Winning images of our weekly photo contest

A pair of bighorn sheep at sunrise in Badlands National Park atop a classic outcrop in July. Mark Farrahar of Palatine

While visiting Sequoia National Park in CA, we were impressed with the majestic sequoia redwood trees. As we learned, these trees are 2000 to 3000 years old with some "younger" ones of 1500 years old. Some of the more mature trees have a trunk of 30+ feet in diameter and reach heights of 270 feet. That's a big tree! These Six Sentinels stand tall guarding the road to Sequoia Grove. Noble in appearance and magnificence in stature, we were awed and humbled to be in their presence. (My son stands against one of the trees to give perspective to its size) Tony Lyons of Wheaton

A resting hummingbird at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Hummingbirds are very active this time of the year preparing to migrate to the southwest. Fred Share of Arlington Heights

Lynne Solway of Buffalo GroveThe Chicago Skyline is reflected in the facade of the Mies van der Rohe building in August.

While out in my front yard recently, I was happy to get a picture of this beautiful butterfly as it was going from flower to flower gathering nectar! Paulette Novalinski of Carpentersville

I took this photo of what we believe to be a baby humming bird near a butterfly bush. We had seen adult humming birds around the butterfly bushes but never a humming bird this small. Geoffrey Wright of St. Charles

You never know when you might see something interesting-like this log cross-section I came upon while hiking along the lakeshore of Geneva Lake, WI this afternoon. It could be a current home for a chipmunk or some other small animal-but I was struck with the contrast of colors and shapes in this concentric circle. Maria A. Crawford of Elgin

This photo is my son fishing on our early August canoe trip to the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. It was our first time to the Boundary Waters, and one of the interesting things was how at the end of each day the wind would die down leading to quiet overnight hours as there were no crickets or cicadas. I like this photo especially because it captures that calmness of the early evening where the only sounds were loon calls echoing over the lake. Ken Olp of Wheaton

This prairie sunset was taken recently at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville. I went searching for flowers and plants to photograph, and shot this on my way out of the prairie. The colors and silhouettes create a peaceful, serene scene. Robin Green of Warrenville

The sun sets over Lake Zurich on August 30. Cindy Spudich of Lake Zurich

Pumpkin studies the outdoors through the front door window in Deer Park. Thomas Munyer of Deer Park

The Strait of Juan de Fuca through a piece of driftwood on the beach on August 15. The strait connects the ocean to the Puget Sound on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. Stacey Van Zeyl of Third Lake