Wedding Season Again - Backyard Bridal Shower

After a long hiatus, weddings and other similar celebrations are back again! Two good friends’ children kick off the next phase in our mid-life journey - by being the first offspring to get married! We kicked things off with Katie’s bridal shower a couple weekends ago.

 

 
The Bride, Katie and her family moved away several years ago, but this friendship endures the miles apart. Originally dubbed “The Book Club Group”, we morphed into the “Fine Lake Ladies” after years of gathering at friend Heather’s lake house on (you guessed it) Fine Lake in Michigan. Heather and her family still retain ties to our area so the shower was held locally and allowed the family to re-visit familiar haunts over the weekend. Hostesses Nancy and Jill pulled together a lovely Bridal Brunch and even ordered perfect weather!

 

 
Table settings:

 

 
Brunch goodies:

 

 
The Bride to Be:

 

 

 
With sister Isabel:

 

 

 
And sister Charlotte (plus friend Kelly):

 

 
The weather was perfect - not too hot and no rain, which allowed us to enjoy time outside in Nancy’s backyard.

 

 
Heather, Mary and Isabel

 

 
Seated at the table with the Bride at the head:

 

 
The young at heart side of the table!

 

 
Next up will be the wedding ceremony and reception - in Michigan. We are looking forward to a grand party and celebration!

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Big Blue Heron Visits

We live near a watershed system consisting of various waterways and retention ponds. The systems foster healthy aquatic ecosystems, attracting fish, turtles, frogs and water fowl. One resident is a stately great blue heron who wades in the creeks and can be seen flying gracefully across the sky.

 

 
I was enjoying the perfect weather outside on Sunday afternoon when I saw the Blue heron flying barely above the roof lines of our house and alight atop my neighbor’s roof. Then he took to the sky again passing overhead. I felt lucky to have observed such a close encounter.

 

 
Imagine my surprise when, later that afternoon, my husband announced the blue heron had landed in our backyard. Our backyard fish pond certainly attracts birds and mallard ducks but never a great blue heron! He didn’t stay long, but that prompted me to stage my camera nearby “just in case”. Big Blue (named by my husband) did return to check out the fish pond and that visit allowed me to take these photos:

 

 

 
Such a magnificent creature! Now we can't help but spot him flying overhead. Maybe he will continue to visit. Note that our fish pond contains basic goldfish and we're not attached to them like we might be with koi. So if Big Blue wants a snack, he is welcome to one!

 

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Sticking Around

Another week, another snowfall! This time, instead of melting away quickly, the snow stuck around for four days, and more impressively, adorned the tree branches for three full days. That is an anomaly for this area - normally we receive a snowfall, the wind picks up and the snow is blown off every branch and horizontal surface. This time, the snow started off wet, stuck to everything and then the temperatures fell precipitously to the single digits, flash-freezing the snow to everything.

The icy snow - Defying gravity on day one (Thursday)


From the pine trees in the back yard:




Friday morning greeted us with brilliant sunshine but sub-zero temperatures without the windchill. I took this from the kitchen, looking at those same pines.


Saturday morning I headed to the forest preserve with friends, hopeful for a winter wonderland. I wasn't disappointed.



We hiked through the powdery snow, caught some wildlife and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.




It's all so fleeting - on Sunday, warmer air coupled with the sun melted the snow off the trees. Today the rain is washing away the remnants. My philosophy - get out and enjoy it while you still can.

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The Onion Blooms [Macro]

When one says "onion", the first thought centers around the pungent, tear inducing layered bulb, not the greenery above ground and most certainly not the pretty flowers produced by the developing stalks. A search on the generic term "allium" yields photos of Giant, Decorative Allium, revered for its huge, magenta - purple blooms, commonly offered through glossy nursery catalogs. I found these white beauties in my friend's backyard - her husband grows a wide variety of produce, including the lowly onion. A closer look and you see the beauty in these perfectly spherical blooms.

I initially took several photos with my 24-70mm lens but quickly determined I would not be happy with the pseudo sharpness I was seeing due to the lens limitations and my poor hand held technique. So I dug out my macro lens.







I really should use this lens more.

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Life of the Party

We survived the holiday weekend, complete with the Girls' graduation party.

A party for these three - friends since freshman year - hosted by the parents, held in our backyard.


The party scene, well before the party. I should have taken a photo once everything was set up, but I was too tired...

The tent was a must-have, and it even withstood the 40mph winds from the weekend.

At least 100 people attended, it was a great time with great food, great friends, great fun. We lucked out with the weather, as the 50% chance of rain never materialized.

I love it when you just don't care
I love it when you dance like there's nobody there
So when it gets hard, don't be afraid
We don't care what them people say
I love it when you don't take no
I love it when you do what you want cause you just said so
Let them all go home, we out late
We don't care what them people say



We don't have to be ordinary
Make your best mistakes
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party
I'm telling you to take your shot it might be scary
Hearts are gonna break
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party



Together we can just let go
Pretending like there's no one else here that we know
Slow dance fall in love as the club track plays
We don't care what them people say



We don't have to be ordinary
Make your best mistakes
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party
I'm telling you to take your shot it might be scary
Hearts are gonna break
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party


Come out tonight, come out tonight
There's no one standing in your way
Come out tonight, come out tonight
We don't care what them people say
We don't care what them people say



We don't have to be ordinary
Make your best mistakes
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party
I'm telling you to take your shot it might be scary
Hearts are gonna break
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party



Yeah, yeah, yeah
Life of the party
So don't let them keep you down
Oh you know you can't give up
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party

Life of the Party by Shawn Mendes

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What's Happening ...

....in the back yard...

The Iris went from this


to this:


We still have visitors to the bird feeder:


Busted her (pretty sure it's a "she"), then let her continue to eat:


And I'm hoping to capture the customers spotted at the new hummingbird feeder, waiting for the peonies to bloom.

Happy Wednesday!

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Spring at Last

the season of spring
weather seems to sing
lovely lovely days
are coming our ways



the season of spring
blooming blossoming
of nature of all kind
let roots unbind



the season of spring
an new awakening
busy humanity on earth
as if it’s a new birth



listen listen to my words
the season of spring is near
now a look into your lovely eyes
and one can see spring is already here

The Season Of Spring by Morhardt Carmen Mencita Monoi Angel

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For the Birds

My husband recently relocated the platform bird feeder so that it sits less than a yard from the back of the house, conveniently situated close to the living room windows. He also bought and filled it bird seed, an important element to attracting birds to the feeder (yeah, obvious, but something I just never seem to remember to do, LOL!).

I like my new photo set up!




This set up also attracts birds to the pond.


Of course, the cats love their new entertainment package.

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Carved by the Wind

I am always amazed by the way the strong winds of the prairie blow and move snow around here. The snow we received Sunday ranged from a depth of half and inch to three feet tall - of course, the largest drifts were against the front and garage doors.

Get close enough and the drifts look like sand dunes.



The temperatures outside peaked around 20 degF yesterday and it felt downright balmy. I guess when the mercury hits above freezing, we'll be outside in shorts. That's what we have to look forward to in a few short days - Yay!

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So Cold

Frost on the Sliding Glass Back Door - Winter's Impression

The first major storm of 2014 hit yesterday and we are literally snowed in. With yesterday's snow and high winds, the roads became impassable and all the Interstates, highways, city roads and county roads were closed down last night. Other than the Blizzard of '78 (in Massachusetts), I don't recall any circumstance that has led to the complete closure of "All Roads" in town.

The Polar Funnel has also put us in a deep freeze - it's -15 degF outside and with the winds blowing at 25mph, we are experiencing dangerously low wind chills - down to -45 degF and therein lies the greater threat of getting stranded in a vehicle that's gone off the icy road. Pretty much everything is closed - county offices, libraries, gyms, schools, health clinics, churches, many retail establishments. I haven't left the house in a car since Saturday....

I did, however, manage to get a short run in Sunday morning, just as the snow started to fall in earnest.
The weather wasn't really too bad - in the high 20's, with a light coating of snow on the ground. But I misread the wind and didn't don the proper protective gear and out in the open, running into the wind was simply painful. But nestled within the protection of the trees, the view was quite beautiful.

Now I wish I had run further, because it might not be until Wednesday before I can get a road run in.

For my local friends - stay warm and safe!

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Frost On the Red Carpet

I couldn't resist the fresh coat of frost on the grass and leaves this morning. The recent rains and wind have stripped the trees of their pretty leaves, but they are almost as lovely on the ground as they are on the branches.





Even devoid of color, I love the lines and texture.


There's even a bit of green still around.


Frost is fleeting - once the sun hits, it's gone.

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That Extra Hour

Last Sunday, we "fell back" from Daylight Savings time to Standard Time, gaining an hour.

What did I "do" with that extra hour? My kids slept it away, but I spent part of that hour outside, in my bathrobe, taking photos. Because that's what I do and the neighbors have grown accustomed to it....

I was really into it because of the frost and even broke out the macro lens.






It would be nice to have more "extra hours" every now and then, but I am happy to have it once a year. If only we didn't have to lose it in the spring.....

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Unexpected Visitor

We had a surprise visitor to our backyard pond the other day - a young hawk! Scott noticed him (her?) perched on one of the stones, looking down at the water.



He appeared to be watching the gold fish in the pond. Maybe hoping for an afternoon snack?

Then he moved closer to the house - on to the cover of the pond's recirculation pump, where he continued to look down at the water. He was less than 3 feet away from the house - certainly the closest I've been to a raptor in the wild.


I love how the tail feathers are fanned out, and notice the slight lean forward in this next photo - just prior to him taking off in flight:



I didn't get a decent photo of him in flight, but it was cool to watch. He never did take anything from the pond, either. We only have little goldfish in the pond and since some of them swim very close to the surface, I thought he would grab one.

I am not any sort of raptor expert, so if anyone out there knows what type of hawk this guy is, please let me know in the comments!

Shared with Tuesday's Muse and Communal Global.

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