8x8 Gallery// 365 Project: Week 21

I've committed to a photo-a-day project for 2015. I may not always post them to Facebook or Instagram, but they'll be collected and archived here on the blog and I plan to print them all out. It's fun to see how the year unfolds. Here's week 21: 

141: Night Lights @ High Knob in the Shawnee National Forest

142: Happy @ Buzzard's Roost in the Shawnee National Forest

143: Sometimes you have to take a crooked path in order to reach the light. 

144: The Road Home

145: Cattle Drive in Thomas Hollow

146: Half & Half

147: Ozark Water Park 

Thoughtful Thursday

Adventures in Missouri

Hello from the Ozarks! I got out of Chicago just in time to miss Chiberia 2.0. And while the temperatures here in Thomas Hollow are what the natives call "cold," it's still at least 20 degrees warmer here than up north. And there's no snow. Or ice. Plus, it was in the mid-50s Sunday -- gorgeous hiking weather.

It's a completely different landscape than my Chicago photowalks.

The Lonely Oak 

Field of Dreams

The country here is beautiful. I lived here for almost 10 years before I moved to Chicago. While I had the horses to ride, train and show, the remote location wasn't really an issue. But when I'd sold all but one horse and he died unexpectedly, leaving me horse-less for the first time in more than 30 years...it just didn't feel like "home" anymore. It's a lovely place to visit, and I have family here and some very dear friends who I miss terribly when I'm gone.

You can't beat the sunrises -- "obstructed" only by the trees...

Morning Walk

Or the sunset views:

Evening Shine

So far on this visit, I've been able to watch the bald eagles, learned the art of knife throwing, sampled some homemade beer, saw my dog kill a possum (yes, that happened), wandered around the Wal-Mart SuperCenter (it had to be done) and checked my mom out of the hospital. There will be plenty more adventures in the next few days. I'm hoping most of them will be positive ones, including bringing my uncle home.