This summer has been the year of the amazing weather and my love affair with my Apple watch. I decided that I needed both time in nature and some regular exercise beyond my sometimes-I-go aqua aerobics classes.
Walking my way through some good times and some bad...
I've searched out places to walk where I felt safe walking by myself and grounded to the earth. This week I finally got the opportunity to visit Volo Bog State Natural Area, which is about an hour's drive from my house, out in the far boonies of Chicagoland.
When I left the house, there was not a cloud in the sky, but the farther northwest I got, the cloudier it got. I figured that if I were on vacation, I'd be out there walking in the rain anyway, so I put on my fleece and my cap and took off.
I'm always intrigued by glacial and volcanic geography.
The walkway into the marsh is on a boardwalk, supported by pontoons.
The stands of winterberry are absolutely stunning this time of year, especially against the marsh grass on its end cycle.
The further back into the marsh I got, the gloomier it got.
On the CBS Sunday Morning television show, there was a piece about "larch madness." I began to experience my own larch madness when I saw the display the tamarack trees were putting on in the marsh.
The deciduous needles are so soft!
Little Shop of Horrors in nature.
The tamarack trees ringing the bog were the perfect frame.
As I walked out of the marsh, the birds that had nestled down during the rain began to show themselves. The sights of birds and the music of their song as they flew out of the darkness was extraordinary.
The sun finally burst through the clouds.
One of my goals for this year is to take selfies -- I'm happy, well, and trying new things. It doesn't make any difference if my hair or makeup is perfect.
I was impressed with the efforts to make as little impact on the earth as possible. I took my lunch sack back home with me to compost and I giggled at the sign in the pit toilets.
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