Northwestern

Northwestern is such a beautiful community-it reminds me a little of the campus at William and Mary with a more urban feel and a slightly larger lake! We arrived just as a major rainstorm was subsiding and everything was soggy but sparkling.

A church in the middle of campus. Not technically part of the University but still part of the landscape. There was a wedding reception taking place here-we listened to some celebratory bag-piping before continuing on our way!

                                An ancient oak standing guard over hidden pathways.

      A field of white snowball hydrangeas waved merrily to us as we entered the campus!

                                                      Tudor-style architecture.

                                      A cairn,the beach, and a mother-daughter duo.

Baha'i Temple

I finally made the journey north of the city to visit the Baha'i Temple, renowned for its unique beauty and message. We were allowed inside, but could not take pictures-a practice I find peaceful in a holy space. Consequently, I can only share the exterior of this magnificent structure and the surrounding rose gardens. The Baha'i faith is so beautiful-among their tenants included an emphasis on the equality of men and women, harmony between science and religion, and humanity being one family.

 

 Gardens and fountains surround the Temple on all of its nine sides.

     The Temple is made of beautifully wrought, blindingly white concrete.

 Baha'is believe that throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity  through a series of divine messengers, each of whom founded a major world religion. If you look carefully, you can see symbols from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam worked into the design details.

                                                                 The dome.

                                                           In the rose garden!

Days Alone

Some days just feel lonely, even though you may have spent the whole of them with crowds of people. In the four years since I graduated from college, I have lived in seven new cities, and this fall I am once again relocating. Constant moving means constant adapting, and learning how to be alone- and NOT lonely- is an essential skill to this lifestyle.

  
At the beach this winter, I ran across these lone seagull tracks on the snow that nearly had me in tears for their seeming isolation.  After walking alone for a little while, however, the gull once again took flight and rejoined his soaring comrades.

The Fruits of My Labor

All spring and summer long, I have been spending my evenings tilling, planting, weeding and watering a small 10 x 15' patch of the world in the hopes that all that dirt under my fingernails would pay off. Despite the drought and the uncharacteristically hot Chicago summer, somehow it is all happening!
Last week bright pockets of color started showing up in the midst of my little green jungle, and I plan on exclusively eating tomato-basil salads for the rest of the summer!

Feeling the Heat

It's going to be 96 degrees today and I am planning to take a group of 10-year old children fishing for the first time. Just a little reminder to myself that I love warm days and I am so grateful it's summer!

Winter in Illinois is coooooold!

Hard at Work!

Paddling, both canoeing and kayaking, is definitely on my top five favorites list. A few weeks ago I supervised a group of middle school-aged boys on a jaunt in the lake which was one of the highlights of my summer so far. It was a surprisingly relaxing moment in what was a pretty high stress week. I feel like if anything can help you stay calm whilst you are spending your day with kids that age, it is well worth doing on a regular basis!

Summer Heat

Happy Summer! Now that the monstrous heat wave that overtook much of the country has passed, I am ready to enjoy sitting outside under the stars again. I spent last week in the heart of the Southeast, visiting family, watching fireworks, and attending Minor League Baseball Games-go Montgomery Biscuits! I spent the first several days of the week at my grandparents farm in Gainesville, Georgia -one of my favorite places in the world, where time seems to stop and everything smells sun-drenched.

Logan Square, Chicago, Illinois

My neighborhood in Chicago inspires mixed feelings, but with the advent of Summer those feeling tend toward those of the positive kind. Here are a few images from my patch of the world right now!

These blue doors on Milwaukee Avenue are hiding something wonderful behind them! I especially love that the blue of the tiles match the blue of the doors.

Does anyone know what kind of flower this is? I saw it in a curbside garden near my home but I have never seen it before this year. Maybe it is a Northern flower?

Hair Do's

I've had long hair for at least a decade now, but I've always been pretty lazy about figuring out ways to make it look nice. For the past few months I've been experimenting with easy ways to create low-maintenance but still classy up-dos.

The fish-tail braid has become a staple, but for a night out recently I took it a step further and pinned them up on top of my head--the result was a look both classy and laid back!

The Best Days

When we're kids, there are so many perfect days in our lives that they slide by like a golden memory river. But as adults those days only show up once in a while and if we let them, they can tide us over during those rough patches. 

I spent a day searching for coyote pups with the research team in the Illinois prairie and these are the ones we found--sweet, fluffy balls  of happiness.

Valley of the Lilies

Working at a wildlife foundation is one of the best jobs ever. On days when we don't have programs, we hike around the trails and look for neat things to show the kids. Last week I found the most magical blanket of Lily of the Valley flowers and I just wanted to take a nap in them. Oh, it was lovely!

Chicago has its share of magic too! The tulips in Millenium Park have inspired me to start wearing more colors in honor of Spring:-)

Second City, Second Spring!

So I know it's boring to talk about the weather, but I'll only do it for a second, cause I'm a big weather nerd. Two months ago, it was 80 degrees and sunny, and tomorrow the high is a mere 60. I was annoyed at first, but now I've come to appreciate the value of what may be the longest Spring weather I have ever experienced! Everyone, now is the time for visits!

Love me some cherry blossoms in the city:-)

A Decision Made

Now that I have made my decision to return to Virginia this fall I am noticing all the aspects of Chicago that I will miss. This is a city that is full of surprises, and it would take much longer than a year for me to experience this place in full! But sometimes timing does not work out the way you hope that it will, and the truth is that it is past time for me to get serious about my purpose. Luckily, I think I have found a sense of purpose that a degree in landscape architecture will help me to fulfill. Unfortunately, that means saying goodbye (but not yet!) to wonderful people and places that have made this past year so special. 

These gardens at the Art institute downtown are a beautiful place to relax, a place of peace in the middle of the city.

A harbinger of Spring no matter what city! Sequoia loves flowers too:-)

Learning a few skills at work--I am not so terrible at catching tiny fish.

A lovely corner at home in my kitchen.

Baseball, the American pastime! The boys on the train on our way to see the White Sox play the Orioles at Sox stadium! According to every Chicagoan I have met, summer in this city is magical and I think the games will be an excellent way to experience a little bit of that.

Easter on Parade

I just returned from a last minute, 72-hour whirlwind trip to Richmond, Virginia for a family Easter extravaganza--and now I am paying for it with a bad head cold and lots of quality time with my favorite pillow. But I am not sorry, because the short time I had there was fabulous. Witnessed the first-ever Easter egg hunt of my stylish nephew, played a little croquet with a talented group of friends, and strolled along Monument Avenue with hundreds of Richmonders dressed in their Easter best. These are good people, and this is a good place.

Straight Shooting

This month I am faced with the most excellent dilemma of choosing between two great graduate programs that have accepted me.  Of course, I am very grateful to have this decision to make, but that doesn't make it any easier to do! Whatever the case, at this time next year I will be combining two of the things I love the most -conservation and design- as I study my way to becoming a landscape architect.
As I was practicing some archery at work last week (got to impress those kiddies at summer camp), I was tempted to paste the names of the schools up on the targets and just shoot blindly. Everyone is always talking about following your instincts, right?

Creature Comforts

Now that the weather is summer-like, we can drive with the top down! One of our next big projects at work involves planting an educational vegetable and herb garden, which requires lots of riding around the property with two fluffy hitchhikers.

Back at the home front, I have been staying busy while Nick journeys around Chicago for the next six weeks.  I took my first trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Sunday to attend a volunteer orientation and get a general feel for the place. Even though it was a rather gray day, it is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have visited since moving here.

Two of my very favorite spring pleasures: daffodils and weeping willows!

I think it would be an exciting challenge to attempt an espaliered orchard in our vegetable/herb garden, but that may be an adventure for next year. In the meantime, I was inspired by the beautiful espalier display at The Garden!

A 24-Hour Vacation

We took a quick trip to New Buffalo, MI this past weekend with a few dear friends and were surprised by a light dusting of snow during the night! I don't think I have ever seen the beach covered in snow before. As you can see, it is gorgeous and a little surreal.

We made a few friends as well:

We built our first snowman of the winter! Also probably our last..

Spring Fling

It is only March 3, but we have had a few beautiful days lately that have me thinking that spring will soon be here. Everyone has assured me that there are still several months of Chicago winter before true spring arrives but I can't help but feel some anticipation anyway.  I think I will begin with an herb garden!

An early morning in my kitchen:

We celebrated a four year milestone on March 1st at a Cuban BYOB restaurant called 90 Miles. It was just the right mixture of romance and fun - an apt reflection of our own experience together. Nick gave me some sparkly presents:

Something Sweet

On the first of February, I began my new job as a Conservation Education Assistant with the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation. Our first project is tapping about thirty sugar maple trees. In a few weeks, we will begin teaching school groups about the magic of maple syruping, but first we need to become experts!  Below is a little "how to make your own" for your viewing pleasure.

While looking for the perfect trees to tap, I found this an ancient oak.  Not good for tapping but an excellent hiding spot!

We used a hand drill to make the holes in our chosen trees and then hammered in spiles - similar to spouts - with mallets.

                                            

The buckets look so pretty in the woods, especially as it is a little bit bleak otherwise. We tapped thirty trees of varying ages and elevation. We are collecting data to see which trees produce the most sap and why.  Next year we will have a better idea of which trees we should tap.                                            

Behind me is the Evaporator. We bring gallons upon gallons of filtered sap and boil it down here. It takes about forty gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup-this is a pretty labor intensive business!  It took us six days of boiling before it was ready for the next step. In front of me is the Finisher. We boil the sap in here until it reaches the proper consistency, at which point it is ready for bottling!

 The finished product: Grade A Maple Syrup! 

The Winter that Wasn't

Here are a few highlights from our first winter in Chicago. Sadly, none of them include snow!

Early on in the winter, I decided to become an origami master.

I celebrated my 26th birthday on the 96th floor of the Hancock building with cocktails and some of my favorite people in Chicago. The view was spectacular!

                                 


Even though Nick forgot to bring his pretty menorah with him , we were still able to celebrate Hanukkah!

In January, we had a surprise visitor. We took her ice-skating, which was the only truly winter past time we enjoyed this year. No sledding or skiing yet, but fingers crossed for March!

In February, I went home to Virginia for a post-holiday visit and got to see my favorite little squishy person.

Also in February, I started my new job as a conservation education assistant at a wildlife foundation! More on that later...