Weekly Photo Challenge – Twisted in the Wood

There is something incredibly beautiful and dramatic about trees unadorned by their leaves, especially when they are gnarled and twisted with age.  Twisted in Arches National Park, Utah.

Twisted driftwood on the sands at Whitefish Point in Michigan.

Twisted in springtime at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

Twisted in autumn at Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, Illinois.  The clouds seem to mirror the contortions of the branches.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Twisted

Weekly Photo Challenge – Liquid Ripples

The topic for the Weekly Photo Challenge is Liquid and comes fortuitously for me as you will see, later in this post.  Water can have a very calming effect and, with everything that’s happening in the world today, we could all use a few moments of tranquility to reflect, which is why, instead of heaving seas, raging rivers and tumbling waterfalls, I’ve opted for more peaceful scenes. The first two images were captured in Snowy Range Pass, Wyoming.

The next two pictures were taken at Sylvan Lake and Palisades State Park, South Dakota, perfect places to sit and meditate.

Wisconsin also has some very scenic spots in which to enjoy some relaxation time.

These gently rippling waters lead me to an opportunity to share a link with you that I sincerely hope you will try. My eldest grandson, someone of whom I have written about in several of my previous posts has recently started a podcast called Exit The Echoes. I cannot say enough good things about this young man, who recently became a father for the first time, and I am more than happy to give this new venture a mention here on WordPress.  The subject of his latest episode seemed to fit in so well with the pictures that I had in mind for this post, so please, if you can, spare a few minutes of your time to listen to  Meditation: Ripples And Echoes and I’m sure you will enjoy his liquid tones.

These last two pictures were taken at Whitefish Point, Michigan and Council Grounds, Wisconsin.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Liquid

Weekly Photo Challenge – Place in the World

Ever since I was a little kid, growing up in post World War II London, I have loved gardens. We didn’t have a garden of our own until I was seven years old but some of my earliest memories are of playing in my great-aunt’s garden and visiting my grandma’s house in Hackney.

One of the things that stands out in my mind from those early days is the heady perfume of the flowers; roses in the rain and the gorgeous scent of lilac blossoms, which is why, every year when May comes around, I head to Lombard for the Lilac Festival. I may never be able to go home again but visiting Lilacia Park at lilac time is probably the next best thing.

The timing of a visit to Lombard is everything and, although I was a bit too early to catch all the lilacs in full bloom this year, I was able to see the accompanying tulips at their best. They always have an interesting variety of these spring flowers at the park, with names such as Yellow Pomponette, Copper Image, Orange Princess and  Dream Touch.

Of course, the lilacs are the stars of the show and their heavenly scent made me feel nostalgic, thinking of Mum and how she loved to visit Lombard in May, both of us missing home and remembering the long-ago days of lilacs, primroses and bluebells in the wood.

A beautiful garden will always lift my spirits though, and with the sun shining, making the colors come alive, I quickly set about capturing these images. I guess you could say that a garden is my most favorite place in the world, no matter where we are.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Place in the World

 

Weekly Photo Challenge – Unlikely

Those of you who follow my posts regularly are aware that it’s highly unlikely that I will knowingly or willingly go inside anywhere where birds are flying about.  I had a suspicion that there might be birds in The Domes at Milwaukee’s Mitchell Park but we had made the trip specifically to visit there and thankfully the domes are so huge that, after poking my head round the door to make sure it was safe, it became apparent that any winged inhabitants were, at least for the time being, staying well out of the way.

That’s not to say that I wasn’t very much aware that there were birds nearby. I could hear them. But there was just so much to see and photograph in The Desert Dome that after a while I became a lot less nervous.

The Desert Dome was the last of three conservatories to be completed at Mitchell Park and was opened to the public in 1967. Cacti and succulents from Madagascar, South America, Africa, Mexico and the American Southwest are featured in appropriate settings and the variety of plants in this dome is simply astounding.

Despite keeping a wary eye open for any birds that might be about, there were thankfully no close encounters.  Does that mean that I would cheerfully enter an enclosed space where there are birds flying free in the future.  It’s extremely unlikely, but never say never.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Unlikely

 

Weekly Photo Challenge – The Garden Awakening

It was good to see the Chicago Botanic Garden awakening from its long winter sleep today.  Stretching its arms and giving a bit of a yawn, it welcomed us back for another year of spectacular flowers and foliage.  Everything was neat and tidy, all the winter debris cleared away and emerging tulip leaves promise a beautiful show on the Esplanade in a few weeks.

Over in the English Walled Garden, a robin watched me as I stopped to take a picture or two.

The waterfall is yet to begin its cascade down towards the lake but the birds were singing and you could almost hear Mother Nature rolling up her sleeves, spitting on her hands and murmuring, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

A stroll around the immaculately-kept Japanese Garden showed me that it won’t be too long before the azaleas are in bloom.  All kinds of buds were showing on the branches of shrubs and trees.

If it’s true that “the earth laughs in flowers” then it was positively giggling like a giddy schoolgirl today as hundreds of brightly-colored crocus poked their heads out of the grass in front of the Carillon Tower.

Walking back through the Sensory Garden towards Spider Island, I was filled with anticipation, thinking about all the wonderful things that the garden will have to show us in the coming months now that it is finally awake.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Awakening

Weekly Photo Challenge – Rise/Set

Sunrise and Sunset. To be quite honest I haven’t seen too many of either, especially the sunrise, or at least, not photogenic ones. And it seems like we’ve been given this topic as a challenge so many times that I’ve exhausted my supply of images on that subject. Luckily, the few that I have seen have been well documented and although I have used these scenes before, each of the following views is slightly different from the pictures I have shown previously.

Included in this selection; sunset from our garden – sunset in Oglesby, Illinois – sunrise on the road in Nebraska – sunset over a smoky Salt Lake City after the wildfires in California – sunrise in Lowell, Indiana – sunrise from Mackinaw City, Michigan – sunset from Mackinaw City, Michigan and sunrise (or sometime a little after) in Ashland, Wisconsin.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Rise/Set

Weekly Photo Challenge – Favorite Place

When Cheri Lucas Rowlands asked us for our interpretation of our favorite place for this week’s Photo Challenge, it will come as no surprise to some of you that I chose the Chicago Botanic Garden. On so many levels and for so many different reasons this is my go-to place, the place that never ceases to enchant me and to bring back so many happy memories. And where else would I go to see so much of my favorite color, purple!

No matter what time of year you visit the Garden there is always something beautiful to see. I have been here in all weathers and all conditions and there has never been a time when I’ve said I wished I’d stayed at home.

Every aspect of the place is pleasing.  Every path you take presents a different and spectacular view.  And the flowers are sensational!

Combine fantastic foliage and flowers with the appeal of various fountains, waterfalls and lakes and you have the perfect place to spend the day.

My mother adored the Garden and we spent many happy days here right up until a few weeks before she passed away. Our favorite spot in this our favorite place to visit was, perhaps not surprisingly, the English Garden, mainly because it reminded us of home and the other favorite places that we left behind so many years ago.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Favorite Place

Weekly Photo Challenge – I’d Rather Be……..

…….photographing flowers.  And that’s exactly what I was doing last week during a second visit to the Orchid Show at the Chicago Botanic Garden with a cousin who was visiting from England, despite the blizzard that was raging outside.   I know!  The first one isn’t an orchid, but it was just too beautiful to not capture an image.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to I’d Rather Be…

Weekly Photo Challenge – Out of this World

After all the snow and freezing temperatures that we’ve experienced over the past few months, it was nice to catch a welcome break when the sun came out and things warmed up sufficiently for us to take an almost leisurely stroll at the Chicago Botanic Garden this week.

Add to that the pleasure of seeing the ‘Asia in Bloom’ orchid show and it turned out to be a most enjoyable day.  As always, the Garden has done a splendid job of displaying these gorgeous blooms.

Each year, the show has a slightly different theme that gives it a fresh appeal and affords the photographer a chance to capture a whole new array of images.

Of course, the orchids are the main attraction and the colors and shapes are truly out of this world, reminding us that nature is indeed a miraculous gift for all to enjoy.

 

The show is open through March 25th so I hope you’ll take the opportunity to visit if you’re in the area.  For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Out of This World

Weekly Photo Challenge – Silence

We rarely go to places where there is total silence. In our immediate area, if there isn’t the sound of airplanes passing overhead then you can hear busy traffic on a nearby road or trains hooting and clanging as they make their way along the tracks.  So it makes a welcome break to go anywhere where the only thing you can hear is the wind rustling through the leaves or the birds twittering in the trees. That, for us, is comparative silence.  Here are just a few of the places where we have enjoyed such a respite from the daily clatter of life.

Wasatch National Forest near Alta in Utah.

Antelope Island near Salt Lake City in Utah.

Off-season at Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Snowy Range scenic byway in Laramie, Wyoming.

For more on the Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Silence