Midwest Springtime Recap

As our previous post indicates, we really spent too little time in Illinois. Springtime was just starting in earnest and the trees were just leafing out. Since our return to Tucson, we've gone 101F Thursday, 102F yesterday, and it is supposed to be over 100 again today. Our temp sensor says 109.9F, but is mounted under the eave of the roof, so I think it is catching rising warm air in the afternoon. A dry heat, yes, but I do not enjoy getting into a 150F car to go somewhere! At left is an IR shot of "Ketelsen East" with geese (non-domestic)!

So yes, the 70s of Illinois were very pleasant, and there were many flowers and trees in bloom, even if the trees were not all green yet. I don't want to bore you with endless pictures of tulips (at their peak), and the large number of planted flowering trees - would prefer to show the more native species we spotted on our walks.

In our exploration of the nearby Tekakwitha Forest Preserve, besides the violets (white and yellow besides the normal blue kind!) and dandelions, the trillium was in bloom. Besides the white variety, my favorite was the Trillium Recurvatum, also known as Red or Prairie Trillium, shown at left. Never having spent much time in any natural woods growing up in Iowa, these flowers were new to me and they are quite striking. Evidently the odor of the seeds attract ants, which then help distribute them. The White Trillium, also in bloom in the woods and in our back yard, serves as the state flower of the province of Ontario and of Ohio.





Another striking "bloom" is shown in this series. What looked initially like an about-to-open flower, is actually part of the leaf bud of the Shagbark Hickory. We first spotted the closed bud on the left, but then noticed some that had recently opened, and eventually an adult tree with new growth on it. According to naturalists at the Forest Preserve, the area we live in there is officially called a "Declining Oak-Hickory Forest", declining because the maple trees are slowly shading out the Hickory and oak trees. However, once we realized these buds pointed out the Shagbarks, they seems quite numerous and widespread.


Normally, there are trails in the Forest preserve we like to take to get us away from the bike path and civilization, but the river had been out of the banks recently and the trail was too muddy to follow very far. However, I didn't have to follow it far to observe signs of larger animals - here deer tracks can be seen over some muddy bootprints from another hiker. In addition, the Canadian Geese eggs have hatched, and there are goslings everywhere! We saw several groups as big as 9 little 'uns near our house, and I ran into these 3 staying near mom on my short time on the trail.

During our short stay at "Ketelsen East", we even ran into our neighbor groundhog Bruce, not once or twice, but 3 times over 4 days! Last year he was mostly absent until nearly fall, but he was certainly there to welcome us last weekend (though I didn't get a photo this time). Our house is occupied, though, even if we aren't there - we found this robin in a well built nest over an exterior light on our door facing the Fox River. By the time we get back for another visit, the babes will just about grown up and ready for flying lessons!





A commenter points out that the Ohio State flower is the Scarlet Carnation. Actally, the White Trillium is the Ohio State Wildflower. Sorry for the confusion.