Tag Archives: southern indiana

Another view of the eclipse

Posted on April 14, 2024 | 1 comment

The eerie darkness shadowed the land while the skies on the horizons were light. All the yard lights came on. There is a video clip of this on the KitMiracleArt Facebook page, too.

Maybe you’ve been overwhelmed with all the reports about the solar eclipse this past week, but for those of us in the direct path, it was a life-time experience. For me, it right up there with the spectacular Hale-Bopp light show back in 1997, and the birth of my children.

Here in southern Indiana, we were in the direct path of totality. Every little town and burg was prepared. Events were planned months in advance. Businesses were using every type of marketing to entice visitors to the region. I joked with my husband that we ought to rent out our front field for parking. We didn’t. However, the nearby winery was charging $40 a car…in a gravel parking lot.

Many varieties of eclipse glasses. I was not successful in filming the actual eclipse on my phone by placing them in front of the camera.

And then there were those people who complained at the last minute that they didn’t have the special glasses. Really? You didn’t know the eclipse was coming? Libraries and other organizations were giving the glasses away for free. One disgruntled person in a fit of sour grapes commented, I hope it’s cloudy that day!

I was fortunate to experience the solar eclipse back in 1997 but it was only 93% coverage. It was still impressive. But total eclipse was beyond anything I expected.

The eclipse casts crescent-shaped shadows.

As we sat on the patio with our eclipse glasses on, we watched the shadow take over our area. We noticed how the birds and other animals quieted, and the frogs in the creek fired up. The yard lights came on. The eerie darkness with the lighted sky on the horizons prevailed. We could take our glasses off for a few minutes while the eclipse was a peak. Noting stars, the corona, other mysterious solar events. The experience was overwhelming.

A visiting blacksnake added to the excitement of the event. I didn’t know that they can raise themselves up. Watch a video of this on my Facebook page at KitMiracleArt.

Meanwhile, a big black snake came out and our border collie alerted us to the invader. I did not know that snakes can stand up when they feel threatened. I’ve posted a still shot of this side event, but you can check out the video on my Facebook site at KitMiracleArt. All ended well. The dog was called off and the snake headed towards the woodpile to feast upon little rodents.

I hope that many of you have some memorable moments about the total eclipse. This was truly one of those lifetime memory events and I won’t forget it anytime soon, if ever.

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Posted in country living

Tagged 2024, astronomy, blacksnake, eclipse, indiana, nasa, solar eclipse, southern indiana, sun

Garden update, June 2023

Posted on June 24, 2023 | Comments Off

It’s been about a month since my last garden post with the raised beds. Most of the garden was planted on May 6^th.

As you can see from the photos, the growth of the plants has exploded. We’ve been eating spinach and lettuce for a few weeks now. The netting has kept the plants very clean and bug free. I think it also supplies a bit of shade, too. When I planted the seeds back in mid-April, I thought that I didn’t have a very large spot for the leafy greens, but the small space has been more than enough to supply our needs. I also discovered that it’s better to cut the greens early in the morning so they’ll stay crisp. If I cut them later in the day, they tend to get wilty.

Also, in the same raised bed I have sixteen pepper plants (hot and sweet), a large basil plant and cilantro, and some sugar pea pods. The peppers are just coming in this week and I’ve been eating the pea pods every time I pass by so I couldn’t exactly tell you how those are producing.

The second raised bed has ten tomato plants and two eggplants. The first set of tomato plants that I planted in mid April were hit heavily by a very hard frost at the end of April. I just cut off the cherry tomatoes and, surprise surprise, the plants grew back. The others I pulled out and planted some new plants. We have Sweet 100 (cherry), Fat Mama (roma-type), Park Whopper, Pink Brandywine (a German tomato which was our favorite a couple of years ago.) They all are heavy with tomatoes so I’m sure we’ll be eating them in a few weeks.

The eggplants were only hit a little by flea beetles. We don’t use any pesticides and, as before, the plants pulled out of the attack.

Beans to the left. Squash and zucchini on the right.

The green beans are blossoming heavily so I expect we’ll have some beans pretty soon. And the two squash mounds are producing. We have yellow squash and grey zucchini which we’ve been eating for a week or so.

I’ve been watering about every other day depending upon the soil moisture. The ground cloth and the cardboard have been doing a great job of keeping the weeds down and the moisture up. No pesticides and a light feeding about once a week.

Today’s harvest. Went into stir-fry tonight.

So far, I’m pretty pleased with the new raised beds. So much less work after initial set up. But I’m going to miss fresh sweet corn and my cut flowers.

Stay tuned for future reports. Meanwhile, I’ll have to check out my zucchini brownies recipe.

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Tagged country living, gardening, kit miracle, pea pods, raised beds, southern indiana

Fog

Posted on January 8, 2023 | 2 comments

The east field. Frequently we see deer crossing here.

I am glad that I live in a climate that exhibits mercurial moods. The past month has been some wild ride. Record-setting heat for winter, up to the 70s. And a blizzard which scrubbed the land with high winds, followed by bone-chilling freezes. No two days were the same, it seemed. I think I would get bored if every day was sunny and warm, say like Florida or Arizona. But ask me about that next month towards the end of February.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that my own mood perks up on sunny days. Thus, I seem to prefer painting outdoor scenes depicting sunshine. So when I woke to a heavy fog a couple of weeks ago, I marched outside (yes, in my robe and rubber boots) to take some photos of the fog. The air was soft and the neighborhood was very quiet. It seemed shrouded in mystery if that isn’t too much of a cliché. One could almost imagine some settlers emerging from the heavy air or some knights on horseback in days of old. Yeah, too much reading with my granddaughter.

The front yard. I saw some deer go across the end earlier.

But as I was reviewing my photos, I got inspired to try some new subjects. The misty landscapes will probably appear sometime in the next few months. Just imagine the peace and soft footfalls.

The north field. The fog is beginning to lift but it’s just above the tree tops.

Oh, by the way, happy new year. Or at least a better one if the past has been difficult for you. Find a still place to reflect, maybe enjoy the peace of some foggy weather.

A big maple in the side yard. The fog is already beginning to lift.

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Posted in country living, Uncategorized

Tagged country living, fog, indiana, kit miracle, southern indiana, weather, winter

Painting local

Posted on June 5, 2022 | Comments Off

The Little Cottage, acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14, KitMiracle I was driving down a side street of nearby Birdseye, Indiana, when this scene captured my attention. One of the smallest houses in town with the largest tree in town. The front path and gate are framed by beautiful lavender and blue irises. Painted in heavy impasto, a very impressionist-style painting.

One of my favorite parts about traveling is seeing new vistas. Visiting the mountains, the parks, the ocean, historical sites. It’s all good. I always take my art equipment and capture the areas on canvas. Parking my easel on the edge of the Grand Canyon and painting for a couple of hours is my bliss.

But one of the best parts about traveling is returning home and seeing your own world through new eyes. Noticing that which you may pass every day but in a new way. You can look at your own home town as a tourist.

At the Crossroads, Schnellville, Indiana. Acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14. KitMiracle It was a spring morning and the sun was playing in and out of the clouds. This little road has many twists and curves, the beautiful hills catching the sunlight. This little crossroads only has about six houses and reminds me of many villages in Germany or France.

Seven Cedars in Spring, acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12, KitMiracle. Along the same Schnellville Road, these cedar trees were silhouetted against the spring sky.

Spring here in Southern Indiana was so beautiful this year. Often we’ll receive a late frost or freeze which pretty much ruins everything, but this year was spectacular. The wild flowers in the forests and fields put on a show to remember. I captured the spring greens of the fields and byways for several weeks, and even had my husband drive while I was shouting, stop here! to take photographs.

The Old Lady’s House, acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14, KitMiracle. I used to drive past this house frequently on my way to work. A very old lady lived there who always mowed her lawn by hand, and she always wore a kerchief. I think her grandson lives there now. Located in central Dubois County, this is a very typical spring view in these parts.

The results have been paintings of spring fields and crossroads, little villages, gentle vistas of all types. Not my usual big, bold colors but a much more gentle palette. Often painted in the style of Pissarro or Monet but not actually deliberately. I just want to bring to the viewer’s attention and appreciation the overlooked landscapes of our everyday world.

Take a look around your own world, your home town, the back allies. I’m sure you can find some wonderful vistas, too, which you may have overlooked a hundred times. They’re out there, I promise.

View more about these paintings online at this link.

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Posted in art, contemporary impressionism, country living, impressionism, landscape, old house, travel

Tagged contemporary impressionist, country living, Dubois County, kit miracle, painting local, southern indiana

Cedar bench for the garden

Posted on December 27, 2017 | Comments Off

Cedar bench featuring Southern Indiana cedar boards

Cedar trees are indigenous to southern Indiana and many parts of the Midwest. An evergreen, they add color to the winter landscape. They often grow on soil where other trees can’t seem to get a foothold, limestone, sandstone, and rocky.

This year my family surprised me with refinishing two cedar benches in the garden. Although the benches were still serviceable, after 25 years, they needed an update. This locally cut cedar was selected due to its resistance to insect damage and other wear. I was told by the guys that even the old cedar boards were still in pretty good shape beneath the surface of lichen and weathered materials.

The iron bench supports were repainted and new boards were planed and sanded for this lovely look. If you are not familiar with cedar, it has a wonderful smell which will fade in time as will the bright coloring to a silvery grey.

I’m looking forward to spending some time on these benches this coming year (whenever a gardener has time to rest). They also are a reminder of my mother who owned the original benches so I guess they’re about 40 years old now. I remember many conversations we had on those benches over the years.

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Posted in country living, garden

Tagged cedar benches, cedar trees, country living, crawford county, gardening, indiana, southern indiana

A walk in the big woods.

Posted on October 8, 2017 | 2 comments

It was a beautiful early fall day on Friday so I decided that my dog Mikey and I needed to explore the big woods to see how things were progressing towards autumn. I always take a bag to collect fall things – acorns and pretty leaves, bits of lichen and moss. Our property is a mix of gently rolling hills and streams with some acres of hardwood (red and white oaks) up on a hill. It is one of the highest places around and one of my favorite escapes.

Beginning of the walk through the east bean field.

I usually don’t head up to the woods in the deep summer – too buggy and too many weeds. So I was eager to see what had happened since I’d last been up to the big woods last spring. Of course, this called for long pants and long sleeves, and some bug spray. Dang, I hate chiggers and ticks! And biting flies!

An old weathered tree stump on the dry creek bed.

Through the hickory grove. Love the way the light strikes the dead cedar on the left. My companion Mikey waits almost around the bend. He’s very patient.

Another almost dry creek bed. Look closely and you can see plenty of deer traffic through here, especially some very large prints.

I’m always fascinated by interesting patterns of fungus and lichen.

It’s a little early for many of the leaves to have changed color here but there were the beginning signs. And, as expected, the creeks were really dried up after the past few weeks without rain. Normally everything is very lush, even in the deepest of summer.

Mikey loves to go into the woods and runs about 20 feet for my every step. Of course, one will never see any wildlife as he chases it all off. But I eagerly look for signs and wasn’t disappointed to see some pretty big deer prints in the mud near one of the creeks.

Getting ready to cross under the powerline. Usually this is a cleared path but since we’ve added another path, this one has grown up over the summer. The weeds were taller than me! I’m heading towards that dead tree on the hill on the upper right.

Wading through chest high weeds, I appreciated the brilliant colors of this late patch of goldenrod.

I actually just walked through this (looking back). Path is totally grown over with some fierce briers, snatching at my hat and clothes. I can’t imagine the early pioneers and explorers wading through this kind of terrain, although deep woods really have little undergrowth. This is caused by the open spaces that were created when some trees were taken out.

Reached my “resting” chair, an old chair that we dragged up into the woods on a favorite lookout space. I had to clear the weeds off just to sit down.

Over the past 30 years, we have done some selective timbering. The last time was a few years ago and a new path was cut to the big woods on the hill. The old path had grown over but I wasn’t prepared for just how much it had grown over since last spring. I almost got myself into more work than I anticipated as I had to practically hack my way through the overgrown weeds and briers. It was a relief to come around to the new path (and mowed) area. I sure don’t know how the pioneers did it except that real heavy woods don’t have much undergrowth.

We’ve hacked our way through the briers and have come out on the downside of the loop with the cleared new path. Yay!

Now the hiking is much easier, exactly what I was anticipating.

Coming out of the top woods, heading back under the powerlines.

The view from the top of the woods on the hill. If you enlarge this photo, you’ll see farms in the distance which is about a mile or more away.

Easy walking through the lower woods. These are mostly hardwoods, red and white oak.

Poor Mikey was as tired and thirsty as I was. I have never seen him lie down to drink. I think he really wanted to roll in the water on the cool sidewalk.

Mikey and I had a good hike (about a mile and a half for me) and much more for him. But we were both exhausted by the time we returned to the house. An immediate shower was called for to help prevent any chiggers or ticks from digging in. So far so good. Lots of good material for future paintings and a pleasant way to spend a fall morning.