APAW – Lit From Within

The subject for Nancy Merrill’s Photo A Week Challenge is Lit From Within and, although I hadn’t intended to participate this week, the opportunity to capture some appropriate pictures presented itself quite by chance and so here is my take on the challenge.  For the past three weeks I’ve been spending much of the time at the hospital visiting my 93-year-old mother-in-law.  Sadly she has reached the stage where nothing more can be done for her and has been moved to more comfortable surroundings in hospice there.  The only bright spot in these rather gloomy days has been the sight of the Christmas Village that has been set up in the lobby of the hospital. Apparently, the man who owns all these lovely ornaments brings them in every Christmas for everyone to enjoy.  Thank you, whoever you are!  You have helped to lighten our load.

For more on Nancy’s Photo A Week Challenge go to Lit from Within.

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Pull Up A Seat – For Art’s Sake!

In my experience, most statues of people seem to portray them in a standing position, as if showing a person worthy of a statue in a sitting posture would be to give the impression that they were somehow guilty of slacking. However, in my travels I have come across one or two inanimate posteriors that have been allowed to sink to a supporting chair or plinth. The first three images are of an art installation call ‘Borders’ in Grant Park in downtown Chicago back in 2013.

It would seem that Abraham Lincoln wasn’t above sitting down occasionally for a quiet think or to read a good book, as seen here in Chicago’s Grant Park, Freeport in Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky.

 

Children can sometimes be seen sitting down but mostly only in statues.  In real life you’re lucky if you can get them to keep still for more than two minutes!  These shots were taken at the Green Bay Botanical Garden, Wisconsin and Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, Illinois.

While some artist’s models are lucky enough to score a comfortable chair whilst sitting for a sculptor, others find themselves perched on a cold, hard slab or a nubby rock as shown here at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

And the more classical element only rate a less-than-comfy tree stump to prop up their rear ends, as these pictures, taken at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, show.

If anyone asks me to sit for a statue, I’ll be sure to specify that I want, at the very least, to be parked on a bench, seat or preferably a well-cushioned armchair.  Images captured in Elk Grove, Illinois, Sioux Falls in South Dakota and Green Bay Botanic Garden, Wisconsin.

For more on the Pull Up A Seat Photo Challenge go to Photo Challenge of places we sit…or might sit…or art about sitting.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Open Doorways

This week, Tina at Travels and Trifles has selected Doors and Doorways as the subject for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.  I seem to have exhausted my supply of doors with Norm’s Thursday Doors challenge but I did find some open doorways in the Minnesota photo files, the first two taken in the State Capitol Building in St. Paul and the third in the Cathedral of St. Paul.

For more on the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge go to Open Sesame: Doors and Doorways.

APAW Challenge- Crossing That Bridge When We Come To It

This week, Nancy Merrill’s topic for the Photo A Week Challenge is bridges.  My daughter always had a horror of crossing bridges, especially in a car, and would close her eyes tightly if we were going over an especially long one. I don’t know how she manages, now that she’s a mom who has to do all the driving. I imagine it’s still a white-knuckle experience but hopefully she keeps her eyes open. It isn’t always easy to plan a trip without crossing some kind of bridge or other.  Rather like life, you cross that bridge when you come to it.

The Serpentine and Zigzag bridges at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Crossing the Mississippi River in Cairo, Illinois.

A bridge across the train tracks in Milwaukee, part of the Hank Aaron State Trail in Wisconsin.

Crossing the mighty Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.

For more on Nancy’s Photo A Week Challenge go to Bridges.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Tables and Chairs

This week, Cee has asked us for tables and chairs for her Black & White Photo Challenge.  The two images below show some tables and chairs in the McGinley Pavilion at The Chicago Botanic Garden, both their setting and the view onto which they look.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Any kind of tables or chairs.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – On Mackinac Island

This week, Cee is looking for places people live for her Fun Foto Challenge and, browsing through the photo files, I’ve opted to go with some shots that I took on Mackinac Island a few years ago.  The island, located on Lake Huron in Michigan, is primarily a resort area and relies heavily on its picturesque houses and hotels to draw tourists to its shores. While I’m sure many of the residents take off for warmer climes during the winter months, there are still a good few people who live here year-round.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Places People Live.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Just For Fun

The subject for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week was set for us by Patti, and she is looking for some fun.  Whenever I am looking for a little fun, I head over to my eldest daughter’s house. For many years I hosted every kind of family celebration imaginable but now she has taken over the task and is doing a first-rate job.  Last year she initiated a new celebration, the family fall festival, and we had a lot of fun, so this year we looked forward to the date with eager anticipation.

The day started out well. The sun was shining and we were able to enjoy all the outdoor decorations which were primarily geared towards the forthcoming Halloween festivities.

 

Someone was on hand to do a bit of face painting while the grown-ups prepared the food.  Luckily we didn’t need to use the grill as it seemed to be haunted, and I got a fright when someone tapped on the window by the kitchen sink and I look out to see who was there.

Then it was time for all of us to head over to Kregel’s Pumpkin Farm. We had a great time there last year and this looked to be just as much fun, with some family members trying out a new rolling activity while others had a go at the giant slide. By this time, the dark clouds were starting to drift in but we were fairly confident that we’d stay dry as there seemed to be no rain in the forecast.

It was then that things took a turn for the not-so-good.  We had hopped on the hay wagon for a ride out to the pumpkin patch and had just made our selections as we stood about discussing the merits of various types of squash when it started to snow.  And not just snow. The wind picked up and howled across the field! And there was a blizzard but not gently falling snowflakes.  These felt more like shards of glass pummeling us. We all piled back on the hay wagon and the driver set off.  I don’t have any shots of these events as by this time I had bundled my camera underneath a rather inadequate jacket, so you’ll just have to picture the scene for yourselves.  The wind had reached such a velocity that I thought the wagon was in danger of tipping over and the cold was almost unbearable (many of us were just not suitably dressed for this wintry onslaught.) It’s a strange thing but as horrific as that slow ride back to the farm was, we were all laughing!  Even in the worst conditions we were a family, together, out to have some fun and by gosh, we were determined to make the best of it!

By the time we got home, the blizzard had stopped (naturally) and we settled down to enjoy the rest of the day. Unfortunately the camera wasn’t functioning too well after being caught in the storm so I abandoned the picture-taking for other fun pursuits.  For more on the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge go to Just For Fun