Two days later

Click here to see this same tree taken two days before this photo was taken...it is sort of a subtle difference yet it seemed much more intense in real life.
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I have been really inconsistent with my posting. Nothing is really wrong, except had sinus/cold thing that has driven me crazy. I have felt more normal today than I have in days. I just hope and pray I can say the same tomorrow.

It has been rainy in our neck of the woods all day long, with a warm south wind blowing. It totally surprised me when I went outside to get one of the cats. Instead of making him come in, I sat down in the swing with him for a while. I know it is one of the last days warm enough to sit out.

Mama squirrel has been coming for food...I didn't see her today but seen her the three previous days. Before that it had been at least 3 or 4 weeks since I had seen her. I really thought she was dead. I could not believe my eyes, when I looked up and saw her the other morn as we went to leave...there she was. I ran back inside for nuts for her...she came to get them.

Lorelei was here yesterday...I put her down on a quilt on the floor. Cougar was sitting a few feet behind her. She looked back behind and seen him, then she looked at her toys...repeated the actions, then the third time she looked back at him she took off after him. He had just woke from a nap and was not in the mood so he took off.

Sarah has a double doorway between her living room and dining room....they have a wide gate across it to keep Otto and Keesha out of the living room when they want. She says if Lorelei looks over and sees him, she is off to see him to quick to talk about. And he is quick to lick. Sarah's favorite saying about him is that he can't hold his licker. (Liquor--lol)

Three views

This is a barn we came across a couple weeks ago...I always wonder how long the barn was built before they decided they needed more room.
I enlarged this to see all the pixels and liked the latches on the doors, so I made another copy and cropped a portion to show them.

The gift of friendship

I felt like we struck gold this past week.
The other day when we stopped along the road for me to take this photo, out the back door of the house came the owner. And along with him came a beautiful collie dog, which I hope to go back and photograph at a later date.
I was trying to tell him how beautiful the tree was, but he could not hear me, so he came out to the road where we were to talk to us. He ended up having Roger pull into the drive and started showing us all kinds of stuff.
Among the things he showed us were these gourds....he had a couple tractor waggons with them setting drying. I think that was the first thing he showed us...then he said come on over here. I wish I had had my camera, but the collie seemed to be afraid of it, so I put in in the car so he would come to me. But he is another story.

So he took us in a small pole barn; he had small boxes and crates of walnuts everywhere. He uses an old corn sheller to get the green hull off, then he lets them dry outside on screen frames. When they are done drying, he has a small cement mixer that he uses to tumble them to get the walnuts really clean.

He took us over to his regular garage to show us dried gourds, and also some little bitty bell peppers. He gave me some of those. While over there he also went in the house to get this photographic view he had of his farm...his wife came out and talked to us just a few minutes when we were over there.

Then he took us to another little pole barn type building to show us the corn sheller and actually ran a few walnuts through it. He showed us this thing called a Nut Wizard. He uses to pick up walnuts. Here is a link to one similar to what he had...he says it doesn't work where the grass is not mowed, but he threw walnuts down and demonstrated it to us. It really works!

I am not even beginning to tell all he told us. During the time of it, he gave me the top two gourds. Actually, he just told me to pick the ones I liked. On top of those, he gave me a couple flowers...he didn't know what they were. They have leaves/blades like maybe some type of day lily or iris.

So, Roger told him we would bring him one of my gourds. Later, I decided I would print a photo of the photo I took on my photo printer. I printed a couple 8 x10s of it, Saturday I picked out 3 or 4 gourds and we ran them out there. We really were just going to drop them off...but they insisted on us coming in. We sat and visited for probably an hour...

As we left, Helen told me not to forget my photos...she was totally surprised when I told her I printed them for them. And as we were leaving, Dick said to wait a minute...he went and got the dried apple gourd above, telling me he meant to give it to me the other day.
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Everyone knows I LOVE collies. I have never met a collie I didn't like. Diamond, their dog, was no different. He was just a tad bit shy at first, but when we went back Saturday the first thing he did was bring one of his stuffed animals and dropped it at my feet for me to throw. Every time we think of him, we smile. Maybe not as big as when we think about Lorelei, but still we smile. And we would love for the two of them to meet. I have never seen a collie that didn't like kids...at least not a regular full sized collie.
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I just had to tell this...it was like a breath of fresh air to meet and talk to Dick and Helen. He showed us some old pictures...she showed me pictures of her grand kids and great grand kids. They told us bits and pieces from their life...him more than her. He talked about the goats and goat cart he had as a kid and even showed us a picture...told us he road it to school every day.

He didn't live far from the school....he was the one that went early to start the fire before everyone else got there. He even had a picture of the old school...looked like a one-room school to me. I wish I had ask more questions. Maybe next time I will ask more. I also hope to get the courage to take photos of Diamond. I think he knows us well enough to not mind the camera now.

Just for fun

I hope this posts...it is probably my favorite clip from the show Frasier. In my opinion, Niles made the show. The others were funny, but Niles just played his part to perfection.


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In other news, Sarah reported that Lorelei has a tooth! Watch out world. Also, she told me that she was told that when Jeremy was a baby and learned to roll, he rolled to where he wanted to go. So did Sarah...I forget how old she was before she crawled, and then that lasted only a short, short time and she was walking. I could be in the kitchen and she in the living room and here she would come rolling in!

What a difference rain makes!

As I mentioned on Time Stand Still, this afternoon we retraced just a short portion of the drive we took Thursday. This is Brouillete's Creek which starts over in Illinois and empties into the Wabash River in Indiana north of Terre Haute and south Clinton
This is close to the same view, except I was under the bridge taking the bottom one today. Notice how high the creek is compared to the first picture...I did not realize we had had this much rain.

But the thing that really caught my eye and actually surprised me was the total absence of any gold on the trees. This bottom photo actually cuts off part of both trees that are at the edges in the top, yet limbs from both trees are actually in the photos. The tree that is so yellow on the left side did not have hardly any leaves left on it. And the one on the right edge is almost as bad.

You can see the differences much better if you enlarge the photos.

Mushrooms anyone?

The first photo was taken when we were down to Nashville, Indiana a while back.
These last three pictures were taken just a week or so ago, in a county north of here.
They are all growing around just one stump....
I had so thought they were chicken mushrooms till I got close enough to see the gills. I have not tried to identify them other than that. The gills told me they weren't what I wanted. Chicken mushrooms are polypores. For one thing, they don't have gills. (Read more about polypores in the previous link.) They are porous on the underside. When torn apart, they tear very similar to a chicken breast, and when fried have a light chicken taste. We have only had them a couple times, years ago.

Drive by colors

We did leave kind of early for us this morn, but it was dark and dreary and misting to begin with...then it lightened up a little bit.
This bottom photo was actually taken before the top, but I like saving the best for last. But the day began and ended in a misting rain.

Even so, we went on a nice long drive and saw some wonderful colors...but it only makes me want to go back in better weather if they don't all fall.

Pumpkins anyone?

This was a house we passed the other day...it was at a place we couldn't really pull off the road for me to get a good photo, but I snapped a couple anyway.

I have been at Sarah's today....and working on getting everything updated on the old computer ever since I came home. I am stopping for the night, even though I probably still need to update some things. I am just going to stop and take a break...my mind can relax now that everything is working again.

Lorelei is a hoot to be with....I swear she has a since of humor right now. She loves to laugh and loves to make us laugh. I think she gets that from both her mom and her dad.

One more with an update

I meant to post this one of Lorelei the other day...it was taken in September. I love the pleasant, contented look on her face.
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Guess what? Computer problems here again. On the old computer. On top of that I have had a bit of a cold and just didn't feel normal.

When I have computer problems, I just obsess about it till I do something, but haven't felt like doing anything. But I have started...the slate is being wiped clean as I speak. It was this Security Tool thing that got on Sunday...if I tried to run my antivirus ware, it would turn the computer off. I tried to go to Microsoft to get something to get rid of it, and it would not let it run, nor would it let some other anti-adware run.

I tried going to the safe mode to delete somethings, and though I only found one thing to delete, soon as I restarted the computer, it was back again.

So, until I get this settled, I won't be doing much of anything other than fooling with it.

I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not

I hate to overdo a subject, but I just cannot resist showing these taken today.
Lorelei came to stay with us while her mommy and daddy went to the Covered Bridge Festival...
I must say that a good time was had by all.
She was one busy little girl...
she first wanted in her walker...got bored with that...
Then we went outside for a while. That was followed by playing on the floor with some of her toys. By the time she did all that, she was ready for a bottle and a nap.

By the time she woke from it her Aunt Rachel was here...so she visited with her for a bit. Soon, her mommy and daddy were back.

Lorelei

These were taken about three weeks ago...I had downloaded the photos to the old computer and just forgot about them. (The 2008 part of the date is wrong, of course. I didn't realize it was wrong till after I took these photos.)

We had a wedding to go to today, and on the way there I took some drive-by shots with the little point and shoot camera. So, when I downloaded those to my laptop, I downloaded these also. I thought I would share a couple with you.

She was at the wedding....cute as a button of course. She just smiled, chewed on things, and watched all that was going on.

The view from this road

These were taken about a week ago...
the color is really beginning all around. The tree above is the one you see across the road from the church in the first photo.
Stepping past that tree and looking on down the road this farm was the view.

Going back to the first photo, there is a road right before the church that leads to this place. Still not positive I could find it again, but I know more about the place to begin looking. As you can see here, there was a camper trailer parked there this time. I think they are beginning to work on the house. No one was there...if there had been, I think we would have stopped to ask questions. I am so curious about the history of this fine old farm.
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I have been being gone/or occupied with Lorelei this whole week. I am not sick, or anything...just been preoccupied with other things. I had not planned to take so long a break from blogging, or I would have warned everyone. I am going to try to start posting again on a regular basis, and get in some visits. I may not comment on every post, but I sure wonder what has been happening with everyone.

Mopheads!

I saw these little bitty flowers out at the old strip pits the other day...they immediately reminded me of mop heads. At the most, each little flower was a half inch in diameter.
I haven't tried to identify them yet....maybe when I get time.
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I have been playing some with my Electric Quilt computer program...trying to think and design what I want to make next. I have got my machine all set and ready to sew if I could make up my mind. Sometimes it was easier when I didn't have so much to choose from.

Along the way, I have built up a significant stash of quilting material because I knew once Roger retired I wouldn't be going and spending so much on fabric. I still buy some along, or if I really need something I go get it. Usually I have a good supply of anything I need...I do buy good yellow fabric whenever I find one I really like because I continually run out of it. Almost any quilt I make has some yellow yellow in it.

It is so wet and rainy here in our area...I don't think it totally quit raining the entire day yesterday. And it is the same again this morn, though I think the rain is supposed to move on through by the end of the day, with days of typical fall weather following.

I was thinking as was waking up this morn about how unusual the weather is. I don't ever remember having as much cool weather by this time of the year when I worked at the orchard. There would be days I would start out with a jacket or one of Roger's heavy flannel shirts, but very seldom did they stay on past 10:00 a.m. This fall, there have been several days where I think I would have had to wear a jacket most or all of the day.

9th street Feed Mart

I had Roger drive by the feed store today to see what they had outside...I didn't have my camera with me at the time so went back later.
I went there a bit earlier than I had planned...the lighting could not have been too much worse.
The owner carries food for pets, straw, hay, and in the spring has flowers and seeds...
and in the fall she always has pumpkins. And the pumpkins always catch my eyes. I still would like to go back at a time when there is better lighting, but for now these will have to do.

For all you birders out there

I have been wishing I was good at working with metal...I have been wondering about making a few things. My husband could make them with hardly a thought...he is good at working with metal. And even though he doesn't do art stuff, he is good at it. He just prefers to make things that really serve a purpose...not that he doesn't like beauty.
He likes to make things that are really useful and really needed, not just things to look at. He can almost always look at something and make it....and a lot of times make it better.

I saw these along the sidewalk down in Nashville, and am thinking I will have him make me one or two, or else teach me how to make them. But I think it would be safer if he made them. Now he would make them for me if they weren't for suet, but he will like making them since they are for something other than just to look at.

Does anyone make their own suet? I know my mom did every now and then. I don't remember how she did it...for one thing it was maybe once a year. I don't think she had the beef fat available to do it more often. Being that I couldn't remember how she made it, I googled suet and find the info...if you are interested, here and here are a couple of places that have info on making suet. I am really thinking I might try making some. I hate throwing away the fat that comes on some of the beef I buy....so making suet would put it to good use.

Bean Blossom Bridge

This is probably the smallest covered bridge we have ever been through...we came across it on our way home...our round about way home of course. Bean Blossom, Indiana is the home of the longest running bluegrass festival.

Pink

I posted another picture on the other blog...not the same blossom bt the same plant. I bet the hummingbirds really liked this. Mom had a bright red one, and I always remember the hummingbirds being attracted to it.

My boss/owner of the orchard I worked at had an old flowery cap he wore sometimes and the hummingbirds would try to get them when he was driving through the orchard on the tractor....he thought it was funny.

In the air

There is such a feeling of fall in the air, with even a hint of winter in the wind that seems to continuously blow. I think the day's high was 65º .
Seeing all the pumpkins on display everywhere emphasizes that fall is here. I love seeing them, but there is such a feeling of nostalgia that there is just a bit of sadness mixed in with the elation of the beauty that is emerging. I just want to be outside ALL the time and SEE all that I can see.

And at times I wish I go back and visit with friends that have passed on....or visit with my mom and dad and sister. I'd like to see the home place as it once was...full of activity--with things kind of slowing down for the winter. We would be feeling thankful for the fruits of our labor. There would be a freezer full of food, along with jars and jars of stuff in the basement as well as a bin full of potatoes.

Grading tobacco and hog killing time would be yet to come. Along with killing hogs, came rendering lard. I helped with grading tobacco, but most to do with hog killing was done by Neal, George and Robert...and mom, of course. I did help with cutting up the fat for making lard. And sometimes stood and stirred it while it rendered down. Other than that, I don't remember helping much with it...I just enjoyed the fruit of their labor.

And as the weather cooled, us kids played more inside at the end of the day. I do not know how mom and dad stood all the noise. We had a homemade ping pong table in the basement...and believe me our basement was not a finished basement. But we had a blast down there. There was one dim, bare light bulb above the ping pong table, and one of my brothers came up with the idea of using a jar to cover it till we didn't break the bulb in our play.

I am not sure just how they did it...but they attached a jar lid to the light bulb socket. It was the kind shown here. Then they just screwed the jar to the lid over the light bulb and it was protected. This was later carried on the the light bulb in our hallway. I guess that hallway was where the most noise erupted.

I don't know how long that hallway is, but it was the scene of many good times for us. Our bedrooms and the bathroom were off that hallway, and to go in the bathroom, the door was inset a little....I don't know how else to say it. Instead of just an opening off the wall, it was inset about a foot and a half.

Two of us would play...each would take an end. (if there were more than two of us, the others would wait in the entryway to the bathroom.) We set down in the floor and set empty shotgun shells in front. I don't know if there was a set number or if we just divided however many we had...and we would take either ping pong balls or those little bitty super balls and our ping pong paddles and try to knock each others shells down. We tried to hit the ball back before it hit our shells.

I hope you remember what super balls are...they bounced every which way. It got really wild when we used them. And noisy! My goodness, I can still hear the paddles hitting the floor when we tried to 'kill' a ball. I can hear the balls bouncing off the wall. I can remember laughing and laughing with one of my nieces when we were in there playing.

And I wonder why it is that I look to the past so much, and others seem to look forward with hardly a thought to what happened before. And a few people don't even want to talk about the past...maybe it is because I see it through rose-colored glasses.

A riot of color

We drove down to Little Nashville in Brown County, Indiana yesterday...and for a change I really, really enjoyed it. The weather was nice. Not raining, not too hot. It wasn't crowded. In other words, it was perfect. And I took several pictures, a lot were at this shop.

Either one of these would make such a hard jigsaw puzzle...we looked and looked at this shop and I still felt like we didn't see everything. And believe it or not, I didn't buy anything. The only thing we bought down there was an Elmo doll for Bright Eyes. I can't wait to see what she does when she sees it.It has been very cool fall weather. Sarah and Jeremy had a cookout Tuesday night for a friend of theirs that is moving to Washington. The state. I went down and helped Sarah keep Lorelei entertained...though it was more like she entertained us. Her giggle box was easy to kick on that day. I honestly think she looks for something to laugh at.

And I got reports from both daughters about how good Otto was with the children that came. To be such a hardheaded dog, he sure is good with little ones. He can and will drag me around their yard when playing tug of war, yet when playing with a small pre-kindergarten girl...he didn't pull her down one single time. His demeanor totally changes when it is a child. Rachel had never actually seen him interact with kids, other than trying to lick Lorelei, and she was totally amazed.

And Lorelei just loves him...as she does the cats and Shelby. And he will be patient with her as Bubbie is....