Chicago Outdoor Getaways, Info, & News – 09/07/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
September 7, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor getaway with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
SCOUTS NEEDED! Click to help us share the beauty.
Using this website to plan your weekends?
Then please help support us. Click here to donate!
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago outdoor getaway during the Season of Gold:
September is the season of gold. In the first half of the month, the prairies and savannas turn to gold as it reflects the various species of goldenrod and sunflower-like plants. You’ll also find towering waves of red-stemmed grasses dancing in the prairie winds. And, right now, some prairies offer wonderful purple displays of rough blazing star and purple gentians.
The most prominent plant is the towering sawtooth sunflower (see picture below) that can easily reach twelve feet tall. The name comes from its serrated leaves that look saw-like.
This week’s recommendations are Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Spears Woods, Bluff Spring Fen, Lake in the Hills Fen. Wolf Road Prairie, and Illinois Beach Nature Preserve . If you’re in the neighborhood, visit Theodore Stone Preserve, Miller Woods, and Tolleston Dunes. This is also a time to watch hummingbirds, see fanning ferns, and go on a canyon tour. Yes, we have a canyon!
NOTE: Prairies are wet in the morning, so wear raingear or you’ll become drenched in dew.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States: In the open hill prairie, you’ll find wonderful displays of rough blazing star, obedient plant, western sunflower, goldenrods and the grasses of Indian grass, and side oats grama, Under cover of the oak savanna, you’ll find a dense and prolific expanse of sawtooth sunflower, boneset, tall goldenrod, and Indian grass. In the prairie outside the fence, look into the distance to see expanses of auburn and brown from the tassels of big bluestem and Indian grass. Consider immersing yourself in these grasses by taking the wide trails through a vast panorama. While you’re in the area, you may want to check out Bluff Spring Fen, which is just fifteen minutes away by car.
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: There’s a great variety of flowers in bloom throughout the preserve. Many of them are yellow, most notably sawtooth sunflower and tall coreopsis. Along your way, you’ll find asters, like the sky blue aster, and the rare savanna blazing star. Look for the gentians, too: the gorgeous cream gentian, bottle gentian, and prairie gentian. As is common during the late-summer months, you’ll travel through tunnels of big bluestem grass and Indian grass, which is probably the reason for the misnomer “tallgrass prairie.” It’s a misnomer because most species in a prairie are actually forbs (flowering plants). Still, when the first settlers travelling from the forests of the east, the towering grasses of Illinois would have been a unexpected obstacle. The trails are narrow and somewhat overgrown. So watch your step. If you visit in the morning, wear rain gear or the plants will drench you with dew.
Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester: Sawtooth sunflower is everywhere putting on a majestic display of yellow in every direction you look. Wow!
Spears Woods in Willow Springs: As you enter the prairie (see Spears Woods page for GPS coordinates), you are welcomed by the beautiful September tones of auburn, brown, and gold, and flashes of white as you explore the wetter areas. Big bluestem and Indian grass line provide the auburns and browns, while the golds are reflected in tall coreopsis, sawtooth sunflower, and long-bracted tickseed sunflower. Pearly stands of false aster can be found where the ground gets wet.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: This preserve is celebrating September gold of sawtooth sunflower, wingstem, and the various goldenrods. As you explore, you’ll find white snakeroot and asters under the trees and the sublime purples of fringed gentian and great blue lobelia in the wet areas. And, of course, as you enter the bowl of the fen, you’ll pass through skyward stands of big bluestem and Indian grass.
Lake in the Hills Fen in Lake in the Hills (I know, it’s redundant.): Make a trip to this vast preserve to experience the expansive of auburn and golden tones with rolling views of the prairie. Experience the tall grasses of big bluestem and Indian grass, along with the brilliant yellows of goldenrod, sawtooth sunflower, and prairie dock. The pinkish blooms of native thistles are joined by purple displays of rough blazing star and fringed gentians by the fens’ soggy seeps. This preserve is easily accessible with ample parking and wide lawn paths. Anytime I visit this vast preserve, I feel like I’ve gotten away. The preserve is very accessible with ample parking and wide lawn paths.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion is a beautiful outdoor getaway. It feels like wilderness, especially when go early in the day and you can be alone. You’ll find purple rough blazing star, western sunflower, showy goldenrod, and Indian grass.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Theodore Stone Preserve in Hodgkins: The mesic prairie on the west side of the preserve (after entering the main entrance) is tall with grasses and yellow flowers like tall coreopsis, common sneezeweed, and brown-eyed Susan . However, it’s the dolomite (limestone) prairie to the east where the magic is happening. Growing from the rock is a glorious little patch that includes rough blazing star, little bluestem, yellow goldenrod, and the unusual white goldenrod that looks like an aster. There’s a also a delicate, low grass. This is a scene that steals my heart. It’s a very special and delicate spot, so please stay on the trail.
Miller Woods & Tolleston Dunes in Indiana: I forecast that both preserves offer long trails through wooded dunes, ferns, and flowers. We did not have the resources to visit this preserve. Please help us by volunteer to become a nature scout.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Bottle Gentians (or Closed Gentians)
These are not flowersthat fill the landscape, but they are sublime. (See pictures below.) Look closely and you’ll find them at Lake in the Hills Fen, Wolf Road Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Powderhorn Prairie, and Belmont Prairie.
Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds!
The hummingbirds are still around and should be for the next couple of weeks. You can find them buzzing about at many nature centers including: Sagawau Canyon, Pilcher Park (at the nature center and south of the greenhouse), and Little Red Schoolhouse.
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Cowles Bog Trail, Miller Woods, Tolleston Dunes, and Hoosier Prairie (all in northwestern Indiana) are leaping with gymnastic ferns that are beginning to change into their autumn colors. If you’d like to experience a beautiful fern-lined canyon, call Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois to sign up for their next canyon tour. Hurry! They fill up fast.
See a Summer Sunset
Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois is sensational for sunsets, as our celestial star—a bright, burning brass ball—slowly sinks in the sky to start a sultry summer eve.
PHOTO SECTION
Sawtooth Sunflower
Sawtooth sunflowers bloom in fields of towering, endless gold in one of the last dramatic displays of the summer season at Wolf Road Prairie and most tallgrass prairies in the region, including Spears Woods, Middlefork Savanna, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Chiwaukee Prairie, Kickapoo Prairie, Theodore Stone Preserve, Gensburg-Markham Prairie, and Belmont Prairie..*
Bottle Gentian (aka, Closed Gentian)
Blue bottle gentians survive under the shadow of the dense September prairie, where plants, like this sawtooth sunflower, can tower twelve feet into the air. You can find bottle gentians at preserves like Powderhorn Prairie, Lake in the Hills fen, Belmont Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, and Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, *
When I first set eyes upon these fading blooms of bottle gentian, I was taken aback, struck by an arrow through my heart. Instantly, I fell in love with the prettiest flowers I had ever seen. Maybe I was just having one of those days, but I was close to tears.*
Bottle gentian (or closed gentian) is fully dependent on bumblebees for its survival. The petals of this unusual flower are effectively closed to other insects, but the strong bumblebee is able to muscle its way in through the tip. Late in the season, when fewer plants are blooming, bottle gentian relies on the slim pickings for pollination, hoping bumblebees won’t mind the extra effort.*
Fringed Gentian
Gorgeous fringed gentians bloom in September. However, the flowers are diurnal, meaning that the the blooms only open up with the sun and are closed at night and, sometimes, on cloudy days.*
Big Bluestem Grass and the Tallgrass Prairie
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.” Find big bluestem at Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next several weeks.*
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve
In the sand prairie, early-morning September light strikes the tops of Indian grass, golden western sunflower, and rough blazing star in the sand prairie along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*
Somme Prairie Grove
Obedient plant at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.*
Theodore Stone Preserve
The dolomite prairie on the eastern side of Theodore Stone Preserve resembles a planned garden or springtime in the desert, where each plant is given its own space to grow. But instead of a separation of lifeless mulch or sand, here, rough blazing star and little bluestem are connected by a downy, green veil of mysterious grass.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
In late August at Shoe Factory Road Prairie, golden blooms of compass plant rise above a purple patches of rough blazing star.*
Atop this hill prairie called Shoe Factory Road Prairie, obedient plant and Indian grass take in the view.*
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Royal ferns in the light fog of the savanna at Hoosier Prairie in Schererville, Indiana.*
In the Cowles Bog area, you’ll find many species of fern. Here, a forest of royal ferns thrives in a wetland that has formed at the base of a high dune.*
Lush ferns line the walls of Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois. But you can only see it if you sign up for their upcoming canyon tours. Register soon. They fill up quickly.*
Sultry Summer Sunsets Over Saganashkee Slough (That’s a mouthful!)
On this sweltering, sultry afternoon, a golden sun sets over Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, September 14 (in rough order of urgency):
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status rough blazing star, western sunflower, large false foxglove, showy goldenrod, and more.
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers.
- Bluff Spring Fen: General status.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including rough blazing star, goldenrods, etc.
- Spears Woods: Sawtooth sunflowers, goldenrods, etc.
- Lake in the Hills Fen: Status of rough blazing star, goldenrods, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status, including rough blazing star in eastern dolomite prairie.
- Miller Woods & Tolleston Dunes: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
- Pembroke Savanna: Rough blazing star., round-headed bush clover, western sunflower, and large false foxglove.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around town, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Adventure Info & News – 09/01/2017- Labor Day Edition
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
Labor Day Edition
September 1, 2017
“Plan your Chicago Labor Day adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
SCOUTS NEEDED! Click to help us share the beauty.
Using this website to plan your weekends?
Then please help support us. Click here to donate!
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago Labor Day Adventure:
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve tops this week’s list with spectacular floral displays in the savanna. However, there are many other preserves that are looking fabulous: Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and Lake in the Hills Fen. If you’re in the neighborhood, visit Bluff Spring Fen, and Miller Woods. and Tolleston Dunes. This is also a time to watch hummingbirds, see fanning ferns, and go on a canyon tour. Yes, we have a canyon!
NOTE: Prairies are wet in the morning, so wear raingear or you’ll become drenched in dew.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion is a 10 out of 10, exploding with color. Under the canopy of the black oak savanna, purple rough blazing star combines with white flowering spurge and the yellows of western sunflower and large false foxglove. Rough blazing star is also blooming in the sand prairie located between the savanna and Lake Michigan.
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: There’s a great variety of flowers in bloom throughout the preserve. Many of them are yellow, including tall coreopsis, the newest and most prolific flower on the scene. No matter where you stand, you can probably see it somewhere. New on the scene is the gorgeous cream gentian. Under the trees, there are still a good number of yellow woodland sunflowers and taller brown-eyed Susans that combine with skybound pale-purple plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed. In the sunny areas of the savanna, you’ll find yourself travelling through tunnels of big bluestem grass and Indian grass, which is probably the reason for the misnomer “tallgrass prairie.” It’s a misnomer because most species in a prairie are actually forbs (flowering plants). Still, when the first settlers travelling from the forest of the east came across the late-summer prairies, the towering grasses of Illinois would have been a unexpected obstacle. As you pass through, look carefully for the tiny flowers upon their tassels and plumes. Along the way, you’ll also find dense stands of molecular rattlesnake master, along with mountain mint, ironweed, obedient plant, and new blooms of goldenrod. Then there’s the skyward stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air, along with its tall cousin prairie dock with its enormous heart-shaped leaves. (See comparison below in the large Photo Section.) In addition to appreciating the kaleidoscopic colors, take note of the rich textures, including the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed. The trails are narrow and, currently, overgrown. So watch your step. If you visit in the morning, wear raingear or the plants will drench you with dew.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States offers wonderful displays of rough blazing star, cylindrical blazing star and obedient plant atop the hill prairie, along with compass plant, rosinweed, round-headed bush clover, tall coreopsis, and different species of goldenrod. Under cover of the oak savanna, you’ll find woodland sunflower and sweet Joe-Pye weed. In the prairie outside the fence, look into the distance to see expanses of purple from the tassels of big bluestem. Then, immerse yourself by taking the wide trails through a vast panorama of big bluestem and Indian grass. While you’re in the area, you may want to check out Bluff Spring Fen, which is just fifteen minutes away by car.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs: As you enter the prairie (see Spears Woods page for GPS coordinates), you are welcomed by the beautiful September tones of auburn, brown, and gold, and flashes of white as you explore the wetter areas. Big bluestem and Indian grass line provide the auburns and browns, while the golds are reflected in tall coreopsis, sawtooth sunflower, and long-bracted tickseed sunflower. Pearly stands of false aster can be found where the ground gets wet.
Theodore Stone Preserve in Hodgkins: The mesic prairie on the west side of the preserve (after entering the main entrance) is tall with grasses and yellow flowers like tall coreopsis, common sneezeweed, and brown-eyed Susan . However, it’s the dolomite (limestone) prairie to the east where the magic is happening. Growing from the rock is a glorious little patch that includes rough blazing star, little bluestem, yellow goldenrod, and the unusual white goldenrod that looks like an aster. There’s a also a delicate, low grass. This is a scene that steals my heart. It’s a very special and delicate spot, so please stay on the trail.
Lake in the Hills Fen in Lake in the Hills (I know, it’s redundant.): Make a trip to this vast preserve to experience the expansive, rolling views of the prairie, covered with tall grasses and golden tones of goldenrod, compass plant, and prairie dock. The pinkish blooms of native thistles will soon be joined, in about a week, by large purple displays of rough blazing star. This preserve is easily accessible with ample parking and wide lawn paths. Anytime I visit this vast preserve, I feel like I’ve gotten away. The preserve is very accessible with ample parking and wide lawn paths.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: We weren’t able to scout this preserve, this week. So, take your chances and let us know what’s going on there.
Miller Woods & Tolleston Dunes in Indiana: Both preserves offer long trails through wooded dunes, ferns, and flowers. Tolleston Dunes is covered with spotted bee balm.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds!
The hummingbirds are still around and should be for the next couple of weeks. You can find them buzzing about at many nature centers including: Sagawau Canyon, Pilcher Park (at the nature center and south of the greenhouse), and Little Red Schoolhouse.
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Cowles Bog Trail, Miller Woods, Tolleston Dunes, and Hoosier Prairie (all in northwestern Indiana) are leaping with gymnastic ferns that are beginning to change into their autumn colors. If you’d like to experience a beautiful fern-lined canyon, call Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois to sign up for their next canyon tour. Hurry! They fill up fast.
See a Summer Sunset
Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois is sensational for sunsets, as our celestial star—a bright, burning brass ball—slowly sinks in the sky to start a sultry summer eve.
PHOTO SECTION
Sawtooth Sunflower
Sawtooth sunflowers bloom in fields of towering, endless gold in one of the last dramatic displays of the summer season at Wolf Road Prairie and most tallgrass prairies in the region..*
Compass Plant & Prairie Dock
These are the large leaves of the prairie’s most iconic and unmistakable plants. The heart-shaped leaf is that of prairie dock, and the long-lobed leaf is from a cousin called compass plant.*
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
You can find prairie dock at many preserves, including Middlefork Savanna in Lake Forest. It’s an imaginative creation dreamt up by Mother Nature. Stretching at least twelve feet beneath the prairie is the taproot—the life, the energy source, and the heart of this plant. The root is also the artery, transporting cold water from deep below to nourish and cool the affection of heart-shaped leaves, which are prone to shriveling under the summer sun.Where the root meets the air, a blood-red stalk takes over the job. Swerving towards the sky, the thick stem carries life to multiple golden flowers that may float as high as ten feet above the prairie. Here, the first flower has bloomed, while many ball-like buds are about to follow suit.*
Landscape of compass plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
In August, at Lake in the Hills Fen, you can find knee-high carpets of grass-leaved goldenrod and a soaring stands of prairie dock.*
Big Bluestem Grass and the Tallgrass Prairie
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.” Find big bluestem at Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next several weeks.*
Look closely for miniature flowers that delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass. Currently, flowers can also be found upon the feathery plumes of Indian grass .*
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve
In the sand prairie, early-morning September light strikes the tops of Indian grass, golden western sunflower, and rough blazing star in the sand prairie along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*
In late summer, early flowering spurge and purple rough blazing star blanket the black oak savanna at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*
At the end of this late-summer day, large false foxglove blooms across the black oak savanna at Illinois Beach State Park. The flower can also be found at Pembroke Savanna.*
Somme Prairie Grove
Obedient plant at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.*
Theodore Stone Preserve
The dolomite prairie on the eastern side of Theodore Stone Preserve resembles a planned garden or springtime in the desert, where each plant is given its own space to grow. But instead of a separation of lifeless mulch or sand, here, rough blazing star and little bluestem are connected by a downy, green veil of mysterious grass.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
In late August at Shoe Factory Road Prairie, golden blooms of compass plant rise above a purple patches of rough blazing star.*
Atop this hill prairie called Shoe Factory Road Prairie, obedient plant and Indian grass take in the view.*
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Royal ferns in the light fog of the savanna at Hoosier Prairie in Schererville, Indiana.*
In the Cowles Bog area, you’ll find many species of fern. Here, a forest of royal ferns thrives in a wetland that has formed at the base of a high dune.*
Lush ferns line the walls of Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois. But you can only see it if you sign up for their upcoming canyon tours. Register soon. They fill up quickly.*
Sultry Summer Sunsets Over Saganashkee Slough (That’s a mouthful!)
On this sweltering, sultry afternoon, a golden sun sets over Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, September 1 (in rough order of urgency):
- Pembroke Savanna: The display of rough blazing star is on the way and could be spectacular. Also look round-headed bush clover, western sunflower, and large false foxglove.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status rough blazing star, western sunflower, large false foxglove, showy goldenrod, and more.
- Miller Woods & Tolleston Dunes: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers.
- Bluff Spring Fen: General status.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including rough blazing star, goldenrods, etc.
- Lake in the Hills Fen: Status of rough blazing star, goldenrods, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status, including rough blazing star in eastern dolomite prairie.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
- Spears Woods: Sawtooth sunflowers, goldenrods, etc.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around town, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Outdoor Adventure Info & News – 08/24/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
August 24, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
SCOUTS NEEDED! Click to help us share the beauty.
Enjoy using the FREE INFO we provide?
Then please support our work. Click here to buy my Chicago nature book!
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago weekend getaway:
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve tops this week’s list with spectacular floral displays. Then comes Somme Prairie Grove and Shoe Factory Road Prairie. If you’re in the neighborhood, visit Bluff Spring Fen, Lake in the Hills Fen, and Miller Woods. This is also a time to watch hummingbirds, see fanning ferns, and go on a canyon tour. Yes, we have a canyon!
NOTE: Prairies are wet in the morning, so wear raingear or you’ll become drenched in dew.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion is 10 out of 10, exploding with color. Under the canopy of the black oak savanna, purple rough blazing star combines with white flowering spurge and the yellows of western sunflower and large false foxglove.
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: There’s a great variety of flowers in bloom throughout the preserve. Many of them are yellow, including tall coreopsis, the newest and most prolific flower on the scene. No matter where you stand, you can probably see it somewhere. Under the trees, there are thousands of yellow woodland sunflowers and taller brown-eyed Susans that combine with skyward pale-purple plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed. In the sunny areas of the savanna, you’ll find yourself travelling through tunnels of big bluestem grass and Indian grass, which is probably the reason for the misnomer “tallgrass prairie.” It’s a misnomer because most species in a prairie are actually forbs (flowering plants). Still, when the first settlers travelling from the forest of the east came across the late-summer prairies, the towering grasses of Illinois would have been a unexpected obstacle. As you pass through, look carefully for the tiny flowers upon their tassels and plumes. Along the way, you’ll also find dense stands of molecular rattlesnake master, along with mountain mint, ironweed, obedient plant, and new blooms of goldenrod. Then there’s the skyward stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air, along with its tall cousin prairie dock with its enormous heart-shaped leaves. (See comparison below in the large Photo Section.) In addition to appreciating the kaleidoscopic colors, take note of the rich textures, including the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed. The trails are narrow and, currently, overgrown. So watch your step. If you visit in the morning, wear raingear or the plants will drench you with dew.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States offers wonderful displays of rough blazing star, cylindrical blazing star and obedient plant atop the hill prairie, along with compass plant, rosinweed, round-headed bush clover, and the beginnings of goldenrod. Under cover of the oak savanna, you’ll find woodland sunflower and sweet Joe-Pye weed. In the prairie outside the fence, look into the distance to see expanses of purple from the tassels of big bluestem. Then, immerse yourself by taking the wide trails through a vast panorama of big bluestem and Indian grass. And, don’t forget, Bluff Spring Fen is just fifteen minutes away by car.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: This week, there aren’t many fresh blooms here, and many flowers are fading. Still, there’s a lot to see. Towering displays of purplish sweet Joe-Pye weed can be seen under the oak savanna that opens the preserve. As you continue, you’ll see tall yellow sunflowers. One is wingstem, which you can identify by the flange running down the stem. Another is cutleaf coneflower, with its the deeply lobed leaves. And then there’s cup plant, which likes the wetter spots. It has large opposing leaves that join at the stem and holds pooled water for birds and insects. Other yellow flowers include rosinweed, skyrocketing compass plant, and goldenrods like stiff goldenrod and grass-leaved golderod. Along with the purplish sweet Joe-Pye weed, experience the pinks and purples of cylindrical blazing star, rough blazing star, nodding wild onion, wild bergamot, and, in the wetter areas, swamp milkweed and spotted Joe-Pye weed. At this time of year, the grasses are prominent, including Canada wild rye, little bluestem, big bluestem, Indian grass, all acting as brushes loaded with morning dew. Notice the minute flowers atop the tassels of big bluestem and Indian grass. And then there’s the aptly named bottlebrush grass that can be found in the shade of the oak savanna.
Lake in the Hills Fen in Lake in the Hills: Make a trip to this vast preserve to experience the expansive, rolling views of the prairie, covered with tall grasses and golden tones of goldenrod, compass plant, and prairie dock. The pinkish blooms of native thistles will soon be joined, in about a week, by large purple displays of rough blazing star. This preserve is easily accessible with ample parking and wide lawn paths.
Miller Woods & Tolleston Dunes in Indiana: Both preserves offer long trails through wooded dunes, ferns, and flowers. Tolleston Dunes is covered with spotted bee balm.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds!
The hummingbirds are still around and should be for the next couple of weeks. You can find them buzzing about at many nature centers including: Sagawau Canyon, Pilcher Park (at the nature center and south of the greenhouse), and Little Red Schoolhouse.
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Cowles Bog Trail, Miller Woods, Tolleston Dunes, and Hoosier Prairie (all in northwestern Indiana) are leaping with gymnastic ferns that are beginning to change into their autumn colors. If you’d like to experience a beautiful fern-lined canyon, call Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois to sign up for their next canyon tour. Hurry! They fill up fast.
See a Summer Sunset
Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois is sensational for sunsets, as our celestial star—a bright, burning brass ball—slowly sinks in the sky to start a sultry summer eve.
PHOTO SECTION
Sweet Joe-Pye Weed
In the open woodland at Spears Woods and many other preserves, discover summer tall, feathery blooms of sweet Joe-Pye weed.*
Compass Plant & Prairie Dock
These are the large leaves of the prairie’s most iconic and unmistakable plants. The heart-shaped leaf is that of prairie dock, and the long-lobed leaf is from a cousin called compass plant.*
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
You can find prairie dock at many preserves, including Middlefork Savanna in Lake Forest. It’s an imaginative creation dreamt up by Mother Nature. Stretching at least twelve feet beneath the prairie is the taproot—the life, the energy source, and the heart of this plant. The root is also the artery, transporting cold water from deep below to nourish and cool the affection of heart-shaped leaves, which are prone to shriveling under the summer sun. Where the root meets the air, a blood-red stalk takes over the job. Swerving towards the sky, the thick stem carries life to multiple golden flowers that may float as high as ten feet above the prairie. Here, the first flower has bloomed, while many ball-like buds are about to follow suit.*
Landscape of compass plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
In August, at Lake in the Hills Fen, you can find knee-high carpets of grass-leaved goldenrod and a soaring stands of prairie dock.*
Big Bluestem Grass and the Tallgrass Prairie
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.” Find big bluestem at Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next several weeks.*
Look closely for miniature flowers that delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass. Currently, flowers can also be found upon the feathery plumes of Indian grass .*
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve
In late summer, early flowering spurge and purple rough blazing star blanket the black oak savanna at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*
At the end of this late-summer day, large false foxglove blooms across the black oak savanna at Illinois Beach State Park. The flower can also be found at Pembroke Savanna.*
Somme Prairie Grove
In 1985, this area was cast in total darkness, a dirt floor under an endless gray barrier of scraggly buckthorn. Now, after lots of love from volunteers, it is the edge of a woodland, well lit and teeming with tall flowers that reach for the sun.*
Obedient plant at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
In late August at Shoe Factory Road Prairie, golden blooms of compass plant rise above a purple patches of rough blazing star.*
Atop this hill prairie called Shoe Factory Road Prairie, obedient plant and Indian grass take in the view.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soft sunlight, diffused by morning mist, filters across the preserve. Gathered at the base of the kame, fire-resistant bur oaks hover above a colorful caboodle of Joe-Pye weed and tall goldenrod.*
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Royal ferns in the light fog of the savanna at Hoosier Prairie in Schererville, Indiana.*
In the Cowles Bog area, you’ll find many species of fern. Here, a forest of royal ferns thrives in a wetland that has formed at the base of a high dune.*
Lush ferns line the walls of Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois. But you can only see it if you sign up for their upcoming canyon tours. Register soon. They fill up quickly.*
Sultry Summer Sunsets Over Saganashkee Slough (That’s a mouthful!)
On this sweltering, sultry afternoon, a golden sun sets over Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, September 1 (in rough order of urgency):
- Pembroke Savanna: The display of rough blazing star is on the way and should be spectacular. Also look round-headed bush clover, western sunflower, and large false foxglove.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status flowering spurge, etc.
- Miller Woods & Tolleston Dunes: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of blazing star and other blooms.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including woodland sunflower.
- Lake in the Hills Fen: Status of rough blazing star, prairie dock, goldenrods, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
- Spears Woods: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Outdoor Adventure Info & News – 08/17/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
August 17, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
MORE SCOUTS NEEDED! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
ENJOY THE INFO WE PROVIDE? CONSIDER BUYING MY BOOK!
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago weekend getaway:
Chicagoland is putting on great performances of tall flowers and grasses. Again, Somme Prairie Grove tops this week’s list. Then comes Bluff Spring Fen and Shoe Factory Road Prairie. This is also a time to watch hummingbirds, see fanning ferns, and go on a canyon tour. Yes, we have a canyon! And, if you’re near Zion, I’m never going to stop you from visiting Illinois Beach Nature Preserve. You never know what you’ll discover there.
Thank you to Dave Hodge and the volunteers at Bluff Spring Fen for clearing the trails of overgrowth.
NOTE: Prairies are wet in the morning, so wear rain gear to avoid being drenched in dew.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: There are many flowers in bloom throughout the preserve. The trails are narrow and, currently, overgrown. So watch your step. If you visit in the morning, wear rain gear or the plants will drench you with dew. The big show is under the trees where the thousands of yellow woodland sunflowers and taller brown-eyed Susans combine with skybound pale-purple plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed. In the sunny areas of the savanna, you’ll find yourself travelling through tunnels of big bluestem grass and Indian grass, which is probably the reason for the misnomer “tallgrass prairie.” It’s a misnomer because most of the species in a prairie are actually forbs (flowering plants). Still, when the first settlers travelling from the forest of the east came across the late-summer prairies, the towering grasses of Illinois would have been an unexpected obstacle. As you pass through, look carefully for the tiny flowers upon their tassels and plumes. You’ll find dense stands of molecular rattlesnake master, along with mountain mint, wild quinine, ironweed, obedient plant, and newly emerging blooms of goldenrod. Then, there’s the skyward stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air, along with its tall cousin prairie dock with its enormous heart-shaped leaves. (See comparison below in the large Photo Section.) In addition to appreciating the kaleidoscopic colors, notice the rich textures, including the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: Towering displays of purplish sweet Joe-Pye weed can be found under the oak savanna that opens the preserve. As you continue, you’ll see tall yellow sunflowers. One is wingstem, which you can identify by the flange running down the stem. Another is cutleaf coneflower, with its the deeply lobed leaves. Then you’ll also see cup plant, especially in the wetter areas. It has large opposing leaves that join at the stem and holds pooled water for birds and insects. Other yellow flowers include rosinweed, shrubby cinquefoil, skyrocketing compass plant, and goldenrods like stiff goldenrod and grass-leaved golderod. Experience that alabaster tones of wild quinine, flowering spurge, and rattlesnake master. Along with the purplish sweet Joe-Pye weed, experience the pinks and purples of cylindrical blazing star, rough blazing star, American bellflower, nodding wild onion, wild bergamot, and, in the wetter areas, swamp milkweed and spotted Joe-Pye weed. At this time of year, the grasses are prominent, including Canada wild rye, little bluestem, big bluestem, Indian grass, all acting as brushes loaded with morning dew. Notice the minute flowers atop the tassels of big bluestem and Indian grass. And then there’s the aptly named bottlebrush grass that can be found in the shade of the oak savanna.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States offers wonderful displays of cylindrical blazing star and obedient plant atop the hill prairie, along with compass plant, rosinweed, round-headed bush clover, and the beginnings of goldenrod. Under cover of the oak savanna, you’ll find lots of woodland sunflower and sweet Joe-Pye weed. In the prairie outside the fence, look into the distance to see expanses of purple from the tassels of big bluestem. Then, immerse yourself by taking the wide trails through a vast panorama of big bluestem and Indian grass. And, don’t forget, Bluff Spring Fen is just fifteen minutes away by car.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion (unscouted this week) always provides a wonderful and wild experience. Look for the emergence of rough blazing star in the prairie and savanna. This spectacular event is only days away.
Pembroke Savanna in Hopkins Park is about to explode with always provides a wonderful and wild experience. Look for the emergence of rough blazing star in the prairie and savanna. This spectacular event is only days away.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds, Hummingbirds!
The hummingbirds are still around and should be for the next couple of weeks. You can find them buzzing about at many nature centers including: Sagawau Canyon, Pilcher Park (at the nature center and south of the greenhouse), and Little Red Schoolhouse.
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Cowles Bog Trail, Miller Woods, and Hoosier Prairie (all in northwestern Indiana) are leaping with gymnastic ferns. If you’d like to experience a beautiful fern-lined canyon, call Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois to sign up for their next canyon tour. Hurry! They fill up fast.
See a Summer Sunset
Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois is sensational for sunsets, as our celestial star—a bright, burning brass ball—slowly sinks in the sky to start a sultry summer eve.
PHOTO SECTION
Woodland Sunflowers
At Somme Prairie Grove, woodland sunflowers surround this majestic bur oak in the savanna.*
Sweet Joe-Pye Weed
In the open woodland at Spears Woods and other preserves, discover summer tall, feathery blooms of sweet Joe-Pye weed.*
Compass Plant & Prairie Dock
These are the large leaves of the prairie’s most iconic and unmistakable plants. The heart-shaped leaf is that of prairie dock, and the long-lobed leaf is from a cousin called compass plant.*
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
You can find prairie dock at many preserves, including Middlefork Savanna in Lake Forest. It’s an imaginative creation dreamt up by Mother Nature. Stretching at least twelve feet beneath the prairie is the taproot—the life, the energy source, and the heart of this plant. The root is also the artery, transporting cold water from deep below to nourish and cool the affection of heart-shaped leaves, which are prone to shriveling under the summer sun.Where the root meets the air, a blood-red stalk takes over the job. Swerving towards the sky, the thick stem carries life to multiple golden flowers that may float as high as ten feet above the prairie. Here, the first flower has bloomed, while many ball-like buds are about to follow suit.*
Landscape of Compass Plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
In August, at Lake in the Hills Fen, you can find knee-high carpets of grass-leaved goldenrod and a soaring stands of prairie dock.*
Big Bluestem Grass and the Tallgrass Prairie
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.” Find big bluestem at Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next several weeks.*
Look closely for miniature flowers that delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass.*
Somme Prairie Grove
In 1985, this area was cast in total darkness, a dirt floor under an endless gray barrier of scraggly buckthorn. Now, after lots of love from volunteers, it is the edge of a woodland, well lit and teeming with tall flowers that reach for the sun.*
Obedient plant at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soft sunlight, diffused by morning mist, filters across the preserve. Gathered at the base of the kame, fire-resistant bur oaks hover above a colorful caboodle of Joe-Pye weed and tall goldenrod.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
Atop this hill prairie called Shoe Factory Road Prairie, obedient plant and Indian grass take in the view.*
Ferns & Canyon Tours
Royal ferns in the light fog of the savanna at Hoosier Prairie in Schererville, Indiana.*
In the Cowles Bog area, you’ll find many species of fern. Here, a forest of royal ferns thrives in a wetland that has formed at the base of a high dune.*
Lush ferns line the walls of Sagawau Canyon in Lemont, Illinois. But you can only see it if you sign up for their upcoming canyon tours. Register soon. They fill up quickly.*
Sultry Summer Sunsets Over Saganashkee Slough (That’s a mouthful!)
On this sweltering, sultry afternoon, a golden sun sets over Saganashkee Slough in Palos Hills, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, August 24 (in rough order of urgency):
- Pembroke Savanna: The display of rough blazing star is on the way and should be spectacular. Also look round-headed bush clover, western sunflower, and large-flowering false foxglove.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status flowering spurge, etc.
- Miller Woods: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of blazing star and other blooms.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including woodland sunflower.
- Lake in the Hills Fen: Status of rough blazing star, prairie dock, goldenrods, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: Rough blazing star, etc.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
- Spears Woods: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Adventure Info & News – 08/03/2017 & 08/10/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
August 3 & 10, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
MORE SCOUTS NEEDED! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
ENJOY THE INFO WE PROVIDE? CLICK HERE TO DONATE!
I will be on vacation for the August 10th report. Therefore, for that week, use this page as a guide, and visit the Friends of ChicagoNatureNOW! Facebook group for up-to-date posts from our wonderful scouts.
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago weekend getaway:
Chicagoland is putting on a breathtaking show of flowers and grasses. Somme Prairie Grove tops the list this week. Then comes Spears Woods and Bluff Spring Fen. If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s worth a visit to Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Gensburg-Markham Prairie, Belmont Prairie, and Shoe Factory Road Prairie.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: About two dozen different flowers are blooming throughout the preserve. As you stroll the narrow trails, there’s never a spot without floral color. Under the trees, look for white starry campion, skybound plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed , and thousands of yellow woodland sunflowers. In the sunny areas of the savanna, I love the dense stands of molecular rattlesnake master. They’re structural tops look like Tinker Toys. You’ll also find towering and flowering stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air, along with blooms of mountain mint, Culver’s root, wild quinine, early goldenrod, and the feathery, deep-purple flowers of ironweed. Speaking of tall, soon after entering the preserve, a tunnel of big bluestem grass engulfs you along the trail. Look for their newly formed “turkey foot” tassels and the miniature flowers that hang from them. Early in the morning, if you don’t dress for it, these grasses will drench you with dew. In addition to appreciating the color, notice the rich textures, especially the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs has displays of flowers in both the woodland and the prairie. (See the Spears Woods page for GPS coordinates.) The elegant prairie blazing star is in bloom, along with early goldenrod, mountain mint, rattlesnake master, wild quinine, compass plant, and ironweed. And don’t forget the grasses. Look for the tiny flowers of big bluestem grass dangling from their towering tassels. Along the prairie edges and under the soft shade of the trees, you’ll find woodland sunflower. And, in the woodland, look for the fluffy flowers of the tall sweet Joe-Pye weed.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: The purple stalks of marsh blazing star is exploding at the fen’s seep Also, in the wet areas, look for swamp milkweed and spotted Joe-Pye weed, In the your hike, you’ll find yellow hues of rosinweed, yellow coneflower, shrubby cinquefoil, lance-leaved loosestrife, and skyrocketing compass plant. Experience that alabaster tones of wild quinine, flowering spurge, and rattlesnake master. In addition to the purples of marsh blazing star, there’s hoary vervain, cylindrical blazing star, sweet Joe-Pye weed in the savanna, and spotted Joe-Pye weed and swamp milkweed in the wet areas. The grasses are beautiful, as well, including big bluestem, little bluestem, and Canada wild rye, which act as a brushes loaded with morning dew. And then there’s the aptly named bottlebrush grass under the trees of the oak savanna.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion always provides a wonderful and wild experience. On a visit, just a couple of weeks back, I helped a small turtle across the road and saw mating dragonflies in flight. And with every step, I scared up a flurry of startled grasshoppers. Delicate, silver sprays of flowering spurge are blooming throughout the preserve.
Belmont Prairie in Downers grove is also worth a visit to see compass plant, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, wild quinine, and the diminutive blooms of big bluestem grass. The best show comes from the prairie blazing star in the northwest corner of the preserve.
Gensburg-Markham Prairie in Markham is putting on a show of marsh blazing star, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, wild quinine, yellow coneflower, and more. This display of flowers can be found on the trails that lead to the left as you walk in. The rest of the preserve is mostly green. NOTE: The gate is NOT locked. It just looks that way. The lock and chain are just draped over the top.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States offers cylindrical blazing star in the sunny parts and woodland sunflower in the shade of the savanna to the east. In the prairie just outside the fence, you’ll find a magical amounts of rattlesnake master. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen, which is just fifteen minutes away by car.
PHOTO SECTION
Prairie Blazing Star (and Marsh Blazing Star): Only the nerds can tell the difference.
Prairie blazing star and rosinweed in July at Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove, Illinois.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas. To experience rattlesnake master, visit Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next few weeks.*
Compass Plant
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
A landscape of Compass Plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
Big Bluestem Grass
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.” Find big bluestem at Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next several weeks.*
Look closely for miniature flowers that delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass.*
Somme Prairie Grove
At Somme Prairie Grove, woodland sunflowers surround this majestic bur oak in the savanna.*
In 1985, this area was cast in total darkness, a dirt floor under an endless gray barrier of scraggly buckthorn. Now, after lots of love from volunteers, it is the edge of a woodland, well lit and teeming with tall flowers that reach for the sun.*
At Somme Prairie Grove on Tuesday, July 26, rattlesnake master and early goldenrod are lit by the first light of day.
Spears Woods
Prairie blazing star and wild quinine light up the prairie at Spears Woods in Willow Springs, Illinois.*
In the open woodland at Spears Woods, discover summer tall, feathery blooms of sweet Joe-Pye weed.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soft sunlight, diffused by morning mist, filters across the preserve. Gathered at the base of the kame, fire-resistant bur oaks hover above a colorful caboodle of Joe-Pye weed and tall goldenrod.*
Blazing star blooms at the seep of the fen at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, August 17 (in rough order of urgency):
The August 10th report will rely on the information posted by the members of Friends of ChicagoNatureNOW! Facebook group. I’ll be on vacation.
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers, including like sweet (or purple) Joe-Pye weed and woodland sunflowers under the trees.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of blazing star and other blooms.
- Spears Woods: Status of blazing star, woodland sunflower, etc.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including woodland sunflower.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status flowering spurge, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Miller Woods: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Adventure Info & News – 07/27/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 27, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO KEEP THIS WEBSITE GOING!
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago weekend getaway:
Chicagoland is putting on a breathtaking show of flowers and grasses. Much like last week, at Bluff Spring Fen, alone, I counted twenty-four different species in bloom. I wasn’t even trying. Somme Prairie Grove is much the same and, in my opinion, the best preserve to visit this weekend. Shoe Factory Road Prairie, is also a great experience, especially if you include the surrounding prairie outside the fence. Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is also big on my list, this week. It isn’t as colorful as the other preserves, but it’s the wildest. If you’re in the La Grange area, then a trip to the vast Spears Woods is a good choice. If you’re near Markham, then Gensburg-Markham Prairie has some blooms to offering. And, if you’re in Downers Grove, a visit to Belmont Prairie is worthwhile.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: About two dozen different flowers are blooming throughout the preserve. As you stroll the narrow trails, there’s never a spot without floral color. In the sunny areas of the savanna, I love the the dense stands of round-headed rattlesnake master. They’re structural tops look like Tinker Toys. You’ll also find towering and flowering stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air. Speaking of tall, soon after entering the preserve, a sea of big bluestem grass engulfs you as you walk through a tunnel of this plant. Look for their newly formed “turkey foot” tassels and the miniature flowers that hang from them. Early in the morning, if you don’t dress for it, these grasses will drench you with dew. In addition to appreciating the color, notice the rich textures, especially the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed. Under the shade of the woodland, look for skybound plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed. You’ll also notice yellow woodland sunflowers just starting to bloom. In the next week, the woodland will be covered in gold!
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: The vast celebration of purple prairie clover has faded, but the purple of marsh blazing star has taken the lead role at the seep of the fen. You’ll find yellow hues of rosinweed, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, shrubby cinquefoil, lance-leaved loosestrife, and skyrocketing compass plant. Experience that alabaster tones of Culver’s root, wild quinine, flowering spurge, and rattlesnake master. In addition to the purples of marsh blazing star and purple prairie clover, there’s wild bergamot, hoary vervain, sweet Joe-Pye weed in the savanna, spotted Joe-Pye weed in the wetland, and the beginnings of cylindrical blazing star. The grasses are beautiful, as well, including big bluestem, little bluestem, and Canada wild rye, which acts as a brush when loaded with morning dew. And then there’s the aptly named bottlebrush grass under the trees of the oak savanna.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States is putting on a beautiful show of rattlesnake master. And there are lots of other plants blooming outside the fence. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen, which is just fifteen minutes away by car.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion always provides a wonderful and wild experience. Last week, Tuesday, I helped a small turtle across the road. I saw dragonflies mating in flight. And, with every step, I scared up a flurry of startled grasshoppers. Delicate, silver sprays of flowering spurge are blooming throughout the preserve, which combine beautifully with orange butterfly weed in the black oak savanna and rare shrubby cinquefoil in the sand prairie.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs has displays of flowers in both the woodland and prairie. (See the Spears Woods page for GPS coordinates.) Often, the July prairie appears as a sea of purple from the tall and elegant prairie blazing star. However, this year, there are only a few beautiful, dense patches. This is why ChicagoNatureNOW! is so important. Nature is inconsistent and we need people on the ground to provide you with this wonderful information. A hike through the prairie will also put you in touch with blooms of wild bergamot, rattlesnake master, wild quinine, early goldenrod, compass plant, and deep-purple feathery flowers of ironweed. And look for the tiny flowers of big bluestems grass dangling from their towering tassels. In the soft shade of the trees, you’ll find woodland sunflower and the magnificent fluffy flowers of the tall sweet Joe-Pye weed.
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, IT’S PROBABLY WORTH A TRIP TO:
Belmont Prairie in Downers grove is also worth a visit to see compass plant, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, wild quinine, and the diminutive blooms of big bluestem grass. Make sure you see the show of prairie blazing star in the northwest corner of the preserve.
Gensburg-Markham Prairie in Markham is putting on a show of marsh blazing star, rattlesnake master, flowering spurge, wild quinine, yellow coneflower, and more. This display of flowers can be found on the trails that lead to the left as you walk in. NOTE: The gate is NOT locked. It just looks that way. The lock and chain are just draped over the top.
PHOTO SECTION
Prairie Blazing Star (and Marsh Blazing Star): Only the nerds can tell the difference.
Prairie blazing star and rosinweed in July at Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove, Illinois.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas. To experience rattlesnake master, visit Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next few weeks.*
Compass Plant
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
A landscape of Compass Plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
Big Bluestem Grass
Here at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, big bluestem grass gives true meaning to the term “tallgrass prairie.”*
Look closely for miniature flowers that delicately hang from the tassel of big bluestem grass.*
Somme Prairie Grove
On Tuesday, July 26, purple prairie clover and mountain mint steal the show in this area of Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois.
At Somme Prairie Grove on Tuesday, July 26, rattlesnake master and early goldenrod are lit by the first light of day.
Bluff Spring Fen
Soft sunlight, diffused by morning mist, filters across the preserve. Gathered at the base of the kame, fire-resistant bur oaks hover above a colorful caboodle of Joe-Pye weed and tall goldenrod.*
“Lavender in color and mint in fragrance” describes wild bergamot. “Whimsical with an aroma of anise” describes yellow coneflower. Both are native to the prairie, and both are healers. Known as pioneer species,
they are among the first plants to colonize disturbed or degraded areas. Their presence improves soil quality while allowing other plants to move in, leading to greater biodiversity.*
Blazing star blooms at the seep of the fen at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
Spears Woods
Prairie blazing star and wild quinine light up the prairie at Spears Woods in Willow Springs, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, August 3 (in rough order of urgency):
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of the many flowers, including like sweet (or purple) Joe-Pye weed and woodland sunflowers under the trees.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of blazing star and other blooms.
- Spears Woods: Status of blazing star and woodland sunflower.
- Gensburg-Markham Prairie: Status of blazing star, etc.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of flowers including woodland sunflower.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status of flowering spurge, etc.
- Kickapoo Prairie: Status of blazing star, rattlesnake master, compass plant, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Miller Woods: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Adventure Info & News – 07/20/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 20, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO KEEP THIS WEBSITE GOING!
Here are some highlights to help you plan your Chicago weekend getaway:
Chicagoland is putting on a breathtaking show of flowers and grasses. At Bluff Spring Fen, alone, I counted twenty-four different species in bloom. I wasn’t even trying. Somme Prairie Grove is much the same and, in my opinion, the best preserve to visit this weekend. Shoe Factory Road Prairie, is also a great experience, especially if you include the surrounding prairie outside the fence. Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is also big on my list, this week. It isn’t nearly as colorful as the other preserves, but it’s the wildest. If you’re in the Downers Grove area, then Belmont Prairie is also worth a visit to see the yellow coneflowers and other prairie blooms.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR GETAWAY
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: Most of the blooming is happening in the sunny areas of the preserve. The dramatic display of purple prairie clover is pretty and fragrant, but that’s just the beginning. As you walk the narrow trails of this preserve, there’s never a spot without floral color. I love the the dense stands of round-headed rattlesnake master. I feel like I’m inside a science exhibit about molecular bonds. Right now, you’ll also find towering and flowering stalks of compass plant that can easily reach eight feet into the air. Speaking of tall, soon after entering the preserve, a sea of big bluestem grass engulfs you as you walk through a tunnel of this plant. Look for their newly formed “turkey foot” tassels. Early in the morning, if you don’t dress for it, these grasses will drench you with dew. In addition to appreciating the color, notice the rich textures, especially the symmetrical sprays of prairie dropseed. Under the shade of the woodland, look for skybound plumes of sweet Joe-Pye weed. You may notice some yellow woodland sunflowers just starting to bloom. In a very short time, the woodland will be covered in gold!
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: Come to see the vast celebration of purple prairie clover, which has taken most of the dry, gravelly area of the prairie, along with the many other forbs that are showing their colors throughout the preserve. You’ll find yellow hues of rosinweed, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, shrubby cinquefoil, lance-leaved loosestrife, and skyrocketing compass plant. Experience that alabaster tones of Culver’s root, wild quinine, flowering spurge, and rattlesnake master. And look for the purples. Along with the purple prairie clover, there’s an early display of marsh blazing star at the seep of the fen. Then there’s wild bergamot, hoary vervain, sweet Joe-Pye weed in the savanna, spotted Joe-Pye weed in the wetland, along the beginnings of cylindrical blazing star. The grasses are beautiful, as well, including big bluestem, little bluestem, and Canada wild rye, which acts as a brush when loaded with morning dew. And then there’s the aptly named bottlebrush grass in savanna.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie in Hoffman States is putting on a beautiful show of purple prairie clover and rattlesnake master. And there are lots of other plants blooming outside the fence. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen, which is just fifteen minutes away by car.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion always provides a wonderful and wild experience. Just this Tuesday, I helped a small turtle across the road. I saw dragonflies mating in flight. And, with every step, I scared up a flurry of startled grasshoppers. Delicate, silver sprays of flowering spurge are blooming throughout the preserve, which combine beautifully with orange butterfly weed in the black oak savanna and rare shrubby cinquefoil in the sand prairie.
Belmont Prairie is also worth a visit to see large display of yellow coneflower alongside compass plant and rattlesnake master.
COMING SOON: PRAIRIE & MARSH BLAZING STAR
PHOTO SECTION
Purple Prairie Clover
A honey bee flies over to purple prairie clover at Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve in Elgin, Illinois. You must smell this refreshingly fragrant flower. To me, its smells like a mix of carrot and lemon. *
There’s hardly a dull moment in Bluff Spring Fen’s prairie. Just as blooms of leadplant and coreopsis fade, purple prairie clover rises to take their place.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas. To experience rattlesnake master, visit Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next few weeks.*
Compass Plant
This bloom of compass plant reaches for the sky.*
A landscape of Compass Plants at Springbrook Prairie in Naperville, Illinois.*
Somme Prairie Grove
Here, at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois , we see the large, deeply lobed leaf of compass plant among a sea of purple prairie clover.*
Just this Tuesday, myriad species bloom in the mid-July savanna at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois. In this picture, nine flowers and grasses can be found: black-eyed Susan, purple prairie clover, mountain mint, wild bergamot, wild quinine, rattlesnake master, yellow coneflower, early goldenrod, and big bluestem grass.
Bluff Spring Fen
Soon after entering Bluff Spring Fen, you’ll find yourself in an intimate oak savanna, where majestic bur oaks with outstretched limbs protect you in their nurturing embrace.*
Come to Bluff Spring Fen early on a July morning and you might experience a chromatic expanse of purple prairie clover.*
“Lavender in color and mint in fragrance” describes wild bergamot. “Whimsical with an aroma of anise” describes yellow coneflower. Both are native to the prairie, and both are healers. Known as pioneer species,
they are among the first plants to colonize disturbed or degraded areas. Their presence improves soil quality while allowing other plants to move in, leading to greater biodiversity.*
Blazing star blooms at the seep of the fen at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, July 27 (in rough order of urgency):
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of purple prairie clover and other blooms, including like sweet (or purple) Joe-Pye weed and woodland sunflowers under the trees.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of blazing star and other blooms.
- Spears Woods: Status of blazing star and woodland sunflower.
- Gensburg-Markham Prairie: Status of blazing star, etc.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of purple prairie clover, rattlesnake master, etc..
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status of flowering spurge, etc.
- Kickapoo Prairie: Status of blazing star, rattlesnake master, compass plant, etc.
- Theodore Stone Preserve: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Miller Woods: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General atatus.
- Belmont Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Adventure Info & News – 07/13/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 13, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
Click here to see my interview about Chicago nature on CBS 2 Chicago “Sunday Morning News.”
Here’s what’s happening in Chicago nature to help you plan your Chicago outdoor adventure:
This week, the preserves with the best blooms are Bluff Spring Fen, Somme Prairie Grove, and Shoe Factory Road Prairie. All three feature beautiful displays of purple prairie clover. But, don’t just view the prairie clover. Take in its refreshing fragrance that resembles a medley of carrot and lemon.
HIGHLIGHTS
Bluff Spring Fen is gorgeous, right now, with flowering purple prairie clover throughout the preserve and many other species in bloom.
Somme Prairie Grove is putting on a show of many flowers, with purple prairie clover playing the leading role.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie offers a fanfare of prairie coreopsis and rattlesnake master.
WHERE TO GO THIS WEEKEND FOR A CHICAGO OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: Come to see the vast celebration of purple prairie clover, which has taken most of the dry, gravelly area of the prairie. You’ll also find many other flowering species, like yellow black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, rosinweed, and sky-bound compass plant. Butterfly milkweed, common milkweed, wild bergamot, and hoary vervain are also part of the kaleidoscopic mix.
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: The beautiful display of purple prairie clover is this week’s reason to visit. However, you’ll also see the gorgeous purple milkweed that only grows in oak savannas. Take the time to inhale its delicate fragrance. Along your way, you’ll also find other blooms of wild quinine, rattlesnake master, black-eyed Susan, butterfly weed, and towering compass plants. I often speak of the forbs (flowering plants), but the texture of the grasses are also quite beautiful, in particular, prairie dropseed.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie is putting on a dramatic show of purple prairie clover and rattlesnake master. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen, which is fifteen minutes away by car.
Miller Woods (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore) in Gary, Indiana: We weren’t able scouting this preserve, this week. Please consider volunteering for us. Last week, there was a big display of New Jersey tea along the Beach Trail that combines beautifully with with yellow blooms of black-eyed Susan.
COMING SOON: PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR
PHOTO SECTION
Purple Prairie Clover
A honey bee flies over to purple prairie clover at Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve in Elgin, Illinois. You must smell this refreshingly fragrant flower. To me, its smells like a mix of carrot and lemon. *
There’s hardly a dull moment in Bluff Spring Fen’s prairie. Just as blooms of leadplant and coreopsis fade, purple prairie clover rises to take their place.*
Rattlesnake Master
Rattlesnake master is a wonderful Chicago prairie flower that looks like something you’d find in Arizona or Texas. To experience rattlesnake master, visit Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Wolf Road Prairie, Fermilab Prairie, Gensburg Markham Prairie, Kickapoo Woods and Prairie, Spears Woods, Theodore Stone Preserve, and other local prairies over the next few weeks.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soon after entering Bluff Spring Fen, you’ll find yourself in an intimate oak savanna, where majestic bur oaks with outstretched limbs protect you in their nurturing embrace.*
Come to Bluff Spring Fen early on a July morning and you might experience a chromatic expanse of purple prairie clover.*
“Lavender in color and mint in fragrance” describes wild bergamot. “Whimsical with an aroma of anise” describes yellow coneflower. Both are native to the prairie, and both are healers. Known as pioneer species,
they are among the first plants to colonize disturbed or degraded areas. Their presence improves soil quality while allowing other plants to move in, leading to greater biodiversity.*
Somme Prairie Grove
Here, at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois , we see the large, deeply lobed leaf of compass plant among a sea of purple prairie clover.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, July 20 (in rough order of urgency):
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of purple prairie clover and other blooms, including like sweet (or purple) Joe-Pye weed in the woodland and woodland sunflowers.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of purple prairie clover and other blooms.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of purple prairie clover, rattlesnake master, etc..
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status of butterfly weed, flowering spurge, etc.
- Wolf Road Prairie: Culver’s root, wild bergamot, etc.
- Kickapoo Prairie: General status
- Miller Woods: General status.
- Powderhorn Prairie: General status.
- Belmont Prairie: General status.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Info & News – 07/07/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
July 7, 2017
“Plan your Chicago outdoor adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
Watch my interview about ChicagoNatureNOW! on CBS 2 Chicago “Sunday Morning News” at 6:45 am on Sunday, July 9.
Here’s what’s happening in Chicago nature:
This week, the preserves with the best blooms are Somme Prairie Grove, Bluff Spring Fen, and Shoe Factory Road Prairie. All are featuring grand displays of leadplant, purple prairie clover, and compass plant with golden blooms upon its towering, hairy stalk. You just have to smell the prairie clover. It’s my favorite plant smell. It gives off a refreshing fragrance that resembles a combination of carrot and lemon. Eastern prickly pear cactus is also flowering at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve and other preserves (see info below). Yes, Chicago has a native cactus!
HIGHLIGHTS
Somme Prairie Grove is the preserve of the week for wildflowers. See a spectacular show of leadplant along with many other flowering species, including the refreshingly fragrant purple prairie clover.
Bluff Spring Fen is features a magnificent show of purple prairie clover blooming throughout the preserve.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie offers a fanfare of prairie coreopsis, and leadplant. And in the prairie outside the fence, you’ll find other flowers like pale purple coneflower.
Belmont Prairie is offering a nice presentation of butterfly weed, black-eyed Susan, and mix of other flowers.
Miller Woods is worth visiting, if you’re near Indiana, for its show of New Jersey tea and the chance to find eastern prickly pear cactus in flower. You can even take a walk to the beach where you can experience the cool Lake Michigan water.
PLAN YOUR CHICAGO OUTDOOR ADVENTURE THIS WEEKEND
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: Leadplant is putting on a spectacular show, but there are also many different species of colorful flowers in bloom. One of my favorite prairie plants is tuberous (or prairie) Indian plantain, which you can find soon after walking in. You’ll also see the gorgeous purple milkweed that only grows in oak savannas. Take the time to inhale its delicate fragrance. Along your way, you’ll also find another lovely plant—the yellow prairie sundrop and a smattering of other blooms, including wild quinine, rattlesnake master, New Jersey tea, black-eyed Susan, prairie coreopsis, butterfly weed, and tall stalks of compass plants. Soon, you’ll come upon the main event, the purple pageant of leadplant and purple prairie clover. I often speak of the forbs (flowering plants), but the texture of the grasses are also quite beautiful, in particular, prairie dropseed or, as I like to call it, Cousin Itt plant. I love Cousin Itt. He made very few appearances on “The Addams Family,” which made that much more exciting to see Itt as a kid (and as an adult). Now and though the fall, you can see his likeness at Somme Prairie Grove.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: The flowering plant of the moment is purple prairie clover. It’s everywhere. You’ll also find many other flowering species, like yellow black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, and rosinweed, along with orange butterfly milkweed and purplish common milkweed.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie is putting on a dramatic show of prairie coreopsis, alongside leadplant and purple prairie clover. And outside the fence on the hillsides, you’ll find other flowers like pale purple coneflower. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen which is only about fifteen minutes away by car.
Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove: The preserve looks good this week with many plants of bright plants of orange butterfly milkweed, black-eyed Susan, and wild quinine. Other flowering plants include yellow coneflower, rosinweed, and rattlesnake master. As you scan the prairie, look for the towering stalks of compass plant. They’re just stating to bloom with yellow flowers. Compass plant gets its name from directional leaves that face east/west and point north/south.
Miller Woods (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore) in Gary, Indiana: There’s a big display of New Jersey tea along the Beach Trail that combines beautifully with with yellow blooms of black-eyed Susan. While you’re there, look for eastern prickly pear cactus. It should be blooming, now, but I couldn’t find any. Ask at the visitor center where to find it. If you take the Beach Trail to the end, you’ll be rewarded by the cool waters of Lake Michigan. Please help us scout this preserve.
Experience Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus at these preserves: Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Miller Woods, Powderhorn Marsh & Prairie, Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, and Braidwood Dunes.
COMING SOON: PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR
PHOTO SECTION
Purple Prairie Clover
A honey bee flies over to purple prairie clover at Bluff Spring Fen Nature Preserve in Elgin, Illinois. You must smell this refreshingly fragrant flower. To me, its smells like a mix of carrot and lemon. *
There’s hardly a dull moment in Bluff Spring Fen’s prairie. Just as blooms of leadplant and coreopsis fade, purple prairie clover rises to take their place.*
Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus at Sandy Preserves Around the Region
Blooms of eastern prickly pear cactus can be found in late June in sandy preserves around the Chicago area, like Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Miller Woods, Powderhorn Marsh & Prairie, Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, and Braidwood Dunes.*
Somme Prairie Grove
It was a very dry year in Chicago, yet you wouldn’t know it from looking at this scene. The purple plant in this panorama is leadplant, which can search for water fifteen feet below the arid surface. Other drought-tolerant species seen here include prairie dropseed and wild quinine, in the front; and farther out, prairie dock, compass plant, and rattlesnake master.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soon after entering Bluff Spring Fen, you’ll find yourself in an intimate oak savanna, where majestic bur oaks with outstretched limbs protect you in their nurturing embrace.*
Behold! Morning in a Chicagoland prairie. This fine June day awakens to a magnificent panorama of pale purple coneflower, leadplant, and stiff coreopsis.*
At Bluff Spring Fen, in the golden light of morning, wild quinine, stiff coreopsis, and leadplant overlook the foggy fen from atop the reconstructed kame and the remnants of Healy Road Prairie, which was miraculously transplanted here from six miles down the road.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
Atop this hill prairie, deep-rooted leadplants combine with the happy yellow faces of coreopsis as they shine through the dissipating fog.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, July 13 (in rough order of urgency):
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of purple prairie clover, leadplant, rattlesnake master, and other blooms.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of leadplant, prairie coreopsis, purple prairie clover, and compass plant.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of prairie coreopsis, leadplant, purple prairie clover, and rattlesnake master.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status of butterfly weed, etc.
- Miller Woods: Status of New Jersey tea and whatever else.
- Powderhorn Prairie: Status including eastern prickly pear cactus.
- Belmont Prairie: Status of butterfly weed and other flowers.
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Wolf Road Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike
Chicago Nature Info & News – 06/29/2017
Chicago Nature Now! Alert
June 29, 2017
Fourth of July Edition
“Plan your Forth of July nature adventure with Chicago nature info and news
to help you discover the region’s finest natural wonders.”
Plan your Fourth of July Chicago nature adventure. This week, there is so much to see and explore!
Here’s what’s happening in Chicago nature:
This week, the preserves with the best blooms are Somme Prairie Grove, Bluff Spring Fen, and Shoe Factory Road Prairie. This week also features grand displays of leadplant and other fascinating blooms like eastern prickly pear cactus. Yes, Chicago has a native cactus! The remarkable spiderwort is still blooming in many preserves, but not as prolifically as before. You will only see their flowers in the morning. By the afternoon, their purple blooms will have melted into a purple liquid! Learn more here.
HIGHLIGHTS
Somme Prairie Grove is the preserve of the week for wildflowers. According to Nature Scout Charlie Yang, the preserve “lights up with all kinds of flowers” led by a spectacular show of leadplant.
Bluff Spring Fen is beautiful, right now, as it shows off thick displays of leadplant, prairie coreopis, and pale purple coneflower.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie offers a fanfare of prairie coreopsis, and leadplant. And in the prairie outside the fence, you’ll find other flowers like pale purple coneflower.
Belmont Prairie is offering an exciting presentation of pale purple coneflower, porcupine grass, and scurfy pea, and many gorgeous orange blossoms of butterfly weed.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve features lots of hairy puccoon, butterfly weed, and porcupine grass. There’s lots of wildlife, here, even if you just happen to see their tracks in the sand. (See photos below.)
Spears Woods offers flowers of silver and gold and several different habits to explore.
Miller Woods is worth visiting, if you’re near Indiana, for its flourish of hairy puccoon and the chance to find eastern prickly pear cactus in flower. You can even take a walk to the beach where you can experience the cool Lake Michigan water.
PLAN YOUR CHICAGO NATURE TRIP THIS WEEKEND
Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook: Leadplant is putting on a spectacular show, but there are also many different species of colorful flowers in bloom. One of my favorite prairie plant species is tuberous (or prairie) Indian plantain, which you can find soon after walking in. You’ll also see the gorgeous purple milkweed that only grows in oak savannas. Take the time to inhale its delicate fragrance. Along your way, you’ll also find another lovely plant—the yellow prairie sundrop and a smattering of other blooms, including wild quinine, white wild indigo, rattlesnake master, New Jersey tea, black-eyed Susan, prairie coreopsis, and butterfly weed. Soon, you’ll come upon the main event, the purple pageant of leadplant. I often speak of the forbs (flowering plants), but the texture of the grasses are also quite beautiful, in particular, prairie dropseed or, as I like to call it, Cousin Itt plant. I love Cousin Itt. He made very few appearances on “The Addams Family,” which made that much more exciting to see Itt as a kid (and as an adult). Now and though the fall, you can see his likeness at Somme Prairie Grove.
Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin: Your walk begins in the intimate oak savanna under the warm embrace and protection of majestic oaks. Soon, the trails emerge into the open prairie, where you’ll find numerous wildflowers like pale purple coneflower. Porcupine grass can also be found here, as well as butterfly milkweed and purplish common milkweed. As you walk deeper into the preserve, notice the rich display of leadplant and prairie coreopsis—the flowers of the week.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie is putting on a dramatic show of prairie coreopsis and leadplant. And outside the fence on the hillsides, you’ll find other flowers like pale purple coneflower. While you’re here, consider visiting Bluff Spring Fen which is only about fifteen minutes away by car.
Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove: Experience the beautiful symphony of color and texture, this week, at this intimate remnant prairie nestled within a quiet neighborhood of Downers Grove. Orange butterfly milkweed is looking fantastic, especially when it’s draped in the purple flowers of scurfy pea and the whitish texture of porcupine grass that have given up their spear-like seeds. Pale purple coneflower is still prominent, but fading, which is also true for the purple blooms of spiderwort. Its flowers can only be viewed during the morning hours because, as the day warms, the flowers melt away and turn to liquid.
Spears Woods in Willow Springs: “Silver and gold” describes the floral color of the prairies. The silvers come from the alabaster blooms of wild quinine, white wild indigo, and upcoming rattlesnake master. The flowers of black-eyed Susan provide the gold. The preserve is big and gives you a lot to explore. While you’re there, don’t forget to find your way to Hogwash Slough. Click here to visit the Spears Woods page to find the GPS coordinates for the prairie and the slough.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion: This preserve is always a great experience, even when there aren’t a lot of blooms. Right now, under the canopy of oaks, you’ll find hairy puccoon in great numbers along with a smattering of butterfly weed and pasture rose. But don’t just view this beautiful rose. Get down on hands and knees and press your nose into the pink petals. It’s worth the effort. Out in the sand prairie, you’ll discover thousands of porcupine grass with their long, needlelike seeds still attached. And finally, look closely for the lemon-colored blooms of eastern prickly pear cactus. This preserve is so rich and wild that you can easily spend most of your day exploring it. And, if you take your time and look closely, you may even find wildlife or their signs. (See photos below of animal tracks, a snapping turtle, and napping turtle eggs.)
Miller Woods (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore) in Gary, Indiana: If you’re in Indiana, visit for a nice long walk hike among the hairy puccoon, which is prominent throughout the preserve. And, while you’re there, look for eastern prickly pear cactus. It should be blooming, now. Ask at the visitor center where to find it. Take the Beach Trail and, if you go the the end, you’ll be rewarded by the cool waters of Lake Michigan. Please help us scout this preserve.
Experience Spiderwort: The blooming time for spiderwort is coming to an end. So, head out to just about any of our featured prairies and savannas, or you’ll have to wait until next year. To see the flowers, arrive by 10 o’clock in the morning. At the start of each day and over the span of about a month, the plant produces new purple flowers that turn to liquid by afternoon! To experience this purple liquid, squeeze the closed buds that resemble slightly opened pistachios. For the rest of the day, people will look at your fingers and think you were recently arrested. Read about spiderwort and learn where you can find it.
Experience Porcupine Grass at these preserves: Belmont Prairie, the sand prairie at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Shoe Factory Road Prairie, Bluff Spring Fen, and Powderhorn Prairie.
Experience Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus at these preserves: Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Miller Woods, Powderhorn Marsh & Prairie, Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, and Braidwood Dunes.
COMING SOON: PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER
PHOTO SECTION
Pale Purple Coneflower
Watch this video from about this time last year at Bluff Spring Fen:
In addition to experiencing the prairie as a whole, take a closer look and discover the many attractions that hide in plain sight. Here, within a scene of a thousand coneflowers, I attended a miniature, slow-motion rodeo that was taking place upon one prickly flower head. I watched as a tiny ant rode the back of a slinking inchworm.*
Miraculous Spiderwort with Flowers that Melt!
Spiderwort in the morning light at Belmont Prairie in Downers Grove and at every savanna and prairie that we feature. A flower will open up in the morning and then melt in just a few hours. So, the morning is the time to see the flowers in bloom. Learn more here.
Pasture Rose at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve & Bluff Spring Fen
The fragrance of pasture rose is transcendent—a spiritual experience. Over several weeks in late spring, it blooms barely inches from the ground. During that time, whenever we’re together, I partake in a sacred ritual. I drop to my knees and bow in reverence, nose to petal.*
Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus at Sandy Preserves Around the Region
Blooms of eastern prickly pear cactus can be found in late June in sandy preserves around the Chicago area, like Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, Miller Woods, Powderhorn Marsh & Prairie, Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, and Braidwood Dunes.*
Somme Prairie Grove
It was a very dry year in Chicago, yet you wouldn’t know it from looking at this scene. The purple plant in this panorama is leadplant, which can search for water fifteen feet below the arid surface. Other drought-tolerant species seen here include prairie dropseed and wild quinine, in the front; and farther out, prairie dock, compass plant, and rattlesnake master.*
Bluff Spring Fen
Soon after entering Bluff Spring Fen, you’ll find yourself in an intimate oak savanna, where majestic bur oaks with outstretched limbs protect you in their nurturing embrace.*
Behold! Morning in a Chicagoland prairie. This fine June day awakens to a magnificent panorama of pale purple coneflower, leadplant, and stiff coreopsis.*
At Bluff Spring Fen, in the golden light of morning, wild quinine, stiff coreopsis, and leadplant overlook the foggy fen from atop the reconstructed kame and the remnants of Healy Road Prairie, which was miraculously transplanted here from six miles down the road.*
Shoe Factory Road Prairie
Atop this hill prairie, deep-rooted leadplants combine with the happy yellow faces of coreopsis as they shine through the dissipating fog.*
Belmont Prairie
Belmont prairie is special because it is home to an unusually high number of blooming wildflowers and fascinating plant species. During the month of June, this remnant prairie puts on a most impressive floral display: the celebration of the pale purple coneflower. Mixed amongst the coneflowers, the bright-colored grasses crisscrossing the center of the frame are porcupine grass. Its long spear-like seeds miraculously drill themselves into the earth in a counter-clockwise motion that you can actually watch.*
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve
Butterfly milkweed (or butterfly weed) blooms in several of Chicagoland’s prairies and savannas, including Bluff Spring Fen, Belmont Prairie, Somme Prairie Grove, and, here, at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion.*
Near the Lake Michigan shore at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve, the low light of morning revealed shapes in the sand that chronicled the secrets of time and affirmed the existence of wondrous creatures and invisible forces.*
On Thursday, June 23, 2017, in the middle of the trail that leads to the Dead River, I found a snapping turtle nest that was raided by a raccoon or other predator. Maybe next time, the mother-t0-be will smarten up and pick a more secluded spot.
A common snapping turtle trudges through the sandy Lake Michigan shoreline on its way to the Dead River at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois.*
The Dead River, at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, is the only remaining river in Illinois that flows into Lake Michigan. The name comes either from deep pools of quicksand hidden along the banks that devour unsuspecting hikers or from water that remains still and barely flows. On this sapphire morning, the latter was true.*
* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.
SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, July 6 (in rough order of urgency):
- Somme Prairie Grove: Status of leadplant and other blooms, including rattlesnake master.
- Bluff Spring Fen: Status of leadplant, prairie coreopsis, pale purple coneflowers, and purple prairie clover.
- Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Status of prairie coreopsis, leadplant, purple prairie clover, and rattlesnake master.
- Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Status of butterfly weed, etc.
- Powderhorn Prairie: Status including eastern prickly pear cactus.
- Belmont Prairie: Status of pale purple coneflower, scurfy pea, and butterfly weed
- Fermilab Prairie: General status.
- Wolf Road Prairie: General status.
- Middlefork Savanna: General status.
If you’d like to help your neighbors discover national-park quality natural events around our homes, then become an official scout. Or, you can help by just sending us pictures and a text description from your visit. Another way is to post your pictures to Instagram using these essential hashtags: #ChicagoNatureNow and #NameOfPreserve.
Do you find this website useful? Do you benefit from our many hours of weekly scouting? Then please help keep it going by donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book.
—Mike