A fitting remembrance

Phyllis was a long-standing member of our golf league who died a few months ago.

A group of her friends got together and looked for a way to appropriately honor and remember Phyllis.  They hit on the idea of having a tree planted at the golf course in her honor.

This tree was planted at the beginning of the golf season in memory of Phyllis.  It is to the left of the fairway near the first hole’s tee. (A plaque has since been placed at its base with her name on it.)

Whenever I approach the first tee and notice “Phyllis’ tree”, I can see her smiling face and can picture her teeing off  from that very spot.

What a wonderful way to honor a golfer.  I know Phyllis would be so pleased.

Sometimes you just see what you want to see!

 

    How hard can it be to see something this unique in a photo?   

Finally, I saw the “unique chimney” photo!  I had been looking for it in my photo archives off and on for months.

So, I shared it here yesterday.

But then my friend Cathy sweetly questioned if that’s really what I saw.

Yes, yes.  I was sure what I saw in the photo was the chimney.  But, just in case, I asked Hubby for confirmation.  Instead he gave me the bad news.  Cathy was right.  It was a tree in this photo, not the chimney.  But, he did confirm that he had seen it too — I wasn’t just imagining it.  And he remembered me being so excited when I finally got a picture of it — but unfortunately neither of us remember when I took it!

Sooo, back to looking through the hundreds of similar-looking Chicago cityscapes I’ve taken.  Looking for that unique chimney that isn’t that easy to see even when you are looking for it, but which is even smaller and less noticeable in a photo, apparently “hiding” among the surrounding buildings and trees.

I’m sorry that apparently I saw what I wanted to see in the picture I posted yesterday.  I’ll post the real chimney photo when I find it.

It occurs to me that finding this photo is probably going to be a little like working a jigsaw puzzle and looking for the elusive piece that blends in with all the other pieces “forever” but then seems so obvious, once you find it!

Stay tuned.

A Chimney Grows in Chicago!

 

Oops!  See update to this post, Sometimes you just see what you want to see!

   Not a great picture.  But then, it was taken from a speeding car (there is no option NOT to speed on the freeways in Chicago!) and then zoomed to the max so that I could show you what has become sort of a “landmark” for me when we drive through Chicago.  I first noticed this chimney about a year ago and have been trying to get a picture of it every since.

Do you see it?  The chimney in the middle of the picture?  I know you might think there is just a tree behind it, but that isn’t it!  Those are branches sticking out of the top of the chimney!

I can’t imagine (or I don’t want to imagine) a bird big enough to have hauled branches that big to the chimney to make a nest, so I wonder if it didn’t start out as just a regular bird’s nest and then, over the years, “went to seed” and has actually grown some branches of its own!  The only other scenario that I can think of is that it is on an abandoned house that has a tree growing up through its chimney!

However it happened, this unusual sight is one I always look for because it fascinates me.

Assuming it’s on an abandoned house right now, I hope that if it’s ever renovated and rented out the renovators think to clean out the chimney!  Otherwise, I can imagine a new tenant’s last words being, “I think I’ll try out the fireplace!”

Colors I Fall for

Here are some other pictures taken from a moving car through sometimes dirty and sometimes rained-on windows!

I thought these three that were taken in really heavy rain were beautiful:

 

I liked the contrast of the Fall colors with the wooden fence:

I love fall:

  I must have moved the camera, because I’m sure Hubby wasn’t driving that fast!

But even in this colorful season, I am sometimes drawn to just the silloutte of  trees against the sky:

 

 I do almost always not only crop my pictures, but also hit the Enhance button.   It’s hard for me to tell if that is good or not.  I would love to hear from some of  you who have done photography much longer than me.   I do that because I am truly a lover of color, and my pictures never seem to pick up all the vividness of the colors as I saw them in person.  Hmmm.  Doesn’t sound like the camera’s fault, does it.  More like an operator quirk!

Oh well, I savor  the colors of Fall (with a b/w thrown in once in a while) and these are great reminders to me of all the color we saw on our trip.

Fall Backwards

 

 

 

 

Catching a picture of Fall foliage in a rear view mirror (because I had thought this would be a verrrry clever title for a post, but, obviously, needed a picture to make it work) was much harder than I anticipated. 

After trying unsuccessfully to get the picture in the mirror on my side of the car, I found out that the view/angle was better in the one on Hubby’s side.  But, of course, in order to take one over there, I had to ask him to hold the steering wheel at the bottom in order for me to have a clear shot, while I rested the camera on his shoulder and took the picture.  I think (no, I’m sure!) he got a little tired of the request, because I took many.  Unfortunately, afterwards, when I looked at the pictures, most of them, while colorful, showed how dirty the mirror was … somewhat distracting.  So, I’ve used these because they are the most colorful of those that didn’t show how dirty the mirror was!

A Tree for All Seasons

 

  I’ve shown you this huge blue spruce before … it lives in Jack and Sandys’ yard across the street.  There are several reasons I especially notice it.  First of all, when I open our front door, it is directly in my line of sight, so easily catches my interest.  Also, the neighborhood mailbox sets just to the left of it, so at least once a day I walk fairly close to it.  But, mainly I notice it because it is just a magnificent tree.

  At Christmastime, Jack decorates it in big, colorful lights.  I took this picture at night last Christmas, and was delighted with the (accidentally) abstract look of it. 

But, I just realized recently that the tree dresses up at least one other time of the year that I had never noticed before. 

About a month ago, I had walked out to the mailbox and could hear a bird singing its little heart out, so I looked toward the song. 

   The bird was high in the blue spruce. 

But, as I was really taking the time to look at the tree to find the bird, I realized for the first time that it was “dressed up” for a new season, Spring, and this time it did it itself!  (So, of course, I went to get my camera!)

I had no idea that pine cones started out as beautiful red “flowers” on an evergreen.  They were the reddest at the very top, so I assume sunlight influences the amount of color.   

I’m going to start paying more attention to my favorite blue spruce so that I will be sure to notice any other surprises it might have to share!

Truly, a tree to be enjoyed in every season.