beautiful day

"The heart is in bloom. Shoots up through stony ground...

It's a beautiful day. Don't let it get away." - U2

The Midwest has been in the full grip of winter. 20 degrees, a chill that rattles through to the very bone, gray cloud filled skies - for weeks. But today nature gave us a reprieve - 62 degrees, brilliant warm sunshine, billowing clouds softly floating across the sky. I was eager to get...out.

"Can we just go already?!" - Coco

Every morning Coco lays on a chair in my kitchen - next to the coffee maker, patiently waiting for my coffee to finish brewing so we can either cuddle a bit before I leave for class or go to my atelier where she curls on my lap while I work. But not today. Today Coco sat straight up, wiggled her booty and thumped her tail so hard I thought she was going to fall off. She knew. Somehow she knew that, even though it was 25 degrees the night before - today it was warm, the sun was shining, I wasn't going to work and leaving her behind, we weren't going to be spending the day in my atelier, and she couldn't wait for us to get on with it already.

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"Go outside. Don't tell anyone and don't bring your phone."

- Charlotte Eriksson

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I grabbed Coco and my camera, put my top down and we hit the road. My plan was to capture this beautiful day, really. But as I drove further and further west, into horse and farm country, slowly cruising down a completely deserted tree-lined country lane, the shining sun was so brilliant on my face, my body. I was moving through stillness and there were so many gorgeous images: A horse slowly walking through a field; long dead brown crumbly leaves, that had somehow survived the winter, swirling around, up and over my car; the soft balmy wind blowing my hair every which way. I just took it all in, reveled in each sensation, at some point I realized that some moments aren't meant to be captured.

A hot simple meal, a good book, Coco curled on my lap

Our final destination was my favorite little town, on the banks of the Fox River. I parked, took Coco on a very long walk, then lunch at our favorite cafe. Coco is such a well-mannered lady, the owner kindly allows me to bring her inside. I spent a few hours at table in the corner, with a good book, discreetly feeding my girl tidbits (that bit of pink on my lap is not a napkin - it's Coco ;-} Then another long walk, this time in town. Up and down streets lined with homes built during the Civil War and not long after. There's even a gorgeous Frank Lloyd Wright house! I left my camera in the car - more than content to file away the day's images to precious memory. It felt like Paris and I have not felt Paris in so long. It was a beautiful day...

Vivre! Rire! Aimer!

Temple