As the summer comes to a close, the plants on my back porch are starting to suffer
and wither in the cooler Fall weather. But, it’s still great to see every morning as
my rusty farm gear “curtain” is getting covered by morning glories & cardinal flowers!
Okay… so it’s really more leaves, and not so much flowers… but it still looks nice!

Plus, a quick shot of the “other” side…
so you can see all of the BEAUTIFUL rust!!!

And how dramatically a sunrise can change in just a matter of minutes…

After camp this afternoon, Chris & I went up to the Skokie Lagoons for a little kayaking!
We’ve pedaled our bikes through these lagoons for years along the North Branch Trail
and never once even considered kayaking before. This year, it was finally time!
And as luck would have it, there is now a convenient rental location right off Tower Road,
right on one of the lagoons! So we gave it a brief “test drive” last Monday as a quick break
in the middle of our afternoon bike ride. Today we planned ahead & left the bikes at home –
with full intention of kayaking after work instead of biking!

So we hopped into our rented kayaks and started off. Last Monday we headed south
and went around the closest island. Today we decided to go north up to the
Botanic Garden and back. About 6 miles. With map in hand… we paddled off.

It was a beautiful afternoon with some dramatic clouds rolling through. There were
a few moments of “dark clouds” as we questioned if we were going to rained upon.
Luckily, we didn’t – the clouds blew over and the sky cleared up. With more beautiful
clouds to contrast against the beautiful blue skies.

As the sun started to go down, the water lilies had already closed for the evening.
I can’t wait to paddle again a little earlier in the day to see the blossoms wide open.

As we paddled through the lagoons, Chris and I got to see a lot of waterfowl and trees.
We were surprised by the number of Great Blue Herons we saw flying all around us.
Up close & personal, swooping & squawking, flying from tree to tree. Dozens of them!
Along the way, we also had to get out of our kayaks and portage across three small
embankments. And for the novice… let’s just say, neither of us looked all to graceful as
we tried to maneuver our way out of the boat, and then back in without flipping it over.
Let’s just say, the opening in the kayak isn’t as large as I would like it to be… to get my
legs, thighs & butt wedged in there! Like threading a needle… while still afloat?!

And then we turned another corner, around the river bend… and we spotted this incredible
tree full of waterfowl. How spectacular is this? The “tree” was in constant movement as
the birds flew in, and flew out, and interacted with each other. On a side note?…
let’s just say that the green bushes below this tree were a lot “whiter” than they should be!
Sadly… I don’t know my birds well enough to identify this tree-perched grouping?!

EDITOR’S NOTE: After this initial posting, I was informed by my birding-friend
& fellow potter Karen Avery that these flocking water birds are actually called
Double-Crested Cormorants. Who knew?! – – – – – – – – okay, well I guess she did?!!!

Now these waterfowl I can identify… a row of female mallard ducks sunning themselves.

As we came around the final bend, and paddled towards the shore to finish our journey,
one last glimpse back and there was a wonderful sunset in the making! A perfect end
to a perfect afternoon… and a nice “alternative” to pedaling up to the gardens!
Close, but not quite the same… paddling, instead of pedaling!

As soon as I left Summer Camp, it was right in the car and headed north!
A nice roadtrip up to Minneapolis in Friday afternoon rush hour with temperatures
just over a hundred degrees. Good planning, huh?

Kicking back in the car, air conditioning cranked up high & singing all the way,
it was a slow go just trying to get out of Chicago. Hot, humid, congested.
I finally made it over the Wisconsin border and stopped off for gas & grape pop!
When I paid and returned to the car, I noticed a huge storm headed my way.
Seconds after getting back in the car, the sky opened up and flooded the place
with heavy rains and a smattering of hail.

As I’m battling the rain, there were times when it was so tough to see the road ahead
that I actually considered pulling over under an overpass and waiting it out. Instead,
I just made sure to keep the tail lights of the truck in front of me in view. And since
I love a challenge… I had to take some pictures at the same time!

Further up the road, the rain finally stopped and the sun came back out. With beautiful
cloud formations across the sky and a striking sunset highlighting the clouds.

Enjoy it while you can… because there was another storm about a half hour ahead.
The skies got dark again and there were lightning flashes all around. Ominous looking…
and again a little scary when the crazy storm finally unleashed its fury on the freeway!

So I finally made it up to Minneapolis and checked in to the hotel – and met up with
my friend & fellow potter Amy Higgason. She had driven down earlier that day from
northern Wisconsin and shopped the day away at the Mall of America. So although
I was exhausted from my morning bike ride, day at summer camp and the treacherous
drive… it was great to see Amy again – and we chatted for HOURS when we should
have been sleeping. Knowing that we had big festivities planned for the next day.

Natural inspriations… from another beautiful morning bike ride!

After riding to the Chicago Botanic Garden again this afternoon,
I was impressed by this stand of aspen trees as their silver leaves
glistened in the sun with great contrast to the brilliant blue skies.

I also loved the crusty green mosses & lichens growing on the sides
of some of the aspen trees. Love the colors. Love the textures.

Simple. Brilliant. Inspirational.
Go out and have some fun… play outside… play with the moon!

With another afternoon bike ride up to the Chicago Botanic Gardens,
it has been incredible to watch the woods, leaves & flowers change over the seasons.
Today it was the vibrant summer flowers that caught our attention.