This was going to be a blog about the garden and the pond ... but then the wind blew around and around and around. After a hard day of work in the yard, we were cleaning up and getting ready for some of Paige's yummy homemade pizza while keeping a close eye on the weather. Cody always keeps an extra eye on Dopplar radar when there's a tornado that has its aim set on Tonganoxie. The timing was good though - we had just finished dinner when the sirens went off, the weather alarm sounded and we rounded up the animals for a trip to the basement. We were safe, but some folks just 3 1/2 miles from us weren't. An F3 tornado [click for video] 
destroyed some barns, homes, and flipped over some cars and semis. After it passed, we played in the water in the yard and marveled at the beautiful sky all around us. A couple of hours later, it was back down to the basement for round 2. This one was even closer ... I'll update the blog later as more information comes in. Tomorrow they're calling for even more exciting tornadic weather. Tis the season!
UPDATE: Here's another link with some great pictures and videos. Click here.
During the fall months, we're tormented with the fruit of a hedge tree. You may recall previous posts talking about the peculiar, soft-ball sized fruit that weighs as much as small bowling ball. Known 'round these parts as hedge apples, Osage oranges or even monkey-brains, these nemesis wreck havoc on a lawnmower. We found out today that their thorns aren't much fun to work with either. We cleared, cut, pruned, whacked, and cut back several of them from the west side of the yard. What was left was a beautiful collection of trees and some hands and arms that look like we stumbled upon a litter of kittens.
When he's not grounded from the computer, Tyson's been teaching himself the language of Microsoft Visual Basic. He even checked out a few books from the Tongie Library (yes, books! ...bound books with paper and no circuitry!) on the subject. He will happily distribute his first program to anyone who's interested.
... well, at least the gravel that was delivered was crushed. After 4 years of driving up and down and down and up the driveway, it was time for another ton or two of gravel to be laid down. Someday we'll upgrade to a real driveway but in the meantime, the long gravel driveway will do. Besides, it makes it feel more "rural" ... sorta. At least there's no more puddles, mud holes, and other peculiar places to lose small animals ... like Kallie.
The goal? To run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours. The bib number? 2262. The weather? Better than it was last week. In fact, it was so bad last week that the Olathe Marathon was postponed till this weekend. Despite some high winds, it was certainly better than running in last week's snow and freezing rain. Having set his sites on the 13.1 mile run, Cody started training in January and accomplished his goal ... and with a time of 1:58:53. Not bad considering the hip injury he sustained a couple of weeks ago. Good thing Paige knew of a local chiropractor. Next up? The KC Marathon in the fall.
This was going to be a blog about the garden and the pond ... but then the wind blew around and around and around. After a hard day of work in the yard, we were cleaning up and getting ready for some of Paige's yummy homemade pizza while keeping a close eye on the weather. Cody always keeps an extra eye on Dopplar radar when there's a tornado that has its aim set on Tonganoxie. The timing was good though - we had just finished dinner when the sirens went off, the weather alarm sounded and we rounded up the animals for a trip to the basement. We were safe, but some folks just 3 1/2 miles from us weren't. An F3 tornado [click for video] 
destroyed some barns, homes, and flipped over some cars and semis. After it passed, we played in the water in the yard and marveled at the beautiful sky all around us. A couple of hours later, it was back down to the basement for round 2. This one was even closer ... I'll update the blog later as more information comes in. Tomorrow they're calling for even more exciting tornadic weather. Tis the season!
