The Garden in April

The garden is beginning to take off

and the colors are exploding.

It's enough to make even the most hardened of hearts melt.

 Until last year this azalea had been hidden under

two barberry bushes.

Finally, it is its time to shine.

 A Columbine.

 A Heuchera, or coral bells in bloom.

 My Rhododendron in bloom.

Typically, rhododendrons and azaleas do not do well

in this area as they like acidic soil

and we, being in limestone country, have alkaline soil.

I seem to be blessed as my plants are doing well.

 Close up of the rhododendron blooms.

 English Perfume, an English Rose.

And yes, it does smell quite lovely.

 I'm sorry that it opened too late for the Hawthornes to enjoy it.

 Gertrude Jekyll, another English Rose.

This is a highly perfumed rose.

She is also very temperamental.

 Stoksia.

 Another Columbine.

 Glade bluestar or Amsonia tabernaemontana.

 Clematis.

 Yet another Columbine.

 Another view.

And what is this???!!

I'm so ashamed.

I'm just glad that the Hawthornes weren't here to see this.

This is mutinus elegans, or the Devil's Dipstick.

It is a phallic fungus as one can easily imagine from its appearance.

Hmph, and right out there where just anyone can see...

Lunch with the Hawthornes

I received wonderful news the other day.

News that Rosie Hawthorne 

of Kitchens Are Monkey Business

and Mr. H would

be traveling through Bloomington on their way

to points West.

I have been wanting to meet my Internet friend

and fellow blogger for the longest time.

This was an important event in the Foodie household.

I learned this morning, via Rosie's blog,

that Mr. Hawthorne is on a high-protein diet,

so I quickly did some research for a suitable

restaurant.

The restaurant I chose was one that was highly rated.

It was also one I had never visited.

I kept my fingers crossed that I had chosen well.

 After the Hawthornes arrived at my house and 

we joyfully met in person for the first time,

I drove them to our destination:

Upland Brewery.

Upland Brewery is one of the many 

B-town independent restaurants that believes in supporting

local farms, thus improving the quality and taste of the food.

This also helps to benefit the community and to help

reduce the carbon footprint. 

Sorry about the really fuzzy picture.

I'm pretty sure that this is one of Murphy's Laws:

Take one picture of something and it will turn out crappy.

Take multiples and they will all be great.

 We sat by the window overlooking the outdoor patio.

 After perusing the menu,

Mr. H decided to order the Buffalo Chili.

This was made with locally raised ground buffalo (bison),

simmered in a spicy tomato broth with black beans,

vegetables, smoked chilies, and Bad Elmer's porter.

I do believe that Mr. H was happy with his bowl of chili

as he polished it straight off.

 Rosie was craving some substantial food and ordered the Upland Nachos.

This mountainous pile of food contained blue corn tortilla chips,

melted mozzarella and cheddar-jack cheeses, diced tomatoes,

fresh jalapenos, black beans, and spicy beef (an extra) with 

a side of chipotle salsa.  

Rosie also asked for sour cream on the side.

Rosie was one happy girl,

although she declared that there was no way she could

eat all this herself.

Indeed, she asked for a box and we took the remainder 

home to the Foodie Boyfriend - who promptly devoured the rest.

 Being a born, if not bred, Hoosier,

I had to try out Upland's version of the quintessential Hoosier sandwich,

the breaded pork tenderloin.

I ordered the fries "extra crispy."

This was a good sandwich.

This pork tenderloin was not one of those frozen patties.

There was no gristle.

It was tender and I didn't have to add salt and pepper to the 

meat.

The fries, as requested, were extra crispy.

They were also house-cut. 

This is how you set yourself apart from your

competitors.

Do things right and made the food taste good.

 Then, Mr. H ordered a beer-battered cod

so that my husband and I would know if this would be a 

good place to go for seafood.

It received the Hawthorne seal of approval.

I done did good!!

Then I took the Hawthornes on a tour of

the Indiana Memorial Union, 

which is one of the largest student unions

in the world.

At about 500,000 (that's half a million, folks!) square feet, it is huge.

It encompasses one of the largest hotels in B-town,

several restaurants, study areas, meeting spaces,

stores, a beauty salon, pool hall, arcade, and bowling alley.

It also houses a priceless collection of artwork.

 For some unknown reason,

there is a statue of a giraffe in front of the IMU.

I happened to snap a picture of this lovely couple 

with the giraffe.

And now, Rosie and Mr. H will learn what they missed

by leaving so early.

 I had planned on making a brie en croute for my special guests.

The ingredients are

1 puff pastry sheet

1 8-ounce round of brie

3 to 4 tablespoons F.R.O.G. preserves (Fig, Raspberry, Orange, Ginger)

 After thawing out the puff pastry sheet, 

place the brie in the center of the sheet.

Then spoon the preserves on of the brie.

 Carefully gather up the corners and edges of the pastry

to the center and pinch together.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

In keeping with my recent trend of meatless 

(or in this case, mostly meatless) Mondays,

I prepared mixed salads of Romaine lettuce and baby spinach

with strawberries and sliced red onions.

While the others had the usual grated mozzarella cheese,

I opted to go with crumbled Dubliner Irish cheese.

I decided that I liked having a bit of the brie en croute 

with my salad.

It was so wonderful to meet this absolutely delightful woman

and her charming husband.

Safe journeys Rosie and Mr. H

and I look forward to seeing you again.

A Spring Walk in Leonard Springs Nature Park

Thursday was a lovely day,

so I decided to start it out by visiting Leonard Springs.

After all, I had promised myself last fall

that I would return to this lovely park in different seasons.

And if I can't keep promises to myself,
then I have a problem.

 I found that the wildflowers were in bloom.

Yellow Rocket, or Bararea vulgaris.

Dwarf or Spring larkspur.

Trillium sessile or Wake Robin.

Golden Ragwort.

The upper cave.

Another picture of Dwarf Larkspur.

And another Trillium sessile.

Color me unhappy.

Graffiti has little use in my happy little world,

but even less use in such a lovely place such as this.

Really???!!!

Are you kidding me???!!!!

Take your spray paint and put it where the sun don't shine.

And I don't mean in a cave.

Abundant algae in the stream.

Wild ginger.

Water hemlock.  

This plant is in the carrot family,

but this particular plant is considered to be the most

poisonous plant in North America.

Ingesting even a tiny bit of this plant will kill you.

It is not advisable to even touch this plant..

Beware.

It has been dry here lately,

so the springs are running a bit low for this time of year.

I even found another waterfall on this visit.

Looking downstream.

Moss on a tree trunk.

Celadine Poppy.

I still like the sculptural element of this fallen tree.

Violet.

Another Golden Ragwort.

A view of the remains of the Leonard Springs Reservoir.

Mosses on the ground.

Daisy Fleabane.

Oh look, I've made a new friend!

Thanks for coming along on my brisk walk.

I feel energized.  

And ticked off.

Not to worry.

I've notified the proper authorities.