Not all milkweed plants thrive.

Milkweed along the lake. The monarch butterflies’ favorite… this time with a beautiful view!!!

Incredible weather this afternoon. So glad I had a chance to break away from the studio to get out & play for awhile. A great escape! I highly recommend playing hooky to everyone!!!

And thank you to everyone (including my Dad) who checked-in to find out how my CAR fared through the storms. All good… oh… and by the way, I’m okay too!!! Thanks.

But this morning during my sunrise ride, there were downed trees & branches all around… several down on the bike trail itself… mostly around the Montrose area. I lost count after thirty!!! So sad to see so many large old trees damaged by the strong winds over the past two nights. Luckily there were no houses, structures or cars for these trees to land on! And on a good note… it looks like there will soon be a surplus of “mulch” in the City parks department!

Looks like someone was working pretty hard overnight!!!

Besides the swans & ducks, there was also a great blue heron that kept stopping by the art fair this weekend. So cool to see him up-close… right behind my art fair booth! So beautiful… yet kind of prehistoric at the same time?!

Sure, there was plenty of ART at the art fair this weekend… but there was also a lot of nature to enjoy right behind my booth! Like the pair of nesting swans in the pond. So beautiful, so graceful. I especially loved watching the male “protect the pond”… chasing away any Canada Goose that happened by. Other waterfowl seemed okay… but NOT the geese!!!

After a great breakfast in Minneapolis, we went for a hike to work off the pancakes & syrup! You know I love spending time out in nature… even better when hiking with friends! We found a great park… lots of trees, lakes, turtles & even some controlled-burn areas. Thanks for a great weekend Sarah & Jules!!!

A great way to start a beautiful day… before getting on the road & driving home!

Always willing to get off the beaten path… on my way up to Minnesota this weekend, I saw a little brown sign for Rocky Arbor State Park. Seemed like a great chance to take a break from driving & take a hike out in nature. Such a beautiful surprise side-trip to break up my trip north!

My first beach glass finds of the season… while walking the beach taking sunrise photos this morning! Loving the pieces with some grooved-textures on them!