A drive around my town on Christmas Eve.
Click on any photo to see lots of detail.
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The Natrual Land Institute
51 years of land conservation in Northern Illinois.
Save the Kishwaukee River
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The Bennett Island series by Elisabeth Ogilvie
Absolutely enchanting
Pearly Crescent
So very tiny they are easily overlooked.
Tiger Swallowtail on phlox
Red Admiral
Monarch Butterfly on red clover
Monarch Butterfly
Pearly Crescent
Red-spotted purple
Goldfinch Female
Gold Finch Male
Waiting a turn at the thistle feeder
Indigo Bunting and female Rose Breasted Grosbeak
Cardinal male
Cardinal female
Eating a sunflower seed
House wren
Tufted Titmouse
Downy woodpecker female
Downy Woodpecker male
Searching for suet
Red Headed Woodpecker
Catbird
Singing his heart out
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Eating safflower seeds
Red-bellied woodpecker male
At the woodpecker table
Indigo Bunting
Stopping for a snack on his long trip north
Chickadee
Deciding which feeder to visit next
Mourning Dove
Enjoying a sunny perch
Tiny junco
waiting for millet
White-breasted Nuthatch female
Searching for suet
House wren
Serenading his mate
Yellow bellied sapsucker male
Yellow-bellied sapsucker female
Drilling holes in my maple tree
Blue Jay
Loves peanuts
Wild Turkey
Mallard pair
Enjoying a puddle after a hard rain
Farm Cats
Voodoo MAY 1992-JAN 2010 It was my great pleasure to have known you.
Farm Cats
Hocus Pocus 1992 - 2011
Farm Cats
Cheers 1992 - 2012
Farm Cats
Miss Bee 1994 - 2011
The newest rescue cat
Toby
In Memory
Ivan (1996-2008) I will never forget you beautiful friend.
Farm Dogs
Ivan and Aggie
Mama and twins White Tailed deer
Gray Squirrel
Looking for peanut butter
Squirrel and Jay
Who can carry off and hide the most seed
Rescue a homeless collie
Google collie rescue in your area
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Adopt a cat or dog from a shelter
Mills breed misery. Never buy from a puppy mill.
Is health only for the wealthy
Why are we the only industrialized nation that doesn't have it?
Boycott Iams pet foods
Extreme cruelty to animals
About Me
Home
The old farm house and barns
54 comments:
Wow! They are all so perfect! And you did such a good job of photographing them all.
Great photos. Looks sooooo peaceful. I see you also had quite a bit of snow over there.
What a fun ride that must've been, such beauty to behold...now let's see how long it takes to get them all down...LOL
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas...now on to the New Year and let's hope for some changes around this joint!
Hi Tina, taking a drive to look at the Christmas lights has always been one of my favorite things. I usually have to twist someone's arm to come with me;)
Flydragon, it was very peaceful. We went pretty late in the evening. We had just gotten about 5-inches of new white powder on top of the older snow.
Marnie
Hey Sharon, LOL, some will still be up at Easter;)
YES, we are all ready for some changes!
Marnie
Beautiful homes--they all look like Christmas cards! I hope your Christmas was wonderful, and that the New Year will be even better.
Very pretty!
We had a wonderful Christmas. Hope yours was perfect, too.
Cameron
Those are some very stately looking houses and lit to perfection....not overly done, but just right. The light that looks the warmest is that which spills out of the windows. Hope your Christmas was warm and lovely.
Lovely pictures. Hope you had a great Christmas.
What beautiful Christmasy pictures! I especially like the first and third houses, they are beautiful.
Marnie, what lovely old homes you have in your town. Each could be a Christmas card. I love looking at all the lights, too. You can't help but get into the spirit when you see them.
Happy New Year!
Your beautiful neighborhood looks much like mine, Marnie. Our village sets out luminaries (a fund-raising project for our garden club) on Christmas Eve (but didn't get a chance to photograph the beauty, rushing from the Children's Mass for evening festivities). Do hope this Christmas season fills your heart with joy.
A very white Chrismas indeed! Sure beats our grey 40F! So beautiful even though a bit annoying clearing the driveways and driving! There is nothing as tranquil in the world as a snowcovered landscape.
Niels
Hi MorningGlories, they look so beautiful at night with the lights highlighting the wreaths.
Hi Cameron, I had a very nice Christmas with my family. The Best!
Connie, I agree. Warmth and cheer at the heart of the homes.
Marnie
Hi OC, I had a really nice Christmas, hope you did too.
SweetBay, I like those too. This is a very old section of town where the houses are all interesting.
Hey Beckie, I love old houses. We have a nice area of well kept old homes in my town.
Marnie
Hi Joey, there are areas here that do the luminaries too. I think those homes are newer. I love the old houses.
Hi Niels, we had a soft powdery 5-inches on Christmas Eve morning. Made everything so bright and new.
Marnie
Any one of these pictures could be a Christmas postcard. They really convey the holiday spirit. All that snow. You lucky lady.
Lovely photos!Perfect for Christmas cards!Sweet!
Hi Lisa. Lucky? Enough snow is enough. We have reached that place. I hereby cancel all future snows;) Send them to Lisa.
Hi Steffi, I agree, those folks do a lovely job of making their homes look beautiful for Christmas.
Marnie
Magical! I love Christmas lights and the homes in your area are beautiful!
Marnie, the homes around your neighborhood are beautiful!! They all look like they are out of a magazine. Glad your had a good day!
You have some beautifully decorated houses in your neighborhood Marnie. The snow just makes everything seem more Christmas like too!
Hi Marnie,
Loved your photos! What a beautiful magical town... very storybook like.
I love that winter feeling with the warm lights shining through.
best,
Nan
Hi again Marnie, that was me just above this...the one that says Ben!
I was setting up a blog for my Dad at a distance and forgot that I was signed into his blog when I left my comment!
Nan
What charming photos!
My goodness! What picture perfect photos! You should be making postcards!--Randy
These would make wonderful Christmas cards!
Beautiful photos...I love looking at people's lights display (and sometimes craning a little to see a tree decorated in front of the windows). I hope yours was a very Merry Christmas with big plans for a happy New Year!
Oh my gosh..they are all so beautiful...
Hi Marnie,
Thanks so much for providing this lovely tour of your town ... alas, we don't get out to do this much around here, and especially this year. Those houses are beautifully done and you captured them so very well, so thanks again for your perspectives!
We didn't get any lights up this year, even though we wanted to, but things just didn't work out. I do hope you and yours had a great day ... ours was peaceful and very quiet, except for the sounds of me sneezing and coughing with my brand new Christmas cold! Had to happen, I guess... :-)
Great job on the photography. There is just something so comforting about a house lit up at night and covered with snow.
How fun Marnie! We've done our share of light viewing this year too but I never think to bring my camera along. You've photographed some beautiful homes/decorations. I love the house itself in the very first photo ~ it's gorgeous. and I like the idea of a tree on the porch like in the last picture. I get so many ideas riding around looking at what other people have done. Happy New Year to you too!
I love looking at all the light displays at Christmas. Sadly, I noticed fewer in our town this year. Thanks for sharing these beautiful homes with their displays with us, Marnie.
I just noticed I missed your previous post--I really enjoyed the background on some of my favorite Christmas songs. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
Always love those big homes.
Would need a maid...
Your pictures are wonderful !
What a treat and the old houses look especially good wrapped in a blanket of snow. It certainly does look festive. I can't believe how crystal clear the pictures are and especially on this new puter.
I believe you have captured a winter wonderland on your page! WONDERFUL PHOTOS... thank you for sharing these. I truly miss living in town look at these wonderful homes in your town. We are out in the country so the light display is limited. THANK YOU for sharing these sights of the season.
Merry Christmas from my Garden to yours!
Looking forward to what 2009 will bring to your garden so we can enjoy them on your blog.
Hi BeadedTail, Sherri and PerennialGardener, those are beautiful homes. That is a very old part of town. It's lovely in the summer too.
Marnie
Hi Nan, I don't do a lot of night photography. I admired yours as well as several other bloggers I visit.
Marnie
Hey Darla, Randy and Rose. Maybe I'll start my own postcard business;)
Marnie
Hi Cordwood, I feel the same way. Especially at night when all the little distractions are invisible and only the best things are lit up.
Hi Rambling Woods and IVG, glad you like the tour of old homes. IVG, I know how it is when work consumes all your time.
Marnie
Hi Phillip, it does make a cozy scene, you can imagine a warm house with good food and friends.
Hey Kathleen, I haven't taken a camera before either. Kind of a pain getting out the tripod for every shot;)
Hi Rose, it seems to me many people had smaller displays this year too.
Marnie
Hi Patsi, I wouldn't object to having a maid;)
Flowergardengirl, I need a new monitor. I don't think mine is giving me the best photos.
Hi Bren, I'm way out in the country too. I drove into town to look at Christmas decorations. Not a lot to see on the rural roads around my farm.
Marnie
Hi Marnie, that is the most fantastic display of a snowy Christmas with lovely homes and tree lined streets. I really enjoyed all the lights, thanks!
Frances
Wow, you sure have a nice town. I also enjoy looking at Christmas lights, and have ever since I was a kid. There wasn't too much in my area this year. I kind of lean toward the crazy, colorful out-of-control lighting technique, but appreciate any effort anyone makes!
About the winter sowing, sorry you haven't had any luck. This is the 5th or 6th season I've done it. Some seeds don't sprout for whatever reason, but I've had great luck with it. You do need to check for water levels throughout winter, and ventilate once seeds sprout, but it sounds like seeds never sprouted! :(
~ Monica
Hi Marnie, I've been meaning to comment for some time on your About description. I especially like/relate to the following: "I’ve been married, and I’ve been single. Single is best. Being single isn’t always easy but it is always easier." I do miss some of the financial comforts of two incomes, but I really like making all my own decisions, big and small. I'm grateful I have a close circle of friends and many activities to keep me happy. I wouldn't rule out a SO, but that's not a "goal" I'm pursuing, and I can't see myself being married again. My MIL used to say she thought marriage licenses should be regularly renewable, just like driver's licenses. At the time (I was in my early 20s) I found this a bit odd, but now (in my early 40s) it sounds really reasonable!
~ Monica
No wonder you love to drive through your neighborhood on Christmas Eve...the houses look like something from a fairytale...so beautiful!
Like you, I enjoy hearing the traditional Christmas carols and love those beautiful old lyrics.
Stop by for tea anytime you're in the neighborhood! ;)
Wishing you joy and many blessings for the New Year. I hope your Christmas was wonderful.
Hey Marnie We just got back and I had to catch up on your blog. What fun! The pictures in the last post are so neat. I want to go in each home and sit by the fire with some hot choclate.
Nice - they are all so tastefully done! Around here, we are more likely to see lots of blinking colored lights, gaudy lit-up reindeer and thickly applied strings of fake icicles.
Hi Frances, I wanted everyone in the south to envy our white Christmas just for one moment. It is usually the opposite, me wishing my climate could grow some tender perennial or that the tomatoes had one more month to ripen on the vine;) Glad your Christmas was a good one.
Marnie
Hey Monica. Not everyone feels the same. I miss the financial benefits of my marriage but the old sayings about money and happiness are true.
About winter sowing. I guess I don't keep track of the soil moisture. January to May is beyond my limited attention span;) I will try again.
Marnie
DogGeek, LOL, we have our share of blinking reindeer. I love them too. Next year I'll get photos in neighborhoods with young adults and kids where the decorations tend to be bigger and brighter;)
Hey Troutbirder, I can't imagine why they didn't ask me in for some hot cocoa. I should have been singing while I took pictures. That would have got their attention.
Marnie
Hi Kerri, if only our group of gardeners/bloggers/pet lovers lived closer together. We cold have tea and swap plants and favorite recipes. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and that your New Year will be everything you hoped for.
Marnie
Gorgeous houses, all beautifully decorated! Each photo looks like a Christmas card! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!!
Marie
Lilac, your photographs are amazing. Thank you.
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