It's summer, officially, now. That has changed my status from a seasonal blogger to an occasional blogger. Not that there has been any particular occasion to prompt this little pictorial briefing, other than another happy July 4th in central Illinois.
For the second year in a row, Jeanette came down from the UP and we braved the rain-fed mosquitoes to enjoy long walks and evenings outside.
The picnic table has held up well over two years, but one summer project will be sanding this weathered item; I might consider painting it. That might be vaulting ambition. In the meantime, bring out the shrimp skewers, homemade salsa and fresh fruit, pour a good summer wine, and bon appetit!
The little furnace was a free find, courtesy of Jeff's ever-bargain-savvy mom. It burns those Christmas tree branches just fine. We stabilized the blaze with some maple from a downed tree that Jeff committed to nicely chopped firewood.
It's been a whirlwind of change at work... adding staff as we start to expand, but also saying good-bye to graduating residents (4 this year!) and our trusty physician assistant - always-help-in-a-pinch Angela.
April and May found us (as usual) on the road and air... Memorial Day weekend was spent memorably with the Monettes of Maryland. Lily needed to get reacquainted, as the last visit was when she was born! Philip remembered us right away and rain did not dampen his adventurous spirit!
The next day everyone geared up and took the train into the capital for an afternoon in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! After all, what would a Jensen roadtrip be without spending time in an air or transportation museum?
Aspiring pilots and engineers for a day... even Lily was all interested in the finer points of setting up a workbench.
We switched gears: June means baseball for the boys. Uncle Jeff is a willing coach!
Christopher, Peter and Philip all proved to be enthusiastic at the bat and pitcher's plate - as was Lily, ever close on the trail of her brothers!
Our last day was spent on a hike before the airport. We'll need to circle back here to appreciate the trails and Underground Railroad History a little more.
In April, we ventured in a northeasterly direction, joining up with Mom, Dad and Gregory for a Ford Museum expedition while also visiting dear old friends in Michigan. The Ford Rouge Factory tour; the trains and car exhibits at the Ford Museum; Greenfield Village Edison and Ford labs and Wright Bicycle Shop, and of course a few good meals kept us busy. It was a great time - cold, but a great time!
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| Thawing out over lunch in the Michigan Cafe |
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| Wright Brothers' bicycle shop transplanted from Dayton, OH. |
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| Sitting in the Allegheny's engineer's seat... it's a long way up there on (one of) the biggest engines ever built. |
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| Big is relative: if you are a snowplow fan, this whopping blade is quite as impressive. |
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| South Pole moments with Admiral Byrd |
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| Just stop and appreciate the architecture |
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| Who doesn't like hopping a ride on a steam engine? |
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| Village charm, and a taste of history from all over America |
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| Another round of trains... at the RoundHouse |
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Thinking of flying? Try building a plane, with wood and bicycle parts.
Add a lot of recreational calculus, physics and research.
And after all that, you will still not quite be walking in Orville and Wilbur's shoes. |
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Edison labs...
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And then there was the token detour through the physician's office from southern Michigan. It sat untouched for 40 years, after which the family offered it to Mr. Ford as an original physician's office from the time of home visits, Indian-based herbal medicine.
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| Anything look familiar? |
It's sobering and intriguing all at once, because simplicity also means a narrow window for effective treatment and a broad window for therapeutic failure. Still, the dedication and knowledge-sans-e-books is so impressive.
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Some things never get taken off the shelf: these are untouched from the first half of the 20th century. They were gathered by Native American children, whom he paid to hunt for valuable herbs.
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After warm hospitality from many friends, we headed down to Dayton to round out the early technology tour with another Wright Brother's site.
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| The latest museum sits on the site of their printing press and another bicycle shop. |
Believe it or not, that was not all the interstate travel we did this spring. I paid a visit to Mayo Clinic, MN, in March for an outstanding conference on Ethics, Disability and Neurotechnology. It also has some deep historical roots, which after the conference and dinner with colleagues from my residency years, was the main interest in heading up there.
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| Sunny Iowa I-80 |
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| One of the original May Clinic Buildings |
There's no end to the interesting places to go just around the corner. Things we particularly loved about the last few months:
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| Blueprint rooms (Edison Park, Greenfield Village) |
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| Corn. A whole new level of art! |
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| Maureen's Black Lab Trio: hilarious company at the little yellow house in Michigan |
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| Our neighbor's crab-apple tree in May |
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| Ford ingenuity |
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| Homegrown rhubarb |
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| Putting in the garden with a whole new batch of compost |
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| Family! |
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| Friends! |
Home!
(Even though the record rain has inclined me towards planting just waterlilies for the remainder of the season! Thank goodness for more diligent farmers and gardeners than I!)
July 2015
