Saturday morning against a gray sky
The same rose Monday morning
A rose two days later
Nature
Cicada emerges
Last year was supposed to be the great 17 year mass cicada emergence across the Midwest and East coast. In our part of Indiana we only saw one cicada shell and heard none of the loud insects. Within the last two weeks we have heard a lot of cicadas at night. We have found four of them on the tires of our vehicle. One is in the photo, above. They missed the big show by a year…
Tomatoes going red and some mushrooms
These home grown beauties ripen fast once they start to turn
There were several more that almost made a Fairy Ring…
Our two tomato plants have done quite nicely the past month, giving us, as you can see, some nice fruits. The backyard also was fertile ground, it seems, for quite a few mushrooms that showed up overnight.
Oh deer
Driving through Brown County Indiana’s countryside on a recent day trip we saw quite a bit of wildlife. Off to the left our son spotted a fawn just standing there about 30 yards from the road. Fawns typically lose their white spots 90 to 120 days after birth. It just stayed perfectly still and we drove on after a few minutes.
Mother would be watching as the fawn just stared at us
Then Maj saw a doe to the left about 75 yards off the road. We stopped the car and backed up the 50 or so feet until we could see that there was also a fawn with this doe.
They were right on the tree line
They’re still just looking at us, no movement
Mom says it is time to go
It is always a thrill to see wildlife. Seeing deer seems especially neat, perhaps because they are so large compared to squirrels or raccoons. Oh, and do you see why these are named whitetail deer?
Day trip big birds
While on our recent day trip we ended up on a well graded gravel road in Brown County, Indiana. We were on our way to another historic bridge and looking for any other neat things to see.
Up ahead we spotted a large black shape next to a yellow striped warning sign. Yep, that’s a turkey vulture, actually two of them. The second one is behind the yellow sign.
Why did the turkey cross the road?
To frustrate that human with the camera!
As soon as we started moving again we were surrounded by what seemed like a large rafter of wild turkeys running across the road. Dang they were fast! Out of the eight or so individuals we only got a couple of photos, neither of which that good. It’s always fun seeing wildlife during a drive in the country.
An Eastern tiger swallowtail
These images were captured in a lovely flower garden on the grounds of The Hard Truth Distillery in Nashville, Indiana.
A very busy day trip
The weather was nearly perfect, not too hot, partly cloudy and a nice breeze. We decide that Sunday would be a great time to get out and have a day trip. Our son put together a tentative itinerary, and we hit the road late morning. It was sure nice having our son driving.
Soybean fields, forests and a covered bridge
We had quite a day, long in time but most enjoyable. We saw several historic bridges, which you know we enjoy visiting. A country church was a nice stop. We also visited some of the shops in Nashville, Indiana, a huge tourist mecca in south central Indiana. (Yep, two fudge shoppes!)
More deer images coming
We also had a couple of wineries planned. In addition, we found a distillery we were not aware of. Turns out is is well known, and had a marvelous tasting event and enjoyable grounds. In addition we were blessed with the sightings of quite a lot of wildlife and frankly a few surprises as well. Stay tuned, we have several posts on the way!
Heat lightning storm last night
In the Midwest it is called “heat lightning” when the storm is so far away that you can’t see the actual lightning bolts and can’t hear any thunder. It does make for a good light show! The iPhone did a decent job catching some of the lightning bursts.
Between the light bursts there was total darkness last night.
The heat lightning was fairly steady for a few minutes, then it slowed down a lot. This storm system was too far away from us to provide much rain. We got maybe two tenths at most overnight. Hopefully the forecast for more rain this week will be correct for once.
Some different and pretty stuff on a day trip
Here’s somewhat of a potpourri of images we captured and then liked.
Overgrown barn and silo
Ears developing
In full tassel
Slow flowing Laughery Creek gives a mirror surface
Delicate tiny wild flowers
Oops! Lost an antennae somewhere
Just simply pretty flowers
Day trips or multi day adventures provide so many opportunities to see and experience new things. I guess that’s why everybody has cameras these days…
Mill Race Park in Columbus Indiana
Mill Race Park is situated where the Flat Rock and the Driftwood rivers join together on the west side of Columbus. The 35 acre park is an extremely popular place to walk, picnic, attend concerts, climb the tall observation tower or just simply enjoy a bit of Nature.
The bottom of the bridge is in the background
Duck enjoying the reflecting pond
Among the attractions at the park are a large reflecting pond ringed by sidewalks and benches. One side of the pond features the historic covered bridge. Columbus is known for its public art displays, and several are located in the park. One recent addition to the park landscape is a set of tall, wooden poles topped with bat nesting boxes. The poles are set in rock cairns for shelter of amphibians and reptiles.
Each provides shelter for bats, birds, amphibians and reptiles
The lovely pond, suitable for leisurely walks or resting
The brick “monument” with bronze info plaque (yes, that’s us)
The brick “monument” complete with an arch and flanked by a bronze information plaque is a highly visible structure. The plaque describes the mill race that ran through acreage. It also listed the many industries along the old mill race, including mills and brickyards. The Mill Race Park in Columbus is a delightful place. It is worth your visit.
Roadtirement 