I'm a lighthouse lover too, to the point that it sometimes becomes a problem. :-) We drove by the above lighthouse on the way from the ferry to my sister-in-law's house on the island on Wednesday, but because the car was full to the point that my wife was sitting in my lap in the passenger seat, I decided we didn't have to stop then, especially since it was dark, gray and rainy. Then, since I was cooking dinner on Thursday, (the traditional Thanksgiving meal was slated for Friday), Thursday involved planning, shopping and cooking as well as picking up the rest of our group at the ferry. On Friday although people were already prepping and cooking I simply had to borrow a car and go to that lighthouse. My brother-in-law volunteered to drive and made several other photo stops, including going to the north end of the island to see the other lighthouse, that I posted yesterday. Just as we were leaving the above lighthouse, the clouds parted, and I had to run back to get a few more pictures with the direct sun on the lighthouse. On Saturday as we rode the ferry back to Rhode Island, I saw the following lighthouse in the distance, and it was all I could do to not drive south from the ferry dock parking to this lighthouse rather than north to begin the long trip home.

Gray Squirrel seen in Olney City park, Olney, IL Olney advertises it is the home of the white squirrels. There are several around, but this one is of the variety found in local woods. Did you know that squirrels can negotiate the side of a vertical brick wall? They can if the brick facing has sufficient detail as this building did. These bricks have fine vertical grooves on their faces. This was just barely enough to allow this squirrel to gingerly work his way across the wall. He did not climb very high staying within a comfortable dropping distance to the ground. He soon tired of the "rock climb" and jumped down. Photo taken with lens zoomed to long tele. The squirrel was about 75 ft away.

This a a barn door, that was painted red after it was sold to the new owner. My son and grandson''s great and great great grandfather built this barn back in l926. They both were named after him. Here's some of the article that was in the newspaper that I found. The Pennsylvania Dutch barn stands like a sentry guarding its past and preserving its future. The big, red barn on the Luverne Highway, stands proudly at 45×80-feet and three levels tall and has the distinction of being the largest Pennsylvania Dutch barn south of Kentucky. “The barn is off the road and a lot of people probably go by without even noticing it,” said Bonnie Holland, who owns and maintains the historic structure. In 1926, Parke Thompson built the stately barn using lumber from his plantation and stones that were picked up in the fields. “Parke Thompson was a wealthy landowner and the barn was used as breeding house for animals,” Holland said. “He exclusively raised silver heel hogs and transported them to Chicago for shows and judging. So, he had a very upscale and highly regarded hog operation.

We were in Ft. Lauderdale one New Year's Eve. We had a great time. This is the ball that they dropped from a crane. They had a countdown clock, too. We had no idea that this was going to happen when we booked.