Tuesday, March 27, 2012

the Illinois countryside

Truthfully, visiting the far western exurbs of Chicago was never on my bucket list, but when some very pleasant circumstances resulted in an invitation to the farmland, I was delighted to go, for reasons that included the chance to see some stars, go for a bike ride along traffic-free roads, and wake up to nothing but the sound of birds singing.


Empty cornfields were dotted with clusters of woods. The backyard of a friend's childhood house would have been a dream for this apartment-dweller growing up--hundreds of square feet of trees to hide behind, a pond that freezes over in winter for ice skating, a forest floor brimming with trillium and Jack-in-the-pulpit in spring and summer.


A tree-lined path from the back of the house led to this idyllic little oasis, which even boasts a half-finished log cabin. It would be the ideal place for a party or a wedding--if it weren't for the killer mosquitoes. But luckily for our visit, the freakishly warm early spring weather was three steps ahead of any many-legged beings, other than spiders, whose presence was signaled only by the errant strings we broke through as we walked the trail.

A wonderfully relaxing and refreshing interlude made sweeter by the company.



Of course it's not all romance out there.




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