"Back home again, in Indiana"....

For those who don't know it, those are the opening words of our state song. I guess it was the way that I felt as we drove from Nashville to Evansville and I saw the puffy clouds in the blue sky, the Redbuds lining the highway, the patches of dandelions, the pear trees blooming and all the other green stuff that has been missing the last 10 days in Arizona. I love vacations, but "there's no place like home". Now I am playing "catch-up" trying to see what all I have missed while we were gone.After church we stopped at Mouteau Park to look for Meadowlarks....there are always some there at this time of year grazing in the open meadow.

I just wish I could get closer shots! I get so frustrated when I see a beautiful photo like this....the Meadowlark singing....and can't crop in any closer. Sigh.
The back view

They are easy to spot when they turn that yellow breast with the black V towards you. Mike calls it their "sweater" and it does look a lot like a vee-neck sweater.

Also, way out on the pipes there was a Kestrel eating something and sitting there looking very small.

It started doing a "hanging" act in the sky......hunting? Even though I could get photos, once again, I can't crop them very close and still have any details left.

It was interesting to watch it do this, even without good photos.

On the back way home we passed a house with their driveway lined with Bradford Pear trees....beautiful!

They have a couple of beautiful horses, too.

On the home front, I began to search for the changes that had occurred since we left. My violets are beginning to spread everywhere. I love violets, so I let them grow anywhere they want.

Around back, there are pale purple ones mixed with the darker ones.

Spreading towards the neighbor's house....hope they like violets!

My pear tree is not very pretty from a distance....it lost two of its main limbs a few years back...but the flowers are just as pretty as on a whole tree.

Close up against the blue sky :-)

I have two clumps of daffodils along the dam that were still blooming.

One clump is mostly white narcissus....complete with bug.

Dandelions have gone crazy back of the garage.....

....along with lots of other weeds and the grass needs mowing already! Mike will have to spend some time tomorrow finding out if the lawn tractor still works (it is getting really old).

Well.....we're home and everything looks normal for this time of year! My birds are beginning to discover that I'm back home to feed them. I don't think any have moved into my gourds so far....disappointing after last years success. It's time to clean out the flower gardens, mow and trim and try to make the place look ready for a new year of growth.

I've still got a few vacation bits that I will stick in when I have a slow day, but time moves on and I'm sure I will begin to see new stuff every day that I just have to take photos of!