End of summer recap

It's hard to believe that the summer we waited for so expectantly has come and is (almost) gone. We have only 2 and 1/2 work days left in Illinois. The last month has been a busy one and we have not been to a lot of places or events. We'll make up for that when we begin to travel in about one week. This entry will merely catch us up on some of the events of the last month.

We got together with some of our winter Texan friends in Creston IL recently. Jack and Bernadean Kerns hosted the get-together.

Around the table, Pat, Carol Casner, Dave, Jim Casner, Jack Kerns, Bernadean Kerns.

Jim and Jack working the fryers.

This is Illinois fish, not Texas. Mostly catfish and crappie.

Jack showing off one of his big watermelons.

Sister, Gretchen Winkler, came for a 2-day visit. She is shown here crafting a felted wool soap item.

We did some sight-seeing in Rockford. Here we are with the Stone Guardians of Rockford.

Here we are at the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford. Really nice place to visit.

A lot of work went into the building of Anderson Japanese Gardens, and the work continues as this is a high-maintenance type of venue. Lots of gardening going on every day.

I've started carving on a walnut slab that I hope will end up with two sets of cute raccoon kits looking out of the log. Time will tell. Never worked with walnut before.

Here are the judges at the woodcarving show in Rockford last month. Dave's piece is the acrobatic girl on the left.

And here she is after the show, complete with Honorable Mention ribbon. My first entry in a woodcarving contest, ever.

Here's another piece I carved recently. This one was done for Pat as she loves daisies.

Some swallows nested in the tractor barn at the KOA and I discovered them just a couple of days before they left the nest.

So, we end this entry with a shot of nature, which is part of why we live the RV lifestyle. It keeps us close to nature.