Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
This is literally a hidden gem. Bluff Spring Fen in South Elgin, IL, 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, it seems unreal – dump trucks, … Continue readingConeflower Prairie
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 Springbird Oasis Cottage, a retreat on fourteen acres of oak, hickory and maple woodlands with a network of … Continue readingSpringbird: An 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 readingA Spring Woodland