We had intended to include this picture in the blog this past summer but it went away and we couldn't find it in the picture files on the computer. Recently we took pictures with this camera and low and behold when we downloaded the pictures look what we found. The fields all around the house in 2007 were planted in corn, the two years before had been in soy beans. It's like being on an island. You can't see other houses unless you look out from the window upstairs. The conditions were right for the farmers in this area to have bumper crops. They planted a larger percent in corn because of the ethanol production. The farmer who plants around our house had an excellent crop. Bob wanted to take this picture so you could get the prospective of how tall the corn grew. I think he also wanted to show off his hair/beard. He's sure people do not forget him once they have seen him. I do admit he does get allot of greetings from folks when we are out and about. On the other hand there are those instances when he is walking down the street and women and children cross to the other side but then babies seem to be fascinated and smile.
Yes, it is still winter! This was taken this past weekend. It's a beautiful site to wake up and look out the window and see this picture, a winter wonderland. It is not snow on the trees, it had been foggy the night before, no wind, and the moisture from the fog crystallized.Since Christmas we have been busy with music and volunteer activities. Our area was impacted by the floods in January and February. Watseca, about 50 miles north had allot of people displaced because of the flooding. The Red Cross had a shelter at the Trinity Church, initially there were around 80 people who did not have family or friends where they could stay temporarily. I (Kathy) went up for several days to assist. I was on duty nights, at the church, 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM. I'm not usually a night person but I did okay. It was the quiet time. The church had allot of volunteers who took care of the cooking and cleaning. They are a wonderful group of people. The shelter was open for two weeks or so while they found housing for those affected. The Red Cross went out twice a day with the food trucks (ERV, Emergency Red Cross Vehicle) and distributed meals to those who were cleaning up and those that were house bound. I went out with them to help on several occasions. The news reports indicated that there were around 600 homes that could not be occupied.
Here in the Danville area the rivers were all over their banks. There were several areas around Danville that were flooded later in the month. The Red Cross did open a shelter here but then placed the three families without a place to stay in a motel for several days. We live 15 miles north east of Danville, not close enough to the rivers to have any problems.
Bob has been doing his usual Tuesday night jam session at the music store downtown and we are going over to Champaign weekly to a jam/teaching session that is a little different (Bob plays I go to listen). The music is French Canadian, Irish, New Orleans, kind of stuff, very fast and repetitive. It's fun and a different group of folks. He has also been working on recording his music. He bought a Roland Recorder several years ago when we were in the motor home. It will record several tracks. Trying to get it to interface with the computer has been a challenge. He is waiting for Kickapoo to start their season the first of April.
As mentioned already, I have been doing volunteer work for the Red Cross. The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) has also restarted their volunteer program. The Amateur Radio Club has been busy working with Provina, the local hospital, to get radios in the hospital to provide assistance in emergencies. The equipment has been bought and is in the process of being installed. We also have an area at the EMA building and they may also provide the radios for us. The success of this effort is because of the persistence of a young man named Jim Kiser. He is the coordinator of our Vermilion County ARES group (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) which is an ARRL subgroup of our club. I also passed the test to become a General Class, the next step in classifications for amateur radio operators. This gives me more privileges for using the amateur radio bands. I'm happy about that! I procrastinated about two years before taking this test and now will be taking the classes given by Josh Kittle, the VP of our club, for upgrading to the EXTRA Class.
The snow will probably melt by next week but then who knows we may get snow in April!!! It will start getting warmer which will be a good thing.
Posted
at 9:41 AM CST
Updated: Sunday, 2 March 2008 10:19 AM CST
