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!

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!!!