New England Asters...

...let's brighten up this blog with some of these; they are brilliantly in flower right now. On a sunny day, the last of the bees and the butterflies cover the flowers. This is such an ugly plant at the beginning of the growing season: I have to be careful not to rip it out. But this is the reward for keeping it-at a time when there is little else flowering.

Saturday Mantra...

soft layers of monotone sky on a lazy afternoon.

Materials Lot near Harvest Time

Muted colors, ordinary setting, overcast day...somehow, I have to go take a picture of it; the lumber lot of a hardware store in

Mt. Carroll, IL. backed by the corn field, just blocks from downtown. Frankly, I hoped the brighter green in the field would "pop" a bit more.

In Chadwick, IL....

...a slightly larger village, this neat old place. Porches and gables and built-in character everywhere. Yard not quite right. Inside it needs a lot of work, but lots of original wood work, etc.

About 40K--(the kitchen is a disaster).

Church for Sale....

...in one of those tiny little spot-on-the-map villages we drive thru on the way to some bike trail. It was renovated to become a residence; and no, family, this is not the house of our dreams. (It's located on the corner of a busy, ugly highway, for starts.) But, wow, the stained glass window in the livingroom...

A Comment, please....

Chicago's loss to host the 2016 Olympic Games:
Having lived in the Chicago area for much of my life, I feel confident that the city would have made a fine host for the events; after all, this is a convention town and that would be just "the mother of all conventions". The city is a Jewel on the Lake; too bad.

Having said that, I can say that I didn't care, one way or the other. But I thought it was in the bag for the city; so I was quite surprised when Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting. The Daley political organization is reputed to be best at bid-rigging and election-fixing. Who goofed? Or did the city's team simply run up against some better bid-riggers than themselves; out-foxed.

Obama: weak and self-centered as usual; over-confident. (At least Mrs. O did not show up in a clown custume, as usual.) I worry that if Obama is not up to bringing home a big piece of bacon to the hometown, how can we be confident he will conduct other matters properly: like Iran; like Afghanistan; like so many others...and hello: rising unemployment numbers calling.

I love these....

brilliant, sunshiny little faces surrounded by interesting foliage; extremely easy to grow, too.