Lots and Lots of Pictures

Just some scenes from last week....(fyi....lots & lots of pictures)

Old McDonald had a farm....eeyieeyiyo...and on this farm he had some

Horses

some cows

some ducks

some chickens

and a barn....eeyieeyiyo.

and then there was this sweet little country church....

and a walk around a neighborhood found leaves already turning

little crab-apples that looked like cheeries

black-eyed susans hugging a fence

And then there was the French Market Day at Cantigney....

Where there were sweet women (Terry) that spoke perfect French and allowed me to take her picture....

Men in their very French berets

Fudge....drool.

Fresh veggies....

Madeline reading Madeline....

And squirrels feasting on the vegetation...

And the flowers.....

And the water....

A pretty much picture perfect week.

Joining in Kim's Little Things Thursday.

"No, you never get any fun out of the things you haven't done."  ~  Thomas Nash

Until next time....

A Few More Things I Like About Fall ~ Five Fact Friday

Busy day for me...went early this morning to get my haircut, in preparation for my trip next week.  Went to my financial man to talk finances, something I really am not fond of doing, but a necessary task.  And right after I told him I wasn't planning on any big expenses for the rest of the year, my daughter tells me that she really would like to buy my youngest granddaughter a car (the sophomore that attends Iowa State) so she can get back & forth to school since it is such a hassle when she wants to come home.  My daughter has a really good friend that is in the 'restoring auto" business and he has come upon a really good car for Brie for $2,500, sounds pretty cheap to me, since I spent a LITTLE more than that on my new car.  He is doing the minor repairs on it and is willing to sell it to Lisa for cost.  OK...so much for any new expenses, but really $2,500 is not that much and this means Brie can come home more often, right now she pretty much stuck at school, there is not too many other students that live close to share a ride with.  Told my daughter I would buy the car for Brie since I gave Bailey (other granddaughter) my old Honda CRV when I bought a new one.  Only fair, right?  I am just happy that I can do it for them.

Then I went to see my sweetie...he is OK.  He has been having some anger issues and they have tried some new meds that have not worked, in fact the change made him even worse.  Back to square one to try something else. It is hard to believe that my sweetie gets so angry since he was such a kind-hearted soul prior to Alzheimer's.  Not only does it rob you of all your memories, but it changes your personality too.  Please God, help someone to discover a cure or treatment so others will not suffer.

After all this I went for a drive to ease my soul...the colors around here are breathtaking right now and since I am leaving for 2 weeks next Tuesday, I am afraid that when I return all the beauty will have faded.  So I took off to the countryside and found what I was looking for....

I guess you can call this 5 Fact Friday...

1. Got my haircut. (a must)
2. Went to see my financial guy (a must)
3. Made a decision to buy the car for Brie (a want to)
4. Visited my sweetie (a want to)
5. Went for a drive in the country. (a need to)

My cutie patootie hairdresser...she has been my gal for over 25 years....I was trying to photograph the pretty leaf, but ended up taking her picture instead.

Came upon this small flock of sheep.  They were not the least bit sheepish...came right up to the fence and baaa'd at me, like they were talking.

I also found some cows and donkeys...but that's for another day.  I am tired after my busy day and I am headed to bed...night night!!

"God's arithmetic:  Happiness adds and multiplies as you divide it with others."  ~  Unknown

Until next time....

Sights to Behold

My sense of sight has been on overload the last couple of days.  Fall has arrived here and all the splendor that comes with its arrival.  The colors, the sights, the sounds, the smells oh my, but mostly the sights.  The last two days I have reveled in the colors of Fall.  Yesterday, my friend, Catherine and I took off for a new spot that another friend of ours told us about last week at Bible Study, Red Bud Creek Farm in Sheridan, IL population 2,411.  What a delightful place to visit, probably any time of the year, but it was especially beautiful yesterday when the sun was shining brightly, all you could see in the sky was blue, and the temps were in the upper 60's, perfect.  Red Bud Creek Farm is not exactly a farm, but a nursery with beautiful perennials, annuals, trees and bushes along with a delightful gift shop and interesting garden decor scattered throughout the property.  We visited with the owner for awhile and discovered he and his wife started the business 14 years ago and have built it into a beautiful site.  Their home is in Naperville (small world) and make the trip to Sheridan 7 days a week from April thru December approximately 41 miles.  Dedication and hard work has turned this property into a beautiful site to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Ofcourse going to and from, we HAD to stop and shoot images of the barns along the way.....

Driving toward home we spotted this field with cows grazing.    The light was almost perfect, illuminating the gold of the trees and the blue of the sky.

After taking another bazillion or so pics of cows, walking back to the car, double bonus, a wren, not sure exactly what kind since I really don't see too many of these in my yard.  But he paused long enough for us to snap a few shots.  The only way that he managed to get me to stop shooting his pic was for him to fly away.  Cows don't move that fast, thus the bazillion pics.  Just found out that this is a red-breasted nuthatch thanks to EG Camera Girl.

Since Catherine is leaving next week for a vacation and since the colors are really popping right now, we decided to get up early, early and be at the Arboretum at 7:00 AM this morning when the gates opened to grab a pic or two of the sunrise.  Since I tend not to get up and out of the house this early in morn, I have very few shots of a sunrise.  I really did like the way the grasses were illuminated by the early sun.

There was mist on the ground when we first arrived, but it didn't last too long....but I think this looks very Halloween(ie).

OK I need to stop now.  I will post more from our Sunday outing and the Arboretum later.  Linking to Madge at

And Tricia at Barn Charm

"The leaves fall, the winds blow and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools."  ~  Henry Beston

Until next time.....

Barn Charm & Texture Tuesday

I do like to participate in Tricia's Barn Charm every Monday, but this week I didn't go out "barning"...too much other stuff going on...start of new Bible Study, out of town for the weekend wedding etc etc.  So dug into my archives to get these.  These all were taken early in the summer in DeKalb County, IL when there was a promise of good crops.

And I am also adding Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday challenge for this week.....orange.  Is that cheating, I don't think so....I am gonna call it conservation of time.  That sounds real good.  I used two textures on each....one by R H West called Chapel and the other by Kim Klassen called Sweet Treat.  Both are applied with soft light.  I just love those beautiful Fall colors of oranges, greens, purples and blues.

Hope everyone has started out on a good foot this week and it continues...

"Life is a succession of moments.  To live each one is to succeed."  ~  Corita Kent

Until next time....