Peek (Peak) of Color

Another brilliant fall tree.

Twin Trees

It drizzled all day, but seeing this pair of trees was a bright spot.

Fall Bike Ride

The Illinois Prairie Path trail was spectacular today and I especially love this path in the fall. I just couldn't keep myself from stopping to take pictures on my 12+ mile bike ride.

 When the vines turn red the are brilliant.

Fall

The colors were really sharp tonight when I stopped at Blackwell Forest Preserve. 

Even the sunset matched the palette.

Tree Devastation

About 1PM yesterday the sky got very dark and the wind really picked up. The TV scroll said "Thunderstorms." At my house it rained hard for 45 min and left behind 3/4" of rain. Once the rain started the wind died down. By 2PM it was over and the sun was shining. At 3PM I went to an outdoor concert about 3 miles away.

This morning I discovered that just another mile north of the concert site the storm had reached 90 mph winds and trees were down at almost every property. The destruction is incredible. These pictures were taken more than 30 hrs after the storm hit. 

                             The  streets in this neighborhood is lined with branches.

Purple

Lilacs in bloom as sunset approaches.

Apple Blossoms

These pink apple tree blossoms were at the height of color today.

Yellow Sunset

Driving home tonight I was chasing the sun.

Winter Tree

The beauty of a "dead" tree in winter.

Lichens

What is there to photograph on a dreary, overcast, February afternoon. Not much. But when I stepped out on my 2nd floor balcony in the drizzle and looked down I saw the lower branches of a tree. I went outside to see if I could get a better, closer shot of the lichens growing on the branches. What do you know? None of them can be seen from ground level. You have to be above looking down to see their beauty. It reminded me that God sees the beauty in me even when it's not visible from the ground.

Sunset

The days are getting longer and tonight I drove home during sunset. This tree is about 3 miles from my home.

Occasionally the clouds in flat Illinois gather into "mountain peaks." Tonight's sky was filled with them.

City Christmas Tree

The City of Warrenville has lit up four trees near city hall. This one is near the intersection of Batavia and Butterfield Rds.

Christmas Tree

I finally found a tree last night and decorated it. Now it seems like the Christmas Season is in full force.

Frost

By itself frost isn't much. It needs another item to really "shine." It even makes a dried up, brown leaf sparkle.

Willow

The sun came out this morning just as I drove by on my way to work.

Yellow

Forest carpet of seedlings.

West DuPage Woods Forest Preserve

Leaves

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

Fruit

In early May I noticed a tree that seemed to have two different kinds of blossoms and I wondered if it had been grafted? It turns out it really is two trees that grow so close together it looks like one tree at first glance. I got a conclusive answer recently when I noticed the fruit is produced.

Striped trees or grafting?

For the last week I've been wondering as I come home, "How does a tree have branches with blossoms with such a variance of color?" The rich pink branches bloomed first and only now the other branches are catching up.