Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Leaves or Trees

This week, Cee is looking for leaves or trees for her Fun Foto Challenge so here is my take on the subject.  Like many people, my favorite time of year for viewing trees is in the Autumn when the colors are at their brightest.  Although the Chicago Botanic Garden is not chiefly known for its variety of trees, there is still plenty of fall color to be seen.

One of my favorite times to visit Morton Arboretum in Lisle is in the Spring when the blossom is on the trees.

Another good place to see Autumn color is at local Forest Preserves such as Busse Woods in Schaumburg.

Looking at trees from a slightly different angle at River Trails Nature Center in Northbrook.

Trees are remarkably resilient, finding a foothold even in the most inhospitable of places such as this rock in The Garden of the Gods in Southern Illinois.

Even in death, trees hold a certain fascination for me, telling their history through rings and roots.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Leaves or Trees

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Wildlife

Here is just a sample of the wildlife that we see from our window here in the NW suburbs of Chicago.  Not included are the deer that on the rare occasion take a stroll down our road, the skunk that lives under our front doorstep, coyotes that sometimes trot past the house after a night of hunting small animals, the many different varieties of birds that we see on a daily basis and an eight-legged possum, reported by my father, that turned out to be two of these creatures following very closely one after the other.

The term ‘wildlife‘ would seem to be something of a misnomer as all these creatures appear to have made themselves quite at home in our backyard.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Wildlife

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Tahquamenon Falls

This week’s ‘alphabet with a twist’ segment of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is looking for a Q and, going through the photo files, I discovered some images from a trip we made last year to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan.  The month was August and the weather was hot so it was refreshing to watch the water pouring over the Falls.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter Q – Simply needs to have the letter Q

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Polar Bears

The Chicago Bears may be a dismal disappointment (again) this year, but these Chicago bears are anything but.  A firm favorite with visitors to both Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoos, the Polar bears are always a big attraction and never fail to please their fans which is why I picked them for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter P – Needs to have at least 5 letters and start with P

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Orchids

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is asking for a word that includes the letter O and, with winter on our doorstep, I took a look back at an event held earlier this year at the Chicago Botanic Garden that has me looking forward to the next orchid show which will be held February 10 – March 25, 2018.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter O – Needs to have the letter O anywhere in the word

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Lion

This week’s ‘alphabet with a twist’ segment of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge requires a word starting with L that has at least two syllables and, going through the photo files, I came across these images that I captured at Brookfield Zoo a while back.  This magnificent lion was in just the right spot to have his picture taken and I made the most of a rare opportunity to catch his different moods.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter L – Needs to have at least two syllables

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Elk of Elk Grove Village

Continuing with the ‘alphabet with a twist’ theme for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, this week’s topic is the letter k.  If a word has only three letters and one of them is a k, there’s a pretty good chance that the word might be elk.  And what better place to find elk than in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. These majestic creatures are not native to the area but, because of the name association, a small herd of elk are kept in a protected part of Busse Woods Forest Preserve. They are cared for by the Chicago Zoological Society veterinary staff and Busse Woods Forest Preserve wildlife experts.

The original herd of 10 elk was brought in by train from Yellowstone National Park in Montana in 1925 by local resident William Busse.  The best time to see them is either early morning or at dusk.  They spend a lot of time amongst the trees but when they do come out into the open field they’re a beautiful sight.

I should add that these images were captured a few years ago.  For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter K – Needs to have the letter K anywhere in the word