Old Settlers Parade...

The Odon Old Settlers Festival is held on the first weekend in August every year. It commences with a parade through the town of Odon on the Thursday evening. There were many interesting floats and displays, and a lot of emergency vehicles from surrounding towns participated too. Riaan really enjoyed seeing all the interesting floats!

 Vintage Indiana State Police vehicle.

 Current Indiana State Police cruiser.

 Odon Volunteer Fire Department rescue vehicle.

Fire engine - one of many in the parade. They're always a favourite.

 A working organ gets towed along the parade route.

 Riaan enjoying the parade.

 There were lots of tractors, too.

 The Children's Charity display had a tractor towing children riding the "barrels of fun."

 Cute little model train.

 Riaan enjoyed a train ride at the carnival.

And there he is! :)

Tiny Grasshopper...

Riaan and I noticed this tiny grasshopper sitting on a leaf outside our front door a few weeks ago. It's interesting to note that despite its small size, it has incredibly long antennae. Insects are amazing creatures!

The intrepid little insect springs into a clump of daylilies.

Hidden Nest...

We've noticed a pair of house wrens fluttering above our bench swing recently. They first appeared back in July and it soon became apparent why they were there. They had made a nest inside a small hole of the rusty frame of the swing! It's been fun sitting outside on the swing, sipping our cups of tea, and watching these industrious little birds fly in and out of the hole, bringing food to the baby birds inside. :)

 Standing near the opening in the frame.

 The parent bird emerges from the hole.

Feeding one of the baby birds. :)

McCormick's Creek State Park in July...

We've been rather busy of late, what with working, volunteering and looking after our two lovely children taking up a lot of time. But we did manage a family trip to McCormick's Creek State Park on the 21st of July. We browsed at the Nature Centre before swimming at the lovely pool. We also hiked to Wolf Cave where I crawled through the cave while Candace and the children waited outside. We then went and had a lovely buffet supper at the Canyon Inn before coming back home. It was a lovely day spent out and about in God's creation!

 The entrance to the Nature Centre.

 Whenever we visit McCormick's Creek, Riaan likes to become a game ranger. :)

 Northern banded water snake.

 A racoon forages underneath the bird feeders.

 Riaan and I swimming in the lovely pool.

 Candace with Eliza and Riaan.

 Hiking to Wolf Cave.

 Beautiful lush forests.

 There are many sinkholes in the area.

 The entrance to Wolf Cave.

 A cave cricket inside Wolf Cave.

 It was pouring when I emerged from the other side of Wolf Cave.

 The Canyon Inn.

A rain cloud heads our way on the drive home.

Beautiful Sunset...

Another lovely summer sunset in rural Indiana. :)

Amazing Storm Clouds...

Spectacular storm clouds are seen to the south-east on a late July evening. There were severe thunderstorm cells in this storm system and the clouds seen here are quite characteristic of strong thunderstorms. Mammatus clouds are visible towards the base of the main cumulonimbus cloud in the photograph.

The same scene as viewed from slightly further away.

Five-lined Skink...

We often see this pair of five-lined skinks in the rock garden outside our front door. This type of lizard is very colourful and quite striking as it suns itself on the rocks. And just look at that beautiful blue tail! We love all the interesting nature that Indiana has to offer!

 A five-lined skink sunning itself.

The pair of five-lined skinks. Their blue tails are amazing!

Summer is for Sunflowers...

This pretty sunflower appeared underneath our bird feeder earlier in the summer. It must have grown from the sunflower seeds that were in the bird feed mix. Sunflowers certainly are beautiful plants!

Damaged Corn Field...

A strong thunderstorm rolled through and the winds associated with it damaged the corn field near the pond recently. It has been over a month since I snapped these photos, and much of the damaged corn did not recover. Thunderstorm winds can certainly pack a powerful punch!

 A view of a flattened part of the field.

View looking west towards the corn field.

Libby's Gourmet Ice-Cream...

We stopped in at Libby's Gourmet Ice-Cream in Jasper on our way home. We had lovely ice-cream before heading on our way home. It was a great weekend away!

Enjoying ice-cream on the pavement outside. :)

O'Bannon Woods State Park...

We arrived at O'Bannon Woods State Park just before lunchtime on Sunday, 24th June. We enjoyed a picnic lunch outside the Nature Centre before browsing inside. We then went for a brief walk before heading back home. O'Bannon Woods State Park has a very impressive Nature Centre - especially in terms of live reptiles on display, like this alligator snapping turtle at right. Riaan loved it!

 The Hickory Hollow Nature Centre.

 Enjoying a picnic lunch.

 Copperheads and a timber rattlesnake share this vivarium.

 The timber rattlesnake looked quite threatening.

 An eastern hognose snake inspects Riaan through the glass.

 An albino corn snake.

 Riaan loved looking at the snakes.

 The alligator snapping turtle uses a lure on its tongue to catch its prey.

 Riaan looking at the museum section.

 View inside the Nature Centre.

 Walking a pretty trail outside.

 Interesting fungi on a log.

 The wildlife viewing hide.

 Wyandotte Firetower dates from 1932.

 I only climbed as far as the second level.

 View looking down to our car.

Heading down the rickety stairs.