A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Reflect

Sue’s Word A Week Photograph Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-reflect/ is Reflect.

Our eldest grandson catches sight of his reflection in a shop window as he goes ‘trick or treating’ at the local mall.

Our granddaughter studies her reflection in the mirror as she applies some make-up while visiting the Hamill Family play area at Brookfield Zoo.

Our youngest daughter checking out her reflection from every angle at that crucial last-minute dress fitting just days before her wedding.

Travel Theme: Birds

Weekly Photo Challenge: One

The Weekly Photo Challenge from the folks on The Daily Post at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/photo-challenge-one/ is One; one person or thing that is the focus of attention in a picture.

One beautiful bride. She certainly was the focus of my attention on that special occasion; our youngest daughter on her wedding day.

One hungry sparrow making the most of the bird feeder in our garden.

One ship’s bell at the Tall Ships Festival in Chicago.

One rustic outhouse at the Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.

One scarecrow on the Scarecrow Trail at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

Travel Theme: Winter

Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge on Where’s My Backpack? at http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/12/20/travel-theme-winter/ is Winter.

I don’t do much in the way of traveling anyway, even in the best of conditions, but especially not in the winter, unless I really have to. Most of my winter shots have been captured much closer to home.

The elk are well taken care of during the winter months in Elk Grove Village.

A purple finch manages to find a few remnants of seed left by the sparrows that seem to have taken over the bird feeders in our garden this winter.

The squirrels are regular visitors in our garden during the winter. They know I’m a soft touch!

The beauty of winter at the Morton Arboretum.

Families make the most of a gloomy winter day, sledding on the hill at our local park.

The Chicago Botanic Garden celebrates winter and Christmas in particular in the greenhouses.

A Word A Week Photograph Challenge: Wind

Sue’s Word A Week Photograph Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-wind/ is Wind.

Sometimes we need a little help from Mother Nature and the following shots illustrate some of the things that require wind to assist in getting the job done.

A Halladay Standard windmill at the Volkening Farm in Schaumburg.

A kite flying in the Kite Festival at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Flags of various countries flying at the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park.

Yachts racing at what was then called Lake Opeka in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Milkweed seeds waiting for a breeze to help carry them to a new home.

Travel Theme: Still

Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge this week on Where’s My Backpack? at http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/12/13/travel-theme-still/ is Still.

Living just outside the busy hustle and bustle of a big city like Chicago it’s nice every once in a while to get away to a quiet spot where everything is peaceful and still. I’m not saying I’d want to spend my entire life in such tranquil surroundings but a change is as good as a rest, they say, and the occasional visit to such places can be very calming.

Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Palisades State Park, South Dakota.

A quiet spot along the river. I’m not quite sure where this shot was taken; possibly on the Rock River in Wisconsin on one of our Sunday drives.

.

No need to go all that far afield either. With places like the Morton Arboretum practically on our doorstep, relatively speaking, there’s no reason to travel to distant parts to get away from it all.

Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois is another place that springs to mind when I’m looking for somewhere soothing to sit still and think about what I’m going to do when I get back to the hurly-burly of the city.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Community

The Weekly Photo Challenge from the folks on The Daily Post at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/photo-challenge-community/ is Community.

The word ‘community‘ speaks to me as much about the place as it does the people; places where we gather together to pray, learn, be entertained or just relax.

The Baptist Church in Itasca. No matter what religion you follow, I suppose you could call the church the soul of the community.

The library at Northwestern University in Evanston. From early childhood playschools to universities and colleges, places of learning play a crucial role in the development of our communities.

The Town Square in Schaumburg. The community comes together at this public park for summer concerts. It’s a nice spot to sit and relax and enjoy a cup of coffee or an ice cream.

Ask anyone in the Skokie community the name of a great place to shop for clothes and they’ll probably tell you “Old Orchard.

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. There’s nothing quite like supporting a sports team for stirring the community spirit.

The Farmers Market in Arlington Heights. A great place to buy local produce and support the community.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Alone

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge on Cee’s Photography at http://ceenphotography.com/2013/12/10/cees-fun-foto-challenge-alone/ is Alone.

Very often when Mum and I visited the Chicago Botanic Garden she would insist on my leaving her to her own devices so that I could go off to do some photography in other parts of the Garden. Her favorite spot was in the English Walled Garden where she was quite happy to sit alone jotting down notes, about all the plants that had taken her fancy, in her little notebook.

The Frog Goddess stands alone on the banks of Meadow Lake at Morton Arboretum; one of many scarecrows decorated by local Girl and Boy Scout Troops.

A solitary heron wades about in a pool at River Trails Nature Center looking for lunch.

A man, alone with his music, plays on the streets of Chicago.

I admit the quality of this pictures is not quite as sharp as I would have liked but I did crop it down considerably in order to show the person standing alone on a ledge less than half way up Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. I didn’t even realize he or she was there until after I’d had the picture developed. Of course this intrepid climber wasn’t really alone. There were others in the party obviously, for safety reasons, but, perched there on that spot, I imagine they must have felt very much alone.

A Word A Week Challenge: Shadow

Sue’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-shadow/ is Shadow.

Skillfully pruned pines cast distorted shadows on the snow in the Japanese Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Our little granddaughter racing to keep ahead of her shadow. I can’t take the credit for this picture. My son-in-law, her Uncle C, captured it as they were coming home from the park but it was so cute that I just had to include it.

Shadows emphasize the path across a bridge at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

A shadow is cast on The Sundial, a sculpture in the Plant Evaluation Garden of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Shadows criss-cross the old red barn at Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: More Than Five Items

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge on Cee’s Photography at http://ceenphotography.com/2013/12/03/cees-fun-foto-challenge-more-than-5-items/ is More Than Five Items. This was another one of those challenges where I had so many pictures I had a hard time deciding which ones to use, so I’ll probably post some more tomorrow.

Bunches of grapes ripen in the sun in the Regenstein Fruit and Vegetable garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

A mother duck and her brood of ducklings going for an early morning paddle across the lake at our local park.

A fleet of yachts in the harbor on Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago.

Dozens of balloons float into the air at a local elementary school function.

Stamps numbering in the hundreds make up my late father-in-law’s stamp collection. It was his life-long hobby and he spent countless hours sorting through them and putting them in albums.

Milkweed bugs climb over each other on this milkweed seed pod at Spring Valley Nature Center.