It’s officially the first day of Fall…
and I was greeted this morning with one perfect white leaf sitting on top of my gerbera daisy leaves. An “albino” harbinger of things to come!

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Nature encroaching… green ivy growing over the lakefront boulders.

I love when Mother Nature is so confident that these little plants will find a home wherever they can. Sitting in any little crack in the cement… and thriving on the east end apron of Chicago’s Navy Pier.

It was another beautiful Summer day in Chicago with some incredible clouds billowing through. Blue skies & puffy white clouds. Gorgeous.

It never really crossed my mind… even after last night’s crazy storms.
When my we scheduled a bike ride this morning along the Chicago River North Branch up to the Botanical Gardens… we never even thought about FLOODING!!! Chris and I parked, got our bikes out, geared up, ready to ride. Only to find out that the bike trail is underwater!!!

And no, this is NOT a lake!!!… there is green grass under there somewhere!

We even tried two different entry approaches… BOTH FLOODED!!!

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My condo backyard is a concrete courtyard. No soil. No dirt.
So I’ve had to create a garden oasis with potted plants… lots of hostas, bushes, flowers and trees I’ve gathered over the years… and of course, some rut pieces here & there!!!

But over the last couple weeks I’ve been seeing a new “resident” rabbit in the backyard. Every morning when I take my bike out, or water the plants, I keep seeing a small bunny hopping out from between the pots. At first I thought he was “cute.” A little slice of wildlife in our backyard. My next door neighbors have actually named him Monroe.

But now I see that this little varmint has started chewing on my plants!!! And I don’t like it!!! But to make it even worse, now it seems as though he’s making some “bedding” or just a beautiful “leaf carpet” around one of the pots??? So he’s not even eating the leaves… he’s just playing with them… just to taunt me even more!!!

Anyone have any suggestions on how I might be able to “encourage” Monroe to take up residence in someone else’s yard? Maybe some smelly flowers? Some pointy, prickly deterrents? Again, everything is on cement, so there’s really no way to stick in fencing. I don’t really want to wrap everything in chicken wire. But I also don’t want Monroe to chew off every leaf!!!

I’m open to suggestions!!!

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Spending some time in rural Indiana this weekend. Checking in and getting ready for tomorrow’s big race. Always love playing in cornfields… enjoying a little “agricultural get-away” from the City. Love the patterns, the colors, the repetition… and the crazy cool exposed roots!

Big sunrise sky show this morning. Huge.
So big that just ONE big photo couldn’t capture it… so here’s THREE.
What starts out bright & vibrant all too soon dissipates in the morning sky. Enjoy.

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My favorite variegated hosta beginning to bloom in my backyard.

Huge color splash across the morning sky!