The Walnut gets Trimmed ~

With the damaging wind storms, the local tree companies have been swamped with work.  Bill at TNT did the first work we needed on the Home Place in May of 2017.  The removal of a big, overgrown Mulberry at the east end of the house.  It had created quite a mess & we didn't want it coming down in a storm.

Mulberry~

Our beautiful Walnut out front, was carrying a full, heavy load of walnuts when the storms came through.  Each broke a few branches.  Butch cut out what he could reach with the ladder, the rest were too high.

Walnut, 8-26-2021

I was mowing all morning & just ready to stop for lunch when Bill & George pulled up.  We discussed the tree's damage.  We'd had it professionally pruned by an arborist the first spring we were here.  Since then, it had grown & grown!  Bill explained to me how some of the branches could contribute to the tree getting significant damage, if they weren't removed.

Bill goes to work~

After a short break, I was anxious to go back out & watch Bill at work.  I helped haul branches to the chipper.  

Yard full of branches!

It wasn't long before the yard was full of small limbs.  The chipper was going full speed.  I wanted the chips for my trails.  Walnut trees are allelopathic, so the chips can't be applied around bedding plants.  They should work well for my trails though.

I also asked Bill to cut down a tree at the edge of the forest. It's been in the process of dying off for several years now.  In no time it was down & I really appreciated the mess hauled away!  It took just about three-hours to get the job done. 

The grass for a huge distance around the tree, was literally covered with walnuts!  You couldn't walk the sidewalk without chancing a slip & fall.  About the time I was wondering how I'd ever get them all picked up, the boys next door came home from school!  I asked if they were interested in earning some money picking up walnuts?

My hard working "crew"~

I pulled all Farah's old buckets out of the horse trailer & walnuts were flying into them!  Soon, we had the wheelbarrow full!  We emptied that load & filled it again before we were finished!  I really enjoyed the company of the kids!  What a hard-working crew they were!  Mom & little sister came by to help with the last few :-)

All done~

All the limbs overhanging the house were trimmed back.  Bill said the tree will "fluff" out again next spring.  I'll miss all the shade, but with fall around the corner, the leaves will soon be dropping anyway.  It's the first tree to lose it's leaves & the last to open them.  I'm just happy it's healthy & the main limbs are all strong & rot free.

Malvern to Imogene~

After tearing winds most of the week, today was wind free.  The weatherman promised it to be one of the top ten days of the year.  He wasn't wrong!  I hope we have 100 more just like it.

Speedy is not intimidated by size!  :-)

 In Malvern, I parked the Bronco at Agriland.  Butch has given me a parking spot, out of the way of the Big Equipment!  Since I planned a one-way ride, he'd be picking me up at Imogene, my destination.   Leaving Malvern, it's hard to miss the art!  The bike theme alludes to the City considering itself a destination for bike riders on the Wabash Trace Trail.

Wild Plum blooms~

I could smell the plum blooms before I saw them.  A beautiful addition to the rapidly expanding green views.  I didn't leave until 3 p.m.  Butch couldn't get to Imogene until 5 to pick me up.  The map calls it 13.6-miles.  I couldn't imagine it would take me more than two-hours.

Between the bars - The first bridge~

Riding during the week days, I enjoy having the trail to myself.  Heading south from Malvern, farther away from the larger towns, the quiet is wonderful.  Just the singing of the birds & water flowing under the bridges.

Big Sky Country~

Iowa has it's share of magnificent views.  The sky looked huge, leaving the trees of the trail for the road crossing.  I'm still without my Garmin & I miss it.  Since this was a new section of trail to me, I would have preferred to know how far I'd gone & my speed.

Ah...  Green!

Butch told me to slow down, take photos & enjoy the ride.  All of which I did!

Garlic mustard gone amok~ 

Not too many miles out of Malvern, both sides of the trail had been taken over by the horribly invasive Garlic Mustard.  When doing a Google search, the first page to come up - was King County, WA!  This is a weed taking over, in more than one state.  I've pulled the few I've found so far in our timber & marsh.  The second invasive I've learned that is allelopathic - the other being bush honeysuckle.

Speedy on the Trestle Bridge over the west branch of the Nishnabotna River~

This is a big, slow moving river, with a lot of history, as most of our bigger rivers are.  There was a Mill in this area & also a ferry.  Just a short distance further I caught a glimpse of this cute tiny cottage!  What a idyllic place, so close to the river.  The trail today, was a blend of uphill & downhill grades.  The longest of the uphill had me worrying I'd not make Imogene by 5!  With no way to know how much further I had to go - I just kept peddling!

Tiny Country Cottage~

Next, a huge old barn, in the process of crumbling to the ground.  I'm always sad to see these big barns fall, more so than even the farm houses.

Old Barn~

Eventually, I met two mom's pushing baby strollers!  A sure sign town was near!  With a population of only 70+ people, I didn't imagine there would be too much going on.

My destination!

Speedy brought me into town at 5:02 p.m.!  There were picnic tables, fire pits & the grain bin to the left housed restrooms & even showers for the bike riders.  Butch pulled in with the Bronco just a few minutes later.  We'd hoped to order take-out pork tenderloin sandwiches from the Emerald Isle, (Butch had heard they're the best in IA.) but they were closed.

Instead, we drove to Mineola & had the same at Tobey Jacks - eating outside on the picnic tables in the car parking area.  Since it was Thursday & the traditional Taco Thursday night - almost every table was occupied.  All table's were spaced apart & most people honored social distancing.

Butch & I discussed some of the differences we were noticing between bike riders & equestrians...  More than once we had to laugh at some of the outfits.  But considering how fashion in the endurance community has changed - we shouldn't have!  :-)   It was a beautiful ride & perfect end to the day.