This nearly 38k acre reservoir is about 50 miles east of Dallas. Our RV site was, as you can see, right on the shore, and provided a beautiful end to the day.
A lot of stuff
We named her Wilma
The Pileated Woodpeckers are some of the most exciting birds to observe. We’ve been blessed with some great sightings!
Sher and I were thrilled a couple of days ago when we saw for just a second a stunning Pileated Woodpecker who came in and landed on our tree. Almost immediately it took off. Yesterday, however, another (maybe the same?) Pileated female came in and ended up feeding from one of the suet cages.
Notice the little Nuthatch that photobombed the video? The size of Wilma seems to have spooked it from the suet cage.
Could have been embarrassing
Here’s a live action shot of a not so coordinated squirrel. We thought it was worth a replay.
Sher and I see it everyday: squirrels hopping from tree to overhead lines and back again. This morning we saw a juvenile squirrel almost miss.
This fellow was going from the tree branch to the immediate left over to the wire. Usually a small stretch is all that’s required. He missed getting his back legs on the wire, and he ended up in the position you see. A little struggle and he was successfully on his way down the wire.
Austin’s Lady Bird Lake at night
We really enjoyed this family outing on Lady Bird Lake. Read on to see and learn about the “different” buildings in downtown Austin.
The Colorado River runs through Austin’s vibrant downtown. Flanked by parks, bike and hiking trails and entertainment venues, the river also widens and slows, prompting the name Lady Bird Lake after LBJ’s First Lady.
Striking view at dusk
Groupon led us to Lone Star Riverboat cruises, offering a chance to enjoy a sunset cruise and beautiful views of the remarkable and interesting architecture of Austin’s skyline. Lone Star has both a double deck “paddle wheeler” style boat. Sher and I and our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter chose to ride the open air pontoon boat for our sunset cruise.
Center building is either an owl or a nose hair clipper: locals laugh about it
Curved building is the new Google Headquarters, far right is one that looks like a thumb drive
We thoroughly enjoyed our slow paced tour up and down the waters. Our Captain of the craft gave a…
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Wild strawberry or COVID virus??
This discovery in our yard was quite a shock, actually.
Took a picture of a couple of mushrooms yesterday. Within the image was a little red wild strawberry. Once the photo was enlarged and the red berry zeroed in, the details of the berry came into focus.
That looks eerily close to COVID
Immediately the shape of the berry looked very familiar. Yes, that shape has been displayed just about everywhere since, oh, sometime around March 2020. It does look way to much like the renderings you see of that damned COVID-19 virus.
James Whitcomb Riley, The Hoosier Poet
Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley is an Indiana treasure, visit his home in Greenfield.
“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” We know you’ve heard that saying before. Did you know that is a quote from James Whitcomb Riley, know as The Hoosier Poet? Riley was born in 1849 in Greenfield, Indiana. His home is preserved and is open for tours.
Riley’s birthplace in Greenfield
Front door signage
Riley was noted for his down home use of dialect that epitomized rural Indiana. He first wrote under a pen name (farmer Benj. F. Johnson, of Boone) for newspapers in Anderson and Indianapolis. As a boy Riley worked as an assistant to traveling patent-medicine hucksters.
Historic Marker outside the home
Riley is famous for his remarkable volume of poems. He wrote and published over 1000 verses. His most popular are “Little Orphant Annie”, “The Raggedy Man,” “Our…
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The haunted Willard Library
No matter if you believe in ghosts or not, this is a very interesting library. Our last visit was in the fall of 2016.
Willard Library reading room
Evansville, Indiana is home to one of the most documented haunted structures in the country. The library, a private enterprise, opened in 1881. The beautiful building is filled with period furnishings and some magnificent interior wood work. Hereis the main library website. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Willard library started its journey as a haunted site in the 1930’s. A custodian was greeted one evening by the vision of an apparition that is now known as “The Gray Lady”. This translucent form has made many more appearances throughout the decades and has been seen by many. No one knows for sure who this ghost is nor the reason for her continued presence in the library.
One thing for certain is the fact that strange and unexplained happenings have and continue to occur in the building. Water…
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Bascilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle is a National Shrine in Texas
This was one of the memorable places we enjoyed while wintering in the Rio Grande Valley a few years back.
The Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle is a remarkable place in the Rio Grande Valley. The Basilica has a fascinating history that traces back to the 1600’s in Mexico with a reported miracle. The current location has been the sight for pilgrimages for decades.
The bell tower
The Sanctuary
Sher and I decided to go to the Basilica on a Sunday for mass. The Sunday schedule has masses all day, with Spanish, English and bi-lingual. There is a mariachi band providing the music on Saturday and Sunday masses. We opted for the 3 o’clock English mass. The mass was very inspiring.
Free Holy Water fountain
First Station of the Cross
The sculpture on the back sanctuary wall
When we arrived, the 1 o’clock mass had not yet let out, and the parking lots were very full. I was able to find a handicapped spot. The complex has…
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New home for an old bridge
By 1870 Shelby County Indiana had 154 miles of new gravel roads. It was time for the county to start building bridges at principle crossings of rivers. By 1880 there were 10 “substantial and elegant” iron bridges with additional bridges planned each year thereafter.
The bridge’s new home, seeing bicycles and pedestrian traffic only
The Clover Ford Bridge over Buck Creek was constructed in 1889 by the King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The cost of the bridge, Shelby County Bridge No. 13, was $3,384.50. The bridge served many years but was closed due to structural issues in 2011.
Beautiful and sound reconstruction
History board
Deemed historically important, it was refurbished in 2018 and moved to the Blue River Memorial Park in 2019. It is now part of the Blue River Trail that traverses Shelbyville. USI Consultants was the company that oversaw the relocation of the restored…
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Nashville’s Hard Truth Distillery
Nashville Indiana is home to a relatively new distillery, brewery, restaurant and entertainment venue. The Hard Truth website tell its story: “Hard Truth Distilling Co. began distilling in 2015 in the small upper rooms of Big Woods Pizza Co. in downtown Nashville, Indiana. … by 2017, construction had begun on a new facility… That property became the gorgeous Hard Truth campus, with the Hard Truth Tours & Tastings Center being the first building to open its doors to guests at the very end of 2017.” The Restaurant at Hard Truth opened in the summer of 2018, followed by the new sweet mash distillery that fall.
Large variety of distilled on site products
On our recent day trip we noticed a sign pointing to a distillery just outside of Nashville. We followed and ended up at the Hard Truth facility, a beautiful setting with several buildings including the distillery tasting room and the restaurant. The first building we came to was the tasting room.
Entrance to the Distillery Tasting room
We had five samples each all different
By sharing we tried 10 samples each
The wide variety of liquors was in itself quite an adventure. We tried everything from certified Indiana Rye whiskey to Cinnamon Vodka to imported Irish whiskey from the owner’s family in County Cavan, Ireland. The bartender shared that Hard Truth sends their own barrels to Ireland to be filled with the whiskey. Then the filled barrels are transported on the seas back to the States. We purchased two different bottles before we left.
This building houses the restaurant
Entrance on Old SR 46, a mile 1/2 east of Nashville
The grounds of this facility are very beautiful, peaceful and even serene. The hills of Brown County make a near perfect setting for this multi-faceted business. We do plan on returning sometime to try out the restaurant, and to also hit the tasting room of the brewery. Oh yes, they also have a large brewery.
