Pine (with corn)

Depression

This is what I imagine depression might seem like to some. Yes, there's a pretty scene right there, but there is also something that obscures nearly all but one narrow, jagged slice of clarity, preventing full enjoyment.

A walk in the wetlands

Beauty in the simple things, 3

Soybeans waiting to be harvested and a very old fence post.

Beauty in the simple things, 2

A fence that has seen better days.

Beauty in the simple things, 1

Field corn early on a clear October morning.

Corn Therapy

Photo taken with iPhone 8 Plus in Portrait mode.

Terri and I were tent campers until last year. We bought a trailer and got away in it when we could.

Then we found a very nice family-run campground less than an hour from home that is on the Kankakee River and behind a farm. It's a beautiful piece of property and the regulars are a good group. We thought we'd leave the camper there for a month this summer and, after two weeks, decided we would become seasonal regulars too.

We go there quite often. The peaceful drive is through flat Illinois farm country. And the campground itself is sealed off from the main road noise by a good-sized field of corn. In fact, the entry drive is a corn tunnel this year-- with both east and west fields growing corn. Next year, soybeans again.

While there, we often walk. The walk through that corn tunnel can be very hot in July and August. But Monday night it was cool as summer gives way to fall and the vibrant green cornstalks turn brown and loosen their grip on the field corn within. It won't be long until the fields are fully harvested and await winter. That will be a melancholy day. But that's kind of what I like about autumn. It's a time to reflect-- enjoy what just happened and look forward to what's ahead. It truly is therapy.

Things I Know About Cooking Bacon

When cooking on a stovetop or electric skillet

1. Allow one hour per pound of bacon for post-cooking clean up and de-greasing of the 15 foot radius around the skillet.

2. Allow four days per pound for the smell to leave the house.

When cooking on a cookie sheet on a grill

3. Ten minutes for the first side seems good.

4. The proper length of time for the second side is indeterminable.

5. Three minutes for the second side is not long enough. 

6. Cook for four minutes on the second side and you will have perfectly crispy strips of carbon. 

7. Carbon-bacon still tastes like bacon.

General bacon-cooking facts

8.The less-expensive bacon from the butcher section behaves exactly the same as the brands in the yellow and red paper sealed in non-removable plastic. It also tastes the same.

9. It is impossible to cook bacon and not eat at least one “serving” of bacon. This, I suspect, applies even to vegetarians. (But not vegans.)

10. Cook bacon in bulk and store in the refrigerator, then microwave when needed.

11. When you spend a full Saturday cooking a large quantity of bacon for the fridge on an electric skillet in the garage with the overhead door open so you don’t “stink up” the garage and house, the neighbors look at you funny.

Or maybe that was just because of the floral apron.

Pin Oak Lake

This was the view from Picnic Area 1 in Pin Oak Lake Recreation Area. We were camping in Natchez Trace State Park near Lexington, Tennessee. We took a 1 1/2 mile trail through the pine forest and then returned the same way. It was a gorgeous spring day yet we had the whole place to ourselves!

Pin Oak Lake is roughly three miles long and has many miles of shoreline due to its irregular shape. It is a result of construction of the Pin Oak Dam which was completed in 1964. It is one of eight dams on the Beech River and its tributaries.

Natalia

This is our youngest grandchild. She has her father's eyes, her mother's mouth, and a personality that is as sweet as both parents.

She is also bi-lingual. She spends most days with her grandmother ("Tita") who speaks mostly Spanish.

Her quiet and observant ways remind me of her father when he was very young-- just studying, learning, taking it all in.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know her!