In honor of World Turtle Day, 2014.
While walking around the yard, the boys discovered a small, Spiny Softshell turtle walking near the road, quite a distance from water. Realizing he was going to get run over or eaten by a preditor, we carried him safely in the direction he was heading, to the lake and released him. Three of them could fit in the palm of a 10 year old's hand.
A few more images of turtles here from the past few years:
Happy World Turtle Day.
The call of large groups of frogs is one of the first real signs of Spring around this part of Illinois. Usually, as I walk by ponds and streams, the shy frogs quiet down, and hide, but this time, I decided to wait a bit for them to get used to me. After a few minutes, the frogs came out of hiding, and a bit later, one began to call for a mate. I could tell he was up to something, since he was sitting more upright than usual.
Kintzele Ditch meanders through the sand dunes, on its way to Lake Michigan. The mouth of the stream is ever changing, shaped by the wind and waves, sometimes hundreds of feet up or down the shore. Out of respect for the environment, we've never managed to walk very far along this stream, and don't want to walk through it. Perhaps in a kayak one day. The short distances we are able to walk, yeild a variety of wildlife from Great Blue Heron to beaver, butterflies to ticks, as well as some interesting plantlife.
This area is only a 20 minute walk from the nearest parking lots, yet it seems so remote and distant from everyday life.
Our Spring hike through Illinois Canyon's bluebell-filled flats, required us to cross the creek three times. As the weather was relatively dry up to this point, crossing was fairly easy - using rocks and a few downed tree limbs as bridges, we made it to the head of the canyon, or at least as far as hiker's are allowed to venture. The waterfall here is very short, only a few feet tall, but quite dramatic with the winding, moss covered canyon walls. The mystery of what lies beyond this point, and the source of the creek still interest me. Perhaps in warmer weather, I'll wade through the pond to see what lies beyond.
Winter has finally lost her grip on the Midwest. We spent a warm, sunny afternoon at Illinois' Starved Rock State Park soaking in the sunshine and scenery. Following the long, brutal winter, nature is waking up; leaves, flowers, animals, and insects are once again commonplace on our hike. As we meandered through canyons and streams, we found several waterfalls that were still flowing from recent rains. The sounds of birds and frogs provided the soundtrack to our hike; they too were happy with the warm weather.
