Trout Lily

Click to enlarge

White Trout Lily
Seager Woods, Illinois

Did you ever notice how the woods change from day to day. This winter, the woods seemed stagnant; snow and ice melted and accumulated over and over, covering and uncovering the dull shades of brown. As the weather warmed, the browns began to show signs of green and in only a few days, the greens have given way to whites, blues, yellows and purples.

click to enlarge

Bumble Bee on White Trout Lily
with False Rue Anemone Growing nearby

This White Trout Lily is a native to Illinois. It blooms in the early spring for about a week, giving the small amount of bees some pollen to start their hives. The plant is about four inches tall, and the blossom is about half an inch wide, barely large enough for the bumble bee.

Each day in the woods, I see something totally new. Most of the things would go unnoticed if you just took a walk down the path, but when you start looking at the details close to the ground, you find flowering plants barely two inches tall. It's amazing that these plants spring up in just a day or two and flower in another day or two. I wonder what I miss when I don't get out to the woods for a day?

Star Magnolia in Bloom

click to enlarge

Star Magnolia

The star magnolias are in full bloom here in Chicago -- a sure sign of spring. Although today we had temperatures in the mid 60s, tonight it may snow as temperatures will drop to 31!

Winter's last breath...I hope.

click to enlarge

May Apple Plant Sprouting
Seagar Woods, Illinois

The woods were filled with these little guys today. They shot up in a couple of days and are standing like little soldiers, perfectly upright. They remind me of umbrellas on the beach or mini palm trees.

Experiment with Lighting

click to enlarge

Dried Flowers

Just a little study on light and dark....

Forsythia in Bloom

click here to enlarge

Forsythia in Bloom

It's time to plan ahead and get the gardens ready! The Forsythia is in bloom and that means it's the perfect time to put down a pre-emergent on the lawn to stop crab grass from taking over the lawn. It's also the time to spray crabapple trees to prevent scab, a fungus that turns the leaves yellow in July and then the tree starts dropping leaves way too early.

This is nature's sign of letting me know it's time to get it in gear.

Busy Bee

click to enlarge

Bee on Siberian Squill

Found an early season bee gathering pollen this afternoon from wild Siberian Squill.
At last, the woods are coming alive with flowers, plants and insects.

Spring Must be Here!

click to enlarge

First daffodils of 2007
Illinois

Highs in the low 80's helped these bulbs bloom relatively early this year.
It's official...spring must be here!

Old Red Tractor

click to enlarge

Farmall 400 Tractor
On Abandoned Farm
Orland Park, IL

Here's an old Farmall tractor that appears to be in perfect shape. The odd thing about this is that it is parked on what appears to be an abandoned farm. The barns are all falling apart and there is no sign of a farmhouse. Someone must be taking care of this property, but it's totally overgrown and falling apart.

The tractor has been outside for a long time; through snow and rain it still shines like new. I wonder what the story is behind it...

Siberian Squill

click to enlarge

Early Spring Flower
Seager Woods

This lonely little flower managed to blossom so early this year, right next to a little stream. I think it's Siberian Squill but it seems unusual that it would be solitary if it's a bulb. Perhaps some little animal dug it up last year, moved it to this spot and buried it for food but forgot about it. Or, maybe the stream flooded and carried the bulb to this spot.

Doesn't matter how it got here, it's still the only spot of color in the woods for thousands of feet around.

First Sign of Spring 2007!

click to enlarge

Winter Aconite
Eranthis Hyemalis
Seager Woods

Not only has the temperature climbed up into the high 50s and low 60s, the spring flowers have begun to sprout! I've seen tulip and daffodil leaves punching through the ground for a few days now, but I was pleasantly surprised to find these flowers in bloom while walking through the woods today.

Cupola

click to enlarge

Cupola on Roof of Barn
Orland Park, IL

Here's a detail of the roof of an old, dilapidated barn just off of Wolf Road and 143rd in Orland Park. The property appears abandoned, and the five or six farm buildings have all seen better days, but it a very picturesque site to drive past each day.

I can only imagine what this farm was like 50 or 100 years ago...

Sweet Gum Tree

click to enlarge

Sweet Gum Seed Pod

It won't be long now until trees start to get their leaves and the seed process begins once again! This seed pod managed to hang on all winter.

The Sweet Gum tree has some of the oddest seed pods I've seen in this area. They look like Christmas ornaments (I've considered spray painting them) and are a bit sharp around the points. You don't want to walk around under this tree without any shoes!

Tilsy Barn

click to enlarge

Tilsy Barn
Homer Glen, IL

This is a close up view of the foundation, window and door of the Tilsy Barn. The 19th Century barn and the property around it were purchased by Will County to preserve and share with the community. Some residents of the area are trying to convince the county to restore the barn, others would rather see it torn down.

Right now, it's surrounded by a chain link fence and in disrepair, but if restored, it could become a window to 19th and 20th century farming.

Round Horse Barn

click to enlarge

Round Horse Barn
Palos Hills, Illinois

This abandoned round, single storey horse barn is on the edge of a newer housing development in Palos Hills, so I hope it doesn't get knocked down anytime soon. It's really quite large and interesting, so I hope to get back soon to take some interesting photos.

Classical View

click to enlarge

Classical View
Ionic Capital

Here's a view out of a large, beveled glass window in an original Carnegie Library.

Empty Nest, Emtpy Barn

click to enlarge

Empty Nest, Empty Barn
Orland Park, IL

More from the old barn I found in Orland Park.

Silo

click to enlarge

Ceiling of the Silo
Orland Park Barn

Inside the Barn

click to enlarge

License Plate on Barn Floor

Once inside the old barn in Orland, I found several old license plates ranging in dates from the 1930s to the 1950s. Most were recycled-nailed to the floor to cover the holes created by whatever was kept inside the barn. The floors have been worn down by decades of use and exposure to the elements, giving them lots of character.

click to enlarge

License Plate Patch

Forgotten Barn

click to enlarge

Forgotten Barn
Orland Park, IL

I spotted this barn a few years ago on my way to work. It was about a block off the main road and hidden by trees. In the winter, I could just make out a building trough the branches. I finally decided to pull over to investigate, and I'm glad I did.

This is one of those hidden treasures that I hope is around for a long time, but will probably be razed soon to make way for a fitness club.

I was sure to capture this place from every angle, including the inside. I'll post more pics all this week.

Winter Stream

click to enlarge

Stream In March