Friday Night Bonfire...

We've had several bonfires and braais throughout this year. Sitting around the bonfire with friends is one of our favourite things to do! :)

Pet Rabbit...

This furry creature found its way onto our driveway recently and, after disappearing for the day, it came back and hopped onto our front porch while Candace and the kiddos were outside. Since we haven't seen anything advertised in the area about a missing rabbit, we've decided to keep it as a new addition to our family. The kiddos are so excited - the only one who is less thrilled is our dog, Rusty! It was also quite appropriate that the rabbit arrived while we were reading Watership Down as a family together!

I spotted the bunny just underneath our vehicle.

Eliza is in love!

Relaxing for a while in the afternoon. :)

Eliza insisted on me reading Peter Rabbit to the rabbit and herself. :)

Cave Exploring at Spring Mill...

My boys' Bible study group went cave exploring and hiking at Spring Mill State Park last Sunday. (19th September.) We hiked down to Bronson Cave and Twin Caves, and then drove across to the Pioneer Village where we hiked Trail 4 and saw Hamer Cave and then Donaldson Cave. We also had a delicious picnic lunch. All told, we hiked around 7 kms (4.3 miles)! It was lovely to hike in God's beautiful creation!

Bronson Cave.

The entrance to the Twin Caves.

Walking across to one of the caves.

The entrance (in the distance) to one of the Twin Caves.

Hiking up to Hamer Cave. This is the dam that supplies water to the grist-mill.

The tranquil stream at Spring Mill.

Picnic lunch on the bank of the stream.

Donaldson Cave - the water flows through the gap there.

Doing some fun caving in Donaldson Cave.

The tunnel went on and on, while the ceiling and sides closed in. It was quite cramped!

A window out Donaldson Cave to the woods beyond.

Walking back to the cars along the stream.

Pretty purple flowers.

A fly pollinating flowers.

A yellow flower that vaguely resembles the red disa from back in Cape Town.

Creative Kiddos...

We are very proud of our children's creative imaginations. They really enjoy drawing and painting and our two eldest are really honing their artistic skills. At right is a thankfulness pumpkin that Riaan drew, cut out, coloured, and then added things for which he is thankful. Here are a few other recent works. :)

Eliza's erupting volcano...

And the deep blue sea.

After watching Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Riaan drew the below drawing.

It's absolutely brilliant! :)

9/11 Cycle and Eagle...

I went for a rather lengthy 60 km (37 mile) cycle through Amish country on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. My legs didn't have much to give on my ride, especially with the strong south-westerly wind actively working against me on my route home. But it was a good ride, and a highlight was waiting for me just on the outskirts of Washington.

I spotted a bald eagle perched in the trees overlooking a lake, and stopped and watched for a couple of minutes. The family and I drove there several hours later (and saw a fawn and a helicopter on the way) to snap some photos, and to watch this beautiful creature in flight.

It's rather fitting that this eagle (the photo at left shows the eagle above a plane that had just taken off from the airport) appeared on 9/11, and to me it's quite personal. The Lord often puts an eagle in my life to remind me of his promises:

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40: 31 NIV)

The big red shed on County Road 1000 N in the vicinity of Odon.

US flag at half-mast for Patriot's Day. (9/11.)

Little fawn on the road.

IU Health LifeLine chopper at Daviess County Airport.

The bald eagle soars majestically through the air.

Grandpa Paulus' Steam Engine...

Candace's grandpa has a vintage, working steam engine that he brought to Indiana from Oregon many, many years ago. He takes it to the annual White River Valley Antique Show in Elnora each year. They hook it up to an old saw mill and it's amazing watching it run!

Two of our three children in front of the steam engine.

Puppet Show Fun...

My family in Cape Town put on a Whatsapp puppet show for Riaan and Eliza late last month. They did The Owl and The Pussycat and put in a lot of effort with props and puppets. They even had the pea-green boat! Our kiddos loved it! Thanks, Mom, Dad and Debbie! :)

Riaan and Eliza watching it on the TV.

The owl and the pussycat puppets. :)

Foraging Cardinals...

We had a couple of visitors to our corner compost pile recently. Two northern cardinals and a little house sparrow were foraging for seeds from our old sunflowers - that we had removed from the front of our property. It was clear that the one cardinal (with the moulting plumage) was a juvenile, since the adult male was feeding it from time to time. :)

The house sparrow looks expectantly at the two cardinals. :)

Oubache Trails Fun...

We went to the lovely Oubache (pronounced "Wabash") Trails Park just outside Vincennes recently. It's only twenty minutes drive away and so it is an ideal afternoon excursion if you're not looking on going too far away from home. We had a great Sunday afternoon exploring a trail down to a creek bed. The children also loved the great, naturally-sheltered playground area. :)

There's a lovely tree swing.

The kiddos loved the ship playground.

Hike selfie.

Orange mushrooms.

Riaan and Eliza playing in the mud alongside the little stream.

Looking up the creek.

Hiking across a fallen log. :)