Leave it to beaver

As my time in McDowell Forest Preserve begins to come to a close, I look back and realize I’ve seen many wonderful things. But until recently, I hadn’t seen a beaver. I’d seen their work: the gnawed on or gnawed down trees. I’d see the attempts to prevent that work: fencing around the bottoms of young trees. I’d seen what I thought were their dens, but I’d never seen an occupant.

Sunset

I tend to be up before the sun, literally, but sometimes I’m around when the sun sets. On Christmas Day, I needed a bit of time away and walked around the little lake near our house. This was the view that greeted me, perhaps photos I should have used for my December 31st post.

McDowell Oct. 2019 #7

To arrive when frost adorns everything is to experience a joy that squeezes my heart.

Lens Artists Challenge #67: layered

Amy at The World is A Book has given us the challenge this week to find layers.

This summer we drove through South Dakota’s Badlands on the way home from Wyoming. The Badlands were so good this year, greener than we’ve ever seen.

Badlands layers

Although not spectacular on such a large scale, there are plenty of layers to be found at McDowell Forest Preserve in Naperville, Illinois, my home park where I walk whenever possible.

Jo’s Monday walk…going to the dogs

Downtown Naperville is a happening place at night, not the sort of spot you’d expect to be going to the dogs. But it is, as you’ve seen before. This night my husband and I took a walk, fortified by some amazing gelato. We didn’t share with any of these guys, though.

A dog of a different color, lots of different colors.

Jo’s Monday Walk…the dog days of summer

Every year downtown Naperville has a theme that businesses for advertising, but in an artsy way. Several years ago, it was seats in the form of books, last year hearts. I wasn’t enthralled with the hearts, so I was happy to see “The Dog Days of Summer” was the theme, therefore there were dogs.

On a beautiful summer morning, I sat along the Riverwalk, sipping tea, reading, doing a bit of writing, relishing knowing there was no place I had to be except there.

I’d been wanting to get photos of some of the dogs, so that’s what I did next. Here are a few of the ones I saw that day.

Gotta love the goggles and shoes!

Friday flowers…tulips are better than one

 

Wordless Wednesday…the view from the back door at work

Monday walk…book walk

I walk through books all the time, but this book walk is different.  First, let’s make a stop at the coffee shop in Standard Market, an upscale grocery store/restaurant only a few blocks from our house, to pick up a coffee drink.  Being a tea drinker, full-on coffee can give me the shakes so today’s tipple is a decaf iced mocha.  What would you like?  I’m buying.

All aboard for downtown Naperville, where each summer there’s a theme that participating businesses use to advertise and prettify the city.  Last summer it was books.  Look who’s also coming downtown!  There could be trouble in our future.  🙂

Weekly Photo Challenge: Story…Every picture tells a story.

Hurrah!  I have a Wednesday off, which means I can participate in the Weekly Photo Challenge, something I’ve been missing for some weeks.  Today’s theme is “Story”.  Jen asks us to share a photo or group of photos that tells a story.  As a photographer, I think that Rod Stewart’s words apply here:  “Every picture tells a story, don’t it?”, so I could pick pretty much any photo and you could tell your own story about it.

However, I’m going to be, as Gollum said in Lord of the Rings, “tricksy.”  This photo actually does tell a story of a time past in Naperville, Illinois.