The Grove

On Sunday, Betsy suggested we all go to The Grove, which is a park on the grounds of what was an estate belonging to John Kennicott, a horticulturalist and naturalist. You can read more here. The park is quite beautiful and a very peaceful place for walking and learning about local plants and animals. I recommend it if you are in the area.

One of the big attractions for the grandkids was this turtle pond. There were lots of turtles; also snakes of all kinds, amphibians, and fish. Henry claimed there was a snapping turtle that was older than Kathie and me put together!

There were lots of displays and hands-on things for everyone too.

Will, Sandy and Anders had driven in the previous afternoon to join in the fun. Here are the two blonde boys--Anders and Frederick.

The answer to the question everyone who sees this photograph will have is, "No. No one fell into the pond."

Penny loves her Pop! I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

Frederick didn't like stopping for pictures, but his parents have clever ways of getting him to stop for me.

Rob, you're such a serious guy! I don't think you really minded my taking these pictures. Check out Rob's new Apple watch! I wanted him to give me a guided tour, but we never found time for that.

Kathie got this more or less posed shot of all of us. There was lots of wiggling and attempts by parents were being made to get cooperation from everyone.

Frederick liked the mockup of a well.

All the grandkids found this "little house" fascinating.

A blacksmith demonstrated techniques as he made a stand for fireplace tools.

Betsy's Karaoke Birthday

We were in the Chicago area the past few days for Betsy's birthday, one of those decade birthdays (how did that happen?). To properly celebrate, the second floor of an Evanston eatery was rented for the occasion. When Kathie and I arrived, Frederick, Henry and Clara were digging into the first round of kid-friendly food.

Betsy was making the rounds with all her guests.

And others of us were catching up with each other as well. Kathie and Betsy's lifelong pal Amber were busy exchanging stories.

Pete had arranged for a karaoke master to provide the basis for entertainment, though, of course, it was really the guests who were the entertaining ones. Pete kicked things off and really set the bar pretty high for the rest of us!

It was fun to have the kids involved. Henry was especially intrigued when his mom belted out a tune.

Betsy's cousin Sarah and her husband, Josh, delivered a couple of nice songs, including one really fun one originally by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. They didn't do all the dance steps though. Maybe next time.

Clara has a nice voice, and seeing her sing with her dad was sweet.

Carrie sang with Eleanor and Penny, and Eleanor, maybe more than anyone else that night, had all the hand gestures and moves to go along with her song. Not surprising!

These three amigos were fun to hear, and now that I think about it, there was something close to choreography going on here too!

One of the best deliveries, as voted by the grandparents present, was "Let It Go" from Frozen. It was really fun to see Rob get up there with these kids. That made it comfortable for Penny to add her voice, and she didn't hold back at all. (Sorry about the camera flash eyes!)

Even the parents joined in. Because we tended to remember older tunes, we did something by the Everly Brothers or maybe it was Buddy Holly or someone else. There was so much going on that it is hard to remember everything. Wine and beer may have clouded our recollections as well.

Eventually, there was a cake, and all the candles were successfully blown out.

But one of the best moments was when Betsy and her sweetheart sang a final song together.

Maia and Leo

Jessica stopped by last week for a couple days while on her way to another family event. Maia and Nana played some computer games.

Leo and his mom were all smiles here. There was lots of time on our little roller coaster, and the new backyard swing got tested.

A short but sweet visit.

Fungi

In lieu of other things to post, I thought I'd share this pretty picture taken by Kathie. Because we have not gone to our lake home as early this year as in others, we have really enjoyed April and May here in Iowa. Quite a bit of our spare time has been spent working on our yard, which had not been well attended in recent years. We have the lawn looking better than ever, and planting areas and gardens have been spruced up. We have even been able to enjoy our asparagus patch for a change. Once Kathie recovered from her surgery enough to be outside, she spent lots of time weeding, splitting hostas, and replanting. The area around this tree is a good example. However, my motivation for posting the picture is to show you the fungi that have appeared for the first time ever on the south side of the tree. We don't know if some spores traveled along with the bark we used to dress up the area, or if recent wet conditions have created an especially good environment for their growth, or if this is some kind of signal about the health of the tree. In any event, they are interesting and, I think, add to the attractiveness of this spot. Maybe we have had these visitors every year, but because we are usually "up north" we have simply missed them before. Probably not, because I think these guys will dry up and stay on the tree henceforth. We shall see!

Cheryl

Kathie's good friend Cheryl visited yesterday. She lives in California now, but in years past, when Cheryl lived in Iowa City, they worked and played together regularly. Kathie and Cheryl went out for lunch and then enjoyed catching up with each other while watching me mow the lawn and playing frisbee with Tighe. Kathie had a physical therapy appointment in the late afternoon (she is doing great, by the way), and then all three of us had dinner at Takanami before driving Cheryl back to Bettendorf to spend the rest of her visit with her family there.

Old Computer Guys

My cousin Rex officially joined the ranks of the retired yesterday afternoon. Kathie and I attended a farewell reception for him on the UI campus. His boss offered a very nice tribute to Rex and all he has done for the UI in his 44 years as an employee of the IT organizations that serve the campus. I know everything said was well deserved. Kathie took this picture of the two of us.

I thought I'd throw in this additional picture from 1955, a time when neither of us yet appreciated all the wonderful opportunities our respective careers in IT would bring. We had fun playing with the train, though!