A real chill in the air ...

I think summer is over.  The calendar doesn't show it but it is.  My fear is that we'll rush right into winter and skip autumn (my favorite season)!  I love the colored leaves, the clear crisp air, mums, apples, and pumpkins!  I've already started to clean my flower beds, pulling weeds and cutting back some of the dying flowers; cutting off the heads of the cone flowers and black-eyed Susan's and throwing them into the prairie area where they'll spread next year.  It seems like everything I do now I'm thinking, am I doing this for the last time here?  We don't know if we'll stay here much longer with Wendell's change of health.  But, we'll see ...  I really don't want to leave this place.  I love it here and almost all my friends are here.  Plus, change is difficult!  LOL!

We've been out and about.  In late August we drove to the Ladoga area to visit Moody Meats, a butcher shop we like (took a cooler and brought home some free-range chickens and some other meats for the freezer).  While we were up in that area we had lunch in Crawfordsville at a neat little deli in the college area, then drove over almost to the IN-IL state line and tried to visit the Skinner Farm Museum.  So disappointed that they weren't open during the week ...  But we still looked around as much as we could.

The round barn at Skinner Farm Museum.

The animal barn at Skinner Farm Museum.  The sheep were very active the day we were there; I like the brown ones.  REALLY loved this old tin barn!

We also went to Monkey Hollow for the second time this summer.  We are enjoying one of their dry red wines so much that we wanted to get some more before they ran out.  While we were in the St. Meinrad area, we went back to the monastery and drove through the grounds.  Got out and walked around the ponds until W. was tired out!  It was hot that day, too ...

Last weekend of August we went to Connor Prairie near Noblesville for a Friday night concert.  Our investment management company puts on an annual dinner there in the pavilion and then you can stay for the concert.  This year it was the Beach Boys.  Well, they were surprisingly good, considering that they are all older than me and need to retire!! They started out with 10 songs back-to-back with no break and they were good ones!  Just right for people of a certain age ...  Only bad thing was it was a very hot night.  I was sweating just sitting there. The AC in the car felt good on the way home ...

I was surprised how many people were there!  It was the biggest crowd I'd ever seen there for a concert.  And like I said, it was HOT!

Here's a close-up; I think only two of the original band members are still with the group.  (White Hair!)

Last weekend we went to Elnora for a quick visit to the annual WRVAA steam & tractor show.  It was so very hot!  And humid!  We only stayed about 3 hours.  Got to see some tractors, visited the consignment area, flea markets and watched a couple demos.  The most fun was visiting with the people working in the sorghum shack where Wendell used to work (maybe next year?).  We had lunch there and enjoyed the home made ice cream, too. -- How can you beat it?  Homemade ice cream for a dollar?  Yum.  My favorite part.  You should go around back of the ice cream building and watch the big ice cream makers if you go next year!

Here's my favorite picture from Elnora.  A lot's going on here!

Before we went to the show at Elnora, we made a quick stop at a new event in our area.  It was the first annual Chandelier Barn Market on the Wilson Farm in Daviess County (right in the heart of Amish country).  It's a few miles north of Montgomery.  I hope they did good; there sure was a good crowd when we were there.  Ran into Neil & Margo as we walked in.  I only bought a bracelet; but I saw almost everyone with something it seemed.  Wendell enjoyed the entertainment and just walking around.  It hadn't gotten so hot yet that morning and I felt sorry for the people set up in those barns later in the day!  It had to have gotten hot in there!  Here's some pictures from the Barn Market ...

Well, like I said ... it was called the Chandelier Barn Market ...

This barn market was really a great idea and I look forward to going back next year (maybe with some women!).  There were lots of unique re-purposed items and it was a great place to get ideas, too.  I especially liked the yard art made from old metal scraps.  Someone is clever!  Wish it were me!

Well, that's what has been goin' on in my life.  Have a blessed weekend coming up.