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About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Neighborhood Walk

Good morning,

These Fall days have been so pretty and are just right for our daily walks.  We have promised ourselves and each other that we will go for a walk every day so of course we take our cameras along. 
Today's pictures were taken on the last two walks, all around two blocks where we live.  Love this one.  :)  You have to look carefully to see it in the neighbor's garden as you pass on the sidewalk.
This house was recently rebuilt from the ground up.  In the Fall of 2010 a propane grill exploded next to it and caused a huge fire engulfing this home and another.  The home is on the diagonally opposite corner of the same block where we live.  The fire happened while we were at sea, but our daughter sent us pictures she took the night of the fire.  I included those pictures in a post I wrote shortly after we returned home.  Click to take a look.  Not only has this house been rebuilt (the garages are on the opposite side of the house now), but the home next door (to the left and out of sight in the above image) was nearly destroyed and has been repaired.
Back to a happier note, this is a beautifully kept garden along a rustic fence.
Although we live in the city and directly across the street from Xavier University, we have some woodland that provides home for deer and now coyotes.  We've seen the deer in our yard on our security cameras.
 These are two of some absolutely HUGE homes in the area.  Ours is quite comfortable, but not this large.
This home is now privately owned again.  For a time Xavier University owned it and used it as an honors dorm.  It was at a time when our oldest son was attending Xavier and he received an invitation to live here.  He politely declined saying his (our) home was even closer to campus by about a half block.  ;)

So, that's a little Fall walk around the neighborhood.  We have many different types and sizes of homes as well as churches and, of course, a major university all within walking distance.  It has been an interesting place to raise children and live for almost 34 years.

All the best,
Lois

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Ohio Farm Land

 Good morning,

These images are from a mini road trip we took North of Cincinnati.
 Ohio has land that is perfect for farming:  flat, rich soil, and usually excellent weather.
 We were short on rain this past summer, but not quite as bad as areas West of us.
 It's just beautiful to be out here again. 
 There are many family farms and some large commercial farms.
 The Ohio State University was one of the first to have agricultural education.
 Here's one of many beautiful old farm homes just North of Cincinnati.

Enjoy,
Lois

Friday, September 28, 2012

Bridge Construction

Good morning,

There is construction going on everywhere so someone must be working!  A few weeks ago I had a post about Florida's Featherless Cranes.  It seems we have quite a few of them in Ohio, too.
The serious construction repairs have been going on here for quite some time.
I'm glad we don't travel this way during rush hour.

So, another road trip, more featherless cranes, and another crop of orange barrels.  They are everywhere!

;),
 Lois

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Passing Kings Island

Good morning,

I snapped these two pictures as we were passing Kings Island awhile ago.  Kings Island is just North of Cincinnati, but we haven't been here for years.  I guess we've gotten way past all the rides and crowds.
Isn't it interesting, though, that when the place is mentioned on the news is about the only time we think of it being so close.  Kings Island was built soon after Cincinnati's Coney Island closed many years ago.

The fun part this year is that our daughter-in-law and granddaughter have been hired to be part of the Halloween Scarey events at the park.  They've been going to regular rehearsals already. 

It should be fun!

All the best,
Lois

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Bees in the Garden

Good morning,

Mom called these flowers "Live Forevers" and they certainly do!  I have a long wide row of them on each side of the front walk that have grown from little pieces of a plant my son gave me about 15 years ago.  I think they are ready to take over. 
When I went out to take pictures of the pink blooms I found a bee on almost every bloom.

It was a busy day harvesting pollen! 

All the best,
Lois

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Erik's Agility Run

Good morning,

My Honey and I watched our Labrador Retriever, Erik, in an AKC agility trial at our local dog club recently. 
The gentleman with his back to us is the judge.  That's our daughter Catherine over there in the blue shirt preparing to run with Erik.
This all goes so fast that I need several runs to get a good series of pictures.  But, if you look carefully, you can see the back of Erik as he is going into the yellow chute in the center of the image.  Catherine had just given him the command to go through the chute and she is on the way to meet him at the other end.
This image is a little fuzzy, but you can see what is happening here.  As Erik comes down, he has to touch the yellow area.  Catherine is making an exaggerated lean back to remind him to stop and touch that area.  He did.  ;)
And, finally, the run is over.  It wasn't one of his best runs, but Erik had a fantastic time.  :)

Our Yellow Labrador Retriever, Penny, had run ahead of schedule that day so we missed seeing her run this time.  She is like a rocket and always does very well.  Agility Training is fantastic for both the dogs and the humans. 

Enjoy,
Lois

Monday, September 24, 2012

Trammel Fossil Park

Good morning,

Just North of the I-275 circle around Cincinnati is the Trammel Fossil Park.
I remember when I was in seventh grade science class and we went to a creek on a field trip to look for fossils in the rocks.  Now, the Trammel Fossil Park provides a place where school children and anyone else can dig into the hillside and search for fossils.
That hillside doesn't look like much, but it was once a part of the bottom of an ocean so holds a tremendous amount of history.

 Every here and there a weed manages to survive here.
 These rocks were already on the tables provided for the school children to work on their "finds."  You can see the rocks are literally packed with fossils.
 So these aren't just rocks, they are very special rocks that hold information about the creatures that lived in the ocean that once covered the central part of the United States.

My Honey and I had fun visiting here.  It brought back fond memories of fossil hunting when I was in grade school.

All the best,
Lois

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Colors of the End of Summer

Good morning,

Since we have been back in Ohio we have made an effort to go out and walk.  Not only do we (really, really) need the exercise, it is a gorgeous time of the year for picture taking.
I have no clue what these two plants are.  They were growing along a country road.  Sometimes we don't need a name to enjoy something.  :)

Best,
Lois

YourSundayBest

Saturday, September 22, 2012

School House for Sale

Good morning,

Today's image of an old school house for sale was taken while we were driving by.  I was happy it turned out as well as it did.  It is on the outskirts of Cincinnati and has had several uses since it was a school house.  It has obviously been upgraded with new windows.  If we had more time, it would have been fun to go in and take a tour.

Old buildings are always fun to explore, aren't they?

All the best,
Lois

Friday, September 21, 2012

Ohio River Transportation Companies

Good morning,

I took these images from the car (My Honey was driving) as we drove back from the Cabana Restaurant where we had lunch yesterday (see yesterday's post).  That's the Ohio River up there, at North Bend, Ohio.
The Ohio River provided the first transportation to and from Cincinnati and continues to be an important transportation route today.
This is one of the storage sites for highway salt.  We had a mild winter last year so there is plenty still here.  Nice. 
Paralleling the river and the companies there are rail lines.

 
 Grain elevators.
 And, now, far beyond the bend in the river is the skyline of downtown Cincinnati.
 There is a great deal of construction in this area coming into downtown Cincinnati.  It wasn't a problem for us, but I imagine it slows things down during rush hour.
 We grow a good crop of orange barrels here every summer.
 And, so, a trip along the river and back into Cincinnati.

It's fun to be a tourist in your own home town. ;)

All the best,
 Lois