Silhouette of my Mom 1939

My mother photographed at Starved Rock Park, Illinois in 1939.

see link for information on St.Peter sandstone

Marian VanSickle Hendricks the year my parents were married (1939)

Sounds like a horrific history as I read the explanation of the naming of this huge park in Illinois. “

Here’s the story “Starved Rock State Park derives its names from a Native American legend of injustice and retribution. In the 1760s, Pontiac (Chief of the Ottawa tribe) was slain by an Illiniwek while attending a tribal council in southern Illinois. According to the legend, during one of the battles that subsequently occurred to avenge his killing, a band of Illiniwek, under attack by a band of Potawatomi (allies of the Ottawa) sought refuge atop a 125-foot sandstone butte. The Ottawa and Potawatomi surrounded the bluff and held their ground until the hapless Illiniwek died of starvation—giving rise to its name Starved Rock.”

Thirteen miles of hiking trails.

Starved Rock State Park is a wilderness area on the Illinois River containing steep sandstone canyons formed by glacial meltwater. A few canyons: St. Louis, French and Wildcat canyons have waterfalls. Wooded trails lead to Lover’s Leap Overlook, with views of the river and the dam. Park wildlife includes white-tailed deer, bald eagles and migratory birds, and reptiles. You can spend all day hiking and have lunch or dinner at the lodge.” Trip Advisor

Back to School Silhouettes on my Drive to School

Silhouettes challenge was August 15th.  

But look what I found this morning on the way to school.  (And yes,  I pulled to the side of the road)

I was behind a workman’s truck and saw the silhouette.

Pulled over to the curb, mindful of the time, knew I could wait a minute. Parking brake on, the hill’s steep.

The school bus

and then two students walking to our high school.

Work truck silhouette

Turning onto Brownsville Road

IMG_9413

School bus coming down the hill

students in crosswalk silhouette

I was hoping for some separation between the two but not this morning.  

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette Gallery

NOTE:  If you are not a WordPress Blogger just skip down to the collection of Silhouette Gallery photos 

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So WordPress decided to change the editor where one creates a new post and I just couldn’t see how it is any sort of an improved model. Perhaps it just takes some getting accustomed to the new format?

“No worries, just switch to classic mode” they reassured me at the top of the WordPress Page.  I clicked.

 And then when you click :PREVIEW the post from the classic mode, it then reverts to the New Editor, it does not stay in “classic mode”  

Life is all about change and our ability to adapt to change, right?

 But sometimes CHANGE is NOT an improvement.

(And what the heck is the BEEP BEEP BOOP someone created for the loading while you wait?  Oh my)

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Now back to our regularly scheduled programming and I know talking about computer issues bores people.

MY SILHOUETTE GALLERY – You’ve seen a few of these before if you follow the blog

silhouette cupples field st. John

St. John at Cupples Field South Side

silhouette  hand murray ave

Looking up Murray Avenue

silhouette family smith mountain lakeFamily at Smith Mountain Lake

silhouette Hudson RiverHudson River Silhouettes

fireworksJuly Fireworks at The Lakes

michael on the zip lineMichael on the Zip Line

silhouette MauraMaura at the Strawberry Farm

Bobbijo and Tim  Wedding
Bobbijo and Tim
Wedding

silhouette steam shovel 2

Dinosaur Demolition  (you’ve seen this one before)

silhouette Hudson River 2 Looking to New Jersey

silhouette birds on wire

Birds on a wireIMG_0848

Celeste as a bride last weekend.  I was actually trying to get a good silhouette but it didn’t quite work out.

silhouette winter trees

Winter trees in Highland Park

silhouette gigapanGigapan Work on Mt. Washington

silhouette supermanSemi Silhouette of Superman in Hardy Virginia

P.S. Another Guest Share

Shuey writes:

Out for a little walk along the boardwalk at Turkey Creek  . . . bright sunny day was perfect for “reflections.”

Thanks Shuey. It’s a great shot!

Shuey is the photographer of the Barred Owl Post that has been hit many times.

Here is the photograph he took of their reflections.

Turkey Creek
Turkey Creek

Tree in Snow, Tree in Sun

 

 

 

Another in my winter tree series.  Actually I drove through the park today and the snow is gone.  See the tree below.

I wanted to post the trees in silhouette, though and the sinking sun behind the trunk.

It ‘s the warmth of the sun on the snow that appeals to me.

My drives through the park after school on my way home have help me appreciate the beauty of the winter.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset Tree in Snow

 

 

A different tree but this is the angle of the sun at the time I was driving into the entrance of Highland Park.

Today on the way home, the car thermometer read 63 degrees.  Here’s what my trip into the park yielded Monday afternoon.  Find the car to check the scale of the tree. Because of the mottled peeled bark, I believe it’s a giant sycamore. Long shadows and blue sky with pretty clouds made it feel like April.

tree in sunlight

Black Widow Adds a Lot of Screams to the Park

Back and forth, as a pendulum.

Spin round and round simultaneously.  Not to mention the height.     Oh my.

I shot this angle at dusk.

No, I did not ride it but was fascinated by the long lines of people waiting to get onto it and be scared out of their minds.  The screams rated high in decibels.

You can read a great article about it and there is a video link to view as well.  Plan a vacation in Pittsburgh and take the Black Widow at Kennywood.

 

Pool Party Evening Light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The setting sun and the lights coming up from the pool made an interesting contrast of color and light.  The photograph has limitations in illustrating the mood.