Christmas Transportation

One of Santa's reindeer was seen snacking at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. Certainly tamer than the average wild deer, Donder (I think) continued munching as I snapped more than one photo.

Have a good flight tomorrow night; make sure to get to Gianna & Joey and to Carolyn & Bobby. To me, they are the heart of Christmas!

Celebrating Life

The picnic at Morton Arboretum had great food (burgers & hot dogs are great at picnics), nice music from Ac Rock, the doo-wop group which sings a capella, and some nice exhibits to visit. All of us survivors had the chance the sign the banner which we will look for at the 2011 picnic!

Morton Arboretum Roots

A visit to Morton Arboretum gave me a look at the southern edge of the outdoor museum, an area I had not visited previously. Neat hedge gardens surround an open space used for special events, such as the Cancer Survivor's Picnic I was invited to. We also saw a few of this summer's special artwork, featuring artists' impression of the roots that support all the trees.

More Trees

Two more tree shapes I just had to share. These were collected at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, just about a year ago.

Robins & Reflections

Not much could be more springlike than a nest of baby robins just out of the eggs. Careful not to touch or disturb, I shot this with a telephoto a bit further away than the image looks. Two days later, the nest was an empty souvenir. Watching their tiny beating hearts moving their bodies was just awesome.

The reflection in the still streamway was made at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the "outdoor museum of woody plants" that can be a paradise for a photographer in search of beauty.

Enough springscapes. Next post will be a new topic as yet to be determined.

Winter Continues

Years ago, my grandmother loved to visit Morton Arboretum. While it looked like a big park of some kind, I was more interested in parks with climbing structures and swings. Now I appreciate the beauty of the Outdoor Museum of Woody Plants, located only a mile from the high school I taught at for nearly four decades. Wonderful landscapes are in view at every time of the year there.

During the week after Christmas, I drove down to the Arboretum, built by the Morton family, so famous for salt. Arriving just before that blue hour, the time of the power of the sunset, I saw many trees, roads, snowy hillsides, walkers -- and one buck who seemed as interested in me as I was in him. Since I shot with a 300 mm telephoto lens, I was not close enough to scare him off. He was close enough to fascinate me.

Looking back through my winterscapes, it is clear that winter has its beauty as much as any other season. Good lesson to remember.