Category: Glimpses of Life

A recent trip through northwest Illinois then into Wisconsin gave us ample opportunity to see much beauty in the Midwest.  Driving along the backroads there is very little traffic but lots of corn and soy farms along with houses that have attached large barns ~ most of them painted red.

I’ve always wanted to knock on these doors and ask the people who live there why they choose to live there.  To live remotely, away from what one might consideration civilization with its cell phones, cable, Starbucks around the corner …  Sometimes I think they have a better quality of life than most of us.

One day I hope round up enough guts and nerve to knock on a door.

One scene that majestically appeared over and over again is of puffy clouds hanging beautifully in the sky with odd shapes that made me wrack my brain to determine what they might resemble.  A dog? An angel? A person?

Further north towards Wisconsin, we stopped at the Mississippi Palisades State Park in Savannah, Illinois and snapped some photos.  There were two other couples taking pictures who were also camping here ~ otherwise all seemed quiet.  I wondered why more people weren’t out enjoying this area.

A quick jaunt down the path led us to views of the Mississippi.  So peaceful here ~

It was indeed, the start of a beautiful day.

As we pulled up to my brother’s driveway, I saw a crow sitting on the lawn. It was odd in that it was standing so still in all it’s glorious blackness.

I’m not a crow fan ~ never have been and never will be.  The sound of them cawing in the mornings makes me say “ugh” as I turn over to the other side and cover my ears.

I’ve heard that crows are intelligent birds and people have told me many crow stories that attest to their intelligence.  Can you believe it?

Getting out of the car, I walked up to this crow only to realize that it was made of plastic.  I laughed out loud at the “mistaken identity” ~ thinking the crow was real when it was fake.  It does look real though, doesn’t it?

Before leaving my brother’s house, I asked him if I could have the crow and he said yes.  I had a brilliant idea that I couldn’t shake.

And so it was when I arrived home that I put the crow in my front yard.  The bright idea I had?  I assumed that the other crows would not come near our house because a new “family” of crows had arrived.  Such a brilliant idea, no?

I hadn’t noticed anything different for a few days until one day, after heading out for a bit with the hubby, we pulled into the driveway and there were four crows “hanging around” with the plastic one.  As soon as we pulled in closer, they flew away.  No!  I told myself.  Crows are supposed to be intelligent and not come around other crow families …

A few days passed by and I again left the house and upon arrival, there they were again.  It appeared that these crows were trying to figure out who the new crow in town was.

My plan had backfired ~ instead of scaring the crows away with a new “crow,” I had managed to call them in to make friends with a fake one.

Who knew?

Whenever I visit my mother (who is of Puerto Rican descent), I’m always glad when I arrive healthy. The alternative, being sick, brings out all kinds of Puerto Rican remedies that I’d rather not deal with.

But, she’s my mother, so I indulge her.

The last time I visited when I was sick, she brought out “something that will help your pain.”

“What is it?” I asked.

She, matter-of-factly said, “It’s something your uncle brought me from Indiana.  Don’t worry, it will help any aches and pains you have.”

“Uh, yeah, but what is it?” I asked more determinedly.

“Don’t worry about it.  Your aunts use it and it helps them.”

Okaaayyyyy.  And so she found an empty jar and put some of the blue lotion in the jar and handed it to me.

Interesting looking thing, isn’t it?

Here’s what it looks like with the lid off ~

While I was at her place, I went to the bathroom and curiosity got the better of me.  I found the container that this blue pain lotion came in and read the ingredients (sorry, I didn’t have my phone to take a picture for you).

Reading through the ingredients slowly, I saw “it.” This lotion is to help horses with their arthritic knees.  Yikes!

As I was leaving, she said “did you remember to take your lotion?”

Uh, yes Mama, I have the lotion.

Such is one of the quirky things I learned to grow up with.

The Zuhl Museum is one museum you should not miss if you’re visiting Las Cruces, New Mexico.  This museum is part art gallery and part natural history.

The TripAdvisor reviews gave it high marks but said it was small so I was afraid that my friends would not be interested but I was wrong.

The picture below is of an amethyst quartz.  Quite impressive, no?

The rock on the left in this next picture is called Smoky Quartz.

The large beautiful log below shows a polished fossil conifer Araucaria that was cut in half.  Pretty colors, no?

Here’s a picture of Ichthyosaurs ~ a fast swimming reptile.

Lastly, we have a Crinoid which is an animal that belonged to the Phylum Echinoderms and lived attached to the seafloor.

Okay, I changed my mind ~ I feel compelled to share this next picture with you which is of banded iron formations ~ the colors would go very well on a quilt, no?

That’s it!  I hope you enjoyed the pictures and, if you’re debating whether to visit the museum, I encourage you to visit as there’s a lot more to see.

We visited this church when we were in Santa Fe, New Mexico recently.

Although this church is free to enter, a priest was standing near the front door to answer questions and had a “donation” box next to him.

We were able to walk around the church freely, but local people were there to pray near the front of the church so going through quietly is recommended.

I enjoy looking at the architecture of these old churches as they have so much colorful detail.

“Construction of this Cathedral began in 1869 and continued until 1887. The new Cathedral was built around the former adobe church and, when the new walls were complete, the old church was torn down and removed through the front door.”  The Cathedral Basilica

I’m not sure why I was surprised to see cameras in the church, but I was.

The church has a large baptismal that I found interesting as the Catholic churches I’ve visited don’t baptize by immersion but by sprinkling water on a person’s head.  The priest told me that the people who are going to be baptized walk into this baptismal but they are not “immersed” all the way.  Interesting.  I wonder why not …

We had stopped inside this church because it was cold and windy outside but we left with an appreciation for the architecture of this building.