First Look

On Thursday the weather warmed up and stayed dry long enough for me to take my first trip of the year to Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg. Everybody and their brother seemed to have the same idea but luckily most of the activity was centered around the children’s play area. Over by the lake things were a little more peaceful.

Although I could hear several frogs gently burping in the background, they were well hidden, but I did spot a lone turtle sunning itself on a log near the water’s edge. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one taking an interest in the lake. I came across two ladies, each with a different perspective, putting paint to canvas.

Over at the farm things appeared to be getting started again with the arrival of a new litter of piglets. There was a lot of squealing and grunting going on around the feed bins as they pushed and shoved each other, while one satisfied the urge to scratch, and another gave me quite the look as I leaned over the fence to take a few shots. (Nothing bland about this pigling.)

As the piglets retired to their shed for a snooze, I took the long walk back to the parking lot. It was nice to see so many signs of spring and hear the birds singing. I noticed that they are clearing away a lot of the tangled undergrowth in order to give the native plants a chance to flourish so it will be interesting to see what develops and whether it will attract more wildlife as they seem to think.