photography

Progress continues on the flower garden

/ Roadtirementvintage / 34 Comments

The past few days have been very productive in Roadtirement’s garden and landscape project list.  The primary task list included preparation for, and placing of a mulch base for the flower garden. Our son did most of this work.

A progression of progress

We still have a bit of mulch left to place. It will go around the old tree stump where Sher currently has a grouping of herbs. This stump may also end up as a Fairy Village.

Unfinished mulch job and placement of herbs on the stump

Close up view of one of the glacial rocks we collected for the garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

A better look at the “getting close to finished” project

In addition, Maj planted more trees that we got from the DNR. Our total tally ended up with two Black Cherry trees and three Tulip trees. We thought we only had two Tulip saplings,  when in fact we had three in the bundle.

Some more things spotted in the yard

/ Roadtirementvintage / 12 Comments

Here’s some more images of some plants around the yard. We did get a nice thunderstorm this afternoon. I won’t have to water anything today.

We decided to use both sink compartments for flower plantings. We’ll get another something for a bird bath. Since we have put up the bird feeder our backyard has become very popular with the neighborhood avian population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rose bush is new, just got it planted a few days ago. We were surprised and happy to see the new bloom at the peak of the bush! Roses are so pretty…

Seen in our backyard

/ Roadtirementvintage / 10 Comments

Just a couple of images from our backyard. This really isn’t a photo blog, but we do like to share pictures. So maybe it is a photo blog….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The writing tool is in the mushroom picture for scale. We got the Black Cherry tree at a local DNR giveaway. It is in a tomato cage to protect it as it starts to grow. We also got a couple of Tulip trees as well.

We found an old growth forest and trail

/ Roadtirementvintage / 7 Comments

Every once in a while you stumble upon a new to you attraction. While researching  central Indiana trails and forests I came across a small but delightful gem in Shelby County, which is south east of Indianapolis. The gem is a nearly 50 acre nature preserve called Meltzer Woods Nature Preserve.

The unique quality of this property is found in its description: The forest is considered an original old-growth stand that was placed in Indiana’s Classified Forest Program in 1928. In 2014 it was protected forever when it was acquired by the Central Indiana Land Trust. An old-growth forest is one that has trees that are at least 150 years old and has not been cleared for a century or longer.

The trail

National Natural Treasure designation

 

 

 

 

 

Meltzer Woods is a wonderful place to spend time in nature, and to get a sense of what Indiana forests were like when the first European settlers arrived. Many of the trees are older than Indiana’s Statehood in 1816. Some have even been dated back to the 1600s. There is an easy and nearly level 1.3 mile trail that wanders through the forest. Magnificent trees, wildflowers galore, and interesting understory make for an inspiring walk through the forest and go back in time to when 80% of Indiana was covered in forests like this.

Dense understory

 

 

 

 

 

The Meltzer family first bought this ground in 1857. The family still owns adjacent farm ground and still farms today. Rain was threatening yesterday, and we decided to return another day when we could take the trail and really enjoy this historic and natural corner of Indiana. There is ample parking across the road, and Google Maps knows where it is if you are in the area.

A committee of vultures

/ Roadtirementvintage / 14 Comments

On a drive today we saw many large black birds in a field next to a rural county road. I had my son stop the car for a better look and a photo op. The committee of vultures started to move away from the road,  some walking and some flying close to the ground before they settled down again.

And by the way, there are three different names for a group of vultures. Different circumstances dictate what name applies at the time. A committee is a group resting on the ground or in trees. A wake is a group feeding. And when you see lots of vultures soaring in the sky, wings outstretched with little or no flapping, well that is called a kettle of vultures.

Saw a goose on a drive around town

/ Roadtirementvintage / 15 Comments

Sher and I took advantage of our son again and had him drive us around town. There were lots of people out, mostly driving as it was rather chilly and windy. Not the best conditions for a walk.

I spotted this goose on a traffic island in a store parking lot. The goose just sat there when our car pulled up be side it, which allowed me to take these shots.  The goose’s mate saw us from across the lot and was walking (or should I say waddling) towards us as we pulled away.

Back On Track Indiana plan announced

/ Roadtirementvintage / 18 Comments

On Friday Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana gave the long awaited news conference outlining the state’s plan to reopen for business. The official COVID-19 “lock-down” order expired on Friday. New regulations begin on Monday. If you are interested, the details are pretty clearly listed on the new website Back on Track Indiana.  It explains the five steps that the State has planned for the reopening of businesses.

The moon seen yesterday, has nothing to do with COVID-19. Just a pretty picture.

The Reader’s Digest version is pretty simple. It things go according to plan, July 4th is the date when Indiana is “back to normal”. This is if the previous four steps have worked out. The new normal, however, does include possible restrictions on nursing homes and K-12 school openings and still calls for social distancing.

What’s this do for Roadtirement? Well, dear friends, we are still basically under self-isolation. Not until Step Four of the plan does it mention the possibility of those over 65 and with underlying health conditions getting out in public, and then following social distancing guidelines. Are we going to even risk that? The coronavirus will still be out there. People will still be catching it, and will still be killed by it. Who knows when a viable treatment and/or vaccine will be available for all.

We will have to at some point decide when we will be willing to take the chance of catching the COVID-19 virus by getting out and into the public. There is so much we are wanting to do…

Feeding birds and umbrellas for social distancing

/ Roadtirementvintage / 16 Comments

The phone image isn’t the best, but you can see the cute (?) little English sparrow enjoying a meal at our recently installed bird feeder. You can also see the corn cob, now devoid of any corn kernels, sticking up from the tree. We put a nail in the tree, drilled a hole down the center of the cob, and voila! a squirrel feeding station.

This danged COVID-19 stay at home stuff is really, really getting old. We still miss going out to eat, going to a casino (we like the free play!) and being able to travel to see the kids and grand kids.

Oh, and we saw something different on a CNN internet report. There is a village in India named Thannermukkom that has given out 10,000 umbrellas. The idea is that if you walk around with an open umbrella, and others do the same, it forces you to not get close to each other. Not sure you are the 6 feet away, but definitely not shoulder to shoulder.

Stay calm,  remember the rules, and wash those hands and keep physical distance!