Category: Animals

Brookfield Zoo

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I thought it would be fun to visit Brookfield Zoo on our anniversary Sunday (10/23) since it’s been six years since our last visit. I was wrong. So very very wrong. The parking lot was filling up quickly when we arrived which was before the zoo even opened. We paid $15 for parking and had free passes I got from the library. We waited in the car until we saw the huge line start moving and even then we were caught in this massive crowd trying to get into the zoo. From there we went straight to the giraffe area before it got too crowded.

To get away from all the people we explored the relatively deserted nature area around swan lake. I’d say that’s the most peaceful area of the zoo hands down.

We avoided going into most exhibit buildings except for the penguins because I cannot pass up the opportunity to see them!

This photo didn’t come out great but makes me laugh.

We didn’t get to see any tigers which was disappointing, but the lions were very photogenic!

Overall we were only at the zoo for two hours before leaving because the crowds just kept increasing. You should have seen the line of cars waiting to get in at noon! It was a beautiful day out and they were doing Boo at the Zoo (lots of kids in costumes) which was a recipe for overcrowding. I get the feeling they don’t limit how many people they let in either. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people there before, and I hope to never again.

River Trail Nature Center

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We passed River Trail Nature Center on our way to ABT on Sunday (09/25), so after ordering our refrigerator we decided to explore it before heading home.

(Not my photo above)

They have an apiary on site, which is basically a bunch of bee hives. In addition, they have lots of bird feeders around the property where we saw chipmunks and nuthatches, none of which my phone was able to capture well. There were some cool exhibits inside too.

We are planning to go back in the summer to explore the nature trails, and I’ll bring my camera to get some bird shots. Hopefully by then I’ll have a new mirrorless Canon.

August Nature Excursions

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We typically visit nature spaces on the weekends in the mornings before it gets too warm, but on Wednesday (08/17) we decided to go for an evening walk at the park. We came across this interesting feather that I later learned once belonged to a Northern Flicker, which is a type of woodpecker.

I hope to see the actual bird one day! They seem to be just as elusive as Blue Jays. I hear them often, but rarely ever see them.

Speaking of elusive, it’s not often we’ll see a dragonfly that isn’t zipping around, but one decided to hang out right by our front door.

We’ve never seen this particular color before. It’s a Emperor Dragonfly.

Saturday (08/27) we visited Mount Saint Mary Park in St. Charles. We’ve been there once before I believe, but it’s been many years. I read they were wrapping up their annual Sculpture in the Park event so I wanted to check it out.

In addition to all the cool sculptures, we saw a lot of wildlife including ducks, pigeons, finches, a hummingbird, and this awesome bird of prey that is either a Red-Shouldered Hawk, or an Osprey.

My bird app says it’s an Osprey (based off the photo), but around the same time I was using it to listen to bird calls and it identified a Red-Shouldered Hawk, so I’m not sure which it was, but it was cool to watch. It even dove and caught a fish at one point, although I was unable to catch that on my camera.

After the park and a trip to a nearby record store (more in another entry about that), we ended up at Stone Creek Miniature Golf in Geneva.

We’ve been there years ago in the evening but I don’t think we’ve ever played during the day. It was perfect weather-wise and it wasn’t too crowded either. Pictures of You by The Cure was playing over their speakers when we arrived which I thought was cool.

Although it wasn’t crowded, there was a large group playing ahead of us, so we were forced to really take our time on each hole as we’d be waiting for our turn at the next one anyway. It took us an hour to play all 18 holes and I’m thankful for that delay. Otherwise we likely would have blown through the course much quicker.

Despite Joe’s teasing about beating me, I actually won by two points!

If it wasn’t for Joe’s recent oral surgery, and having to be careful about what he was eating, we would have stopped somewhere for food, but we ended up going home after golfing. We were away from the house for five hours as it was, so Wookie was happy we didn’t stay out any longer.

COVID Positive

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Not me, oh no, but Joe. It was going around like wildfire at his job the week before he got it.

Monday (7/18) evening he started sneezing and I was like “stay away from me, germy”. He teased me for being paranoid, but the following morning (Tuesday 7/19) around 11 am he texted me from work saying he suddenly didn’t feel well and was coming home. When he got home he took a home test and it was positive. He told his job who told him not to come back to work until the next week. Then he called his doctor who ended up prescribing him Paxlovid.

We set it up so he stayed isolated in his office upstairs with the door closed. Anytime he came out to use the bathroom or I brought him food we’d both wear N95 masks.

The week he was sick (with a slightly sore throat, mild cough, and fatigue) was strange as we had to do our own thing and I was in charge of all the cooking which seemed to take up a lot of time. When he’s at work I usually only have to worry about dinner and on the weekends he’ll often make breakfast and we’ll skip lunch and get take out around 3 pm for an early dinner. I didn’t want to watch any of our shows without him, so I got back into watching Dateline. I’ve been watching it in the afternoons during the week now.

On Sunday (7/24) he tested negative so he came out of hiding and was able to participate in the butterfly release. I had purchased a cup of caterpillars earlier in the month that had quickly formed into chrysalis and while Joe was in insolation they started emerging. I fed them sugar water and orange slices for a few days but released them on Sunday to ensure they had time to do their thing as their lifespan is about two weeks.

Anyway, I’m happy to report our efforts worked and I never ended up catching anything. I’ve still never had COVID (unless I had an asymptomatic case at some point) and I hope to keep it that way. I’m not worried about dying from it but the long-term damage it can do, even in mild cases, is concerning and not entirely understood.

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A funny thing happened the day Joe tested positive. An hour or two later the doorbell rang. I almost didn’t answer, but then I spotted the unmistakable Crumbl cookie pink box through the video doorbell camera, and got very excited as I knew it was my bestie who had sent them.

The message on the side of the box was funny:

I liked all the cookies except for the chocolate chip which I actively disliked. The two all-chocolate ones were my favorites. They may be on the pricey side, but I’d say they are worth it.

Jumping Spider & Moth Buddy

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One thing I’ve been seeing on Tiktok lately is people keeping jumping spiders. They are super cute! We get the really tiny ones in the house frequently, which we’d get in my childhood home too. I nicknamed them zebra spiders growing up, although based on some research they might have actually been called that. Anyway… I’ve never actually seen the larger jumping spiders before. That is, until recently.

Back on June 4th Joe spotted one on his car in the garage. He was shy, so I couldn’t get a photo of him, but he basically looked like this:

How cute is that?!? I wish we’d see them more often!

On July 5th I was out on the patio watering flowers and a moth decided to land on me and hang out. I brushed it off before going inside, or so I thought. I was at the kitchen sink when I felt an itch on my head, and when I brushed at it, I saw the moth fly away. It disappeared so quickly, I had no idea where it went and quickly forgot about it.

The following morning I was grabbing towels from the guest bathroom and the moth was there. I was able to capture it in my hand and let it loose outside.

On the 9th an identical looking moth decided to hang out on the patio door screen for half the day.

Could it be the same one, and if so, why was it so obsessed with me? I love nature.