Moonshine

Moonshine—this is not a post about the beverage, although I did have a taste back in 1973, and my throat is still burning! This post is about a town called Moonshine.

Moonshine is located in Clark County, Illinois.  Population 2. It has been featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Show. So around here, it is famous.

There is only one building in the entire town (not including the outhouse) and this is a grocery store built in 1912.  The wind was frightfully cold or I would have ventured out to take a picture of the outhouse. I hurried back to the car instead.

The store was later sold to Helen and Roy Tuttle in 1982, who created a restaurant that serves their famous Moonburger. 

The store has a guest book signed by visitors from all 50 states and from around the world. During the 2011 Terry Hammond Memorial Moonshine Lunchrun (has to do with motorcycle riders raising money for a cause) on April 9, 2011, a new record of 2,068 burgers were served.  

Moonshine is a dry town, no alcoholic beverages sold. 

There are two theories on the origin of the town's name. One version attributes its name to the moon shining on swampy land near the store, while another is attributed to a long time local resident who states a family from Philadelphia named it in the 1850s to honor locations in Pennsylvania. Wonder if those locations were known for their stills. Hmm.

Customers place their order in the back of the store at what looks to have been a meat counter at one time. Tell the cooks what you want and give them your name. There are no tables, just wooden benches and a few folding chairs. In nice weather, there are several picnic tables outside. 

Once your name is called, you go to the back and pick up your order, which is served on a paper plate. Next stop, the condiment table. Add thick slices of onions, pickles, mustard or ketchup to taste and pull a cold drink out of the cooler. Pay when you leave.

There is a lot to look at while enjoying that famous, thick, juicy burger. The walls and counters are lined with antiques and pictures. 

If you so desire, you can take home a souvenier such as a t-shirt, coffee cup, or shot glass—all emblazened with the town's name.

So, if you are ever in middle-of-nowhere Illinois and develope a hunger for a tasty burger, Moonshine is the perfect place to stop.

Northern Shoveler

After dinner last evening, Fergus and I went for a walk around The Rez. I was surprised to see what I thought were Mallards on the water. After a closer look, I realized they were not Mallards, but some other duck I wasn't familiar with. Sadly I didn't have a zoom with me, so these are the best shots I could get.

I hurried back home to get a better lens and quickly looked through our National Geographic Field Guide to Birds in North America. The ducks are Northern Shovelers.  I loaded Fergus in the car and drove back to The Rez, but by the time I got there, the ducks were gone. That's the way my luck runs!

This is Fergus waiting patiently for me to come back to the car.

This is Fergus with his patience wearing thin. He was about to jump out of the window. No leash. I would have had a heart attack!

For being such a good boy, we walked around The Rez a couple more times.

Linking with Saturday Critters and Camera Critters 

and Bird D'pot

Diggin' in the Archives

My Random Five comes from a trip to Franklin, TN to visit my son. I rode down with daughter and her four kids. We had tons of fun.

1. My dream vacation always includes visiting historical sites. I've been to The Hermitage before, yet always seem to find something interesting.

This is a view from the back of the house. For those who may not know, The Hermitage was President Andrew Jackson's Tennessee home. The grounds are beautiful. Since it is Friday, thought I would put a fence in the post.
2. I especially enjoy wandering around the grounds to see all the flowers and trees.

3. The cotton exhibit was new this trip. I have bought several items with cotton fragrance, such as soap and candles, but still didn't realize how fragrant cotton is. Having lived in the south for about 35 years, I have seen lots of cotton fields, but never got close enough to inhale. It smelled heavenly.

After The Hermitage, we stopped by Provence Bakery on 21st Street, near Vanderbilt, in Nashville for a tart and coffee. There are so many, it was tough to choose one. This one made my mouth water.
4. I try to go to the Provence Bakery at least once when in Nashville.

We got our tarts to go and drove a couple blocks to a park. I don't know the real name, but we call it The Dragon Park because of this mosaic dragon. There is playground equipment and Mr. Dragon for the kids to climb on. It was a beautiful day, which is great for being outside, but not so great for taking pictures midday.
4. Watching the grands pllay together is such a joy. I wish I could post pics of them, but I'm not allowed. My daughter worries about internet predators, which I believe is an actual concern. Especially since it is easy to determine our location.

This is a close shot of the dragon's skin.
5. Each year I'm responsible for taking my daughter's Christmas card picture. Last year we tried to include the dragon. The kids all put on their goofy faces and I took the picture. Sadly they were too far apart to fit on the card. Next time I'll know to position them closer together.

A cold front was on its way, so the local news channel 5 had a reporter doing a story on what people were doing to enjoy the nice weather before it turned cold. They took video of the kids playing on the dragon.

And that's my random five for today! Happy Friday!

Linking to Random Five

Robin

I always think winter is over when the Robins return. I saw a robin earlier in the week and another one this morning while taking Fergus out for his morning walk. He was all puffed up, I'm sure to keep warm in the frosty grass. It would have been a good picture. Of course I didn't have my camera. By the time I got Fergus back in and my camera in hand, Mr. Robin was gone. But he looked a lot like this one from a couple of years ago.

Linking to Alphabet Thursday - today's letter is R

He's Ba-a-ck

It's Wednesday. Usually one of the best days of the week, right behind Friday, but today my desk is piled with work. The last two days have been super busy, which makes it impossible to be caught up by days end. So today I start out way behind. Hopefully I will be back on track by days end. Other than Friday, what is your favorite day of the week?

Mr. Red-bellied Woodpecker showed up last evening. Getting out of the car after my long day at work, I saw a spot of red out of the corner of my eye. Luckily I had my camera in the car, so quietly sneaked up behind the storage shed and peeked around to get this shot. Of course, there was no opportunity for a second try.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday

Move In Day

Mr. and Mrs. House Finch are setting up housekeeping in one of our Juniper Tree. Hubs planted them 3 years ago so they are not very big, but I guess the Finches are trying to keep up with the times. Little houses are the new thing, right?

They were camera shy, even though I tried to hide behind the drapes in the living room. These shots were taken through the window, which includes the screen, kind of gives them an aura. Still, I was happy to capture their move in day.

Linking to OUR WORLD

Blue Monday

Blue Monday is a good description of this particular day of the week. I'm always ready to hop out of bed in the early morning hours on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, but come Monday morning and I'm pounding the snooze button on the alarm. I guess I don't want to miss out on a minute of freedom and don't mind missing a few minutes of a work day.

We  had a foggy morning one day last week. I took this shot from the back driveway as I was leaving for work. We live at the edge of our small town, only 1/2 block from this corn field. Once the fog cleared, we had a beautiful blue sky kind of day.

There is a photo contest coming up and I'm thinking of entering, so spent some time over the weekend looking through my pics. The categories are Country Life, Patriotic, and People. I found a couple worthy of entering, but need to get them framed.

This isn't a contender, but I have a thing for hot air balloons. This one was floating along above us as we were leaving my son's house in Franklin, TN last summer.  In my younger years, I wanted to take a ride. Now I merely enjoy watching them. Ride anyone?

Linking to Blue Monday