Where we live here in Southern Indiana (USA) we own about 10 acres. 2 of that is where the house/garden/garage, etc. is located, and the rest is in woods. For the last week or two we have had lots of rain. There have been flash flood warnings and that sort of thing going on, as well as tornadoes all over the place in our part of the country. Today, it continues to rain. I love the rain. I feel badly for the people that are dealing with flooding, certainly. My mother grew up in North Dakota during the Great Depression and they also suffered through 7 years of no rain called the "Dust Bowl." Grandpa had a farm and cattle ranch. Everything dried up and died. I do not understand how he was able to hold onto the farm, but he did. Mommie told me how she used to dust his dresser, and on top was always his coin purse. Before the drought, the purse was full and fat. During the bad years, it was thin and flat. It made her sad. She taught me to never complain about rain. They fed tumbleweeds to the cattle. They had locust plagues and terrible dust storms. But they survived. As a result, I really love the rain. Down in our woods is a stream. Most of the time there is very little water in it, and I wanted to go and see how it is today with all the rain. Here is a picture of what I found and at the end of this post you will see a very short film of some running water.
The dogwood trees are blooming:
See this big tree?
Here is the bottom of it. This is my "reading tree." See the concrete block down there at the base? Sometimes I go out there and sit and read in lovely solitude:
Here is our campsite in the woods. You can see the fire ring and a wood pile covered with a tarp to keep the wood dry:
Now, this next is a little sad... There was a large old oak tree that was forked, and we were worried from the looks of it that it might split in the wind and someone could get hurt or killed out there, so my husband and son cut it down. This picture shows only one of the main branches. I counted the growth rings and there are 111. So, that means this part is at least 111 years old. The other part I counted had 120. This grand old tree was born in 1891 !
Here is the film of the stream:
How beautiful backyard! As a family we love camping and spent time in the woods where no one but us enjoy the trees and nature around. Do your kids or grandkids ever camp over night in your piece of land?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
Mely
We are in West Michigan and spring is just beginning to show her pretty face! We are getting rain for the next few days and the only complaining I will do is fussin' over the grass growing too fast!
ReplyDeleteYes, they do! We have a lot of fun with our little campsite.
ReplyDeleteLove the campsite! I really love your reading spot! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love the rain, especially after having lived in the desert for 13 years. I didn't know that you have a special reading spot. It looks really nice.
ReplyDeleteI sure miss Indiana in the spring. Here in Idaho there is no proper spring yesterday it was snowing just 2 days ago and is still below 30 degrees at night, not to mention the wind. The sprinklers where on out side my apartment complex though haha! Strange place this.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. When I got to Idaho in the early summer of 1969, my co-worker and I went swimming only to find out that the ice had melted just the week before! Brrrrr..... It did make for some lovely forests, though.
ReplyDeleteWe also live in S Indiana and are setting up our newly-bought 20 acres. Do you have any suggestions on how best to plan the barn for them? We are planning on a small herd of dairy goats, just enough to keep the two of us in milk and (eventually) cheese.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you go to the library and look for books on keeping goats. Our little barn was originally built to house a horse. We now have it divided into the living pen and the milking and hay storage "rooms." DH built the milking stand, the "keyhole" hay feeder and a nice feeder for loose minerals and baking soda. It has a dirt floor and is partially open on one side. Goats need to be out of the wind, and have a nice dry well bedded place. They HATE rain. :) We live in Jennings County. If you are close enough, you'd be more than welcome to come over and take a look at our little set-up. Just email me: ilovekefir@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteReally? I'm in Scipio, in the log cabin for sale off 7, we're building right outside of DuPont. Small world! Books are all we have to go by so far; I wanted to get the opinion of someone with experience.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited when I read this entry-we also live in Southern Indiana on 10 acres-and my mom grew up in North Dakota in the thirties too. I had to call my sister and tell her. Actually what lead me to your blog was a search on kefir-WOW what a find. Love your blog entries.
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