Wordless Wednesday 11/3 -- Framed By Art

Appreciating Sculptures

Bunny here at the keyboard, writing a bit about our weekend.

Saturday night Mom and Dad had plans to go out for a birthday dinner, so we didn't have time to go away for a hike, but we wanted to do something together for a little bit, so we all loaded up and got in the van.  We went to visit downtown Peoria, near where Mom works.  There are lots of cool sculptures down there and Mom and Dad thought it would be fun to get a closer look at them and take some pictures.

First we visited Harvest and Peace.  These sculptures have been in the city for a long time and have been moved several times.  They are standing in the Becker Plaza at the moment.

Then we went over to visit this antelope looking thing.  It looks pretty neat.  It stands in front of the Peoria Civic Center.  We actually had to wait a little while to pose by this one because several people thought it would be a good idea to take pictures by it.

Finally, we stopped by the giant fish hook.  It's on another side of the Civic Center.  We'd probably have gotten to visit a little more if Mom and Dad hadn't gotten distracted by a couple getting married at the church across the street.  That makes about five weekends in a row that we've come across a wedding while we've been out and about!

After all that sightseeing, we were beat, and Mom and Dad had to hurry home to get ready to go out to dinner.  I had no idea we had such cool stuff so close to us!  I guess it pays to always have your eyes open, even if you are a sighthound.

I'd like to ask a small favor of my Facebook friends.  I'm entered in a contest for Voyager's K9 Apparel on Facebook and if you're on Facebook and wouldn't mind voting for me, I'd really appreciate it.  All you have to do is "like" Voyager's and then you can see the Tummy Warmer contest entries.  You click "like" on my picture and that's all there is to it.  I know that Facebook isn't for everybody, so if you're not on there, I understand and it's all good.  I just figured I'd ask my friends and see if I could get a little help.   Here's my picture for the contest.

A Walk In Allerton Park

Bunny here, hoping to bring you a little cheer on Monday morning with my post from the keyboard.

This weekend, we decided to choose an easier place to get out and stretch our legs than we took last weekend.  So, we decided to go and visit Allerton Park in Monticello, Illinois.  It is not a state park, but it is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois, and for good reason.  Because this wasn't so much a hike as a walk through the park, Blueberry came along and only the people wore backpacks.

For people curious about the park, it was property once owned by an art collector named Robert Henry Allerton.  His mansion is there along with some of the artwork he collected.  He must have had a lot of money, because he sure owned a lot of land and there were a lot of sculptures there.  He spent decades shaping farmland into the into beautiful landscapes that featured some of the artwork he acquired.  After forty years, while visiting in Hawaii, he decided to start all over and do the same thing there.  So, he donated his Illinois property to the University of Illinois to create “an educational and research center, as a forest and wild-life and plant-life reserve, as an example of landscape architecture, and as a public park.”  I can tell you all, I am sure glad that he gave this most wonderful gift because we all loved seeing it.

While we were there, not one, but two weddings were being prepared for, so we didn't stop and pose for all the pictures we'd have liked to in a few areas.  We are sure hoping the people got married before it started raining later in the afternoon.  Mom said if she had to plan a wedding again (which she about breaks out in hives just thinking about) that she'd want to have one there.

There were lots of different kinds of gardens.  Some were really formal and some were kind of wild.  They all had been worked on a lot.  My favorite was the Fu Dog Garden!  It was built to showcase Mr. Allerton's collection of thirty two blue Chinese dog statues.  One of the weddings was held in that garden, so I know those people are going to have a perfect life ahead of them after getting married in such a wonderful garden.  Every one of those dogs was different, too.  We weren't the only dogs admiring the garden, either.  There were some dogs who I think might even have been attending the weddings.

There were some wedding guests there who did a lot of admiring of us and petting us, too.  That always makes the trip more fun.   One woman was especially keen on getting a Greyhound of her own and she kept fawning over us.  I wanted her to know what we make the best pets ever so she'd give another one a home, so I let her pet me for a long time.  She even offered to take a picture of us all together in front of the mansion.

Dad says we're definitely going back and I can't wait.  Hopefully this makes Monday a little brighter for everybody.  I know it sure made me happy to be there!