Saturday, August 16, 2025

SUMMER 2025 in Full Bloom + Ravenswood Manor, Kenilworth & Winnetka - MyShadowProductions #210

Hello everyone, been a while, but you know, curveballs, bumps, lemons, grey clouds, bright sun, very loud/sudden thunder, humidity, everyday beauty all happen with the life gifts that need to be acknowledged, not brushed off, and SUMMER with the long days of sun plus some rain create the explosive growth all around that is worth focusing on. I doubt anyone will say “you can say that again” :)

A HAIKU even came to mind while walking the other day:

No Rhyme or Reason

Just photos of the Season

Summer O’ Summer!

CLICK HERE for a video created from my photos of Summer Full Blooming at Morton Arboretum and Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens, surprise, surprise :)

Unfortunately, one part of Summer that didn’t Bloom in the Artist’s Garden


A few weeks ago I went to Chicago and rode the Brown Line El from Quincy on the Loop to Ravenswood Manor which has the North Branch of the Chicago River flow alongside the neighborhood. Ravenswood Manor has a cool little history and some lofty goals when it was developed. Like most things though, people were involved and they tended to tweak things to their own likings, good or bad, I don’t know.

The day I went to Ravenswood Manor it happened to be their Garden Walk day. I tried it for a few “small backyard gardens” and found just walking the streets and seeing the smaller bungalows, the river, etc. gave plenty of opportunity for pictures.





THIS VIDEO was created from my photos of the Brown Line El ride and exploring Ravenswood Manor and on a different day, taking the UP-North Metra train to Kenilworth (I like the train station’s design:) and Winnetka on the shores of Lake Michigan 15 miles north of Chicago. It’s always refreshing to see the Lake and what hue of blue is showing on a particular day.




In Winnetka, the photo below shows a HUGE estate under construction, 6 lots on the Lake, in total. If you look closely you can see 7 Porta Potties for the worker bees. That’s probably more than they had at WOODSTOCK !! :)

One of the life gifts that I mentioned above in “the opening” is my grandson Sam. He was born with Hydrocephalus and has lived well beyond the 3 months that the doctors predicted (17 yrs old now). Sam and I walked to and from the Metra Station, 0.6 mile each way from my apartment. He did it without stopping or complaining. There are a couple of busy streets to cross with signals and at each one Sam whispered “be careful” as he grabbed my hand as we crossed.

We rode the train for about 1/2 hour to Downers Grove and had Thick Vanilla Milkshakes. The pictures below might give you an idea whether Sam had a good time (me too). A Life Gift to be acknowledged !!



CONCENTRATION and COORDINATION 


In case you are wondering there is still a Fox River in Aurora. The winding pedestrian bridge over the River near Riveredge Park is closed all summer for construction on the east bank so that place I like to view the river will have to wait. The photo below is at the end of a sidewalk path that follows the river on the south side of downtown. I think it is a pretty cool view upriver towards downtown, always on the lookout for a canoe of Illini Indians to be headed downstream :) There have been some heavier rainfalls to the north so the river is flowing full, bank to bank.

Fox River on a mid August Day

CIAO for NOW !! LET’S GET BLOOMING :)



Sunday, July 13, 2025

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE & GPC Exhibit & Fireworks - MyShadowProductions #209

Hello everyone!

Hope Summer is being kind to you all, you know, sunburns, sand, surf, humidity (except the “dry heat” followers :), cutting grass, mosquitos, cook outs, waiting for the tomatoes to get ripe, etc., :)

On Sunday June 22, 2025 I ventured over to Indiana to visit a new “place”, the INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE.

I say “new” because the Great Lakes (as we know them) have only been around for the last 11,000 years or so. Just a newcomer to our world’s millions of years of changes.

I saw the plant in the photo below and took a picture not knowing much about it. After a Google identify search I learned that the “Rough Horsetail” has “roots” on the planet for millions of years and used to be trees. Curious about that? CLICK HERE :)

My visit focused mainly on walking along the Lakeshore with brief detours into the Dunes. The Weather that day was HOT and Humid but the breeze and water along the beach made the temperature feel about 10 degrees cooler.

The area is a combination of the Indiana Dunes State Park and the Indiana Dunes National Park and has a very diverse habitat of plants and animals and ecosystems. This Article has more details :)

On this trip, I took the Metra train from Aurora to Chicago Union Station (one hour and 20 minutes) and walked 30 minutes to the Millennium Station where I boarded the South Shore Line and a one hour and 15 minutes trip (goes all the way to South Bend, Indiana Airport after that) to the Parks.

I got off the train at the Beverly Shores station, walked about a mile and a half to the Lake, walked west about 5 miles along the Lakeshore and Dunes to the Dunes Pavilion and then another mile and a half to the Dunes Station for the ride back to Chicago/Aurora. 

CLICK HERE for a Video created from my pictures that day.

How about those Sea Gulls? Why did they keep “moving” forward? Why wouldn’t they just fly behind the crazy human with a phone camera? I am glad they didn’t, it was kind of cool watching their reactions :)

Did you notice the 3 “modern homes” in the Video?



They were part of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and moved to Beverly Shores, Indiana after the Fair. You can learn more in Article 1 and Article 2.

Back in Chicago there is a new exhibit in the Artist’s Garden at Garfield Park Conservatory (GPC) featuring the Mexican Artist Alfredo Ramos Martinez.








The Living Wall “taking shape” and preparing to “Bloom Full Ahead










I like the low key exhibits in the Artist’s Garden where I can learn a little bit and see how the GPC gardeners/artists choose plants and layouts to compliment the chosen Artist.

I am grateful too that I have been able to help in several other gardens like the 

Gravel Garden:







Child Wild:





City Garden:








Orchard Garden:



GPC continues to be an “Oasis” :)


Oh, by the way, there were Fireworks again, seems to happen every year around the same time :)





I watched them from a distance this year for a different perspective (maybe I just didn’t want to walk with the “crowd” :)

Light this FUSE to see a 5 and 1/2 minute Video from the 20 minute show :)

Not spectacular by any measure but a nice “reflective” celebration of the Fourth!

Thanks for Following Along !! đź’Ą