photography

Hunting for and finding some tasty morsels

/ Roadtirementvintage / 25 Comments

We have been putting ears of field corn out on a couple of trees in the backyard. It has been fun watching the squirrels working the corn. They of course knock kernels off the cob, and some are consumed right away. However, most of the kernels were buried, most within about a 30′ radius around the trees.

This little guy was digging up corn kernels today. There has been over an inch and a half of rain in the last 24 hours. Digging up the kernels resulted in very muddy snacks for sure. It was fun watching him dig a kernel up, wipe the mud off and eat. We have enjoyed seeing squirrels burying corn, today we saw this one returning to and excavating a treat or two.

Four weeks worth of sapling tree growth

/ Roadtirementvintage / 13 Comments

Four weeks ago we went to a local park where the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was sponsoring a tree give-away.  We ended up with two black cherry and three Tulip tree saplings. We got all five planted on the same day, and all of them seem to be thriving.

Tulip tree, May 23rd

Tulip tree, June 20th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Cherry, May 23rd

Black Cherry, June 20th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tulip tree is the State Tree of Indiana. Hopefully each start will continue to grow, and within a few years we’ll have some healthy trees filling our yard. The DNR program is a very good way to insure that property owners have access to trees for planting.

Backyard visitor

/ Roadtirementvintage / 10 Comments

I was enjoying sitting outside with a cup of coffee in the backyard this morning. Beautiful sunny day, temps approaching 80, and a lot of birds to watch at the feeder.

Then this young squirrel decided to join the birds in the yard. He hopped around for quite a while, and was still there when I went in. In the foreground is the Black Cherry sapling that we got from the DNR giveaway trees program. We are fortunate to have a nice yard where we can watch the wildlife and have space for gardening.

Remember to keep doing the things that keep you safe!

Historic Convent in Oldenburg Indiana

/ Roadtirementvintage / 13 Comments

On our recent RV day trip Sher and I spent a most enjoyable time viewing an Indiana treasure: The Immaculate Conception Convent, which is the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.  The Sisters of St. Francis continue to serve the people of Indiana. Learn details at their Website Here including the fascinating history of the Order.

Motherhouse, right and church, left. Parking lot is for the Holy Family Catholic Church, out of view on left

Chapel and portion of the cemetery for Sisters

Beautiful Shrine overlooks the cemetery grounds

Not only is there beautiful architecture on the campus but peaceful cemeteries, shrines, a school and a  farm. Oldenburg is known as “The City of Spires” due to the many church spires visible on the skyline of this quaint Indiana town.

Historic church and cemetery

/ Roadtirementvintage / 16 Comments

A few days ago Sher and I took a nice day trip in our RV to south east Indiana. Our first stop was Batesville, covered in a previous post. Next stop was Oldenburg, another town with a strong German heritage.

 

 

 

The Holy Family Catholic Church has a long history in Oldenburg. The stone church was finished in 1848 as seen in the pictures above. It replaced the original log church, and is now the Rectory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The current church is a magnificent structure. The day we visited was election day, so there was a fair amount of foot traffic in and out of the entrance to the Fellowship Hall. Social Distancing was not a problem. The large stone cross is a remembrance for the first Mission that was preached in 1848.

A road trip on a hot day

/ Roadtirementvintage / 15 Comments

Sher and I had had enough.  It has been since February 25th since we were in our RV. Roadtirement needed to hit the road again.  I put some water in the fresh water tank, and flushed the antifreeze out of the lines. That way we would have water for our bathroom.

We went a town in south east Indiana named Batesville. This town has a rich German history, and is home to the Batesville Casket Company, one of the largest in the world.  The Hill-Rom company, also headquartered in Batesville, is a manufacturer of high tech hospital beds and is also a Hillenbrand company.

Hillenbrand Mausoleum

We visited the Saint Louis Catholic Cemetery of the local church of the same name. This cemetery is in a beautiful setting with tree lined main roads. There is a section in the back of the cemetery that is the oldest portion and has the oldest graves. In addition this is the area where the founders of the Hillenbrand companies are interned in a striking mausoleum and a masonry fenced area.

It was great getting back on the road again, and from Batesville we headed to Oldenburg, another German influenced town in south east Indiana. We were safe, as we stayed far away from any people we saw. Stay tuned…