Fall hangs on

The sun came out for a few minutes as I was near the trees with the brightest colors.

St James Farm, DuPage Forest Preserve.

Yellow

Forest carpet of seedlings.

West DuPage Woods Forest Preserve

Sheep

Today I stopped by Kline Creek Farm and got to see all the animals. I visited the sheep at feeding time. They saw the farmer's brown coat and and got really impatient.

Sunrise

There was frost on the grass and fog on the pond in Winfield at dawn today.

Canoe

October 27, 2011*

Another ceramic piece from Venezuela. 

*Photo taken 10/27/2011 but not posted until 10/28/2011 because of an internet outage.

Tea Cup

October 26, 2011*

This Siam Celadon pottery is from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Photo taken 10/26/2011 but not posted until 10/28/2011 because of an internet outage.

Bus

Another ceramic from Venezuela. These buses are an adventure.

Map

I love maps and this wooden one from Argentina is one of my favorites.

Wood

Today my friend Libby came to visit from Florida. She brought me some beautiful wooden Christmas ornaments she bought directly from the older German craftsman who made them. They will be perfect on my tree.

Rose

There was a frost alert last night but it only got down to 35°F. Even so, this rose was in full bloom this morning.

Tea Set

Tonight I took my friend Cindy to the Korean supermarket, Super H Mart in Naperville. We shared a Chinese meal in the Asian food court (fried rice, General Chicken, soup with squid tentacles, cabbage and egg rolls,) shopped a little and then went to Culver's for Turtle Sundaes.

This Chinese tea  set caught my eye in the ceramic shop.

Naperville Super H Mart

Dolls

Isn't this the most adorable International Doll set ever?

Ceramic house

Here's another piece by ceramist Miguel Angel Peraza from Venezuela. This is a traditional farmhouse from the rural area of the country. I just love the porches on these homes.

Church

October 18, 2011*

It was dark when I left the office so I had to find an indoor subject to photograph. Here is a ceramic church made in Quibor, Venezuela. To get to Loma Roja, ceramist Miguel Ángel Peraza's home and studio you sometimes drove up a dry stream bed. I have seven or eight other buildings by this same artist that make up a "village."

http://miguelperaza-lomaroja.blogspot.com/2008/11/un-miguel-ngel-soador-de-casas.html

* The photo was taken October 18 but did not get posted until Oct 19 because my internet connection was down.

St Stephen's Cemetery

This cemetery has no road access. I first "found" it riding on the Great Western Trail in Carol Stream, IL. It was recently rededicated; 100 years after the last burial.

Read a Chicago Tribune article about the dedication here.

Leaves

I put the camera on or close to the ground for these photos. Amazing how different the world looks from the ground up.

Shadows

There's just something about red barns...

West Chicago Sunset

Cider

On a cool, rainy, fall, October night, what could be better than a cup of hot, spicy apple cider in a mug from Budapest?

River

This is the West Branch of the DuPage River which I cross twice a day. Right now it's quite low.

Ball?

This evening I decided to walk a nature trail that bikes are not allowed to use. When I first saw this ball I thought it was a giant puff ball. Later when I saw others in the undergrowth, they looked like a child's bouncy ball. However, they turned out to be giant mushroom balls.

Here's what it looks like on the inside. (I didn't break it open. I found it that way.)

 It hasn't rained at all in October but there must still be plenty of moisture in these wooded areas. I thought these mushrooms looked like something out of a fairy tale.

Fleeting Sun

Tonight I caught the sky just before the sun disappeared completely.

Horses

The Danada Equestrian Center and Farm is part of the DuPage County Forest Preserve . It's great that at the Fall Festival there are so many horses available for kids to see and touch.

Bison

This photo was taken from the Great Western bike trail just east of Sycamore, IL.

Traffic..

...towards the end of rush hour on the tollway. I-355 at 6:15 PM from the Illinois Prairie Path.

Chicago Skyline

* October 6, 2011

I shot this skyline photo at dusk. Chicago is such a beautiful city!

*I didn't get home from downtown until after midnight but the photo was taken on October 6, 2011

Wildflowers

October 5, 2011*

The fall wildflowers in Herrick Forest Preserve was spectacular at dusk during my bike ride.

* This photo was taken on 10/5/2011 but I fell asleep before I got it posted and didn't get home until after midnight on Friday morning so it's being posted quite late.

Corn Candy

My favorite fall candy.

Trail

Tonight I crossed the 700 mile mark of bike riding in 2011. Here's a photo of the fall foliage on the trail tonight.

Civil War Reenactment

The Union soldiers on the advance.

http://firstdivisionmuseum.org/events/schedule/civil_war_Schedule.aspx

Ski Jumping...

...in Illinois no less. Actually I went to the US National Championships at the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove today. The grandson of friends from Vermont was supposed to compete but he has an ankle injury and is out of competition until December. Nick Alexander's aunt Kim emailed me a month or so ago from Italy where she lives to let me know about this event. Nick was there to support his teammates and I got to meet him. 

You're probably wondering how they hold a championship on a fall day that was in the 70's. It's done by using thousands of plastic mats that are spayed with water. This mirrors snow conditions.

See more photos here:
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150311690297779.336429.523177778&l=a37a85c8cd&type=1

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111001/news/710019815/