Little cabin in the woods...

Actually it was at the end of the drive, near the road...but what is it? Is it a playhouse for kids, or is it a place for kids to wait for the bus in...or is it a get-away spot for someone. Where it was situated just does not make sense, except for a place for kids to wait for the school bus, but it looks too much for that. Whatever it is for, it is cute.....

More from the strip pits....

After I saw the swans in the previous post, I did not see another thing till I had about given up. Normally, I do not even go a quarter of a mile from the pond the swans were on till I see pheasants. Not last night...not a single one there close to the pond. Not any flying across the road...I crept along for a couple or three more miles...the only things stirring were red-winged blackbirds and robins...I was about ready to leave when I spotted this little lady out of the corner of my eye. I was almost past her, so backed up. All the time I am backing up, she is running away. I finally paused and tried to capture her....she was moving so fast I could not focus on her. You can still tell what she is, but that is about all. There was also a male ring-necked pheasant but he was on the far side...to far for my poor lens.
After the pheasant, this strip pit was just a few feet farther...it was teaming with life. I first noticed these two blue herons. Again, they are too far for a very good photo, but at least this are a record of what I saw. And I witnessed both of them catching and eating a fish, but was not quick enough to capture them eating them.
Next I noticed this little wading bird...I am not sure what he is. I think a sandpiper of some sort.
There were several of them, but this one was the only one close enough to capture.

There were these diving birds, but my photos are too poor to even show on here..but they will dive completely under the water for several seconds and come up several feet away...you never know where they are going to pop up....

I also showed another prized capture on my Time Stand Still blog...besides that, on the way out there was a herd of 10 deer....and I saw four more male pheasants.

Edited to add: Thanks go to Montanagirl who suggested this might be a common snipe...after googling it, I do believe she is right.

At long last!!!

At long last I got a few shots of some swans that I am proud to say I took....oh, they could probably be better but they sure beat anything I have taken to this date.
This pair of Mute Swans have been on this strip pit the past few times I have been out there. This pond is maybe a quarter mile from the highway...and they are the first thing I see usually that really captures my attention.
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I feel like a broken record...but been going through more sickness. Roger went from the rash, to a really, really bad flu/cold cruddy thing. Then about the time he was starting to feel a tiny bit better, the rash he had before that started returning...so it was back to the doctor today for more steroids....we cannot think of anything new he has come in contact with or anything new he has been eating to cause it. It has not gotten near as bad this time...but then it had not had as much time. But he was miserable anyway...so hopefully this time around will be the end of it. And maybe I will get back in the swing of blogging.

I have things scheduled for my Time Stand Still blog, but I use this one part of the time just to chronicle what is currently happening, so I usually do it 'fresh'.....

Another knife finished....

Roger finished another knife....this one will be sent to a young man that is in the coast guard...up in Alaska. He is the son-in-law of a real good friend.
I really need to make an on-line album of all his knives...I have one started but I just don't like the way it works. So, I quit adding to it.
I have not sat and made a list of how many he has made, but it is quite a few. The knife has been finished a few day, but the sheath was made yesterday. He has had a cold this past week that was one of the worst he ever had. He not only didn't have any energy, he felt horrible. But tonight he seems like he might really be on the mend.
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It has been a loooonnnng week without seeing the toot. She also has a cold, but has just kept playing. I am afraid it might get worse before she gets better if Roger is anything to go by. Sarah said one morning she was singing seeeeeee maaaamaaaw, seeeeee paaaapaaaaaw over and over....and then she said today after they woke Jeremy up that she bounced around saying 'I like mamaw' and 'I like papaw" over and over...

I wasn't going to show this and it is kind of dark, not sure when it was shot--it came to me through another route...not direct from Sarah....anyway, have your sound on to hear the dragon!

She has a vivid imagination. They were at a party, and Lorelei was playing with some other kids...they went running inside, and Lorelei paused long enough to tell someone that the monsters were after them!

Wonderful architecture...

This is the door to enter the church I showed three or four days ago on here...I don't know why I didn't post it along with that photo. This is such a beautiful doorway/entryway...I am not sure what the correct term is.

I want to go back over there some time when the sun is in a better position...also, would love to be there sometime when it is in use and I could get a photo of ALL the church and the windows.
Plus there are more buildings/homes I want to photograph over there. It is a small town, but sure has some beauties in it.
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It is cold here this morn, but the sun is trying to shine a little bit. It is supposed to stay cool for the next few days, and maybe make it back up to 50ºF by next weekend. I am hoping they are wrong and it gets there a lot sooner. I cleaned off the garden the other day, but still have a lot to do in the yard.

I also need to be making some decisions about some flower choices...I have a spot planned for more flowers but haven't got a clue to what I want to plant. I would like for it to have things that bloom all through the seasons...I have stuff that blooms in the spring and summer, but nothing in the fall.

And I have been wanting to make a raised bed for strawberries...just enough for us to have fresh ones to eat. I have been looking at strawberry plants, and trying to remember what varieties I liked...not that the normal nurseries offer near all the choices we had at work, but they do offer a few. I have wanted strawberries for two or three years and just not did anything about it. Maybe this will be the year.

Bluebird of happiness

I wonder where the phrase Bluebird of happiness comes from...is it because when you see one, your day is automatically made a bit more cheerful? This one we saw on a drive a few weeks back. We often see them, but ususally don't get a chance to photograph them. And even with this one, I only got the one shot. We were stopped in a covered bridge, so I tried to get out of the car and went around behind to sneak to a place out of view, hoping I could sneak up for a closer shot, but it took off before I even got around the car.
This fellow was out at the strip pits...it teams with red-winged blackbirds in the spring....then they all leave. They are beautiful...and very vocal.

As I sit at my computer I glance down the street a couple house and watch a pair of crows...they have a nest in the tiptop of a big pine/spruce type of tree. I cannot actually see the nest, I just see them coming and going all day long. I wonder how many babies they will have, and wonder if one will get blown out during some of the storms that come through.
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My boss always told about a kid in his class that had a pet crow....he thought it was the coolest thing. The boy would take off on his bicycle and the crow would come flying from behind and land on the handlebars and ride there.....

My boss told a lot of stories. I wish I had written them down, but just never thought it would all end so suddenly. He told of the circus coming to town--this was a small northern Indiana town. The elephant got loose and went through the town. It went in either a business or home...this is me forgetting which, not my boss. Anyway, it fell through to the basement. And here I don't remember the end of the story.

My boss also told of a boy he went to school with....he was one all the kids just sort of passed over and thought was a doofus....That changed completely with one assignment. They had to memorize a poem, or famous speech or some famous work. I forget what my boss memorized...but the 'doofus' was called on and he had memorize The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and stood at the front of the class to present it.....the class was completely enthralled. It was the last class of the day, and they all wanted to stay late to hear it all...I forget how long he said they sat there. But set there they did...not making a sound.

Just so many stories like that...lunch was ALWAYS fun there...

Flapping in the wind...

All the Amish homes I passed the other day had their clothes hung...so I suppose Monday is their wash day. I wonder how it would be to have such simple things like what day you do your wash decided for you..and does anyone ever wash on another day. Or is it that they just happened to wash on the same day. I have read though where the day is set by the particular order one belongs to...
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I plan to have some clothes flapping in the wind in a bit...it is cloudy and cold, but I don't think we are going to get any rain or light rain and snow mix as was predicted! This is kind of hard to take after having several days of shirt-sleeve weather. But as long as warm days are just around the corner, I will deal with it. The house was 64º this morn, so had to kick the heat back on.

We haven't had breakfast yet...just coffee. Much of the time we are not hungry when we first get up and will fool around an hour or two before we even think about eating; looks like today it is going to be even longer.

ETA: Just hung up my clothes and there were just few little snowflakes. Just saying...saying I am ready for winter to be done!

Country rooster

I don't remember a time that I didn't like roosters...I don't know why I find them so appealing, but I do. And it is a great day when I get to see one and even greater if I get to photograph it. I saw this one on a drive day before yesterday...
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Spring is here fore real...we had our breakfast on the front porch this morn. I love sitting outside and having a cup of coffee or a coke, but having breakfast out there is even better. Or brunch might be a better word. We had a BLT minus the L this morn....

Often when I make BLTs it brings to mind a neighbor and his son. The son was grown...in his 20's at least but a little bit mentally challenged. The dad had a garage in back where he worked on vehicles...Eric helped. Well, the dad was going to be gone and ask Roger to keep an eye on things and ask if we would fix lunch for Eric.

I decided to fix BLTs and when we fix BLTs we are not skimpy with the bacon. I really piled it on...he ate the first one...he ate another just as loaded, and I think another...and looked to me for more. By then I was out of bacon and he had to make do with what he had had. He was content, but had just really liked them. It made me wonder if he had ever had them before.

This makes me want to giggle....

The day started out cloudy and acting like it was going to rain...about noon the sun came out but there were still a lot of clouds and not the big fluffy white kind. I could not make up my mind about doing laundry....I was afraid I would hang them out and no more than get them out and it would turn around and rain.

I also felt the urge to go for a drive, again, didn't want to get out and it rain. So, I fooled around, cooked a late lunch, and finally decided it was not going to rain. I first went by West Union Bridge looking for the eagles that we have seen near there a couple times but no luck. I rambled around, only seeing wild turkeys in the wildlife department.

I saw calves at several places...and little bitty lambs. The lambs were always in a place I was afraid to stop for more than a second. I was on the final jog home...meaning I actually knew where I was at....and got the shot above.

This was at a farm where we actually know the owner...I had just waved as I passed him, and just on down the road a bit there in their pasture was this sight...I quick shot this shot...it is a bit out of focus but it still is probably my favorite of the day. I wish I had went back and asked Jim the story but they looked busy, plus I was thinking Roger probably wondered where in the world I was at. So I just took the one shot and headed on home...

Critters...

Maybe one of these days I will get a good capture of the Northern Harrier...I am happy that this one seems to be staying out at the strip pits. I passed through them on the way to and from Paris yesterday....I got the capture above on the return.
And these cows belong to a farm about a mile on west of the strip pits...I stopped to take a picture of another calf, but before I could get out of the car it had laid its head down and would not look my way for love nor money. I thought his one had a cute little face, too.

This farm did have 3 horses, for the longest time. But I have not seen any of them in a long time so don't know what happened to them. They were well loved...always raised up and looked if we passed or paused...even if they were on the far side of the pasture. You just knew they were thinking someone had come to see them...but in all the time I have been there I have never seen anyone out there.

Blocking the sun

I so wanted to take a full view of this church, but could not for looking at the sun...however this corner shot worked to block the sun. This was taken in Paris, Illinois.

The day is done

A run through the strip pits showed things progressing nicely. Frogs were croaking, blackbirds were singing and the pheasants were out and about, though always at a distance. And tonight's sky was so beautiful.
I am not proud of any of these pics, but they at least give you a feel for what is out there...I only saw the single pair of swans. The last time I was out there there was at least a dozen on this pond. That is a beaver's home they are by in the photo...beavers are one thing I have not yet seen.
I saw this single Northern Harrier; this is the only shot I got of him...it is a cropped portion of the original. I am hoping he stays the whole summer.
This is the only pheasant that was anyway near close enough for me to try to photograph, and it was running almost the entire time...I think he actually paused just a minute in the photo above.
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It was overcast almost the entire day, with rain all afternoon...off and on. Not a steady downpour or anything like that. I was totally surprised when the sun popped out and the sky cleared.

I spent an hour or more of the day getting our printer installed on the new computer; I don't care what I do with a computer, it is never simple. I guess this could be expected...the printer is 6 years old so definitely needed different drivers, etc. Once I got them installed, I tried to print something and couldn't because one of the print cartridges was out of date. Always before I could over-ride that...but not this time. I had to stop and run to Walmart to get one...after that and after jumping through a couple more hoops, it now works fine.

Tomorrow is a new day...hopefully I will get more done than I did today.

Five years ago today

Sometimes when I haven't had time to get any new pics--and heaven forbid I do a post without pics unless absolutely necessary--anyway, I try going back to the same date in years back. So far, other than Lorelei's birthday there has been nothing I wanted to show. I lucked out today and found this baby quilt that I was just finishing for a neighbor's first granddaughter.
The back of it is pieced...among some of us quilters we call it back art. I love having something out of the ordinary for the back. It is an added little surprise.

I am almost positive this quilt was 60 inches long, give or take an inch or two. And I know it was between 40 and 45 inches wide. It is all machine quilted and pieced and was probably the last quilt I quilted on my Pfaff before I got my Juki. And even though it was baby quilt size, I struggled with quilting it. Now, with my Juki 98Q, I think nothing of one 90 inches square.
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I should have mentioned last night that Lorelei and family lives not that terrible far from the Indianapolis International Airport, so she sees lots of planes, down low. I don't know if that is what has got her so intrigued with them or if she would have found them fascinating anyway.

And I wanted to let everyone know that Roger is on the mend...I suppose it is going to take a while for it all to disappear and to completely stop itching. His swelling is down, also. So things are definitely looking up.

It has been a gorgeous day here, and I did hang out a couple loads of clothes. I will be going to bed on sheets that have hung all day in the wind and sunshine...

Other than that we got a new computer, and I spent the afternoon getting the old one taken down and the new one hooked up...I only made one phone call to my brother...with what else but a dumb, dumb question. And I scared myself a time or two after that. With those, I think it was more a thing of just being really tired and not thinking straight, and they were more like a little pause before I saw what I where I was wrong.

Needing laughter

After today, I needed to lighten up a little so I turned to you tube...this scene from Taxi never fails to make me laugh till I cry. I hope you like it as much as I do...
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Have I told you how much Lorelei loves airplanes? She gets so excited if she even hears one...and if she is outside she yells airplane, Mommy or airplane mama and spreads her wings and takes off circling the yard.

A small project

My husbands buddy bought this knife at a junk shop....it had no handles. He got it for $3 and brought it over to Roger to show him....and Roger offered to put the handles (the part that is white) on....and this is the result.
They are made from the bone of a cow...I forget where he got it but think one of his buddies gave it to him. We think it turned out quite well.
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I have not been tell all that is going on, now wish I had or wish I had at least been writing in my journal. Over a week ago, my husband had this big splotch of stuff come up on his leg...not sure if it came up before he scratched it or if scratching caused it. He calls it psoriasis but I am not sure what it was.

It was not getting any better, so he went to the doctor last Friday...she put him on antibiotics to help prevent infections, and gave him one medicine to take orally to help give him relief from itching as well as a creme.

I am here to tell you, it has gradually gotten worse and worse...his whole body is broken out...his feet and legs have been swelling. The big splotch is gone, but now it is raised bumps and some blisters just everywhere.

So we went back to the doctor today...she could not believe the difference....just really couldn't believe what he looked like now. Told him to stop the antibiotic immediately, gave him a shot of cortisone, lasix for water retention, plus another one....and she wanted blood to test his liver functions since he has a history of problems with it.

We had to wait to have the blood drawn, so was sent back to the waiting room...soon as we sat down he said he felt like he was going to pass out...and I was trying to tell him to bend over and put his head between his knees but he passed out before I could even get it said....

I was trying to get him to wake up and one of the staff yelled for Doc and he came, they got him in the floor and raised his legs, and he came too in just a second...and his blood pressure went to normal and his pupils started reacting normal....

I am here to tell you I have had enough excitement to last a lifetime...just not a fun way to spend the day...he is now trying to rest some since he did not sleep at all last night.

Drive-by barn

This sure could be better....but again it is at a place where the only option is a drive-by shot. I have loved this barn for a long, long time. It is one we pass on our way to Arthur, Illinois. I am submitting it to Tricia's Barn Charm meme....
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I think we are all on the mend now, as far as colds/flu is concerned. Roger and I came home Friday night, only for me to go back Saturday morn to Sarah's. The flu or whatever it was did not want to give up the hold it had on her.

Lorelei is over the runny nose...poor little girl. It is a wonder her nose was not sore as a boil with the number of times she had to blow it. But at least she knew how to blow.

How that little girl is changing...every time I tell a few things about her I realize later I forgot other things. So realize with what I am telling now, I am still probably leaving out something.

She got her wand and started telling her Papaw to 'freeze'--where she learned that is more than we know. She would tell him freeze and he would make a crazy face and freeze and she would just giggle and think it so funny.

And when I was back over there she was playing hide and go seek with me...she does not count of course but she understands the concept of hiding.....again, she giggles the entire time. (I should say she counts, she does not understand the concept of counting before coming to find me.)

They came by here yesterday....well, I have a china cabinet that is full of treasures. She wanted to look at them and was standing in the chair. Her mommy told her to sit down or she was going to be spanked...Lorelei tells her no. In the end Sarah swatted her bottom once and set her down. Well, in a bit she got back up, and her dad is in here by then..and he tells her to sit down and she won't, so he swats her bottom and sits her down. Now the swatting is just symbolic..it is not hard enough to hurt...but she has all these big old tears, and comes crying to me and says "Daddy spank", trying to get her daddy in trouble.

And sometime during the time of their visit, she was playing with the 'seat belts' in this child's rocker chair we have for her. And she was getting furious...really showing her temper....and let out a scream and her daddy really got on to her about it....and he explained to her to just be patient, etc...she calmed down and was able to do what she wanted which is play with the clips...and as she fastens them, and she says in this weak, tear-filled voice '"Thank-you daddy."

Home again...

We came home late yesterday...but I have just not felt like doing anything that required thinking. But I wanted to post a couple or three pics of the toot....
As you can see she is a little girl now...just not a baby at all any more.
She still brings so much joy to our life. Just don't know what we did before she came into our world.
And this is Otti...he is enjoying a pet by Roger. In case you can't tell, he is enjoying it so much he can hardly sit there...he would just melt into the floor almost. He wants so bad to be a lap dog and does not understand why we won't let him climb into our lap...at least no one beside Sarah and I will. So he leans against us, lays on our feet, or lays his head in our lap and stares into our eyes.
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I guess like everyone else, I have been watching the news today. Got a phone call this morn that woke me up....not that early. But being that I did not go to bed till 3:00 a.m....I was sound asleep. Anyway, since my daughter is on the west coast, the call was to inform me about the earthquake and the tsunami....

Thank God it has not affected her....

No pics today

We are back at Sarah's....she and Jeremy either caught a flu bug or had food poisoning...they were sick all night. So we came back over to give them a break from the Lorelei. She is still all congested...but other than feeling back when she first got up from her nap was in a good mood. But she did sound like her throat was so sore...just the sound of her voice. Poor little girl.

Not sure when I will get back to posting...I cannot remember if I have any more photos scheduled ahead on my Time Stand Still blog or not...I know I have one that posted tonight.

I will try to catch up with everyone when I get back home...

Blackbird trees

I always think a sure sign of spring is when you see trees full of blackbirds...I always call them blackbird trees in my mind.
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The Toot has another cold...instead of them coming here this weekend we went over there. It was well worth the trip. She was so glad to see us...I always look through the window before I ever ring the doorbell till I can see her reaction when she realizes it is us. She started jumping up and down and yelling Mamaw! Papaw! over and over.

I cannot believe how she has changed...yet it is hard to explain it in mere words. She has such an active imagination...when she was here last time she was pretending to be dragon. She growls and holds her hands up like they are claws and she is going to attack. She has also been pretending to cook for a while. And she has the tea parties. But she has now started to pretend to pick up 'stuff' and give it to each of us.

And she was getting behind stuff and popping up and saying Surprise!!! and we would laugh and that would just make her do it more.

Her daddy got down in the floor, first laying on his belly, then on his back. Both ways she sat on him on his lower back/belly and would raise his tee-shirt up and stick her feet and legs in it. And set there with this smug smile on her face. When he finally had to get up and go do something, she gets up and starts saying 'My Seat.....My Seat!' Oh what fun she is.

I know I am leaving out things...but want to do a post of some sort. I have clothes hanging on the lines so should go check them. And I need to fill the bird feeders.

Ready for spring....

I want to see the tulips pushing up through the ground...
I am ready to travel down country roads and see the red bud in bloom....
I want to walk outside and see the dogwood full of blossoms
I want to look across the alley and see my neighbor's bush colored with flowers....

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It has been pouring the rain for a while now. It was dark and dreary all day, and sprinkled a little here and there. I have piddled around...on the computer, cooking, and finally I did a little sewing. I have so much more to do and have to make a couple decisions before I go any farther.

I am hoping that the Toot makes it over this way this weekend...if not we will be traveling over there next week. I just get so lonesome for her.

Birds...

Other than the crazy birds in the previous post, everything else seemed normal at the strip pits last night. The first thing I saw were male pheasants, but alas, no photos. Just a bit too far away. Almost every time I am out there I see several male pheasants but not females...
last night that streak of luck changed. I spotted these four hens together. As you can tell by the photo they were skedaddling away the minute I slowed down. Not a great picture but at least proof that I saw some....and I saw some more in the distance.
Then there were the swans....these were at the pond the geese in the previous post were attempting to land in.
And there were a couple Northern Harriers...I was surprised to see them. What is so strange in regards to them is this though. When we first started noticing them, it was not uncommon to see a dozen in the air at once...and it was very common to see them hovering in the air. Like a hummingbird. Now, we very seldom see more than two or three out there...and I cannot even remember the last time I saw one hovering in the air.
Of course there were the red-winged blackbirds....always fun to see them.

I am trying to patiently wait for the dickcissel and the bobolink...I will be a while yet before they show up. Still, I look for them every time I am out there.

If you need a laugh

I give you my word this photo is not photoshopped...nothing done except I cropped the original some and re-sized it. Do you see what I am talking about? Enlarge it for better viewing.
I made a run through the strip pits late this evening...it was just one of those evenings where I wanted to be out a little, but didn't want to go far.

I don't have any prize-winning photos, except this and only those people that know me would believe me when I say I didn't alter it. I have more pics to show you, but not today. I saw pheasants, and ducks (no pics of ducks) and swans and Northern Harriers...

Anyway, to the story of this picture. I was at this one pond where there were at several swans...I was focused on one group but did not even count them because the pics were not at all good. Well, I was getting ready to get back in the Rav4 and here flew these three geese...and they started to land. Just as I took the picture they did this crazy break up...kind of like someone starting to land a plane for the first time and pulling up just as they are about to touch down. Only the geese were not really close to the water.

Well, I shot this one pic, and while getting in the Rav4 continued to watch them. They regrouped a couple more times to come in for a landing on the water, only to put on the brakes and do that crazy break up.....almost as if they had never landed on water before. They never did touch down, but regrouped and flew off.

I did not realize I had capture them quite this way till I downloaded them to the computer. And even then when I first saw it, I thought it was my imagination...then when I opened it up big, I saw that I wasn't seeing things. I sent it to Sarah and she got the giggles about it, and I laughed till I cried.

Reminded me of a kid doing something and saying, 'Wheeee! Look what I can do ma!'

How would you like this?

We spotted this Sunday...we both did a double take...and I was saying stop, stop, stop! We could not tell if anyone lived there or not. I kind of felt like it might be empty now, but had not been long ago that it was someone's home.