Festival of the Trees: The Beauty of a Tree

Trees remind us that there is always hope

for a rebirth, a refreshed spirit, and a renewal of life.

I love photographing trees (as you can tell). Maybe it's because they always stand still for me so I can get just the right shot.

Or...maybe it's because they've weathered so many storms and are still standing strong. Maybe it's because they try so hard to stay alive; sending roots down deep to reach the water, stretching branches every which way to reach the sun.

Soon green leaves will cover the trees in the parks, along the roadsides, and in the forests. Us older folks will rest in their cool shade, young lovers will steal kisses under their canopies, small children will swing from their stalwart limbs.

Trees give and endure.

Trees prepare for winter and survive.

The true beauty of a tree is its life. 

I took these spring pictures on my LG Voyager at sunset in the city park yesterday. Never do I cease to be amazed at the quality of camera lens on this old phone.

Forecast: April Showers

The clouds hung around all day, but held off on the rain until I was on the Woodland Trail. My four-legged friend enjoyed the raindrops as the temperature climbed to above 80 this aftermoon. The video posted today on you tube was my feeble attempt at moviemaking and editing. I especially like the sound of the raindrops at the beginning of the movie, and the wind at the end. I'll have to remember not to set my video camera to extra fine recording, as the 4 minute clip took a whopping hour to upload. Click "You Tube Video Clips" in the sidebar of this blog to see the Spring Rain movie. (Note to self-remember to wipe raindrops from camera lens next time.)

Digital still shots are still my favorite, I'll have more of them next time.

The log behind the logo and the snowman is the same one that my family used last summer for a great photo-shoot. Now it just reminds me of a giant Clark bar without the chocolate coating. Or not.

Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a healthy, safe, and happy Easter. Hope you can get out and enjoy this beautiful day!

Enchanted Forest Path

The first time I walked on Second Creek Trail and folllowed the path north, along the creek, I felt like I was walking into the enchanted forest in L Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz.  As the trail turned east, the leafy canopy overhead closed in on me, but I didn't mind at all.

Today, with the leafy canopy just a hope and a dream away, the blue Illinois sky has a chance to shine through. The first flowers were beginning to bloom. The air smelled fresh and clean with last night's rain. My shoes, however, were another story as muddy puddles covered the path in several places.

Last night's rain brought new life to Second Creek. A family with their dogs and children were enjoing the sights and sounds of the water rushing over the rocks as it travelled under the bridge.

(Note: Many of us dog-lovers love to walk the trails with our four-leggged friend, but we always need to remember to follow the rules and keep the dog on a leash. Oh, yeah, and I also make sure I clean up after my pet so that others can enjoy the trails. Its either good manners, or--yuck--good grief! ; )

Longing for Summer

I was dreaming of summer so I took a picture walk through my photo collection. This picture was shot early one summer morning in '09. This is the same pond where the Spring Peepers video clip was shot in yesterday's post. The building in the background is the Visitor's Center, a great place to get some up close bird watching.  Below is a current picture of a pond on Second Creek Trail. As you can see, gray skies, rain, brown earth and fallen grasses dominate the landscape for yet another week. If it weren't for the melody of the songbirds, and the little bit of green peeking through, I might think it was still January.

Spring Peepers

You can barely tell by this photo that it is spring, but the sights and sounds from this video posted on YouTube tell a different story.

Spring Peepers on You Tube

March Visitors

This feathered couple was enjoying a twilight stroll near the fishing pond. A few hundred yards away was what seemed to be the main flock, on one of the Bluestem Trail ponds.

The temperature today rose into the high 60's, and there were many (human) families on the trails today taking full advantage of the warm air before the cold rains move in to central Illinois tonight. 

I saw one mother pushing a child in a stroller on the Wetland/Prairie Trail, one of the first trails developed at Ballard's. This trail is easy to navigate with strollers or wheelchairs, and is a great way to introduce the youngest ones to nature beyond the backyard. 

Nature's Recycling

I was going to call this post "Winter Damages," but this is just nature's way of "Out with the old and in with the new." The picture above is of a broken sign and some fallen trees across the Woodland Trail. The bottom picture shows a log blocking a path just off the easten edge of the Bluestem Trail. Close inspection shows a surprising variety of natural occurances and one very unnatural item.

Big Bluestem

The big bluestem grass at the end of a tough winter still stands strong. The grass is over head high (about 6 feet or 1.8 meters) These two pictues were taken on my hike the last day of February. I haven't been able to make it back to enjoy the trails since then due to work demands. I miss it!

This lake is hidden to all but the enthusiastic hiker in February. At one point on the Bluestem trail there was no solid footing. (I was up to my ankles in muck) This may be the one and only time I take this trail until we have another hard freeze or it dries up quite a bit!

A Glorious Sight

The clouds blocked the  sun for just a moment as I walked into the woods on the southern edge of the Bluestem trail. Before I took these shots, I was blissfully marching along, enjoying the last day of February and marveling at the beauty of the "bones" of the weathered old trees. But as I turned the corner of the trail, this breathtaking sight almost made me feel like I was witnessing an aged forest bowing to a glorious sight in the heavens.