Glacier National Park has been wildly successful in creating a culture of fear to protect people and bears. Nowhere else, to my knowledge, are tourists so bear aware. Bear spray is prominently for sale at all the stores, provided at all the rental cabins and … Continue readingIs Fear the Best Way?
Living in the Midwest, I haven’t had much exposure to the Western Red Cedar. I have some favorite trees – oaks for their gnarly growth and the wildlife habitat they provide; aspens for their decorated white bark and fluttering, shimmering heart-shaped leaves; the ponderosa pine … Continue readingOne Tree
This is literally a hidden gem. Bluff Spring Fen in South Elgin is tucked between a cemetery, the Metra train tracks, a gravel pit/industrial park and a well-traveled road. Even as I tell you about it, driving up on it, it seems unreal – dump … Continue readingConeflower Explosion
Today was the first chance I’ve had this season to sit on my front porch and quietly observe the yard. I can’t sit on the back deck like this because all I see are weeds that need pulling, plants that need watering, feeders that need … Continue readingThe View from my Porch
I turn off Hwy 31 in Dundee onto Country School Road and immediately all the stress and chaos of suburbia falls away. I am heading to the Spring Bird Cottage, a retreat on fourteen acres of oak, hickory and maple woodlands with a network of … Continue readingAn Oasis of Nature
Spring woodland wildflowers are fleeting. They decorate the sunny forest floor before the trees leaf out and shade them for the summer. Two weeks ago the blood root bloomed, last week the trout lilies stole the show. This week, the ground here at Johnson’s Mound … Continue readingSpring woodland
I arrive before dawn on a cold, cloudless morning. As I gear up and start down the crushed limestone trail, the eastern horizon is beginning to lighten. At the footbridge near a beaver lodge, I slow down taking soft, deliberate steps. I think I might … Continue readingCounting Cranes
I have several bird feeders in my back yard. Over the years I’ve seen new bird species come every year. It’s a source of pleasure for me, environmental enrichment for my indoor cats and a source of supplemental food for my Labrador, Tybee, who never … Continue readingUnder the Feeder at Night
In my experience, these small prop planes are harbingers of unique experiences. I’ve never been disappointed. Silver Airways whisked us 220 miles from Ft. Lauderdale to the North Eleuthera International Airport. We landed in the warm, drizzling rain. After clearing immigration and customs in this … Continue readingEleuthera Above the Water
Several years ago I got a camera trap (motion-activated outdoor camera) to learn more about who is around when I’m not. Over the years I’ve watched raccoons, opossums, skunks, coyotes, birds, a woodchuck, mice, deer, a nesting duck, the neighbor’s cat and my dogs in … Continue readingSquirrel Rock