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Images: The Week in Pictures

Images: The Week in Pictures

  Sometimes mascot, clowns, mimes, and other costumed characters sort of make me feel uneasy. I don't know why that it is, but I almost always feel compelled to photograph them at the same time. Here is a lone bunny waiting for kids during the Cary Park District's annual Breakfast with the Bunny at the Community Center in Cary this past Easter. How do you feel about mascots and clowns? This photo was published in the Perspective column in the print edition of the Daily Herald. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Our backyard, 3.5 inch-long, male red-breasted nuthatch is pine resin covered! For over a week his feathers on his head and belly have been matted down and glisten in early morning sunlight. That means he is nest building, which is very rare in the U.S. They normally breed in coniferous forests across Canada and Alaska. Both sexes excavate their nest, which can take 18 days, by pounding out a 2.5-inch wide and 8 inches deep hole in a tree, with the female doing more. The female applies conifer resin to the inside and the male places it around the entrance to keep other birds out, sometimes applying it with a piece of bark, an amazing example of tool use. The two birds fly directly into the nest and on the inside avoiding the dry sticky resin draped around the entrance. My family has been lucky to have the two bird reside in or near our backyard from October to April for a couple of years because the bird normally doesn't venture into the U.S. even during migration. However due to a lack of pinecone seeds produced in dense forests in Canada, about every 5-7 years, a large population travels south into the U.S. for food during those winters. We have a large peanut feeder by our kitchen window, which they visited up to a 100 times a day - grabbing a peanut and hiding it in our backyard tree's bark to eat later during the winter. The birds are cute, tiny, and have wonderful personalities, routinely we got them to eat peanuts out of our hands. This year they are sticking around - literally, and their behavior has changed. The female has been missing and the male is extremely skittish. He won't even visit the feeder if we are in the backyard, and flies and moves much faster, as if he is on a mission. There are only a few successful hatchings of their .6 inches-long eggs yearly in the U.S. This photo was published in the Perspective column in the print edition of the Daily Herald. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Tristan Carroccia, 10, of Batavia, colors in the Hobbes comic character he traced via an overhead projector at Batavia Public Library's Comic Book Fun program on Tuesday. Hobbes, of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, is a favorite of Tristan's because, "I think he's pretty funny." He's also a fan of Garfield, saying he likes the fat cat because, "He's real sarcastic." Over 30 kids attended the comic book themed activity within the first hour, which included a comic book character search in the kids garden outside with the reward of a free comic book, coloring in and cutting out their own superheroes and creating their own comic strips. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Gianna Brown, 4, or Naperville, dances to the music of the the Ice Cream Vendors as they perform Tuesday as part of the Naperville Park District's Children's Lunchtime Entertainment series at Frontier Park.This is the second of six summer performances that the Naperville Park District is hosting for children. The performances alternate between Frontier and Centennial Parks. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Wauconda Township Supervisor Glenn Swanson discusses the damag done by a fallen tree that hit the historic Cook House in Wauconda. A Saturday storm caused severe damage to trees around the town. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  John and Dottie Schmitz, of South Elgin, dance among the crowd of several hundred Tuesday in Wing Park during as the R Gang band performs in the Wing Park bandshell as part of the Elgin Concerts in the Park program,. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  While covering one of my eight high school graduations this spring I came across this Metea Valley High School graduate preparing for the commencement ceremony under the watchful eye of the Northern Illinois University husky mascot photograph on the fieldhouse wall of the Convocation Center on the school campus in DeKalb. Many area high schools have moved their graduation ceremonies to arenas like the Convocation Center at NIU and the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates to help eliminate the need to limit guests and deal with unpredictable weather. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Tracy Stellato, of St. Charles, points out fish to her son Dillon, 6, left, while children gather around the new aquarium tank during the "What's in the Aquarium?" program at the St. Charles Public Library on Monday. The new aquarium was installed on mother's day and children were invited to come and learn about the fish in the youth services area of the library. Brooke Herbert Hayes/bhayes@dailyherald.com
  Kids play along as Carol Stephens, of Park Ridge, got kids to wiggle, giggle, hop and stomp as she brought her sing-a-long music and movement activities to the Grayslake Public Library Wednesday night. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Brett Garrett, Director of Development, and Justin Sikora, Agricultural Interpreter of Primrose Farm, left to right, take the cows out after milking at the farm in St. Charles on Wednesday. Garrett and Sikora are part-time employees at the living history farm which offers tours and hands-on activities about life on a mid-20th century dairy farm. Brooke Herbert Hayes/bhayes@dailyherald.com
  Lt. Governor Sheila Simon, left, and Downtown Elgin Harvest Market manger Jennifer Benson, right, share a hearty laugh after a sing-along to "Down by the Riverside" during Simon's visit and impromptu 3-song banjo concert at the market on Thursday morning. Simon chatted with vendors about her advocacy for local food and urging more markets to accept Link cards so that all Illinoisans can access Illinois-grown products. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Alex Lenski, 16, of Geneva, rims his soccer ball around the 20" cup as he plays footgolf at Bonnie Dundee Golf Club in West Dundee Sunday. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Mike Maciejewski, of St. Charles, hangs onto his Stintson Reliant R9 plane as the engine warms up, readying for take off, at the Fox Valley Aero Club's Windy City Warbird and Classics model airplane show in St. Charles on Friday. Maciejewski a member of the Surburban R.C. Barnstormers, Inc. model airplane flying club for about 30 years, often flying at Fox Valley Aero Club events. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Riders depart from the Rosemont Fire Station, on River Road, at the start of the Warrior Project 5K "Soldier Ride" Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Sean Keys, left, of Naperville, helps load brush in the back of a truck at Lincoln Marsh in Wheaton. It was part of community service projects in DuPage County Friday for the annual Jack and Jill America, Inc. teen leadership conference. Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
  Recently crowned Miss Illinois Marisa Buchheit reacts to a spontaneously kiss on the hand as she sings Il bacio, "The kiss" in Italian, at Friday's Friends for Life happy hour at Brookdale senior living home in Vernon Hills on Friday. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Paige Brite, 14, of Mundelein, and friend Colin Westfall, 11, of Island Lake, dance to The Beatles music by The Cavern Beat, a Chicago based Beatle tribute band, at the second day of Wauconda Fest on Friday in Wauconda. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  David Felsenthal, of Wheaton, salutes the crowd before his boat sinks at the Lake Ellyn Cardboard Boat Regatta in Glen Ellyn. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Girl Scouts with troop 40735, most of whom are deaf, sign the Pledge of Allegiance in front of an American Flag outside of Fremont Township Headquarters in Mundelein. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Fireworks light up the sky over Fifth Third Ballpark after the Kane County Cougars baseball game Wednesday night in Geneva. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  Abigail Giler, 15, is dragged by her mother, Victoria, both of Fox Lake, through muddy water near the finish of he DirtyGirl Run at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Saturday in Grayslake. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Grace Meshenky, 9, of South Elgin, gets ready for her very first race at the Geneva All American Soap Box Derby Race in downtown Geneva on Saturday. The winner from this round moves on to the world championships in Akron, Ohio. Brooke Herbert Hayes/bhayes@dailyherald.com
  Lily Rooney, of St. Charles, 12, left, and her sister Norah, 8, paddle their handmade boat called Gilligan's Island, during the Sink or Swim Cardboard Boat Race at Swanson Pool in St. Charles on Saturday. This was Lily and Norah's first time racing a cardboard boat and they came in first place. Their grandfather, Jim Stevens, helped them construct it and Norah said she thought it was "fun to be in character." Brooke Herbert Hayes/bhayes@dailyherald.com
  Veronica Payne, of South Elgin, views mixed media 3D artwork by Robert Aebi of Lathrop, MO during the Arts in Bartlett Festival of the Arts event at Bartlett Park Saturday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Patrick Ringel, manager of Bulldogs Grill in Wauconda, left, and grill chef Martin Velazquez, celebrate a goal by Chili against Brazil in the World Cup while watching the game on an ipad during a break behind the restaurant's stand at the third day of Wauconda Fest on Saturday. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Four-year-old Chase Beake, of Round Lake, tries to sip water from a fire hose on a hot afternoon during the water fights Sunday at the Fox Lake Firemen's Festival. Teams representing area businesses competed using high-powered water hoses to blast a barrel across the opponents line. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Mia Rosado, 9, of Carol Stream, plays with a hoop and stick just as children in the 1890's did while at the Kline Creek Farm's old-fashioned 4th of July in West Chicago. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
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