Spring!

Hot weather, bright sun, and some real spring visitors were in my yard this week. Both the butterfly and the peony are eyecatchers powerful enough to get me off the lounge chair, upstairs to grab the Nikon, and online to post these results.

Farm County, Rain

Following the rainbow seen in the previous post, we had an hour's drive in Central Illinois. Here are two images with electricity-producing windmills, one under a dramatic sky and the other dominating farm buildings.

Pot of Gold? In Ottawa?

Leaving from an excellent restaurant in Ottawa after dinner last Saturday, I saw a suggestion that a pot of gold might well be down there. I certainly appeared to be close to the end of the rainbow!

SUNDAY POSTER

Here we have a "found poster," a photo that includes the script, included here in support of the coming of spring (despite the cold snap the past couple of days in Chicago!)

Candids

A blacksmith busy at a historical forge and a policewoman directing traffic on a real street are two more candid photo subjects I liked.

More Outdoors

Another rainy day complete and the forecast is a bit better. Still looking through old spring and sun candids, here a fisherman on the cell phone and a conductor on a running museum train in Fox Valley. Golden sunshine!

More Spring Dreams

Perhaps a visit to Arizona for spring training . . . or a walk down a forest path. If I keep looking at photos of decent weather, it is bound to actually appear outside my window!

Looking For Spring

The rainiest April in 125 years is in its last week; I thought I would find a few candid photos that will remind us that we might actually see some sun and some weather suitable for outdoor fun. Let's all keep our fingers crossed!

Still Water, Plants, Geese

After the flying geese passed, I looked down to see a pair of swimming geese near the pier, and a tangle of weeds and greenery extending into the quiet water.

Wood

Up close enough to feel the texture or far enough away to see the interplay of light in the branches, my trip to Blackwell showed the strength of the woody plants in the early spring.

Just Two Weeks

Just two weeks from now the spring fishing season will open at Silver Lake. In the meantime the flat-bottom rentals sit locked up, waiting. Just two weeks . . .

Fresh Cut Stump

Evening falls, time to head out. Love to catch that sunset on the way out. Meanwhile, a sign of spring not in nature but in activity: a fresh cut stump, a tree that had to come down. I love the texture in this photo.

More Trees

Two tree views, one with the fisheye lens and another in macro closeup of the texture of a pine tree.

Tree Bark

Two shots of tree bark at the local golf course, one showing a sawed limb and the other showing some interesting shapes.

Nothing quite like the texture of tree bark.

Back to Golf

Two more springlike views from Friday afternoon, again seeing the only water hazard on a small local golf course, with the willows weeping into the water line. The second is one of the reasons I went out that day, using a wide angle lens with a macro fisheye lens attachment. Used with the zoom near 50 mm, it just bulges the center of the image a bit, but used at 20 mm in the wide angle format, the circular fisheye distortion is the result.

Early Spring

Not a perfect day, it still had a bit warmer temperature and it sent me out for some late-winter-early-spring photos at a local golf course, still closed for the season. Here are two views of the quiet pond.

WANTED POSTER

Challenged to use a photograph to express my yearning for spring to arrive in Chicago, I did not find a photo I truly wanted to use. I did find a powerful but relatively empty landscape, and I did find a closeup of a wonderful golden flower, so with a little processing magic, I had my photo and only needed to turn it into a Wanted Poster.

The Blue Park

Joey refers to the Kelly Park climbing structure (and the entire park as well) as Blue Park. My self-portrait shadow against the springy surface of the structure will show the reason for the name.
My favorite shot of the afternoon, of course, was of big sister and little brother at the end of the day, holding hands and headed for the car.

Daredevil Duo?

As Joey approaches his third birthday, it becomes increasingly clear that having a big sister gives him a push to try new things quickly and with style. On the day Gianna first navigated the monkey bars from end to end, Joey hung freely on the rings and managed to turn a few flips with a little push.
As grandparents, we need to be prepared!

Saturday in the Park

We spent a great Saturday afternoon at Kelly Park in Wheaton, with Joey in the sand pit and Gianna climbing on the excellent play structure in these pictures. A very nice park, Kelly Park is one of their favorites and the spring sunshine attracted us for a wonderful day.