A Small Mess of Mushrooms

Look what my husband brought home from work last night. He's such a mushroom hound; he really knows where to find them. I can walk and walk and never find any. But he knows just where to look, hops off his tractor and ducks into the woods. Most of these morels are on the small side, and this is a small saucer plate --- so I'll save them til he brings me some more.

Jaws

There is something about the presence of a cat... 

that seems to take the bite out of being alone.  

~Louis J. Camuti

Governor Duncan's Mansion

Jacksonville, Illinois is home to a number of restored historical residences from the 19th century.

This beautifully restored 3-story, 17-room mansion was built in 1834, the home of the sixth Illinois Governor, Joseph Duncan (1834-1838). It's the only Governor’s mansion still standing in the state other than the one in Springfield.  Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, it displays many of the original Duncan family furnishings and is open for tours on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. (Memorial Day to Labor Day) Suggested donation: $3, Students 6-12 $2, children under 7 free.

As shown in this old photo of the home, it was built about a mile and a half west of the central business district of Jacksonville. The bell hanging under the ceiling of the main floor porch was purchased by Julia Duncan Kirby in 1882 and was used to call in the field hands. Today the mansion sits in the central west end residential district and is surrounded by other splendid historic homes. The grounds in front of the mansion are now beautiful Duncan Park.  
 
Some of the well-known visitors to the Governor's Mansion during Duncan's tenure were Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, and William Jennings Bryan.

The Last Daff

Say goodbye 
to the daffodils...
they never last 
long enough 
in the spring!

White Violets

I call these white violets, but I don't know what they're really called. We also have the common blue-purple variety. Both grow wild in our woods, yard and garden. I love taking pictures of wildflowers in the spring, but it's often a challenge because the wind is usually blowing. Even the gentlest breeze can cause blurry close-ups.

Cherry Blossoms

When we first moved here, an elderly neighbor of some friends of ours who lived in town gave us two cherry tree seedlings from his garden. I look forward to the masses of white blossoms each spring and the cherry pies later. Spring is about two weeks early this year. I'm hoping we don't get any frost before the tree sets fruit, because it looks to be a big crop of cherries this year.

The Problem with Cats...

The problem with cats is 

that they get the exact same look

on their face whether they see 

a moth or an axe-murderer.  

~Paula Poundstone

Quivers in the Sunny Breeze

Jacksonville Community Park

The naked earth is warm with Spring,
And with green grass and bursting trees
Leans to the sun's kiss glorying,
And quivers in the sunny breeze.
~Julian Grenfell

Morning has Broken...

It's spring in the backwaters of Lake Mauvaiseterre . A picture can't capture the crisp morning air or the warmth of the rising sun or the songs of the birds around me or the scampering of startled squirrels in the crunchy leaves underfoot as I quietly move through the Emma Mae Leonard Wildlife Sanctuary. I guess you have to be there to get the full effect.


Click on this link if you want to see what I discovered just around the bend:


http://postcardsfromtheheartland.blogspot.com/2012/03/for-shame.html

Get Well Soon, Ed!

This Redbud's for you, Ed --- Get Well Soon!

On the morning of the First Day of Spring, our good friend Ed, who's my age, went out to his garden to plant some potatoes and had a heart attack instead.


Details have been sketchy for the past two days. He had what the doctor's call "The Widow Maker," with 100% blockage of the main artery. They had to use the paddles on him six times to bring him back, and then rush him by helicopter to a hospital in south St. Louis.


Ed and his wife Deb have been our best friends forever. I've known them for over 30 years and my husband for even longer. We've had so many good times with them, and we hope to have many more!


Our love and prayers go out to Ed, Debbie, their children Josh and Jessie, and the grandkiddies.

HANG IN THERE, MAN!

WE LOVE YOU! 

He Only Sleeps

I ran across this pair of lions in the Carrollton (Illinois) Cemetery the other day. I was in a hurry, so I didn't have time to find out anything about them, but they were in a very old area. You could tell it was a family plot that was actually built up from the surrounding ground and edged by a limestone wall with steps leading up to it. They must have been magnificent long ago. Time and the elements have weathered them to story-book quality.

Enjoy Your Vernal Equinox!

Everything is blooming most recklessly; 

if it were voices instead of colors, 

there would be an unbelievable shrieking 

into the heart of the night. 

~Rainer Maria Rilke

BROUGHT TO YOU

BY MOTHER NATURE! 

The Old Lakota Was Wise

The old Lakota was wise.  

He knew that man's heart 

away from nature becomes hard; 

he knew that lack of respect 

for growing, living things 

soon led to lack of respect for humans too.  

~Chief Luther Standing Bear

Modern Technology

Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison






But I just loved this old building, the Washburn (Wisconsin) Ironworks. The tromp l'oeil  mural on the front was breath-taking.  No, that's not a real man sitting there. I wish I could make the picture bigger, so you could see more of the creative detail.


The neighboring town of Ashland was full of murals on old buildings, and I really regret not taking the time to check them out and get some pictures.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

PHOTO COURTESY http://pdphoto.org/   THANKS, JON!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Roost

Every once in a while I put up a favorite photo of my son, when he used to race motocross. I have to admit that I hated his "extreme" sport: extremely dangerous and extremely expensive. In this photo, he's taking a berm on what was once his practice track in our back yard. (It's since been restored to a lovely little meadow.)  The rocks and dust flying out behind him is called "roost." During a race, riders get hit with this debris, thrown up from the riders in front of them, and they end the race covered in bruises. Not MY idea of fun!

The Charm of Fishing

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit 

of what is elusive but attainable, 

a perpetual series of occasions for hope.  

~John Buchan

Backyard Wildlife

We have lots of deer in the woods.

Spring's Early

Spring's a little early this year, 

but I'm not complaining!

This Bud's for You

Budweiser Clydesdales at the Wisconsin Concrete Park

Retired lumberjack Fred Smith (1886-1976) and two of his friends built the Rock Garden Tavern on Hwy 13 south of Phillips, Wisconsin in 1936. In 1950  he began populating the grounds around his tavern with  life-size concrete sculptures of lumberjacks, cowboys, Indians, soldiers, Northwoods wildlife, horses, oxen, wagons and other characters.  A self-taught folk art sculptor, Smith used bits of broken beer bottles from his tavern, as well as glass, mirrors and other materials, to decorate his unique creations. There are 237 figures crowded into what is now a Price County park which is open free to the public. It is one of the Seven Wisconsin Man-Made Wonders.

Not Your Ordinary Angel

Angel - Wisconsin Concrete Park, Phillips, Wisconsin

An angel can illuminate the thought and mind of man 

by strengthening the power of vision.  

~St Thomas Aquinas~

Old Timer

Seen at an Illinois Interstate rest area.  

I just love old cars which have lovingly been restored.

In Thanksgiving...

Lincoln's New Salem State Park, Petersburg, Illinois

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

In Memoriam

EVELYN PRATHER

1925-2012

I received word today of the passing of a very dear old friend who was buried yesterday. I'll never forget her or the several years I lived across the street from her in Chillicothe thirty years ago. We enjoyed spending time together birdwatching, taking nature hikes at the Marshall County Conservation area, planning and working on Claud-Elen Days, and gardening in her big backyard. Evelyn taught me how to can tomatoes and other vegetables we grew together, and we had lots of fun making ice candles and watching her mother, Grammy Goforth, (visiting from Arizona) put on her clown costume and makeup to entertain senior citizens.

A couple of weeks ago I was blessed to receive a phone call from her. I'll always cherish that chance to talk with her and hear her voice for one last time. Although distance and time separated us, we still kept in touch with Christmas and birthday cards and letters, which we signed "Best Friends Forever." Her genuine warmth and kindness, her laughter and joyous spirit will live on in my heart and my memory.

Although she was old enough to be my mother, and for a time she might have been my mother-in law, she was more like a big sister to me and we'll be...

"BEST FRIENDS FOREVER"

Scenic Overlook

This scenic overlook is just northwest of the junction of IL-84 and US-20 near Elizabeth, Illinois in the northwest corner of the state.  It features a tall tower you can climb up for a better look.  But I suffer from acrophobia, so I didn't even attempt it.  I think I got a perfectly wonderful photo of the surrounding hills and pastures standing firmly planted on the ground.

Free Ride

The Illinois River ferry at Kampsville is one of only two free ferries still running in the state of Illinois. It operates 24-7 and connects Greene and Calhoun Counties.  Driving along the bluffs on either side of the river or a venturing up and down one of the many "hollers," makes for a relaxing, scenic road trip any time of year.

Here Today....Gone This Afternoon

This was supposed to have been rain.

SURPRISE!

This satellite dish is what drives my Internet.

Ain't Dead Yet

Hay bales in the snow. 

In Illinois, this time of year, 

weather changes from winter 

to spring back to winter again. 

Winter ain't dead yet!

Welcome Center

The Stoughton (Wisconsin) Visitor's Center 

used to be the town's train depot.

The Year's at the Spring

The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hillside's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in His heaven -

All's right with the world!

~Robert Browning

Look what popped up in the yard overnight! 

Can Spring be far behind?

On Faith

Old Church at Pere Marquette State Park, Grafton, IL

In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe 

and enough shadows to blind those who don't.  

~Blaise Pascal~