July 31, 2009

Day 212 - Fresh rhubarb


Day 212 - Fresh rhubarb
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
I picked a new bunch of rhubarb from the garden today. I'll use it to make a batch of cinnamon rhubarb muffins in the morning!

July 30, 2009

Day 211 - Botanic Gardens

I went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens today with my friend, Wendy, who lives near there. I took ooodles of great flower photos, but chose this one for my photo of the day because I enjoyed watching these photographers capture pictures of the hummingbirds in this butterfly garden.

July 29, 2009

Day 210 - More lilies


Day 209 - Lilies
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
We have another batch of lilies blooming this week. For some reason I thought all our lilies were solid yellow. What a pleasant surprise it was when these two-toned beauties opened!

July 28, 2009

Day 209 - Pink & blue


Day 10 - Pink & blue
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
While out walking the dog tonight, I ran back to get my camera when I saw this beautiful pink & blue sky. The days are getting shorter, which is sad, but it is wonderful to be treated to pretty sunsets.

July 27, 2009

Day 208 - Peanuts


Day 208 - Peanuts
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
The first picture shows our 'tree man' this morning after my husband filled him with peanuts. The 2nd photo shows a squirrel striking it rich! This tree is outside our big kitchen window and we are enjoying watching the antics of the squirrels as we eat our breakfast in the morning.

July 26, 2009

Day 207 - Roses


Day 207 - Roses
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
One of my rose bushes is putting on a beautiful show this week! Today was a beautiful day to be outside - mild summer temperature, mostly sunny, gentle breeze.

July 25, 2009

Day 206 - Fountain


Day 206 - Fountain
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
While on my way through Highland Park today, I snapped this photo of the fountain and flowers on a corner where I was stopped. What a cheery display of color!

July 24, 2009

Day 205 - Worried?


Day 205 - Worried?
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
While washing out our box turtle's tank outside, my husband put Rainman into a bucket for safe keeping. Our beagle, Lucy, was worried about Rainman and kept checking on him while he was in the bucket!

July 23, 2009

Day 204 - Bye Kristin


Day 204 - Bye Kristin
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
We've enjoyed having Kristin home for a week after she returned from Uganda. Today she packed up her Rav4 and headed back to Denver.

July 22, 2009

Day 203 - Bob Chinn's


Day 203 - Bob Chinn's
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Our Summer Lunch Bunch group ate here today. Bob Chinn's Crab House is well known for good food and they do a brisk business at lunch and dinner.

July 21, 2009

Day 202 - Silo


Day 202 - Silo
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
This silo is in the parking lot at the restaurant where I went to lunch with friends. We don't see silos very often in the suburbs, but this restaurant was originally a barn. They creatively turned the silo into a place to hide their garbage dumpsters.

July 20, 2009

Day 201 - Loved Dog


Day 201 - Loved Dog
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
We've been taking our adopted beagle to dog obedience classes at the park district on Monday nights for six weeks. Tonight was the last class of the session. I'm also reading this excellent book about dog training. I'm combining both methods as I work with our dog. She didn't pass the beginner obedience class yet, but she is a loved dog!

July 19, 2009

Day 200 - Clouds


Day 200 - Clouds
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
After the gray skies the last couple of days, it is nice to see the puffy white clouds in the blue sky today.

July 18, 2009

Day 199 - Old camera


Day 199 - Old camera
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
We walked around at the Art Fair in BG today. Many of the artists are amazing and we saw some really unique techniques & pieces of artwork. The artists who capture beauty with a camera are always an inspiration. One artist had this old camera standing on a tripod at the front of his booth.

July 17, 2009

Day 198 - Squirrel


Day 198 - Squirrel
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
This isn't the greatest photo since I took it through the window glass. But, I was happy to finally capture a picture of a squirrel playing on the bungee cord hanging on our birdfeeder!

July 16, 2009

Day 197 - Ugandan beer


Day 197 - Ugandan beer
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Our daughter, Kristin, arrived home from Uganda last night. She brought home this beer from the Uganda Brewery as a gift for her dad. How sweet....she knows what he likes!

July 15, 2009

Day 196 - Elvis!


Day 196 - Elvis!
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
My Summer Lunch Bunch met today at Moretti's. The food was good and reasonable, we had great conversations and laughs. But a highlight was Betsy getting her photo taken with Elvis! She is a HUGE Elvis fan.

July 14, 2009

Day 195 - Movie


Day 195 - Movie
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
This morning, my husband and I went to a movie, a very rare occurrence! I wanted to see Angels and Demons before my book club discussed the book at this week's meeting. There were only 4 people in the theater for this 10:20 a.m. movie! I liked the movie!

July 13, 2009

Day 194 - Flowers


Day 194 - Flowers
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
I went to the nursery this morning to pick up some stakes for some droopy plants and came home with a cart full of new flowers to plant in our gardens thanks to a big sale! I decided to go with shades of yellow and orange to go with the new color of our shutters.

July 12, 2009

Day 193 - Mother bird


Day 193 - Mother bird
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
This momma bird has been flying back and forth from the feeder to the birdhouse all day, feeding her babies.

July 11, 2009

Day 192 - Bike


Day 192 - Bike
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Believe it or not, until today our bikes were still hanging on the rafters in our garage. Since we adopted our dog this spring, we've been walking instead of riding. But, today dear hubby took the bikes down and cleaned them up. Mine is now ready for a ride, but his has a flat tire that will need replacing.

July 10, 2009

Day 191 - Panting!


Day 191 - Panting!
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
This is one HOT dog tonight! She went for a long walk/run and came home exhasuted, but happy!

July 9, 2009

Day 190 - Hosta


Day 190 - Hosta
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
A girl friend and I traded hosta plants yesterday. I gave her one of ours with giant dark green leaves and she gave me this one with variegated leaves. Today we planted the new hosta. I think it will do very well in this new spot.

Thanks, Sue!

July 8, 2009

Day 189 - Lilies


Day 189 - Lillies
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Our Day Lilies are now in full bloom. We have quite a few in various gardens around the yard. They are all yellow. I'm thinking I would like to trade a friend for some orange ones. I do wish lilies would bloom more than once a season.

July 7, 2009

Day 188 - Rain


Day 188 - Rain
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
This is a photo of one of our giant hosta leaves after the rain today. I love the texture of the leaves.

July 6, 2009

Day 187 - Full moon


Day 187 - Full moon
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
My camera didn't do justice to the beauty of this full moon tonight. I love full moons!

July 5, 2009

Day 186 - Cake!


Day 186 - Cake!
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Today is my birthday and it was a wonderful day! This is a photo of the cake my daughter brought. It is a Butterfingers Blizzard ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Yummmmy!!

July 4, 2009

Day 185 - Horse racing


Day 185 - Horse racing
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Happy July 4th, USA Independence Day! We celebrated at the race track this afternoon with friends. It ended up being a rainy afternoon, but we had an enjoyable time anyway. This photo was taken from our box seats outside on the 2nd level, what a view!

July 3, 2009

Day 184 - Firewords


Day 184 - Firewords
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
Tonight Scott & I went to see the fireworks at Arlington Park. They were spectacular! I took quite a few photos and chose this as one of my favorites since it had multiple 'bursts'. It was not the finale, but could have been.

July 2, 2009

Day 183 - New look


Day 183 - New look
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
The painters finished painting the exterior of our house today. We gave the house a new look by changing the color of the shutters. I like it! It makes me wonder why we didn't think to do this years ago.

July 1, 2009

Day 182 - Home repair


Day 182 - Home repair
Originally uploaded by Karin Beil
We hired a contractor to paint the exterior of our house and a few of the cedar boards need replacing. A few turned into about a dozen. It seems projects always turn out bigger than planned.