Always love driving through central Illinois. There’s a certain serenity to the rural landscape, the newly planted fields, the vast open sky… and my favorite assortment of dilapidated old barns… like this one!

Another warm morning on my bike pedaling north to enjoy the sunrise. Nice & warm with a wonderful breeze. Rumors of rain moving in today… but trying to squeeze it in before it gets here!

Another beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for another bike ride north to Openlands Lakeshore Preserve. My new favorite spot since the quarantine & Chicago lakefront closure has “forced me” to explore further north. It’s a beautiful location with plenty of shoreline, beaches, bluff, grasses & trees! Nothing like having the whole beach pretty much to myself! Waves splashing all around… and me trying to capture the splash without getting too wet!!! It would have been a long & chilly ride home if I got soaked!

Just a few more pieces of beach glass for the “quarantine collection.” I’ve never really collected it before, but since we’ve all had to find new diversions over the past two months… I found some new routes, some new bike trails… and some glass.

Another wonderful “find” along the lakefront. I love seeing stacked rocks like these randomly along the shoreline. It make me happy to see that they have “survived” and no one has seen it necessary to topple them over! Thank you kind folks!

Okay, so just a little bit of coincidence here…
I actually kinda “know” the kid who builds these here! On that morning back a week or so when we had that odd sunrise rainbow, I happened to pedal past a familiar face. It was potter Joanna Kramer who I’ve know for a few years since her days at Lillstreet Art Center. Apparently, her son is the one who builds these here!!! Who knew?… SMALL WORLD.

Everyone is trying to make the best of the bad situation. Tough times require all of us to be patient, respectful & resilient. Putting down roots and trying to thrive through the difficulties. Hunkering down at home. Searching for the sunlight. Struggling to make the best out of the craziness that we call “Our World” today!

It feels like another somber day today…
with so much craziness, protests & riots going on in cities all around the country. Somehow these weeds seemed appropriate for a Monochromatic Monday! Resilient even in the harshest of circumstances.

Yesterday I finally got to ride my bike with two of my cycling friends… from a safe social distance of course! Until now, I’ve only been riding solo! But we finally got to take Beckie on an adventure through the North Branch Bike Trail, up through some northern suburbs and up to Openland Lakeshore Preserve and then up to the Great Lakes Naval Base. It was a beautiful day & felt so good to get outside… pedaling safely with two of my IRONMAN friends… all the way up to “where the sidewalk ends.”

After a “sweet” stop in Eureka on Friday, I continued on to see my very first art fair friends in Peoria. They’ve been “locked-down” with a tight quarantine and definitely needed a virtual hug! They’ve had a tough go… remember they’re the ones who have a gorgeous garden… now with a huge tree that fell down in the middle of it all. And if you look close… you might just see my ceramic totem pole that was in the way!

Luckily, they’re going to get a new one!!!…
totem pole that is, not another fallen giant tree!

Mother Nature kicked it outta the park again for another TEXTURE TUESDAY!!!

And while I’m on nature, bark & texture… here’s a couple more…

So good to see that the spring flowering trees are hanging on a little longer than usual… as is this quarantine! At least these trees are adding some beauty to these crazy days!