One Day, Two Towns, One Life
I visited Mundelein where I once lived. We lived for many good years there. Now we live in Batavia to the west along the Fox River Valley. We moved due to a change in circumstance, namely both of us retired. The time was right to move closer to our children and our grandchildren. Now we are “making a life” in our new town. Where we used to live will always be a part of me.
When in Mundelein I visited a small park that is a short bike ride from our old neighborhood. Kraklauer Park has been a destination for many short bike rides. McDonalds is adjacent to the park, a convenient source for a coke or a cup of coffee. Park Benches are placed along the path facing the creek that meanders through the small park, a shallow creek landscaped with quarry stone from Wisconsin, planted with a variety of wild flowers. What is more attractive than a shallow creek, shaded by tall wild flowers, a magnet to attract neighborhood children fascinated by the magic of water? In past years I spent many hours seated on a bench by the creek observing finches work the wild sunflowers, listening to the voices of children at play while holding a book in my hands.
I walked the path around the creek and took a few photographs. These are offered along with a few recent photos taken in the backyard in Batavia. The Batavia backyard is a work in progress. For three years I have attended to the yard, selecting plants that I hoped would thrive by the creek that borders the yard. The effort has been trial and error. Nature is a living organism, not a manufactured product that comes with a guarantee. Conditions of sun, of temperature, moisture, and wild life have to be “in balance” for elements to grow and reproduce. Not forgotten, everything has a trajectory of germination, maturation, the struggle for year to year survival, and eventually demise and decay.
So, I present those photos from Batavia. You will note my interest in the philosophical tradition of Buddhism. Many icons of the Buddha are available. I chose, Jizo (地蔵/womb of the earth), made in the image of Jizo Bosatsu, guardian deity of children and travelers. Each rendering of the Buddha points to a particular application of the Buddha’s thesis: all is change.
