I was down and out most of last week with the aforementioned cold. I am making my comeback in fits and starts, but I'm feeling pretty well today.
Delight:
Saturday we biked down to Christy Woods, a 17 acre property located on the southwest corner of the Ball State University campus, for a spring wildflower walk. We saw Trout Lilies, Spring Beauties, Showy Trillium, May Apples, Poison Ivy, and a bunch of others that I'll never remember or recognize. Yesterday we had the opportunity to show off our new-found botanical knowledge when we visited a friend's fabulous home and property up near Albany, IN. (Indiana does keep us feeling at home in that respect -- there are many cities here that we're familiar with because of their NY counterparts: Albany, Dunkirk, and Syracuse, just to name a few!)
Delight:
We headed up to Ft. Wayne via Route 1, a scenic country road through towns with bad names and lots of farmland. Along the way, there was a highway sign announcing "Historical Marker 1 mi." I don't remember what towns we were between. Not sure we had ever seen such advance notice for a historical marker, we remained on the lookout and discovered the highway marker pictured here.
We drove past in the first time and had to circle back. The sign reads:
A STATION ON THE
UNDERGROUND
RAILROAD.
TRADITION SAYS
ELIZA HARRIS
OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN FAME
RESTED HERE IN HER
FLIGHT TO CANADA.
What does that mean? Did she rest in the ramshackle cabin that appears behind the pillar? The cabin sits in the middle of a field, with a dirt road leading up to it. Although the windows appeared to be boarded up, the driveway appeared to be well-used and there was evidence of a recent paint job in those red doors. Maybe Ms. Harris slept in a structure previously on the site of the historical marker. I couldn't find any evidence of this marker at Indiana's historical marker Web site. We may never know the answers to these questions.
On the next trip, I'll have to stop and snap a picture of a fabulously derelict brick building that sits just off Route 1 not far north of Albany. It could have been an old school building, perhaps a church... something with a bell tower.
Delight:
We ventured north to Ft. Wayne in order to finally check out an exhibit of rare books, at St. Francis University this semester. We first learned this collection existed when they publicized last semester's exhibit down in Anderson (about 20 minutes away). As all too often happens, we lost track of time and didn't make it to Anderson, despite having the article from the paper prominently posted on the fridge as a daily reminder. The Remnant Trust has collected an amazing number of original and first edition works dealing with the topics of liberty and dignity, with some books dating back to 1250. Among the collection at St. Francis was an illuminated manuscript of one of Cicero's great orations; one of three bound copies of The Federalist Papers known to exist; the Dred Scott Decision; the Lincoln-Douglass Debates; and additional works by Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Paine, Adam Smith, and on and on. The truly amazing part is that the public as allowed to touch, read, smell, feel the originals. Without gloves. Yes, it's enough to give an archivist palpitations -- but what an opportunity!
Disappointment:
Alas, despite a pre-Easter phone call to confirm that this wasn't a hoax and that I could just show up anytime during library hours and interact with these wonderful books, who ever I spoke to may have lied through her teeth in assuring me that no appointment was necessary. We arrived last evening to discover the books under lock and key because it was necessary to make an appointment with the flighty student who was working part-time for some history professor in managing the collection. Why no library staff member had the key to the books prominently showcased in their library, I don't know. Why alternate arrangements weren't made so that this poor student could study for her final exams un-harassed by the public during the final weeks of the exhibit, I don't know. Why any part-time student was the ONLY one at the whole university who seemed to bear any responsibility for the showcase, I don't know. So we got to SEE the books, but weren't able to DO anything with them, and that was pretty much the whole point of the trip. The collection will be in and around Indiana for the next several semesters, so hopefully new opportunities will abound in which to participate with the books.
Delight:
We did get an excellent tip for dinner: Mad Anthony's Brewing Company. Their house beers were terrific, and we finally found a place in Indiana that knows fried fish should be beer-battered and not breaded southern-style.
Delight:
Today is another beautiful, sunny day. I've been catching up on "life" a little bit and am finally making Split Pea Soup for Paul with our Easter ham bone. I spent an hour and a half working on the future herb garden. It's currently the site of shrub removal. I finally got those three shrubs cleared out and was raking the bed back into a presentable shape (still deciding what to do with the lumps of clay that come out of the ground and harden up quickly in the sun), pulling weeds, etc. when my rake got stuck.
Disappointment:
On a sawn-off stump that was totally hidden by mulch and other plant debris. I started digging around it, but I was worn out by that time and it wasn't budging, so my foe remains until another day.
Mixed Bag:
In backyard news, the inevitable has happened: Our new FAT rabbits have merged to form cute baby rabbits. On the plus side, I don't much care what they eat back there -- especially if they develop a taste for half-dead shrubbery. However, I expect they'll develop a taste for radishes and basil as soon as I get those planted.
Delight:
Saturday we biked down to Christy Woods, a 17 acre property located on the southwest corner of the Ball State University campus, for a spring wildflower walk. We saw Trout Lilies, Spring Beauties, Showy Trillium, May Apples, Poison Ivy, and a bunch of others that I'll never remember or recognize. Yesterday we had the opportunity to show off our new-found botanical knowledge when we visited a friend's fabulous home and property up near Albany, IN. (Indiana does keep us feeling at home in that respect -- there are many cities here that we're familiar with because of their NY counterparts: Albany, Dunkirk, and Syracuse, just to name a few!)
Delight:
We headed up to Ft. Wayne via Route 1, a scenic country road through towns with bad names and lots of farmland. Along the way, there was a highway sign announcing "Historical Marker 1 mi." I don't remember what towns we were between. Not sure we had ever seen such advance notice for a historical marker, we remained on the lookout and discovered the highway marker pictured here.
We drove past in the first time and had to circle back. The sign reads:
A STATION ON THE
UNDERGROUND
RAILROAD.
TRADITION SAYS
ELIZA HARRIS
OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN FAME
RESTED HERE IN HER
FLIGHT TO CANADA.
What does that mean? Did she rest in the ramshackle cabin that appears behind the pillar? The cabin sits in the middle of a field, with a dirt road leading up to it. Although the windows appeared to be boarded up, the driveway appeared to be well-used and there was evidence of a recent paint job in those red doors. Maybe Ms. Harris slept in a structure previously on the site of the historical marker. I couldn't find any evidence of this marker at Indiana's historical marker Web site. We may never know the answers to these questions.
On the next trip, I'll have to stop and snap a picture of a fabulously derelict brick building that sits just off Route 1 not far north of Albany. It could have been an old school building, perhaps a church... something with a bell tower.
Delight:
We ventured north to Ft. Wayne in order to finally check out an exhibit of rare books, at St. Francis University this semester. We first learned this collection existed when they publicized last semester's exhibit down in Anderson (about 20 minutes away). As all too often happens, we lost track of time and didn't make it to Anderson, despite having the article from the paper prominently posted on the fridge as a daily reminder. The Remnant Trust has collected an amazing number of original and first edition works dealing with the topics of liberty and dignity, with some books dating back to 1250. Among the collection at St. Francis was an illuminated manuscript of one of Cicero's great orations; one of three bound copies of The Federalist Papers known to exist; the Dred Scott Decision; the Lincoln-Douglass Debates; and additional works by Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Paine, Adam Smith, and on and on. The truly amazing part is that the public as allowed to touch, read, smell, feel the originals. Without gloves. Yes, it's enough to give an archivist palpitations -- but what an opportunity!
Disappointment:
Alas, despite a pre-Easter phone call to confirm that this wasn't a hoax and that I could just show up anytime during library hours and interact with these wonderful books, who ever I spoke to may have lied through her teeth in assuring me that no appointment was necessary. We arrived last evening to discover the books under lock and key because it was necessary to make an appointment with the flighty student who was working part-time for some history professor in managing the collection. Why no library staff member had the key to the books prominently showcased in their library, I don't know. Why alternate arrangements weren't made so that this poor student could study for her final exams un-harassed by the public during the final weeks of the exhibit, I don't know. Why any part-time student was the ONLY one at the whole university who seemed to bear any responsibility for the showcase, I don't know. So we got to SEE the books, but weren't able to DO anything with them, and that was pretty much the whole point of the trip. The collection will be in and around Indiana for the next several semesters, so hopefully new opportunities will abound in which to participate with the books.
Delight:
We did get an excellent tip for dinner: Mad Anthony's Brewing Company. Their house beers were terrific, and we finally found a place in Indiana that knows fried fish should be beer-battered and not breaded southern-style.
Delight:
Today is another beautiful, sunny day. I've been catching up on "life" a little bit and am finally making Split Pea Soup for Paul with our Easter ham bone. I spent an hour and a half working on the future herb garden. It's currently the site of shrub removal. I finally got those three shrubs cleared out and was raking the bed back into a presentable shape (still deciding what to do with the lumps of clay that come out of the ground and harden up quickly in the sun), pulling weeds, etc. when my rake got stuck.
Disappointment:
On a sawn-off stump that was totally hidden by mulch and other plant debris. I started digging around it, but I was worn out by that time and it wasn't budging, so my foe remains until another day.
Mixed Bag:
In backyard news, the inevitable has happened: Our new FAT rabbits have merged to form cute baby rabbits. On the plus side, I don't much care what they eat back there -- especially if they develop a taste for half-dead shrubbery. However, I expect they'll develop a taste for radishes and basil as soon as I get those planted.
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