June 11, 2005 - St. Bernice, IN - 2

After we left the Raggedy Ann museum with big grins, we next went to the Rockome Gardens in Amish country outside of Arcola, IL.  The flyer promised a "Horse Powered Buzz Saw, Indian Trading Post" and all kinds of stone sculptures.  It was going to have to be fantastic to top the fun we'd just had.

Well, we got off to a rocky start.  At least Barb did.  Rocking, that is.  Which is only appropriate, since we're in the "Rock"ome gardens, after all.  ....groan......  Remember the "gentle giant" of Alton, IL, well, this rocking chair would have been just Robert's size.

Well, the stone "sculptures" weren't quite what I was expecting, but that's part of the fun, eh?

We couldn't be sure if these were crosses, or a fence.  Either way, they were "different".  And the signs tickled my funny bone, as those of you who know me would have assumed.

The garden was full of birds, of course, and it came as no surprise to find nests in birdhouses here and there, but this one was worth studying a bit.  Whoever did this has a lot more patience than I do, that's for sure.

Here's the story on the chicken.  There was a dispenser to take our quarter, and it did that just fine.  Only it didn't drop any food for the poor bird!  There were a couple of young ladies who'd tried without success, and they were afraid it was because they had tried a "new" quarter.  I dropped in an "old" one with the same result.  The chicken would peck at different places on the wall, knowing what it was supposed to do, but we never did get to play Tic-Tac-Toe with "Birdbrain".

There were three different trains running around this part of the gardens.  Obviously, we enjoyed it, even if it did seem a tad dilapidated here and there.  And then another cross/fence, this time with coffee mugs embedded into it.

While watching the 20 minute video (in a nice air-conditioned room), we learned that at one time this area was called Bagdad, and sure enough, they had a jail.

These buggies are not on display.  We'd walked through the stables, admiring the horses, and these were parked out back.  They get daily use by the Amish who work here.

  Inside one of the shops I spotted this beautiful stove.  The Amish lady in charge gave me permission to take its picture, so don't yell at me, OK?

There are 280 spindles there, with the threads all being used on that loom.  We liked the workmanship of the loom itself, to say nothing of the rug being woven.  There was a quilt hanging on the wall that was spectacular and instantly eye catching.  Since pictures weren't allowed except by permission, we didn't take one of this quilt--wish we had.  It was for sale for $600, a bargain for its beauty.  What have we here, a "sample" bailing machine?  One that the salesman would carry with him to sell the real thing to the farmers?  Alas, the young man running it didn't know.

All he knew was that it was his summer job to make 1200 bails for the local pumpkin patch to use for decorations.  It was amazing to me to watch him.  He did the same job last summer, too, and even though it looked like a true finger cruncher to operate, he had all ten digits intact.  He almost absentmindedly stuffed the straw into the compactor in between compressions.  I love old machinery, and would have watched much longer.  That old engine running it had a soothing "ker-thunk, ker-thunk, ker-thunk" rhythm to it. 

Barb loves toadstools and mushrooms (what's the difference, anyway?), but this was the first time I'd caught her under one.  And no, we'd not gone "Through The Looking Glass" with Alice.

Maybe I missed something about the Old Order Amish, but I didn't think they used machines that were gasoline powered (I think they don't use electricity, gas is OK--Barb).  Or maybe she's Mennonite and not Amish.  Oh, dear.  Hope I've not been too politically incorrect.  As if I cared a whit about being PC in the first place.  And this tom cat looked really tough to me.

Wonder if his ears got sunburned, chewed on, or it's just some kind of genetic defect.  I didn't try to scratch them, either.

These broken bottles are indicative of the state of affairs for the gardens, I'm afraid.  Maybe it was because of the special time we'd had at the Raggedy Ann museum, but this garden was a bit of a let-down though some things were quite interesting.  The stone fences--what a job!!!

There was lots to see, and it was easy to see that in its day, Rockome Gardens had been a magnificent place.  Today it is a bit more humble in many respects.

The woodworking and hand made quilts, blankets and such certainly couldn't be faulted for their quality or reasonable price.

I didn't even break stride as I walked past this castle looking wall of stone and glass.  The sign said all I wanted to know.  Something about a cave.  You know I don't do caves.  And besides, that yellow building I'm heading toward has a free soft drink (coupon attached to the entry ticket) and ice cream waiting for me.  That bag I'm carrying has a pie sized group of cinnamon rolls that we will enjoy for several days to come.  I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the little dog house next to the building I'm standing by.

The roads in this area are best taken carefully.  These horses only go about 12 MPH, but they sure are fine looking animals.  And then the welcoming committee once we got back home.