I had a staycation this past week. Unfortunately, a stomach bug of some sort took up a good portion of my time off. On Wednesday, feeling a bit better, I thought I'd venture out to photograph the wildlife at Mindowaskin Park in Westfield, then hit up Trader Joe's for some goodies.
What a mistake! They've let the park get all rundown, its pond covered with algae and smelly. I got a few shots, but saw no ducks or geese, my planned targets. The neglect of a park which had always drawn in such water fowl is sad indeed.
I took so many much better photos stopping by Bernice's garden after attending the opening of the Summer Invitational Photo Exhibit at the Plainfield Public Library. Once again, the photos at the exhibit were truly inspiring! I felt so proud to be a part of it last year and actually even a bit proud of Plainfield itself! Congratulations, Bernice!
I spent some time at the big Citizens Appreciation Day BBQ put on by Plainfield Firefighters, ate a bit and headed on home to catch up on my Big Brother live feeds. Yes, it's that time of year again. I return to work tomorrow already having received a text message from my boss warning me of a very busy week ahead. I guess it all keeps me off the streets and out of trouble!
Onto the photos -- clicking on an image will open it in a new window, clicking again will make it larger, closing that new window will send you right back here.
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| Beeware! |
This is one of the shots I took in Bernice's flower garden. What a sweet little oasis in the middle of downtown! Thank you for showing me around, Bernice!
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| Orange happiness |
Also at Bernice's.
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| Pleased to meet you! |
One of Bernice's little friends.
**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**
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| A little privacy, please? |
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| Beesy |
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| They're everywhere! |
Okay, this one is from Mindowaskin Park. It is NOT a duck!
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| Jaws |
At Mindowaskin Park, there are little man-made channels leading to the (severely polluted) pond. The bridges over the channels are designed to look like the bridges in Central Park, NYC. The pond does have fish, but I've never seen anything exciting. So there I was, atop a bridge, taking photos of the fish, most of them about 5 or 6 inches long. Along came JAWS! This fish was well over a foot long and I'd estimate ... dinner for two.
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| Chipmunk butt |
Mindowaskin wildlife
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| Dragonfly |
Dragonflies like algae-laden ponds.
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| Jus' a little flower |
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| Plainfield Firefighters BBQ |
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| Plainfield graffiti wall |
This wall is ever-changing. They're doing this with the permission of the business owner.
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| Bernice's black-eyed Susans |
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| Eek. Wasps! |
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| Vincent needs his beauty sleep |
Vincent works very hard at sleeping so many hours a day!
6 comments:
Jackie... those pictures are truly beautiful... And Vincent is just so gorgeous. He was so lucky to find you and vice versa.
Sounds like you'll have even a mre busy week with your boss forewarning you about work and BB updates. So glad you're doing this for us. I know I couldn't do it.
Thanks.
Vincent unaware of a photo moment! Cute.
The flower/insect pics are wonderful. Is the exhibit online to view like other years? Guess I will go look.
wow - love the mantis! How did you even spot him?
Thanks, everyone.
Delee -- Unfortunately, while the Invitational Exhibit is up all summer at the library, it's not online. The photo contests are online.
Petals -- I'm not sure I would have spotted him. It's my friend Bernice's garden and she knew where to find them.
You know I love the flowers and the creatures. Today's gift from you makes me feel like it's Christmas! Awesome!
Great photos Jackie! Praying mantis just creep me out.
I am so glad BB has started and thankful I found your site way back during BB5! You are the best!
Don't you hate going back to work and have to work twice as much to get caught back up? I did not even take a vacation last year because of that! I swear I am going to take off this year... sometime!
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