The birds are returning to Northern Illinois! I went out to Nelson Lake Marsh (Dick Young Forest Preserve) this morning and got the following shots: a male Redwing Blackbird and a flock of Sandhill Cranes. The Cranes circled the lake in their usual noisy fashion, then went off to parts unknown – I think they were looking for open water. It’s only March 8th and there’s plenty of bad weather a head, but things are looking up!
Red Wing Blackbird (male)
Sandhill Cranes from Nelson Lake Marsh
I didn’t think they had earthquakes in Illinois, and they don’t very often. After this one, I decided to do a little research and post it here.
This was a 3.8 magnitude quake, quite small (the one in Haiti a month ago, 7.0, was 1600 times stronger!).
Here is a map showing the earthquakes that have hit Northern Illinois in the 20th Century:
20th Century Earthquakes - Northern Illinois
This works out to about one every six years, with none over 4.0. Here is the exact location of the tremor, which was 10 km below the surface: (more…)
There seems to be some misconception as to what is the highest point in my current home county – Kane County, Illinois. This may seem somewhat inconsequential, as the total elevation differential in Kane County is probably about 300 ft. Having lived in the state of New Mexico for twelve years, I can honestly say that this is nothing – New Mexico ranges from 2200 to almost 14,000 feet, an elevation differential of almost 12,000 feet. Never the less, the subject of Kane Counties highest point intrigues me, probably because I’ve been mistaken for the last two years!
I originally thought that Johnson’s Mound, about five miles west of Geneva, was the highest point. The United States Geological Survey has it’s elevation at 898 ft. This is about a hundred feet above the surrounding prairie (ie corn fields). I came to this belief after reading an article in Chicago Wilderness Magazine, in the winter 2009 edition, which states that Johnson’s Mound is the highest point in the county. While researching this issue on the Internet, I found the following quote on page 240 of The Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois, published in Chicago by WM. Le Baron, Jr. & Co (186 Dearborn Street) in 1878: “Johnson’s Mound, the highest point of land in the county….” So this is a common and long held error. However, over the last two years I have had at least two people, long time natives, state that Johnson’s Mound is not the high point in the county. So I did some searching on the Internet, checked my USGS Topographic maps and did some fieldwork with my GPS unit.
Highest Point in Kane County - Map
I believe that the triangle marked “1018″ on the immediate east side of Townhall Road on this map (US Geological Survey 7.5 degree “Elburn”) is probably the highest point. The east/west road to the north is Campton Hills Road. My GPS read a little higher at this point – 1024-1038 feet. There is another area immediately to the west that gave the same GPS elevation – this is on High Point Lane. Visually, the “1018″ appeared higher. This is a residential area, and so I didn’t venture off the roads to get to the exact spot.
Some may argue that the real high point is the top of Robert Rathbun Wilson Hall at Fermi Lab in Batavia. This is the tallest building in Kane county at sixteen stories and 240 feet. Wilson Hall sits at an elevation of 745 feet, so the top is about 985 feet, 30 or more feet shy of “1018″ hill off Townhall road. However, it is taller than Johnson’s Mound!
Highest Point in Kane County
Here is a photograph of the hill labeled “1018″. This is probably the highest point in Kane County, on Townhall Road, about one mile south of State Highway 64, looking north. The largest pine tree, in the middle of the photo, marks the spot!
High Point Lane
Here is another possibility, High Point Lane – about a quarter of a mile west of “1018″. My GPS indicated the same elevation here – 1024-1038. The radio tower in the background is off of Townhall road, a couple hundred yards from “1018″. It’s top may be the highest point in the county, however there is another tower south west of here – this second tower is at a lower elevation but is taller, as can be seen in this photo:
Hills from Anderson Road
Here is a view of the hills from Anderson Road, looking east. The shorter (looking) tower to the left is the one in the “High Point Lane” photograph above. As can be seen, these hills don’t really “stick out” like Johnson’s Mound, below:
Johnson's Mound
Johnson’s Mound, 898 feet elevation, looking towards the north east. This is the most distinctive hill in Kane County, and often mistaken for it’s highest point. The hills above, however, are over 100 feet higher!
Fall has always been my favorite season. This year I was more into photography than ever before, and not only did I get out more, I also noticed the subtle change in colors that occurs a lot earlier and runs a lot later than most people think. One can first notice the subtle change in colors here in Northern Illinois beginning in the middle of August – maybe even earlier. From the middle or end of May to the Fourth of July or so you have what I call the “period of unimaginable greenness.” Everything is super green, growing! As time goes on things go to seed, the green dims and fall colors slowly start to come out. The earliest to change is wild Tobacco, a small common weed often found in fields and along highways. It turns a deep brown, almost black, in late June or early July. But by the middle of August one can definitely see the dimming of the greens turning to fall colors. Things gradually change, until you have the maxed out colors of late October and early November – however the maxed out stage doesn’t last that long, so if that’s all you see your autumn is short!
I took this photo at Nelson Lake Marsh (Dick Young Forest Preserve) on October 20, 2009 – the colors were just coming out. It wasn’t a particularly good year for max color – the maples were great, super bright yellow, however overall it was muted and short. I took this picture because I liked the subtle range of colors – not bright – especially the mauve in the tallest tree – quite an odd color! At this time there was still a lot of green, some plants had lost all there leaves and some were in some stage of color. In fact, this fall everything seemed dragged out – things still green when others had already lost all their foliage. That can clearly be seen in this image, with the green grass and trees in the background, some bare trees and some with color!
Subtle Autumn Color
Self Made Man - Bobbie Carlyle
This is my favorite piece of public art in downtown Batavia – not that there’s a lot to choose from! This is a sculpture by Bobbie Carlyle, installed on River Street in 1996. It is, as can be seen, a larger than life-size bronze carving himself out of stone – “Bobbie Carlyle’s vision of Self Made Man is a man carving himself out of stone, carving his character, carving his future” – Bobby Carlyle Sculpure website. It is difficult to get a good photograph, the background is quite busy. On this snowy day I was able to get a total grey background, which I changed to black to bring out his form.
As for public sculpture in Batavia, the new Wilson Street bridge will eventually have four pieces installed. One is up already, very nice but also difficult to photograph. “Sun-Beams” by Kathryn Breisch, another Batavia Mainstreet Calender Photo Contest winner, is about the best I’ve seen. I look forward to seeing the other three sculptures whenever they are installed!
Well, the predicted snow has started to fall – the snowplows were out before I got up this morning (6:30, as usual) and it’s supposed to come down all day – up to a foot! I can’t help but feel sorry for the sad bastards who have to drive into the city to work – the traffic reports this morning were scary to say the least! I, however, decided to take a walk around downtown Batavia to take some photos of this wonderful and beautiful day. The following was taken through a hole in the fence behind the dumpster at the Phillips 66 station down the street – one of my “secret” spots as it offers a unique view of the Batavia Depot Museum and the Fox River beyond.
Snowy Day, Batavia, Illinois
Lots of birds in this photograph, which I took at Nelson Lake Marsh on May 1st, 2008. We have an adult Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis) on the right. The flying bird in the background could be anything. The bird on the left I thought was a sparrow, however I have been unable to identify it, even with my trusty National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds – it may be a sparrow but it’s beak is quite large, it could be a Grosbeak of some sort. Note: I have been informed that this bird is in fact a female Redwing Blackbird. The marsh reeds were just starting to green up on this trip, as can be seen. I hope to get out there more often this spring, especially to see the American Pelicans. A saw a few last year but I was a little late, and there were only six or eight on the lake, conveniently on the other side, of course!
Sandhill Crane - Nelson Lake Marsh, Batavia, IL
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