I tried to de-greenify the lights, but they refused to budge. They remind me of Maleficent's scary staff. Of course, everything about Maleficent is scary. I want to go to Comic-Con dressed as her someday.

Cliche, though it may be, the sky often looks like a painting. Giant brush strokes overhead.

I particularly like when the brilliant light of the sunset is contrasted by the darkening sky - as if night is chasing day and closing in.

This evening, the sky was dark and, on the horizon, there was a hot pink strip of light. It did not fade into gold like normal. It just went from dark blue to hot pink to dark blue (of the lake). I didn't have my camera with me. Sorry.

I thought I heard the MGM lion outside my window. Turns out it was the sky. I guess I'd better shut the windows - at least the one behind the printer - before I go to bed. 
Good night! 

I like to go for walks along the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. If you follow my blog, you probably have seen hundreds of pictures of the beach, lighthouses, and sunsets over the lake. Lately, I've been feeling guilty every time I post more of these pictures. To me, sunsets never get old. They all look so different and beautiful! But I was feeling guilty that all my photos have been of the same general scenery.

Then, I thought about my friends @seedsower and @WildWomanoftheWest and how much I adore seeing pictures of Pennsylvania countryside and Oklahoma prairies. Of nieces and nephews, horses and chihuahuas. 

So I decided to no longer feel guilty. Photography is all about seeing the world through someone else's eyes. When I travel, I'll show the world through my eyes. When I'm home, I'll show my home through my eyes.

So here's more of my home, through my eyes. Random, perhaps boring, things I see as I take my walks. There are no sunsets today, but there will be more in the future, I'm sure. I don't know if anyone likes seeing Lake Michigan as much as I enjoy seeing Beth and Tamy's homes, but that's the beauty of the internet...you don't have me staring intently at you looking for approval. You can click away and I'll be none the wiser! 

Or you can come for a walk with me.

The Boulevard is a hotel with a fancy-schmancy restaurant inside. Well, I imagine it's fancy. I haven't had the chutzpah to go in and see for myself. This cute antique was parked outside the restaurant entrance. Later, as I was on the homeward trek, I saw a dapper old man and his wife driving away in it.

Are you ever entranced by the shapes of tree limbs intertwining? I think it looks like a fiery dance, with the leaves as spectators.

When I look at the tracks from this side of the bridge, I always think it looks like they're disappearing off into a fairy tale land. 

I don't know many flowers by name, but I thought these were beautiful. I love how they have a subtle blue tone mixed with the purple. 

Graffiti always intrigues me. I wonder what was going through the minds of the artists (or perpetrators, depending on your POV). Why is peace upside-down?

I said there wouldn't be sunsets, I didn't say anything about the lake, though! I came across a large flock of seagulls hanging out on the beach. They scuttled along as I walked toward them before lifting off, circling and landing a little further away from me.

Some of them perched here.

I like to whistle to the birds while I'm walking. I'm not sure if it gets them riled up or if they just enjoy whistling back, but I had a lovely conversation with this robin.

That's all for today. :)

One night, in November of 2005, I had three dreams about trains that scared the heck out of me. In all three dreams, they started out innocently, then ended with an overwhelming sense of evil, though nothing specifically "evil" occurred. For a while, after those dreams, I felt nervous around trains and didn't like crossing train tracks at all. Those dreams bothered me, a lot. 

Usually, I have dreams that are just dreams, nothing more. Sometimes, though, I have dreams that seem significant in some way. I've had some symbolic dreams that came true, and I've had literal dreams that came true. 

It took me a while to get over the train dreams. I didn't know what they meant, if anything. Maybe someday those dreams will make sense, or maybe they won't. I wrote them down and put them out of my mind. 

For now, I'm back to enjoying trains like a little kid. I love the sounds they make, from the horn blaring to the wheels clanging along the tracks. I especially love the hissing of the brakes engaging and disengaging. 

And away they go...