it's wild

Monee Reservoir is a peaceful place. Many people go there just to fish. So, any amount of noise is not welcome. The place is surrounded by native plants, including this wildflower. I see it all over the place, but of course, couldn't tell you the name. As usual.

monee reservoir

I had a few free moments to take a drive today. Lots of corn that's drying out, some ripening soybeans. Before you know it, the fall colors will be here. Until then, here's a picture of some floating thingys in storage over at Monee Reservoir--a nice fishing spot near Monee (of course.) One thing I wanted to mention--I saw a lot of beautiful open land, miles of cornfields, soybean fields, forest preserves, hawks etc. Plus we all around here have heard the cries of the coyotes late at night (or in my case, very early in the morning) and the likes of all kinds of critters. Why would you want to pave all of that over with an airport? Furthermore, who would ever think that the Chicago area needs a third airport? Okay, I'm done ranting.

summer turns me upside down

Well, the kids go back to school tomorrow. Summer has just flown by. We had a lot of fun this summer, especially in the pool. Plus, we were able to spend much more time in our pool this summer than last. We still have days ahead of us for swimming. But too soon, we'll be closing the pool and getting ready for another Chicagoland winter.

night creeps
across corn fields
quiet snow drifts
snake across the road
remembering summer

-bpl 8/10

You Can't Judge a Book by it's Cover

Ugh! What is that? It's a variety of yellow squash. Very mild tasting. But when cooked into muffins, along with a couple tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice, they can be very yummy. Even was able to get Jeremy to eat some. I love making vegetables into dessert. LOL.

Don't Bug Me

This moth lounged on my screen door all morning. Must be nice.

To-ma-toe, To-mah-toe, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

The tomatoes are starting to ripen. I think there's a million of them out there. The tomato plants are like monstrous creatures that have split apart their tomato cages (except the ones Debbie gave me) and are taking control of the northern half of my garden. I spent awhile this evening boiling tomatoes. Which makes it easier to peel the skin off and remove the seeds. I already have some hot and medium peppers. Still need to make some salsa.

'Cause I've Got Magic In My Eyes

I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles.....

I am told that Pete Townshend says "miles" 57 times in that song. lol. Just wanted to share another shot of the clouds from my back doorstep.

Wait wait wait...Roger Daltry sings this song, right?

Green Tomatoes

I've blogged before about my mutant zucchini plants. I need to prune them again this weekend. Geez. But now my tomato plants are taking off. I may have to prune them as well (can you prune tomato plants without killing them?) because they're so heavy that they're falling over in their cages. I have a lot of tomatoes in the garden. Unfortunately, most of them are green, like these lovely roma tomatoes. I know they'll all ripen at once and I'll be buried in tomato skin and seeds.

While I was out in the back yard checking out my garden, a little bird kept stopping by to watch me. (below) I only had the 18-55 lens on the camera and the bird wouldn't let me get very close. So, this is the best I could do.



He just kept chirping and watching me pull up tomato cages and swat mosquitoes. I went in the house to get my telephoto lens, but he was gone by the time I came back out. He had the prettiest song. Well, it's been like animal kingdom in my backyard this summer, so I imagine he'll be back eventually.

tourist moment - washington dc

I'm here in dc for a few days because of work. My hotel is just a few blocks from this place, so i thought i'd stop by for a visit. This is another picture from my cell phone. I need to break down and buy a real camera that will fit in my briefcase. It's been awhile since I've had a few minutes while I'm here to play tourist. But, if I really was a tourist, you know I'd have a different camera with me.

Going Home

Today I used my cell phone camera to try and capture some images of my trip home from work. I have already posted some of them on FB. But here are some of my favorites.

This is the train platform. I like the stark patterns. Usually there's a pigeon walking around on the platform looking for food. Pigeons are just flying rats IMHO.



Part of the problem of the whole affair was that for the most part, the train was moving. I managed to capture the reflection of this young family. They were having a lot of fun in the middle of baby screams.



Once I reached my station (the end of the line) I had some awesome tunes going. Kris Bell serenaded me the entire trip home.



A sure sign home is near are always the corn fields. This one is just a few minutes from my house. Basically, we're surrounded by corn and soybeans. The farmers rotate the fields every year. So next year, this field will most likely have soybeans growing in it.



My cell phone camera always causes me heartburn, given that I can sometimes be too much of a perfectionist. But it's always fun to keep people wondering what the hell I'm doing and why I'm taking pictures. But hey, don't need a cell phone to do that. lol.