It was another beautiful day here in North Iowa, and for sure there were all the many of us taking advantage of it. Nearly everyone I spoke with today were mentioning how abnormal this weather has been for the month of November, but you can bet I’m taking all advantages of it.
I forgot to mention how sad I was to hear about Yes Way gas and convenience store closing three of their locations here in Mason City, and for sure those are going to be hard sells going forward in time, and mostly because they’ve got buried gas tanks, which always create problems with marketing. I figured the rapid expansion and build-outs of Kwik Star in Mason City and Clear Lake, were going to have negative impacts on those that’ve been here for years. Thank goodness the Yes Way next to McDonald’s is still open because that’s where I normally purchase my gas.
It was quite the roller-coaster day with showings, phone calls, drop-ins and visits to various offices, along with my having to do some deep digging for an old client of mine who was looking for local contact information, as well as our State office’s contact. I did manage to find what she needed, so I wrote it all down for her and hand-delivered it to her. I think she was a bit shocked by how thorough I was in getting it for her, so I kiddingly said, “Well, after going down enough rabbit holes for information over these years, they’ve become easier to access.”
While heading over to her home, I was in absolute shock while driving across the Willow Creek Bridge on 1st St. NW, when looking up and seeing a Bald Eagle flying overhead in a northerly direction with a female Mallard Duck in its claws. Now that was quite the sight I’ve never before seen. Gosh I sure wish I was standing on that bridge with my camera readied for its flyover. It sure seems wildlife in general is slowly creeping closer to our residential areas. Without a doubt, our eagles are massive in size and strength.
Not until last year while I was out on an appointment in Mitchell County, did I come to realize that eagles will freely eat carrion, because I happened to notice three Bald Eagles atop a road-killed deer that was lying in a ditch, where they were busy tearing pieces of deer meat from its carcass, and then again this Spring, I happened to notice a Bald Eagle chomping away on a road-killed faun, so I guess in their eyes, meat is for the taking, regardless if it’s their ‘kill’ or a ‘road kill’.
I had an early morning showing at one of my listings which ended up being to my buyer’s liking, and not an hour or so later, I was getting an offer filled out. I went ahead and presented it to the seller, who later counter-offered on it, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’m growing all the more concerned over how the market is now slowing and the prices getting all the softer, so I’m hoping all current sellers will be taking it as a sign and start thinking about reducing their prices. I personally think the higher interest rates have finally tempered this buyer exuberance that manifested itself shortly after our pandemic hit.
A long-time friend of mine who lives out of State, returned my call of yesterday, and the main reason I placed it, was to offer my condolences over the death of person he worked with some years ago, and while on the phone, I couldn’t help sharing some of the craziest things which had happened since we last spoke well over a month ago. I also read the entire content of that text-a-thon I received last month that got him laughing, and in turn, caused me to laugh which was very much-needed on my part. I quit counting how many times over the years where he’s called when I’m in need of a ‘spirit-lifting’. Since he’s always up for listening to some really hair-raising decades-old stories out of my younger years, I’ll have to share yet another true and very unfortunate story regarding a cat.
I mis-spoke yesterday about all the street lights on North Federal being up and running, and only because as I was driving to work this morning, I noticed they’re still dark in the block directly south of my office, which means they must be waiting for parts, or they don’t have the available manpower to get them up and shining in the night. I also noticed large pallets of building materials now stacked near where that Des Moines builder is constructing their eleven unit apartment house. I’ve been paying close attention to the contractors they’ve been using, and to this point, all of them have been from far out of our town. Yes, it’s just another example of how some make others believe there’ll be more money in the pockets of our local workforce whenever there’s something big being constructed in our city.
One of the main reasons I don’t like going back to regular time, is my having to show homes in the early evening after most people are off work, which by then, it’s dark out, and as most know from experience, looking at a home for the first time at night, can be all the more of a turn-off, and only because there’s no natural light filtering in windows. Oh well, that’s what we get for living so high on the globe.
I forgot to mention my having been able to get next year’s garlic planted this weekend, and in spite of having planted it much later than last year, I’m now a little concerned I may have put it in too early. Since I planted two other varieties I’d ordered, along with what I saved-over for planting from this year’s crop, I’m hoping there’ll be enough to share with my organic garlic-loving clients and customers. Yes, I was one busy person this past weekend, and was fully-feeling it when I crawled out of bed this morning.
Tonight’s One-liner is: All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.
