Catchin' Up....

It's been a while since I've written...  heck, I don't even take photos every day now, so I guess things have kind of settled into a routine here.  Sort of....

Bill has had the cataracts removed from both eyes now.  He has one more appointment at the Arena Eye Center in Columbus at the end of June...  that's when he'll have an eye test for a new prescription for his glasses.  It all went well and now he should be able to see the fine hair on a frog or something like that.

I don't know how widespread you readers all are, but here in this part of Ohio we are besieged by the 17 year cicadas.  (I grew up calling them "locusts")  The LOUD ones...  the ones that emerge from the ground and shed their old skin... sit around on everything from your porch furniture to your tomato plants to any bit of vegetation or structure they can find.  If they just sat there it wouldn't be so bad, but they have only a short time to mate before they lay eggs that won't emerge for another 17 years. So the males make this noise with their bellies... it rises and falls...  it gets higher and lower; louder and softer (not much softer)...

These guys were hanging on a tree branch right outside my window yesterday.  As I look out right now there are close to 30 in the same spot.  I don't even bother putting in my hearing aids these days...  I can already hear more noise than I really want to.  Oh well, it will be another 17 years before they emerge again...  I'll be 91 years old then and maybe stone-deaf....

But there are good things to hear as well...

Each year, the Ohio University School of Music presents "The Concert Under the Elms", right on campus, every Wednesday night in June, from 7-8:00 pm.  The first of this season was held last night...

Folks bring their blankets or lawn chairs...  sometimes bring a picnic dinner...  there a lots of kids running around, a few dogs (not running around) and a whole hour of great entertainment.  The band itself is made up of both university and town folks.  The leader is the OU band director, but sometimes they'll also have a guest director.  One week will be a former director of the US Navy Band, who is now a director of the band at another college.  The music is a mix...  

Always starting out with our National Anthem, there might be selections from Broadway shows, or old favorites...  mixing everything from brisk marches to soft classical.  I tried to guess how many folks attended...  estimated that there were close to 300 people enjoying this traditional summer event....  pretty nice, huh?

Bill & I had eaten before we went, but we did stop at a neat place on our way home...

Jackie O's is a local brewery that is located in the old Cheese Barn building.  (the Cheese Barn was a short-lived endeavor of several years past that tried to use local milk to produce cheese).  

I understand Jackie O's also has a restaurant in the downtown area, but we haven't gone there yet.

They make several varieties of beer...  some seasonal...  some types of interesting flavors....

Bill was looking for a stout...  he likes a really dark, strong beer...

That's the bartender.....  filling our growler with Bill's choice.  Look at all those kinds behind the bar...  and maybe those are awards sitting on top.

Dark Apparition

Bill's choice of beer....

Years ago we lived near Socorro, New Mexico which also has a fine micro-brewery.  We bought this growler there and still carry it around with us, hoping to find some good breweries where we can get it filled.  I think it holds 64 oz....  just right for the pizza we're having for dinner tonight.

I check my game cameras every morning.  One camera averages over 1,500 photos a night, the other one nets between 300-500.  Needless to say, I do not save every photo.  

This was one of my favorites...

These two bucks (both with very nice racks!) were greeting each other along the path.  There is no competition for the ladies now so often the bucks will hang together throughout the summer.

And we do get some other critters...

I've had several shots of the possum, (and a few of the neighbor's cat), but this is the first raccoon I've caught on camera.  Bill has our bird feeders and bird boxes well protected with predator guards and so far we've not had any problems with critters being anywhere they shouldn't be.

I did clean up a recliner chair we had stored in the barn...  found a dried snake skin coiled around the springs underneath...  guess that wasn't a big surprise.

Anyway, we've been here 2 months...  the rental we're working on is nearly done inside (then comes the outside painting)...  we still have nearly 3 months before we'll head back to Texas...  then on to Mexico.

Just as an aside...  the owner of the house we're buying in Mexico had some health problems and we didn't close on the expected date....  however, we should close within the week.  Meanwhile, we put the house we have in New Mexico on the market about 3 weeks ago... it got a buyer within the week and we'll close on it in July.  Couldn't ask for much better luck!

Just getting caught up...  I think.

That's All For Today!