Ditch Burning Time

It's Springtime! We like to burn the tall dead grass in our steep ditch to clean it up and prepare it for new growth. This always is a spontaneous decision. We need a time when we have the time, and the wind is low, and the grass hasn't grown much yet, and it's not too dry and not too wet. It's like an ah-ha moment and we scramble to get it done.

In Shawnee County we are required to have a Burn Permit and we need to "call in" the burn before we start it. This year the Fire Station was empty (out on a call) when I went there, and the "ah ha" moment was upon us. The conditions were perfect so we went ahead and did the burn. No close calls.

There is just something about burning grasses. The smoke, the flame, the sounds, the physical activity needed to follow it with tools and water to keep it tamed. I've always liked it, even though at times the outcome isn't good. I HATE talking to firemen as they put out our uncontrolled fire. Not an issue this year.

With this post I also celebrate 10 YEARS OF BLOGGING HERE! Can't believe it. Maybe I haven't been consistent but I've posted each of those years. The climate has changed in the blogging world. Few if any visitors. Few if any comments. The social media options for keeping a web presence has eclipsed this old style blog, but I still prefer this format. I miss the old days when I had back-and-forth dialog with viewers. I may decide to pull the plug at some time on this blog but, for now, I'll still post. It's a process that feeds a need.

KATY Trail - Almost

It's early in the year but it's starting to be bicycle weather. Rita and I were talking about how much we love bicycle trails and concocted a plan to get together, with Wilma and Jana, and hit a trail somewhere. I recommended the KATY trail in Missouri. Wilma and I have been on parts of it over the years and I wanted them, as newbies to this sport, to experience a top-notch rail-to-trail. We made plans for a place to stay and figured we'd bike in the day and base ourselves at a place to stay, and pulled a couple days vacation to create a long weekend. Rocheport fits the bill.


Unfortunately for me, the week prior to the trip I over-exert my right knee and it's barely functional. I can walk - but no biking. Plan B: I drive the other three to and from the trail and I use the down time, while they are on the trail, to SKETCH. This is a great compromise and it works out fine. I still miss riding, but the other three get in some great riding time and we have plenty of time over meals to catch up on things and the evenings are all spent doing things together.

We spend time in Columbia. Being a college town it has plenty of things to do. We wanted to catch Pokey Lafarge the first night at The Blue Note, but he cancelled due to illness. We caught other live music though.

Then there's the FOOD! Restaurants at both Rocheport and Columbia fit the bill. Missouri University at Columbia is their state's land grant college, so it has Vet Med and agriculture. That means a retail room that sells ice cream! Buck's Ice Cream, with Tiger Stripe ice cream as one offering. We hit all the retail stores in Rocheport, numbering almost a dozen. Many artist studios.

Great long weekend. Hope to do trips like this again. Hopefully do trips where I can ride, too, but these sketches would not have happened if I were in the saddle. Too many ways to have a good time.

Dover, Kansas

Dover has the closest dealer for my Zipper mower, so I get out there once in a while for mower repair and maintenance. If the cafe is open, I drop by and get a coffee to-go for my drive home. I knew I wanted to sketch the cafe some day.

The game plan today was to an Urban Sketchers Kansas City sketch crawl in downtown KC. However, with forecasted temps in the mid 20's they pushed it back a week. I wanted to sketch, and I've been meaning to get out to Dover, a small town 25 miles west of us, to sketch their cafe. Today's the day! I need to buy some supplies to breath life into my old zero turn Legacy so I figured I'd stop by Schwant Tractor for those supplies and then we'd stop by the Sommerset Hall Cafe for lunch. That place had near 30 customers! Glad to see it doing so well.


I attend several of the Urban Sketchers Kansas City outings because they are only 60 miles away. Topeka has no activity, and Lawrence is only 15 miles away but Urban Sketchers Lawrence has limited outings. I prefer less-urban sketching, though. I grew up outside of town, and live today like that. I am more attached to the smaller towns, and feel no bond with a metropolis.

Then Jessica Wesolek started the blog http://smalltownsketchers.com. I learned my watercolor pencil journaling technique from her a decade ago, so I just had to submit something for her to consider posting to show her I'm still in the game. Supposedly including #smalltownsketchers in this blog will announce my intentions. I know nothing of hashtags so I'll take her word for it.