Birdsfoot Trefoil

As a child I loved dandelions. I think all children do. They are bright and gorgeously yellow. And as a child a flower...is a flower...is a flower.

When I find that plants like Birdsfoot Trefoil are introduced European plants that may crowd out the native American species I feel the same sense of childlike disappointment. Like most non-indigenous species they are wonderfully beautiful, bright, and numerous. 

These wildflowers have been here from as early as 1597 and make great plants for cattle to munch on. They are also members of the pea family that affix nitrogen to the soil. They are still being used in agriculture so I think they are here to stay. Good thing they're so gorgeous.  

Garbage to fuel or fool?

Why is Lake County building a trash to ethanol plant in the Kankakee River flood plain even against the advice of the builder?

Has Lake County filled up to such a point that there is not one vacant existing industrial lot that can accommodate the trash to ethanol facility?

Must the facility be built in one of the few areas where deer, coyotes, and wild turkeys still roam; one of the last few areas that has really great fishing and the fish are relatively safe to eat?

There are three major rivers in Lake County. The Kankakee is the last unpolluted river. Trash to ethanol is an unproven technology that has not been done on a large scale. Some existing ethanol facilities are notorious polluters.

Is the plant in the proposed area worth the risk?

You don't know what you've lost.....

Today a few pictures of the area around the LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area on the Kankakee River:

Some deer:

A Quail

A fawn

Some Sandhill Cranes

 

The Water full of fish and beautiful in any season

Hope you enjoyed this pictures. The area may soon be so badly affected that these pictures may be gone....more Monday.

wild garlic

Round a bend on a certain path in Coffee Creek and suddenly you are dreaming of garlic toast. The smell of garlic is all around and comes from the patch of wild garlic growing underneath the trees.

The plant is edible; the flowers are delightful. It is said that the meat of cows grazing in wild garlic patches comes pre-seasoned with garlic flavor. Imagine that.

Wandering Turtles

Turtle, why do you wander so? Is it for love? Or are you looking for a select spot to leave your eggs?

After being sick of the sight of so many of these guys lying smushed on the roads this year, I stopped to help this one so it wouldn't become another casualty. He or she was not appreciative, as I knew would be the case.

I had heard that these guys have strong jaws that latch on to fingers, toes, etc and then refuse to let go; so I went to my car and grabbed the long snow scraper I have yet to stow for the summer. The turtle had almost crossed the road but was headed for the side that had a fence which would leave the turtle without a place to go. So I had to persuade it to go back where it had come from; a nice shady, moist side that had a swamp a short distance away.

As I walked up to the turtle he raised up on his feet and stood tall and swaggered a stare at me; letting me know who was boss. I cautiously placed my snow scraper close to his face. True to form, he used his massive jaws to snap at the scraper; but then he let go.

I tried to prod him across the road...to no avail. He would just dig in his heels and look annoyed. Finally I rolled him to the other side of the road. You can just imagine his look of indignation when I set him upright in the shade on the safe side of the road.

Nope. No look of gratefulness. No thank you. Just outrage and disgust. Best wishes guy.

Watch out for the turtles.      

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

When I first tried to identify these damsels years ago I searched on every version of the word green that I could think of because they are such a lovely shade of emerald green. I just knew they had to be named the emerald damsel or the damsel of Oz. Alas, their name comes from their black wings.

They are now active in Indiana and can be found flitting around any sunny spot in the forest. They always seem to be observing me observing them. They fly but not too far. Like all damsels they start out in a swamp or wetland, and metamorphosis into the flying adults that eat, among other insects, lots of mosquitoes.

Fishing at Willow Slough

Sunday I took an old-fashioned  picnic of cold chicken, potato salad, beans, and peaches down to Willow Slough.

The focus of Willow Slough is Murphy Lake. The lake was drained a few years back, in a massive undertaking by the DNR. I followed some people out into the lake area shortly after the draining. Shortly after the people had disappeared, I sank into a muddy area of the lake bottom up past my knees. Fortunately my two little dogs were out walking with me and I some how managed to come out of the quicksand with their help.

The lake is finally getting back to normal. An hour of fishing yielded many bites and a good sized small mouth bass. There were a lot of good times being had around the lake; people fishing, camping, and picnicking.

Even though the lake is where most people spend their time, there are other things to do at Willow Slough. I took my bicycle down a couple of the country roads that criss-cross the property. You can see wildlife; deer, raccoon, turtles, snakes, minks, weasels, butterflies, and wildflowers. The country roads offer some good nature hiking too, if a bicycle is not your thing.

After an afternoon of bicycling and a picnic dinner I finished off the day with some more fishing in the area; caught a bunch of little ones, nothing worth keeping; my it was a great day!