Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Small Animals




Looking through some animal photo collections, I found this pair of images of raccoons. He certainly found himself "up a tree" here!


Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Five Bucks





The herd at Cedar Park had at least five stags when I was there. That was the first time I saw five bucks without a photo of Lincoln!



Monday, November 28, 2011

Deer Closeup




Yes, the deer at Cedar Park Cemetery are indeed this tame in terms of not spooking with a person quite near. I did move gently and non-threateningly, but these are not superlong telephotos. I really was able to get up close to both does and stags.


Sunday, November 27, 2011

SUNDAY POSTER

Good advice from Mark Twain, a famous world traveler.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Poster: Light Trumps Darkness

Thanks for Facebook friend Ana Ward, who posted this fine quote yesterday, I have a brand new poster that really goes to the feelings of the season.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Friendship Poster

In honor of the holiday weekend, we are posting special new posters each day. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving Prayer



Happy Thanksgiving to all. This card was developed for LivingWell Cancer Resource Center in Geneva. I wrote the poem a year ago and took this picture several weeks ago. Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

More Deer




The tame deer at Cedar Park almost seemed to be posing for me.


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanksgiving Poster

We must always remember that Thanksgiving is certainly about Thanks . . . but it is also certainly about Giving!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Deer at Cedar Park




A visit to the graves of family in Cedar Park Cemetery near Blue Island Illinois offered an opportunity to see several deer, quite calm and unfazed by cars and people. The deer are a common sight at that resting place.


Sunday, November 20, 2011

SUNDAY POSTER #3

I had no plan for a third poster today . . . until The Amazing Race had this quote and sent me to the photo collection to find this look at Pompeii's Forum and Mt. Vesuvius.

SUNDAY POSTER #2

It was the last leaf on a large tree in Meacham Grove, Bloomingdale.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

SUNDAY POSTER #1



I was in the car, I wa listening to Simon & Garfunkel, I knew I had a New York bridge pic jsut waiting . . . .

Switching




As we headed south on the Alaska Railroad, we were warned that we would be literally sidetracked in favor of other trains. It was fascinating to watch the switching procedure, completely without modern assistance, as a member of the train staff would get off, walk back, flip the switch by hand, and climb back aboard.


Friday, November 18, 2011

Still On Track




Two more photos from the Alaska Railroad, a scenic trip from Denali south to Whittier.


Thursday, November 17, 2011

Railroad Day




No reason, it just felt like a railroad day today. These images were collected in Alaska in 2008.


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Meacham Grove




Last week's unseasonably warm weather sent me off to find some fall color at Meacham Grove here in Bloomingdale. While many leaves were already gone from the trees, lots of color was left in the plants and in the sunset.


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

POSTER



I know it is not Sunday, but a great quote was posted on Facebook this morning by my cousin Cathy Sholtis, and I knew I had a photograph ready for it. Took this is an DuPage County Forest Preserve just last week. Had to post today!

Balance




One of the four clowns was relatively quiet early in the performance, a part of the joking but not in on the juggling and so forth. And then came the balance board and the unicycle; suddenly the clown in the reddest red was the star of the show!


Monday, November 14, 2011

Contact Juggling



One of the gravity demonstrations by the Ringling Bros. Clowns involved blindfolding an audience member and juggling over and around her, all with the expected jokes and fun.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Saturday, November 12, 2011

SUNDAY POSTER #1

Last night's full moon, coupled with a suggestion for a quote from a Facebook friend. Within 16 hours, a photo is a poster already!

Laws of Gravity, Clown Style




The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey clowns at DuPage Children's Museum gave a clown-style demonstration of various principles of gravity, some through juggling, and one through the ceremonial dropping of the pants.


Friday, November 11, 2011

Clowns in Naperville




With the circus in town, a troupe of Ringling Bros. Clowns entertained at the DuPage Children's Museum. They used slapstick humor to demonstrate principles of gravity.


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Hadrian's Gate




Climbing down from the Acropolis, taking a look back, there was the final major sight to see on the three-weeks-plus trip from Rome. At the bottom, near the hotel, a small park area is gated by Hadrian's Gate. Our final day on the trip finished at Hadrian's Gate, and our final day in Rome had included a visit to Hadrian's burial place in Rome. Another circle closed before one final great dinner and a long flight home. Thanks to Trafalgar Tours and Princess Cruise Line for the two segments of our trip of a lifetime!


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Parthenon




The climb finished, we saw the Parthenon and the other buildings, once a bustling center of the city and now a memorial crowded with an international set of visitors. Cranes stood at attention in many locations on the Saturday we spent in Athens, and the view of these ancient structures was a fitting capstone to our three and a half weeks in Europe and Asia.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Upward Trail




The climb up to the top of the Acropolis is quite a workout, well worth the effort. Here we see some sights on the upward climb, which is on a winding partially hard surfaced staircase and trail.


Monday, November 7, 2011

Finally, Athens




We had landed in Rome, unquestioned center of civilization twenty centuries ago. We had bus tours all over Northern Italy for more than a week. We boarded ship and set sail for the Holy Land. We had visited Galilee and Nazareth and Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We had trekked into the Sahara Desert to see the ancient Pyramids. We had stopped at beautiful Santorini. And finally we disembarked in Athens with but one day left on the long journey, so of course we headed for the Acropolis.

At the foot of the huge hill was a classic Greek Theatre, and I love to notice that the special seat for one of the priests of Dionysus is the best-preserved portion of the theatre. And then for the climb up the hill and to the other side of the massive wall.


Sunday, November 6, 2011

SUNDAY POSTER



Another poster constructed on a photo from this summer in the Holy Land.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

SUNDAY POSTER



A poster built on a photo from the trip to the Holy Land this summer. Two posters this weekend as we turn toward wintry weather.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Old Family Winery




Our last stop on the island of Santorini was an old family winery, where we had some tastings and a chance to see some interesting sights. Here we see a wine collection setup under a vat used for pressing grapes by the feet, and the racks in the storage area.

Shortly after we boarded ship for the final time. In the morning, we debarked in Athens, which we will see in the next post.


Thursday, November 3, 2011

Mosaics




High above the Mediterranean, a church on Santorini features mosaics and paintings as beautiful as many of those we had seen earlier on the trip from Rome through Jerusalem.