Category Archives: Nature and the Outdoors

On Grackles and Crows and Owls

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Roger

Raucous cawing in the backyard alerted me to a mobbing. Two crows had found a Great Horned Owl in a treetop two yards down. I watched for about 20 minutes, and it was still going on when I went inside. … Continue reading →

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Double Rainbow

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Roger

It wasn’t much of a storm, but it created the perfect conditions. I was reading in my study with the window open, listening to the rain, when the sun burst through the clouds to the west. I grabbed my phone … Continue reading →

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Sugar River

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Roger

Sugar River Forest Preserve, up near the Wisconsin border west of Rockford, is one of my favorite places to bird in Illinois. There are always a lot of birds around, including some specialties that are hard to find elsewhere in … Continue reading →

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Fish and Poptarts and a Snake

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Roger

On a warm, sunny, still afternoon we could see a couple small fish in the creek by our campsite. I grabbed some Wildberry Poptarts and began feeding them. Several bluegill gathered and ate greedily, joined occasionally by a larger bass. … Continue reading →

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Downstream

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Roger

One afternoon I grabbed my binoculars and wandered about two miles downstream from the Bend of the River. At times I felt like I was getting away from the park and people, but then I’d round a corner and find … Continue reading →

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