Catting Around - Saturday 6/27/2009

Nice try, big guy.

One of the resident peacocks at the Cat House Feline Conservation Center. We planned to do this with CuzP and CuzM about a month ago, but then he got tickets to see the Detroit Redwings in the Stanley Cup playoffs. His excuse was as lame as this guy's hiding place. ;)



One of the boys takes a nice dirty bath.


This fellow was quite upset about his food dish being moved. Jumped up on the bars at head height when the volunteer pulled his dish out of the enclosure.


She must be able to read him well, to have the confidence to let him lick her hand within seconds of snarling and jumping. Yipes. Not me!


Cuz-M goes eye to eye with the big cat.

Wonderful grounds. Many of the enclosures have running water in pools. Most if not all have living trees or shrubs in them. Lots of shade in a park-like environment. Which is amazing, given that the area around this is serious Mojave Desert.



Can you see the grooves the big cats make when they play with a bowling ball. Yipes!


Cats are cats, no matter how big. Roby enjoys a good scratch from an official volunteer.

Do not try this at home.


Hydra flirts shamelessly with a female peacock, offering her water from the palm of his hand. She comes closer, closer...



And decides he needs a good dirt bath before she'll consider his advances.


Doc spent a lot of time hollering for his human mama, who raised him. Finally, he climbed into his water trough and used the sides to amplify his voice. Yeah, animals act on pure instinct. Sure.

Here and Here - Monday 6/23/2009

Mom made graham cracker cookies! Okay, just one.


Stopped on the way to meet up with Pegerty to take a shot of Green Gables, at Big Lake. The first house my parents shared.


Breakfast at Bob Evans in Columbia City at 11 am. I waited till the last to have this, because it's seriously addictive and I didn't want to have it more than once. Pegerty was the voice of reason. We got two orders and a side of fruit for three people. Thank goodness.

It's soooooo good.



Drove to Indianapolis for the flight back to L.A. It actually felt kind of right to spend a couple of hours driving.

Somehow the Theme Restaurant looks even more futuristic during renovations.


The 405 was a mess, so we cut across town. Hydra drove, so I had time to take a photo of this pretty door along Highland Boulevard.

It's nice to be home, but as soon as I get here, the homesickness sets in. How is that?

Sailing the Corn - Monday 6/22/2009

B shares her freshly picked peas with me! She also pulled radishes for our lunch. Mmmm.



J aboard the Hasty Decision. Great name for a sailboat, huh? Seats six. When are they gonna give her a maiden run on the Pacific is what I want to know.


B in her kitchen. This is typical B, telling a great story.


View of the pond from the lovely newly enclosed front porch. Family wedding photos on the wall there.


Hoosier sunset, on the way back home...erm, to Mom's house.

Um, yeah. Gotta say, that's a little sad.

Commemorates three of Indiana's 5 vice presidents: Dan Quayle (Huntington), Thomas Marshall (Columbia City), and Thomas Hendricks (Shelbyville), all of whom lived along State Road 9.

Hoosier Sunday - Sunday 6/21/2009

Mom holds a nest I found while trimming one of the shrubs yesterday. Isn't it beautiful?



Cool mural in an alley in Churubusco, IN.


Mom, Pegerty and I ditch our shoes on the way into the maze of plantings that is Joy's Flowers.


They look like blossoms, don't they?


Interesting little platforms leading up to a tiny window. Hmm.


Worked up an appetite, so we stopped at the Magic Wand in 'Busco. Great sign. Inside the diner: grilled tenderloin. Wish I'd seen the huge, decorated (presumably empty) hornet's nest hanging over the booth next to ours before we walked out. An interesting addition to the clown motif inside.


Turtle Days just ended last night. They used to think there was a giant (Loch Ness style) turtle living in a lake near Churubusco. The rumor was still going when I was in school. Here's the story as it's told by the Chamber of Commerce.


Ended up in Columbia City again, where Pegerty and I walked downtown and spent a little time chatting in the gazebo on the courthouse lawn and watching the sunlight drain from the sky. Stopped by Beans' place on the way home.

Sigh.