Losing my mind...

I have spent hours the past few days looking on Google Earth.  Looking for where this barn was located.  I know the general area it was at.  But just cannot find for sure where it was.  The other day when we took a detour home, we went down the road I thought it was on, only to find out I was wrong.  That is when the search began.  I would have bet money I could take you right to where it once stood.

 And look at it...I don't see anything that terribly wrong with it...this was taken in December of 2010.  I have taken photos since this was taken.  But the last time we were by there the barn was completely gone.

Anyway, as if I needed to feel any crazier...not being able to spot where it was has left me feeling like I must be crazy.

Better late than never....

I posted these on facebook but looks like I forgot to post them here...if I wait till next year, I am apt to forget about them.

These were taken in Arthur, Illinois last month.  I think they are from a pumpkin carving contest.

Did you notice the one second from the right on the middle row? 

I think you will enjoy them if you click to expand the view.

From the Heron Viewing Station

This pair of geese were the first to greet us at the Heron County Park...north of Danville, Illinois.

Next we spotted this pair.  They were quite a distance away.

The photos are a bit bleary.

We had to use the binoculars and spotting scope to identify them.   I took these with my little Canon SX700 HS at full zoom.  Before I could put it away and get my other camera situated, they took off, and one came right over us and tried to nab something from the water  maybe a hundred yards from us.  I couldn't believe it, couldn't react quick enough to get a picture.  There were ducks and geese there, but I somehow felt it was after fish.  And Lorelei got to see it all.

All the time we were seeing a heron or two fly in or leave, plus other waterbirds in the distance.

Finally, a heron close enough to get a half decent shot.

And Lorelei found this goose fascinating...I had to show her daddy a pic of it when he came to get her....

Turrets

The other day as we came home from the heron viewing station, we came back through Paris, Illinois.  I managed to snap these pics...they are through the windshield...we were going slow of course.  This first is/was a corner business.  I honestly cannot remember if anything is there now or not.

Then on a block or two south of the business is the First Baptist Church.

I don't know if this was just a single dwelling at one time...I assume it was.  Now it has appartments...those are mailboxes on the front porch.

Then there was this place...I think a regular home but not positive.  I just love the looks of it.  All of these were taken within 4 or 5 blocks...I think that is a lot of turrets within that short distance. 
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We made a quick run to stay with Tootie on Thursday, she had coughed all night long.  But went to school the next day.  We waited and brought her home with us Friday night.  Of course with school, she had to go back home today.

This is Rosie, her new puppy!  More of her tomorrow...if I don't forget.

Signposts...

When we were over in Marshall, Illinois, I saw this and could not resist a quick snapshot of it.  that was a big old RV there to the side.  One I would not want to drive...I would love to know how long it was.  I felt like it was as big as some school buses, and bigger than others.
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We had rambling fever today and headed north to the swamp area close to Coffing Brothers Orchard, and from there went on over to Danville, Illinois to the Heron viewing station.  I did get some good shots of a Great Blue Heron, but was disappointed in other ways.  Saw about three of the small water lily blooms, and that was all the blooms I saw.

It was if there had been a huge storm...I have not ever seen as much water in that area as was there today.  There just were not water lilies to speak of and I am not sure why.  And I only seen two turtles.

I am too weary to get much of a post together tonight...I will say it was another glorious cloud day.  So expect some more of those in the next few days, also some more thistle shots if nothing happens. 

From the land of Lincoln

After we left the Heron and Eagle viewing station north of Danville, Illinois last weekend, we wondered around a little bit on back roads.  Notice the lack of green there...there was a big, big difference between here and there in the amount of green showing on the trees.  And just in general.  This is about an hour northwest of us...give or take a few minutes.
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We have touchdown here...or, in other words, Lorelei is asleep.  She wanted to chatter and chatter, then she was quiet and out for the count.

I am not sure how much blogging I will get done while she is here.  When they got here, she told me she was going to stay 5 days!  We shall see!

I am not sure how much blogging I will get done...not even sure if I will get anything posted.  But should be able to do a bit.  She is a lot more independent than she used to be.

I did get the binding sewn down today...so may even work on the hand sewing part of that while she is here.

Will talk later...

Love,
Rose

Turtle log

I took this the other day when up at the Heron Viewing station...this is the most I have ever seen on one log up there.

I have made a start at the quilting of the quilt shown here.  I am just doing straight lines so put my walking foot on and have a good start on it.  I am anxious to get the quilting done till I can put the binding on.  Some people do  not like doing the binding but I do.  The bind is the part that goes around the edge of the quilt...I sew it down on one side with the sewing machine, then flip it to the back and sew it down by hand.  the purpose is to enclose the raw edges of the quilt.  And I love the sewing by hand part.

I have also been able to wash clothes and hang them outside...love that....and am loving sitting on the front porch of the morn and having coffee.  It is beginning to sink in that spring is here for real.

Did you see that???

Traveling north on Route 1 through Westville, Illinois, I happened to glance over to Roger's side of the road just in time to get a glimpse of this house...I excitedly said, "Did you see that?" and he answered in the affirmative...but we both only got a glimpse of it. So went on, turned around and came back by it.
Route 1 is 4 lanes through there...and being that there was not traffic, Roger paused, then slowly proceeded and let me take these shots...before traffic appeared in his rear view mirror.

I just could not believe the how these were painted on...the limps go across the windows, up on the ceiling of the porch....



Notice how the tree wraps around the corner of the house...the one on the other corner did, too.

Then glance on down the side of the house...that is a spruce/pine type of tree painted on.

On the way home we glanced and back behind the house, is a small Quonset hut and it has a tree painted across the front of it.

I just sat here and got on google earth and took the street view through here and could see this on there...so we have passed it before and not noticed it.

I hope you will take the time to enlarge these and see the details...whoever did this did a wonderful job.

No, this is not Pettycoat Junction....

We saw this crop duster just a couple or three weeks ago but I didn't have a chance to get a good photo....it did remind me of Petty Coat Junction, the TV show. Does anyone else remember it? The youngest of the three girls, Betty Jo, marries this Steve, and if I remember correctly, he flew a crop duster. If he didn't, why does it pop into my mind every time I see a crop duster?
I posted a couple of good pics over on Time Stand Still, but saved these for here. He was dusting a field and on one end of the field would turn around right over us...or practically over us. Well, we were turning around to leave, and here he came again...
this time he did a pass each way on the field right next to us. I felt sure he was doing it just for me. He was low enough to see me, have no doubt of that. (No, I could not see through his windows because of the glare of the sun!) I wish I could thank him/her for the pass.
I feel like I wasted my opportunity because not a single one of those photos are as good as it should have been! I wish I could thank him/her for at least giving me the chance to try. It was a really nice highlight for the day.

If you haven't seen it done, it is hard to imagine how low they come....it is as close as it looks in these photos! Talk about taking nerve and talent...you would really have to keep your mind on your job!

Windswept skies....

This picture is definitely best if enlarged...but it does not do the sky justice. None of the ones I took did. So am just showing this one that has the Little House on the Prairie in it...at least that is what I have named the farm. If I knew their address, I think I would print one or two and photos and send it to them.

I don't have much to say tonight...we did not get a good night's sleep. No reason. Just couldn't get to sleep. Roger went to bed after midnight...maybe half past, and I followed not soon after. He was not asleep when I got in there and that in itself is unusual. We both tossed and turned and tossed and turned some more, talking some. Finally, we got up about 3:00 a.m. and Roger watched a video, and I read. He went back to bed at 4:00, and I read a while longer and went on to bed...and to sleep.

The cats got me up early...had to be fed. I fed them, lay back down and to sleep. The phone rang about 8:30...it was one of Roger's buddies...they talked a while and I went on back to sleep. Got up so late, felt like the day was just shot. So I did not attempt to do anything.

I did hear that it is supposed to be rainy the next couple of days, so I took off on a short drive...the photo above is from today.

I didn't trespass.....

We took a rambling drive on our way home from Terre Haute today....went over through Illinois and on some back roads there. We came across this little house which was posted with 'no trespassing' signs. Well, I never crossed the fence, but I so wanted to take different angles of the house....
as well as this fence and building. I just always love fences and generally the older the better.
I did lean across the fence to take this photo of the house. And I would have taken some other angles, but the road was slush/ice covered and I did not want to get my feet wet and/or fall and break my camera, not to mention my body.

I would have loved to peak in the windows...it was too dark to see what was inside even with my zoom lens and notice, the roof line is still straight and true...

I wonder what the house would smell like now with the windows gone. Would it still have that smell of a real old house...you know the one I am talking about. Or would it just smell woodsy from all the weather that has blown through the openings.

I also wonder how old the house is...if I knew much about the siding it would give me a clue to the age but I don't know and am not having any luck finding the information I want.

A slight change in plans...

I had every intention of getting photographs taken of Lorelei's Olivia quilt today, but instead I did almost totally nothing. I did get the loose threads picked from it...there was not near as many as I had thought. I had wanted to photograph it outside because when I use flash, very little of the quilting shows.

Not that the quilting is all that great, but I do like for it to show enough to see how it is quilted. We were supposed to have warmer temps today...I even got an update from one of the local news channels in my afternoon email....it said:

Saturday Sunny
High 58º

That was sent at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. There had not been one single ray of sunshine so far the entire day, and I will say here that we never got the first hint of sunshine before dark. And though I didn't check my thermometer, I checked the weather on line and the high was 48º.

Anyway, I just didn't feel like being out in the chilly wind to take photographs. So instead I am showing you the courthouse over in Paris, Illinois....it appears to be getting a face lift of some sort. This was taken yesterday. To see what it looked like previously, go here.....it is a picture taken in 2009. Both are drive-by shots.
I will tell you right now, I am glad I am not the one working up there...I want to go back when I have time and take some pictures of the entire courthouse. It is really a beauty.

From the road...in more ways than one

This was taken two or three nights ago...over in Illinois. I thought it appropriate since we are traveling for a couple or three days. We are going to see our older daughter graduate from her training on Tuesday. Then she will be home with us for a few days before heading out for her new position.

Traffic was not bad, yet we were both very tired when we checked into the hotel. We took a nap before going to find a bite to eat. Since eating, I have been playing with how this blog looks...not sure I am happy with it, but going to let it stay the way it is for a few days.
I got this pic from Sarah tonight...Lorelei and her friend Emily kicked back and relaxing for just a few minutes. According to Sarah, they had a blast.

I best get off here...too tired to have much to say.

At last

Click to enlarge and maybe see the geese!

Yesterday evening while Neal was here, we made a run through the strip pits and seen a few more geese than we have been seeing. We decided to head on west just a few miles. There were a few fields of corn stubble left, and in these fields were the geese. Not as many as I hope there will be....I know there was only a drop in the bucket compared to what we usually see, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
And of all times, we had went out to eat so I didn't take my camera. But I did have Roger's P&S in the Rav4, so it is what I used to capture my first sunset pictures of the year 2010.

An Illinois sunset

This is from the beginning of July...not too far from the Indiana/Illinois state line.

Barn from Illinois

From Illinois

Click to enlarge photos.

We went for a drive over in Illinois--this barn was one of my treasured finds. Though I really don't think I could find it again. There is just something about it that I really, really like. And I wish I could find it again. I would love to see it in the snow. I would also like to know if this was a cattle farm at one time; if you look at the weather vane you will see that it has a cow on top of it.

I don't think it was this barn, not even sure it was this day, but I think it was...I was out taking a picture and Roger told me to watch out for the dog. It was a huge Great Dane...and he would have gotten in the car with us. So far in my adventures I have only had friendly meetings with dogs. Last winter, I was out and didn't even think the house I was near was lived in. I was not paying attention and suddenly realized I had a dog at my side at which time I started talking to him only to have two or three more surround me and all were wanting to be petted.

Oh, this reminds me of one day at work a few years ago. For some reason I had to leave early. I went to get in my truck and there is this strange dog there...I spoke to it and went on. Soon as I opened my door, up in the truck he hopped! I went over to the other side to get him out....he jumped back behind the seats. (We had an extended cap with the little jump seats behind the seat.) I had to go get help to be able to get him out and keep him out till I could get in and leave. I always swear I am going to start carrying dog treats with me. One of our Fed Ex men carries treats with him for the dogs he meets on his rounds. I used to always carry some in the car when I worked cause I always took something to the dog out there...I had known him from a pup and always liked to spoil him a little.

Black cherry???

Not sure what this blooming tree is, but by the leaves and the bark I thought wild cherry or black cherry. I took these over in Edgar County, Illinois at this little graveyard....if the graveyard had a name I did not see it.

I finally took a couple snow pictures...these are from over in Illinois, not too far across the state line. Doesn't it look so cold and lonely? I didn't have the nerve to go far because I was afraid of running into drifts that I couldn't get through. The roads going east and west were fine for the most part, though some of those only had a lane wide enough for one vehicle to pass through. I don't know what would have happened had I met another car.

I also went to Lori's_Pins_'n_Needles. I had to buy a couple things there to finish up one Christmas present. She has the most beautiful selection of fabrics that I have come across in one quilt shop. She carries a wide variety. If anyone is ever passing near Paris, Illinois, I highly recommend this shop.

I bought my friend a couple half yard pieces of fabric, then I bought two half yard pieces that I am going to make us each a fat quarter from. Then I bought a couple or three things I just wanted. I bought a little pin cushion with a magnet to stick to my Juki...I think I will eventually want one for my Pfaff...then I bought some freezer paper pages till I don't have to cut my own. Also got myself a 6 1/2 Creative Grid ruler...I think I will eventually switch over to those.

I have Christmas presents wrapped now, but not bows. They are going to be lucky to survive the cats this year. I have had to get the little Princess out of the tree several times since she has started feeling better. And they tend to like to play under it--even with all the presents under it. They just play on top of them, or knock them out.

I have been sewing a little bit, but it is not something I am driven to do. Been making scrap blocks--just sewing bits of scraps together...using a rotary ruler and cutter and cutting a straight edge, adding more strips, till I can cut a 6 1/2 square from the sewn together bits. Not sure what I am going to do with them when I get done. But it is enjoyable to sew even a little bit.

I am glad I have a cheap iron--the cats have now knocked mine to the concrete floor twice--and it still works! I told my husband he was going to have to make me something to hold it till they couldn't knock it over. Not quite sure what it is going to be or how it is going to work, but he will come up with something once I start pestering him about it.