Water Polo Ceremony

These are the girls that brought out the medals and flowers. How cute are they? and notice that their feet are all exactly together.

the Bird's Nest

Air Quality is not so good in Beijing. My son usually wears a mask to protect his lungs but the weeks of the Olympics were the nicest weather...even with the rain...that he has seen in the 4 years he has been there. Of course, all the factories were shut down for amonth but , hey, guess it worked! This happened to be a rainy day and then smoggy a bit when he snapped this one.

Beijing

My son has lived in Beijing for 4 years. He has sent me some great shots around and about during the Olympics. He told me he got to hold a silver medal in his hand and watch the closing ceremonies with a bunch of American athletes...his comment -"AWESOME". I hope you enjoy the shots I will share. (I will remind you that he is a very tall boy....6'8".....sorta stands out in this crowd!)

ABC Wednesday F is for foot

 
Is there anything sweeter than a baby's foot? This one belongs to my great nephew.
Stop over and see all the ABC Wednesday participants....thanks to Denise!

A Family Farm

 
My motherinlaw is very good about taking care of the farm and making sure it is run well.

Soy Beans and Corn

 
Illinois is known for its wonderful farm land. This is a photo of soy beans and corn, Illinois' major crops.

In the shade of the Old Apple Tree.....really

 
Illinois is known for its wonderful farm land. We were at the "ancestral farm" of my husband down in Streeter, Illinois. This is a farm that happens to be for sale. We picked the apples and made an apple pie......

ABC Wednesday E is for Exit

 
It's ABC Wednesday over at Mrs. Nesbitt's place. Stop over and visit all the ABC participants.....

The entire wall

 

This is the entire wall. I loved how they came up with this plan. And it is more difficult to find your own tile than you think! Our daughter painted our tile while she was working at this camp!

A fund raiser

 
One of the things that we have taken part in is this fund raiser for the camp we go to every summer. Buy a tile and decorate it and the money went to build this new Arts and Crafts building. Can you find our tile? It is one of the only ones that has no blue or green on it and is an archer....our family crest....or rather....my husband's family crest!!!!

Another view of the lake

 

This is a different of view of yesterday's lake. Lake Charlevoiux is off to the left of this....so the promise of seeing 2 lakes didn't quite work out like I had planned! Maybe next year I will do better!

Sky watch Friday

 
This was done while up in the upper part of lower Michigan.....the lake you see is Lake Michigan. In one picture you can see 2 lakes...I will show that soon.
To enjoy all the skywatch photos check here and thanks to Tom for hosting this!

An unusual place to nest

 
While I was out and about I saw this goose....seemed to be lost, just wandering around the parking lot....low and behold...there is a nest of eggs right in the median.....all of this is unusual as it is not nesting season for geese (or is it?)and there was only one (I thought they mated for life) and it is in a very busy Parking lot.....

ABC Wednesday D is for Dinosaur

 
It is ABC Wednesday again, hosted by Mrs. Nesbitt.
I found this fellow while we were at Niagara Falls....A random dinosaur! Stop over and visit all the ABC participants.....

BTW, this young man is my 6'7" son.I am not used to him seeming short!

A green yard

 
We have certainly enjoyed a mild summer...hence the very green yard...I am not a fan of watering the yard for a variety of reasons and get really annoyed with neighbors that do as we are all on a well and tap into the same aquifer below ground....we also don't use weed killer...as it makes its way to the water ultimately...the pros and cons of no sewers where we are....on the other hand...stop over and we will play some boccie ball on my lovely green yard....

Shadows

 
I just liked the way this turned out with the sky and and the shadows and the reflection on the table. Our gazebo.....which we enjoy very much in the summer.

Dusk rushing in over Wallon Lake

 
It's SkyWatch Friday! Hosted by Wigger's World.....stop over and see what the sky looks like around the world!

A thistle

 

I think this is a thistle.....it is in my backyard and I have many of them.....apparently I need to weed more! I can never seem to get ahead of the weeds and being gone for a week....it is like they knew they had no supervision so they just went wild!

ABC Wednesday C is for CatTails

It is ABC Wednesday again. Check out all the participants here!These are on a trail near where we stayed.....they are ENORMOUS!!

Another View

This is a different view from yesterday. The benches are there so that the nursery staff can sit and watch the little kids play in the water safely....it is very shallow for a few feet and then drops off...it is a great place for them and the staff sits in the water....sort of!

Walloon Lake

A very beautiful place in the northern part of lower Michigan, Walloon Lake. We have vacationed here for the past 20 years and it never loses its charm.