Barns, Grandkids, and Books

Over the weekend, we got to visit some of the grandkids (and their parents, of course). They're always so sweet and entertaining. A few minutes after giving the three-year-old a box of 'Frozen' Band-Aids, they were mostly plastered up and down her right leg. They don't last long, but I think she has fun ripping them open and applying them. And that's what counts.

All of the barn photos you see were taken on the way home, north of Highway 29, not far from Wausau, WI. There seem to be several barns that have an addition cantilevered out over a storage space or shelter for animals, as we've seen in Pennsylvania. Apparently that didn't catch on in Barron County, where we live.

It was a gorgeous day, and yes, the skies were THAT blue.

Oh yes, here's a collage of little Frozen Girl and her older brother, who is really into 'K'Nex,' a building toy we also had for our boys when they were kids. In the collage below, Mr. C. is holding Frozen Girl while she pops the bubbles that are blown her way.

He builds quite elaborate contraptions

These are the books that are currently lying around the house with hopes of getting read soon. I'm well into N.T. Wright's Paul For Everyone (Romans Part One), and I'm half done with Mrs. Milburn's Diaries, the fascinating diaries of a British woman who lived near Coventry and kept these diaries of the 'the war to end all wars' and of life in general in the village. 

The other night I was watching a PBS documentary on WWI, and the Lafayette Escadrilles were mentioned, so when it was over, I looked it up on Amazon (It's what's used right after Google, you know) and of the various books on the American fliers who flew for France, this one (First to Fly) by Charles Bracelen Flood looked the most interesting. I downloaded a free sample from Amazon for my Kindle, and now that I've read that and found it necessary to read the book, I'll either get it used on Amazon or get the Kindle copy.

Then there's A Fine Romance, by Susan Branch. Okay, I'm probably the only woman in blogland who had only recently heard of Susan Branch and had never ever read a book she'd written. Last week someone on Instagram had a photo of one of the pages of the book and it reminded me so much of my travel journals I create, that I was immediately smitten and of course bought the one about 'Falling in love with the English Countryside.' Of COURSE. Fortunately, the postman brought it just as we were leaving for Wausau, so I was able to take it along to read on the way. While reading it silently, I laughed so much that Mr. C. became more interested in my book than he was in continuing to listen to some political news, that he turned off the radio and Susan Branch entertained us as she recounted her travels in England (a subject near and dear to our own hearts!)

I found both the Georgette Heyer book and the Ken Follett book at St. Vincent's in Wausau (the treasure store!) when we went there with our daughter and the grandkids. I'd read Follet's book, Pillars of the Earth and liked it (a lot, probably mostly because it was about Canterbury Cathedral and Thomas Becket, etc. etc.). Besides, having read Erik Larson's book, In the Garden of Beasts, this WWII novel The Eye of the Needle definitely calls to me. 

I'm not a huge fan of Georgette Heyer, but I'm going to try her again. For a buck, I really can't go wrong. I'll lay it somewhere around the house so that I run into it from time to time and read a bit now and then.

I find that I love reading that way. Maybe I have readers' ADD or something, but I read Paul For Everyone early in the morning; Mrs. Milburn's Diaries is read while I'm eating my sandwich at noon; all Kindle offerings are read at bedtime or in the middle of the night when the kittens won't leave me alone anyway. (Mr. C. reminds me that our bedroom *does* have a door, but that seems so mean. Besides, I've got a lot to get read.)

So back to Susan Branch, I know there are fans out there, so what's your favorite Susan Branch book. And really? Are all of her books actually  handwritten and illustrated??? It's like reading a picture book for adults. Great fun!

Linking to Mosaic Monday   
and Tom's Barn Collective

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The Red Barn Mystery and Lots of Ducks

I made sure to take my camera along when we went to Rochester on Wednesday, and couldn't resist taking a photo of this beautiful red barn. I'll let you in on a secret about it at the end of the post. I know, the suspense will just kill you!

In the meantime, I'm showing you some pics taken at a pond, and I think it was a National Wildlife Refuge on the Mississippi River at Wabasha, (Okay, Mr. C. just corrected me and said it was 'just' a pond. Fine. Well, very close to it is the wildlife refuge then.) Anyway, it lies just across the border of Wisconsin (which IS the Mississippi River) in Wabasha, MN. Wabasha is a pretty little town and heavily decorated for fall. The prettiest decorations, of course, come from the Creator who has given us abundant beauty in his creation. But Wabasha makes sure that ribboned corn shocks are hugging all the lamp posts and pumpkins are scattered thickly throughout the town.

What caught my eye, though, was the number of ducks on that bit of water, and how interested they were in us when we pulled off the road and stopped the car. Those  curious birds immediately started swimming toward the shore and the first brave fella walked right up to our car. I was afraid he was going to ask us for a permit or something! 

After a while they became disinterested and decided to leave. The takeoff was so fun to watch!

Birds of a feather, more or less.

On a quiet and pretty duck pond in Wabasha, MN

And now for the secret. The red barn at the beginning of this post is the very same barn as the one pictured above, (photo taken in early August). They had painted the barn since we were last there! I'm very glad that I got the 'before' photo as well as the 'after.' Although the photos were taken from different roads, this is the same barn, somewhere between Rochester and Wabasha, MN.

Linking to Eileen's Saturday's Critters

and Tom's Barn Collective

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