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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 [...] Custer, SD–Mount Rushmore’s almost a patriotic shrine, crowds flocking to see the U.S. presidents revered in a mountain’s stone. Back in 1948, sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski had a different idea–to carve a Lakota chief into the mountain. Thus began the work of Crazy Horse Memorial, an ongoing effort that the sculptor’s wife and his children continue [...] Cave Junction, OR–Take a winding, winding, winding road up so many hairpin turns that no one counts them to Oregon Caves National Monument. Then get out and walk, walk, walk to the big tree. It’s more than a 3-mile loop with a 1100 ft. elevation gain, meaning there will be some huffing and puffing. You’ll see big [...] Wounded Knee, SD–One hundred and nineteen years ago today, 146 Lakota men, women, and children were massacred here by 365 U.S. troops of the 7th Cavalry. It’s hard to imagine a more shameful event in U.S. history. Yet on this killing field, only the howling wind and few relics commemorate the site. On top of the nearby [...] Ft. Myers, FL–While visiting the Edison & Ford Winter Estates recently, I checked out the biggest darn bougainvillea ever. Edison gravitated to the property because of the bamboo trees, a cheap source of filaments for his lightbulbs. But he was experimenting with plants and growing all kinds of wonderful things, including bougainvillea. And now that [...] Sanibel Island, FL–My kids call me a tree lover, and it’s true. I can’t get enough of trees and sky. So here’s a favorite of mine, taken at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. December is going to be devoted to a weekly tree photo. Enjoy. [...] Sanibel Island, FL–The shy Great Blue Herons and skittish Cormorants of the Skokie Lagoons rest comfortably in their winter home on Sanibel Island. The Cormorant, in fact, is quite the opportunist here, using the shadows of my kayak to sneak up on fish as he dives under and around the boat, following me and fellow paddlers. In this great gathering place for birds [...] Chicago, IL–The leaves rustle. Could be a squirrel. Then there’s a switch of white. It’s a white-tail deer, standing just a few feet away. The buck looks up, then continues grazing on the prairie grass. While the gorgeous fall colors have faded, and the buzzing of bees and birds have silenced, I’m at peace on [...] Glencoe, IL–The great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, and cormorants flew south some time ago. Their favorite trees, denuded of leaves, no longer buffer the traffic noise from I-94. Bikers whiz past on the nearby trail. Ah, what a difference a season makes in the Skokie Lagoons! Kayakers were out for exercise, not bird-watching. Sailors [...] 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. [...] |
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