I’m counting the days until ART DETOUR.
I will be heading up to the Wisconsin Northwoods a couple days early
to set-up and soak in the incredible Fall colors. Maybe even a hike or two?!
Sadly, no bike as my car will be full of pottery… and s’more supplies!!!

Sure, it looked like a beautiful sunrise much like many other mornings. So I pedaled out
and made it down to North Avenue Beach and went out onto the thin strip of breakwater
for these photos. But when I turned around… something was definitely brewing.

Uh-oh. And the temperatures dropped… and the wind picked up. Strong gusts…
and this storm front headed straight towards me. So of course I had that moment of
“I should find some place to duck under cover.” Followed by “Maybe I should hop on
my bike and try to race home before it hits.” But the one that won out was…
“This is gonna be pretty darn cool… and I need to take pictures of it!” So I did.

As the storm cloud rolled and took over the sunrise to my left…
and took over the city skyline to my right. Yep, the top of the Hancock Building is gone!
Crazy cool on both sides! And directly over head… just gusty winds, and no rain???

But then the band of clouds seemed to roll over & past us almost as fast as they came in.

And then the storm left Chicago, on its way towards Michigan! And quick.
So quick in fact, that we actually got treated to a “second sunrise” after the first wave
of clouds had passed… and the second & third were still working their way through!

After a full summer of growing, my Obedient Plant has finally started to bloom.
I love how the flowers start at the bottom and work their way up in perfect sequence.
And how the little blossoms are lined up so perfectly in four vertical rows…
waiting their turn to pop open!

Sometimes the sunrise is a little underwhelming. Like today.
Just kinda plain. Kinda hazy. Kinda boring. But if you wait a few minutes…
and add an organic silhouette, then you got something there and it makes all the difference!

My garden is green. There’s a lot of green.
But suddenly, there’s a new splash of color popping out.
I had forgotten that I had planted these caladium bulbs earlier in the spring!

So there were some “extra” peonies in the floral cooler at the “glitter gig.”
They were tight round buds, but no sign of blossoming. And since the blooming season
for peonies is LONG over, I doubted that they would open. But I was told that once the
buds can be stored for months if they are wrapped up & chilled. And that once they came
out of the cooler, the heat would “force” them to open… and they did! Last night they were
tight round buds, this morning they’re open, fresh & fragrant. Who knew?….