Kansas, May 2017

The week, indeed the world, is centered around
around my mother's pug, Jake. This is Jake
explaining that I was in his chair and needed
to either move out or pick him up.

I didn't post anything while I was in Kansas, so here's the whole week at once.

My mom has lots of iris in bloom now, so there
will be a lot of these pictures, They are too
beautiful to choose between.

There is lots of iris, but there
is only one Jake.

We bought a lot of plants and filled a lot of pots.

Jake and my mother enjoying happy hour on
the patio. While it was raining back here, we
had clear, cool, beautiful days in Kansas.

This is a view of Kanopolis Lake, a state park where we spent
many enjoyable weekends, camping and water skiing, when
I was growing up. We took a drive out there one afternoon
when the planting was complete.

It was a good afternoon for wildlife at Kanopolis, we
also spotted these turkeys.

If you look closely, you can see a deer along the water in the
lower right of this picture.

More iris.

A solar powered fountain in the birdbath. This was
mesmerizing to watch because the frequency and height of
the spray varied constantly with the amount of sunlight.

Backyard wildlife. A fuzzy picture, but this is an oriel on
another birdbath.

A squirrel drinking from a small birdbath.

Jake is no threat to the backyard wildlife,
and they know it.

Rabbits, squirrels, and birds have free access to the back yard
without being molested by the resident dog.

The only thing Jake is a threat to is any food that hits
the floor, on purpose or by accident.

The last of the iris.

An old fashion pink bush rose.

This is my mother being interviewed by a
reporter for the local paper after the announcement.
The event was held at a grain elevator out in the
middle of nowhere, but still, about 50 Democrats
showed up. She knew, and talked to, most of them.

It wouldn't have been a visit to my mother
without at least one political event.
The young man standing next to her
had just announced that he was running for
governor of the State of Kansas. His name is
Josh Svaty and my mother has been involved
in his political career since he had one. She
will be the treasurer of his campaign. 

Back home Wednesday evening, snuggling with Maya. She has been within arm's reach of me
ever since I got home.