James F. Hoffman Memorial Prairie Gardens, Olney, Illinois

On our visit to Olney, Illinois, we visited the James F. Hoffman Memorial Prairie Gardens, which is located at the Olney Central College.

It's a garden full of native prairie grasses and plants. On the day we visited there were tons of butterflies, dragonflies and other insects flying around. Here's some photos for you:

Info on Olney's white squirrels

When I posted briefly about the white squirrels of Olney, I didn't realize I also had a picture of the marker that tells about the squirrels. They're actually albino gray squirrels, by the way. I'd forgotten that until I saw the photo.

The White Squirrel

There are several posts I haven't gotten to share with you over the past several months. I probably won't post all of them, but will most photos and updates from some of my favorite trips over the past year. School has kept me away and very busy.  And, understandingly, my blogs have become a low priority.

Several months ago, we went to visit Chris' family and one of the places we went to visit was Olney, Ill., a place where Chris lived and worked for a couple of years.

One of the sole purposes of going there was to see the famed white squirrels.

We found the squirrels as soon as we drove into a local park.

Chris said the local community college does a squirrel count every year. There were less than 100 the last time Chris heard.

We met a couple from Colorado who also came to see the white squirrels. They said there were a colony of black squirrels in Kansas. We'll have to find our way there sometime to snap some photos of them.

Davis Flea Market, Level Cross, N.C.

I recently learned about a new flea market in Level Cross, N.C.

A security guard at the Jackson Library told me about it after I stopped to ask her what she was crocheting. While watching the door to the library, she was whipping up a variety of hats in multi-colors. She said a lot of the college kids loved her pattern and she sold many to them.

Other hats she sells on Saturdays at the Davis Flea Market in Level Cross (9755 U.S. 220 Bus. N., Randleman, N.C.).

The woman said the market started up about a year and a half ago and has been growing ever since.

If you're ever in that area during the weekend, you should stop by and check it out. According to the website, the hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays.

(As an aside, I lived in the Level Cross community for four years. I owned property there for six.)

Krohn Conservatory, Cincinnati, Ohio

We've visited the Krohn Conservatory before and it's a great place to go, especially if it's not too pleasant outside for outdoor activities. The beautiful Art Deco Krohn building houses exotic and gorgeous plants. Besides my favorite Orchid House, there are rooms dedicated to palms, tropical and desert plants.

For this visit we were there to visit the Butterflies of Brazil exhibit. Each spring, the Krohn features butterflies for a few months. It was really cool walking among hundreds of fluttering butterflies.

One butterfly landed on Chris' arm as soon as we walked into the room.

Lots of kiddies had flat foam pieces they used to soak up water from the room's fountain. They used the soaked foam to attract butterflies.

This girl was a pro! She had more than one butterfly on her foam at any given time.

She even had one of the larger butterflies hanging out on her arm.

Our visit would have been more enjoyable, however, if some parents controlled their kids better. There were a few boys running in between peoples' legs, leaning across and shoving people out of the way in attempts to capture butterflies. One boy constantly invaded my personal space ... even though I was sitting down! He also nearly stepped on many of the butterflies.

Though it was really cool and somewhat fun, my face hurt a lot from clenching my jaws and I had a pounding headache. I left wishing we'd learned about the adults only Happy Hour scheduled for later that day. Though we'd already had dinner plans, I would have loved watching the butterflies while listening to jazz.

It's too bad that a few bad apples ruined the whole bunch. Just to be clear, most of the kids were well-behaved.

Though the room felt like chaos, Chris was able to get some great shots. Here's some more:

Krohn Conservatory is an excellent place to stop if you're ever in or near Cincinnati.

New Harmony, Ind.

While we were out west, we stopped at New Harmony, Ind., the site of two former utopian societies.

First, we walked down a path alongside the Wabash River. Due to ton of rain the area had gotten recently, the walk was pretty buggy. Even though we sprayed our hair, arms and legs with bug spray, we were still covered in little, black flying insects!

We did see other insects on our walk, too.

I really loved exploring the Roofless Church.

This is a statue in the middle of the Roofless Church.

There was also a labyrinth garden. My mother-in-law, Margie, and I walked around the labyrinth as Chris and his dad, Dana, waited. You're supposed to walk around it slowly, meditating. The fountain in the park and the landscaping was beautiful.

The town's library is the former New Harmony Workmen's Institute. I loved the architecture of the building, but the inside was a little bit musty.

I loved the door handle, so I had Chris take a picture. :)

The library was hosting a sale, and Dana picked up a CD or two.

Here's some more photos from around town:

This doorway used to be part of a church. It's now an entry into one of the town's gardens.

A very modern building for such an old community.
This houses the visitor center and is where you can start tours.

The town was also hosting the Golden Raintree Antiques Show, so we did a little browsing, too.

Angel Mounds Historic Site, Evansville, Ind.

Not too long ago, Chris, Sidney and I headed out west to visit family. While there, of course, we made sure to visit some sites. Many of those Chris had visited often when he lived in the area, but this was my first time seeing a lot of these places.

One place Chris has wanted to take me for several years is Angel Mounds Historic Site, Evansville, Ind. Since we usually visit in December, we haven't made it to the mounds, though it's nearby.

I've been to a few Native American burial and ceremonial grounds (see Serpent Mounds and Grave Creek Mound), but never had I seen so many mounds together nor over such a large area! I now see why Chris didn't want to take me in cooler weather. Most of our time was spent outside walking around the mound.

This post is just in time because Angel Mound's annual Native American Days are Sept. 23-25! So, start planning your trip now.

After walking through the Interpretive Center, you walk out across a bridge to the Mounds. There you follow a mowed trail around and over the mounds. If I remember correctly, the whole trail is about a mile long.

Signs point out the various mounds and what they may have been used for.

There were also models of a stockade that would have surrounded the community and different buildings.

This is a reconstruction of what the stockade may have looked like.

After our walk, we stopped at the bridge so Chris could take photos of turtles and dragonflies. I wonder if any of the turtles or fish found the lens cap I dropped into the water. Oops!

Big Bend Picnic Area, Big Walker Mountain, Wytheville, Va.

Updated: I had a plant mislabeled. See below

We've visited the Big Bend Picnic Area twice in the past couple of months. Though it's a picnic site, we didn't take a lunch with us. We were there to explore the Big Walker Mountain area.

A turk's cap lily.

A mondara, or bee balm. A friend corrected me and said this is a "wild bergamot." Oops!

Chris has lamented the lack of butterflies this year. He's almost convinced they're all hiding out here on the mountain. There are many butterflies and other insects along the dirt road by the picnic area.

The last time we visited, Chris was able to get a few good photos of butterflies, including the rare Diana fritillary.

This is a male Diana fritillary. The female is brown with blue. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Other areas to check out while you're on Big Walker includes the country store and Monster Rock Trail, which has a trail head located behind the store.

There's also Seven Sisters Trail and the Stony Fork Campground, which are both located at the foot of the mountain. The Seven Sisters Trail winds 4.8 miles up the mountain to the campground.