Signs, Signs, Everywhere There Are Signs

Openlands overdoes the warning signs

Highwood, IL–Openlands has gone sign crazy at the Lakeshore Preserve.   Reminds me of the 70s song:  ”Sign, sign, everywhere a sign. Blocking out the scenery, breakin’ my mind.  Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”  There are three “don’t do this” signs posted after the welcome sign–four [...]

Beautiful Day at Lake Michigan Beach

Highwood/Highland Park, IL–Beautiful days bring out families, dogs, and outdoors lovers to Lake Michigan beaches.  Poke in the sand, check out the crawfish that have been washed up, let your dog get a sip of the cold water.   Find your own stretch of beach, your own way to relax. 

Rock on! Highwood South Beach

Highwood, IL–The snow’s melting, the sky’s blue, the burn crew departed.  Walk down Ft. Sheridan’s south beach in Openlands Lakeshore Preserve for signs of spring.  Little shoots of green push up through the burned leaves.  Water gushes in the ditch, ending in a rock waterfall into the lake. 

A rock fence marks the shore and stones of all [...]

What A Difference A Day Makes

Yesterday, 60 degrees and sunny. Today, 32 degrees and snow covering the ground.

Evergreens laden with 3/20/2010 snow

Snow still falling.

Birdapalooza at Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve!

Birds at Ft. Sheridan. Photo by Laurie Borman

Highwood/Highland Park, IL–Bring your binoculars! The birds are back at Ft. Sheridan Forest Preseve in Lake County, IL.  Now is the time to see many species.  The warm weather  brings out red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, robins, crows, of course.  But bare trees mean you can also easily see the red-headed [...]

Openlands Lakefront open for spring

Lake Michigan ice ledge melts. Photo by Laurie Borman

Highwood, IL–Birds sing, snowmelt rushes in the drainage canals. Ah, the signs of spring. At Lake Michigan’s edge, the huge ledge of ice slowly melts. It’s a wonderful time to check out Openlands Lakeshore Preserve in Ft. Sheridan.  Colorful rocks litter the beach, exposed from the [...]

Illinois Winter Wonderland: Ft. Sheridan Nature Preserve

Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve path in winter. Photo by Laurie Borman

Trees raise their limbs to the sky. Photo by Laurie Borman

Highland Park/Highwood, IL–Fresh snow covers the paths of Ft. Sheridan Nature Preserve in Lake County.  Only a few birds pierce the silence.  This is the time to trod in snowshoes, down the path to [...]

Lake Michigan Winter Waves

Lake Michigan shore in winter. Photo by Laurie Borman

Highwood, IL–

Snowshoeing along Openlands Lakefront Preserve sounds challenging, but the plowed road makes it almost too easy.  It’s like walking in an Ansel Adams photo–everything all black and white, and there is the challenge.  I’m no Ansel Adams.  The beach is no longer a gradual sandy [...]

After the Fall

Highwood, IL–The rain washed away most of the colorful leaves this week.  However, there’s new things to see in the Fort now that the trees are bare.  Check out wasp’s and squirrel’s nests in the trees, see unusual rocks nestled into beach driftwood, check out the moody sky over Lake Michigan.  

More Fall in the Fort

Ft. Sheridan, IL–Fall is at its peak in Ft. Sheridan.

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