From Butterflies to Brush Saws: A Roundup of CLIP Week 2
by Arden Podpora
The second week of TLC’s internship program, CLIP, was no less eventful than the first. From butterflies to brush saws, we gained valuabl…
Let the summer begin! TLC’s CLIP program is underway
Last week TLC launched its CLIP internship program, which is designed to be a hands-on learning experience designed to empower participants with the knowledg…
Learning about McHenry County’s Vernal Pools
Those who attended the vernal pool hike on April 24 were treated to a beautiful hike and lots of tadpoles as well as other tiny creatures!
Vernal pool…
Blanding’s Turtle found on a TLC site
TLC staff found a Blanding’s Turtle on a TLC site. The turtle appears to have suffered (and healed) from a past injury. Blanding’s turtles are considered end…
Build Your Own Birdhouse for Your Backyard Birding Hobby
Throughout 2020, social distancing considerably limited our options for entertainment and hobbies. Sheltering-in-place has definitely expanded our appreciati…
Become an Annual Business Supporter of TLC in 2021!
If you are a business or organization that values the natural beauty and rural character of McHenry County and wants to make sure it remains that way, consid…
TLC Celebrates 200th [email protected] Property
Congrats to Carol Giammattei on becoming TLC’s 200th participating [email protected] property!
Not only is Carol a dedicated TLC volunteer, she’s also lan…
TLC Office Hours
Need to stop by or call the TLC office in Woodstock? Our office hours for the next few weeks will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Splendor in the Grass
After traveling 6,000 miles from Argentina, you make a stop in Alden, Illinois.
You are a bobolink, one of the most traveled migratory songbirds in the worl…
Piscasaw Gardens blossoms at new location
Sonja and Rich Brook have built a legacy on their farm in rural Harvard. People who frequent the Woodstock Farmers Market know the Brooks for their flavored …
TLC Completes Its Largest Land Acquisition
I hope Phase 4 of Illinois’ coronavirus reopening finds you and your loved ones well, and that you are managing with any changes you’ve experienced through t…
Taking Care to be Anti-Racist
The same month that I was born, August 1963, was when Martin Luther King Jr gave his “I have a dream speech,” in which he said he dreamed of a day when his “…
TLC reaches milestone in 5000 Acre Challenge
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County is pleased to announce that since the launch of the 5000 Acre Challenge in late January, private landowners and munici…
Best Ways to Preserve Nature While Hiking
There are a lot of reasons why hiking is one of the most popular outdoor sports. It’s easy to do, and almost anyone can do it. There’s no need for a lot of e…
A note from Lisa Haderlein
Dear Friend of TLC, On this beautiful day (March 17), I wanted to reach out and wish you and yours the best of health. Try to enjoy this pause as th…
Residents Join The Land Conservancy of McHenry County’s 5,000 Acre Challenge to Protect Oak Woods
51 new acres of oak woods added since January The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC) has partnered with local landowners and donors to care for 51 ne…
A look back at what TLC volunteers accomplished in 2019
The Land Conservancy was looking to create a fun and meaningful way to look back on all the work we’ve been able to do with our volunteers over the last year…
Video: A look at TLC’s accomplishments in agriculture in 2019
As we look back on 2019, we thank Food:Land:Opportunity for their generous support of our work to promote local food farmers and regenerative farming in McHe…
TLC Preserves 83 Acres of Wetland, Sedge Meadow and Wet Prairie in Woodstock
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC) has preserved an 83-acre property, Slough Creek Wetland Bank, located northwest of Woodstock on Jankowski Road. …
Hawk release at Wolf Oak Woods
Earlier this fall a young red-tailed hawk was found at Wolf Oak Woods that had likely been clipped by a car. She had a concussion and other injuries. Staff f…
Meet TLC Volunteer Mary Mariutto
The best ideas surface when friends meet new friends over coffee. In 2008, Rene Dankert invited me to meet Lisa Haderlein and Linda Balek for coffee and brai…
In Memory of Lynn Pensinger
TLC member and friend Lynn Pensinger passed away on Sept. 1. In 2009 the Pensingers protected their three-acre Woodstock property with a conservation easem…
TLC Receives National Recognition
In August, TLC was accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. To become accredited, TLC provided extensive documentation and was subject to a co…
The Nature of Flooding will keep changing
If it seems that rain events are more intense and frequent than they used to be, it’s because they are. Precipitation patterns absolutely have changed ove…
Meet TLC Volunteer Carol Giammattei
How (and when) did you start volunteering for TLC? I read a newspaper article about an Oak Rescue being held at Yonder Prairie in Woodstock with The Land …
Meet June Keibler, one of TLC’s new board members
June Keibler returns to TLC’s board of directors in 2019 after serving on the board from 1991-96. She and her husband Steve live in Dundee and have a grown …
In Memory of Becky Walkington
Becky Walkington, daughter of Dick & Betty Babcock, passed away Jan. 16, 2018 after a struggle with cancer. Becky continued the stewardship of Spring Hol…
An Arborist’s Perspective on Tree Care
Many people tell me they don’t think that trees need care or attention. They think that trees in the woods don’t need help to survive, so they don’t do anyth…
Want to Protect Woodlands, Prairies and Wetlands? Vote.
I received this article from Jessica Campbell and Lois Johnson of the McHenry County chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and would like to share it with y…
Oak Care in Cold Weather
Tree Tips by Davey Tree Expert Company Summer is drawing to a close and fall is near. The oaks are getting ready to put on their fall show and go int…
Purple Milkweed Exists …
in McHenry County! This purple This purple milkweed was found at a high-qualty natural area near Woodstock. It’s different from common milkweed …
Let the Sun Shine In
If you drive along Illinois Route 120 between Woodstock and McHenry, you have surely seen the Wolf Oak Woods property. This is the site where “that oak” live…
Happy Valentine’s Day
What do you associate with Valentine’s Day? Hearts and flowers? A box of chocolates? Valentine’s Day cards? Birds? In the fifth century A.D., Pope Galesius e…
Garden Memories
A garden can be much more than a beautiful part of one’s home. It can also be a connection to people and the past.A garden can be much more than a beautiful …
You only need farmers when you’re hungry!
“Well, I suppose we don’t need farmers much. Just three times a day.” That’s a comment I’ve heard many times from Orion Samue…
Farming & Land Conservation
What is conservation? The definition is “the careful preservation of something.” Conservation is talked about typically in the context of nature,…
Need Silence? Take a Hike!
I cannot recall the last time I experienced silence – the complete absence of sound. Sure, there have been times that I would describe as “quiet,&rdquo…
Fog Season
“The fog comes on little cat feet” wrote Illinois poet Carl Sandburg in 1916 as he watched the fog roll in at the Lake Michigan shore in Chicago….
The Birds and the Bees
This is a story about the birds and the bees (and the bats and the bugs). That’s right, it’s a story about plant pollinators. Insects like bees a…
Bonnie and Clyde visit the woods (reprint)
I understand that it is welcome to see something green in the woods after winter, but please keep in mind that the welcome glint of green you see spells trou…
Human Nature as Seen Through Landfills
Have you ever heard of middens? They are basically really old landfills. The word comes from an old Scandinavian word, moedding, which means an old dump for&…
Welcome Spring!!
Did you see it? A beautiful sunset on your drive home at 6:30 in the evening.I smelled it the other day. The scent of rich soil heated by the midday sun.Sure…
The Long Forgetting & Great Remembering
My friend Ken Williams, a horticulturist at Ringers Landscape Service in Fox River Grove, wrote a great blog post about TLC’s 25th Anniversary Brunch last mo…
Of Loons and Climate Change
I remember the first time I heard a loon. My husband, Tom, and I were camping one summer in northern Wisconsin near a small lake. That first night, we heard …
Weather and a Changing Climate
Interesting weather this winter, wasn’t it? Last December brought tornadoes to the south and a blizzard to west Texas. Locally, we set some near-record…
Why not roadside prairie in McHenry County?
Have you driven through Iowa? The roadsides are beautiful. Native wildflowers and grasses line the roads throughout much of the state, offering habitat for w…
Break the Lawn Addiction
It is iconic. The American lawn: green, neatly cut and free of any plant but grass. No violets. No clover. Definitely no dandelions! It ranks right up there …
Does Fire Bug Wildlife?
When conservation groups burn natural land, does it disturb wildlife species? Simply put, yes. Then why do we do it, and how can we call it “ecological…
The Big Three: Air, Water & Food.
It has been a couple of years since I mentioned “The Big Three.” With Earth month (April) starting on Wednesday, it seemed like a good time to refresh our co…
Bird Migration over the years
Today, most people know that birds migrate by flying south during winter, and then fly north again as the days grow longer and temperatures rise. We also und…
How Long is Forever?
A friend of mine in New Mexico is descended from a Spanish family that has been in Albuquerque since 1593. His ancestors were among the first settlers given …
Save Land/Save Ourselves
Over the past 544 million years, Earth’s had five major extinction events. A major extinction is one where between 70% and 90% of all species on the planet a…
Local Farmer/Local Food
My husband and I have subscribed to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) service since 2007. For 18-20 weeks during the growing season (typically late Jun…
Respecting property lines
I heard a story the other day about a situation where one neighbor did not like another neighbor’s pine tree because the branches grew over part of his…
Trees and the Law
What is the law if a tree is on your property, but the branches hang over the neighbor’s property? Does your neighbor have the right to cut the branches tha…
The Buzz about Honey Bees
Did you know that nearly one-third of the produce (fruits, nuts, vegetables) consumed in the US is pollinated by honeybees? And without honeybees, those item…
Bonnie and Clyde visit the woods
I understand that it is welcome to see something green in the woods after winter – especially after the winter we just had – but just keep in mind that the …
Slowly Driving Them Crazy
Yes, I am the one driving my car 25-40 mph on Route 14 between Bunker Hill Road and Hughes Road from Harvard to Woodstock and back again most days of the wee…
Acclimate to Winter
Most years, I dread January – cold, sleet, ice, and heavy grey skies. But not this year. Because winter started in earnest last November, I am already accli…
Brrr, it’s Bitterly Cold!
Why is it so cold? Simply put, cold is caused by the absence of heat. Sometimes conditions are such that there is much less heat in an area. For instance: Sn…
Winter Frost
The drive to work this morning was magical. There was a light fog that put everything in a soft-focus. Plus, vegetation was glistening with a delicate l…
Happy Winter Solstice
It’s Party Time! We may be under the threat of a Winter Storm Watch, but today we celebrate the longest night of the year, and tomorrow we know that there wi…
Thinking like a Mountain
There was a sad report out of Whiteside County in Illinois this week. A female mountain lion was killed by a Wildlife officer from the Illinois Department of…
First snow thoughts
November 11th, and the season’s first snow is falling in Woodstock. It seems early this year, but I suppose that is just a function of my age and t…
Third Generation Oaks
“We are responsible for the third generation of oaks in McHenry County.” Mary Tree McClelland, horticulturist, Glacier Oaks Nursery in Harvard. To Mary’s way…
Autumn Color
The season known as fall started September 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. My first clue that autumn’s arrived is the transformation of green fields of soyb…
Oaks are tough, but still need TLC!
Oaks are tough. But they aren’t invincible.
On my daily commute between Harvard and Woodstock, there are several majestic oaks I’ve admired over the years…
The Commons
There is a concept known as the Commons which refers to all of the natural resources that do not belong to any single entity or individual, but belong to so…
The Big Three
Have I mentioned “The Big Three”?
These are the three things – in some combination – that all life needs to survive: air, water and food.
Humans live j…
Natural Benefits of Local Food
Do you know where your food comes from? When eating at a restaurant, picking up a quick fast food snack, or sitting down to eat at home, do you know where ea…
Natural Mosquito Control
I read this great article about how native plants can help reduce mosquito populations by attracting more of the critters that eat them! I saw it on the blog…
Water: Don’t Waste a Drop!
In McHenry County, water is all around us: Groundwater. Wetlands. Watersheds. Stormwater. Even so, all of the water people use locally comes from the ground….
Break Free from the Drone of the Lawnmower
Spring arrived late this year, and with it came the weekend drone of lawnmowers. Many an otherwise perfect Sunday afternoon nap has been shattered by a neigh…
Be aware of Invasive Species
The month of May is officially Invasive Species Awareness Month in Illinois! The goal of the month is to help every resident of the state find out what he o…
It’s Squirrel Week!
It’s Squirrel Week at the Washington Post! Kind of like “Shark Week,” but featuring furry, bridseed-eating rodents rather than cold-blooded predators. Column…
First Green of Spring = Trouble!
Any day now, a faint green will start showing up in local woods right at eye level. While the spring color may be welcome to one’s winter-weary eyes, it is a…
World Water Day
A friend of mine, Debra Shore, is on the board of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District which oversees management of the stormwater and sewage treatmen…
Private Land Conservation Grows in Illinois, Locally
Illinois conservation land trusts have helped preserve more than 200,000 acres of open land in Illinois over the last 50 years. The conservation land trus…
Geese love the suburbs!
I heard them before I saw them, hundreds of Canada geese. A raucous honking as the birds circled a pond, vying for a spot to spend the night. The sun was nea…
The Nature of Natural Selection
In my last post – the one with the poem about cardinals – I revealed that while cardinals mate for life, they are not necessarily faithful to their mates. St…
A Valentine’s Day poem
When most people think of Valentine’s Day, they think of hearts and flowers, boxes of chocolate, valentine’s day cards, Cupid and his arrow — all that stuff…
Where, oh where have the hedgerows gone?
The last year or two, I’ve noticed changes to the farm fields I pass on my commute between Harvard and Woodstock each day. The hedgerows are thinning and in …
Nature and the Economy
I heard an amazing speaker at MCC recently, Jon Erickson, Dean of the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources. Eri…
Roundabout the Rotary
From an environmental perspective, I like highway rotaries (also called roundabouts). They allow traffic to keep moving, which cuts down on cars having to st…
Don’t take water for granted
I am fascinated by water.
Humans can only survive a few days without it, and our bodies are 65% water. Less than one percent of the water on planet earth …
“Snowflake” Bentley
I posted this once before, but thought the weather forecast warranted running it again! Hope you don’t mind! When first married, my husband and I moved to Ve…
What is Darkness?
While driving late one night between Woodstock and Harvard, it struck me how dark it seemed. Most house lights were out, so the landscape visible along Route…
Winter Control of Brush and Vines
Some folks may think that with the onset of winter, we can stop thinking about invasive plants – after all, they aren’t growing in winter, right? Well, while…
It’s fog season
“The fog comes on little cat feet” wrote Illinois poet Carl Sandburg in 1916 as he watched the fog roll in at the Lake Michigan shore in Chicago. The next li…
Climate Change and the Future
Did anyone else notice that the President mentioned climate change during his victory speech early Wednesday morning? Specifically, he said: “We want our chi…
Kale does not get my vote…
Has this election cycle left you with a bad taste in your mouth? Well, at least no one’s making you eat kale.
I’m a fan of eating seasonally fresh foods, …
An Urban Oasis and Why it Matters to McHenry County
I want to share an inspiring story that I heard earlier this week:
Some years back, Michael Howard, Director of the Fuller Park Community Development Orga…
A Few Thoughts on Oaks and Climate Change
We worked with a group of 9 volunteers the other day to plant 120 oak trees. While taking a mid-morning donut break, folks were talking about whether or not …
Blogging about a Blog?
The latest news is that I now have a blog about nature on the NW Herald’s website: http://www.nwherald.com/2012/10/02/new-blogger-advocates-for-land-nature/b…
Reading the Land
As the crops are harvested in the fall, the land’s forms become more clear. Gentle swells and swales that were obscured by corn are suddenly prominent. If on…
TLC is Not…
When The Land Conservancy of McHenry County did a survey of members and other community stakeholders last year, one of the frustrating results was …
A warming planet affects the world’s most vulnerable most
Okay, someone has to say it, and it might as well be me. The average temperature on the planet is rising. It has been for some time. Sea levels are rising. W…
A Drought of Words About Drought
Drought. It’s a serious problem this year, but I have been reluctant to write about it. Frankly, the images that come to my mind are not pretty. I think of f…
Words of Wisdom from a very old Bur Oak
There is a bur oak at Woodstock’s Hennen Conservation Area that has come to be called “Granny” oak, in recognition of multiple generations of her progeny tha…
A couple (3) haikus for our oaks
Do you remember writing haiku poems in Grade School? They are short – a classic haiku is just 17 syllables, in a three line, 5-7-5 format. In Japan, where th…
McHenry County & Biodiversity
“Green infrastructure” – as opposed to traditional built infrastucture like roads – includes the living systems like wetlands and woodlands that provide…
Can People Learn to Live with Trees?
It seems that local trees have been in the news a lot this year. And it looks like the trees are often losing to “progress” or “infrastructure.” Here are jus…
Green Infrastructure: the Living Backbone of our Communities
The word infrastructure brings to mind roads, power lines, sewers and other built systems that support the human population. But there is also a natural, liv…
Ticks & Lyme Disease
This early spring brought some pleasant surprises. Chorus frogs were singing in early March. Apple trees were blooming in the fourth week of March. Virg…
Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge
The proposed Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge just took one step closer to becoming a reality when the US Fish & Wildlife Service released an Ass…
It’s Time to Burn, Burn, Burn
You’ve probably noticed smoke in the air recently. The season for burning natural areas in McHenry County arrived early this year! Typically the temperature …
When It Comes to Creating Wetlands, Mother Nature Is in Charge
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
What follows is an article from ScienceDaily regarding the r…
February is National Bird-Feeding month!
I’ve been watching the little dark-eyed juncos at the bird feeder today. They keep hopping onto the tube feeder and then quickly off. I did some reading, and…
How old is that oak?
When we say that we found an oak that is at least 400 years old, what do we base that conclusion on? Obviously, we would have to cut the tree down to count t…
What does the warm winter mean?
In December 2010, I wrote an article about the coming of winter – “Slow down and take a cue from nature” In it, I discussed the fact that in this part o…
Snowflakes and Wilson Bentley
When first married, my husband and I moved to Vermont from Chicago, motivated by our image of that state as a beautiful, rural paradise – the antithesis of g…
Whether we weather the weather
As I write this, it is December 30, 2011, 11am, and I am in Woodstock, Illinois. And it is about 40 degrees and raining. Okay, that looks as strange in …
Keep me in the Dark. Please!
When was the last time you saw the Milky Way? What, you say you’ve never seen it? Well, you’re hardly alone. We live in a time when millions of people are gr…
The Power of the Individual
In our work at TLC, we are often reminded of the power of the individual to make a profound difference in the world. An acre at a time, and after twenty year…
What’s Forever?
I was talking with a landowner recently about the restoration he and his wife are doing on their property, a former farm field. He said “It was a farm field …
The Miracle of Seeds
Millions of small miracles happen this time of the year, as pollinated flowers transform into seeds. Seeds that will feed birds and wildlife throughout the w…
Hummingbirds are on the move!
While on the phone with a friend the other day, I spied a hummingbird at the feeder by my window. “Wow, that’s a fat hummingbird,” I exclaimed. He pointed ou…
Let it Rot!
Home-made compost is one of my biggest gardening joys. The amount of energy required to make a great soil amendment is so minimal, that I’m surprised more pe…
Signs of the Times? Drought, Flood & Fire
Two weeks ago, the weather experts were talking about how 2011 could turn out to be the driest July on record for the Chicago area. Well, driving to work tod…
What are You waiting for?
We each need to do something – now.
That was the message from Dr. Kathleen Dean Moore at last night’s Moral Ground discussion at MCC. If you would like to…
Color on wing(s)
A wide variety of brightly colored birds are visiting Hennen Conservation Area these days, and it appears that at least some of them have decided to call the…
Frogs, Turtles and Salamanders, Oh My!
Did you hear the sound of a thumb raking over the teeth of a comb while on a recent…
Are Oaks Like People?
The first TLC easement was accepted in 1991 from Leta & Alice Clark at the corner of Thompson Road & Route 120. The sisters wanted to be sure that th…
Why does it snow?
Do you ever wonder why it snows?
With the regular snow events that we’ve had since early December, I find myself thinking about snow – where it comes from…
John Fowles’ Tree
In 1979, author John Fowles released his non-fiction book “The Tree.” Coming from the author of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, this sweet little book must ha…
Slow down, take a cue from nature!
As I look around this time of year – leaves off the trees, flowers now brown, insects and other small creatures hidden away – I can’t help but think of the w…
The restorative power of fire
It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Using fire as a tool to improve the condition of natural areas.
Yet, through millenia of struggle between plants, …
What’s Scenic About Fleming Road?
If you’ve driven on Fleming Road, you have probably thought “This is pretty” or words to that effect. But why do people react that way to some drives and not…
Native Americans and the Land
Did you know that native people, for perhaps thousands of years before Europeans arrived on this continent, managed the land to make it more conducive to hun…
What Makes a Road Scenic?
It may be safe to say that “scenic” is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s scenic drive may be tedious to another who just wants to get from point A to …
Another Reason to Buy Local Food?
As if we needed another reason to purchase our food from local sources, along comes the Great American Egg Recall of 2010!
Billions of eggs potentially ta…
The Dog Days of Summer!
I thought a nice winter photo would help me keep my cool while writing about the heat!
I heard someone refer to the “Dog Days” of summer, which got me won…
Water is Life!
I heard a talk about Water this morning by Reverend Budd Friend-Jones of the First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake. He spoke of the spiritual aspects o…
The Heat of Summer
For the month of July, the average high temperature in Chicago is 83.5. So far this year (2010), the average high temp in July is closer to 87. The average l…
Are the bats trying to tell us something?
I read an article about bats in the most recent University of Vermont alumnae magazine today. It made me want to cry.
Bats are dying due to a little-under…
Where does the time go?
It’s July 1st. How did half the year get by me already?
When in grade school, summers seemed long & luxurious. Lots of time to do all the things that …
There are Fungus Among Us!
>This is a blusher mushroom found June 24, 2010 in some woods north of Harvard. I’d never seen one of these in person — only in photos.
It’s a type of…
Why Does Wind Blow?
It’s a windy day today! The leaves in the trees are in constant motion, creating that wonderful rustling sound.
What is wind? We can’t see it. It doesn’t …
Slow Down for Turtles!
I’m thinking about getting some turtle crossing signs to put up along Dean Street in Woodstock, asking people to slow down and yield to these little fellas!
…
Thinking About Fleming Road…
I’ve been thinking a lot about Fleming Road (runs from Route 120 to Country Club, about 2 miles). If you haven’t driven it, it is worth the drive. Truly one …
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