Indiana summer vacation 2022

My brother and his wife have a lot of wildlife for suburban homeowners. Susan has several bird feeders in her backyard tree. To keep the squirrels from taking from the birds and knocking over her feeders, she sprinkles seeds on the ground for them. This is more ingenious than any attempts I've heard from squirrel haters. 

Every year a pair of robins (probably not the same) builds a nest in Susan's front door wreath in anticipation of the birth of their children. This means their dog cannot sit on the front porch, and no one can use the front door. However, we took pictures every day of the sequence of events.

I received a tour of the newly renovated country club where my brother works. We had seen the start of this in 2019 before the pandemic, and it was fantastic to see the finished product. Apparently, my brother is loved.

We ate out often, although my brother did grill steaks one night.

Darcy took the train to Chicago to meet Sofie for the basketball tournament on Thursday, leaving Oleg with us. While she, Sofie, and Tom's Chicago family were watching games and playing tourist, Susan and I took Oleg to visit Notre Dame.

I bought him a shirt to commemorate the occasion. It will go nicely with the one he bought from Donut Bank. Then I bought one for Gabby's husband Noah because she said he'd never owned one. He isn't a fan of logo T-shirts, but he was a good egg and wore it on Oleg's last day. 

Oleg headed back to Florida on Saturday...

...and then there was just one. Me with these goobers.

We walked twice a day. I visited Gabby and Noah's apartment. I accompanied Susan on her Uber driving route with Ollie as my backseat companion. We had lunch at the club. I took on several neighborhood players on the backyard basketball court behind Rusty's house (okay, I didn't really do that, but I did talk a good game about doing so). 

I spent a lot of time sitting outside on the back porch, enjoying the cooler weather, and when the baby birds flew the nest, I did so on the front porch. Oliver was always by my side. 

I also took a lot of pictures of Susan's flowers. And of nature. I love Indiana nature...and grass. That's one thing I miss living in Florida--soft, rich, green grass.

My brother took time off. He walked every morning, coming into my room if I wasn't up, opening the blinds, and he walked in the evenings. He entertained us as usual, peeking into the windows when mowing and playing a broom guitar while cleaning the garage. I beat him in several hands of cards. I also told stories to his employees about how he tormented me as a child.

Monday afternoon, Darcy and Sofie arrived from Chicago. Sofie got to experience two nights with my family, and then we packed up and boarded the flight back to Florida. 

It was a great trip packed with family, fun, and food. I'm glad I could make it back after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus. Damn COVID. Let's hope it isn't that long until the next visit...