Summer in Illinois

Here in the Midwest you have to constantly be watching the weather.

 I am learning this. It may be clear and sunny when I get up in the morning but thunder and lightning can be coming up in no time. A Storm Watch means there is a storm heading your way and there is a good chance of it hitting you. A Storm Warning means storms are just about on top of you so take cover and bring in your pets, plants, and whatever else you want to save. 

Being a Cali Girl from the beach I am not used to this. In So Cal it rains a few times a year and when it rains it pours, but thunder and lightning do not usually come with it. Not that it doesn't happen but it is not a usual occurrence. 

Here... thunder and lightning are usual. In fact, there can be lightning for an hour and then thunder hits and sometimes little or no rain comes with it. Or there is thunder, then lightning and hail the size of golf balls, or bigger. Or we get 6" of rain in an hour. There can be no wind or winds up to 70 mph. Then there are the tornadoes... I'm not even going there. I had no idea. 

On the weekends we try to get out and go places we haven't been to, get in a round of golf if we can. So we headed out to Mt. Sterling a couple weeks ago to a golf course we hadn't seen yet. The weather was questionable but the radar showed it was clear there and looked like we had a few hours before any storms hit. 

I knew I would like this course when I saw this.

There was a breeze and the clouds were coming in but we knew we could enjoy the day anyway.

 The course is named Rolling Greens...

This is why ~ the "greens" are really rolling :)

~

I liked the natural wildness of the course

 Each season here has it's own uniqueness and the trees are always changing.

 I spotted this little wooden shed hidden in the trees

The wildflowers and the trees were a nice combination

We liked this view of the trees lining the fairway

For all my Non-Midwest peeps... this is a classic photo ~

A golf course, a corn field, and a water tower all in one shot.

~

Suddenly it started to rain. You can see the raindrops in this photo...

I was intrigued by the pod-like leaves together with the fern-like leaves on this tree and it was pouring big huge rain drops.

While it was raining I was lucky enough to get this photo of a Blanket Flower with some raindrops on it.

The rain stopped and the sun came out for just a few minutes ...

I had not seen this red flower before

It is called Bee Balm and loved by hummingbirds.

~

As we were getting off the course I was able to get this photo of a beautiful pink and orange daylily...

And then it started pouring again.
Time to get off the course and head home.
Where will we go next?


~Patty Hagedorn Photography~

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