Charley Creek Gardens

We drove south to Wabash for a brunch buffet today at Eugenia's restaurant in the Honeywell Center. It is a pleasant setting looking out at a patio with water fountains. The buffet choices are not extensive but most of the items are tasty. I had a custom-made omelet, fried potato cubes, tossed salad, strawberries, blueberries, and cantaloupe to begin. Then I took a small portion of the pot roast with a roll and two cheese cubes. My husband took the already-prepared scrambled eggs and bacon as well as the fruit. He tried the flank steak (OK) and the pork chop (not very good). I squeezed in bread pudding and chocolate cheesecake at the end.

Since our pleasant weather continues, we drove to nearby Charley Creek Gardens also in Wabash. This garden area is operated by the Honeywell Foundation. The large parking lot is just a few lots south of the Honeywell House. The address is 551 Miami Street, but we didn't see parking there so went around to Wabash Street where the large lot was marked as for the gardens. However, after walking the garden, we realized we could have pulled into the driveway past the greenhouse and educational center on Miami and back around to a couple of parking spots. This is definitely the place to park if you have folks with limited mobility. The walk from the Wabash parking lot is down a steep hill alongside a deep gorge where part of the creek runs, or alternatively down the terraced steps of the shade garden. Neither of these would work at all if using a walker, cane, wheelchair. This mini parking area would allow getting out and traversing the flat paths of most of the gardens.

The large parking lot is a few lots down from the Honeywell House which you can see from the parking area.

I wish I had brought bug spray. Waving the self-guided tour brochure at the mosquitos around my face did the trick though.

 There is some artwork in the garden. This is Key Way by Michael Smith.
At the bottom of the slope is a waterfall.

 The gardens are open dawn to dusk every day. I suspect the early spring would be pretty. The shade gardens have hyacinths, daffodils, bluebells, redbuds, dogwoods, rhododendron at that time according to the brochure.

 Near the waterfall is a bridge which leads across the creek and to a wildflower meadow.

Shortly after crossing the bridge we scared a heron in the water which flew off out of sight following the curves of the creek.

 There was a little elevated wooden "bridge" that poked out into the flowers for shooting photos.

 Near the educational building was a gravel path that went by the Charlie Creek cottage which is now a private residence but one was welcome to look at the flowers.

 It was on the gravel path that we saw some pods hanging in a tree. What kind of tree is this?

I did wander in the maze some. If  successfully and fully navigated (there are at least two access/egress gates), one arrives at a sculpture by Michael Berg.

Most of the garden areas were shady which made it pleasant in our warm but not humid weather. The flat area of the park is surrounded by homes looking directly on to the flowers, trees, etc. Must be a nice place to live.

Our little outing got us out of our rut. ((Filling the well.)

All of the ads are filled with back-to-school sales. Wow! This summer has sped by.

I'll Watch the Moon

Today we were going to Fort Wayne to shop, but when my husband's plans for yesterday afternoon changed, we decided to do our shopping excursion yesterday. The whole day unfolded differently than my original intentions.

The main goal was to find some athletic shoes for my husband at Fred Toenges. As you enter the store, you take a number and await your turn. We were there almost an hour, 30 minutes of waiting and 30 minutes of service. Luckily I had my ipad with me since we were going to Half Price Books on this trip. I wasn't planning to read any books this week, but I selected I'll Watch the Moon by Ann Tatlock so I would have something to do during the wait. This was my first time to read a novel by this author.

Though there were a few light moments in the narration, the book really had a somber feel about it. The thread running through the story was about suffering and loss and how they fit into God's plan and will. Parts of it brought me to tears (thankfully when I was home again, not in the shoe store).

Nova Tierney, the voice of the narration thru most of the book, lives with her mother Catherine and brother Dewey in Minnesota helping to run a boarding house where they also reside. Nine-year-old Nova's greatest wish is that her mother would marry and thus Nova would have a father again. Her father has been dead for 4 years.

The year is 1948. Folks depend on streetcars and trains, TV is a novelty in neighborhoods, and two of the boarders are retired vaudeville entertainers. The characters reflect back on the war, fear the Communists, and see how the scourge of polio effects their neighbors. Then Dewey contracts the disease.

As the book progresses we learn the backstory of Catherine, the suffering she has endured through childhood and into adulthood. She projects sadness and is a worrier. One of her worries comes true when fourteen-year-old Dewey becomes ill.

Dewey ends up in an iron lung in the hospital. He loved astronomy and his aspiration was to one day walk on the moon. Because all he can see in the hospital is the ceiling, Nova promises him that she will watch the moon for him every night.

We learn the story of Josef, one of the boarders, who Catherine comes to trust and to confide in. Polish Josef is starting a new life in the United States as a linguistics professor at a nearby college. He shares little about himself, but it comes out that he spent time in a Nazi concentration camp and that all of his family was killed by the Germans. Nova starts to think of Josef as a possible father figure.

There is an unexpected sad twist in the story. Though most of the characters find some happiness and faith is kindled or strengthened by the end of the book, it is a stark look at the realities of human life on a fallen sin-filled earth. There is some resolution, but I would not call it a feel-good book. The writing and character development are excellent, but you will experience heart ache.

Farmers' Market Day

Despite the light rain, I headed for the farmer's market this morning. I wanted some Ambrosia sweetcorn for tonight. I was rewarded with some little tomatoes.

There were fewer vendors than last Saturday. However, the tomatoes are starting to show up. My favorite vendor Patchwork Farm has yet to appear at the market. His tomatoes ripen later than some of the others however. The seller of today's tomatoes told me the little ones began ripening this past week; her bigger ones need hotter weather she said. We were actually pretty hot earlier this week, but maybe what they really need is more sun. This has been one of the wettest summers I remember.

We ate the last of the fresh blueberries I had put aside from what we picked July 14th. I made a parfait using the lemon-flavored pudding between bunches of blueberries.

This pudding is in the refrigerated section. We have several gallon bags of frozen berries left to eat at our leisure.

The whole front and corner of my landscaping is being reworked. It will be interesting to see what the landscaper puts there.

Two new bushes were put in yesterday; I will have to ask what they are when she returns on Monday. There is some sort of tall daisy around the corner now; also rudbeckia at the corner with the relocated irises.

The coreopsis I planted next to my patio seem to be doing OK. Next year I will have to add something else. I will deadhead the tickseed plants until autumn, then let them go to seed. I may get some new little plants next summer from this process.

Colorful Supper

Tonight we had tortilla soup, avocado, and peaches and blueberries.
The blueberries we picked Friday morning at Craig's in Etna Green. We first stopped at The Berry Patch but a closed sign had been posted. I don't know if they had no berries or just no ripe berries. The man at Craig's told me the Jersey berries we were picking were his late-season variety and about 2-3 weeks early. The ripe berries were not in easily-picked clusters; it took a lot longer to fill the bucket. We usually pick about 10 pounds, but this year we had 7.5 pounds. It was a beautiful day to be outside with a light breeze and lots of birdsong all around us.

Taking advantage of the nicer weather, we went to the boat-in worship at Oakwood on Lake Wawasee this morning. Maybe 50 boats surrounded the Lily Pad (large boat with pastor and musician and sound system). There were maybe 100 people listening from shore. The service is only 30 minutes. The sax player was very good.

Not many tomatoes at the farmers' market on Saturday. The Ambrosia sweetcorn was available; it had just started to ripen.

The 10 books I ordered from Better World Books arrived a few days ago. I will catalog them tomorrow while my laundry loads are washing. A pest control company comes tomorrow to spray the perimeter of the condos. I have had some ants this month, controlled with baits, but maybe this will completely stop the intrusion.

Summer continues to fly by. Trying to enjoy its pleasures.

Soggy

Last Friday we received maybe 3 inches of rain between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. It kept falling with wave after wave of thunder and lightning. I was going to grocery shop Friday morning, but I put it off because of the torrential rain. Around 2:30 as I arrived at the grocery store, it had slacked off to a mist.
My husband had added some topsoil to our patio planting area and then some mulch to keep the weeds down. Most of the mulch floated over the concrete patio slab, stopped only by the grass on the west edge. There were several roads closed in our area Friday evening due to flooding; one even washed completely away in a spot.

At 9 a.m. Friday when the weather radio alert sounded about the impending storm, I hurried out to the west side of my house and snipped off this hydrangea. I have less than half a dozen of these flowers in bloom (first season for these bushes), but I wanted a centerpiece for dinner.

We had relatives from Michigan coming, joined by 2 local family members, to eat pizza. My nephew, his 2-year-old daughter E, and the nephew's father (my husband's brother) over-nighted with us. The Grace Village guest rooms were all booked up. The decision to visit was made about 10 days before arrival. The toddler had a portable bed brought from home, my burley nephew made do with the twin bed, and my brother-in-law slept on an air mattress in our den. Since my husband set up his own bedroom a year ago, we no longer have a guest bedroom per se. Hubby slept with me in the queen bed. We all survived. :-)

Saturday was a beautiful day with low humidity and sunshine. We walked part of the Winona trail with our guests. The toddler E was so excited; we saw rabbits, bikers, runners and dogs. One of the dog owners let E pet her canine Lady. E's grandfather held her hand while she walked close to rushing Cherry Creek to throw in a stick. We walked to the Winona Lake park playground. E had a ball climbing on the equipment and coming down the slides. The swings off in their own area were too muddy to use. E would vocalize her joy with shouts as she ran from the slide to the steps onto the playground equipment for another round. This is a really nice setup with rubberized "flooring" and the stations elevated and joined together which meant no puddles to deal with. E was in kid heaven, and we adults enjoyed watching her.

We ate lunch at M's apartment; then the Michiganders headed for home. We will see them in about a month when they come for a family reunion August 4-5. Over 40 expected at that event held in our retirement community's meeting building in the condo neighborhood.

Tonight we have more rain. The Kosciusko County Fair had a nice evening Sunday for the opening parade, but the next few days look soggy. Friday should be cooler and dry. I am hoping to pick blueberries that day before the hot weather returns.

A man from the flooring store came today to take measurements. Looks like we will soon replace the flood-damaged bathroom laminate and then also redo the other bathroom whose laminate has not held up well in the 15 years and then the kitchen. We have to wait for the estimate to go through the administrative channels. We will probably have to pay for the kitchen flooring.

Shaping up to be a busy summer. Saturday I will go to the local farmers' market. Hope to find tomatoes and sweet corn. Not sure how tomatoes have done in all of the rain though. Sogginess may not be compatible with tomatoes.