Ceative Images-Rustic Roads » nature

Spring is in the Air

rusticroads — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:37:05 +0000

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

Lily Lake, Illinois Earthquake – 11 Feb 2010

rusticroads — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:04:09 +0000

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:

Epicenter, Lily Lake Earthquake, Illinois February 2010

And here is a map of where the quake was felt, although there were reports as far away as northeastern Arkansas, southeastern Minnesota and western Ohio:

Shake Map, USGS, Lily Lake Earthquake, Illinois Feb. 2010

This map makes the area look quite mountainous! It’s really basically flat, I’m afraid. I will add to this post in the near future…..

Prairie Sky – Johnson Mound Forest Preserve

rusticroads — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:49:22 +0000

I guess that I’m getting a little tired of the cold weather, I don’t know – but I decided to break out something a little “summery” for today’s post. This was taken at the restored prairie at Johnson Mound Forest Preserve just west of Batavia, Illinois. Although the “primary” feature of this Forest Preserve is Johnson Mound, (towering 100 feet over the surrounding corn fields!!) I prefer the prairie north of the mound – unlike other restored prairies in the area, the surroundings here are at least somewhat bucolic – a farm on one side, a private High School on the other, a rather obnoxious radio tower at one end – but never the less primarily rural all about. I took this photograph on July 3rd, 2008. If I remember correctly it was quite hot that day! A photo like this wouldn’t really come off without some clouds in the sky!

Prairie Sky I

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida

rusticroads — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:40:24 +0000

Here is one of my better bird photos, taken at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Fort Meyers, Florida in February of 2007. I was actually able to get close enough to get a pretty good shot – and he stayed put for long enough too! Corkscrew is a great place for birding, and seeing many other critters as well.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Franklin Creek, Illinois

rusticroads — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:13:59 +0000

Today I’m going to put up another photograph taken on my recent snowshoe outing to Franklin Creek Nature Area. This is just to prove to some people that all of Illinois is not one big wind swept cornfield! (although, admittedly, it mostly is). I really like Franklin Creek – it’s not as large or impressive as, say, Starved Rock or Mathiessen State Parks, however it is consederably less developed and less traveled. I plan on becoming a regular visitor of this area!

Franklin Creek - January 2010

Snow Zebra I

rusticroads — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:16:19 +0000

We’ve gotten some good snow over the last few days, so I decided to go snowshoeing at the Franklin Creek Nature Area sixty miles west of Batavia, despite the near zero degree temperature! I could have probably got by without the snow shoes, the snow depth was right at the boarder between needing them and being able to get by with boots. Great day, had the place to myself – and got a few good photos. Here is one with lots of shadow/striations, “zebra snow”. I took a bunch, I knew these would be great, it’s just a matter of finding the best one. That’s why I labeled this Snow Zebra I – there may be more! This is what I came up with on my first look at the photographs:

Zebra Snow I

Nelson Lake Marsh – Dick Young Forest Preserve, Kane County, Illinois

rusticroads — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:24:27 +0000

This will be the first in an ongoing blog entry on one of my favorite local hangouts, the Nelson Lake Marsh, located just four miles from my home in Batavia. I went out for my first snowshoe outing this morning, somewhat cold, especially with the west wind coming off the prairie. As time goes on I’ll add photos of the Lake from all seasons – I’ve got plenty to choose from. As of now I’m still restricted to only using my old 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor, as my “regular lens” is in the shop. I look at this as a learning experience, as I am restricted to a 50mm lens, not my 18-55mm zoom. It forces me to take more time to frame my shots. This lens is in a certain respect more versatile, as it is a f/1.4 vs my usual 3.5. I look forward to expanding this post in the future!!

Nelson Lake Marsh Montage

Sandia Mountains from Ojito BLM Wilderness Area

rusticroads — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:02:37 +0000

Sandia Mountains from Ojito Wilderness Area

In March of 2007 I went to the Ojito BLM Wilderness Area, about 50 miles northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was my last New Mexico hike before moving to the dread plains of Illinois. It was gloomy and overcast all day, which put an unfortunate damper on my photography plans. However, just before sunset the sun came out under the clouds for a few minutes, which is when I took this photo. The sun has already set in the foreground, however, the Sandia Mountains, on the other (east) side of Albuquerque, lived up to their name (Sandia is watermelon in Spanish). The red here is the sunset reflected off of snow. I edited this photo two years ago, using my then primitive methods, and so it took some time to correct this back to presentable form! Do not edit your original! This was taken from the eastern boarder of the Wilderness Area, where we camped. There are some cool unexcavated Anasazi (or ancient Pueblo) ruins near by. If you didn’t know what unexcavated ruins looked like you would probably walk right by with out seeing them.

Franklin Creek State Nature Area

rusticroads — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:38:48 +0000

Today I found a great new place to hike about sixty miles west of Batavia – the Franklin Creek State Natural Area, near Franklin, Illinois. This is five or ten miles east of Dixon, boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. There was several inches of snow on the ground – a little more and this would be an excellent place to snowshoe! Lots of wildlife – I saw a Red Fox, tons of squirrels, coyote and rabbit tracks. I think there may be a Pine Martin in the area judging from the remains of numerous squirrels I found. Also birds – Great Blue Heron (in the snow!), Cardinals, Mallards, Dark Eyed Juncos, two species of woodpecker, a hawk, and limitless “little brown birds”. I also found a young raccoon hibernating in the bowl of a tree! The only problem – after about a mile and a half the trail crosses the creek – no bridge. An easy wade in the summer, but I’ll pass this time of year! And, no one there but me! I saw a couple of deer stands (it’s now bow season) but no hunters, or deer, or even deer tracks, which kind of surprised me. Oh well. I will be back!

Snow Covered Trees -- Young Hibernating Raccoon

I just thought I’d add an improved version of the “Snow Covered Trees” above – a larger, black and white version:

Winter Trees - Franklin Creek Nature Area