t about politics, the Iowa Caucuses have brought political luminaries into our state and into my hometown of Dunlap, so I’ve come out of the woodwork early to share some findings. It’s not often that you find a CNN satellite truck parked at the local livestock auction.

More on the Hillary Experience and more links after the break… Read the rest of this entry »