Tomato Girl...

Our vegetable garden may have been a bit of a mixed bag this year, but our tomato plants certainly thrived once all the rain in late July and August moved away. Our tomato plants have actually given us a bumper crop this year. It's fantastic! This little one loves eating tomatoes straight from the plant! :)

Butterflies Galore...

I'm not going to try and identify all these recent small visitors to our flowers, but they sure are intricate and beautiful! I know that we've had many painted lady butterflies, which are common worldwide!

A rather tattered butterfly enjoying this flower.

The proboscis is clearly visible on this tiny insect.

Miniature butterfly.

Another small butterfly enjoying some pollen.

White River Valley Antique Show 2022...

We all went to the White River Valley Antique Show on Friday, 9th September. It was a beautiful day and we had a fantastic day looking at all the interesting displays, including antique steam tractors, horses, and old ways of farming back in the day. The last time I went was five years ago in 2017 - although Candace and the children (and my Mom in 2019!) have been more recently. :)

Gpa Paulus - Candace's grandpa - with his antique Model A Tractor.

Gpa Paulus' steam engine being used to power a big saw for cutting wood.

Gpa Miller (Candace's dad) gave Eliza and Riaan a ride on the tractor. They were thrilled!

Mill stone grinding flour...

Operated by this water wheel.

A team of strong horses being used to press sorghum.

A small ox-wagon.

The beautiful wildflower garden.

A Volkswagen Beetle convertible.

Riaan next to a lovely old car.

Antique tractors lined up.

Allis-Chalmers tractor with a mounted corn-picker.

John Deere tractors lined up.

Attractive green and yellow tractor.

Vintage Huber tractor.

An antique combine harvester.

Horses on a treadmill...

Assisting in threshing hay.

A closer view of the horse treadmill.

Mini steam engine used to give children rides.

Homegrown Lunch...

Lunch was a yummy, healthy affair recently. We had homemade sourdough bread (Candace's specialty) with homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini on the side. It was delicious!

Eliza's Art...

Our little Eliza has been enjoying sidewalk chalk and drawing lately. She blesses us with her sweet heart. In this drawing on the whiteboard at the left here, she drew a picture of her with Candace. She's so talented! :)

More of Eliza's artwork on the cement path in our back garden. :)

Spotted Orb-Weaver...

This large spider, a spotted orb-weaver, (identified by the white spots on the black underside of the abdomen) made its web across our back stoep recently. It's just as well I looked up before heading out. It did make for quite an attractive photo with its intricate web, though!

Turning around on the web.

Gray Treefrog...

Eliza's sharp eyes spotted this cute little gray treefrog in our indigenous garden bed earlier this month. It was perched on a common milkweed leaf initially, and then a few days later it was hiding on Candace's rattlesnake master plant. These frogs are able to change colour to match their surroundings, and their camouflage is superb!

Smiling for the camera. :)

Perched on the rattlesnake master plant. :)

Ouabache Trails in the Late Summer...

We visited Ouabache Trails Park, just outside of Vincennes, recently. We love this quiet forest and we hiked down to the creek again, where the kids enjoyed a brief splash. There were also plenty of sights and sounds to keep my camera and me occupied!

Interesting net-winged beetle.

Hairy caterpillar.

Picturesque mushrooms.

Pretty plant.

Little frog hiding in the muddy water.

Swallowtail butterfly.

Colourful green orb weaver.

Tiny orange mushrooms growing out of a log.

Rust-coloured water along the edge of the stream. Possibly from iron-rich deposits feeding into the water.

Anya leads Candace up the trail.

View down to the creek.

Walking along the river bed.

Our three explorers!

Pretty little river scene.