Morning Glories Have Taken Over My Garden

When I bought the morning glory seeds I never imagined they would grow into such huge plants.

I got a bit carried away and planted about 40 seeds around the veggie garden in late May.

Now, they've completely taken over the John Deere-painted windmill and the two trellises next to the shed.

God Bless Yellow Squash

We've seen this sign each time we've traveled down Douglas Road in Mishawaka this summer, but this is the first time traffic was light enough to allow us to pull over to snap a photo.

Truck Dots

What are truck dots?

Put in Bay

Put in Bay is just a short ferry ride off the coast of Port Clinton, Ohio.

We had packed our bikes in the back of the van with plans to peddle around the island, but after so much walking at Cedar Point on Saturday, we thought we'd be more comfortable seeing the sites of Put in Bay riding in a golf cart.

I'd highly recommend this form of travel as it's a fast way to get around (judge the speed by the way my hair is blown back in this photo), easy to park and, as long as you follow the rules of the road, you won't have any trouble. We rolled through a stop sign late in the day and the local police officers pulled us over to let us know that the same rules that apply to cars also apply to golf carts.

We visited Perry's Memorial, the Butterfly Farm, the local winery, the South Bend Chocolate Company and had lunch at Clawdaddy's at the Boardwalk.

Cedar Point

We celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary at Cedar Point so this year we returned to celebrate our 5th.

During our first trip we exchanged anniversary cards and -- not sure the odds of this happening -- we had bought each other the exact same card!

The weather was absolutely perfect and the lines were not too long. It was a great way to spend our anniversary. We went on several roller coasters and even went through a haunted house so I can cross that off my list of things to do this fall.

Sending out the summer in style

We celebrated the end of summer, as well as our 5th wedding anniversary, at Cedar Point and Put In Bay.

I took off the afternoon from work on Friday so we could get an early start on the weekend. We drove over to Ohio and checked in to the Holiday Inn Express in Port Clinton, OH. (Follow this link and scroll down to read my hotel review.)

After getting a free hotel room upgrade, we drove to downtown Port Clinton and enjoyed a fresh fish dinner at Bootletters Waterfront Grille. I had the trout dinner and Bruce had the walleye. The restaurant was on the waterfront and the sunset was beautiful.

The Blue Heron of Blackthorn

I finally got a photo of the blue heron that hangs out at the pond on Nimtz Parkway behind the Sherwin Williams store.

I think this butterfly is stalking me

Either this butterfly has a twin brother or he's stalking me. Don't the asters look appetizing!

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary to Us

10 Things I Want To Do Before The New Year

10. Wine tasting @ Tabor Hill
9. Visit Fernwood Botanical Garden
8. Paint garage door
7. Go to a haunted house
6. Yoga
5. Have a bonfire
4. Come up with a great idea for a new website
3. Buy new socks
2. Read (listen to) all of the books I downloaded from Audible this summer
1. Walk 10,000 steps a day (at least one day)

10 Fun Things I Did This Summer

10. Rafting down the East Race
9. Saw the Clydesdales
8. Fridays by the Fountain
7. Elkhart Garden Walk
6. Weko Beach
5. Tubing on Pine Lake
4. Boating on Lake Wawasee
3. Creating new veggie garden
2. Hanging out with friends and family
1. Patoka Lake Summit

10 Things I Didn't Get Around To This Summer

10. Renting a canoe and paddling down Baugo Creek
9. Wine Tasting at Tabor Hill
8. Visiting Fernwood Botanical Garden
7. Aqua Aerobics @ Potawatomi Pool
6. Golf
5. Chicago Air and Water Show
4. Cedar Point
3. Riding my bike
2. Painting the garage door
1. Indiana Beach

Mexican Food for Butterflies

A gift of Mexican sunflower seeds, from sis-in-law Gretchen, has grown into a tasty feast for the butterflies.

Saturday Morning @ the Farmers Market

I've finally snapped out of my two-week slump and got up, dressed and out of the house early this morning. Not sure why I've been so lazy lately -- maybe I'm just sad that the summer of fun has come to an end. I guess I came to that realization last weekend while I was getting dressed to go to an outdoor wedding. I had on a cute and fairly dressy pair of black crop pants with even cuter sandals. Hubby nixed the outfit, reminding me that summer is over! OH NO! I really wasn't ready to hear that.

Anyway... this morning we went to the Farmers Market looking for mums to put out in front of the house. I finally weeded the front of the woods and now the clearing is crying out for fall color. The farm in Mishawaka that sells mums, pumpkins, corn stalks and hay bales must be behind schedule this year as they don't have their signs out yet. So, now I have mums (ended up getting them from Lowe's instead of the FM), but still need the pumpkins, corn stalks and hay bales to make my usual fall display.

Finally, the Elusive Hummingbird Photographed

While standing in the garden this morning, mourning the faded blooms and dying vines, I felt the buzzing fly-by of a hummingbird.

I slowly turned toward the zinnias, and to my delight the hummingbird, that I've been trying to photograph all summer, took time out of his busy schedule to pose for a picture.

Dancing in the Rain - AJ and Gretchen's Wedding

As Notre Dame was getting beat @ Penn State Saturday evening, we joined a few hundred well-wishers at the wedding of AJ and Gretchen at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown South Bend.

The ceremony was set to begin at 6:30pm, but there was a bit of a rain delay. The CFHOF giftshop quickly broke out their stash of umbrellas and many of us huddled under them and waited out the rain on the gridiron.

The ceremony got underway a couple of hours later, when the rain slowed to a light sprinkle. And magically, as soon as the vows were exchanged, the rain stopped.



I know that Cheryl would have wished for better weather for her son's wedding, but even with the rain, it was a beautiful event.

Art Beat in South Bend

While strolling through downtown South Bend's Art Beat Thusday night, we saw a one-man steel drum band, flaminco dancers, violinists and many artists selling their work.

Stretched between the Morris Civic plaza and Wayne Street were thousands of people enjoying a pleasant summer evening of performing, visual and culinary art.