Category: Photos

Anniversary Extended Weekend (10/23-10/27)

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Joe took multiple days off from work so we could have a nice staycation to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary, which was on October 23rd. I can’t believe how much time has passed. As I wrote on Facebook, it’s been a tough year with Wookie’s passing, but if there’s anything positive that came from it, it was Joe and I growing even closer in our shared grief. I’m so thankful to have a supportive partner and best friend throughout all these years. I’m truly very lucky.

Wednesday (10/23) we ran several errands in the morning (including TJ Maxx where I got a new watch band) before going to Texas Roadhouse at 3 pm for dinner. We wanted to get there when they opened to minimize how many people we’d be around as we are still not comfortable eating indoors and possibly catching COVID. We got boosters a few weeks beforehand, though, so we felt the risk was minimal.

The dinner started out rocky when we were seated by the restrooms and Joe noticed an awful smell come wafting our way. We asked to be seated elsewhere and were moved, so everything was good from there. The steaks we ordered were good and since I had gotten a gift card from Discover, I wasn’t stressed about the bill. It’s not like we can’t afford it, we’ve just had bad experiences where we paid a lot for a meal and didn’t feel it was worth it. That’s the reason we didn’t go to Cooper’s Hawk across the street (no gift card via Discover).

That being said, while we did enjoy our meal (minus the louder than necessary music in the restaurant), we both felt we really haven’t missed eating out. Food prices have increased too much and we’ve been just fine getting takeout when we don’t feel like cooking.

Thursday (10/24) we headed into the city to visit Lincoln Park Zoo. Since we wanted to beat the morning rush, we got into the city before the zoo opened, so we first went to Montrose Point where we watched the sun rise.

Sunrise from the bird sanctuary

Instead of trying to find street parking like in the past, we decided to park in the zoo lot even though it’s pretty expensive at $35 for the four hours we were there. But since the zoo admission itself is free, and I read the parking fees go to the zoo, I felt like it was the right thing to do since we’ve enjoyed many free visits over the years.

Since we were at the zoo when the gates opened at 8 am, and the zoo buildings don’t open until 10 am, we walked around the entire zoo, the nature boardwalk, and the farm in the zoo (which is even more boring than before now that the baby chick exhibit is gone) for the first two hours. One of our favorite parts of the zoo is swan pond and waterfowl lagoon area over by the small mammal house. I saw some new species of birds but didn’t add them to my life list since I don’t think they would count not being in the true wild. We sat on a bench by these bodies of water and had a morning snack of banana bread I had baked earlier in the week for our excursions. We always bring some snacks with us so we’re not tempted to buy overpriced food. Also it prevents us from wanting to leave too early because of hunger.

Once 10 am came we went back through the zoo a second time, this time seeing all the indoor exhibits. The only one we could not access were the gorillas since that building was closed for some unexplained reason. We sat outside that building for awhile just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. I told Joe before we left I wanted to swing by the snow leopard for a second time. I’m glad I did, because while the leopard was nowhere to be found, the red panda was out, and I got the single best photo of a red panda I’ve ever gotten!

I’m pretty sad that my photo didn’t get many likes online because I really think it’s a fantastic photo, so much so that I set it as the background on my PC.

We thought about heading to Chinatown for lunch but I want to do more research on the best restaurant to try, plus we plan to visit Jackson Park during spring migration which would be a closer drive, so we decided to save that trip for another time.

As we took the scenic/long drive home, we could not think of a place to stop for lunch until we were much closer to home and we passed this Polish deli called Helen’s. We stopped inside to grab some potato pancakes, stuffed cabbage, soup, and a dessert. Unfortunately they don’t have pierogis or blintzes during the week, or we would have gotten some of those too. We also stopped at A&W for a root beer cream freeze since they are delicious (and it was; we drank it as we drove home). The Polish deli food was really good, especially the pancakes and vegetable soup. I didn’t think the cabbage rolls were as good as the Polish deli closer to home, though.

Friday (10/25) we went on a morning bird walk with the DuPage Birding Club at Fullersburg Woods. I opted not to bring along my camera as I was still tired and sore from all the walking at the zoo. Our guides were a married couple who were both extremely nice and knowledgeable. They made the walk fun despite my aches. They showed us where to find a screech owl and I swear I spotted its side profile for a few seconds, but it’s hard to say for sure. They really blend in well with the tree bark, plus it was inside a tree cavity which makes it even harder to see fully.

After our walk we stopped at Trader Joe’s and Target for a few things and then got Chinese food for lunch (and dinner, and dinner for the next two days too since we always order three large dishes).

As if we didn’t want to torture ourselves enough, we went on another bird walk on Saturday (10/26) to Busse Woods in Schaumburg. Luckily the main walking portion was in the first area we visited and the other two spots were close to each subsequent parking lot. I left my camera at home once more but kinda wished I had it with me so I could contribute to the group checklist on eBird.

When we were at our final spot, I suddenly had a craving for a corndog, and started looking on Yelp for somewhere to grab lunch after our walk was complete. We ended up settling on Sonic of all places. The corndog was ok, but the other things we tried were even better.

The grilled cheeseburger (an app exclusive) tastes like a Wendy’s doublestack but on Texas toast. Very tasty! Their Philly cheesesteak was impressive. We weren’t expecting it to be as good as it was, or as large. The only thing that would have made it better was a little salt, pepper, and mayo. I dipped mine in Sonic’s signature sauce which is also very good.

I got a pretzel twist to take home and it crisped up nice in our new air fryer. The cheese dipping sauce it comes with is good; reminds me of the old school cheese you could get with an order of nachos at the roller rink (showing my age with that reference).

The highlight, however, was the Dirty Dr. Pepper, a drink you can only order in the app.

Very unique and flavorful. I’m not even big on Dr. Pepper, but made this way I’d drink it much more often.

Oh and a funny thing happened earlier in the morning. We had been discussing how ABT was having a customer appreciation sale and that we should really replace our living room TV (it has developed the purple spots of death which have been growing since earlier this year) and were leaning toward getting an LG TV. Joe placed a mobile order for an iced coffee at McDonald’s and the code to give at the drive-thru was LG24. Freaky, right?!?

Weekend Recap (10/19-10/20)

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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

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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 (09/28-09/29)

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Saturday (09/28) we had planned to go out to St. Charles to visit a few birding spots but the weather decided to ruin those plans so instead we took advantage of a T-Mobile Tuesday offer and got free food from Tropical Smoothie Cafe for breakfast. We got a mocha madness smoothie (free), acai bowl (free), and the cali breakfast flatbread (paid), all of which we split and enjoyed.

Their food is really good but I wish they had smaller sized smoothies which cost less than $8+. The one size smoothies are huge and I would order from them more if they were half the size and price.

Later that afternoon when the rain let up we stopped at the library on the way to our town’s Harvest Fest. This fest is rather small without much to do for adults, but we knew the Girl Scouts would have a bake sale booth. I was really looking forward to some zucchini bread but they didn’t have any this year; I guess I’ll have to make my own soon. We picked up a few items including some really yummy “monster” cookies that were a mixture of oats, peanut butter, and chocolate.

Sunday (09/29) we went on a bird walk at Danada Forest Preserve with the DuPage Birding Club. We weren’t seeing many migrating birds so our guide, Robert (who looked a lot like Hal Sparks), decided to cut the walk short and said we were welcome to follow him over to the nearby Hidden Lake Forest Preserve where people had spotted a Sage Thrasher, a bird that should not be in this area at all, not even during migration. Its territory is in the western states, so people had been flocking to the area to get a chance to see it. I had heard about it prior to Robert bringing it up, but figured there was no way I’d know where to look, so hadn’t intended on trying to find it. But knowing he had coordinates from eBird (which I still can’t seem to figure out), I was excited to take a look.

When we got there we all ended up in the wrong parking lot (on the left instead of the right) but one of the guys in our group got in touch with Robert to find out where he was and we walked over toward the other parking lot. Sure enough, there was a group of people gathered staring at a bush near a bridge where the bird had been spotted. Then to my amazement it came out so we could all get a very good look at it. It was almost as if it knew it was a celebrity and was coming out to greet its fans, and we were the Paparazzi! I got so many good photos I’m still working on them, but I’ve included this one.

After that excitement we headed to the arboretum for a quick look around. It had starting misting out, though, so we headed over to Lisle Community Park to check out this year’s Barkapalooza. Wow, there were so many dogs there between the rescue organizations and people bringing their pets.

The sponsor, West Suburban Humane Society, had a huge bake sale where we got some really yummy treats.

Note: We tried almost everything and it was all so good, especially the rice krispie treat which was my favorite. The only one I didn’t love was the cranberry bread.

We really love Barkapalooza – it’s where I got one of my favorite photos with Wookie in 2018 – so it was disappointing that it was raining more and ruining our ability to hang out longer.

On the way home we stopped at Trader Joes.

We’ve always loved TJs but prior to rejoining the arboretum wouldn’t go there often, but now that it’s on the way home we’ve been stopping quite frequently. The granola is something we picked up last time we were there and I fell in love with it and wanted to get more before it was gone. I’m pretty sure it’s seasonal. We also got the fish nuggets a week or two ago and tried them on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised how good they were (I’m not really a lover of fish) so we had to get more. They’re a quick meal made in the air fryer.

When we got home Sofi Tukker was still live streaming on Twitch so we turned that on while we ate lunch and beyond. I want to say they streamed two hours, possibly longer. The more I listen to their new album, the more I love it. Even though we have Spotify, I plan to buy the album on CD as well which I always do for my favorite bands.

The chickadees also came by to visit the feeder briefly, so it was an awesome afternoon!

Kingfisher, Mums, and COVID Vaccines

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Sunday (10/01) started with a trip to this little pond tucked behind a FedEx facility of some sort. A local photographer had tipped me off to a Kingfisher that spends time back there. I had checked the pond twice before without success, although one of those times it was there, just not in a spot I could photograph it. This time it kept flying away whenever we got close, but I did get a zoomed in shot.

I hope to get better photos in the future.

After a stop at Armstrong Park, where we didn’t see much, we did some grocery shopping at Meijer and I got some mums for the patio. I only bought two this year – one orange and one purple.

We later stopped at Target to get the latest COVID vaccine. Other than a sore arm for a day, didn’t experience any side effects with this one. I’m happy to get one every 6-12 months if it means preventing long-term health issues. We do annual flu shots, so why not? I cannot understand why so many people make such a big deal about the COVID vaccine.