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Hello! It feels like I’ve been MIA for awhile. We were in the Chicago Region for my Son’s wedding and extended our stay a few days to do a little sightseeing and birding.
They had both a professional wedding photographer and videographer for the day. Here’s one image of Big Baby Boy and the Dark Haired Beauty just after the wedding. May I present the Newlyweds!
#1 Grandson was the Ringbearer and what a handsome and stylish lad he was.
The whole wedding party were handsome and beautiful, and we’re so happy to been able to travel to be a part of their Big Day.
The following day I spent the morning birding around the Orland Park area. It’s a lovely area with lots of ponds, wetlands, and green!
I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to Pat from the Thorn Creek Audubon Society I reached out to them before the trip and he was very generous telling me about a few places to go to do some birding. I picked up a couple of bird lifers, and a dragonfly which I’ll share first. While waiting for one of the reserves to open He-Man and I stopped by a little fishing pond where I spied this beauty.
I think this is an Erythemis simplicicollis- Eastern Pondhawk. Don’t you love that color green and it’s common name? I do!
Photograph
The evening we got home I started feeling pretty achy and stuffed up, and the next day I tested positive for Covid and the following day He-Man did too. Sigh. Today I am finally feeling like I’m getting over it. I’m still weak and tire easily but I woke up feeling more like myself than I have in a week!
I hope this finds you all well and having a great week!
Dragonfly- Fuji X-T-3| Fuji 100-400mm| PS CC 23.4.1
Last week-end we went down to SoCal to visit Big Baby Boy and the Dark Haired Beauty for several days. It was lovely walking on the beach and in the canyon with them and just hanging out. We talked about their upcoming wedding a bunch, and how that’s going. It’s coming up so fast! Less than 8 weeks to go now! I’ve got my dress and hat and He-Man’s good to go suit wise too, So far everything is falling into place so, it should be beautiful.
I also passed a milestone last Thursday…I turned 65 years young. There are many days my body feels 65 but, not my spirit! I’m still a kid inside. 😀
There were lots of cultivated flowers in late stages of their bloom around Big Baby Boy’s, some I’ve missed because they just don’t grow where we live. Here are a few;
HibiscusBird of Paradise? I don’t know what this is called
Sunday we had heavy clouds predicted and strong winds and sure enough they rolled in all day just in time for the Lunar Eclipse. I hoped there would a pocket or two of clear sky in the Moon’s path so I could see and photograph just one frame. There was a nice pocket along the mountain tops so I quickly made a few images of the Moon as it crested the mountains. It was already in Totality by then as well. It was very different from last year’s May Lunar Eclipse when there was a clear sky.
Totality Lunar Eclipse May 15, 2022
It quickly rose into the clouds and I didn’t see it again that night.
We’re going to see Baby Girl and the boys later this week to celebrate her birthday, my birthday, and Mother’s Day. I’m looking forward to that.
The weather has definitely warmed up here. It was 81 degrees yesterday and just as warm today, so I put out the patio cushions and spent a lovely hour out back chatting with the neighbor. How’s the weather where you are? Ready for summer?
He-Man and I have been traveling between our children’s homes in April which has been fun, and wonderful. Our latest trip we went to see our son in SoCal for several days. One evening we went down to the pier hoping for a good sunset. It wasn’t bad, but the company was perfect.
San Clemente Pier at Sunset
We dined out in restaurants and it was grand! Really. I missed dining out. We ate in places that we don’t have at home like Thai, Greek, and fresh Seafood. I was bad and didn’t take any images of the food at these places. Sorry!
We took after dinner hikes up in the canyon near Big Baby Boy’s and The Dark Haired Beauty’s place, and it was lovely. Spring wildflowers were in bloom.
Here’s a Sweet Pea of some sort- Sandy Beach or Chaparral? They are the largest flowers in the Pea family I’ve ever seen before.
I only took my Fuji X-T3 and my newest lens for it the Fujinon XF 16-80mm.
I’ve had the lens a couple of months now and really haven’t used it all that much, but this trip it got some love. I think it did a good job and its small, as well as light weight so it made a great travel kit.
There’s a nesting Red-tailed Hawk in a tree at the Golf Course where we live. I am hoping to get some good images of the chick and the parents bringing in food. So far I’ve not been lucky.
I hope you’re all having a good week so far. What’s new with you?
Circadianreflections Blog 
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