Zionsville Splash Park

When the grandkids come for a visit we are always looking for something new and fun to do with them.  This time we got to focus all our attention on one of our grandchildren affectionately referred to here as "JayCee."
It was hot that week.  It was fry an egg on the sidewalk kind of hot, and we decided that a water park would be good.  Not a huge, expensive, supercrowded, all day extravaganza type of water park though.  We have naps to think of, his... and ours.
So it was off to Mulberry Fields in Zionsville, IN at the corner of Ford Rd and Whitestown Road.  Just as a side note, don't ever go to Whitestown for anything, (well except for the LA Cafe).  The speed limits there are ridiculous and you will be dead meat if you break them.
The Mulberry Fields Splash Park is low key, unintimidating, and free.  You can interact with your child, get a little wet, let them play, and watch from a bench.  There's also a playground, restrooms and picnic area.  The run-off water is channeled to a naturalized spillway that the kids like as much as the fountains and water cannons.
You don't need much of anything as far as equipment except perhaps a red solo cup.  There is something exhilarating about filling a cup with water and throwing it at another kid.  The concrete has a no slip surface so the kids can run a little without danger of slipping.

JayCee watched the older kids for awhile and then went to the naturalized spillway, followed by a run through the water caterpillar, and eventually he picked up someone's cup to fill with water and join in the water war.  It was a great couple of hours and nobody missed their nap.

Bluebird Experiment

I had never seen a bluebird until we moved to Indiana.  We planted a lot of trees in our back yard and every year I noticed that bluebirds would stop by in the Spring, apparently looking for nesting spots, and not finding any, they would move on.
So we bought a bluebird house, installed it among the Bald Cypress trees in the back and immediately some sparrows moved in.  
For the last three years I've been moving the sparrows out, sometimes up to twelve of their messy nests per spring to discourage them and let them know they were not welcome.  This year I put up another nest box on the theory that the sparrows would quickly move into one and then the other would be there for the bluebirds.
It worked.  Four bluebird eggs now rest in a finely crafted nest.
So I thought, what could I do to encourage the bluebirds and help them with their parenting responsibilities?  Well, I could provide meal worms.  So today I bought 1,000 meal worms (stored in the refrigerator) that I will ration out over the next few weeks so mom and dad bluebird won't have to fly very far to get food.
In addition, and this is the crazy part, the lady at the Wild Bird store told me to take the food out at the same time every day and...believe it or not...whistle the same tune while walking to the bird feeder so the bluebirds know it's me and I'm bringing them food.  She said they will get to where they are expecting the food to be delivered.
O...K...  So today I whistled "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work I go.....etc. etc." the mama bluebird flew out of the bird house and about an hour later the male had found the meal worms and grapes I left for them.  
Yes, I feel a little ridiculous, but we're having fun and I hope before too long there will be some baby bluebirds jumping out of their nest trying out their wings.