It looks like I am rolling into a season of morning biking. I hope that there will be no more freezing temperatures in the morning and I will be able to bike before work most days.
Full disclosure – these pictures and videos were taken on Sunday, a little bit later than I bike before work. I am not catching sunrises yet when I bike before 6 AM. Almost there, though.
When I was almost done, a lady started to walk towards me. She apologized for getting into my frame, but I told her that I was already done and that it was just her silhouette, which was very cinematic.
At the beginning of March, we had several summer-like days, and although the weather had already returned to normal, these couple of days were amazing! I biked before dawn and in the afternoon, and I swear I saw people at the beach!!!
It might not be very visible, but he is playing the guitar sitting on a tree.Just before sunrise!
I didn’t take pictures of Lake Michigan last weekend, although the view was spectacular: The lake was so much warmer than the air that it was steaming like a giant cup of hot tea.
I saw it from the car window when we were heading to the Aquarium, and I couldn’t take a good picture then, and I couldn’t make myself get out of the house one extra time. Yesterday, it was already much warmer, so I went to say hello to the lake.
While I was going through the pictures I took yesterday, I thought again about how much positive energy my Fort Sheridan trip gave me. I feel that I can make it through this week :). And the best thing at Fort Sheridan is undoubtedly the Lake. Seeing the Lake in a forest preserve is very different from seeing it chained in steel and granite. When I approach Lake Michigan from the forest or the prairie, I feel its wild greatness even more. I do not have the proper words to describe it:)
I ended up returning to the train station in between trains, and I didn’t feel like waiting for an hour and forty minutes, so I called Uber. When we were almost at my place (turning into Sheridan from Birchwood) the driver saw what was on the horizon and said: oh, you live so close to the sea! I replied: thank you! Thank you for calling it a sea!
I went to Fort Sheridan for the second time, and this time, I liked there even more. Yes, it’s not as close to me as Deer Grove was when I lived in Palatine, but when I am there, I feel so good! I am inhaling the feeling of being there, being united with Nature. Yes, I am a city girl, but I miss the forest and the prairie, and as it turned out that time, I miss the prairie the most!
Last time, it was my first exploration, and this time, I ventured into more different paths, and made a bigger loop, and walked and walked! I decided that I was not trying to “make” the next train, and I would stay there as much as I wanted, and if anything, there is always Uber.
Fort Sheridan has some similarities with Deer Grove – the prairie in the middle and the surrounding forest, but the presence of the Lake makes a gigantic difference! Also, I noticed that even though nature restoration is in the initial stage, there are way fewer invasives (I think it’s because there was never a farm! )
And now, I am done with talking and switching to the pictures showing!
The problem with the past weekend was that it was soooo good! This was a God-given September, and the last weekend was the biggest gift, with the sunny sky, almost no wind, and the upper 70s.
I could not have it waster! Besides, I had some activities planned a while ago, and I didn’t want to skip them. And I am very happy with how it went:).
A long bike ride:
I saw Jupiter – more than once!And a supermoon!Long bike ideI saw maples turning redThe bees were on my balconyI was on the Historic Houses tourAnd I closed the season at the beach!Although it was almost 80F, the water was cold! I got into the water just out of principle – I had to close the season! And I said “Thank you” to the Lake!
There was also clinic escorting, and Georgia Apple Cake, and visiting with mom, and lots of other things, and talking with people, and many things which I wanted to do and didn’t have time to, but I still think I had my priorities straight.
Just a couple of days before the weekend, Vlad called me and said that he was going to be in Chicago on Sunday. He had a work event on Tuesday but decided to come earlier to catch up with friends and family. Because of that, our beach day was naturally divided into two parts: in the morning, we went to the big playground in Loyola Park, then we went to meet Vlad for lunch, (and stopped at the Glenwood Sunday Market for fruit popsicles) and in the afternoon, we went to the beach again.
The weather on Sunday was … interesting. Very strong winds with temperatures barely above 70F, but the lake was as warm as the Midetarranian Sea. And the waves! The lifeguards were not supposed to let anybody into the water, but how can you control the force of nature?! They were making sure, however, that everybody stays really close to the shore.
There was an outdoor class of rhythmical dances, and I sent Anna to have fun 🙂
I bought a new set of beach toys, so not only Nadia and Kira were having fun, but Anna was equally (if not more) enjoying building the sand Tallinn Castle.
Granted, Vlad’s surprise visit was a treat, and we all had a very good conversation. Too often, it happens that when we do not talk for a long time, we start to feel like strangers, not knowing what to talk about. It was not the case this time 🙂
Both Anna and I agreed that it was the perfect Chicago/Rogers Pak weekend, and without it, summer would be incomplete.
Hettie's Reflections 