Late Fall COLORS - Lincoln Park Conservatory - More Lakefront Trail and WHITE SATURDAY - MyShadowProductions #215

Hola amigos, how are things in your neck of the woods?

If I had to guess I would say that I used/overused? the word COLORS in my blog posts during most of 2024, so why stop now? :)

I saw some pretty cool Late Fall colors that I want to share. Actually I just noticed that the word Colors includes all the letters of Cool :) 

Click Here for a Video created from my pictures at the Art Institute of Chicago gardens, areas heading to and at 12th St Beach and Northerly Island.

On Sunday November 16 I tried to take advantage of a nice, cool Fall day by going to Chicago and visiting the Lincoln Park Conservatory (even got a quick behind the scenes tour there from a friend) and then venturing over to the Lake to see more of the Lakefront Trail from Fullerton Beach north to Belmont Harbor and then back south to North Avenue Beach and Oak Street Beach along the Gold Coast area of Chicago.

It was a lot of walking but just what I needed, sometimes things work out that way :)

This Video was created from my photos that day, so grab your umbrella/raincoat? and Dramamine! Hopefully after watching the Video, you will understand that “joke” :) Fair warning, it is eleven minutes long, I just don’t know how to not show a picture after taking it :)

Now, if you read the Title of this Post you might be wondering what is “White Saturday”? Well, I just made it up. After Thanksgiving comes probably the weirdest (in my opinion) day in American ”culture”, Black Friday and this year in “my neck of the woods” there was a Winter Storm Warning for the day after Black Friday, Saturday, with heavy snow (that’s where the White comes in :). So, if the term catches on (doubtful :), if it snows in your area the Saturday after Thanksgiving then you can “celebrate” WHITE SATURDAY!! Remember, I am not all there, that’s why I am here :) I know this “idea” needs some tweaking in order to be “fair” with areas like Florida, California, etc. so please put your thinking caps on! :)

12th St Beach

Northerly Island

Watch this Video to see how I “celebrated” White Saturday! For the record, the snow accumulation varied from 8 to 11 inches.

Just in time for the Christmas Season I came across a new (for me) vegetable during a volunteer shift at the Aurora Food Pantry, it is called Chioggia Beet and also called Candy stripe Beet which could easily be changed to Candy Cane Beet :)

And, who knew, but Pointsettias grow in the Desert House and Aroid House :)

As usual after completing my rough draft of the Blog Post I just took a walk to clear my mind (good luck with that :) and think of any “edits” I might want to make and Mother Nature had a few ideas for me, a calm cloud free sunset and a rising Full Moon!

Have a Great Weekend !!

Beach Hazards Day - Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool - Northerly Island, Burnham Harbor & Lakefront Trail -- MyShadowProductions #230

 Bom Dia !! Remember? That is “good day”, “hello” in Portuguese if you remember my trip and blog posts from late January into February of 2025. I mention it because there were several days there that the weather said “severe coastal event” which meant large waves. On one of those days I took a bus from Lisbon to Arenhas del Mar to see some large waves, here is a Link to that Post which includes a Video.

Ok, I will get to the point :) Several times here when I check the weather for Chicago it will say “Beach Hazards Statement” and it details some forecasted large waves and rough currents. This is Lake Michigan, not the Atlantic Ocean, so the wave heights aren’t as dramatic, 15ft + vs 5-8ft, but I still wanted to see it :) 

So, on August 2, 2026 I started my wave adventure north of downtown near the Chevron Sculpture and Fullerton Avenue walking my way South past the Concrete Beach, North Ave Beach and the Oak St Beach. Then a crowded 20 minute bus ride south to the Adler Planetarium area where there are a few trails along the Lake leading to the 12th St Beach.

Maybe this map I scribbled on will help you get an idea where I wandered/wondered :)

Click Here for my Beach Hazards Day Trip Video along the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago. The cool thing is that every day the free “wave/water show” is unique based on the wind velocity and direction and season of the year :)

Before crossing under Lake Shore Drive on Fullerton Ave I visited the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool which is a cool “hidden gem” adjacent to the Lincoln Park Conservatory grounds. It seems like it was a day for artists there, I enjoyed the views that they were painting. I didn’t have the nerve to ask any of them if I could take a picture of their art but I think that would be a nice addition to my Video, “next time” :)

Here’s my short Video walking through the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool site.

That was before the wave adventure and then after the wave search I was very close to Northerly Island and just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to walk the trails there. Remember “White Saturday” (click for reminder) there?

CLICK HERE for my Northerly Island - Burnham Harbor - Lakefront Trail Video created from my photos.

Totally unrelated, but maybe not, is there a difference between wAnder and wOnder besides the a and o?? Maybe?

Bob Seger has a song called “I Wonder”, it doesn’t answer the question but his Music Video for the song might be a good starting point? 

Click for “I Wonder” by Bob Seger. (FYI, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky).

It has been a while since I shared anything about the Food Pantry, still helping out there on Mondays, they haven’t fired me yet :). Here are a couple of interesting items:

Santa Claus Melon or Green Gulyabi Melon: White interior like cantaloupe/honeydew, very good, I didn’t get a picture of inside, sorry.

Hearts of Palm, Angel Hair/Spaghetti gluten free “pasta”, I liked it, good Al dente texture.

I better sign off before we all have too many things to wonder/wander about :)

FULL BLOOM AHEAD !!

MyShadowProductions #68 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 11 & 12

Happy weekend everyone!

Friday was another beautiful day and Mario and I made a lot of progress on the wooden storage shelves for the container. The shelves will be used by the Hospital to more efficiently store many different types of supplies for use by the nurses and doctors. 

I took photos of some different art at Loma de Luz for use in a future post.

Wanted to share some words I have learned:

claro = nail , peligroso = dangerous , martillo = hammer , cortar = to cut 

cena = supper , quinientos = 500 , presa = dam , escalero = ladder , 

 tubo = pipe , basura = garbage , secadora = dryer  

Saturday started out with a little rain and my third attempt at laundry. Now I have 2 pair of jeans with some holes. I found enough courage with my Spanish to ask the housekeeper that works on Saturday if she knew anyone that could fix the jeans. Conoces a alguien que puede repare mis pantalones?

She said her Mama could fix them and she will bring them back on Jueves (Thursday) and put them by my puerta (door). I will pay her on Saturday if I am not there when she brings the pants back. That’s how it works here :)

I can’t seem to resist el mar (the sea). The 15 minute walk there is perfect and I love that moment when I can first hear the waves, usually a good 5 minutes before I can see the water through the marvelous trees.

I found 2 possible walking sticks on the beach today, pictured below, I chose the one on the right, it is sturdy and should last the entire trip.

While I was walking on the beach I saw a fisherman putting his hand-hewn boat into the water. In a matter of minutes and with what appeared to be little effort he was well over 1000 feet offshore. I could see a white marker of some sort floating where he stopped to fish.

Launching his boat

                     On the way to his fishing spot.

Here are a couple of photos I took on my first beach walk where I saw the hand-hewn boats:

I think a boat being made?

Completed boats?

They make the boats from a fast growing tree that I can’t remember the name of, no luck googling it either.

While at the beach I also couldn’t resist another swim. The water is a perfect temperature for me and again no undertow or large crashing waves. I did get my first sting from a jellyfish though. I felt it on the top of my foot in waist high water and I quickly shook it and swam away. It stung/burned/itched for about 15 minutes but went away and has a faint red mark.

Here are a couple of movie/videos from today’s walk on the beach:

Here are a few drinks I like to get at the Hospital cafeteria for my refrigerator in the room.

Pineapple juice and a spicy vegetable juice :)

Grateful that I had a nice walk at the beach, sun has set and it is raining pretty steady, good for sleeping and the plants too :)

MyShadowProductions #75 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 34 - 37

 Hola amigos!

It rained all day Saturday except for just a few breaks for a couple of very short walks. Good day to do laundry, watch it dry on the hangers and clean my room.

Sunday was a different story weather wise so I decided to hike to Balfate again. This time I hiked along the beach on the way there and along the road on the way back

The beach didn’t disappoint with different views and a little “wilder” feel. In the movie/video below you will see some locals in the water. They seemed to be stirring up the sand and then swirling the water in the large flat bowls. I am thinking panning for gold of some sort ?? The rivers/streams that empty into the water there come from the mountain I wrote about in Post #67.

The stone wall and steps in the movie/video stretched a good distance and it would be interesting to know the history of the property there.

One section of the beach was cleaned by someone with a rake, the rake marks were still visible.

This week so far has been busy with miscellaneous tasks like replacing screens on heavy wooden storm doors, cover plates on electrical boxes in the new electrical/generator building, fixing an air conditioner drain line in a surgery room and other top secret jobs :)

The surgery room was recently expanded and has 8 large windows with an amazing view of the Caribbean in the far background. Here is a photo and you will have to take my word for it that the ocean is in view:

One of the secret tasks was replacing a board on the suspension walk bridge, not like a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame but kind of, right ??

It got pretty windy late in the afternoon so I headed to the beach after work in the hopes of seeing some bigger waves. The waves were bigger and white caps far out from shore. I couldn’t resist and went for a swim and playing in the waves. Ended up with two pockets full of sand from being pushed around by the waves. It turned out to be another lucky day, rain was moving in and I saw another rainbow:

Almost forgot, but up the road from my room there is a point that has an alternate view of the sunset. Here is a photo the night I climbed the trail there (the beach sunset is still number 1 with me):

One last note, I am making a change to my itinerary and will be leaving Loma de Luz this Saturday, December 11. I am going to the La Ceiba Airport early Saturday morning and taking a short flight to the island of Roatan. I will stay and explore there until December 15 when I will fly to San Pedro Sula, get my COVID test and fly to Houston and then Denver.

The island will undoubtedly be very bland and boring but I am hopeful that I will have a few good photos and things to share :)

Adios for now!

MORTON ARBORETUM & Garfield Park Conservatory Outside Gardens - MyShadowProductions #178

Howdy everybody (y’all:)!! They tell me here in Aurora that I have a slight southern accent, is Howdy a Southern greeting? 

On Saturday July 6, 2024 I went to the Morton Arboretum to see what it offered in the early Summer. I saw gardens of flowers and wildflowers and a lot of greens and a lot of “bark browns” (are those colors?) Oh, and more blue skies with fluffy white clouds.

One new flower for me (I think) was the Queen of the Prairie:

I really liked this “subtle group” of colors!

CLICK HERE for a Video created from my photos along my Sanity Walk.

I want to share my gratitude for “finding” Garfield Park Conservatory (GPC) to volunteer at one day a week (usually Wednesday 9-12). One of the coolest things is being in the Artist’s Garden (my adopted space to “work”) weeding, pruning, etc. and hear a school bus or two or three pull-up and then hear the kids laughing and talking with excitement before the bus doors are even opened :)

Here is a Video created from my photos at the GPC outside gardens over the last few months, the sun and rain have been working overtime :)

Did you notice the Hawk I accidentally captured in one of the photos?

MyShadow made a very slight appearance in the Video but MyWheelbarrow made several obvious ones :)

Now, a little about food :) Summer is a great time to make and eat Cowboy Caviar! Not too bad in Fall or Winter or Spring either :)

1 can yellow or white corn, 1 can black eyed peas, bell pepper (any color), onion, cilantro, black beans, red beans, jalapeño (remove seeds), garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, 2 Roma tomatoes and red wine vinegar & olive oil. Eat cold as a salad with salsa and avocado chunks added or mix in avocado and use as a dip with corn tortilla chips :) (you’re welcome:)

Use this recipe as a base and try an addition like ground beef, ground pork, bacon, shrimp, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, shredded cheese, sour cream, garbanzo beans, etc.

Here are a few more Public Art pieces in Chicago:

The “color” of The Picasso doesn’t contrast with the surrounding buildings as well as Calder’s Flamingo does in the previous Post (in my opinion:).

One last note, about the lily pond at GPC and the one in Denver Botanic Garden, in Denver they colored the water (black) in GPC the water is clear with gravel on the bottom. Both are a “good look” and fit their respective Gardens (I am full of opinions today :)

                       Denver

        GPC, they try to clean the green moss daily.

Have a Great final week of July !!!