Giants from squares past: trees

Needless to say, NOT from Arizona, although we did get a huge thunderstorm and hard rain (for about half an hour) yesterday. Loved it and I loved these trees from my old haunt in Illinois, McDowell Forest Preserve.

for Past Squares 10.8.21

In lieu of a beanstalk and peeking at blue

I think if I were Jack, I’d prefer climbing this sturdy tree rather than a flimsy beanstalk. Just saying.

I remember nothing about this photo, although I see it’s sidewalk sale time, but there’s some blue which is what’s needed. 🙂

Classic blue doors

Today I offer you two sets of two blue doors from Philadelphia (with the red, white, and blue hiding behind the TREE.) Red, white, and blue is seen in the second shot as well on a classic car in a Fourth of July parade. Hats off to our veterans!

Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the deity to be a source of delight. ~John Ruskin

Ethereal trees and corporeal children

All that needs to be said: trees and blue. 🙂

Lens-Artists Challenge #156: black and white

Anne Sandler is our guest hostess this week, (thanks, Anne), asking us for black and white photos. I remember when there were only black and white photos (as well as film and no digital.) So I’m taking a break from watching the replay of stage 13 of the Tour de France to gather some of my favorite black and white photos. Not true; I’m doing both. 🙂

Anne asked us to talk about our post-processing but I do virtually none and have no fancy editing apps. Here’s what I told her in response to her post:

“Some were taken with an iPhone and other than cropping, sometimes adding a frame or vignette, or making them black and white, I do very little. I don’t have Lightroom, Nik or any of those things. I use Picasa (free) or Pixlr (also free.)”

One of my favorite photos is this lone grocery cart in the middle of a flooded parking area in Naperville, Illinois.

A quiet moment in the Art Institute of Chicago, rendered in black and white. I love the sweep of the staircase and the single woman making her way down.

Shell and shadow on a beach at Cape May, New Jersey.

A foggy morning in Cape May. I waited for the ghostly carriage to come careening through the mist but I waited, thankfully, in vain.

If there’d been a deer nearby, I could have had a photo of a literal deer in the headlight but it, like the coach above, never materialized.

As always, thanks so much for visiting and for commenting. The conversation makes it all worthwhile because I love to know what you think, what you like, why you like it, and what it makes you think about.

Morning trees and cool blue

I see lots of morning trees as that’s not only my preferred time of day to be out but also because I always wake up early.

Some cooling blue in downtown Naperville. The fountain looks much like a dandelion and is a place where moms and children enjoy congregating. Don’t you love those sunglasses?

Friday flowers: white with visitors

Sometimes company just shows up.

for Life in Colour: white

Monday menu: sushi

While back in Illinois, I managed to work in a good amount of delicious food, all in good company. A friend and I met for coffee one day and then on a second day for lunch at Blue Sushi Sake Grill in downtown Naperville. After a year of Covid, it was a treat to once again be eating in a restaurant. We’d planned to eat outside, but the wind kept us in although still distanced from other customers. Neither of us eats raw fish, but we managed to dine exceedingly well anyway. This first selection, called Crunchy L.A., consisted of 8 pieces (yes, each of those four is made of two pieces) of crab mix, avocado, cucumber, crispy panko, and sweet chili sauce. I love panko for its crunch and the entire dish was delicious. I’m a big fan of square dishes, so I would have loved to have taken the plate home with me. I also just want to put out there that holding a piece of sushi with chopsticks while dipping it in sauce and thengetting it to your mouth, all without it falling apart is NOT the easiest thing in the world to do and you’re forced to put the entire piece in your mouth because trying to bite it in half ensures that it will come apart if it hasn’t already. Don’t ask how I know this; just take my word for it!

The Hawaiian Roll (tempura fried, mango, salmon, crab mix, and mango sauce) was a surprise because it was served warm but it was still oh so good. Even though the pieces appear relatively small, after two dishes each, we were replete and a stroll along the Riverwalk, followed by a time of sitting in the sun chatting was just the thing. If there are any things that can enhance time with a friend or friends, good food is certainly one of them. And a friend paying for your lunch is the unexpected but much appreciated end to a perfect day (or at least the middle of that day.) 🙂

Purple iris

Back on the road again, Chicago area to Oklahoma City somewhere between 12 and 13 hours, but it will make for two easy days after that. Since purple is still the color of the (last) month at Life in Colour, here’s one of the few purple wild irises I saw during my foray on the park.

I’m sorry if I missed you yesterday (very busy last day) and today will be a long one as well I’ll be back as soon as possible.

For Life in Colour: purple and FOTD

Toto, we’re not in Arizona anymore!

I had big plans to do a Monday walk post but time and friends got away with me and it’s now bedtime so not time for more. 🙂 I walked in “my” park right away on Friday morning, a delightful time with a bit of forest bathing in some sections. This is more (and of course different) trees than in many blocks surrounding our house in Arizona and nary a cactus in sight. So much beautiful variety in the world. Happy Monday!