The irises are spectacular this year, both ours and others we’ve seen. Friends in Meriden host an open house every year in mid-May for people to tour their iris gardens containing over 900 varieties. They are meticulous about labeling their irises with the variety name. We’ve been trading iris and day lilies with them for several years.

In the past, we haven’t kept track of variety names but, going forward, will try to be more diligent about that; especially since we’ve met more people who are avid lovers of iris and knowledgeable about the varieties.

Here are some of our latest additions, with variety names if we know them.

The iris on the left, Batik, we’ve had for a few years. The one on the right, Blutique, is a new one.

And for you Trekkies, here is Starship Enterprise!

Recently, I was gazing out my “Window on the World,” aka the window over my kitchen sink, when I spotted a small flock of wild turkeys near the far end of the native grass pasture. Even from that distance, the dark brown birds are easy to spot this time of year in the new, bright green grass. In fact, they show up so well that I could see what appeared to be two toms strutting their stuff, plumage unfurled, to impress four females. Two tom turkeys in the same area, like two bulls in the same pasture, will work it out between themselves to establish which one is the dominant male; and often there will be a skirmish involved. But everything looked quiet. Maybe one was a jake, a young male, earning his apprentice breeding certification from a journeyman or master tom.

I grabbed the binoculars for a closer voyeuristic look at the turkey dating ritual. Remember in my book chapter, “Bovine Dating and Mating Habits,” how I described our voyeurism during breeding season of cattle. The two testosterone toms were doing slow turns from side to side, like body builders vying for the title of “Mr. Beefcake America.”

The hens were milling around in a group, taking in the show. Suddenly, they about-faced and headed for the timber. The toms deflated their plumage and followed. Hmmm!

The binoculars weren’t powerful enough for me to see into the timber, ending my turkey voyeurism episode.

Again looking out my “Window on the World,” I saw this box turtle trekking along the driveway, possibly headed north toward the corn field. Cricket was also watching it with rapt attention until Bill cautioned “Leave it alone.” The turtle was a little photo-shy at first so I moved out of its line of vision. The legs and head popped back out and it continued its trek undisturbed to the field. 

Our evening walks in early spring often yield interesting treasures of nature. Recently, I scored this seven-point half-rack.

Not to be outdone, Cricket found a leg bone. Unsure whether or not it’s bovine, but it certainly wasn’t from any of ours.

Bill didn’t find any treasures on this trip, but last year he found a full ten-point rack.

Later, on another walk, I found this vacated mobile home. Assumed the former resident snail was deceased.

Turkey feathers are a frequent find in the timber. We have a beer mug full!

Some treasures, like these wild violets (on the left), grow in our yard. I love these and eagerly look forward to their appearance each year. I also love lilacs!

In the spring, Cricket is transformed from our mild-mannered, lovable Golden Retriever into The Mole-inator! This year, she’s looking to break her record of 13 from a year ago.

We were afraid the lack of moisture during the winter and early spring might result in a disappointing morel season. But we finally received some much-needed, although not enough, rain in mid-April and made a couple of good hauls. Tramping through the timber, eyes glued to the ground not only looking for the little fungal delicacies but also for snakes—venomous or otherwise; crawling into the middle of a thicket of sticker bushes to grab three ‘shrooms; getting whacked in the head by low-hanging branches; and, providing a happy hour “Bloody June” cocktail for the ticks to suck up…it doesn’t get any better!

Our irises have started to bloom, beginning with the miniatures.

The next to bloom is one we call the “Antique Iris,” because starts have been handed down in my family on my dad’s side since before 1900.

Our gorgeous hybrid irises are now blooming! 

By mid-afternoon, we’d covered the grounds, found the items we sought and were running low on cash, the preferred method of payment. Leave the plastic at home. Besides the buck-a-pair gloves, Bill found most of the items on his list, including a pair of used vise grips in great condition (You never know when the wine corkscrew will break and a pair of pliers just won’t do the job!) and K-State koozies. (Our tailgate group will be totally impressed with these!)

Bill also keeps an eye out for yard art junk he thinks I’ll like. He spotted two pieces of graniteware.

The price tags showed $15 for the gray pot and $12 for speckled blue one. He negotiated these down to $15 for the pair, but the dealer made one stipulation: he had to take the chamber pot for an additional $1. Not being sure I would want the graniteware, he asked the dealer to set them back. When we met for lunch (we shop separately), he took me to the booth and explained the deal. Sold! Although we really didn’t need any more chamber pots and the ones we have are in much better condition than this one, the combined price on the other two was too good to pass up.

Bill also found a child’s Radio Flyer wheelbarrow. I had made purchases from this vendor in the past, so he cut us a good deal.

My find of the day was that special item that “spoke” to me: a weathervane with a figure of a cow on top.

There’s a back story here: The weather vane cow has horns; ours do not—except for one.

Nine years ago, Bill bought six “bargain basement” first-calf heifers with calves. He only wanted five of the pairs. The sixth heifer showed some Brahma characteristics, plus she had horns. He didn't like her calf either, calling it a “knot head.”  The seller twisted Bill’s arm by lowering the price so he bought the “bargain sub-basement” pair! Bill named the cow “Chubby” and the calf “Knot Head.”

Once Chubby was a member of our herd, Bill could breed her to bulls he borrowed, rented or owned and, hopefully, get much better calves out of her than “Knot Head.” The gamble paid off—she raises good calves.

Chubby came to us with a flighty attitude and was often found by herself in the pasture. Through the years, she has mellowed. Last year, we finally coaxed her to eat range cubes out of our hands.

When I saw that the cow on the weathervane had horns, I couldn’t resist! She not only “spoke,” she “mooed” to me!