This Saturday I returned to Dick Young Forest Preserve, only this time I was meeting up with someone. Yay! I had put a request out on Craigslist for anyone interested in hiking with me around the forest preserves, and this was the first response I received. After a few emails back and forth, we finally settled on a date and place to to meet.
After arriving at the preserve, I couldn't help but notice how low Lake Nelson was from my last visit in spring. We had had an abnormally mild winter with hardly much snowfall, followed by a rather warm spring. Now that we are in the throws of summer, the temperature has been consistently in the nineties, with several days reaching 100 degree Fahrenheit. So it is hardly surprising that the lake was low.
Once my companion arrived, we set out on the two and half mile walk around the lake. The evening was gorgeous! The weather had dropped considerably in the past few hours, and was now comfortable enough to walk in without leaving a trail of sweat behind you. We chatted all the way around, occasionally stopping to observe plants, hatched turtle shells, and the remains of what was once a Luna moth.
In the past, it has been a habit on my walks to take photos; this time, however, I was too engaged in conversation to think about it. Yeah, shameful I know! (The photos shown are those of my previous visit)
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| Nelson Lake in the Spring |
For those unfamiliar with the preserve, it is now the biggest forest preserve in Kane County. The main feature is the glacial lake that was formed during the previous ice age, and despite the best efforts of the early settlers to drain it, it remained intact.
The wetlands is home to various species of endangered plants and rare birds, which gives this area the protection of being a Illinois State Nature Preserve.
To the west of the lake is a large expanse of prairie, with several miles of trails for the hiker, cyclist and horseback rider to enjoy
It have yet to explore the prairie, but will probably return again with my bike.
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