Category: Nature

October Recap

Posted on

10/02 (Wed) – Discovered the deliciousness of pork schnitzel.

10/04-10/06 – Extended Weekend Recap

10/06 (Sun) – The first dark-eyed juncos of the year were spotted behind our house.

10/08 (Tue) – Started using eBird checklists which can be fun, if not a bit frustrating when entering species into the app. I like being able to add my photos to the checklist later on, though. I’m very much into documenting things, so I’m not sure why I didn’t get into birding checklists sooner. It’s like Pokemon Go, but with birds!

Finally saw the Northern Lights, aka Aurora Borealis.

10/09 (Wed) – Updated my iPhone to iOS 18. Liking the new photos app in particular. I think it’ll be time for a new phone next year as I heard this is the last iOS that will be available for the iPhone 11. I haven’t had any issues with this phone, but I am looking forward to getting one with better cameras.

10/10 (Thu) – Pulled out my newest Halloween decor purchases. The ghost solar light (Dollar Tree) ended up being a cool white LED which I didn’t care for, so no more were purchased. The towel (also Dollar Tree) was hung from the oven handle, and the bat (from Old Time Pottery) was hung from the left side of the fireplace mantel.

Shared a photo on Facebook of the orange mums from Meijer still looking good, with an owl I added to the hanging basket.

Took another stab at photographing the Northern Lights with my phone.

10/11 (Fri) – Decorated for Halloween inside.

Went to Mallard Lake after Joe got off work and spotted this beautiful juvenile bald eagle.

The sky was also pretty at the end of our walk as the sun was getting closer to setting.

10/12-10/13 – Weekend Recap

10/15 (Tue) – Got a halfway decent photo of the comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS.

10/16 (Wed) – Lincoln Marsh

10/19-10/20 – Weekend Recap

10/20 (Sun) – Started practicing standing on one leg to see how long I could do it since reading it’s good for one’s mental and physical health. Proud to report I was able to go a full minute on each leg and only 40 seconds was needed in my age group.

Also saw my first ever Blue Jay behind the house. It was eating some of the bird seed I had put by the tree. I could not grab my camera quickly enough to get photographic evidence.

Went to Aldi, only to find they rearranged the majority of the aisles. Nothing makes sense anymore!

10/21 (Mon) – Got our first male downy woodpecker at the suet feeder. He has a spicy attitude and will peck at any sparrow trying to access the feeder, so we named him Loki. Our talkative female downy is named Lulu, so we are doing L names I guess. We haven’t yet named what we think is a second female downy.

10/22 (Tue) – We had a hawk sneaking around out back looking for a meal.

10/23-10/27 – Anniversary Extended Weekend

10/28 (Mon) – Spent a lot of time sitting out on the patio knowing the last nice day was coming soon. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through winter.

10/29 – Air Fryer review

10/31 – Halloween

New Food & Beverage Recommendations

7-UP Shirley Temple.

I’m not sure what it’s supposed to taste like, but I liked the flavor, so I plan to get more.

Trader Joe’s Sesame Honey Cashews

A little pricey at $8, but very yummy! We only eat a small handful at a time.

Notable movies this month:

We watched 1-2 horror movies every night in October, and these are the ones we had never seen before which I thought were the best.

Don’t Hang Up – I had some issues with the killer’s motive, not to mention a few plot holes, and I wasn’t scared by this, but it was interesting enough to keep me off my phone so that’s a successful movie in my book.

Gonjiam Haunted Aslym – Actually creepy, if not predictible.

Late Night With The Devil – Very unique premise that kept us glued to the TV trying to figure out where it was going on.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil – Horror comedy that kept us entertained.

Weekend Recap (10/19-10/20)

Posted on

Nothing much was done on Saturday (10/19) because Joe was still in Pennsylvania on a work trip, his first since Wookie passed away. It was really weird being home alone for days and not having my Wookie alarm on standby at night. I may or may not have put a knife under the pillow because I watch a lot of true crime and one can never be too cautious.

Joe got home fairly early Sunday (10/20) morning so we ate homemade breakfast burritos before heading to Lincoln Marsh. We saw the Great Egret again, and found the Great Horned Owl.

But the most interesting thing was when we were looking for the owl we noted how quiet it seemed. And then I looked up and saw something sitting on a tree branch but wasn’t sure at first it was a bird since it was not moving at all. So I took a photo and zoomed in and it was a red-bellied woodpecker staying completely still. I told Joe “there must be a predator nearby”.

I noticed it had its head turned toward the right, and when I looked at the other side of the tree, that’s when I noticed the Cooper’s Hawk sitting there, looking in the direction of the woodpecker.

No wonder it was so quiet! The birds were trying not to become a meal.

We also watched an egret fishing. Prior to this we were looking at something in the marsh and the egret very quietly landed very close to us without us knowing. Joe turned around and was startled by it. According to the chatting guy from the other day this egret isn’t really scared of people and will get close and let people get close to it.

After visiting the marsh, we headed to the arboretum. We got there so late (almost noon) there was actually a very long line of cars waiting to get in. Every parking lot was packed, but since we mostly drove around and could park alongside the road it didn’t affect us too much. I think everyone wanted to enjoy the last nice Sunday.

Over by one of our favorite sections, Turtle Pond, was a huge swarm of Asian ladybeetles, the ones that look like orange ladybugs. They were landing all over us; it was creepy! We had to flick them off us, so we got the heck out of there.

Lincoln Marsh 10/16

Posted on

Lincoln Marsh is located in Wheaton Illinois. It’s not a far drive from our house and is home to a lot of great wildlife, including a pair of Great Horned Owls that have babies there every year. The problem is it’s overrun with mosquitoes that seem to be impervious to bug spray, so we avoid it until those little bastards have died off. Needless to say, October 16th was our first visit back since early spring.

Sure enough, we saw two great horned owls sitting on the same tree limb just a few feet apart so I assume it was the owl couple from the winter. I guess the babies might be around too? I don’t know when they establish their own territory.

After that we headed toward the marsh area and saw a hermit thrush! It was so cute doing this little move on the branch where it really flick its tail and turn the other direction. That’s a new bird for my life list and I got some really clear shots of it.

Right after that, we looked to the marsh and stopped walking when we realized there were two muskrats sitting there grooming. They looked a bit small so I’m guessing juveniles. I was able to get a bunch of photos and from different angles where the lighting was really cool.

Eventually after I got enough photos we decided to walk down the pier to the bird blind which required walking right next to the muskrats, thus scaring them into the water. The one took off pretty quickly but the other one waited until we were really close before doing so. I’ve never seen them so close before and so much of their bodies as they’re usually swimming, so that was cool.

After that we walked toward the second marsh area where we ran into another photographer who was very chatty. I don’t mind when people tell me about things they’ve seen before or whatever but it gets irritating when you mention something you’ve seen and they just keep talking about themselves without acknowledging what I’ve said. I get enough of that from my parents, so I kinda walked away from the guy to go look for photo ops and Joe got stuck listening to his monologue.

There was an egret (which the guy kept calling a white heron) in a tree that flew over, caught a fish, and then started eating it. Not only did I get good photos of it with the fish, but the lighting gave it a cool glowing effect.

We were there about an hour or so but it was a fun little trip and I’m glad Joe was able to leave work early so we could get there right when the lighting was perfect.

I forgot to mention that beforehand we stopped at the DuPage County Fairgrounds to drop off our mail in ballots, so we’ve officially voted! Let’s hope that disgusting cheeto looking devil doesn’t make it into office.

Afterwards we got McDonald’s because we were interested in trying their limited edition Chicken Big Mac. We split one and also a Quarter Pounder with cheese. I haven’t had one of those in years but it was pretty good too although not as good as Culvers. We got a basket of fries which was more fries than either of us should have and were only good until they got cold, but we finished them anyway because we’re afraid to use the air fryer after the other day when I went to unplug it and noticed how hot the cord was. I don’t think that’s normal. I guess this is the best time of the year to need to replace an appliance since they’ll all be on sale. I just need to figure out what a good brand is. Ours was free from a T-Mobile catalog when Joe worked for them and employees earned points for good work that could be used toward merchandise. Anyway, the chicken Big Mac was delicious. I’d rather have one of those than the regular Big Mac.

After dinner Joe took a shower and I changed into my comfy clothes and we watched Interview With the Vampire which we’ve seen before but not anytime recently.

Funny story about that movie. Back in college somehow I was picked to be part of a “future leaders of America” type group which is hilarious since I’m not that outgoing. I don’t remember how I even got involved in that thing. Maybe it was a condition of my scholarship? Because it’s not something I’d ever seek out. In any case, we went on an overnight trip to Lake Geneva and the first night everyone decided to go see a movie in this little theater in town and it was Interview With the Vampire. No one really talked to me so I sat alone in the theater but I remember really getting into the film. I wonder if I would have felt differently about it had I been with a group of people. Did I only really love it because of the other emotions I was feeling at the time? That trip made me feel like such an outcast and the movie was the only fun I remember having.

I don’t think I was journaling back then which is a bummer because my memories of the time can get a bit fuzzy. Although I do remember we stayed at a bed and breakfast type place and all sat at this really long table for meals. I think it was in a wooded area in the fall because I can picture big windows in this dining area and colorful leaves on the trees outside.

Ok, I looked it up – the movie was released in November 1994 so that tracks with my memory.

Also a fun fact – most people call it Interview With a Vampire, myself included, because that sounds better than Interview With the Vampire.

Weekend Recap (10/12-10/13)

Posted on

Saturday (10/12) started with an emissions test for the Crosstrek and stopping at Menards to buy $46 worth of bird seed.

Then we headed out to Kane County for a guided bird walk at Kenyon Farms Forest Preserve. The walk was pretty uneventful, so afterwards we decided to check out Muirhead Springs in Hampshire, as I noticed some people I follow on Instagram get photos of some unique waterfowl there.

When we arrived at Muirhead we studied the map and were surprised to discover what a long walk to the water area would be, but decided to forge ahead. We took the path (which is a very large loop) toward the left and then proceeded to walk about 2.5 miles over forty minutes before finally reaching the water.

We saw some cool birds there, though, including nine new species which I added to my life list:

American Bittern – American Coot – Black-bellied Whistling Duck – Greater Yellowlegs – Long-billed Dowitcher – Northern Harrier – Northern Pintail – Pied-billed Grebe – Savannah Sparrow

The majority of birds were too far away to get any decent photos, other than the sparrow, howver.

Savannah Sparrow

It made me wish I had brought my tripod, and also owned a longer zoom lens.

When we were ready to leave, we noticed a dirt path that cut right through all the vegetation and directly back to the parking lot. So you’re telling me we didn’t have to walk miles to get to the water? And that the people I saw walking from the right when we first got there were using that path and had we walked that way we would have saved our poor feet? Ugh, well lesson learned I suppose. It made sense, too, since I even remarked to Joe I couldn’t believe how frequently some of the same people were coming there if they had to endure that walk. Turns out, they didn’t. Too bad the forest preserve district doesn’t include that unofficial path on their map! Overall, though, we felt relieved to learn of the shortcut, otherwise we probably wouldn’t want to go back. That initial trek was brutal! The walk back to the car was a breeze.

We decided to stop at Beef Shack for lunch and enjoyed our food outside on their patio. They truly have the best beef sandwich I’ve ever had. I don’t know why anyone still eats at Portillo’s. There’s just no comparison between the two. Portillo’s beef is flavorless, fatty, and chewy, whereas Beef Shack’s is full of flavor and tender. Their hand cut fries are delicious as well.

Sunday (10/13) we stopped at Home Depot to return the patio umbrella and stand I had ordered online because they are too big and the umbrella didn’t sit snug in the stand anyway and therefore wouldn’t stand up straight. Our current umbrella is the one my parents bought when we are kids and that my mom gave me a few years ago, and is now finally falling apart. Part of that is because when we tilt it, it rubs against the overhang by the patio door which has torn the fabric. I can’t seem to find an umbrella that is short enough to clear that area but can still tilt, which is necessary given the position of the sun in the afternoons. The hunt continues!

We decided to try a place called Blackberry Market in Glen Ellyn for breakfast since they have outdoor seating. Was it a bit cool outside? Yes, but it wasn’t horrible, and it was fun feeding some biscuit crumbs to the little sparrows that were brave enough to get very close to us. We split their Farmhouse Breakfast with scrambled eggs, a cinnamon roll, and Joe got a coffee.

The food was ok. I didn’t realize they used sweet potatoes in addition to the regular potatoes in the breakfast platter. I don’t mind sweet potatoes, but I don’t care for them for breakfast. If we went back I’d request they use all regular potatoes instead. Unfortunately I had just made an apple cake with a cinnamon buttercream frosting at home that week, and the cinnamon roll tasted almost exactly the same, minus the apple, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have because I was burnt out on that flavor. But let me assure you, it was delicious, and it was pretty big too!

After breakfast we headed to the arboretum for a few hours and swung by Hidden Lake afterwards to look for the Sage Thrasher but could not find it. I was hopeful it had found it’s way back home in the west, but later saw more photos of it being posted, so it was just hiding I guess.

Our final stop was the Danada Equestrian Center for their fall fest.

We got there right at the start at 11 am and were surprised by how many people just kept driving in. We hung out for maybe an hour to watch some of the horse demonstrations.

Arabian Horse

We decided not to eat lunch there as the offerings (2 food trucks) were rather paltry. Our parking lot was full when we left and they were directing cars to a huge field nearby. I probably wouldn’t bother attending that fest again because there wasn’t a bunch to do for adults. Plenty to do if you have kids, though.

Extended Weekend Recap (10/04-10/06)

Posted on

Joe took Friday (10/04) off so we could join a bird walk at St. James Farm but it was raining when we woke up. We drove out that way in case the rain let up, but it was still drizzling at the start time, so we decided to go to the arboretum instead. They didn’t cancel the bird walk since the rain was light, but we don’t own rain jackets and I didn’t want to chance getting my camera wet, so it didn’t make sense to go on the walk. As for the arboretum, we decided to stop at every parking area along the roads and just wait to see what wildlife might make an appearance. We ended up seeing a lot of squirrels and five hawks!

The rain eventually stopped so we decided to head to nearby Hidden Lake to see if we could find the Sage Thrasher again. Sure enough, it was there, in almost the same spot as before.

This bird is not shy at all, so I got even more photos of it. It has a growth on its toe I noticed when editing the photos, so I contacted an organization to go take a look and capture it if it needs medical attention.

Saturday (10/05) we attended a guided bird walk at Trailside Museum in River Forest with John, the same guide we had last time. The first half of the walk was pretty uneventful other than spotting a yellow-bellied sapsucker (a type of woodpecker) in the distance, but on the latter half of the walk we saw Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Northern Waterthrush which is also a type of warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

After our walk, which ran over the allotted time, just like last time, we headed to K’s house to hang out with her and the dogs she was dog sitting, and J joined us too. I’m sure Joe loved listening to us all afternoon!

On the way to her house we took Harlem Ave and was surprised by how many Starbucks and Taco Burrito King restaurants we passed. We also passed a very large cemetery and one of the street names that ended at said cemetery was Farewell Ave which made my eyes go wide.

We were going to attend a kite glow that evening but by the time we got home we were too tired to go back out so we made ourselves home on the couch and watched Scream instead.

We were unable to visit the Itasca bird sanctuary on Sunday (10/06) because they are doing construction on the baseball diamonds near it and had everything gated so you could not get to the path. We thought maybe we could cut through the big dog park, but the gate on the end where the bird sanctuary is was locked. Bummer!

So we ended up going to Springbrook Nature Center which is also in the same town. We were there about an hour and got to look inside the actual nature center (which we usually can’t since we typically visit much earlier in in the morning before they open). They have some turtles, toads, etc in cages there.

The highlight, however, was adding another bird to my life list – the ruby crowned kinglet! Look at that little red stripe on top of it’s cute little head!

When we were ready to leave we saw an identical Subaru Crosstrek parked next to ours. The owner said “nice car” and started chatting with us about how much he loves Subarus; his Crosstrek was the 5th Subaru he has owned. He asked what year ours was and when we told him 2018 he was impressed with how good it looked. That’s because I rarely drive it! I think it has 8000 miles on it. His was model year 2019 though so they basically look the same.

When we got home we put up the outdoor Halloween decor.

Update: The person I spoke to about the Sage Thrasher went to observe it but didn’t feel the toe growth was affecting it enough to attempt to capture and treat it.