Love the mossy-covered boulders along the lakefront… algae? seaweed? whatever it’s called ???
With gentle waves lapping at the shoreline… over these very slippery rocks.

A perfect day with an ideal “window of opportunity”… so I skipped out of the studio for the afternoon. A little playing hooky in my kayak again up at the Skokie Lagoons. The sun was out, the skies were blue… and I had the whole place practically to myself. I saw a lot of waterfowl, turtles and only four other kayakers all afternoon!! So many great blue herons that I lost track! The perfect “escape” from the studio. Carpe diem, grab it while you can… and all that jazz!!!

Howdy Neighbor! Looks someone has finally decided to roost on my back porch…
on top of my neighbor’s door. Giving me the cautious side-eye
as I arrived home with my bike!

Art is all around us. Keep your eyes open.
Stay present. Enjoy nature. Get outside.
Choose happiness. Appreciate the beauty.

Whether it’s a morning sunrise… or a wonderful little painted rock I found today while riding. Sometimes the smallest of details can bring the biggest smiles!!! This one did… and now it’s part of my collection to remind me daily.

ART IS EVERYWHERE.

It was a crazy mix of clouds & smoke this morning!!! With the smoke from the Canadian wildfires making it’s way to Chicago, we had poor air quality & even poorer visibility. Not much of a sunrise as it was struggling behind the clouds & smoke. There was such a smoky “fog” engulfing the lakefront…. practically obliterating the view of the downtown skyline. CRAZY!!!

Spent a wonderful afternoon floating around on the water. Kayaking around the Skokie Lagoons enjoying the blue skies, white waterlilies & assorted waterfowl. Always fun to see a Great Blue Heron… and quite possibly my first Black-Crowned Night-Heron?… yes, I had to look it up. A beautiful day of paddling… a nice change from pedaling!

Just a morning milkweed moment…

After a full day of Summer Camp, I was seduced by blue skies… and just had to make a quick escape onto my bike along the lakefront. Beautiful shades of blue as I pedaled along the lake. And now… a quick shower & then back to my studio for the night!!

Looks like someone was out having a little breakfast nosh along the bike trail this morning by Montrose. Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner on my bike and saw her standing right there… not too alarmed, but maybe just a little annoyed that I interrupted her breakfast?!

Since I was headed out to the ‘burbs for dinner with my Dad & Bonnie… I decided to head out early for a pre-dinner hike through the woods. The blue skies had turned to gray, but the flowers were still beautiful… and the egrets didn’t seem to mind!

Yes… my Dad has a girlfriend named Bonnie – for five years now.
And she’s ADORABLE!!! They’re the cutest together!