Reading · Rob Gray's Area

ANKENY — It’s unrelenting.

The Baltimore Orioles are unrelenting as they munch on oranges and grape jelly this time of year. I’m unrelenting before that (and after).

From the beginning of August until around mid-May every year, my coverage of Iowa State athletics is an all-encompassing pursuit. Multiple beats can overlap. Breaks can be hard to find. But I usually work in a one week vacation somewhere … somehow.

I love it. And I’m beyond grateful to still be doing it. But when I enter “hibernation mode,” I can finally relax, breathe deep and slow down for most of the next 10 weeks (save breaking news, kicking off Iowa State’s “Tailgate Tour” coverage, and helping with the state track and field meet at Drake).

Whew? Kind of. It feels wrong to slow down, but it’s baked into my schedule and pay structure. So this time of year this blog becomes less regular and far less about sports.

I dig into gardening, even though I stressed my 57-year-old back a bit too much when getting started. My garlic plants (see below) will soon grow scapes. This delicious curly offshoot would become a flower stalk, but we gardeners cut it off and use it in stir-fries and other recipes, because letting garlic flower greatly hinders bulb development. And that’s why we grow the plant.

Excuse the mess. The plastic that’s crumpled at the bottom of the above image was part of a semi-failed attempt to create a border around the raised bed. It will be fixed and mulched. I promise.

What else is happening in my now-slow-paced life?

These persistent and unrelenting Barn Swallows shit all over the exterior of our house. I try to keep them away. Sometimes I succeed. My wife likes having them there, as they nest with babies. So sometimes I fail. I’m fine with that mixed bag of results. But when these little devils do nest it can be horrific. Most of their offspring make it. Sometimes all of them do. But once, an American Kestrel discovered their abode, and let’s just say it was a total loss. The Kestrel is a magnificent looking bird of prey, though. Just a stone-cold killer.

The lilac bush my long-lost friend Bob Wilson gave me from his farm several years ago is finally flowering for the first time. It’s a tough plant that’s survived deer “browsing” and some hard knocks. I suppose it’s unrelenting in its own way, too. Just as I will be much of next week — and beginning again in August.

Nature’s rhythms will give way to the carnival-like qualities of tailgate lots, and finally, the football field itself. Let’s hope that Iowa State’s team in its first year under head coach Jimmy Rogers is also unrelenting. That’s certainly the plan.

I’m SO PROUD (nod to Paul Rhoads) to be a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please peruse the illustrious and extensive list below and subscribe and support as you’re able. Thanks!