Day 66 : Think Spices!

Happy New Year 2011 to all my readers!! Thank you for your support and encouragement over the past few months. I hope you will continue to visit my blog and leave your feedback on my blog posts. I have certainly learned a lot in photography over the past few months.

Coming to today's post, this wreath was made out of papers from an old book and various spices. This wreath was most creative of all the wreaths that were hung on the walls of Chicago Botanical Gardens. I must thank them for providing me with so many subjects for my pictures :). The contrast of the red wall to the old creamy colored book pages and the spices made it very delicious for this picture of the day:

Day 65 : Christmas Tree at Night

One of the best things about December snow is the unexpected beauty of Christmas lighting reflecting in the snow. This Christmas tree standing at the edge of a lake, was decorated in multicolored lights and aesthetically decorated with electric balls of lights around it and on the other side of lake behind it. I love the way the lake reflects the light balls behind the tree. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in Chicago. Here is the picture of the day:

'Christmas Tree at Night'

Day 64 : Hanging Neoregalia

This beautiful ball of Neoregelia Tangerine is an exquisite piece of art. This plant belongs to the family of Bromeliads, which are a whole groups of extreme survivors. They can survive almost anywhere and are famous for surviving on tree tops with the help of their hairy roots that can absorb water from the atmosphere. They are even known to grow in tight groups so that they can form a cup to hold rain water. As I was doing research for this plant, I also found out that they can literally grow on electrical wires, check this Wikipedia picture for proof! Talk about a delicately beautiful plant just as strong! Here is the picture of the day:

Day 63 : Cat Crossed the Road

This picture was just pure luck! I was walking aimlessly on the road when I saw this cat crossing the road and clicked the Canon button. This picture is not a brilliant shot, but this picture spoke to me like one of those rare moments that shows you the truth of life. The vast road has cars on both sides of it and numerous tire tracks running through it, but the cat crossed the road carefully, yet confidently. The cat was surrounded so many dangers, but he put his best step forward. Life is unpredictable, one denies it a lot, but it is. Here is the picture of the day:

Cat Crossed the Road

Day 62 : Green Armadillo

Armadillo is a very peculiar animal with its armor in which it can roll into a ball, its slick tongue that can slurp up a tonne of ants, yet it is so gentle in nature. I guess someone in Chicago Botanical Gardens loved Armadillos to have put a grass structure with green plants all over it making it look alive. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 61 : A Walk in the Snow

The good amount of snow coupled with Holiday season had encouraged Chicagoans to venture out to sleigh and skate. There were quite a few parks that were good for sleighing and we stopped by Schiller's park to take some pictures. The park was filled with colorful sleighs, beautiful coat colors, and kid's laughter sleighing down the slope. There were family gatherings, parents pulling the sleighs with children on them, even dogs that were jumping through thick snow. Snow is new to me, but I guess snow brings families together and makes beautiful memories. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 60 : Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas to you!! It has been a surprisingly beautiful snowy Christmas today. For the first time, I saw snow that fell like little snow balls rather than snow flakes. I had celebrated Christmas with my Husband in Schiller's Forest Preserve taking a walk through the woods that was covered in snow.

Today is the last day of the Flower theme. Plants generally attract bees through colorful flowers to spread their pollen. Some plants are smarter than others, they make beautiful flowers in tantalizing colors and tie them in a bunch like bouquets!! When you see such beautiful bunches of flowers, you realize how plants have evolved over the millions of years. These flowers make me realize that strength can lie even in delicate beauty. I photographed pictures of all the flowers in this week's theme in Chicago Botanical Gardens. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 59 : Desert White

I saw these miniature white flowers in the Arid Greenhouse of the Chicago Botanical Gardens. There is something about the flowers in the dessert that makes you wonder how delicately beautiful and strong willed they are even in the extreme hostility of a desert. These white flowers are also desert flowers with succulent petals and their wild beauty awed me. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 58 : Red Velvet

Red is like the queen of colors when it comes to flowers. No matter how small the flower, red flowers always attract the attention of the targeted bees and human casualties. Red flowers are my personal favorite and here is the picture of the day:

Day 57 : Pink Flames

Flames are the last thing on your mind when you see these lovely Cyclamen flowers. Each flower has its nose bent down to 180 degrees with its petals bent up and twisted, resembling flames. All the flowers I am posting in this week's theme are from Chicago Botanical Gardens. I can hardly wait for the spring and summer to take pictures of the hundreds of aquatic plants, bonsai, and other plants. Here is the Canon picture of the day:

Day 56 : More Orchids

I do not know much about these orchids, but I promise you, I will find more information and update it. But these orchids are so beautiful with their rubbery texture and contrasting yellow and reddish brown shades that I did not want to put down any other picture. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 55 : Dancing Doll Orchid

Orchids are the most exquisite flowers in this world. Though the basic flower pattern remains the same, the shape, size, position of the petals vary so much that each orchid is completely unique in its own away. Orchids have always fascinated me and I know that I will have a Green Room full of exotic orchids. Today I am posting the picture of the yellow Oncidium flexuosum or the "Dancing Doll Orchid." You can see in the picture why the orchid gets Dancing Doll name :). Here is the picture of the day:

Day 54 : Perfect Blend

Today I visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens, and I must say it was heaven. The snow was clearly visible from the glass doors where there were tropical and semi-tropical plants and trees grown inside the glass house. The view from the lake was amazing too. I have decided that I was going to set a theme for this week - Flowers. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 53 : Christmas Bell Heather

My friends and I had a great Christmas Party today. It felt like a classic Christmas Party with a cute little Christmas tree, candy canes, red stockings, and great friends to share it with. I was tired, but too excited to sleep and here I am at 1 am, posting my picture of the day. Yesterday, as I was shopping for the party, I saw these very beautiful little flowers called Christmas Bell Heathers. Generally, the bell flowers are shaped like bells, but these flowers resembled more like bells because they even had clappers in them. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 52 : A Bit of Color

With all the white snow and freezing winds outside, while the spring is so far away, I am delighted to add a bit of color to my blog. As I was shopping for our Christmas Party, I saw these beautiful bouquets all put in a big vase. These flowers soaked up every color in the rainbow and they surely give away a bit of sunshine to any frost bitten passerby. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 51 : Golden Branches

The word Sunset now has a whole new meaning to me after I started this 365-day picture challenge. The shades of a Sunset cast a beautiful glow even on regular things. With the Sun setting down in the west, the moon slowly gaining its glory into the night, the shades of gold and silver mix up to show something magical. I took this picture during the sunset with a baby eagle perched on the branches. I love this picture for the sun cast a golden light on the branches and the moon, floating in the purple skies, looks innocently at the baby eagle. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 50 : Battle of the Toy Rides

I was having a pleasant afternoon with my friends today, when I saw these two Toy Rides standing head to head in the snow. The two toys looked like they were two fighting bulls pitting against each other. The contrast of these colorful toys against the snow was awesome. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 49 : Snow Globe

As a person who had never seen snow till age 30, I have always loved snow globes. I feel these snow globes capture the best part of a snowfall, like that first greeting card that says 'I Love You.' With over a week of real snow pictures, I thought it was time for the snow 'inside' the home to be part of the December pictures. Here is the picture of the day:

'My Star'

Day 48 : Warm Muffin

When it is snowing outside, you feel like eating something hot. I decided to give a try and prepare a classic muffin. They came out so good that I wanted to take a picture. Here is the picture of the warm muffin:

'Warm Muffin'

Day 47 : Grass under Snow

In accordance with the snow storm forecast, the wind today was so strong that given a chance, it could have hurled me to the state next to Illinois. But like all things that bind our ankles together, this too will pass away; we just have to wait till the storm turns to a cloud; like the grass that I found underneath the snow, like the water underneath the ice. Here is the picture that represents that:

'Grass under Snow'

Day 46 : Frozen in Time

I saw this old model car half buried in snow, while the icicles were rooting it to the ground. The car hasn't been moved for quite some time, and thought that this car was literally frozen in time. Here is the picture of the day:

'Frozen in Time'

Day 45 : Roof Tops

The best thing about Chicago is the slightest change in the season shows you a completely different side to the view outside your window. I took a few pictures of the same roof tops at different times and the effect of the season on the pictures was amazing. I took the following pictures before, during, and after snow fall:

Day 44 : Winter Guest

Day 43 : Melting Snow

Day 42 : Sunset

Day 41 : Snow Jungle

Day 40 : Pine Frosting

Day 39 : First Snow 2010

Today it snowed in Chicago for the first time. There were flurries the other day, but today was the official snow day. Here is the picture of the day:

'First Snow'

Day 38 : Soaring High

Birds...everyone at least once in their lifetime wish to fly and be free like a bird. Apart from all birds, Sea birds have a longer wing span and seeing sea birds fly, I feel peace building up in my heart. As I stood in my patio today, I saw this Sea Gull fly around in circles and I took a picture. I guess I am in love with Black and White pictures this week. Here is the picture of the day:

'Soaring High'

Day 37 : Symmetry

There is something about Electric Towers that attracts us like magnets, but also feels dangerous. The massive towers with hanging wires look so innocent, but you know that high-voltage electricity passes through it, every millisecond. Sometimes when you are traveling on long-stretched plain fields, you see these massive towers, standing silently next to each other like military men in a marching parade and you want to just stop traveling to you destination and take pictures. Finally I did stop, here is the picture of the day:

'Symmetry'

Day 36 : St. Peter's Church

We were coming back home from Skokie, when this street lighted with Christmas decorations ended into a beautiful-lit church that took my breath away. I later discovered it to be St. Peter's Church. I loved the way the church was lit in the night and I knew this was the right job for my new Canon EOS Rebel T2i. I loved the way the street lamps, cars, and modern technology surrounded this serene and beautiful church. I am still learning how to make this camera work, but here is the picture of the day:

'St. Peter's Church'

Day 35 : Leaning Tower of Chicago

The first time I saw this Leaning Tower of Pisa replica, I was surprised that a little part of Italy is in the heart of Illinois. As the Christmas is fast approaching, the city is being decorated like a new bride in summer, and the Leaning Tower of Chicago has not been left out. The Tower was decorated red ribbons and colorful lights. It was fun taking pictures of this warm structure while shivering in the bone chilling cold after Thanksgiving. Here is the picture of the day:

'Leaning Tower of Chicago'

Day 34 : Free

Yesterday, I was coming back from swim class when I saw a beautiful sight that I had never seen before. Two Stags were running freely in the Linne Woods in Morton Grove, where people jog, cycle, and trek regularly. It was breathtaking to see these wild animals run free among the joggers and parked cars. I had been to many zoos and sanctuaries, but I have always seen deers and other animals behind cages. Chicagoans are lucky to be so close to nature with Forest Preserves everywhere, and I feel lucky to be here. After coming here, I have see Racoons, Deers, Skunks, and Rabbits that I have only read about. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 33 : Tree Climbers

Children are so fearless. They know they can learn anything and have a natural inquisitiveness that I sometimes wish I still had. There is a tree outside my second floor apartment and sometimes kids climb the tree with such ease, balancing on the slender branches without any fear. Their laughter is so pure, filled with simple joy of climbing a tree. I asked them if I could take a picture, the kids were so welcoming that they even posed for me to take pictures. They could climb even higher than the roof of second floor, and this is Magic where I am concerned. I am completely awed by their fearlessness of climbing heights or falling down.  This is an ode to childhood:

'Tree Climbers'

'Tree Climbers'

Day 32 : Bird in a Bush

'Bird in a Bush'

Day 31 : Sea Gull and Lake Michigan

After an exhausting After Thanksgiving sale, I sit before my laptop with eyes half closed, exhausted to the bone, wondering what to post for the animal week. I remember taking this picture in Navy Pier. We sat on the bench on the Michigan lake shore looking at the seemingly endless lake and equally endless waves; when a curious sea gull came along expecting some food and eyed us for quite a while. He was so calm and confident around us, while he looked longingly into the lake. Here is the picture of the day:

'Sea Gull and Lake Michigan'

Day 30 : The Dock

Nature has a way of adapting itself to change and this picture here is one such example. Here is the picture of the day:

'The Dock'

The street lights have replaced the trees, yet the birds have adapted to nesting and resting their wings on these lights. The birds were arriving like fighter planes on to the docks as you can see on the right end of the picture. I love the simplicity of this nature of the birds, simple, agile, yet strong.

Day 29 : The Mighty Bison

When I was a kid, my dad bought me a picture book on Animals in North America. The book fascinated me and opened the doors for a whole new world. The mighty Bison was the one of those animals and I could not imagine how enchanted these animals really are. A Bison is 2200 pounds of brute force, yet a gentle giant that once roamed freely in America. It was hunted to near extinction. I thought its extinction would put the animal in protective status, but I saw bison meat sold in one of the superstores. My heart goes out for this family guy, who protects his family as ferociously as any human ever could. I took this picture in Memphis; I thought would be part of the animal week:

'The Mighty Bison'

Day 28 : Hello Neighbor

I was walking in my community when I heard a squeak and looked around, I thought it was a bird but could not find it. I started to walk away when I heard it again. The sound was coming from the building by the road and I looked up:

 It was a squirrel calling out loud, but I felt as if it was trying to tell me something :). It was looking at me as I was walking away and still squeaking. It was a curious incident. Here is the picture of the day:

Day 27 : Local Airport

Today, a storm passed Chicago, bringing with it rain and gloomy clouds to the day. But the weather was very good after a few weeks of cold weather, where the cold breeze was not freezing your face. But this rainy weather made 'the Geese,' the stars of our community, show a different side of themselves. Curiously, the geese all flocked onto the roof tops and stood in a line, as if airplanes in a airport were waiting for the permission to take off, anxious yet ready. So here is the picture of the day:

'Local Airport'

Day 26 : Diving Mallard

I really liked the idea of a weekly theme, and decided to stick to a theme this week too. I planned Animal Week for the next 7 days. Taking the picture of an animal in action is a difficult thing and I try my best to capture the moment. Animals always try to communicate with us in some way or the other, some ask for food, some let you know that you are scaring them, and some are unusually curious.

I am learning swimming and I know how difficult it is to learn. But when you see ducks swimming carelessly in a pond, you wonder how a little furry duckling learned to swim without anyone holding its wing. You wonder even more when a duck dives in to catch a fish, especially when the duck effortlessly dives into the water with its back still floating on the surface. I took a picture of a male Mallard Duck diving into the water to catch some fish. Here is the picture of the day:

The Mallard male duck is easy to recognize with its dark green head and the female is a less colorful brown color. Here is a picture of the original duck male and female Mallard Ducks swimming together:

Day 25 : Park Bench

What is the most beautiful thing in a park? Yes, trees are beautiful, the relaxing lawn is beautiful, the pond full of ducks is beautiful, the greenery and flowers are beautiful, but the most beautiful thing is a well-positioned park bench. :) You don't want to walk all the time, you sometimes want to sit and soak in the beauty of nature. Americans love benches in the Sun, but Indians always search for shade. I love a park bench that is situated exactly near a lake shore, and shaded by a tree standing behind the bench. The theme of Wildwood Nature Centre ends today, and here is the picture of the day:

'Park Bench'

Day 24 : Romantic Spot

I was looking through the trees and found these two cars enjoying the weather around the lake and I snapped a picture instantly. This picture reminded me of Herbie falling in love with this cute yellow car in the Lindsay Lohan's movie "Herbie: Fully Loaded." These two cars look like they are having a nice romantic evening together. Here is the picture of the day:

'Romantic Spot'

Day 23 : Yellow Willow

After yesterday's 'Back to the Roots' picture of the day, the willow tree still stayed with me and I simply had to post another picture of the willow tree. I wish I had started this challenge in spring and I would have gotten a picture of a green willow swaying its wailing branches. However, I know it gets better from now, the snow will have new things in store for me and Spring would bring back my willow tree, full blossom. Here is the picture of the day:

'Yellow Willow'