Happy Halloween!

Arrrr, matey!

The Pirates of the Pasture are back.

Old Man Silver

Captain Rock Sparrow

Creepy Crawlies

Just some creepy critters found here on the ranch.

Toad

Bat

 

Snake

Buzzard

 Crawdad

Spider

Barred Owl

Hoooo's in your back yard?

Fall Trail Ride at Lazy AA

Today Rocky & I visited a rustic bed & breakfast,

saw a horse trainer demo, had a picnic lunch and went on a trail ride.

The Lazy AA has rustic cabins to rent.

Or, if you prefer, 

you can stay in a covered wagon.

After a tasty pitch-in lunch,

we rode our horses through a reenactment area.

There were lots of historic structures.

We rode across bridges & creeks,

up & down hills,

And though lovely pine & hardwood forests.

A good time was had by all.

Friday Photos

Water shots 

End of October

Morse Reservoir

Fall lake scene

Hinkle Creek in Fall

 Sycamore leaf in creek

Bo in creek

The Scent of Fall

Oh Deer!

Fawns out wandering unaware that hunting season has started.

Be careful, little ones!

Slippery, Slimy

Slug

Weekend at Grandma's

I watched 3 of my grandchildren this weekend

while their parents were out of town.

I dislike electronic toys,

so we had lots of old fashioned fun.

l

This one is the crafter,

so we made lots of things including this log cabin.

She even likes to clean stalls!

The little diva loaded up the horse & doll house furniture
for the big move with the truck & horse trailer.

The little guy just wondered where everyone was.

Friday Photos

Photos from the third week in October
at Pine Hills Nature Preserve.

Pretty Indian Creek

Stairs on Trail 10 

Honeycomb erosion

Hemlock cones

Sittin' on the Devil's back

You Dirty Dog

Living on a farm with animals equals dirt, mud & muck.

We've had three days of unrelenting rain 

and today when I let my dog in,

this is what I saw.

Unfortunately, that is not mud.

So off we go to the dog wash room.

Several years ago, when we built our house,

we wisely included this closet sized room off the garage.

It is heated, has a drain in the floor and has tile 6 feet up the walls.

.

I had fun with it, ordering paw print tiles for the floor

and adding a milk bone border.

This room has spared me countless hours of scrubbing

both dog & home.

One of the smartest things we added to our home.

Indiana's Best Hike (IMHO)

Pine Hills Nature Preserve was the first nature preserve in Indiana.

And with good cause.

It is one of the most interesting places in the state.

Take a hike with me...

It starts out pretty typical,

a trail through a mature forest of hardwoods & pines.

Then you see a sign for the Turkey Backbone.

Hmmm.

The Turkey Backbone is a trail along the top of a narrow ridge.

The view from Turkey Backbone.

Nice!

Heading down from the Turkey Backbone

To a solid wall of rock along the creek called The Slide.

 

Continuing on a pleasant walk along Indian Creek

Where we see Honeycomb Rock

 and this intriguing sign.

 

 Here's the view from the Devil's Backbone...

And this is where you are standing!

A narrow "sidewalk" of limestone rising
60 feet above the creek below.

The Devil's Backbone.

 Breathtaking.

 When we were leaving,

a hiker appeared on the Devil's Backbone above us.

See her?

The nature preserve is in Shades State Park.

Don't miss this hike if you are in the area.