photography

Remembering an orphanage

/ Roadtirementvintage / 21 Comments

The Gordon Children’s Home in Shelbyville, Indiana was finished in 1892 in order to provide a home for orphaned children in Shelby County, Indiana. At the time, the home was located on a hill on the outskirts of town.

Vintage post card showing the home

Following is a  portion of the Gordon Home’s Annual Report from 1902.

The health of the institution during the past year has been good, with three exceptions.  One of our children had inflammatory rheumatism, one lung fever and one case of typhoid.
          We desire to thank all those who assisted us in donating presents for our Christmas tree.  Our children lok forward from one year to the next and think of te happy times they will have when Old Santa comes again.
          Number of of children received in our home during the year, girls 1, boys 5.
          Number placed in homes 20, girls 8, boys 12.
          Number sent to Ft. Wayne institute for feeble minded 4.
          Removed by death 0.
          Number remaining in the home 34, girls 7, boys 27. 


In Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville you will find a simple stone monument with the inscription GORDON’S CHILDREN’S HOME and dates 1887 – 1958. Behind and in front of the stone are two lines of small headstones listing the names of children who died at the orphanage. Someone has placed small toys on several of the stones.

A Baltimore oriole is a new visitor

/ Roadtirementvintage / 30 Comments

We enjoyed seeing a Baltimore oriole for the first time over the past few days. A very colorful bird indeed.

Those pesky sparrows love to photo bomb

This fellow loves our hummingbird feeder

It seems like he is proud of his plumage

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve seen at least two males (the pics are of a male) and at least one female. Hopefully there is a nest nearby. We may have to get another hummingbird feeder, as the orioles have taken over this one. Orioles love nectar, and appearently fresh fruit. We’ll try hanging some cut oranges up soon.

Hopefully the final frost

/ Roadtirementvintage / 23 Comments

According to historic Indiana weather records, the final frost of the year is normally no later than April 26th. We’ve had a couple of days near 80, breezy and great for working outside.  Then this alert came in the e-mail:

Hope this beauty makes it ok.

Gonna be cold in the morning for sure. Hopefully the flowers and plants will be ok. Some of the baby birds and other baby critters are in for a cold night!

Phlox, hostas and a new leaf

/ Roadtirementvintage / 7 Comments

Scene from the front of our place

Hosta getting the squeeze: soon to be moved

 

 

 

 

 

Our phlox has really bloomed this spring. One of our two hostas is being challenged by the phlox for space! We’ll probably move this hosta to the flower garden and let the phlox run.

Even the new growth has the typical “tulip shaped” leaf

Our young Tulip trees are beginning to put on their leaves this spring. Also known as yellow poplar, the Tulip is actually a member of the Magnolia family. They are one of the finest hardwood lumber producers. This is the third season for the two we have in the front yard.

Backyard squirrel antics and some birdwatching and listening

/ Roadtirementvintage / 28 Comments

What a great day to enjoy the outside. It was windy, but wow what a wonderful sunny day with temps in the upper 70’s. Our son has been working the past couple of days straightening up the backyard, getting ready for some gardening and taking care of some weeding.

Female Cardinal, left and Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Squirrel walking past bird bath, note rocks in bowl for birds to perch

Squirrel turned around, jumped on bird bath, cartwheeled off when he hit water. See him on right ready to land, note water flowing from bowl.

Today we sat out back on our swing and did some wildlife watching. We filled both bird feeders, mounted a suet cage, and even put a couple of ears of field corn on trees. All the critters should be happy. Our son also filled one of the bird baths and put a couple of rocks in it for some for the birds to stand on while drinking. See photos above when a squirrel was surprised.