This has been quite a week at my house. I think everyone in this community has had water in their basements after the more than five inches of rain we received a week ago. The Sunday evening we received the rain we also had some hail and strong winds leaving almost everyone in this area with water in their basements. I was one of the lucky ones. I had some water but not so much but I could sweep it out with the broom and of course, the sump-pump. That took care of any other planned activities such as weeding gardens and flowerbeds and any and all outdoor chores. It could have been much worse as some homes had two feet of water in their basements.Even though I was fortunate not to receive a lot of water in my basement, it was a sad week for me as my little white fluffy dog just couldn’t take the heat and on that very warm Friday afternoon it was too much for him and he died. I really miss him very much. If anyone knows where I can obtain a small, white fluffy dog, please let me know or inform him or her of the fact that I am looking for one. Thank you!Dan and Amy Aukes, Larchwood, Iowa, spent Sunday afternoon at the home of his parents, Orrin and Bernice Aukes. Tuesday, Aug. 9, the Steen softball team will play Beaver Creek at Beaver Creek.The Steen senior citizens had their August meeting on Monday afternoon at the Steen Community Building. Joan Hoogeveen was the hostess. A former Steen resident, Harold Wissink, who has been making his home in Luverne for some time, has decided to become a resident of Parkview Manor in Ellsworth. We are happy to hear that he will be closer to our community and closer for those of us who would like to visit him. Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday they were making plans for the last day of school. Now they are all counting the days until school begins for the coming year. It seems like the farmers just finished planting this year’s crops, and they are doing very well. It probably won’t be long until Jack Frost will be here and the farmers will be in their fields harvesting their crops. There are times when I wish I could push the "On Hold" button so I could catch up a bit.I got to thinking one hardly has time to enjoy the summer weather and the many outdoor activities, so I decided to share a few thoughts about harvest and summer with you and hopefully will prolong summertime so that we can enjoy the fall weather as well.Along the WayWe think of August as a time for rest and relaxation, but a glance at years past shows that many noteworthy things have been accomplished during this "lazy" month. It was in August 1492 that Columbus set sail on his voyage of discovery which brought him to our shores. It was on Aug. 1, 1873, that the first cable streetcar was put into service on Clay Street hill in San Francisco. It was August 1903 that the first coast-to-coast automobile trip, which began in San Francisco in May, ended in New York City. It was in August 1945 that World War II ended in the Pacific. What worthwhile thing will you accomplish this August?August means harvest, as far back as ancient Gaul. The first day of August marked the beginning of the "Gule of August," one of the great pagan festivals of ancient Britain, celebrating the first fruits of the earth. And August has lived up to its promise-laden name of fruitfulness. It was in August 1492 that Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to reach India — only to discover America instead. And it was on Aug. 16, 1896, that gold was discovered in the Klondike. And only a few years earlier, on Aug. 15, 1859, "black gold" flowed through the first oil well drilled in America, brought in by Col. Edwin L. Drake in Titusville, Pa.