A few blogs I’ve been following have been doing this “Thursday’s, things in a row” post every week. It looked fun and I found a past pic that could qualify.
(Thursdays in a row starts here )
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| Hibernating John Deeres |
Category Archives: Illinois
Above the Waterfall
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| Standing on the bridge, leaning over the railing, looking 50+ feet down. |
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| Almost at the bottom, looking up at the bridge. |
Today was the coldest day we’ve had all winter, hovering just above the teens with a windchill. Brrrr!
Good day for a drive!
Our travels today found Steve and I at a tiny lake hidden in the woods behind a golf course at the back end of Matheson State Park, IL. The lake is called Matheson Lake (what else but?)
At the end of the lake we saw a very large old bridge peeking through the trees. We had to go look because we have this love for all things old!
Anyway, we discovered the bridge spanned a spillway at the head of a deep canyon~ very typical of our other Illinois canyons, the soft sandstone being carved away by thousands of years of flowing water. Very pretty and serene, even in the dead of winter. We will have to come back in the spring when everything is starting to grow again.
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| Across the Bridge |
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| Refection at the Bottom |
New 2012 Plant List is Up!
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| last years seedling ~ Tommy Toe cherry |
Not in alphabetical order:
Tomatoes:
Lemony
Vintage Wine
Italian Giant Beefsteak
Earliana
Brandywine
Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom
Martino’s Roma
Rutger’s Improved
Black Cherry
Kellogg’s Breakfast
Marianna’s Peace
North Dakota Earliana
Cuore De Toro (bulls heart)
Tommy Toe (Cherry)
Tiny Tin ( Dwarf cherry)
Sun Sugar Hybrid (cherry)
Peppers:
Anaheim Chili- hot
Early Jalapeno- hot
California Wonder -bell
King of the North- bell
King of the North- bell
Gypsy Hybrid (sweet Italian)- non bell
Sweet Banana –non bell
Golden Treasure (sweet) non bell
For details and printable lists go to www.LilsGarden.net
My Farorite Fern
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| Japanese Painted fern ~Athyrium niponicum var. pictum |
Of all the ferns there are to choose from, this little one is my favorite. It’s survived being transplanted three times and forgives me when I forget to water it during dry spells.
It’s going on it’s eighth year in my shade garden under the cherry tree.
From Water Street in Peru Illinois
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| Illinois River view from Water st. Peru, Illinois |
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| 120-year-old coal-fired power plant on Water Street in the distance on the right~ destined to be torn down |
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| IL-251 Bridge Illinois River Highway Crossing the Illinois River Peru, IL |
Signal
Retired signal from the Illinois Railway Museum, Union IL.
From the Shadows…
…New life sprouts
Hunkered Down for the Storm
Today was my day off, so I was happily holed up my my house, catching up on some neglected things (like my Blog) thankful that I didn’t have to drive in the snowstorm.
Then the phone rings. Okay, no big deal, a few people know I have the day off. I answer.
“Hi Mom!” my son Eddie says cheerfully. “Guess what? I’m in a ditch!”
Okay~ I ask if he’s okay. He says he’s not hurt, he just slid off the road on his way to work and his truck is fine (little S10 Chevy), no damage, he’s just stuck. Not to worry though, he’s already called the tow truck and it’s on it’s way.
Okay good. I tell him to call me back when he gets out. We hang up. A couple of minutes later the phone rings again…. “Hey Mom, Guess what? I locked my keys in the truck and you have the only spare! Can you bring them to me?”
Sigh… So much for not going out today.
He went off the road across from the Illinois River Lock and Dam Visitors Center. I grabbed my camera on the way out thinking I might as well get a few shots of the river while I’m there.
The roads were a mess, it was slow going, but I saved the day (again) and made it in one piece.
By the time I got there, the tow truck had pulled him out and was long gone. One of the people who worked at the Visitor Center was kind enough to let Eddie sit with him in his car until I got there~ Yes, there are still good people out there! Thank you Bob!
The snow was really coming down now. The Geese above were hunkered down for the night, heads tucked down against the snow. The looked quite comfortable.
And the other side of the river was barely visible.
I snapped my pictures and then we drove slowly home.
It Finally Snowed!
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| Starved Rock State Park, Utica, IL |
It snowed two days ago actually. This was the first time I could get out with the camera.
I must admit, I wasn’t thrilled when it started snowing because I was at work had to drive home in the middle of the storm. I am a transplanted Illinoisan and driving on snow and ice doesn’t excite me, but now that the roads are cleared and the sun is shining again, it really is very beautiful.
I love the way the light sparkles in the snow in the late afternoon sun, as in these pictures here. And the way the long blue shadows reach across the snow is very inspiring.
Yes, I guess you could say I do love the snow, from an artist’s perspective that is….
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| my tracks |
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| weeds on cliff at river’s edge |
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| Illinois river~ South Channel, looking East towards Lock & Dam |
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| Illinois river, Lone Point Shelter, (south bank), looking west toward Starved Rock |
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| Tiny Iceberg on Illinois River, Looking North |
January Birch
January 6th and still no significant snow. Temperature was 55 ~ I actually left my coat behind today.
I really don’t mind. I got to go outside and mess around in my garden a little~ picked some kale and looked at my new perennial bed. The lavender and wormwood are still looking good and the penstemon seems impervious to the little cold spurts and frosts we did have. My butterfly bush still has green leaves on it! I do live in North Central Illinois right? Average January temps around 10 ~ 20 degrees… with windchill….
Lil's Garden Tour 