Yellow

I know this sounds silly, but I was kind of surprised to learned that the big canyon in Yellowstone National Park is actually, well, yellow...

Young

On our recent trip out west, I was excited to see some young animals on some of our hikes.

Domestic Animals

How these horses can doze with the magnificent backdrop of the Tetons behind them is beyond me...

Transportation

Part of our summer vacation led us to Hell's Canyon, along the Snake River between Oregon and Idaho. Some visitors, like us, choose to hike along the riverbank to see the views. Others prefer different means of transportation, such as these jet boats.

On the drive out to Hell's Canyon, we spent some time at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, which told the story of intrepid pioneers and their journey west along the Oregon Trail. Their transportation was entirely different...

Curves

We just returned from 3 weeks in the northern Rockies. Part of our trip took us through northeastern Oregon, home of Hell's Canyon. We drove for several hours and rarely encountered any straight roads. On a turnoff from OR highway 39, en route to the canyon overlook, the road epitomizes the curves in the highways we drove.

Containers

Recently, we stopped by Fava Tea Company in suburban Milwaukee, WI, to visit the store's owner, Jon's sister-in-law.

Many delicious varieties! Stop by if you are in the area!

Fava Tea Company
17115G W. Bluemound
Brookfield, WI.

Read more about it here.

Reflections

This house on a little inlet off Lake Michigan, in Muskegon, Michigan, offered up a fine reflection of itself.

Straight Lines

Came across these lines of trees on a hike in Door County's Peninsula Park.

Water

In northwest Michigan, along the coast of the great lake that bears its name, you will find Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore. A hike high above the water shows off the curve of the beach below and the dunes in the distance.

History

My DBF Jon grew up in a small community north of Milwaukee, WI, and over the weekend, he and his siblings joined their parents at the family farm, to clean out the house and ready it for sale, as the folks have moved into a retirement community. This lovely milk house is part of the rich history of the property. Many memories were made on the farm, and the day was filled with laughter and good cheer as the parents oversaw the sharing of beloved items amongst their children and grandchildren.

Countryside

After a long, wet April, May finally gives us good enough weather for a stroll in the countryside.

City

I grew up in Chicago, and love being able to visit several times a year. Here, the Stone  Container Building peeks out over spring tulips and trees from a low vantage point in Millennium Park.

Red

This American Robin proudly puffs his red breast as we pass by on a recent hike.

Signs

In my area of the country (upper Midwest), I frequently see signs on state highways signalling the presence of roadside rests ahead. Since childhood, I have wondered why the sign maker chose to draw the pine tree in the sign leaning over the top of the picnic table.

After stopping at a roadside rest yesterday afternoon, I now know the answer to my  question:

Wildlife

A hawk perches outside my home office window on a gray March afternoon.

Old

I'm not really sure how old this structure is, but it calls to mind the 1800s. In the summer, the wheel is in motion and on a calm day, the building is cast in perfect reflection into the foreground pond. This is the sight that welcomes visitors to our museum center, a living-history museum which has many late 1800 and early 1900 era homes and businesses on display. A trip here really makes a visitor feel as though he has stepped back in history.

Blue

A deep blue winter sky and a low sun cast blue shadows across the snow. I made a pass through Photoshop with this to correct the white balance but didn't care for the results, so except for resizing, this is SOOC.

On the road

One of Jon's hopes for our early-in-the-year Florida trip was to see a Roseate Spoonbill. We saw a few, far in the distance, in the Everglades, but none near enough to photograph. On the drive across Alligator Alley (Highway 41) to Naples, we saw a pink blur fly along the canal the road follows. Jon pulled the car over and sure enough, it was a Spoonbill, pausing to rest in a tree. We had to climb up on the bumper of the car to get a good look. Funny what you see on the road!

Barren

Barren trees frame a leaf-strewn frozen creek in Starved Rock State Park.

Shadows

I love to photograph shadows, and a late afternoon hike up Camelback Mountain in early January gave plenty of opportunities to for interesting shots.

Here's something odd - I set the width of the top photo to 750 px (it autofit to 500 px high) and the width of the lower photo to 750 px (it autofit to 1125 px high) but they are not the same width here. Hmmm.....

Autumn

Here's the last in the "seasons" series...Autumn.

These statues were not made from real food, and they were quite tall. In the second photo, my pop is clowning around and helps to show the scale.

Summer

What follows spring? Summer, of course. If it can't actually be summer here in northern Illinois, I can at least dream of summer and all the wonderful produce it brings. Here is the third in the series of four "seasons" statues installed at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, AZ.

Spring

As you may have read in last week's post, I was fortunate enough to visit the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens when an art installation was on display that depicted each of the four seasons. Below is a photograph of Spring. This one reminded me of a float in the rose parade, because it is mostly made up to represent flowers.

Winter

Happy New Blogging year, everyone! I hope to meet some new blogging friends and have new visitors to my blog.

Though I live in northern Illinois, I am currently in Arizona for the holidays. A favorite place to visit in the Phoenix area is the Desert Botanical Gardens. On display right now is some amazing artwork by the artist, Philip Haas. Installed at the Gardens are four sculptures, each of which depict produce and flowers that are ready for picking during each of the four seasons. Lucky me! I can start my 2013 blogging efforts with a photograph of "Winter".

You can read more about these fabulous sculptures here.