Cloud-to-ground Lightning Strike, Owen County, Indiana, 28 June 2006
It’s storming, with rumbly thunder and lightning. And, there are workers on scaffolding on the side of the building. Scaffolding which is connected to a giant metal tower. Doesn’t that sound like something that might end in tears? Aieee!
Isn’t he cute? I love his itty bitty ears and his bright beady eyes. He usually comes out of his hole in the early morning, and spends a few minutes sitting and scoping out his domain. There are a lot of birds and other predators around, so being cautious is a good idea. He picked a great spot for his den, though. He gets a little bit of protection from the balconies overhead, because the larger raptors aren’t likely to come that close to the buildings.
I also saw a yearling deer this morning, moseying along just off my patio. I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture of him, though.
I have way more to do this weekend than I would like. And, in between everything else, I’m trying to get laundry done. I thought I’d take a minute to photograph some more beautiful peppers from my coworker, though. Next week, she’s bringing me green tomatoes. I can’t wait!
I also had to run some errands this morning, which means I finally found Hobby Lobby. This is not good, folks. It’s right around the corner from me. But, they had the black paper photo corners I wanted, as well as ink, fat glue sticks, and a few other odds and ends. Boy, is there ever a lot of junk there, though! It’s not quite as bad as Big [and] Lots, but it also is lacking in Big [and] Lots’ festive garage sale atmosphere.
Oh, and the UberKroger is next to Hobby Lobby, as well as Showplace East, which is where the new Harry Potter movie is playing. I was way better off not knowing where anything was.
During one of my many recent midnight wakings, I started thinking about landscapes and time. Specifically, time and the places I’ve lived. Whenever I’m asked where I grew up, I have to stop and think. When I was really young, we lived in southern Indiana. When I was five, we moved to a house on Lake Michigan, staying in that area for a few years, before returning to southern Indiana. Of course, the moves seem more frequent than they really were, and the time spans in each location seem lengthier. That’s the magic of childhood memories, I suppose. They are forever compressing and expanding.
Aqueduct, Metamora, Indiana, where we used to swim
We moved to Metamora when I was nine, and to Brookville when I was 13. We were only in Franklin County for five years, but sometimes it seems like we lived there forever. It doesn’t seem possible that so much living could be packed into such a small, finite compartment of time.
Along Patricksburg Road, Owen County, Indiana, a spot I used to pass every day
And then I started thinking about moving back to southern Indiana a few years ago. Six, to be exact; I left Muncie in the spring of 2001. After 18 years of flat earth, I just couldn’t stand it any longer. Every time I visited southern Indiana, I felt like I was coming home, and every time I returned to Muncie, I felt homesick. I missed the hills and trees of my childhood.
I stayed in Owen County five years before moving to Bloomington, where I’ve been for nearly a year. It doesn’t seem possible that I’ve been in back in southern Indiana for six years–a year longer than the time I lived here as a child.
Sunrise, Owen County, Indiana, January 2006
Pandora loves to sleep by the patio door, where it’s nice and bright.
Harriet kept digging the cushion out of her dog bed. After the umpteenth time, I gave up and put the cushion in the living room, inside the patio door. Mostly, Pandora sleeps on it, but Harriet has stolen it back a couple of times.
Without the bumper sides to hold her in, the bed is ridiculously small for even a miniature Boxer like Harriet.
I didn’t get to sleep in this morning, the way I’d intended. That didn’t stop Harriet from going back to bed, though.
I caught the sun coming up just as I was getting ready to leave for work. A small window of relatively clear sky opened up to the northeast, but the rest of the sky was heavily clouded. Within ten minutes, the entire sunrise was obscured by clouds.
Morning Sun, 4th of July
It’s sort of craptacular outside this morning. Hopefully it won’t rain all over everyone’s obligatory BBQs.
There are zillions of berries in the thicket and along the back tree line, but there are also zillions of birds (at one point yesterday, I counted 30 of them in the grass alone), who eat the berries. As soon as the berries ripen, they are eaten. I was hoping to snag some berries, because they are very tasty and I know for certain they have not been chemically treated. Oh well. I get more enjoyment from watching the birds than a bowl of berries could possibly provide.
Vole or Mouse Skull from Owl Pellet
I got a bunch of small bones, including an intact skull, from a friend, who got them at a DNR workshop. The bones are from an owl pellet. The pellet contained a large amount of fur, this skull, and assorted other small bones, including several tiny jaw bones with intact teeth. The skull is about 1 1/4 inches from top to bottom, to give an idea of scale. It’s tiny and very delicate.
red paper boat 