Leap Year Sunset

Happy February 29th!

During the middle of the night we received another 2 inches of snow. It has been the snowiest winter in several long years. I never tire of it, honest. I know many friends and family are ready to bust out of their cabin fevers....not I! How can you be sick of this....


The blues, greens, pinks, and purples of a chilly winter evening, gave me such unspeakable joy! I can never tire of a beautiful winter sunset. On this leap year extra day, I decided to take a moments to visit Centennial Park of Tinley Park, IL. Centennial Park is basically a park built around a retention pond with a moat around it (shown in picture). At this spot, I spotted a male northern harrier and hundreds of mallard ducks, males and females. I didn't stay too long for it was a very, very windy evening with a strong biting wind.

Little Red Schoolhouse Ain't Red No Mo'

My beloved, the Little Red Schoolhouse of Willow Springs, IL is under construction!
I almost gathered a tear. I've never seen her like this before. So stark and naked. "It's for your own good," I said, "you'll be stronger and better than ever."

No trails to the north open during construction, I bet the wildlife is a little bit giddy about this. Oh well, we'll just walk on the south trail, that's all!


Just how beautiful is this?
Too beautiful, I say.
Lots and lots of snow makes for an awesome landscape scenery. This is part of the south parking lot trail of the Little Red Schoolhouse. At this spot there is a pond to your right and a fenced in field to your left. It is neat to see all the wildlife trails and no human trails behind the fence.


Here is a close up of the fence which reveals just how much snow we've received within the last few days. Baby oak saplings are half buried in the background. The weight of the snow is just dropping off the fence. It is very, very quiet now...I hear a chickadee say, "chick-a-dee-dee-dee, chick-a-dee-dee-dee."
I smile.
On the snow of the post, I take my finger and draw a smiley face for the chickadee to view while flying above.
:)

Major Winter Storm

Well, here in Chicago we continue to ride the weather pattern roller coaster that has been the main attraction for several weeks. Tickets are free. Nobody can chicken out and exit the line, you're stuck!
This week alone we experienced a 50ºF drop in the period of three hours and then a continuous snow fall for over 24 hours dumping 6" in my part of town.
Whew!!!
Remember just a few months ago I was crabbing that we never get any good snow storms in the winter anymore?
Surprise!

I still love it, even though I shoveled for an hour and was super late to work, slipping and sliding all the way there. Makes for great pictures though! This picture shows snow on every limb and every twig. Just lovely!

Bullfrog Lake Frozen

Feeling time slip and the snow melting as we speak, I decided to head out to Bullfrog Lake, just to enjoy winter a few more hours before the impending warm up.
As I walked the trail by the lake I came upon this stunning scene, which will soon be made into a painting. Sparkles shimmered in the sunlit snow and my eyes followed the tracks into the distance, suddenly three crows began to "caw" at this very spot and followed me to the lake which was at the end of my trail.
It was an exciting moment.


Here we see the beautiful Bullfrog Lake in its frozen state, part of the Palos Trail System, located in Willow Springs, IL. In the middle of the lake are serious ice fishermen with tent gear and all, and across the lake we see many sledders enjoying the day. On this photo you can see animal tracks near the cattails and skier tracks on the lake.


And here we have a giant Chicago Nature Lady print, brushing back the snow, stepping on the ice of the lake and later having to touch it with her hand!
"Strange human," said the crows, "Strange human!"

Snow Shadows

Crazy weather is about to come upon us once again. After experiencing freezing temperatures this week, by Monday we are due to hit 50ºF with rain, same for Tuesday, but then Wednesday is going to greets us with a cold blast and highs of only 19ºF!!!


This weekend I am going to appreciate the snow before it is gone in a hurry. I woke up this morning to find beautiful patterns of sun and shadow playing on the snow in my garden. Simple things like this always get me. I guess it really doesn't take much to amuse me.


Let's Experience This Picture:
"But it's just a picture of snow?"
Oh no, there's a lot going on right now.....

The smell outside as I take this photo is what snow smells like, clean, cool, and wet. There is a slight breeze hitting my face, not hash but gentle. I hear a lot of bird activity as they are flying overhead. Do you see the scalloped edge on the left side? That is from my fence. Too bad the sparkles shimmering in the snow did not take on the camera, just believe it is there! I also see pinks, purples, and various shades of blues but they are all very still, not moving as you would see in the spring or summer with leaves swaying in the wind...winter shadows are very quiet and still. I love them.

Hope you enjoyed experiencing the snow before it's gone!

Aminal Tracks

This is one of my all time favorite field guides and so much fun to use in winter! Animal Tracks of Illinois by Tamara Eder, published by Lone Pine Publishers, (click on the link to find your state's animal tracks) is very easy to use with tons of information.
What I like most about it is that it's fast to find what you need. I don't have to do a lot of reading to figure out what animal made what track. On the left page, there are three columns: 1) fore and hind print 2) walking prints 3) galloping prints. Way cool. On the right page is a drawing of the animal and a brief story.

Well, this morning I woke up to a light dusting of snow. My black driveway is PERFECT for capturing prints! How happy I was when I woke up and looked out my window to see all of those lovely animal patterns!!! Let's run outside to take pictures! Here are the results:



This picture shows tracks from a bird. Which kind? I do not know because the book only shows two types. Do you see the lines in the picture? That is the back "toe" dragging as the bird hops. Isn't that neat!


I am comfortable to guess gray squirrel for these prints. Notice my dumb butt mis-spelled gray on the picture! Oh well, these prints are one inch in length. The book provides a ruler measurements on the back cover for easy ID. What I love about tracks in the snow is that you can tell which direction the animal was going and relatively how fast or slow. Evidence.


These are just the cutest. My kitty contributing to animal evidence. I made her walk on the driveway (which she loves) in the name of nature research. They look much different than the squirrel's print.

The Animal Tracks series books are under $10. What a neat Christmas idea for your nature enthusiast, you can even fit it in a stocking. Kids just love exploring for these tracks and it's a wonderful activity to do together. Go play in the snow and have fun!

Winter Bird

There are two birdies in this picture. Can you spot them? One is a winter bird and one is an all year bird. Which one do you think is the winter bird?
You're right! The one on the upper right is the dark eyed junco. He visits us only in the winter time. I really love this winter bird. They arrived in our area about a month ago, migrating from Canada. I've had a real hard time getting them to strike a pose until today....



Got you little stinker! Juncos like to feed off of the ground. That's what this guy is doing right here. While it's true they prefer the ground to feed, I did see some on my finch feeder in the backyard this morning. They're not the most graceful on the feeder, flappin' their wings a hundred times!

Let's Learn about the Dark Eyed Junco:

Migrates to Chicago in the winter only.
Small bird 5.5".
Male has black bodies with white tummies and bill.
Female lighter in color.
Outer tail is white, when in flight looks live a "V".
Likes to feed from the ground, seeds and insects.
They scratch with their feet to uncover food.
Seen in groups.
Males like to migrate further south than females, they're brave.

Enjoy them before warmer weather send them back North!

After the Storm

Here is the beautiful evidence of a last night's magical winter storm. ohhhh.....ahhhh. This photo was taken at 8:30am, by 4:00pm all of the snow on this shrub melted. Why does it have to go away so soon?
I was happy to wake up to a winter wonderland. Don't you love it when you go to sleep and wake up to a different world? One of the things about the morning after a snow storm is how the snow lands on every branch and every twig. Just amazing! Enjoy it in the morning because by noon it's probably half melted.


And that's exactly what I tried to do. This picture was taken at 45mph with the "sports" setting set on my camera so it wouldn't be a blur. Don't worry, I'm facing the road watching traffic, but blindly taking pictures with my camera. If you take about ten of them, one is surely to be a gem without being crooked. Do not try this at home if you're a 10 and 2 driver!


This is an inverted image of the one before. I love it. Winter is just the perfect time to make one of these. I suggest everyone experiment with invertedness. Photoshop makes it easy, after you open your image go to image> adjust> invert. Piece of cake. If you don't have photoshop, I'm sure any Walgreen's can do it for you.
Have fun!

Calm Before the Storm

This is a picture I took today at about 3:30pm. I was in the middle of nowhere in Frankfort, IL. This picture represents the calm before the snow storm. Oh how I love snow storms!
All night tonight and during the day tomorrow, we are to expect snow showers in the amounts of 3-6 inches. Now to my Northern friends that may seem like a dusting, but us Chicagoans have been snow deprived for many, many winters. Sure last year we had a few storms, but they're becoming few and far between. I remember as a child HUGE amounts of snow. I played in it all the time. My Dad use to bring home thick poster board for me to use as a sled and I would make my own hills in the front yard....aaahhhhhh....being a kid in the snow. What am I talking about, being a big person in the snow is fun too, you just get hurt more often!

www.weather.com radar at 10:15pm

As we speak it is snowing right now. I look outside the window and I see a white blanket over everything. The white of the snow seems to bring peace and cleans everything it touches. Tomorrow's pictures should be wonderful.

Maple Lake East

Have you ever watched the movie, The Lake House? With dreamy Keanu Reeves (aaahhhhh)....oh yeah and Sandra Bullock? Well, I'm going to take you to the very site where Hollywood came to town to shoot the movie. Hollywood received permission to construct a temporary house on Maple Lake for filming. I once saw the pier and foundation for the house after it was said and done, but all has been taken down. There is another pier now but it is not the same. Here is a link to the movie's site where you can watch a clip of the movie and actually see what I'm talkin' bout. Click here.


OK. Maple Lake East is region 6 of the Cook County Forest Preserve System. At the end of the parking lot you will find this short trail that will lead you to the lake. Can you see it in the distance? Oh how beautiful the snow looks on the forest floor, FINALLY we got some snow! Enjoy it while you can for tomorrow will be 46 degrees :(


Here is Maple Lake. Notice the tree all the way to the right of this picture? When you watch the movie clip, near the end of the clip you can see Keanu sit under this very tree. Oh how I wish I were a bird sitting in that very tree looking down on Mr. Hotty Reeves.


This is a picture I took while standing at the end of the pier. Barren but beautiful. Sort of romantic in a way, even without Keanu.


This is a really neat shot of oak leaves trapped under a thin layer of snow on the lake. It just stopped me in my tracks. It is located at the shore or where the pier begins. My camera was getting all wet because the snow changed to ice/rain due to a slight temperature warm up. I decided to head home before the roads were completely iced over!

I hope you enjoyed viewing the site from The Lake House. I liked the movie, corny as it was with an impossible ending and all, but hey the actor was GREAT!