Tag: nature

My Lake, My Love!

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.

Fall Colors At Fort Sheridan

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!

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Camping

I spent a weekend in a very non-typical way for me: camping with Anna, the girls, and Anna’s friends in the Harrington Beach National Park. camping is not my kind of activity, but since this weekend was supposed to be girls’ weekend, and since I already cleared it out, and since after twelve days of complete and partial isolations, I was eager to do something outside the house and my comfort zone in general, I went for it.

It was great, although the heavy rain on Saturday night made it challenging, and at some point, we all were unsure whether it was a good idea. Then the rain stopped, and we had a great time by the campfire (and we had a really nice walk before the rain started). there was more rain during the night, but at about 8-30 AM, the sun went out, and life was beautiful again:).

I enjoyed the nature walk and being close to Lake Michigan at yet another point. 🙂

It was close to impossible to pass this apple tree and not to pick even one apple, not even the ones lying on the ground!
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Helsinki Day 7

On Sunday, we met with my friend Natasha and her family, had a nature walk, and visited the Technical Museum. It was a relatively long hike, mostly on a boardwalk over the salty water marshes. We stopped at a couple of observation stations, but it was difficult to see the birds without special equipment.

The waterfalls in this park are amazing!
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Fort Sheridan Forest Preserved

After I blogged about the Lion’s Den and mentioned that there is nothing like that in Illinois, my friend promptly replied that in fact, there is something like that, namely, the forest preserve with the lake!

When I looked at the map, I realized that it is perfectly reachable by public transportation, namely by Metra UP-North. The next thing I realized – the only option to go there before the end of September was the upcoming Sunday (July 16). I promptly made up a plan and executed 🙂

I have just one word to say – a paradise!

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Monarchs In The City

Lion’s Den Forest Preserve

I spent a day in Milwaukee with my girls, and at my request to do some nature, we went to Lion’s Den Forest Preserve. It was amazing! The best thing I could imagine, and the thing which is impossible in Illinois: both the Lake and the Nature preserve in one place! I took tons of pictures, although I fully understand that the pictures don’t convey the true beauty of the bluff. As Anna put it: that’s how Lake Michigan looked before the white people came. Breathtaking views!

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Finding Nature

On Saturday, I did what I had planned to do for a very long time: I took Metra to Chicago Botanic Garden. I love the Botanic Garden, and I often went there when I lived in Palatine, but taking public transport there appeared to be not as easy as I initially thought.
There is a bus from Howard, but it takes a relatively long time and does not run on Sundays. And in any case, I feel extremely dizzy when I ride on a bus for a long time. As for Metra, I knew that I would need to walk fon the station to the Botanic Garden, and I could not decide whether I should take a bike with me or walk, and ended up not going at all.
Finally, I decided to choose a day when I would go, and that day was July 1.
I took a train from Ogilvie after my escorting shift; it was drizzling most of the day, but didn’t pore, so I kept walking.
The most exciting part, however, was that I found the Forest Preserve! While it takes more than twenty minutes to get to the garden entrance, the Forest Preserve is right there, you get off the train, and here you are!

The pleasure of walking the trail in the woods was even more than seeing the familiar sites of the Botanic Garden (although the Garden was great!)

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Lilacs

Lilacs in bloom have always been a sign of summer for me, especially summer in Estonia. There were lilacs along all the streets of Narva-Joessu, and the month of June was all about them.

Yes, there are lilacs in ROgers park, and all my bike rides in May smelled lilacs, but it turned out that I completely forgot what lilacs in full bloom smell like! They are not “shrubs” – they are trees! Forest of lilacs! And the smell os overwhelming!

The flowers were so close to my face that I could not resist the childhood memories and started to look for “piatery” -“the lucky fives.” And guess what – I saw one right away!

And then I did what you’re supposed to do with the lucky five – I made a wish and chewed a tiny flower. And I hope that this wish will come true!

More lilacs – you can’t even see the leaves behind the bloom!

Nature In The City Center

Another lost and forgotten post. On Memorial Day, when all the wedding-related festivities were over, Boris and I went to the Art Institute – I wanted to show him both Dali and Van Gogh exhibits, and after that, we went to the Luiri Garden. It is not even close to the prairie, which I miss dearly but still stunningly beautiful.