Home is where you park it

We have stayed nine weeks in Utica, IL, so we could be close to our daughter and son-in-law, and new granddaughter, Lily. It was time to leave. On Monday morning, Loco Louie, the crazy cardinal, came pecking at our window at 5:45 am. Then he flew to the top of our trailer and started pecking at the vent cover and sang his heart out. He was determined to wake us up. We just groaned, threw covers over our heads, and rolled over. Finally we awoke at a more decent hour and started our packing after breakfast. I was tempted to leave a note with our forwarding address attached to the tree next to the trailer so Loco Louie would know where to find us. We’ll be back in September on the same spot, so it will be interesting to see if he’ll come back to pester visit us. (To see a video of Loco Louie attacking our kitchen window, see the link here. A View from the Edge: Redbird, redbird what do you see?

I will miss seeing Lily. We really bonded during the times I babysat her. Lily is so laid back and content. She is such a good baby.



I always feel a little melancholy when we leave an area that we’ve stayed at for awhile, whether we have relatives near or not. Maybe it’s because we have no permanent home, so any length of time we stay put is “putting down our roots.” I enjoy the campground we are going to in Marengo, IL. It’s in the rural Midwest, with lots of farms and cows. Our site is right across from a small pond that I’ve named Tranquility Pond. You can read more about it here. A View from the Edge: Tranquility Pond

So it was only about a 1 ½ hour drive north to reach our destination. I was happy to see the moo-cows out grazing in the pasture next to the campground. The Canadian Geese were honking their protest as we pulled in. Their poop was everywhere. Yep, we were home!

As soon as I had a chance, I grabbed my camera and snapped some pictures. Here’s one of the geese obeying the speed limit.





I walked over to the pasture to say hello to my moo-cows to see if they remembered me. I’d like to think so. {SMILE} Read my past post about the moo-cows. A View from the Edge: Nuttin' but cows

Here’s one of my favorite with her long, white eyelashes.




There are four new calves this year. These two were very curious about the crazy lady with a strange black box in her hand. They followed me along the fence as I walked, with me yelling out, “Watch the fence! Watch the fence!” - Afraid that they’d get an electric shock by getting too close to the fence. I guess they’d learn real quickly not to do that again but, I’m a mom, what can I say?



I love the fence posts with barbed wire running along the pasture. The pine trees are huge on the campground side and are filled with tiny sparrows chirping away. It is almost deafening till I walk by – then there’s the sudden fluttering of wings and all the tiny birds fly to another tree.



I liked the cloud formation and the sun burst behind the large tree, with the cows resting in the shade beneath.



This old truck sits right in the middle of the pasture. I love the tall thistles growing all around the abandoned old girl.



I walked further down the road and smelled something really sweet. I spied these flowers/weeds. They smelled exactly like lilacs. I looked them up and found out that they were milkweed. They attract beetles (see below), butterflies, and bees.



Oops! I spy with my little eye……something I shouldn’t have. Is that Marvin Gaye I hear in the background singing, “Let’s get it on?”