Early morning

Early morning, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Early in the a.m. at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Few people were out as it was pretty early in the morning but I always feel it is better to beat the heat than have the heat beat me.  Haven't been to the garden in years but I felt so at peace as I walked among the flowering plants and trees.  I observed many people sitting on benches reading newspapers or sipping cups of coffee.  These benches were unoccupied but were tastefully placed in front of this amazing array of colors.  Who wouldn't want to sit here?

For Empty Chairs in Empty Places.

Begins with D....

Begins with D...., a photo by scookster on Flickr.

The name of this plant is "Deep Blue Wishbone flower,"and it was one of many plants that I saw during my visit to the Botanical Gardens.  It's such a beautiful place to visit and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gardens are in such great shape. Even with the drought that we are experiencing the plants and flowers are proliferating.  Today's assignment was to find something beginning with D, and even those these flowers look purple I was using their name literally.

For Our Daily Challenge: Begins with D

Eastern American Toad

Eastern American Toad, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

This guy was a little camera shy. Not very often that I find any wildlife in my backyard besides the usual squirrels and birds- usually the dog scares them off.   Came across this toad accidentally and it continued to hide out in my backyard for several days- finally decided I had enough when I discovered it hiding under my lawnmower.  Figured it was time to relocate it to our nearby creek with it's abundance of insects.  Not entirely fond of creatures that jump or have a million legs, I was able to catch the toad in a bucket.  He wasn't too active so maybe he was grateful for the move- I was just appreciative that he didn't jump around too much.  Had he jumped out of the bucket I would have encouraged him to go on his own- from a distance that is.

For our daily challenge: camouflage

Beached

Beached, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Macro Monday: From the Sea

Camouflage

Camouflage, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Try as he might to blend in with the surroundings I know that he is there, crushing several of my cherished perennials. He is lucky that I love him so and can overlook his indiscretions.
For Our Daily Challenge: Camouflage

T is for tree

T is for tree, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Or topple or timberrrrrr..... And so it goes when the wind blows. Not my tree; nor my house. Occurred in one of our western suburbs last Friday and again they had a huge storm today, just as tree cleanup began. I on the other hand have a huge tree in my backyard that I fear one day will land on my house. Too expensive to take down and gives us ample shade which are the reasons it still stands. Am hoping I have moved onto a better place before that happens.

For Our Daily Challenge: Begins with t