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 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!
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!)
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!
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.
On Saturday, my friends took me to two places outside Dublin. The first place we visited was Glendalough National Park. First of all, it’s an exceptionally beautiful park, the nature is amazing, there are hills, lakes, waterfalls, and old trees. Most important, however, is that it is the oldest monastic site, founded in the 6th century!
The next day after I left for Europe, Chicago was hit by a heavy storm, and four inches of water dropped over the Northern part of the city, including Rogers Park. Both garden units in our building, the storage rooms and the gym, were flooded. Somehow, I was not included in the original email chain and learned it all postfactum. The damage is massive, and I have no idea when everything will be repaired:
I didn’t miss the train and spent a day with my girls in Milwaukee. We went to the forest where Nadia had her Forest Camp and spent more than two hours walking around while Nadia showed us all the places where they’ve been. I was very happy to be in the forest – I do not have anything like this close to me anymore, and also it was a joy to listen to Nadia talking about her summer experience and to observe how she interacts with Kira.
Hettie's Reflections 