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8th wonder of the world – elephants! (CTST)
Note: This is also my Celebrate the Small Things entry for the week, although that’s a bit of a misnomer, since elephants are large and amazing! Recently, two friends and I went to visit three beautiful, amazing African rescue elephants who were spending their summer vacation near French Lick, Indiana, at the Wilstem Ranch. We love animals so when the opportunity to “give them a mani-pedi” came to our attention, we had to go. You could choose either an educational hour with the elephants or you could choose to learn about them and give them a bath, including cleaning and moisturizing their feet. When will you ever have the opportunity…
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CTST: Summer time harvest
Celebrate the Small Things: Taking stock of life’s summer harvest It’s the end of August, which is a month that marks for many the beginning of school, the end of vacations and an end to summer, which has breezed past us in a humid fog. I ran across this photo from last year and it reminded me of summer’s progress. I’ve accomplished some of my goals (indicated by the harvested area of the field) but there is still time to water, weed and harvest healthy crops. There’s still time to celebrate what’s left of summer. And, I’m trying really hard not to rush into fall, which is my favorite time of…
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Accidental gardener
You’ve heard of the “Accidental Tourist”? Well, I’m more of an accidental gardener. The plants that I pay more for, that I put a lot of thought and care into, are the ones most likely to NOT survive. At least it seems that way. My husband and I have been trying to get a rose garden going and some plants do well while others wither and die, never making it to season two. Then there are the plants that I buy at the end of the season, from roadside nurseries or the “leftover” pile at Menards. These include discounted plants that even the stores don’t think are going to last…
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A to Z Challenge: “W”inter ornaments
We’re well into spring and it’s wonderful to open up my window while I’m getting ready for work in the morning. I feel the cool air, smell the budding plants and hear the beautiful songs and communication between the birds. It’s just about the best music around. I ran across these photos of how beautiful birds are, even in winter, when everything else is asleep and regenerating. Even though it must be freezing out and quality food and water are scarce, the birds still appear on the stark, bare branches of the trees and brighten my day. It makes me even more grateful for birds. No only are they beautiful…
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A to Z Challenge: “U”pside down, over and under
Roller coasters have been a part of my life since I was little. I am terrified of them, at least the large ones that flip you upside down with no respect for what you had for breakfast or lunch! My family went to Elitch Gardens amusement park in Denver. When I was small, I loved the boats that I could captain around the pond, the train that circled the park, the Tilt-a-Whirl, the Haunted House and many other rides. I have such fond memories of it. One of the country’s top 10 roller coasters was Mister Twister which opened at Elitch Gardens in 1964. It was a 96-foot-tall wooden coaster…
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A to Z Challenge: “T”ree trunk tombstones
Until I moved to the Midwest, I’d never seen a tree trunk tombstone. I’ve visited a few older cemeteries in Indiana and have noticed gravestones in the shape of a tree trunk, with intricate carvings to depict facts and graphical elements reminiscent of the person’s life. They are unusual looking and make an impression. They also are more hearty than regular in-the-ground tombstones. I had to Google the story behind them. They were popular from the 1880s to the 1920s. Joseph Cullen Root was the founder of Modern Woodmen of America (MWA, 1883) and Woodmen of the World (WOW, 1890), both fraternal insurance benefit societies. The goal was to make…
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A to Z Challenge: “Q”uite the hardworkers!
I am fascinated by squirrels. First, they are one of the hardest working animals I know. You never see a squirrel kickin’ back on a Chaise lounge, drinking a fruity drink with a little umbrella sticking out of it. They are always running hither and yon, finding nuts, burying nuts, unearthing nuts, chasing each other (usually over nuts), harassing my dog, attacking our bird feeders (you guessed it – for nuts!) Second, they have incredible memories. How do they remember where they planted their nuts? I can’t remember where I put my keys and my brain is larger (at least I think it is!) In the spring, it’s like they…
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A to Z Challenge: “N”ame this plant…
At the end of last summer, I found three plants whose tags said they were good in shade and partial sun. They were also on sale, which meant if they didn’t make it to next spring, I wouldn’t be out a fortune. I do take it personally when plants die on me but that’s another story. To my great surprise, all three survived the winter and are now flourishing. The problem is, I can’t remember for the life of me what they are. I’m hoping that a kind, knowledgeable A to Z Challenger will help me identify the plant. Here’s what I remember: it is a perennial that stays low…
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A to Z Challenge: “L”ilacs
The fragrance and the complex, beautiful color of the flower clusters are two of my favorite things about lilacs (Syringa vulgaris). We had a lilac bush outside my bedroom window at the house where I grew up, in Denver. Since we didn’t have air conditioning, I’d get a sweet spring breeze when I opened up my windows during the day, to smell the intensely fragrant air. Between the lilacs and the snowball bush, it was heavenly! At our home in Indiana, we have a resident pink lilac bush that has a very subtle fragrance also near our bedroom window. And, we purchase an old fashioned, deeper purple lilac bush which…
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A to Z Challenge: “K”itties gone bad
Being an animal lover, I couldn’t help posting some older photos of some of the cats that we’ve had (and still have), doing amazing things. So, thank you for indulging me with this lighter post that is mostly photos. Hope you enjoy them as much as I had captioning them!
