Our ninth year in Iowa~ It was a bright & sunny start to the New Year!
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| New Years Day~ |
By the middle of the month, Butch was driving a new semi! Maverick II was almost identical to his old semi, but with a slightly longer cab & a more comfortable interior.
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| 1-18-25 Maverick II - Butch's new truck~ |
After only just over a month - Butch found a pool of oil under the truck while he was backed to the dock at a warehouse. Under warranty, it was towed to the nearest Volvo Dealership. Butch caught a ride back to Omaha with another driver & went right out again in his original Nationwide Volvo - Maverick.
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| 2-5-25 Butch's new Semi breaks down~ |
Besides the snow mid-month, the weather was nice enough I managed three rides at Lake Manawa. I also finished a latch hook project I'd started in September of 2020. Finn & I were taking our winter walks on the Wabash & most afternoons at home.
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| 2-13-25 Snow in the woods~ |
March, I started burning the brush pile. I also caught a day when the Wabash was dry enough & rode from Malvern to Silver City & back. This was just two days before the biggest snowstorm of the season. The wind drifted the snow & I dug through 2' drifts just to get to the Bronco.
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| 3-5-25 Snow anyone? |
Butch made it home three times in March. The 11th he flew to Columbus to pick up his semi from the dealer who'd replaced the engine. Twice he pulled in at home for overnight stays & the last of the month for a few days home time. On the 19th, we received our last snow of the season.
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| 3-27-25 Butch & Finnigan~ |
April, I mowed for the first time. It was the earliest in the season I'd ever seen a Swallowtail butterfly! The Daffodils, Grape Hyacinth, Tulips & Trout Lily's were all in bloom. On the 17th we had a wonderful heavy rain! Mother Nature's perfect timing.
Butch was home for Easter & reached 400,000 OTR miles! I managed to get in five rides, most on the trail.
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| 4-8-25 A Swallowtail comes to visit! |
May, my red Clematis finally produced its first bloom. The wild Iris was in bloom & the woods were positively lush. We made our usual Memorial Weekend trip to Greenfield & Creston. We rode our bikes at Green Valley St. Park. We also found a small microbrew - Hot Air Brewing - only to discover they were closing due to lack of business.
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| 5-24-25 Butch at Green Valley~ |
June, the Daylilies were spectacular & tall Garden Phlox were almost 4 ft. tall. My Hydrangea bushes were blooming as were all the Zinnia's. I was mowing the front yard twice a week to keep up & alternated between mowing the woods & marsh.
I ended up in the hospital later in the month, a surprise to me. Butch was rerouted to get home. The day after he arrived my condition improved enough, I was discharged. On the 24th we had another good rain & the next day Butch was back on the road.
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| 6-27-25 Full on Lush~ |
July I was back to riding my bike. The plantings in the woods looked the best they ever have. All the Hosta's are maturing, growing larger each season & really filling in. Butch came home the 5th & again on the 19th. Summer was as usual, very hot & very humid.
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| 7-21-2025 Mulberry limbs cut~ |
We hired
Fermincho Tree Services & Landscaping of Omaha; to cut down the large limbs two big windstorms had broken from the Mulberry tree. They started early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat - but couldn't escape the humidity.
Fermin was interested in purchasing both the horse trailer & the utility trailer. We hadn't used either one in years. We'd bought the horse trailer new in 1995 & it was hard to see it finally go. Instead of hauling horses, it will be hauling a rock crushing machine!
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| 8-10-2025 The horse trailer is sold~ |
August, Butch & I went shopping for another storage building & found a Tuff Shed at Home Depot the size we needed. Fermin & his crew leveled the area where the trailers had been parked & hauled in several loads of rock. By the 21st, the two-man crew from Tuff Shed arrived & had the
small building built in half a day.
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| 9-16-2025 Shop painted~ |
When Butch came home in Sept., he painted the Shop building to match the Cabin. I mulched & planted Hosta's around the side & back.
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| 9-27-2025 Skyla in Greenfield~ |
The highlight of the year was when Granddaughter
Skyla flew out from WA to visit! We spent almost a week having a wonderful time. When we moved from WA, Skyla was only five years old. We'd visited the family just last summer & she & her family had visited us in 2023, but it seems like the years in-between went by in a flash. Now, she's a young lady & getting a chance to know her was a gift! It was so much fun to have a teenager in the house &
So quiet when she left...
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| 10-17-2025 - Our 9th Anniversary on the Home Place~ |
Butch made it home a day early this year, for our 43rd anniversary. We spent three wonderful days at Lake Okoboji. We rode our bikes on the
new trail, had dinner at our favorite restaurant & didn't come home empty handed after I found a
must have antique shopping.
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| 10-31-25 In the Caves~ |
The end of the month was
Butch's 2nd anniversary driving for Nationwide. He was enjoying his new semi & made a trip to the caves in MO. This Volvo is just a bit longer than his other truck, but he managed to fit!
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| 11-29-2025 First Snow~ |
November was a beautiful month. We had one cold snap, but otherwise it was dry. Perfect weather for being outside. No bugs & cooler temperatures. Butch was home for Thanksgiving & we received our first light snowfall. Finn & I hiked at the Glenwood Preserve.
December, Butch was called for jury duty. He asked to be excused & after two attempts, his term of service was reduced from a month to Christmas week. The weather cooperated & we had our first ride in forever at Glen Cunningham with Finn.
The new furnace we purchased the first of the month required more venting, so Butch tore out the old doors on the utility closet & installed new louvered bifold's. He ended up having to reframe most of the closet & redo the sheetrock.
Garden Club formed a committee to work on next year's program schedule. Officers from last year, plan to continue in their positions. We have some great excursions planned. The mat making group continues to meet & crochet Wednesday mornings at Trinity Lutheran. I hope to get my bike out a little more often, I was just under 150-miles behind this year.
Butch too, has plans for this coming year. He'll be starting his fifth year of OTR driving. He wants to find time to organize his Shop & work on projects he's had in mind for several years. He's coming very close to the OTR half-million-mile mark!
Wishing our family & friends a healthy, safe & prosperous 2026~ Happy New Year!
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