Sunday, January 21, 2007

Afternoon in Monticello, Illinois

That post-holiday desire to stay in and relax, followed by a bout of the flu, and some more relaxing has finally morphed itself into: cabin fever. I was puttering around the house yesterday, and suddenly said to myself, "Self, there is no law that says you have to clean this house today." I donned Cuddl Duds under sweats, threw on a stocking cap, grabbed my camera, and hit the road.

I went to Monticello, IL, fully intending to mosey around downtown, and then head to Allerton Park. I ended up wandering, however, for 3 hours within a 10-block radius of the town square, and never ran out of subject matter. That is, Allerton will have to wait.

Here are few from my day.


Watch that first step; it's a doozy.



On a whim, I crossed the street to look over the railing of a small bridge. I was so glad I did; I found this guy. My attempt to take his photo set him into flight. He landed further down the creek, so I changed my course to follow him for a few more.



Here's a table set at "Out of the Blue," a little shop that sells gorgeous handcrafted Polish pottery.



I stepped into the Steeple Gallery to discover there's Bluegrass every 3rd Saturday. This is a little antique store, art gallery, & coffee shop in an old church. It was warm and cozily lit, and this group sounded very good together. The woman singing with them had a voice like a bell. What a treat.



It was a bright sunny day, but this gives you an idea of the temperature. I was still over-dressed, peeling my scarf and gloves as I sauntered around.



I met these boys downtown, and they were thrilled to be my subject. They shouted out their email address to me, and I promised to send them photos. Unfortunately, my email to them bounced back, which made me feel kinda bad.



I imagine they'll be back some other Saturday; they ended up practicing in a lot on the main drag in town. Since I covered so little territory in town, I'll head back on the next nice day, and take some prints with me. I imagine I'll find these kids again.

It was good to get out of the house, and into the outdoors for a few hours. I never fail to marvel at what finds me, when I look for it...and to wonder what I'm missing when I don't.

The rest of the Monticello shots can be viewed on My SmugMug Page.

10 comments:

  1. What a wonderful day you had! I admire your abilities as a photographer, your artistic eye. And guess what? It's SNOWING here. In TUCSON! That hasn't happened in the six years I've lived here. Brrrr!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You chat to that 'Little Man in your Head' too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing pix ..

    ./thanks
    ilaiy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Still reeling with your Brian news...
    Your photography is so awesome. What kind of camera do you have?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those are GREAT!

    I just adore wandering around and looking at new places.
    What fun!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful!! Your pics are always so amazing!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am completely taken with both the pottery and the spout pictures...there is a sense of both silence and movement in them that I can't quite explain...and I hate it when I can't explain stuff : )

    ReplyDelete
  8. Excellent. Love those photos - especially the boys. The day sounds like just what you needed!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the photos! There's something magical about looking at another person's day of wandering! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great photos! I love that kind of day, when you break loose and just wander.

    I love the one of the cat peeking around the doorway. And I want a set of those dishes!

    ReplyDelete

Back talk! Comment here!