Cold

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A Cold December Morning on the River

A hike on a minus 2 degree morning along the Kankakee River yielded a bit more than cold hands. The mist from the warmer river created hoarfrost along the banks, turning the landscape into a winter wonderland. Couple that with the ice storm two days earlier, and the hike got much more interesting.

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The Ice Storm

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Iced Branches

The storm just before Christmas this year layered everything with about 3/4 inch of ice - more in some places. While dangerous and difficult to navigate, it made some beautiful scenery once the sun returned.

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Dripping Crabapples

I love how the color from the tiny crabapples has gone into the icicles hanging below.

Ice Along Rock Creek

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Ice on Rock Creek

Minus 2 degree temperatures and sunlight made for some interesting hiking along Rock Creek inside the Kankakee State Park near bourbonnais, IL. The roads were closed inside the park, so I was asked to leave by the park employees, but they allowed me to walk back after I parked the car elsewhere.

Nutcrackers

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Bell Ringer Nutcracker


Green Nutcracker

After years of talking about it, I finally decided to make some nutcrackers.

They started out as oak 4x4s , so I turned them on my lathe. Each is different, but the bodies and heads are a very similar shape.


After turning them, I needed to make the notch for the lever and mouth, so I had to cut the head portion off to access the top of the body.


No easy task to get that even, and it was really difficult to get the notch straight.

Panoramic View

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Panoramic View of Indiana Dunes

The weather was so warm on Sunday, that we decided to stop at the dunes along Lake Michigan on our way to a Christmas party in Indiana. It's a rare treat to walk comfortably along the lake in December, so we enjoyed every minute of it!

This image is stitched together from 5 separate images. Next time, I'll do a full 360!

Washington Park Festival of Lights

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Each year, over 100,000 Christmas lights adorn Michigan City's Washington Park. A slow drive through the park on a windy, winter evening is just the thing to get you into the holiday spirit- even if it took 1 1/2 hours to get to the park.



Even the old, historic lighthouse was decorated for Christmas.



And the current lighthouse is depicted in the show as well:

Marshall Field Christmas

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Walnut Room Christmas Tree

Christmas wouldn't be the same without a trip to Marshall Field's on State Street. I know, it's Macy's now, but I figure that's only the merchandise, the building is still Field's.

I love sharing with my kids, the anticipation of walking into the Walnut Room to see the tree each year. It's always a surprise to see how it's decorated from year to year. The view from the 8th floor is great too (see the panoramic photo above- it's 3 shots stitched together).

Even the lower levels of the building are decorated in grand fashion. It's nice to see Macy's kept these traditions going.

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The Tiffany Ceiling

The famous Tiffany Ceiling seen above in this three shot panoramic photo, serves as a great back drop to the long, decorated garland that greets customers.

I hope these things are still around when my children visit with their own kids.

Chicago Christmas

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Daley Plaza Christmas Tree

No trip to downtown Chicago in December would be complete without a visit to Daley Plaza and the official Chicago Christmas Tree.

Thanksgiving Struggle

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Breaking the Wishbone

Mike and Chris pull on the wishbone to break it in two, so they can determine who's wish will come true. This was a stubborn bone, it bent mostly, but after a couple of minutes of struggling, the bone broke and Mike was holding the larger piece!

Christmas Season Kick-Off

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Tinley Park Christmas Tree

Each year, Tinley Park, IL kicks off the Christmas season with a free festival for children. A couple of small carnival rides, photos with Santa (really nice ones too), hot chocolate, cookies and carriage rides are part of the festivities. The weather didn't exactly cooperate this year, but the hot chocolate tent was dry and warm. After the festival, the official Christmas tree lighting takes place with local carolers leading the crowd in song.

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Carriage Approaching the Old Zion Church
Tinley Park, IL

Overcast and Cold

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Lighthouse and Gulls

Only the gulls were around last Saturday in Michigan City's Washington Park Beach; though it still seems odd to have to wear a winter coat. 30 degrees and gusty winds kept most people far away from the shore. It won't be long before the shelf ice begins to form, and walking along the beach will become dangerous.

No snow in sight in the photo above, even though 16 inches of lake-effect snow fell over parts of Indiana and Michigan last week. Along the lake there was only a trace, a mile into Michigan City a measurable amount was seen, and in LaPorte, about 8 inches was still on the ground.

Wordle

Here's a bit of fun with words. This includes every word on this page of my blog.....

Looks Like Winter

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Ready for Winter

At least this year I managed to get the pier out of the water before the first snowfall, and before the lake iced over! It seems just three weeks ago it was in the 70's................oh yeah, it was! The lake-effect snow was less than I expected, only about 6 to 8 inches rather than the 16 or 18 inches that fell just a couple of miles to the north.

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Frozen Piers

The fresh snow and the new formed ice on the lake are good signs leading up to next February's ice fishing derby - if things keep up the ice will be nice and thick.

Soon to Freeze Over

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Soon to Freeze Over

The snow in the air today reminds me that Lake Michigan and Kintzel Ditch will soon be frozen over. They are already covered in a foot of lake effect snow, but in a few weeks, they will begin to freeze.

Concentration

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Water Droplets Concentrating Sunlight

Why doesn't the leaf burn? The water droplet is focusing the sunlight to a tiny point on a dry leaf. I'm not sure why it doesn't begin to burn. I can certainly understand why it doesn't cause a fire - the leaf should burn a tiny hole, then the water drop falls toward the hole and extinguishes the fire.

Not sure.......

No One To Watch

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Lifeguard Station
Washington Park Beach
Michigan City, Indiana

November in the north is not normally a month for beach going, but this particular day was great. It's way after the swimming season, so Washington Park parking is free, and you can have the entire beach to yourself!

If you're a lifeguard there's no one to watch in the water, and if you're a swimmer, there's no one to watch you swim.

Turning Trail

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Twist in the Trail

The trail from the lower dells at Matthiessen State Park curves and heads downhill under a colorful, canopy of fall leaves.

Fall Color

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Fall Color
Salt Creek
Brookfield, IL

Panoramic View

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Mouth of Kintzel Ditch
LaPorte County, Indiana

Kintzel Ditch is a small stream running through the wooded dunes of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It's ever-shifting mouth manages to empty into Lake Michigan no matter what the conditions. This stream is our target each weekend as we visit either Mt. Baldy or Central Beach looking for relaxation, photos and fossils. Lots of Crinoid stem fossils can be found along this stretch of beach. There hasn't been a single time I haven't found a few, and often we find 20 or 30 in an hour or two.

I've always wanted to explore Kintzel Ditch, and finally had the opportunity. After following the shore for a block or two, I could go no further without swimming - and it was way to cold for that. The sides of the dunes were collapsing into the ditch by both erosion from wind, rain and the stream, and also by the ground water that was seeping out into the ditch. These things made it impossible to go any further, and the dunes were much too steep to climb without ropes, so I headed back to a point where I could climb up and follow the stream at the top of the dune.

The morning sun was warm and the view from this vantage point was perfect for an attempt at a panoramic photo (three or more photos stitched together to make one large photo). I don't think you can quite get the full feeling of what lies below unless you climb up yourself; it's much further down than it looks- about 90 feet.

I'll have to trek up here during the winter to see how things look frozen.

The Last Nice Day of 2008

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Sunrise at Mt. Baldy
Michigan City, Indiana

Okay, so I'll go out on a limb and claim that November 5th was the last "nice" day of 2008. Things have to get colder now, and I doubt if temperatures are going to exceed 70 degrees until next spring (although I hope I'm wrong). Before starting on the things I had to do on Wednesday, I stopped at the National Lakeshore for sunrise and a long hike. I was greeted by nature at it's finest.

After completing everything, I returned to the lake front, but this time to Washington Park, about three miles north of Mt. Baldy. There were actually people in sight this time!

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Lighthouse and Catwalk
Michigan City, Indiana

The East Pierhead light and fog house is always a favorite stop, I never tire of walking out to the lighthouse - in any weather. It seems to be a favorite spot of the locals for fishing and for couples who just want a nice long walk.

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A perfect afternoon for a walk to the lighthouse then down to the end of the public beach. The air temperature was in the low 70's, but the water had to be in the low 50's. I was surprised to see kids in the water, I think they were visiting from another continent - probably Antarctica!