spouting off

Wow, the sun shone brightly today, and the views were stunning all around. This is Meyer Park, which is just East of our post office and across the street from our amazing new library.

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Someone told me that the water is shooting up because of a machine under the water. That's ridiculous! Who would believe such a preposterous notion? How do you plug in an electric machine under the water?! Or if it is allegedly gas powered, let me ask you this, what would happen to your car's engine if you submerged it under water? I'm not that gullible, people! No, I believe this to be a whale of some sort. Probably the beluga from Chicago's Shedd Aquarium enjoying a day in the burbs before he gets shipped off to do some work in Connecticut.

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If you are able to view our town's e-newspaper, you will see that I added my photo to the other shots of the park.

wade in the water

[SOOC (no post editing). click to enlarge]

My wife and I were both born and raised in Chicago. Not Chicagoland, or the major metropolitan Chicago area, but Chicago proper. We were from inside the city, and not just near it. I thought I would never live anywhere else, and I never wanted to.

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Then a window of opportunity opened up for us to purchase a house. I already told you how much I loved Chicago. My wife, on the other hand, wished for a lot more space, far from the hustle and bustle of the city. The house we found in Bolingbrook seems to be a fair compromise. It is approximately 35 miles West by Southwest from Downtown, and if you go another 35 miles, you'll drop off the edge of the earth.

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The move meant that I would have to commute until I could find something closer. Thirty-five miles from Downtown Chicago usually meant that the Friday night commute was TWO HOURS!! But it was a whole different place when I got near Bolingbrook. I have only recently started taking pictures of birds, but I remember the first time I saw the Great Blue Heron hovering over the expressway near our new home. I had never seen one of these in the city, and it meant for me that we moved some place special.

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This bird gets spooked if you so much as cross your eyes, so I had a difficult time getting close enough to take its picture. On Saturday, I saw it in a pond, so I parked nearby, and trekked through tall grasses and prickly weeds to close the gap. It is amazing how loud and crunchy the ground was. I walked slowly, then proceeded in a crouched position, then crawled on all fours, then did a snake crawl, and finally slowly rolled down a slope to get in position.

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This great bird was hidden behind some reeds, but providentially was curious enough to move into a position where I could snap a few pics. I couldn't believe what was happening! Then I went to change lenses and it flew off. I wish I was quicker, so that I could get it in flight, but you will have to settle for this one for now, wading, but wary.

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Leeloo has some nice pics of the Great Blue Heron on her blog as well. Go check it out.

silver sliver

There is a small bridge on a street near my home. It is easy to drive past it and not notice the scenery, but when the sky is hazy and uninteresting, the light shows off in the reflections. Here, it looks like the stream is liquid mercury. The photo does not do it justice, because the light was so bright all around that I was squinting, and the light was intense, coming from the stream or creek or whatever it is.

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I was delighted to have captured this, because a local resident looked at the print and said, "Ooh, where's that at?" "Pinecrest," I said. The other person's jaw dropped. Yes, there is a lot of beauty all around us, especially if we train our eyes to find it.

Sky Watch Friday!

There's not a whole lotta tall stuff in Bolingbrook (where I live). I was in Chicago nearly 40 years with tall structures all over the place! Anyway, our high point here is a landfill called Scenic Overlook. Catchy title, eh? It's a popular observation point for birdwatching, especially now because you can spot large migratory birds. I went up there with S2, just to see what it was like. Plus, it's fun to be way up high, over everything. If you look in the background, you'll see Chicago's skyline with the Sears Tower.

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Giant boy crushing houses. (Chicago Skyline waaaaay back.)

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A friendly birdwatcher lets S2 look through telescope.

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Zooming into Chicago's skyline. The Sears Tower is in the center, and that's the John Hancock to your left.

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Click on badge to see more from Sky Watch Friday.

Sky Watch Friday!

Did I omit something from Sky Watch Friday? Yup; I sure did!

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As always, I encourage you to visit Tom for all the other SWF links.

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Here's how it works. On any given weekend, anyone who wishes, may post their sky photo. Include the reference above (which I forgot) and go to Tom's site. Enter the link to your Web address, and go around visiting (and leaving comments) at other Sky Watch Friday participants. Meanwhile, you will receive visits (and comments) from some of the coolest people on the planet. And maybe me, too. :-)

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Note: The statue below does not have any special historical significance that I know of. Bolingbrook has these statues of children at play all over the place.