Light at the end of the tunnel

I know today is Thursday and the doors I was going to feature are in my folder, but I just can’t do it.  They should have been done last night, but life has gotten too busy at the moment and when I realized this morning that I hadn’t gotten them into a post and that I don’t have time in the next few days to respond to comments or visit all the posts I want to see, I decided enough is enough.  Life has to be lived and work obligations met and especially in this season, I don’t want to be any more overwhelmed than need be.

So I’m taking a few days off, but leaving you with this shot from my Monday walk in the park.  It’s a sort of “light at the end of the tunnel” photo, in a place you’ve seen at least several times on the blog before, once with fog at the end, once with a deer and rabbit silhouetted halfway down.  Enjoy the beauty and the symbolism.  Take time to enjoy the season and I’ll see you soon.  Feel free to chat, as I’ll have a bit of time here and there to check and I’ll miss that.

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Winter Wednesday

Monday we had what was being called a blizzard here, but seemed more like a snowstorm to someone who lived for over 30 years in Cleveland’s snow belt. No matter what you call it, it left us with about 6-7″ over that heavy snow that looks beautiful but breaks branches and brings down power line. It brought beauty to the park.  I spent 2 1/2 hours wandering and wallowing in both snow and beauty.

One Word Sunday…muse

There’s a dead tree by the river in the park where I walk.  It’s often inhabited by birds of one sort of another: a siege/sedge of herons, an exaltation of egrets, or a gulp of cormorants…fish hunters all.  One unusual time, there were two types of birds there simultaneously.

I check each time I walk, hoping to catch a glimpse of as many as six or seven perched on various branches.  I think they muse about fish: those they’ve caught, those they plan to catch.  I muse about getting close enough to get a decent photo.  Even with my telephoto, it’s a bit too far away for a really good shot.

But there’s a path winding its way not far from the base of the tree and when the ground is wet or there are no crunchy leaves, it’s possible to get close enough if I move very, very slowly, to see them high above me in the tree.  This time I finally had my Nikon, not just my phone, and was thus able to immortalize this musing cormorant.

These birds are in some ways my muses.  I think about them, wonder whether they’ll be there, if I’ll get a photo of them.  And I enjoy seeing them muse about whatever it is they think about while sitting on a dead tree overlooking the river.

On a personal note, I’ll be taking a blogging break for most of the rest of the month as I travel to France to visit my s-i-l and b-i-l.   I pray for each of you a wonderful time and many blessings while I’m gone and promise to share thoughts, adventures, and photos with you when I return.

for One Word Sunday  (This week one word and then some!)

Lens Artists Challenge: Action

Normally on Monday I’d be walking with Jo, but with our younger daughter home, we’ll be biking at the Indiana Dunes again today and as I get a post ready on Sunday night, I’ve decided to go with the Lens Artists Challenge of action.  Here are two different action shots for your viewing enjoyment.

Land-based action

Flying high

for the Lens Artists Challenge: Action

Monday walk (cycle)…Moraine Hills State Park

After having worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for many months, I finally was given some Sundays off, the better to be able to spend some quality time with my husband!  Although I’m a walker, he’s a cyclist, so I went online to find somewhere he hadn’t cycled that we could enjoy.  So…

Two weekends ago, we ventured up Rt. 59 which, being a highway running through many Chicago suburbs, takes ages to deposit you anywhere.  Not long before we would have arrived in Wisconsin, we pulled into Moraine Hills State Park,  named for the rocky debris left by a glacier.  As you might imagine, there are lots of marshes and wetlands here.  In fact, there are several areas of wetland reclamation and where there’s water, there’s often good fishing!

Breakfast time in the butterfly bush

for Six Word Saturday

To bee in the sweet spot

for Six Word Saturday