Tales of the Heartland

Christmas 2011 - Louie gets a Mouse

2011-12-30T00:35:00.002-06:00

Me and my long time friend Eric at Lynyrd Skynyrd and Zz Top concert at the Met

2011-10-28T00:10:00.002-05:00

~diana~

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Lynard Skynard singing Sweet Home Alabama at the Metro Center in Rockford Oct 27

2011-10-28T00:08:00.001-05:00

~diana~

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The finished product.

2011-10-22T18:25:00.001-05:00

~diana~

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2011-10-22T18:14:00.001-05:00

My mysterious squash.
~diana~

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A Passing Storm | My Nairn Blog

2011-10-22T17:23:00.000-05:00

A Passing Storm | My Nairn Blog

Bit of a problem at our office after storms.

2011-07-28T13:55:00.001-05:00

~diana~

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Stephenson County Fair

2011-07-14T18:58:00.001-05:00

Camel at the Wambold.s animals

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Your U.S. Cellular photo is here.

2011-07-14T12:53:00.001-05:00

Stephenson County Fair

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2011-07-04T16:52:00.001-05:00

Upton leading off first

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2011-07-04T16:11:00.001-05:00

Happy Fourth from Miller Park... DIANA AND Doug

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2011-07-04T15:02:00.001-05:00

Great seats! Happy Fourth everybody!

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WES AA outing 2011

2011-04-23T20:01:00.001-05:00

Wes pitching in Tennessee April 23 2011 taken by Jon

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It was a cold one

2011-03-02T19:26:00.001-06:00

We had quite the winter at Lake Summerset. Here's a few photos to prove it. Above: that's my dog, Louie, running around in the maze dug out for him by my good friend (neighbor) James. That's my house, below, during the Blizzard of 2011. This obviously was a "snow day," but I had to leave later to help set up a shelter for people caught on U.S. 20, near Lena.

2010-12-28T16:13:00.001-06:00

Cross country skiing at High Points Trail Lena

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Winter Wonderland Dec. 4. 2010, my street

2010-12-04T10:39:00.001-06:00

In the fall, the field behind my house when the sun hit it just right.

2010-12-04T10:37:00.002-06:00

View from front yard Nov. 2, 2010

2010-11-02T21:09:00.000-05:00

Another cool find on a saturday bike ride south of Wes Block TrailHead offroad

2010-10-30T15:19:00.001-05:00

This is a historic bridge! Made it from orangeville to freeport Oct 30

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2010-10-16T16:30:00.001-05:00

Black Hawk statue Oregon il

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Camping at Fox Ridge Oct 123 10

2010-10-03T09:37:00.001-05:00

My humble campsite

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Hard day on the trails!

2010-09-26T17:46:00.002-05:00

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Dakota Marching Band

2010-09-19T14:34:00.002-05:00

Cheese Days, Monroe WI, Sept. 19, 2010, in front of Don Benning's office. Everyone cheered~!

2010-09-04T17:10:00.001-05:00

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September 4 Day Trip on Jane Addams trail - beautiful!

2010-09-04T16:40:00.002-05:00

Checking in at Red Oak!

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2010-09-04T16:36:00.001-05:00

Lunch ... Someone so kindly planted an apple tree by the path!

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Day trip on Jane Addams trail

2010-09-04T16:25:00.002-05:00

I stopped at this incredible place called Jane's Bottoms and an freaking out at its beauty. THANKS JANE WHOEVER YOU ARE!

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2010-09-04T16:05:00.001-05:00

Checking in at Buena Vista

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2010-09-04T16:01:00.001-05:00

Along Jane Adams trail.

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2010-08-29T22:21:00.001-05:00

Jane Addams trail Aug. 2010

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2010-08-29T22:18:00.001-05:00

Jane addams trail this aug 2010

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2010-08-29T17:15:00.001-05:00

Jane Addams Trail agjd tpgp Aug292010

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Emailing: April 6 '10 Freeport storm powerpoles0000003

2010-05-16T22:07:00.001-05:00

Storm left much of Freeport without power. This was the scene on Illinois
26 south of Cedarville. A similar scene played out on Pearl City Road west
of Freeport from what I have heard. Much debris on streets, many trees down
everywhere - evergreens, old trees, young trees, trees hanging on wires,
trees leaning against wires, fences blown over (even barbed wire ones) -
quite the storm last night: 75 mph winds.

Diana

The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:

April 6 '10 Freeport storm powerpoles0000003

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My backyard - May 2, 2010

2010-05-02T15:33:00.002-05:00

Wes pitching -

2010-05-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

Copy and past this link to see Wes, #24, pitching - he's the second pitcher to appear, the one in gray. Naturally since this was published by a TV station/Web site in Mississippi, the opponents, it doesn't show strikeouts, it shows hits ..... but oh well. To those who haven't seen him pitch, here he is!

And here's the link, just in case.....

http://www2.wjtv.com/jtv/sports/professional/professional_baseball/article/m-braves_2_bay_bears_1/132444/

Marlboro Men!

2010-03-16T13:12:00.002-05:00

At long last I have discovered my Marlboro Man - au deuce!!!! - aren't they handsome? I found them in Tombstone, AZ; one is from near Lubbock, Texas (Mr. Handlebar), the other is a local boy "born and raised" he said proudly. Their topic of discussion was whether some guy who criticized one of their boots for having the buckle on the inside rather than the outside of the foot was a knucklehead. Then I got a demonstration of gun twirling ala Doc Holiday. We were in the Crystal Palace for these moments and I was eating a shrooms and swiss cheeseburger and fries with MILK on my Big League Spring Training vacation in Tucson, March, 2010.

Me and Injun Joe in Tombstone March 2010

2010-03-16T13:07:00.001-05:00

2010-03-08T10:33:00.001-06:00

another nice room with a view when visiting Wes this time in Tucson! March 8,2010

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2009-10-21T17:47:00.001-05:00

Front yard Maple tree Oct. 21 2009

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Play these for nature sounds

2009-10-18T14:10:00.002-05:00

2009-10-12T00:33:00.000-05:00

Luck is what happens to you when fate gets tired of waiting.
|~diana ~|

2009-10-03T16:52:00.002-05:00

JON AND MEA IN FRONT OF THE LIBRARY AT EIU ON PARENT WEEKEND OCT. 3, 2009

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2009-09-18T20:21:00.001-05:00

MY KIND OF TOWN ...SENT BY JON

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2009-08-25T00:14:00.001-05:00

Wes done warning up at Hank Aaron field Aug 24 2009

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2009 vacation #2 on 8/24/2009 in Alabama

2009-08-24T16:55:00.001-05:00

Me in the Gulf Aug. 24 2009

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Trip to Mobile Alabama to see Wes Aug 2009

2009-08-22T11:07:00.001-05:00

Here's the view from my hotel window. A tug hauling a big barge.

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2009-08-20T16:37:00.001-05:00

Jon moves in to his dorm room @ EIU on Aug 20, 2009. HOORAY!

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2009-08-15T17:35:00.002-05:00

Chain Saw Artist Rick Kruse, of Ridott, carves a wooden bear holding a red cross for the American Red Cross Northwest Illinois Chapter on Saturday, August 15, 2009. The Red Cross hosted its first ever vendor fair in its parking lot and combined the fundraiser with a blood drive, a silent auction, a drive for volunteers and a barbecue. In the background of the picture, the Red Cross bloodmobile drives away after drawing blood from those who stopped by.

2009-03-24T08:05:00.003-05:00

We had quite a snow on Christmas Eve, 2008. Here's how it looked looking up Winborne (east) from my front porch in the first picture. That's Wesley's Hummer, and my Ford, he arrived at about 4 a.m. after driving through all that snow to get home from Alabama. Below is my back yard. Thankfully, winter is over now.

Wildflowers~!

2008-08-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

More wildflowers from seed I threw down.

Poppy in full bloom

2008-08-23T23:01:00.000-05:00

My idea of planting flowers is to throw down a bag of wildflower seeds. Here's one of my wildflowers. I think it's a poppy~!

So Green This Year

2008-08-23T22:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a look at part of my back yard from the south west. I sure love this yard.

Day before they fledged.....

2008-08-23T22:55:00.001-05:00

Here are four baby bluebirds one day before they left the nest.

2008-08-18T12:27:00.002-05:00

He Emerges~!

2008-08-18T11:40:00.003-05:00

Here's my Monarch butterfly after the worm slept in his chrysalis for 10 days. Isn't he/she/it beautiful?

Louie gets a first-ever Fur Cut~!

2008-08-06T16:46:00.003-05:00

What an incredible difference~! Take special note of his PAWS~!~!

After

Chomp Chomp Chomp~!

2008-08-01T21:08:00.006-05:00

Click to see it full size .... Here's my future Monarch butterfly dining on my milkweed plant in my front yard garden. Here's a video of him eating~! Enjoy~!
And here's one of the butterfly he became later.

Peacocks on Log Cabin

2008-08-01T15:58:00.003-05:00

I pulled off Farwell Bridge Road, next to the Pecatonica River, while on my way home one night from work. What I saw surprised me: four peacocks roosting on the roof of a cabin just off FBR. I called to them (OK, Ok, yes, I talk to animals) and they were mostly fearless. One came very close. It's too bad it wasn't sunny.....

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar

2008-08-01T14:43:00.008-05:00

Here's a picture of a monarch butterly caterpillar who decided to make my front yard garden, which has several milkweek plants, his home. I am hoping he will spin a cocoon and come out a beautiful butterly. Watch for updates and more information about my Monarch.

For more information, this is a really good site: http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Caterpillar.htm

For fun, here's another pic:

Class Reunion

2008-07-20T17:29:00.008-05:00

Click on Pic~!

My high school class of 1973 held its reunion July 19 at Eilert's in Freeport and we had a blast, evidenced by Jackie (first row, left) who could not contain her mirth. Left to right, back row: Fritz K., Barb M., Nancy C., Wayne A., Steve J., Jim B., Mark G., Dalon T., Danny K., (front row); Kenny M., Jackie S., Bonnie C., me, and Kathy B. Missing from the photo is Bill Reeter who somehow managed to slip away without saying goodbye~! Later in the evening Class of '74 leader Kevin Lamm shamed the class of '73 by pointing out at their 30th they had nearly 50 classmates show up. Hmmmmm..... We'll have to try to do better for the 40th.~!

Play me~! Lazy Louie.....(sorry it's sideways...)

2008-07-13T19:51:00.003-05:00

2008-07-11T11:01:00.003-05:00

Here's what it looked like when Freeport flooded, in June.

ALMOST PERFECT!!!

2008-07-08T00:26:00.005-05:00

July 7, 2008

Inside The Shell -- Flirting with perfection
Submitted by beek on Mon, 2008-07-07 21:35.
Posted in Featured Blog | Modesto Bee Staff | Sports/Athletics | beek's blog »
Visalia 4, Modesto 2. Game 88 of 140

GAME IN A GRAF – Oaks’ righty Wes Roemer took a perfect game into the seventh inning before giving up two runs, but that was all the Nuts would get as they had to settle for a split of the four-game series.

Keith Weiser pitched well, but allowed three runs in the sixth inning. Daniel Mayora broke up Roemer’s gem with a one-out triple in the seventh,

and Mike Paulk followed with an RBI double. Cole Garner’s two-out single scored Paulk, but those were the only three hits Modesto would collect.

Finally ... a WIN

2008-07-01T00:32:00.003-05:00

Eat some dirt
Oaks bang out the hits against Lake Elsinore Storm
BY ANDREW BETTENCOURT • ABETTENC@VISALIA.GANNETT.COM • JULY 3, 2008

Wes Roemer (4-7) turned in his third straight quality start, limiting the Storm to five hits and three runs in seven innings. Roemer has a 2.75 earned run average over his last five starts.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080703/SPORTS/807030325

Visalia's Wes Roemer tosses a pitch against the Bakersfield Blaze Friday at Recreation Park. Roemer went six innings and allowed just one run, unearned, in picking up a no-decision. The Blaze beat the Oaks 2-1. (MICHAEL ALVARE
**
Oaks lose pitcher's duel to Blaze

BY ANDREW BETTENCOURT • ABETTENC@VISALIA.GANNETT.COM • JUNE 28, 2008
***
Some good news was the starting outing turned in by Wes Roemer.

With Valdez out of the rotation, the Oaks are in almost in dire need of a dominant pitcher — especially if the offensive woes continue. Roemer, a 2007 first-round supplemental pick of the Diamondbacks out of Cal State Fullerton, could be a staff-ace candidate.

Roemer gave up just six hits and an unearned run in six innings. Over his last four starts, Roemer has shaved almost a full run off his ERA — going from 5.51 to 4.63 since June 3.

Prom, 2008

2008-06-09T00:11:00.000-05:00

Jon and Tyler, Prom, 2008

Storm over Chicago

2008-06-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

I thought this was so cool I borrowed it. This was shot and posted on the Chicago Tribune's Web site by a subscriber. Cool huh?

Lake Summerset is WET

2008-06-06T23:55:00.003-05:00

Spring storms are hammering the area. I captured this photo while videoing a possible tornado. Later I captured photos of the aftermath: Flooding along Yellow Creek at Bolton Road and a video of the fierce clouds at Lake Summerset, some of which later assuredly spawned tornadoes just east of the lake.

Gore and politics

2008-06-05T16:16:00.004-05:00

http://politics1.com/

EDITORIAL: DRAFT AL GORE FOR VICE PRESIDENT. AMERICA WINS WITH OBAMA-GORE.

Senator Barack Obama needs a Vice Presidential runningmate who will calm older, union, Jewish, blue collar and white voters who voted for Hillary Clinton ... voters who still admire the Clintons ... voters concerned about Obama's experience in foreign policy. ...Email the Obama campaign: Let them know you support Al Gore for VP. For our party. To strengthen our nation. To heal our world.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 06.05.08 | Permalink | COMMENTS (365)

2008-05-16T18:34:00.001-05:00

My lilacs

Each spring nature paints her beautiful picture of lavender in my back yard. I made a lovely centerpiece for my coffee table.

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2008-04-26T09:39:00.002-05:00

Great Modesto Bee article on Wesley's 7 shutout innings on April 25, 2008, against the (Rockies) Modesto Nuts.

http://www.modbee.com/sports/story/280846.html

From the Fresno Bee newspaper

2008-04-24T18:01:00.007-05:00

"Because of the Diamondbacks' willingness to promote their prospects quickly, Roemer knows exactly what he needs to do to earn his ticket out of Visalia: perform.

"I'm going to try and do what I did in college and last year in Yakima, and that's pound the zone with strikes," said Roemer, the 50th overall selection last year out of Cal State-Fullerton.
"If I do that, I'm sure I'll move up quickly."

Roemer said he received his share of hazing during spring training, including a tongue lashing from veteran second baseman Orlando Hudson for not being ready soon enough before an exhibition.

"I learned a lot while I was up there," Roemer said. "Everyone thinks of big leaguers as being laid-back, but they work their butts off. You can't mess around or Hudson or [outfielder Eric] Byrnes are going to come up and kick your butt."

2008-04-11T13:41:00.001-05:00

Here we are at beautiful Chase Field in August 2007 after Wes signed his contract. Fun huh? I can't wait to go back. Wes is on the right.

FresnoBee.com: Sports: Leap seems shorter for Oaks

2008-04-04T11:20:00.001-05:00

Nice Fresno Bee pic of Wes plus an article about how rookies rocket through the DBacks system. Enjoy.

FresnoBee.com: Sports: Leap seems shorter for Oaks

In "The Heartland"

2008-03-29T20:30:00.001-05:00

America, the beautiful. Click on the picture to enlarge.

Seen on Rt. 11/81 at County Road "S" east of Monroe, Wisc.

Diana's Tuscon

2008-03-29T19:20:00.003-05:00

For a week, I languished in Tucson, visiting Wes while he worked out with the DBacks in Spring Training. Ah, the life. Nobody told me what to do. Nobody told me where and when to go. It was magnificent and I'd love to do it again and soon, and not so much because I was in the lap of luxury: it was fine, but this is the view from my hotel room. Note the bullet hole in my window.

Below is the DBAcks mascot, Baxter. Everyone loves Baxter.

Where's Wes?

2008-03-28T20:27:00.014-05:00

Relatives are beginning to ask: It's almost time for the season opener: where's Wesley? Well, he's done now with Spring Training and in Visalia, California, where he'll join the DBacks farm team "The Visalia Oaks." Here's a link to his schedule:

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_sch&did=milb&cid=516

I think you can listen to games free on the Web site.

Below is their report on Wes on their Web site, which you can also find at:

http://visalia.oaks.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t516

"Taken out of Cal State-Fullerton with a supplemental first-round pick last spring, Roemer was limited to just 12 innings at Yakima after a heavy workload in college. He'll be free to show what he can do at Visalia to start 2008.

With a potentially plus slider and a fastball in the low 90s, he has good makeup and a big-league demeanor. The club has high hopes for him. "We're getting him the foundation to kick start his career, command and the ability to use his fastball and mix his pitches," Hinch explained. "He loves to compete and pitch inside and that makes it a lot easier to work with him."
Audio: Roemer fans two with the bases loaded

Let the games begin! Hey~! Get up off that chair~!

Listen to Wes on MLB.com for $14 for the whole season.

Other family news: Jon begins his OWN season as Dakota Indians varsity baseball ramps up its season. All the talk about Jon now is where he'll be going to college.

Isn't Spring fun?
**

2008-03-04T14:08:00.001-06:00

Chase Field

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Just to see what it would do, I sent this picture I took at the Diamondback's field in Phoenix, from my phone. It posted all by itself. Not bad~!

First Major League Appearance

2008-03-03T18:02:00.022-06:00

As a non-roster invitee to the Arizona Diamondback's Spring Training games in Tucson, Wes took the mound on March 2 against the Chicago White Sox. Here's a picture of him as he arrived at the mound.

And here he is pitching to Jim Thome (below, right) (Thome flew out)

(Photo courtesy of Mike Edwards)

And here's a pic of him signing autographers later.... (below) (Photo courtesy Mom Roemer)

The best part about the whole thing is Kirk Gibson is coaching him.

Here's a pic of the two of them in the dugout, below. (Wes is the first player wearing a black cap, to the left of Gibson.)

Wes got his shoes spray painted gold in one practice ... there's some "hazing" involved, though it's all in good fun. For more information on how the rookies, including Wes, were treated at Spring Training, go to the following Web site:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080303&content_id=2401889&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnered=rss_mlb

"Let it snow ......"

2008-02-27T09:39:00.003-06:00

It's incredible, the amount of snow Northwest Illinois has seen this year. This is a photo of my parent's road, albeit not a very good one, because I took it with my camera phone. But what incredible beauty greeted me when I went outdoors on Tues. Feb. 26 after a night-long heavy wet snow coated the region. School was called off for the day. We are all hoping that this snow stops coming, though it is in the forecast for weekend (when I'll be in Arizona, watching the Cactus League games).

2008-01-29T18:35:00.000-06:00

Along the line of things I do at work, one day, I came upon this white fox roaming beside the road. He wasn't very scared of me, and he was trying to find a way to get back inside that fence, to the field.

Ultimately he caught a mouse, and ate it, while I click click clicked with the camera.

!
People were stopping on the road to see him, and I had a field day writing the story later. Enjoy~

He Liked What He Saw

2008-01-29T18:33:00.007-06:00

Wes update:

Feb. 17, 2008: TUCSON, Ariz. -- Bob Melvin got a glimpse of the future Saturday and the D-backs manager liked what he saw.

Above: Wes, in Omaha, 2007, after a good strikeout.

Feb. 17, 2008: TUCSON, Ariz. -- Bob Melvin got a glimpse of the future Saturday and the D-backs manager liked what he saw. As pitchers and catchers went through their first workout of the spring, Melvin watched some of the organization's top pitching prospects throw bullpen sessions. Max Scherzer, Jarrod Parker, Wes Roemer, Barry Enright and Hector Ambriz all took their turns. ... Among those that did were Roemer and Enright, who were drafted last year....
From: Arizona DBacks Notes: Melvin pleased with pitching
D-backs' young prospects turn in strong showing at camp
By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080216&content_id=2376368&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari

Left: Wes, pitching at ECU, spring, 2007

Omaha, 2007

2008-01-29T18:27:00.001-06:00

This guy sat in front of us at the Omaha games in 2007. Great T Shirt right? Ty Cobb ... what a great baseball player.

2008-01-29T18:25:00.000-06:00

One of the beautiful results of watching Wes and Jon play baseball was keeping score.

Over the years I learned to use whatever I had on hand to score and make up my own folder ... here's a copy of my scorekeeping when CSUF played Rice in 2007.

2008-01-29T18:20:00.000-06:00

Jon loves to play basketball. Here's a picture of him on the court with his coaches.

Fire in the field

2007-09-21T19:28:00.001-05:00

I have a really cool job as a newspaper reporter for a mid-sized daily in Freeport, Illinois. One night on the way home from work I couldn't help but notice a fire in the distance, so I chased it ... and found farmers burning their field. There was no danger, but a cool picture came from it ... enjoy.

Yes, more baseball, this time, the REAL DEAL

2007-07-27T00:51:00.002-05:00

At long last, he did it. My son Wes became a professional baseball player. In this photo, we are visiting Wrigley field where the Diamondbacks are playing the Cubs. That's Jon on the left and Wes on the right. The next night he put pen to paper, as did I, and agreed to terms with the Arizona Diamondbacks. We are so happy (note the smiles on our faces~!) Wes was sent to Yakima Washington to play for the Yakima Bears.

Bluebirds dining at the Ultimate Bluebird Feeder

2007-07-15T23:02:00.001-05:00

Below is a video of my male bluebird eating mealworms from my Ultimate Bluebird Feeder, a gizmo I invented for my wild birds so they could eat mealworms without the mealworms getting away or getting washed away in a storm or blown away with the wind. If you are interested in one, give me a jingle.

Watch me: Bluebirds dining out

2007-07-15T21:06:00.000-05:00

2007-07-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

WESLEY'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

So I'm headed to a movie -- a Bruce Willis flick -- and, as usual, the cell phone goes off. Who could it be but, of course, my baseball son Wes (see Wes in photo; he won some golf balls at a parent/player picnic in Omaha for hitting a golf ball over the Missouri River).

First, there's an expletive, then the news: he's driving on I10 toward Phoenix and he's 45 miles out of town and he's been on "E" for about a half hour. At some point in time you ask yourself where your kids missed the boat on things like filling up with all fluids, including gasoline, before doing things like crossing a desert. Anyway, to make a long story short, he kept going despite my advice to call AAA beFORE he ran out of gas on the interstate at midnight, and he made it... but the texts kept coming through the first half of the movie, "the Bruce Willis never dies flick no. 4". The next day, the next call came. Wes was sick. He's in Tucson where he ate something bad - probably vegetables from a concerned friend. And now he's late for a date in Texas where his gal pal Jay was waiting with relatives for him. Of course there are long pieces of advice given on how to pacify angry girlfriends. The next day, the third call. He needs Grandma's scalloped potatoes recipe. He's cooking for all her relatives. And the next day the fourth call: the check engine light came on in his Subaru Imprezza, which he's driving here to give to his brother, Jon. This is Jon doing what he does best other than leaving a mess in the basement ....

Tomorrow, Wes leaves Texas, on his way here, to Illinois. This is his last excellent vacation before he goes to sign with the D-Backs in a week or so and heads off to the minors. Baseball players. Ya gotta love 'em.

Everyone leaves home eventually I guess...

2007-06-23T20:09:00.001-05:00

And now, the Orchard Orioles are gone. But not without leaving a mark on my heart - and giving me a slight scare.

Mid-June: I noticed the first of the babies had popped from the nest and was following "mom" about the back yard as she and papa oriole fussed at the others in the nest. There was a lot going on: papa and mama both cleaning out the nest, flying across to the neighbor's yard with baby birdie waste and so forth.

Saturday, June 23: I came home from work to find my backyard silent of Oriole songs. Where were my babies? Those tiny things couldn't ALL be flying around yet could they? Before too long, my curiousity got the best of me and I climbed up on my ladder to peek into their nest. A flash of wings and a startled baby -- the last of the bunch to leave the nest -- leaped out at me.

A Rescue

Poor baby didn't know how to fly yet and so hopped about the ground wildly flapping. I felt bad and Mama bird was ANGRY. I finally caught the fledgling, depositing him safely back into the nest. As I climbed down the ladder and turned away, I heard a flutter. I looked, but saw nothing. For an hour, I sat on the porch monitoring the nest, fretting. Had I scared the mama away? Was she abandoning that baby?

All gone

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Believing I had inherited an orphan, I climbed back on the ladder and carefully peeked inside. No baby~! Finally, they had all flown the nest. And now, I wonder: will they ever come back? I miss them~! To read more about Orioles, check out this site: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bow/orcori/

Butterflies and Wes

2007-06-22T22:52:00.001-05:00

So here we are at the College World Series in Omaha and what does Diana become fascinated with? A butterfly. This little guy flapped around our seats for a long long time and finally lit on the cap of the gal in front of me. I'm not sure what kind of butterfly this is but I think maybe it's a cousin of a monarch.

**

Roemer was Collegiate Baseball's co-National Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2006, when he earned Big West Conference Player of the Year honors by winning 13 games, posting a 2.38 ERA and has a strikeouts-to-walks ratio of 145:7 over 155 innings.

Papa Bluebird feeds his baby

2007-06-22T22:37:00.000-05:00

Here is a favorite photo of mine: it's a papa eastern bluebird feeding his baby mealworms at my bluebird feeding post. I am designing a more sophisticated feeding post -- to be called The Ultimate Bluebird Feeder -- that will include a plexiglass cube mounted on a wood plank that will be bolted to a proper pole. No more bungie cords and Gladware~~! Only the best for Diana's second batch of bluebirds. So far I have added seven bluebirds to society. Ah, what a Mom. (Note: that raggedy yard in the background isn't mine: it's my neighbors!)

Babies Orchard Orioles~!

2007-06-22T22:31:00.000-05:00

This may not look like much at first glance, but it's the coolest thing to hit my backyard since the bluebirds came in 2005. This is a nest of four baby Orchard Orioles. The baby on top was out of the nest two days after I shot this on June 20. The parents are pretty cool: the female is a yellow-green and very petite (see below, center).... ... and the male is a strawberry roan color with a black hood on his head and throat (see below, left). They sing a pretty song but are very fussy whenever I get near their nest. The nest is built of finely woven grassy strings. The female weaves the teacup-shaped nest onto the braches, weaving it tightly so it doesn't fall out and she even weaves it so leaves cover the nest. It was hard to get this photo. Orchard Orioles are of special concern because their flocks are decreasing in numbers. While they are not yet endangered, they well could be, so this pair was very special in my backyard. Click on the picture of babies for more detail. Note the baby on the left -- his eye is looking right at me.

Blackbeard, aka Edward Teach, lived in N. Carolina

2007-06-20T14:37:00.001-05:00

Here's Blackbeard's home in Bath, N. Carolina. Click on the photo to read the sign. This was not the most interesting site in N. Carolina, though.

Below is a photo of me at Pimlico Beach, where we drove forever looking at people's homes with their crab cages stacked up in front.
We were amazed by the coast at Pimlico Beach mostly because there was no beach at Pimlico. In fact, there wasn't much at ALL at Pimlico. We were happy though because we found Klondike bars and pecan rolls at a gas station where the lady still lets people sign on an "account" when they buy gasoline. We wanted to set up an account but somehow, she knew we weren't locals. The fancy Chevy Avio we rented could have been a her first clue.

Me in North Carolina

2007-06-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Bath~! One of my baseball trips was to East Carolina University where I visited historic Bath, the town where Blackbeard the pirate lived. I was very happy that day. I like this picture because it makes me look fairly thin, don'tcha think?

Welcome to Tales of the Heartland

2007-06-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

At this blog site, you will be able to pick up where my published column left off, with stories about my wanderlust dog Louie, my sons Wes, a minor league baseball player, and Jon, a junior in high school, and my crazy life in northwestern Illinois in the Heartland of America. Here in this picture left to right are Wes, my nephew Jared, my niece Ashley and my youngest son Jon, at my folks' house in the woods at Lake Summerset. Summerset, where I also live, is filled with wonder, not to mention bluebirds (people dubbed me "The Bluebird Lady"), orioles and lots of other critters that go bump in the night.

Here's another picture of Wes, fielding for Team USA, in the summer of 2006.

He's with the Arizona Diamondbacks farm team system now.

We all know who's the most important critter on this blog; that would be Louie, everybody's favorite Mutt. Louie spends most of his time trying to figure out how to get off his leash to chase rabbits, squirrel and gophers. He's the best dog I've ever had and the stories he gives me, which I hope to post on this blog regularly, will keep you all in stitches.

Here's my house, below, in the winte of 2004. We all love it here and stay cozy and warm even when it snows.

It does get warm here, too, and Louie likes it best when his backyard looks

<<==like this rather than this ^^^

Go figure????

Anyway, no matter what the weather, welcome to my little world, and if you like it here, stay awhile.

And tell your friends to stop by too.

Diana and the Gang

Oh, the money I spend on "Brighton!"

2007-06-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

I visited Southern California several times in the spring of 2007 to watch Wes play baseball and on one trip, I stopped by my favorite store, Brighton, at the Brea Mall. So this is me with a Brighton bag. I took home some very pretty things that day.