There are a lot of folks that when they hear the pitter patter of raindrops or hear the roar of thunder .. they prefer to stay inside.  Dry.  Out of harms way.

I on the other hand ..
.. (as long as it appears all is safe), love to lace up the running shoes and hit the road.

These are my favorite days for a run.  Rain falling on my face.  Water splashing the back of my legs with each stride.  Puddles to run through.  For some reason, that combined with how quiet it usually is because few others are out .. offers me a state of meditation, of exertion and of feeling grounded and refreshed in a way few other things do.

Not the best pics for posting.

But was happy to have just gotten in a run that morning, the dog running circles around me on her leash, I didn’t want to get the phone wet and I apparently due to most of that, didn’t care they weren’t artsy and slightly out of focus.  🙂

There was plenty of corn to go around last weekend at the Sun Prairie Corn Festival despite concerns over this year’s crop..

It was all being served up along with a little music ..

(The band played to a nice crowd at the VFW pavilion Sunday.)

A little rain .. 

A little Zoe.

“Would you ever want to live here, honey?” the Cowboy asked his daughter on a whirlwind trip to Chicago.   We were in a cab on the way back to our car, cutting it close to the time we needed to be heading again for home.“No way,” she replied, with a slight chuckle for emphasis.

The Cowboy’s little girl just celebrated a birthday.  While preferring a country lifestyle, ever since I have known her (and most likely long before that), she has expressed a fascination with the city.  Not just like a small city.  Big cities.  Skyscrapers.  People.  Things going on. She’s been to a few others.  But for her birthday, she told us she really wanted to go to Chicago.

We weren’t quite sure we could make it happen.

But amid the chaos of work, a horse show and other commitments .. we made the most of what little time we did have, and made a run to town.

It seemed as though a long line might thwart our plans to visit the Shedd Aquarium, but the wait made for some great photo opportunities.

Sharks, dolphins and jellies on the wish list to see.  Check.  Check.  

And check.

Back to the Cowboy’s question.  None of them said they would ever want to live in the big city.  But when we were closer to home again, the Cowboy asked, “Hey kids, what was your favorite part of that trip?”

“All of it,” replied one of the boys.

“Yep, all of it,” the other two echoed.  “When can we go back …… “

Last year about this time was one of the first visits by the Cowboy .. to Wisconsin.   

Well, since I had met him anyway.

This year’s Horse Show at the JB Ranch in Fort Atkinson was another return trip for some more fun/work.  This year, we were lucky to have most of the kids along.

So did our friends ..

Wednesday was day one of a three day show and the Cowboy’s first day back in town this week.  Been a busy week for us, but a fun one too.

And so nice to finally meet Carter … A & E.

There are few season so brightly colored when it comes to food .. as summer.

Watermelon is one of those things, when the kids are around we cannot seem to keep enough of in the house.  Or on a plate on the porch …

Fresh flowers always for the dining room table ..

Ripe tomatoes on the vine out the back door .. 

And an ice cold beverage .. perhaps like one of these that I couldn’t seem to get a friend to share this past week.

It was the perfect day for a photo shoot ..

.. Few more shadows than I might have liked or know yet what to do with, the amateur photographer I am.  But the temperature, for a late summer day was just right.  And most importantly, everyone, all 18 of them, could be there.

Spent time taking this past week taking photos for a dear friend from our younger years and her beautiful family … as they face some pretty big life challenges.

It truly is an honor that people allow you into some of the most wonderful, heartfelt, intimate times in their lives in order to take a photo, or tell a story ..