Even clearing the driveway to drive to the prairie isn’t so bad, knowing a hike awaits.
Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL (2016).
It all feels worthwhile. There are still shadows. But the world seems like a more hopeful place.
Belmont Prairie, Downers Grove, IL.
Full of possibilities. Potential.
Wolf Road Prairie, Westchester, IL (2019)
Because of the snow.
*****
I’m reading the Pulitzer Prize winning, Nobel Prize winning, the you-name-it-she’s-won-it prize-winning poet Louise Glück’s (1943-) latest, Winter Recipes from the Collective. It’s a cold, dark read, with a little bit of hope. Good January poetry. Read more about Glück here.
******
Join Cindy for a program this winter!
“100 Years Around the Morton Arboretum” — Wednesday, January 26, 6:30pm-8:30 pm. Watch history come to life in this special centennial-themed lecture about The Morton Arboretum. Celebrating 100 years, The Morton Arboretum has a fascinating past. Two of the Arboretum’s most knowledgeable historians, author Cindy Crosby and the ever-amazing library collections manager Rita Hassert, will share stories of the Mortons, the Arboretum, and the trees that make this place such a treasure. Join us via Zoom from the comfort of your home. (Now all online). Register here.
February 8-March 1 (Three evenings, 6:30-9pm): The Foundations of Nature Writing Online —Learn the nuts and bolts of excellent nature writing and improve your wordsmithing skills in this online course from The Morton Arboretum. Over the course of four weeks, you will complete three self-paced e-learning modules and attend weekly scheduled Zoom sessions with your instructor and classmates. Whether you’re a blogger, a novelist, a poet, or simply enjoy keeping a personal journal, writing is a fun and meaningful way to deepen your connection to the natural world. February 8, noon Central time: Access self-paced materials online. February 15, 22, and March 1, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Central time: Attend live. Register here.
March 3–Tallgrass Prairie Ecology Online –online class with assignments over 60 days; one live Zoom together. Digitally explore the intricacies of the tallgrass prairie landscape and learn how to restore these signature American ecosystems. Look at the history of this particular type of grassland from the descent of glaciers over the Midwest millions of years ago to the introduction of John Deere’s famous plow to where we are today. We will examine different types of prairie, explore the plant and animal communities of the prairie, and discuss strategies specific to restoring prairies in this engaging online course. Come away with a better understanding of prairies and key insights into how to restore their beauty. You will have 60 days to access the materials. Register here.
“…I looked on the natural world, and I felt joy.” — Michael McCarthy
*****
This is the season of hot chocolate and electric blankets; library books and naps. And yet. When I spend too much time insulated at home, I find myself fretting over the latest newspaper headlines, or worrying about getting sick. Covid has left few of our families untouched.
Thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica), Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve, Downers Grove, IL.
What’s the solution? I can’t solve Covid, but I can keep my worries from circling around and around in an endless loop.
Snow on Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
A hike outdoors goes a long way to restoring my spirits. Cold has settled into the Chicago region. A fine layer of snow has covered the grime along the roads and left everything shimmering white. The air smells like clean laundry. The ice has become manageable under a few days of concentrated sunlight.
Prairie pond at Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
It’s beautiful outside! Despite the chill. Consider these three reasons to brave the cold and go for a prairie hike this week.
Shadows and Shapes
Snow backdrops prairie plants and transforms them.
Unknown vine; East Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
It backlights the tallgrass; silhouetting wildflowers and grasses.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Familiar plants cast blue-gray shadows, giving them a different dimension.
East Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Even if you’ve seen a plant a hundred times before…
Common milkweed (Asclepia syriaca), Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
…it takes on a winter persona, and seems new.
Pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida), Belmont Prairie, Downers Grove, IL.
Snow shadows lend the prairie a sense of mystery.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
The spark and glaze of ice turn your hike into something magical.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Breathe in. The cold air numbs the worry. Breathe out. Feel the terrors of the day fade away.
For now. A moment of peace.
Winter Traffic
During these pandemic times its comforting to know we live in community. Small prairie creatures—usually invisible— are made visible by their tracks.
Busy intersection, Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Tunnels are evidence of more life humming under the snow.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
I leave my tracks alongside theirs. It’s a reminder that we all share the world, even when we don’t see each other.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Prairie Skies
Winter has a way of changing the prairie sky from moment to moment. It might be brilliant blue one day, or crowded with puffy cumulus clouds the next.
Belmont Prairie, Downers Grove, IL.
Wild geese fly by, their bowling pin silhouettes humorous when directly overhead; the clamor raucous even in the distance as they fly from prairie to soccer field to golf course.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Skies might be soft with sheep shapes on one day…
Belmont Prairie, Downers Grove, IL.
Or blindingly bright on the next stroll through.
East Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
The prairie gives us the advantage of a 360-degree view of the sky. Its immensity reminds us of how very small….so small…. our worries are in the great span of time and space.
East Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
As we hike, our sense of wonder is rekindled.
Russell R. Kirt Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Our fear disappears. Or at least, it lessens.
East Prairie, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Our mind rests. The well of contentment, seriously depleted, begins to fill. And then, we feel it again.
Joy.
*****
The opening quote is from the book The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy by Michael McCarthy (1947-), a long-time British environmental editor for The Independent and writer for The Times. You can listen to his interview with Krista Tippett for “On Being” here.
*****
Join Cindy for a program this winter!
“100 Years Around the Morton Arboretum” — Wednesday, January 26, 6:30pm-8:30 pm. Watch history come to life in this special centennial-themed lecture about The Morton Arboretum. Celebrating 100 years, The Morton Arboretum has a fascinating past. Two of the Arboretum’s most knowledgeable historians, author Cindy Crosby and the ever-amazing library collections manager Rita Hassert, will share stories of the Mortons, the Arboretum, and the trees that make this place such a treasure. Join us via Zoom from the comfort of your home. (Now all online). Register here.
February 8-March 1 (Three evenings, 6:30-9pm): The Foundations of Nature Writing Online —Learn the nuts and bolts of excellent nature writing and improve your wordsmithing skills in this online course from The Morton Arboretum. Over the course of four weeks, you will complete three self-paced e-learning modules and attend weekly scheduled Zoom sessions with your instructor and classmates. Whether you’re a blogger, a novelist, a poet, or simply enjoy keeping a personal journal, writing is a fun and meaningful way to deepen your connection to the natural world. February 8, noon Central time: Access self-paced materials online. February 15, 22, and March 1, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Central time: Attend live. Register here.
March 3–Tallgrass Prairie Ecology Online –online class with assignments over 60 days; one live Zoom together. Digitally explore the intricacies of the tallgrass prairie landscape and learn how to restore these signature American ecosystems. Look at the history of this particular type of grassland from the descent of glaciers over the Midwest millions of years ago to the introduction of John Deere’s famous plow to where we are today. We will examine different types of prairie, explore the plant and animal communities of the prairie, and discuss strategies specific to restoring prairies in this engaging online course. Come away with a better understanding of prairies and key insights into how to restore their beauty. You will have 60 days to access the materials. Register here.
*****
Also — check out this free program offered by Wild Ones! (Not one of Cindy’s but she’s attending!)
The Flora and Fauna of Bell Bowl PrairieFebruary 17, 7-8:30 p.m. Join other prairie lovers to learn about the flora and fauna of Bell Bowl Prairie, slated for destruction by the Chicago-Rockford International Airport this spring. It’s free, but you must register. More information here. Scroll down to “Upcoming Events” and you’ll see the February 17 Webinar with the always-awesome Rock Valley Wild Ones native plants group. Watch for the Zoom link coming soon on their site! Or contact Wild Ones Rock River Valley Chapter here. Be sure and visit http://www.savebellbowlprairie.org to see how you can help.
After I hiked the prairie this weekend in the snow, rising temperatures and a misty rain laid an icy glaze across the sidewalks and driveways; shellacked the front steps to our house. It looked as if Mother Nature got down on her hands and knees and buffed the snow to a high gloss.
Iced snow, Glendale Heights, IL.
Monday’s sunshine helped melt it a bit. Now everything is slick with ice. It’s treacherous out there.
Willoway Brook, Schulenberg Prairie, Lisle, IL.
I can see my backyard prairie patch from the kitchen window. What solace! The prairie dock leaves are brittle and brown; the compass plants curl like bass clefs. Wild bergamot satisfies my need for aesthetics as much in winter as it does in full bloom during the summer. Rattlesnake master’s spare silhouette is more striking now than it was in the warmer seasons.
Along the side of the house, prairie dropseed pleases in its mound-drape of leaves. What a pleasure this plant is. Every home owner should have it. So well-behaved.
But it’s the rough and tumble of joe pye, goldenrod, asters, swamp milkweed, cup plant, culver’s root, mountain mint and other prairie community members as a whole that I appreciate as much as parsing out a single species.
Crosby backyard, Glen Ellyn, IL.
I’m reminded that underneath the snow is a world of color and motion and growth, just waiting to happen at the turn of the temperatures toward warmth. These bitter temperatures are a necessary pause in the life of the prairie.
New prairie smoke (Geum triflorum), Crosby’s backyard, Glen Ellyn, IL.
Meanwhile, I’ll wait for the ice to melt…
Willoway Brook, Schulenberg Prairie, Lisle, IL.
… and remind myself that one of the reasons I planted prairie in my yard is for days just like this one. Is my backyard prairie good for the environment? Absolutely. Essential for pollinators? You bet. And…
…it’s a winter pleasure that warms my spirits, as I look through the window on a brutally-cold, iced-in day.
******
Lucy Larcom (1824-1893) was a writer, abolitionist, and teacher. As one of nine children, whose father (a sea captain) died when she was eight, Larcom worked with her mother to run a boardinghouse to keep the family afloat in Lowell, Massachusetts. She worked in Lowell’s mills at eleven years old, where the “mill girls” established a literary circle and she became a friend of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was a support and encouragement. At twenty, she moved with an older sister to the Illinois prairies, where she taught school. She later moved back East and wrote for such magazines as the Atlantic. Her poetry collections include Similitudes, from the Ocean and Prairie (1853). She is best known for her autobiography, A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory which the Poetry Foundation calls “a richly detailed account of gender, and class in mid-nineteenth century New England.”
*****
Join Cindy for a program in January!
“100 Years Around the Morton Arboretum” — Wednesday, January 26, 6:30pm-8:30 pm. Watch history come to life in this special centennial-themed lecture about The Morton Arboretum. Celebrating 100 years, The Morton Arboretum has a fascinating past. Two of the Arboretum’s most knowledgeable historians, author Cindy Crosby and the ever-amazing library collections manager Rita Hassert, will share stories of the Mortons, the Arboretum, and the trees that make this place such a treasure. Join us in person, or tune in via Zoom from the comfort of your home. (Please note changes in venue may be made, pending COVID. Check the day before to ensure you know the most current details of this event). Register here.
“But if we don’t understand and care for the smaller manifestations of wildness close at hand, how can we ever care for the great wildernesses?” —Conor Gearin
*****
Temperatures hover around zero in the Chicago region. The “Winter Storm to End All Storms” seems to have fizzled out in a matter of less than half a dozen inches. And here I sit, in 70-degree weather. In Florida. There’s a part of me that’s sad to miss the first real snow of the season. A small part of me. (A very teeny, tiny part.)
Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve, Downers Grove, IL January 2017.
But there’s solace knowing that this week, I’m absorbed in learning the names of birds, blooms, dragonflies, shells, and other flora and fauna of southwestern Florida. This region, which I’ve visited for almost 45 years, doesn’t hold the same place in my heart as the Illinois tallgrass prairie, my landscape of home. But hiking here reminds me of the breadth and depth of diversity of the natural world, and the joy of discovery. Here’s a postcard to you:
*****
Dear friends,
Hello from Florida! Visiting this tropical region in December and January jolts me out of my sense of normalcy about what “winter” looks like. It reminds me that the way I experience life in this season in the Chicago region is completely different than how my neighbors to the south experience it. What a change from the Midwestern prairie! Displacement—a complete change—is a good reset for me to begin a new year.
Here are a few of the wonders I see on my hikes:
My first Mangrove Skipper.
Mangrove skipper (Phocides pygmalion) on romerillo (Bidens alba), J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL.
The Great Pondhawk. A new dragonfly species for me!
Great pondhawk (Erythemis vesiculosa), J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge,Sanibel Island, FL.
Another “lifer” is the Mottled Duck, paddling through the mangroves. (Don’t know what a “lifer” is? Take this quiz.)
Mottled duck (Anas fulvigula), J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL.
Ducks are easy to overlook, when there are these birds around. Roseate Spoonbills!
Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL.
Wow. Such shocking pink. They look like they were run through the wash in the whites load with one red sock, don’t they?
Roseate Spoonbill (XX), Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL.
Only the hibiscus rivals it here for color.
Hibiscus (Hibiscus sp.), Captiva Island, FL.
And—of course—there are pelicans.
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Captiva Island Florida.
So many pelicans. A flock of pelicans is called a “pouch of pelicans” or sometimes, a “squadron of pelicans. Fun!
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Captiva Island, FL.
Swimming near the pelicans is a mama manatee and her baby.
Captiva Island, FL.
Four—or are there five?—are at the marina. I learn manatees are large, gray-ish aquatic mammals that feed on sea grasses. They can weigh up to 1,200 pounds, similar to a bison! Baby manatees stay with their moms for up to two years. Boat collisions pose a threat to this species, so hanging out by the boat docks, as these manatees are doing, isn’t a great idea. (Read more about manatees here.)
Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), Captiva Island, FL.
As I watch them surface every few minutes for air, I find myself wondering about the future for this unusual mammal. I think of the Illinois bison at Nachusa Grasslands, Midewin National Tallgrass Preserve, and Fermilab back home, and how bison have been preserved in good numbers at these places after near extinction. Maybe there is hope for the manatees, too.
Bison are the biggest hazard on my prairie hikes back home. But here, it’s a large reptile.
American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis),J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL.
Yikes. They may weigh more than 750 pounds! See you later, alligator.
Probably the Florida Thatch Palm (Thrinax radiata), J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, FL.
As the sun sets over the Gulf Coast, I pack my bags and prepare to head home.
Sunset, Captiva Island, FL.
I’ll miss the delights of the island’s natural wonders, but my heart is in the tallgrass. I can’t wait to see the prairie with a little snow on it. At last. Even if the temperature is 70 degrees colder than it is here.
Sending you love from the Sunshine State!
Happy 2022!
*****
The opening quote is from Conor Gearin’s essay “Little Golden-Flower Room: On Wild Places and Intimacy” from the digital magazine The Millions. His essay is included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2019 (edited by Sy Montgomery), a book I purchased at Gene’s Books on Sanibel Island, one of my favorite independent bookstores. Gearin’s essay beautifully explores one small Iowa prairie remnant.
*****
Need a New Year’s Resolution? Help save Bell Bowl Prairie, an unusual hill remnant prairie that is slated for destruction by Chicago-Rockford International Airport. Your action can make a difference! See how at www.savebellbowlprairie.org
Cindy Crosby is the author, compiler, or contributor to more than 20 books. Her most recent is "Chasing Dragonflies: A Natural, Cultural, and Personal History" (Northwestern University Press, 2020). She teaches prairie ecology, nature writing, and natural history classes, and is a prairie steward who has volunteered countless hours in prairie restoration. See Cindy's upcoming online speaking events and classes at www.cindycrosby.com.
Tuesdays in the Tallgrass 