In my front yard...

Remember I showed you the beginnings of a hornets nest in my back yard here? Well, I quit seeing any activity a while back. I didn't really know what to think...I thought I saw one or two hornets at different times, but never could see any when looking up in the hole.
Two or three weeks ago we were sitting on the front porch with Lorelei, and Roger noticed this out in the crab apple. They are active there....not sure, but thinking about getting rid of it just because of Lorelei. I hate to tear it down...but it is so close to the house that I think we need to do something.

One of my favorite things...

I don't know about anyone else, but I like having mail coming that is something to look forward to. (I know, I shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition but sometimes that is the only way to go.) Below is my recent order from Amazon.
I love maps. I don't know if that is a common thing or not, but I can sit for an hour or two studying maps. Sometimes I just like looking at the names of the towns and trying to find the funniest name. Others, I love looking at all the creeks, lakes, etc. Or following a river to where it begins. And I like following railroads....oh, I am about to forget I like to look for parks and wildlife/recreational areas.

The atlases above show each and every public road in Indiana and Illinois, all the little county roads, etc. I have not had the Illinois one before, but we have wore out one of Indiana. It is falling apart at the seams. So, I needed a new one, and I have been wanting the Illinois one for quite a while, too.

We don't travel as much in Illinois, but I think it is now more a matter of not having time. I think when we get the time we will do more.
The above books were the original intent of my order. A bit back we got the movie Housewife 49 from Netflix to watch. I really enjoyed it, but most times the books are better than the movies so I immediately came and did search for the books. Since the libraries didn't have them, I checked out the bookstores and decided Amazon was the best buy.
And when I am at Amazon or Barnes&Noble, or a library, I almost always look up certain key words: Alaska, Yukon, pioneer, Tennessee, and Appalachia are almost a given. And in doing this, I ran across the above book. And could not resist. It is all B&W photography; some are of people and some are of places/things. In the back of the book, it gives a thumbnail of the picture followed by a story about it derived from oral histories given in conversations and interviews. It promises to be a favorite of mine.