It’s only 40 degrees F on a sunny mid-May morning. Still there is Nature’s beauty on display.
Red young growth on the rose is due to the presence of anthocyanins. This coloration protects the bush from UV rays .
Chives flower
Asiatic lily thinking about blooming
The first rose bloom of the season
The dainty hen calmly grazes the top of the water. Her mate the drake with no abandon just dives in and feeds off the bottom. No table manners here!
Mom and Dad Geese have quite a job keeping track of the kids.
Lunch time today led us to a local Mexican restaurant in one of Shelbyville Indiana’s strip malls. This one has has been open for a few years and goes by the name Cholula and bills itself as having authentic Mexican food.
The decor is the first thing you notice when you enter the restaurant. The tables are all decorated in Old Mexico theme artwork. The highbacked chairs are also adorned with brightly colored rustic scenes from south of the border. In addition, there are a couple of vintage black and white scenes from old Mexico.
Our tabletop art
Chairback art
Awesome old photos
The lunch crowd had pretty well finished when we got there, so immediate seating was no problem. Like most all restaurants of this genre a bowl of fresh chips and a couple of bowls of salsa were soon on our table. We then ordered margaritas.
The margarita!
The typical appetizer
Our food was ordered, and in a short period of time it was brought to our table. The food was hot and delivered on hot plates too. Sher ordered a good vegetarian plate with a bean burrito, cheese enchilada and rice. I had the beef chimichanga with all the trimmings and rice.
Sher’s vegetarian plate
Maj’s beef chimichanga
All in all the food was ok, really about the same as most midscale Mexican restaurants.
Before the ford was closed
The 10 acres for Kennedy Park in Shelbyville, Indiana were bought and donated to the city in 1929 by Fred Kennedy. Among the features of the park included a concrete ford that crossed the Little Blue River to East Franklin Street. For years it was a place to drive across the river by car or bike. It was also a place to wash your car, which of course you couldn’t do today.
The video pans from East to West and shows the last complete concrete section of the old ford. You can also get a glimpse of the recently completed steel pedestrian footbridge over the river.
Last fall Sher and I were visiting our daughter, her husband and our 8 year old grandson who live in the Seattle area. One day I was in our daughter’s backyard taking photos of some of the leather medicine bags that I have been making.
My personal medicine bag trimmed with the colors of the 4 directions, a silver feather and a gift from the sea.
While I was arranging another leather medicine bag for photos, I heard a loud “caw-caw” from somewhere up the street. Almost immediately a large black crow landed in a small tree about 15 yards away. Crow then began to “talk” to me with varying tones and volume. I responded to him, and thanked him for sharing his space with me.
Crow and I shared space and spirit together for several minutes. Sharing time with animals is so inspiring to me, and I consider them exceptional opportunities to relish the chance to be at one with animals, Nature and Earth. I asked him if I could take an image of him. Crow did not want his image taken, and he flew off as we said our farewells.
I cut some pieces from an apple for me, and then I took the rest of the apple and put it in the tree where Crow had been perched while we conversed. It is always a nice gesture to leave a gift whenever you have contact with Nature. When I have been gifted by Nature with stones, feathers, shells or even a leaf or flower I always leave a gift in thanks for the find.
Black Onyx from Peru
A few day later we all went to a wonderful gem and mineral store in the fun town of Snohomish. I needed to get some sage for cleansing and smudging ceremonies. In this store I was immediately drawn to a display of beautiful carved crows made of black onyx that had been imported from Peru. I was strongly drawn to one and he went home with me. My past interaction with Crow reinforced that the black onyx Peruvian crow was supposed to be. Yes, I believe Crow joining me for a bit was indeed a good sign.
The term “medicine” is not always just a means for healing. It can, in some belief systems, also refer to the knowledge and power found in every life form. In many cultures around the globe the circle and cross of the medicine wheel is also know as “the four quarters of the world”.
The basic medicine wheel is in four parts and represents the four directions, each with a color, element, and one of the four “races” of the world. North is white, represents air and the animal people. South is red, represents water and plant people. East is yellow, represents fire and human people. Finally, West is black, represents earth and the stone people. Positioning of these may vary among the many medicine wheel traditions found around the world. For example, having south’s color green (for the plant people) instead of red is not uncommon.
We had to turn around and get a picture of this.
This pachyderm lives, appropriately, in the corner of a liquor store parking lot in Fortville, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis. Search “pink elephant Fortville” on Google maps, you’ll find him.
LOVE outside at the IMA in the early years
Robert Indiana was born in 1928 as Robert Clark. He changed his name to Indiana in 1958 to show his roots in the Midwest. His first widespread use of the stacked four letters of “LOVE” was a Christmas card in 1964 for the New York Museum of Modern Art. This design creation led to the LOVE sculpture constructed of Cor-ten steel in 1970. LOVE in steel was first put on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It made the rounds of several American cities for five years until it returned to the IMA. After needed restoration was performed due to weathering of the steel, it is now displayed inside the museum building to protect it from the elements.
Permanent display inside the IMA
Remember 8 cent stamps?
The design was also the inspiration of a USPS 8 cent stamp in 1973. Countless copies of the statue were made and sold over the years, however Robert Indiana had failed to copyright his design, thus he did not reap the benefits. He died at the age of 89.
Back in the fall of 2015 we were busy setting up at festivals and flea markets. At a tractor show and swap meet in western Ohio we were surprised to see a wildly painted RV pull up and set up across from us. We met the owner, who was from Canada and said he travels all over. Yes, he was the artist, he said.
The whole rig is covered in paintings. The more you look, the more you see!
We saw him at several shows during the rest of the fall festival season, and occasionally over the next few years as well. We saw his RV as late as January 2019 at a flea market in McAllen, Texas. The fellow from Canada was nowhere to be seen.
Roadtirement 