Snapshots - 4th Quarter (9 Photos)
Individual photos from here and there that don't fit into a series. Updated often.

Snapshots - 3rd Quarter (2 Photos)
Individual photos from here and there that don't fit into a series.

Snapshots - 2nd Quarter (7 Photos)
Individual photos from here and there that don't fit into a series.

Snapshots - 1st Quarter (11 Photos)
Individual photos from here and there that didn't fit into a series.

2004/12/16 - Cosley Zoo Lights (9 Photos)
Cosley Zoo is a cute little free zoo that we'd visit once in awhile. Now that it's less than 10 mins from our new home, I am sure we'll be there even more often. They have a Festival of Lights which we frankly enjoyed more than Brookfield Zoo's Lights. It was less crowded and we loved all the cute animal-shaped decorations.

2004/09/25 - Apple Orchard (6 Photos)
We took the kids to Jonmac Orchard, located in Malta Illinois, today. Browsing the orchard brought back memories of when my grandparents would take me and my brother apple picking when I was very young. I loved climbing the trees, but they seem so much smaller now that I've grown up.

2004/09/18 - Rockford (36 Photos)
We visited Rockford, IL today for the first time. Photos 001-026 were taken at the Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden and the remaining photos are from our visit to the Anderson Japanese Gardens. I recommend the former.

2004/09/12 - Farm & Foilage (10 Photos)
Just some shots from a local farm and nature area. Fall is quickly approaching and some of the trees are already starting to turn beautiful shades of red and orange.

2004/08/14 - Milwaukee Zoo (7 Photos)
A few select photos taken at Milwaukee Zoo.

2004/06/27 - Spring Brook (7 Photos)
Went hunting for some possible entries for Spring Brook's annual photography contest. I wasn't happy enough with any of these to consider them, though.

2004/06/19 - Willowbrook (9 Photos)
Willowbrook Wildlife Center has a lush garden of flowers which are featured here.

2004/06/15 - Mackinac Bridge #3 (15 Photos)
Our last full day in Michigan took us across the mighty bridge to the upper peninsula of Michigan where we were able to snag a very picturesque angle of the bridge, from the roof of a souvenier shop, no less.

2004/06/15 - Garlyn Zoo (8 Photos)
The photo in this series leave much to be desired due to the wire fences surrounding each animal's enclosure at this "zoo", but the deer was so cute, I had to add some photos to make up a series.

2004/06/14 - Mackinac Bridge #2 (6 Photos)
Our first sunset near the Mackinac Bridge, also known as Mighty Mac. I also tried to get a few night shots of the bridge and the nearby lighthouse.

2004/06/14 - Mackinac Island (26 Photos)
Mackinac Island can only be reached by boat during the summer from either Mackinaw City in the lower peninsula of Michigan or St. Ignace, which is in the upper peninsula. Motor vehicles are prohibited on the island, so the main mode of transportation is either by bicycle or horse-drawn carriages.

2004/06/13 - Mackinac Bridge #1 (6 Photos)
Our first day in Mackinaw City took us to the suspension bridge that connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan and "separates" Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

2004/06/12 - Brookfield Zoo (16 Photos)
We vistited Brookfield Zoo today to preview the new wolves exhibit, but they were all hiding. I was disappointed until we got to see the baby polar bear whom we haven't seen before. His mom was cute as well. It was a nice day for photos.

2004/05/16 - Lake Katherine (9 Photos)
A couple of photos taken at Lake Katherine Nature Preserve.

2004/05/02 - Springtime (9 Photos)
We finally caught some sights of Springtime in the neighborhood.

2004/04/10 - The Butterfly House (24 Photos)
Located just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, The Butterfly House offers many species of butterflies I haven't seen before. It was a bit frustrating shooting the butterflies, however, as it was gloomy outside, and the conservatory gets all its light naturally. This forced me to shoot at ISO 400 which introduced extra noise into the resulting photographs. :p

2004/04/09 - St. Louis Zoo (37 Photos)
The St. Louis Zoo boasts 77 acres of land full of well-landscaped housing for more than 800 species of animals. Especially interesting is Big Cat Country, where I got some great shots of a spotted leopard.

2004/03/27 - Brookfield Zoo (7 Photos)
We went to the zoo hoping to catch a glimpse of the "baby" polar bear that was born in November and has only been in the public eye for a week, but he wasn't around. So I got some shots of a playful juvenile polar bear instead.

2004/02/29 - Nature Center (5 Photos)
A few photos from the Itasca Nature Center.

2004/02/01 - Produce (4 Photos)
This is what it has come to - photographing food because there's nothing picturesque about the Northwest Chicago suburbs on a cold winter day.

2004/01/18 - Ice (6 Photos)
Just some ice on the bushes by our patio. It's amazing how much ice accumulated the past few days.

2004/01/07 - Butterfly Haven (28 Photos)
For my birthday today, we visited the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven at the Peggy Notebaert Museum for a few hours. The paperkites (white and black) are my absolute favorites.