Yesterday was a great day for wandering. I spent most of the day hiking at Rock Cut State Park in Rockford. There’s a special fondness for this place as we camped there frequently as kids. Nice to have fond memories as you hike around the lake. Taking your time to see the colors & appreciate Mother Nature’s handiwork… especially as the colors are starting to change!

Last night was kind of AMAZING!!!

I got a late night text from my friend Tiffany asking if I was “outside.” I had just gotten home from the studio, changed clothes & settled in to enjoy a night of SURVIVOR. She said you can see The Northern Lights over Lake Michigan… and even sent me a photo to “prove” it!!! So I immediately hopped in my car, zoomed over to the lake, parked, got out… and saw nothing but black sky?! Wait… what?! Did I miss it??? Nope!!! Apparently you can only see it through your phone’s camera??? Weird. So what else is my phone seeing that I can’t?!!!

Anyway, I got there in time for about 15 minutes of The Northern Lights sky show!!! It was pretty cool… but I was a little underwhelmed just cause I only saw black skies myself?! But I guess it’s “real”?… ‘cuz my phone told me so??? And I’ll take it!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!

A beautiful day for a bike ride north along the lafefront, past mansions & scenic vistas… past lighthouses & Ravinia Festival. Through Openlands Lakeshore Preserve & Fort Sheridan. Pedaling north until the “Path Ends” much like a Shel Silverstein book. HA!!! Then a quick lunch at Waukegan Harbor, and then a return trip home.

Only after hanging out at the Waukegan Lighthouse… where you could actually see Chicago way off in the distance!!! Funny I’ve never noticed that before?!

On a beautifully sunny day, it’s nice to see a little visitor in the garden. I haven’t seen a lot of monarchs this summer… but I’m guessing their migration must be soon?! One quick snack before the arduous journey heading south?! Take your time… and bring your friends.

My first dahlia bloom of the year… finally at full-size! Hopefully we all survive this dry-spell we’re in & I get more dahlias to bloom in my garden!!! The leftover water in my bike water bottles only goes so far!!! Ha!!!

And when the sun was rising in the east, the Super Moon from last night was still hovering in the west. A nice big full moon to greet the morning sun!!!

Late afternoon art fair vibes… loving the “garden” shadows on my tent.
We still have another hour… c’mon by, c’mon buy!!

After last night’s crazy storms, it’s nice to have some natural serenity of wild plants growing along the railroads… gracefully arching with great colors, contrasts & textures. Perfect for a natural Texture Tuesday.

An early morning hike out in the suburbs to start my day…
wandering aimlessly… enjoying my road to nowhere.

Before the morning rain… a little early morning pollinating on the purple larkspurs currently blooming in my garden! And they’re breathing a big sigh of relief after a bit of rain… they weren’t so happy during our heatwave drought days last week!