Indiana Bound

Anticipation was high for Thursday afternoon, we went on vacation to visit family to a state we had never been to. It was to be a very long drive but we took it in 2 days going down. We spent the night in Moline, Illinois. It was dark when we got there, so we did not see much of it, but we found a hotel and a Denny's right across the street, which meant walking instead of driving. The next day we drove to Bloomington, Illinois, where my third grandfather lived and was buried. His daughter and her husband lived and are buried there also. I wanted to see my great-grandmother's grave. I do not know much about her except that she gave up my grandfather for adoption and he was raised by his aunt and uncle. We found the cemetery, asked for directions, found 2 of her siblings, but no headstone for Marie. I stood where she was buried and wondered why she had no stone, she died very young at 35. With no answers and expectations a bit dashed, we did go to another cemetery and found my 3rd great grandfather and my 2nd great grandmother and grandfather. I had addresses of where these 2 grandmother's of mine lived, so we drove to those addresses and I was able to get pictures. At least now I have an idea of where they lived, still wondering what brought 2 of these families to Bloomington, Illinois.

The second portion of our journey was to Terre Haute, Indiana. We arrived there shortly after 5:00. Uncle Jim, Ken and Ann were outside on their deck enjoying the sun. It was beautiful out. It was hot for the first time since before October. Ken and Ann have bird feeders up and enjoy the birds as I do. There is such a wide variety (Ken has a book so he can look to see what kinds of birds he sees), I had fun just watching and listening to them. It was a relaxing trip. There were no agendas. (The above picture is what Ann and Ken see out their window.)

Saturday was spent talking, and touring Terre Haute. Ken and Ann took us to a place called "Saint Mary of the Woods." What a beautiful place, quiet,serene, a lot of history. We stopped and looked at a chapel and the whole inside of the wall was made of sea shells. The picture does not do it justice. The grounds are beautiful too. I tried to take pictures insde the chapel, but you cannot capture with a camera what you see. Mother Theodore Geurin founded many schools in the area, this is just one of them. She was canonized not too very long ago.

They took out to lunch, an Irish pub. The food was good, as was the atmosphere and company. It was good to take our time and just talk. After we got back to the house, Ann needed to go to choir practice. She belongs to a community choir through Indiana State University. On Sunday afternoon they were going to sing the Creation by Heyden. Ken took us all out to dinner at the country club where they live and after that we got to see where Uncle Jim. He has got a view and the "Institution" as he calls it is nothing like I have seen before. It is like a small village. It is 7 stories with card/game rooms, they have a small theater, a bank and even a small grocery store. They have an exercise room where Uncle Jim goes everyday and works out. He is looking so good and still sharp as a tack. It was good visiting with him and hearing his humor come out. We had a lot of laughs this weekend, I will treasure it. Sunday we went to church at the Episcopalian Church, what a beautiful church inside. The walls are stone and there was marble. The beams of the church were painted in stripes, the colors of the church season. It looked like a gingerbread house to me. After church we had lunch and then got ready to go to the concert, and it was so good and enjoyable. It was fun seeing Ann up front and singing. We finished the evening watching a movie and more visiting. It was so fun just getting to know cousins even better.
Ann and Ken have a couple of pets, Emma and George. George is actually a girl red cat. Normally red cats are boys but this one is a girl. She is a beautiful cat and looks outside at the birds as the bird feeder is right there. Emma is the funny one. She has high energy and just bounces. She loves to chase the ball and is raring to go all the time. What a friendly dog she is.

Our trip ended all to soon but Monday we had to get up early as we had 13 hours of driving ahead of us. We managed to get home still in the light. It was gorgeous driving the last little bit home. The sun rays were breaking out from all the clouds, I can hardly describe what I saw, it was something out of a picture. It was good to get home and see our own little kitties and see what has changed. It is a little greener, the front trees are budding out more. By next week, everything should be out and alive again.

I know this is a lengthy post but it was a great weekend and we so appreciate the hospitality of Ken and Ann, we so appreciated getting to see Uncle Jim once again.

Life on the farm

We had the opportunity to visit a neighbor's farm and see his baby cattle. They are so cute. The reality is they are beef cattle and will go to slaughter. We learned yesterday all about what it takes to farm a small beef ranch. This farmer has very few beef only because there is no money in it, just as right now the hog farmers are having a hard go of it.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the cows were mooing a lot, especially when they knew it was time to eat. Very demanding they were!! The funny thing is the grownups did not allow the little ones to even get close. Our farmer friend put down barrels of molasses and it was like candy to them, they just licked and licked and licked, but they were also not willing to share with the little ones either. There were some little ones that were only 2 days old, they are still expecting more to be born.

This farm raises organic beef, no hormones or excessive antibiotics are used, everything is natural and from the farm. They feed the cows corn and they grind the kernels, the stalk, the husk and cob, everything and as you can see, the cows just loved it.

All in all it was so very nice of this farmer to show us his equipment, explain some of farming practices, and show off his cows to us. Plus we did buy 25 lbs of beef from him, which is so good. We are ready for summer grilling season, ya! Can't wait til it gets here. Blogged by Anna

Little House on the Prairie

At least that is what it feels like out here in the wide openness. Yesterday we took a 3 mile hike out in the prairie before coming to a pond. It was beautiful being out there. It was so quiet except for the wind and a dog name Odie who joined us. We had fun with him as he rooted out the pheasants, sometimes it was a little unnerving to all of a sudden have a bird come flying out from nowhere. All I could think about were the women who came out to this land in a wagon and what they saw, miles upon miles of tall prairie grass that you could get lost in. We got to the pond and there were ducks and geese. When the weather gets warmer and things start to turn green, I am imaging the birds will really be out. I am looking forward to that walk.

Yesterday was a picture perfect day, darn near 60 degrees. We worked outside cleaning up the yard and pondering what to plan outside. We have started corn and beans and peas along with some beets and broccoli and spinach. I am also planning on planting lots of flowers. I want to leave the place with lots of color for the next intern, and I figure it is our parting gift to the church for their generosity of allowing us to stay in such a neat house. I covet my mornings watching the different birds. Right now we have finches of all kinds, grackles, blue jays, robins, and even a squirrel. As the weather warms, more are yet to come, it is still early in the year. The trees are only now starting to come alive, not all of them, just a few. Sometime in May I expect it to all explode in color. Blogged by Anna

Folk Wisdom

I have not seen a Farmer's Almanac, even though we live in an agricultural dependent community, so I don't know what the Almanac would have to say about our spring weather, or lack thereof. What I HAVE heard is a lot of folk wisdom. People who have lived here a long time (some all their life), have developed sayings that they tell me and pretty much anyone who will listen, that are supposedly sure-fire predictors of the spring weather. The most famous one, and I have heard it over and over from several different old-timers, farmers and non-farmers alike, is that, "The Robin has to walk in snow three times before it warms up." Another one that I only heard once is that, "Whatever kind of weather we get for Easter, that's what we'll get for the next seven Sundays." It remains to be seen whether the latter one is true, but I can tell you that the first one is a bald-face lie! It has snowed FIVE times since I saw my first robin this spring, and it is snowing again today! As a matter of fact, for the next 24 hours we have a BLIZZARD WARNING!! Our poor robins need overcoats and boots around here. So much for having our procession of palms start outside. Luckily, the Easter forecast is for sunny skies with temps in the 50's. I sure hope it stays that way! Blogged by Don