HOME!!!

Twenty-eight hours and I arrived in Philly at the bus depot across the street from the SEPTA commuter train, rode 50 minutes to Lansdale station where the sight of Wendy's truck was a rainbow in my day. I was not just a weary, dirty traveler, I was unsanitary.

A positive note for Greyhound; Cleveland had a clean station, but on the equipment downside the air systems and coaches were troubling, as was the Toledo German Shepherd K-9 sniffing and barking at the under-bus luggage and shipping boxes.

Though the transportation part of this trip was a definite challenge, the slice of life I saw was as interesting as anything I've seen beyond dust fuzzies. Everything from fellow retirees to shirtless, tattooed gang-bangers, including toothless, meth abused youth; every skin color, myriad accents, and an occasional turban with East Indian music discernible from earbuds.

The stay in Des Moines with Marilyn and Alan just couldn't be beat. Their newly purchased home is in excellent order, comfortable and projects and plans for it are moving forward apace. It is spacious and inviting. Thank you, for all the comfort and food, Marilyn and Alan.

The days there were filled with visiting. Susie came for a quick weekend stay to increase the female camaraderie. Thanks again, Alan, for not frowning at our hilarity.

Susie set up her equipment and gave us all a concert...

And, yes, she did sing Pancho and Lefty. One of my favorites. What a nice Saturday evening her many songs made for us. Some people do house blessings for their new homes. Susie played and sang songs. No doubt, it accomplished the same.

Besides music, another of my favorite things in life is to be outdoors, and that's where we were a lot of the time. The farmer's market and Better Homes and Gardens demo garden you've seen on the Facebook postings already.

Then, there was Reiman's Gardens...

Marilyn--lookin' good.

The grounds are next to Iowa State University. Their mascot greeted visitors.

Evergreens and dill.

Color, forms and textures made wonderful plantings throughout. 

Petunias!

Butterfly.

River Birch is becoming my favorite tree.

Another River Birch. These are striking at all times of the year.

Sycamore.

Apple tree canopy; a living grotto. Appealing shade and forms. 

Marilyn's knowledge and active interest in the botanical qualities and aesthetics of these wonderful gardens and terrain are infectious. I was a most fortunate visitor to walk along with her as she absorbed the surroundings and explained what she saw. Her landscape customers are fortunate.

Ever since I heard of it, I've wanted to visit the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge to see the tall grass prairie that the "sod-busters" changed in a generation to the tilled fields that now fill 90% of all land in Iowa. Marilyn drove us there...

The varieties of plants were astounding. Among them were animal pathways, and mashed places where the buffalo or elk laid down. 

It was the warmest part of the day and the buffalo were hanging out down by one of the gullies. Once there were 40 million on our continent. Elk numbered even more.

Walking along the well maintained pathways we could get a good sense of the one-time vastness of the prairie.

The several thousand acres are fairly well cleared of non-native plant life. But, it will take another 200 years for the grasses to form the thick rooted sod that it was originally. 

These are the milk-weeds' pods. The Monarch butterflies need these plants; great amounts of them have been eradicated on the butterfly migration routes.

Over and over I am struck by the varieties of colors. Some are subtle...

Others are brilliant. 

I am struck by my fading care of the tough bus travel, and find foremost in my mind satisfaction with visiting Marilyn and Alan, Susie driving in from St. Louis, and Iowa itself.

This was the excitement when I got home...

Austin and friends

Snickerdoodle's special pen in the background.

Jasmine, the super milker nanny.

A bored Aidan climbed out his window onto the deck roof...

...to fly one of his five paper airplanes.

Just before the 6:39 a.m. school bus arrives...hmmm, bus again. Thought I'd forgotten about that.

Toby joined me on the porch/deck for my morning coffee. It was mild out for a couple of days.

While I was away I learned that Keoni became Concert Master at the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and Aidan became First Chair of the cello section of Philadelphia Regional Youth String Music orchestra.

A shoutout to them: Congratulations! for your wonderful accomplishments.

By Friday, the pace has picked up. While Wendy drove Aidan to orchestra practice in Bryn Mawr, I drove Keoni to his orchestra practice for Sunday's concert. A snippet is here...Keoni Orchestra Rehearsal  My apologies. I can't think of the name of this orchestra. I'll amend tomorrow.

Third Edition: Heading Home

Fog NJ, Pittsburgh; the morning has come. My, what a sight! these steep hillsides all around. I woke to a symphony of color. I wish I could post a snap of it.

Penn's Sylvania was named well.

Second Edition: Heading Home

It's 2:40 a.m. and we are again heading east after Greyhound let us down at Columbus, Ohio, at 12:15 a.a. The air in the bus coach was becoming stale with hints if exhaust. I tried to get the driver to get it circulating better, but he was no help saying a number of unrelated comments in a noisy way; then, ignoring the problem. He went off duty at Columbus and disappeared after we arrived. The lady driver who came on duty refused to drive the bus before a mechanic fixed it. No mechanics even answered their phone. The offices in Dallas were called. Still no results. Pittsburgh, the next stop didn't answer either. She said it would take two hours to get another driver and eight hours to get another coach to meet us in Pittsburgh.

A mechanic did finally come and the air system is working. One of the batteries was re-engaged as it was found the signals were out. Egad!

The driver says many drivers are quitting, the old buses have been repainted instead of being taken out of service like this one that is 22 years old and has been in an accident, there are not enough personnel. She was called in to work only a short while before the former driver went off duty.

Well, maybe I'm sleepy enough again to get some napping done.

First Edition: Heading Home

Never thought I'd welcome a Greyhound bus again, but I just now did in Indianapolis when I got off the  Burlington Trailways leg of the return trip to Philadelphia.  Three hours from Des Moines had to switch coaches; then, a dozen stops without a single one allowed to get off. EIGHT HOURS!!! One girl got off anyway and driver just left her behind.

I smiled when the Greyhound driver said you're on the same bus all the rest of the way to Philly. Plus all the NYC passengers since that's the terminus. Yea. Plus driver announced all the rest stops we'll make. Plus this coach is less "floaty" which was...well nevermind.

 One more reason: I fit in this seat.

Whew!

Glad I got that off my chest.

Farmer's Market Joy

Uploading the pictures still isn't an option just now. I'll put a few more on the Facebook page in a few minutes. Apologies to all for the captioning error of the last FB picture posting. It attached itself to all the pix of the day. I will try to do better.


Everybody knows I love farmer's markets and today I was at the big momma of farmer's markets in Downtown Des Moines with Marilyn and Alan and Susie this morning. It is only on Saturdays, all year, and takes up multiple blocks of downtown. We got there after an early morning thunderstorm.


The variety is wonderful and after a pastry breakfast there, I had to have someone hold their hands over my eyes while we walked by the bakery booths. I finished off a homemade strawberry-rhubarb ice cream though on the way back to the car.


Lots of visiting and Susie brought her guitar for after-dinner entertainment. Yea! Hope she sings Pancho and Lefty again for me.

West of Chicago

This is from my iPhone since I don't have my laptop along with me on this Greyhound bus. I thought it would be an adventure to go by bus to see Cousin Marilyn in Des Moines (driver says Dezz Moinzz). However, I'm in an endurance challenge that rivals 44 hrs returning from Europe. I'm lucky, I guess; I'm surrounded by people who didn't pick Greyhound because they love it.

The morning has slipped into afternoon and early fog and overcast are traded for clear blue skies and dissiduous forest for a farmed and flatter landscape.

Listening to following kept my mind off bodily discomfort:

Whew. Guy next to me woke up. Made my little bus bathroom successfully. Saw the girl and guy behind who've been talking fairly loudly. She ditched the guy she was with at Toledo station. And took up with the one she picked out before boarding. He is a handsome young man. Her head is on his shoulder as she sleeps; their legs intertwined. She is a thin little thing. She's headed to her home in Salt Lake City after working at Walmart n Ohio somewhere with boyfriend. Only other place she's been is once to Portland. Her conversation was complete airhead for about 15 min. before she must have fallen asleep. I don't think he minds.

Postings will switch to Facebook for a few days due to rigors of small keyboard, and head swimming bouncing.

Basic Starter Goat

He's here! Wendy and John returned from a quick weekend trip to Virginia to get four-month old Snickerdoodle, a Mini Mancha buckling to expand her Pennsylvania goat herd.

Happy smile!

Everybody joining in.

Who ARE you?

I'm Enchanted Hill Snickerdoodle.

At ease.

At ease.

Wendy has posted more on Facebook and at Casa de la Tortuga, her web site for the goats.

A little daylight left for some bow and arrow practice...

...and maybe a little kitten jammin'.

Karma hopped away, so Keoni had to play the piano.

It's a matter of days when I'll be on the Greyhound bound for Des Moines and cousin Marilyn and Alan's new home. It's been decades since my last Greyhound trip, and three years since I last saw Marilyn at the RAGBRAI though she made it to Tucson in between time. Longer since I saw Alan since FEMA has had him afield when I've been in Iowa. His mother is a champion pie maker that had all us RAGBRAI cousins, kissin' cousins and sisters for a pie-eating stop-over the year the route took us through her little town.

In preparation, I have downloaded War and Peace onto my Kindle. I already started it as I think I could go across America a couple of round trips before I finish it. The Kindle copy I have is pretty nice since I can touch a character's name and a box pops up with who they are which is waaaay cool for this mob novel. Other entertainment will be watching the comings and goings of the ridership. Too bad Greyhound doesn't stop at all the little burgs like it did years ago.

Shoutout to Aidan: Congratulations! First Chair Cello Man. His successful seating trials were this evening. We celebrated with pie that Keoni and I got when he, Wendy and John got home.

We're all happy for him despite the well pump not working since this morning with the prospect of carrying buckets of water from the other well to complete tomorrow's ablutions. The well guy is coming in the morning. Yea. If he isn't successful, my stranded laundry in the half-full rinse cycle will be hard to squeeze out by hand since it includes two jeans and pot holders.

Better to think about amber waves of grain...

...and go find a dust fuzzy to contemplate.