Cranberry Harvest at The DeGrandchamp Farm

To me Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without Cranberry sauce. I love the sweet and tartness of the sauce and the beautiful red color that it brings on to the plate. The De Grandchamp Farm in Michigan State opened up the farm to the public at harvest time and we were treated to a hay ride to the bog. Cranberries grow on short bushes and when the berries are ripe and red, the whole area is flooded with water. Why you ask?  Because after being dislodged from the bushes, the berries which have four air filled chambers, will float to the top.  It is the easiest way to gather them and load them into the truck for processing.

Happy Thanksgiving 

Linking with : Our World Tuesday

Fall colors at Starved Rock State Park

I drove to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois today. I was not the only person who thought that today would be the perfect day to view the beautiful fall colors.  The trails that are usually empty were filled with fellow photographers.  Even with a lack of water at several waterfalls, walking through the trails did not disappoint me.

Linking with: Our World Tuesday
                    A Southern Daydreamer
                    Rurality

Walking in the woods after the rain

The colors of the leaves intensified by the morning rain sparkled as I walked through the woods. Every once in a while the gentle breeze rustled the trees and the rain drops that were still on the leaves and branches came down. As I walked I could see my breath in the moist, cold air... Soon we will see the first snow of the season.

Linking with:   Weekly Top shot
                      Monday Mellow Yellows
                 

Sounds of Autumn

My husband said "It sounds like autumn out here".  I stopped and listened.  Well I know I am a little hard of hearing but what was he hearing?  Then I heard it..... the little rustle of golden leaves. A light breeze shook the trees and the beautiful colored leaves started falling making soft, barely audible swishing sounds. A little stronger breeze and all of the sudden plop, plop, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang... and I started dodging what was coming down on my head. What is it?  It was the sun ripened acorns and black walnuts hitting the ground and on our drive way. Yes, this is the unmistakable sounds of our autumn.  What does your autumn sounds like?

Linking with            Sunday Snapshot
                               Monday Mellow Yellows
                              Macro Monday 2
                               Our world Tuesday
                             Tuesday Muse
                             

End of the Summer

As the temperature drops I am ready to put away all things summer.  All the patio furniture should be washed and stacked, fountain turned off, drain all the water and the container put away in the garage, ferns that flourished during the summer (actually doubled in size) will be brought indoors for the winter.  What do you do to get ready for the winter?  Oh yes, one more thing, take a trip to a much quieter Lake and enjoy the last warmth of the summer.

Linking To : 

Skywatch Friday
Sundaysnapshot
Simple as that
Weekly top shots

Memorial Mural of Sept 11

9-11 Memorial Mural Dedicated to the first responders.

4508 N Milwaukie Ave Chicago, Il

Painted by Jill Arena and Cyd Smillie

Do you remember where you were when you heard the news of the attack on the world trade center? 

Muffler Men of Old Route 66 in Illinois

I drove down to St. Louis, Mo from Chicago on the Old Rte 66 last week.  I had already done some of the drive this summer, so I got off the Interstate in Springfield to photograph one of the Muffler Men that stand on the Rte 66.

I read about these giants (stands between 18-25 feet tall) but had no ideas what the attractions were. While I was taking pictures of the Gemini Giant (the Muffler Men on the right) cars would drive up and people will pile out and get their pictures taken with it.  It is pretty amusing that these fiberglass guys that were made back in the 1960's are getting their pictures taken with the i-phones and i-pads. 

Let me introduce you to the Muffler Men from the old Rte 66 that I encountered.. From left, this guy stands in Livingston,IL in front of the Pink Elephant Antique Mall. The Harley Davidson guy was moved from Kansas and after arriving here, he was painted with the Harley Davidson name on his chest. I think it is pretty fitting that so many Harley Davidson motorcyle riders drive on the Old Rte 66. In Springfield,IL there is the "Lauterbach Tire men" whose head was decapitated back in 2006 by the Tornado that hit the area. Now with his head screwed back on, he holds an American Flag.  I wondered what he used to hold, maybe a giant wrench.  Next is  "The Hot Dog man" in Atlanta, IL this guy used to stand in front of the Bunyon's in Cicero from 1963 to 2003.  After the place closed it was moved to the Rte 66 in Atlanta and is now called "Tall Paul"  It still holds the giant hot dog from the days.  The last is the "Gemini Giant" of the Wilmington IL.  He stands at the corner of the parking lot at the Launching pad drive-ins (which is now closed and up for sale along with the Gemini Giant).  His rockets were stolen and had to be replaced twice. What would you do with the 8 foot long styrofoam rocket in your garage?

Since I had mentioned the Pink Elephant Antique Mall I wanted to share with you "The Pink Elephant" that stands in front.  It is visible from the Interstate and there is no way that you can miss it if you are driving on I-55.  If you would like to see it up close and personal get off at Exit 33 and take the frontage road.  As you can see it is painted bubble gum Pink.....If you would like to know the locations of the Muffler Men drop me a note, I can direct you to them.  

Mural Monday -- Have you ever had a feeling that something is watching you?

Well I sure did. I turned around to see what was there and here it was cold as a stone, just watching me with this eye.... It could easily have been over shadowed by the huge wall of murals right behind it, but its intensity was too strong.   W Lexington St. & S Cicero Ave.  Chicago, Il.

Tasty Tuesday ... Blueberry Crepes

Please visit my food blog "Munchy Delight Adventure" where every week I will be posting images of yummy delights from my travels.

Mural Monday --- Ben Slow in Los Angeles

I happened to see this wall art tucked away next to the Mexican fast food restaurant at the corner of Sunset Blvd. & Sanborn St. in Los Angeles. At first glance this looked like a magazine advertisement, but with closer examination the careful placement of the Red layer, the way the collage like image was put together I felt that this was a very calculated art work.  

It turned out that this work was done by Ben Slow a Mural artist from London. Here is a link to his blog where he talks about this piece. .http://www.slowbenart.com/new-endings-on-paper/