From Edgar County, Illinois.....

Thesdoes not do the scenes justice at all...but am showing it anyway.

I love to watch the farmland in all its seasons.

Wide and low...

I always wonder if barns built like this are mainly for storing farm equipment.

A winter scene from the past

Just a snowy scene from 2010....

Autumn drive-bys

Believe it or not, this is a morning shot of the tree in Friday's post...that was from the west driving east.  This one is from the east, driving west.

A photo from North Terre Haute...

Just a bit more or the beauty...

Along the highways...

of life.

The birds....

The photos are not so fantastic...but always love seeing the swarms of birds.

I wish I could have done a better job capturing them...and what I really wish is that I had thought to video tape them till you could have heard them when they would swarm around.

Like I said none of these are great as a stand alone photo

It is the story they tell together.

They flitted from here to there...

They would settle in the road, and then in the field and then in the grain above.  It is not corn...maybe milo?

I could not resist this last one....

Little guy

I saw this laying over in the yard...and thought it was beautiful.  So I grabbed my camera and walked over to examine it and take a few pics.

Much to my surprise, I saw this little guy.

I wonder if it will be the last one I see this year.

Evening glow

Taken on the drive home the other night.

One single leaf...

A Pin Oak I believe.

Barn and farmhouse....

I thought I featured this barn  sometime recently but cannot find the post....either I forgot to label it or just never got around to posting it...but this was take just a few days ago.  You can barely see a picket fence on the far side.  This was taken as we traveled west.  Though it is not really a busy road, I am seldom on it when there isn't a vehicle coming up behind me.

We happened to come back by the farm on the way home, and this is the farmhouse.  I think I stopped to take the barn shot, but couldn't stop for these of the house, so you get what you get.

I would love to see inside the house.  I wonder if anyone lives there.  It definitely needs a new roof.

Not the greatest but still thrilled...Pheasants!

Another bird post...

Ring-necked pheasants!  There were three of them, but the other continued running up across the hill.  While these two were almost to the point of fighting.

For some reason the colors in these are all over the place...even before I played with them.  I think they look almost like taken in winter...but I promise you they were earlier this week.

The two picked at each other just a minute or two, they took off running, and I am not even sure that they were running from me.   I have messed with every photo and this is the best I could do.

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We used to see pheasant every time we were at the strip pit area...usually at least two or three.  This entire year, until last night I think we have only saw one.  Then last night, I saw three!  I hope it means they are still there, or are returning.

No short-eared owls, I saw one hawk but I don't even think it was a Northern Harrier.  At one time you would not believe how many came out there.  But it may have been a bit later when they came.  Not sure.  But I know from my past photos, that the owls would have been there by now.

Just one photo

Of poke berries....notice at the top where the one berry has fell off, it looks like it left behind a little 5-petaled pink flower.

A little dove...

A dove in evening light...

cannot get much better.

Turtle soup....turtle stew?

We drove over to Green Valley today....it is old strip pit that is open to the public for fishing, and used to be open for primitive camping but I think the camping has been prohibited.

I just had to show you a glimpse of the water before I show you all the turtles...then I urge you to please click to expand the view.  The images are so much better then.

I have no idea why I did not try to count them all...now I am regretting that....I don't mean just in this photo, I mean in total.  Wait till you see!

They were over across a little inlet....I had my Point & Shoot on a monopod....

To the best I can tell, all the turtles I am showing you are different turtles...unless otherwise noted.

In all the time I was there, I did not see one slip into the water...

I think this guy was one of the first ones I saw....I walked back to the Rav to get the monopod because I could not hold still enough to focus while zoomed in.  Imagine my surprise when I came back and started seeing ALL of the others.

Looking at the ones I took, I am pretty sure I missed at least a couple more singles...

About the time I think I have showed them all, I see others...

I hope you enjoyed seeing these...

Big, wide barn

This first photo is to give you a just a bit of an overall view of the place...

This barn is so wide....this photo does not really portray how it feels to be looking at it in real life.

I zoomed in a bit above but still showing how wide it is...

And then the one above and below to give a bit more detail.  Remember to click and expand the view.

A gathering of spirits...photo overload...

I could not pick just one or two...so beware...remember to click on the view and expand the view.

Seeing the birds gathering like this is a sure sign fall is here.

On down the road there was another gathering of birds...

They flew away before I could get any more shots...consider yourself lucky.