Beauty and Peace at The Morton Arboretum

One of my newest favorite places is the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.  A place that we visited on field trips as a child but I had never been back to until recently.  It is about 45 minutes east of DeKalb but so worth the drive!  

 I purchased a yearly pass for the hubby and I.  50 dollars per person which is a deal if you plan on going daily, weekly, or even monthly because a single day's entry fee is $12.  We've been going weekly and have already saved money by having the membership card. 

 The Arboretum is so large that it will likely take us years to see it all.  But we've been having fun picking different spots to explore each time we go. 

Things were pretty frosty Friday morning but the sun was shining and there was some great Fall color still to be seen.

 If I remember correctly, this is a Miyabe Maple.  Isn't she pretty?

 Even the Arboretum carts look pretty with their red color against the brilliant yellow.

Happy November!

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hello tiny glimpse of spring

It's been a long winter here in the Midwest.  I've been thinking Spring was going to be missed altogether this year.  Despite having some snow flurries yesterday, the sun did peek out today and the buds on the branches are coming to life.  I took advantage of the sun, while still wearing my winter coat and scarf, to take some photos of the budding branches.  

 I hope the sun was shining where you were today.  

The sun also made it more fun to take some photos.  My photos of late have been as gray as the skies and I love them to have more warmth and happy colors.  

 Have a happy week ....

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Camp girl

 Dad was a teacher and every summer for most of my childhood the family would get loaded into the wagon (at this time there were 6 of us kids) and we'd head out to Wyoming making stops in the Dakotas and various other states along the way. Then we'd camp for a good 6 weeks straight. No hotels and not even fancy campgrounds. If I had a nickel for every time we had to do our "business" in a hole in the ground I'd have a dollar fifty! The fanciest we got was a weekly trip to the local laundromat to wash everyones duffel bag of clothes. I can truthfully say that as a kid I kind of hated these summers. I couldn't stand, dirt, pooping in the woods, excessive heat or cold, bugs, leeches, ticks (experienced all of these often) and I had so many allergies that I spent a great deal of time with itchy eyes and a scratchy body. I was the kid that dreamt of summers at home with my friends at the park district pool. I was kind of an anomaly within my family. The rest of my siblings loved roughing it. As an adult I've grown to have a much greater appreciation for the outdoors. But I do it my way now. No camping and no real roughing it. More like walks on the beach, nature hikes for photography, country drives, small town antiquing and stays in Lakeside houses with comfy beds and a nice hot shower.

The above photo is one that my dad gave me recently in the form of a slide. My husband surprised me by sending off a bunch of the slides to a place he found online (scanflurry.com) that makes them into photos on a disc.  You then  print as many photos as you like. They did a great job and it was not very expensive. 

I love that in this photo my siblings and I have a slight "help we're stuck in a commune" look about us. Especially Courtney in the yellow and Lara in the white. My brother Sean has a funny choke-hold on Courtney. And the way he has his arms around us you can see he is taking his role of brother/dude very seriously. Also hysterical is the full size playpen set up behind us, with the youngest at the time Adam inside of it. And my mom is behind us not facing the camera. She was probably thinking "I don't have time for photos.... I've got to make dinner for 8 people over a camp fire"

 That is 9 year old me tip toeing around the car to take a peek at a real bear sitting on the side of the road in Yellowstone National Park vicinity. Photo taken by my dad and given to me recently. I remembered the event but had no idea it had been documented on film. This was circa 1976.

Here is another one of the photos (slides) my dad gave me. This one dates to the early 70s as I think I look to be about 4 or 5 and was born in 67. Do you dig my striped pants. I did! I vividly remember this pop up van we had for a year or two as the WHOLE family crammed in there for sleeping and I'll never forget the night we were all awakened by a bear digging around our campsite looking for food. I think I remember it even coming right up to the van although maybe that is my little kid imagination at play. But it really was digging around our site. I had a hard time sleeping after that night. I did feel fear about a giant grizzly claw ripping thru the van and getting me.  If the fear of ticks and leeches didn't cement my feelings of despair about camping the fear of being bear dinner sealed the deal.  

It's been fun seeing the slides turned into photos and we've now framed the three shown here and since we liked how they turned out we are sending in another stack of slides to be converted.  Looking at these images makes me realize that I may not have loved camping and all that it entailed but spending all of that time with my family is part of what made me me and I really wouldn't trade that for anything. 

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Van Buren State Park --- Michigan

Dear State Park,

Thanks for the good times.

Love, Megan

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My sweet niece Brooke

One of the greatest joys in my life is being an aunt.  We used to sell a frame that said "Aunt ... like mom  only cooler"  and if that isn't one of my missions in life, I don't know what is.  I have a secret that I usually don't admit publicly but am going to now.  I'm not a "baby" whisperer like many I know.  You know the sweet people who love to hold and coo babies in their arms for hours upon hours.  My sisters Courtney and Lara are like that.  No amount of baby time is too much for them.  They will wait in line to hold the newest addition to the world and me, I'm the one who likes to feel their soft hand in mine and make them smile or giggle from a distance.  But then I've had my fill and seek out the age groups that can talk.  And my favorite age group is the one that some find difficult ... the pre-teens and teens.  Of course had I not suffered from infertility and had kids of my own, I might feel differently.  But my life is what it is and on this path of mine I find teens so much fun to be around.  And maybe because I work so hard to keep my "cool aunt" status going, they actually seem to like to be around me too!  Yay for that!!!

The beautiful girl / woman you see in the photos here is my darling niece and god-daughter Brooke.  She is wonderful beyond words.  Being her god-mother has over the years morphed into me being what I've begun to call her "Fairy God-Mother"  That is how I get away with spoiling her a bit extra and getting away with it with my sister.  I'm crafty like that.  One of the things we like to do together is look through my "vintage vaults."  That's what I call my storage supply of gorgeous vintage dresses.  Time permitting she models them for me so I get to see them on someone who actually fits in the tiny works of art. (darn those dresses are so small!) 

This past fall Brooke and Mackenzie (my nephew's fabulous girlfriend) asked if they could do a photo shoot in my yard.  Mackenzie is an excellent photographer.  She is currently studying photography and graphic design at NIU.  Of course I said yes.  Brooke came dressed in a vintage late 40s cotton dress she had previously found at moxie and Mackenzie did her hair and make-up which I thought turned out beautiful.  The smart Mackenzie scheduled the session for when the light would be gorgeous ... right around 6 pm.  I asked if I could also take pictures since I've been trying to teach myself how to use my dslr camera and could use more practice.  I promised to stay out of the way (which I'm sure I didn't) and   Mackenzie graciously said Yes!  

These are 3 of my favorite photos that I took that day.  The genius idea to snap Brooke thru the screens of the porch was all Mackenzies.  But I'm so glad she came up with it because I just love how it turned out.  If Brooke were a singer this could be her album cover.  Not that I'm saying my photo is great, but just that she looks like she could be on an album cover! 

This photo above makes me happy.  I think I captured her spirit here.  She has a little something in the eyes that reflects her upbeat and feisty personality.  She is no shy wallflower and I love that about her.  

Here is the photographer and her muse at play.  A little friendly mid-shoot fun never hurt anyone.  Glad I was there to capture it.  It's always great to capture the photographer too!   I so admire both my niece Brooke and Mackenzie.  They are both not just creative and artistic but really great on the inside too. I'm just happy they allow me into their young worlds every now and then. 

Please visit Mackenzie Maeder Photography and Graphic Design on her Facebook page.  

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chasing squirrels

I try to take a walk or two every day. I picked up this book called the Mayo Clinic on back pain at a church rummage sale and the main thing I took away from it was the statement ... walking is the best thing you can do to prevent/manage back pain. A simple statement. But for whatever reason, after reading dozens upon dozens of books about stretching, yoga, living with pain, etc. etc, that is the statement that has made the most impact on me. I've lived with chronic back pain since taking a bad fall in my early 20s and it has gotten worse with time. The last couple of years it became so bad that I had weeks where I couldn't move without assistance.

It took me forever to finally reach a point where I've accepted the fact that my back isn't going to stop hurting but it can become much more user friendly if I do two things. Walk and stretch. Duh ... right?? Well I did those things before but not religiously and without fail. Now for the last year I do, and guess what?? Back pain is not at all gone but it is so much less and when I feel the signs of a doozy back pain starting I stretch and walk even more and knock on wood, I haven't had one of my "can't walk for weeks" attacks since I began this routine a year and a half ago. Of course everyone's situation and backs are unique so this isn't medical advice it's just my personal experience.

I won't walk at night alone but if I take a daytime walk I like to bring along my camera to keep me company. I often wonder if the neighbors see me chasing after squirrels to get a good photo and think "there's that weird walker/squirrel chaser again." I don't listen to music because I'm afraid to wear earbuds while walking. I'm not an overly fearful person but the idea of not hearing someone come up from behind kind of spooks me. So that leaves visual stimulation for me. I know some of you would be totally fine with silence and nature but I'm just not one of those people.... not yet anyway. I like to look for fun things to take pictures of to keep my mind and imagination stimulated. I'll work on the just being zen in the future!

I'm not a good photographer but think that the more shots I take, the better chance I'll have to learn something eventually. And it's fun. On my list of things I'd love to do in the future is take a photography class. Who knows maybe in 2013 I'll do it. Here are a few of the snaps I took on my walk the other day.

I have a thing for squirrels. I could watch them for hours. They are so active and animated. I'll probably be one of those old ladies that sits in her chair with her crippled back and watches the squirrels for hours outside of her big picture window. I'll have a youngster put out healthy squirrel treats to attract them to my patio.

As I tiptoe around the property lines of my neighbors looking for pretty branches to photograph I wonder if they see me thru their windows. If they do, what do they think??

Of course you know that to get this shot I had to get down on my knees and then hunch down even further. Like some crazy stretch I do at home, only this time with camera in hand, in public, and in front of some random strangers house. Do you think that stops me .... uhhh no.

The cutest pink tree you ever did see. Just seeing if you're paying attention! But I wish this tree really were pink because that would make my walk REALLY exciting.

This is a good example of why I need a good macro lens. Hello Santa... are you listening?? Tried to capture the bee .... not so good, but at least I didn't get stung so considering this one a success.

This scenario went like this ... I ask husband if he can help me with project. He says what is it. I say just come outside. He sighs with a smile on his face and just shakes his head and obliges. I then lead him to a pile of leaves and say please grab some of these and throw them in the air. He says, why does this not surprise me. I smile and say ... just do it. He does it and I spastically try to get under them and get my camera to fire at the same time. I just had to see if I could get a good action shot of leaves falling. It didn't turn out that great but it sure was fun getting the husband to do it like 6 or 7 times.

So if you live near me and you see me doing some crazy stuff in front of your house, don't call the cops, I'm basically harmless. Pin It