It’s the fall seed harvest time of the year. Most days, after spending time in the prairie harvesting native plant seeds that we will sow this winter, I emerge covered in a multitude of seeds of various shapes and sizes. And if I am covered in seeds, I’m thinking that perhaps the bison grazing the…
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I love smelling flowers. I’m sure there are oodles and oodles of articles and scientific journals describing in great detail the smell of this flower, the fragrance of that flower, and all the chemical compounds that go into making those aromas. But there is a limit to what words can do. Sometimes…
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When you plant a garden, sometimes you get surprises – like the tomatillos and dill that are unexpectedly growing in my garden from last year’s seed. And sometimes you get other surprises, too – a goldfinch that flies in or perhaps the caterpillar of a swallowtail butterfly. The same is true with…
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My ninety-year-old neighbor used to tell me that he was going out fishing… not catching, but fishing. It’s about the experience, he’d tell me. And that is how it is with me and birding… it’s about the experience. Attempting to see some birds—sometimes being able to watch and identify them, and…
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December and January are ‘a visiting time’ – a time to escape the chill of winter and explore new spaces in far-away places, or to travel to see friends and family in old familiar haunts and catch up on the year that was. It’s also a visiting time for sparrows, and my grandfather always told me that…
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Bison Vet Day may be one of the most important days at Kankakee Sands each year. Certainly, it is by far one of the most emotional – for humans and for bison. Inside each Bison Vet Day are profound emotions of anxiety, awe, exhilaration and relief. Months of work have gone into the preparation for…
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October is loud and raucous on the Kankakee Sands prairie. It can also be dark and ominous. In the early morning, you can hear them long before you see them. Off in the distance is a lone tree or perhaps a small cluster of trees. Their branches beginning to tremble. Growing ever louder, a…
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It’s all too easy to overlook things, isn’t it? As we move so quickly from place to place, from task to task, we often miss the nuances and details that make life so interesting. In the fall, with goldenrods painting our Kankakee Sands prairies an amazing palette of sunshine, buttery yellow, and…
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On this chilly May morning, I’m bundling up for a pre-dawn excursion. With binoculars round my neck and bird book in hand, I meet up with other Kankakee Sands staff and volunteers for our annual Kankakee Sands Bird Survey in the bison pasture. We are looking and listening for all the birds that…
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There’s something about having your feet in water that is a thrill. As a kid, I jumped and splashed in puddles and ponds just to see how big an impact I could have. Now, as an adult, I enjoy watching kids jump and splash, but my way is different now… I prefer to walk slowly through the water…
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