April 2017 in Carthage

April is upon us and our crazy squirrel .... 

the one that eats all our bird seed .....

will also eat .... GRAPES

Our tulips are in bloom ... spring is coming !

Tuesday 4/4

Jennifer Parker Taylor and two of her

children, Emmaline & William,

came to Nauvoo for a visit

They were only here for a day and a half

so we had to keep busy ....

They arrived just in time to go on a tour of

Carthage Jail then head to Nauvoo

in time to see Rendezvous.

Wednesday 4/5

Early morning baptisms in the Temple then

sites, sites & more sites

all during an "all day" rain storm !

here are just a few of the sites we visited.

Blacksmith Shop ....

Behind the scenes at the Brick Yard ....

Dancing in the Cultural Hall ....

The steep stairs at Lucy Mack's home .... and ....

Making a rope in the Family Living Center.

We all had fun running from place to place in the rain

thanks for coming Taylor's !!

Saturday 4/8

On Thursday 4/6 Elder Tad R. Callister

spoke at a Sociable for all the

Nauvoo & Temple Missionaries

George & Susan Durrant  -  Elder Tad R. Callister & his wife
Authors  -  General Sunday School President

Today he brought 15 members of his family to

Carthage along with Susan Easton Black Durrant

and her husband George.

On Friday evening they came to our Rendezvous Show

and afterward we were able to meet them

shake their hands and receive a nice

compliment from them on our performances

(including Linda's piano playing)

Tuesday 4/11

Today we walked around the Visitor's Center Block

and decided it was about time to take .....

a "Selfie" by the Jail sign

Friday 4/14

The flowering trees here at the Carthage Visitor's Center

 had beautiful pink blossoms

on them today

and they looked so pretty with the colorful

tulips underneath them that we couldn't 

resist taking a picture.

The very next day a big windstorm blew all the

blossoms off the trees so we were very

happy we got this picture.

Saturday 4/15

Today was a busy day in Carthage ....

as you can see by the parking lot.

Usually there are about 3 or 4 cars at a time

but today it was full !

Spring Break is in full swing and we are enjoying

families from all over the world.

We have had visitors from ....

Mexico, Brazil, Chili, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand

Canada, England, Ireland, Bulgaria, Tonga

and all over the U.S.A.

Monday 4/17

Everyday we help families by taking

pictures of them.

They pose in the Martyrdom Room,

outside by the jail, by the "Martyrs" statue and ....

Inside the Visitor's Center by these beautiful

paintings of Joseph & Hyrum.

(Painted by David Lindsley)

Elder & Sister Waite - Elder & Sister Brown
Serving together at the Carthage VC
(Elders Waite & Brown discovered they are 3rd cousins)

the bust of Christ is done by Dee Jay Bawden who

also sculpted the Martyrs Statue and the

First Vision Statue.

Tuesday 4/18

This morning on our way from Nauvoo to Carthage

we noticed ...

a couple of beautiful cranes.

Also, all along the Mississippi River someone has

placed these nesting baskets

This one is occupied by one of the many

Canadian Geese that live on the

River's shore.

Sunday 4/23

It was a beautiful day and we were "on call" today so

we went for a walk. 

 Just on the edge of town is the

"Stone Arch Bridge"

It is very beautiful....Steve took this picture then asked Linda

if that snake was alive or dead .... hahaha,

she truly believed he was joking ..... well ....

Not So Much!  

Just behind her was this little snake

basking in the sun on the warm rocks of the bridge.

Steve thought he should tickle its tail just to

see if it was really alive, and ..... it was!

We began looking around and found a few more

slithering through the water and in the rocks. 

We decided it was a good time to leave!

After we arrived home and were looking at our

pictures we made an eerie discovery ....

Do you see it ?

(the skull at the end of the tunnel)

Tonight we had a nice Sociable with all 

the new missionaries.

We watched two new video's that are

available to view in the Visitor's Center.

"Days of Harmony"

and

"A Day for the Eternities"

After viewing them we all met out in the

Women's Garden for refreshments.

The evening was beautiful and so were the gardens.

They just pulled most of the tulips a few days ago,

but there are still a few scattered around and 

they are still beautiful

love this one

Soon the garden will be overgrown with beautiful

new flowers and trees with big leafy canopy's.

Monday 4/24

We have been watching the nesting geese for a while

now and finally we are beginning to see ....

these cute little goslings.

Wednesday 4/26

Tonight after work we drove to the little town of

Lomax, Illinois

(about 20 minutes north of Nauvoo)

It was All-You-Can-Eat Chicken night at ....

"The Pink"

It was delicious and we even have some 

left-overs for tomorrow!

Thursday 4/27

Today was our P-Day so we decided to go back to

the Iron & Lace shop in Bentonsport, Iowa 

and look into purchasing

a hand made, ceramic Nativity Set.

But first .... We stopped in

Bonaparte, Iowa for some lunch

We ate at the Bonaparte Retreat Restaurant which ....

Is an old Grist Mill ....

and looks out over the Des Moines River.

our lunch was delicious and our 

waitress was so nice.

After lunch we called Betty, the potter at

Iron & Lace, to set up our appointment.

She agreed to meet us at her shop in just five minutes.

That turned out to be perfect timing. We drove up

just as she was also pulling up to her shop.

We found the nativity we were looking for and

we were able to purchase it ....

Isn't it beautiful !

Betty's trademark is the 

"Queen Anne's Lace" Wildflower

She adds the flower before firing, then

when fired the flower burns away and just 

the imprint of the flower remains.

Every piece is different but 

each piece is adorned with at least one.

Saturday 4/29

It has been raining .... a lot !

when we got home from working in Carthage

tonight the sump pump in our basement

was getting quite a workout.

the floors are concrete and the walls stone

but apparently they are not very

water tight.  The pump is running every 

couple of minutes.

The holding tank isn't very big and when it

fills up the pump runs and pumps the water up

and out of the basement.  When all the water in the

tank is gone the pump stops. 

The problem is that all the water that is left

in the pipe leading out of the basement

runs back into the tank, nearly filling it again.

Well, at least the basement isn't flooded !

Sunday 4/30

On our way home from Carthage we saw this barge

headed up the river.

It was too far away to get a good picture.

When we got back into Nauvoo we decided to 

drive down Parley Street to see how high

the water was getting.

That same barge was now right there and close

enough to get a pretty good picture.

It's fun to see the barges running up and down

the river again.  They do not operate during the winter.

April has been a good month.  We have loved all the

spring flowers, seeing all the trees come

back to life and watching the little goslings as they

begin their lives here in Nauvoo.

And OHHHH YES .... We are getting excited to

have our family come to visit

in June !