Blooms

Long week . . . .

A few views from this evening's garden walk . . .




I. Mondarda (Bee Balm) in bloom





II. Bee Balm and Bee





III. Agastache / hyssop

County Fair

A spontaneous Sunday outing: Kane County Fair. Surprisingly crowded. We had an enjoyable afternoon looking at the sheep and the rabbits, and listening to the hog auctions, and eating corn dogs, and going on a few S C A R Y rides.



I. Arianna and Mommy waiting in line for the Matterhorn





II. Just getting started -- nice and slow . . .





III. Now who looks nervous, Mommy?





IV. Catching her breath down below





V. Arianna on the ferris wheel





VI. Arianna looking out on the crowd





VII. Arianna gets bumped

50th Wedding Anniversary

Bruno's brother and sister-in-law celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this week. Although Lester wanted to celebrate in a B I G way, Myra reeled him in. So, they invited family into town. Lester's (and Bruno's) nieces and nephews came in from Nevada and Michigan; and Bruce and Laurie and the kids came in from Iowa.

After work, we drove north toward McHenry, where the family visited, enjoyed a wonderful dinner, and planned to visit over the weekend.




I. Aunt Myra and Uncle Lester





II. Alana Kilarski, Arianna, and Jane Kilarski

Happy 87th!

87 years young? Well, perhaps not. But, Bruno is still alive and kicking. At this time of his life he's not much interested in celebrating. Nevertheless, we insist.

Chicago Botanic Garden

The long weekend winds down with a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden. I'd never been and was excited by what I saw.

Sharon spent more time than is usual manning the camera, while I took notes of the more inspiring plants.

By and large, our favorites were the Evergreen Garden and the Japanese Garden.

To be sure, we did not trek through the entire botanic garden. Perhaps we'll come back next year.

Needless to say, our photos don't capture what the eye beholds.



I. Water lilies





II. Arianna imitating the statue of the gardener





III. Dahlia





IV. Waterfall




V. Heron at water's edge





VI. Japanese Garden





VII. Another view of the Japanese Garden





VIII. A solitary, restful moment





IX. Giggles with Daddy

4th of July

Cool, damp, gray. Hardly what one looks forward to on Independence Day. Nevertheless the family hobbled, walked, and ran over to Sabatino Park for the annual festivities. Until it actually started to rain, Grandpa was up and about. Once the rain began to fall, he and Sharon found shelter under a tent and hung out. So, it was Arianna and me for much of the afternoon. Weather notwithstanding, this was probably one of the more enjoyable picnic's I've attended.



I. Annual pony ride





II. Arianna wearing a patriotic chapeau





III. A smile for Daddy

Moving Day

This is turning out to be a year of significant changes in the garden. After playing in the dirt for a few years, I'm feeling more confident to make dramatic changes. One such change is transplanting the lilac from the back yard to the southwest corner of the front yard.

Arianna took these two photos of me working up a sweat.




I. Bearing down on an impediment





II. Another rock for the pile