I can’t believe that during all the years we lived in Naperville, Illinois I never visited Anderson Japanese Gardens in nearby Rockford. When my friend and I made this our destination one day during my recent visit, I realized what I’d been missing! Visitors are asked to silence phones and voices to enjoy the sounds of nature. The sound of water (when not pouring into your basement or running somewhere it shouldn’t) is a peaceful sound as in this fountain with paper cups nearby.
The bright red of the Japanese maple took away my breath with its vibrant beauty.
Hawthorne, I believe.
More water.
Water and color, a wonder-filled combination.
This, that and the other thing 
The red lights up the world, doesn’t it, Janet? Such a magical combination.
Has been told in cities like Paris and Amsterdam that red light often means fully occupied – no space for more. 😀 Just joking, agree with you. 🙂
🤭💗
🙂
It was a beautiful combination, Jo, despite Drake’s remarks about red lights. 🙂
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I love your sunlit colours, Janet. I think that on every visit to nature phones should be silenced. We should make it a general rule.
I agree! And people should talk with indoor voices so that everyone can enjoy the peacefulness.
Definitely! When did the people become so noisy. Sometimes I feel as if I had missed a few decades of being around people, and here at home we are all high-tech and stuff, but with some basic decency ingrained and can’t understand the yellers on mobiles and tablets having breakfast at hotels and sharing their whole world with everybody.
I completely agree!! I don’t want to know all that about them and I don’t want them to know about me either.
Agree. The things you hear said. When we were children it was not etiquette to speak loudly on the street. Now you know all manner of things shouted into a phone
Public lives.
A change not for the better.
Yes, not for the better.
I think many of us can overlook the very close for what is perhaps a little further away.? The village we live in sometimes we overlook the beauty, coziness, etc. – so it’s nice that tourists often tell us how lucky we are. I have thousands of excuses. But my better half she was born in the village and lived until study time. After awhile she came back and she tucked me in among the luggage. 😀
That’s certainly true. I had friends I used to visit who would say they enjoyed my visits because they took me places they never went, even though those places were so close to them.
Weren’t you lucky to be tucked in that luggage? 🙂
Actually both because of the destination and the suitcase owner. 😀 😀 😀
how incredibly beautiful
It was, Beth, and such a joy to experience.
Beautiful photos, Janet! So good to see this now, when we’re staring at bare colorless trees.
These photos were all taken at the beginning of November, so I imagine it looks very different now. But it does cheer one up, doesn’t it?
It does!
I like your compositions.
Thanks very much, Sherry. I cherish that compliment.
It is funny how you can live near a lovely place in your home state and never visit the area. I have recently explored several great places in Arkansas that I never took the time to visit before. The water and the red are gorgeous features in the
Anderson Japanese Gardens.
It’s true, Peggy. The gardens were lovely even at that time of year.
I wonder if that is viburnum and not hawthorn. It is very bright and cheerful whatever it is. That looks like a lovely garden.
It’s a beautiful garden. As for the berries, they’re gorgeous no matter what they are. 😉
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing that lovely and serene garden with us!
Happy to do so, Lisa. More to come.
These images caught my attention. Anita
Thanks, Anita. It was a lovely day in a beautiful place.
Beautiful !
It certainly was. 😁
Lush. Beautifully perfect. A serenity haven!
It was completely serene and just imagine what it must look like in summer!
I can almost hear the water! That red maple is gorgeous!!
The red maples were worth the whole visit. 😁
Wonderful photos!!
Thanks very much! 💕
janet
Wow, gorgeous photos, Janet. The red leaves and berries pop.
Thanks, Marsha. They were so beautiful.
They were indeed. 🙂
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Oh, THANK YOU! My husband and I went there and I wanted to go there with Sara, my travel buddy and #4 Daughter, but I couldn’t remember the name or where it was!
You’re very welcome, Marian. You can look up Japanese Gardens locations online and find where there are gardens throughout the US. Some are parts of other gardens but there are quite a few.