Photos from my glorious morning walks...

These farm vehicles reminded me of giant space age insects...

Looking 'into' the corn...

The corn's view...

Painting site #1 Nordman Farm:

The Nordman Farm: this was one of the plein air painting sites scheduled for the week, and the only one that I made it to. This barn is gorgeous, they had cattle and cats, everywhere! Ironically, I have no photos of the cats.

These guys were 'show' cattle...Their heads are tied up for 4 hours a day to enhance their posture during competition. The young girl that took me around assured me that this was a common practice and not harmful to them, and of course I still wonder.

Let me introduce you to Beckett...another show steer. He and his ebony cohort, Waldo were housed in an air conditioned section of the stable so their coats would grow fuller. They were the fluffliest looking cows I had ever seen, check out the tufts of extra hair growing around his ears.

Roadside vistas I captured driving through Ogle County...

This fabulous view reminded me of an Andrew Wyeth painting...it was even better in person with the wind blowing through that field.

Even rainy days made for some exquisite photo opportunities!