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Lakewood Forest Preserve, McHenry Dam and Moraine Hills State Park.
Wednesday was the last NICE DAY in the forecast for quite awhile.
It was blustery, with 40-50 mph winds from the south. Sun was in and out, but the 60-70's temps were lovely.
Since our boat hoist is broken and it is hanging in the air...we decided to venture out in the counties for a little fishing with son and daughter-in-law, who had some vacation time.
We decided to try two of our favorite places.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
We headed to Lake County Forest Preserve up in Wauconda, Illinois. Really only a few minutes from our house. It is the largest Forest Preserve in Illinois, with huge tracks of pristine land, walking and biking trails, horse trails, dog park, rolling hills, prairie, marsh and perfect for family outings for biking, hiking, picnicking, fishing and picture taking.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Several little lakes and ponds are sprinkled here and there along the walkways. In the distance is an island usually thick with geese. They were hunkered down in the grasses though, with the wind being so wild.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I just had to take photos where I found them. The bulk of the big trees are oaks, every kind.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Nestled in a small valley is the trout pond which is wind sheltered. HOWEVER...closed to fishing for the bulk of the month because of stocking. This gives the stocked fish a chance to spawn.
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| oldnewgreenerdo |
We were disappointed but it was still beautiful.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I should have done a video the wind was wild!
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I love nature and will take photos for possible paintings later.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
As I kid, milkweed pods were my favorite...these are just about ready to explode into seed fairies!
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Color is hit and miss in Illinois. We had a very dry July, August and September after a very wet Spring. With the wind, anything that turns is blown away, so color may last for only a day.
We moved on, and drove northwest.
to
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I have never seen all the rocks in McHenry Dam, in 30 some years,...mind you the water was up to the blue service bridge by the locks, last Spring and most of June.
The Fox River, yes the one that Father Marquette and Joliet traveled down to find the Mississippi. It runs from Green Bay, Wisconsin to the Illinois River then to the Mississippi. And, you can boat all the way...with locks. I always wanted to take the entire ride in a boat, but have never had the opportunity.
We dropped the guys off to fish here, and headed for one of the trails along the river and marsh.
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| oldnewgreenredoo |
Just around the bend, we saw a huge turtle track here, must have come from a turtle dragging it's shell belly all the way to the water. The width was at least 8"with huge feet.
Besides having the waterway, the parks have glacial features, moraines and eskers, acres of marsh as well as hardwood forests and hills. It's beautiful and very, very large. The trail we are on is over 3 miles, but we are going to turn around and come back rather than do the whole thing.
Today we were just by the dam and the marsh next to it.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
This huge tree, drew my attention. While those are mulberry leaves in front of it, the tree itself was an Eastern Cottonwood.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
That's my finger sunk into the grooves of the bark. Cottonwoods love to grow along streams, rivers and in floodplains, which is exactly where we were walking.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Other usual marsh plants are Sumac, now a brilliant burgundy, which were actually drying up.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
This is the only flowering plant we saw on our walk. It appears to be some sort of Loosestrife which favors marshes and wet lands.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
We've had three record years of rainfall in N. Illinois, and this area is a natural flood plain marsh. Lots of trees will just die when there is too much standing water for too long.
This tree, looks to have been disassembled and made into a Hobbit hideaway.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Beaver are making a comeback as well as muskrats, this almost looked like a beginning of a dam.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
The camera focused on the grass rather than the pair of mallards on the edge of the new wood dam. Still a cool photo.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Back at the damn, the guys had been fighting the wind and NO bites, but it didn't matter.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
It was a great afternoon outside with FAMILY, what could be better!
Hugs,
Where is your favorite place?
Join me at these fine blog parties:
Do not use my photos without my permission and linking back to this post on my blog.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Sandi
Sandi
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Looks like you had a nice time with your kids fishing and hiking right here in Illinois. We have had the funkiest weather this year I guess that just goes along with what else is going on in the world. Nothing is normal. Happy Friday. Have a great weekend. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThat's for sure on the weather. Blogging makes it easy to compare weather...sigh, I missed doing my last gardening post, and we will probably get snow now, LOL. You were right to start pulling your plants out early. Just got some inside and the rest are limp from the frosty touches. You have a great weekend, too. Sandi
DeleteBeautiful pictures!I enjoyed my tour virtual with you!Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWas pretty dry and dead, but that is what it is right now. Thanks for visiting and seeing the beauty in dead stuff, hugs, Sandi
DeleteNothing better than spending the day outside! Lovely scenery!
ReplyDeleteJenna
Thanks, Jenna. I actually want to paint those trees, we will see. Sandi
DeleteWhat a beautiful day! We hope to get out tomorrow but we won't need jackets or long sleeves here but it's feeling more like Fall. I love seeing the seed pods and end of summer things. And the colorful leaves and water...it's all so beautiful! I hope you'll paint the trees!
ReplyDeleteHi, Diane. The area we were in has been grossly flooded the last three years, and then dried to a bone in the summer. I was surprised at not seeing more wildlife, but the wind even had the birds grounded. We did see two turtles, "doing it", but I wasn't quick enough to catch the shot. They shamefully dashed into the water when they realized we were peeping on them. LOL. Thanks for you visit!
DeleteSandi, what a lovely place to spend time with the family. Glad you had a good time..Stay well..xxoJudy
ReplyDeleteHi, Judy. Yes it was very nice. The isolation does wear on one, and Illinois may be again on total shutdown...sigh. Thanks for the wishes, and stay well yourself, Sandi
DeleteLlanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog is a tiny village in north Wales, located in a mountainous bowl and as silent as the grave. It has two pubs - The Hand Inn, The West Arms - facing each other across a 1 sq metre village green. The bus (identified by a much shorter version of the village name on its destination panel) arrives there and must, perforce, turn back; the road in is what the French call une voie sans issue which may, I suppose, be translated as "this village has not given birth to an exit".
ReplyDeleteBut there is another way in, available to the foolhardy cognoscenti: winding along the ridge, unsurfaced, barely a car's width wide, and populated by suicidal pheasants. One drinks several pints at the Hand then dines and stays the night at the West Arms.
Or one did. The West Arms more recently has got ideas above its station and has raised its room prices to ferocious levels. No matter. For us it remains simply as a memory and thus will not change.
You always take the reader on a fabulous trip with your words. I can see the village in my mind and I love the idea of no exit from a picturesque destination. And, Wales has always been on my LIST. Thank you for your visit, Sandi
DeleteSandi,
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! Absolutely beautiful pictures!! Gorgeous!! I have no idea why you were not getting emails on my posts but i am glad you are now...Blogger seems a bit screwed up since they went to their new format...I am still having problems loading pics to a post and then trying to move them, they are jumping all over the place!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!!
Take care!!
Hugs,
Debbie
Hi, Debbie, well in these times, when someone is missing you worry...I saw one of your posts in a party...and then realized, I hadn't any updates in mail or blogger...I wonder how many people have lost me---as traffic is down. You would think with people trapped at home, there would be more.
DeleteOn the photos, I literally click on them in the download box in the order I want to use them, because yes, they don't want to move correctly. I also, put a photo on smallest when I want to move and don't enlarge totally until they are in the order I want them. I've notice lots of issues if I post too many photos for one post also.
Hugs, nice to see you again, Sandi
My son lives in Illinois and when we drove through to pick him up in early September we were shocked at how brown the grass was. He said it was a hot summer with little rain so everyone's grass turned brown. Gorgeous pictures! There are so many interesting places to discover in Illinois!
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy. It was a crazy summer. We are in a strip on the north end of ILLINOIS, which is considered in extreme drought, while my kids who are 25 miles south had multiple rains of 3+". We watered grass this year, which is something we rarely do...because we have a well. Anyone on city water...wouldn't want to do that because of added expense, just depended where you are in the midwest.. Thanks so much for visiting, Sandi
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