Welcome
The wish that many of us had for 2020 to end was finally fulfilled and today we are already finishing the first quarter of 2021. At the time of this writing, March 20th, we are beginning Spring. Time is passing very quickly.
Thank God we are already seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in reference to the pandemic that has hit us. With several vaccines now available, we believe that this whole nightmare will soon be behind us.
This magazine that I share with you today is full of pictures almost entirely of photos taken in these three months of 2021 and as you can see, a good portion of them reflect what we have had the most of during this time: Cold and snow.
I don't want to say that the snow is not beautiful, but I think that for now it is enough until next season. We hope to see photos with colors other than white, as Spring progresses.
I share about 75 photos in this new issue of the magazine and most of the photos have been taken here in Illinois and a few in Wisconsin. Only one was taken in New York in late 2019.
In a few days I am leaving with my wife for a vacation in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. We plan to enjoy a few days around Linville Fall, Asheville and Gatlinburg. Of course, I plan to bring my camera and if the weather cooperates, I hope to bring some pictures back that I can share with you in the next magazine.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photos and writings I share here.
Until next time, my best wishes to each of you.
Wild Life Around Us
Waterfall Glen
FOREST PRESERVE
This January I visited Waterfall Glen Forest Reserve for the first time. I had heard about it and seen pictures but had never planned to visit it because it's just a small waterfall. But while everything was snowed in, I decided to give it a try since there weren't many places to go anyway because of the pandemic issue. I really found it more interesting than I expected, to the point that on March 5th I decided to go back thinking that the force of the water would be stronger because of all the snow that was melting.
The place has its charm and I think that in the coming seasons it will be worth a visit, especially in Spring with all its greenery and in Autumn with its explosion of colors.
Here is some information I found about the place.
The 2,503-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Darien is one of the most ecologically impressive parcels of open space in the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, if not northern Illinois. It is also one of the District’s most popular forest preserves, known for its Rocky Glen waterfall, Sawmill Creek bluff overlook, and extensive trails.
Waterfall Glen offers gently rolling to hilly terrain with 11 miles of trails popular with hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders and cross-country skiers. It also offers fishing and an orienteering course, model airplane field and youth group campground.
Natural Scene
Waterfall Glen’s prairies, savannas and oak-maple woodlands contain 740 native plant species, 75 percent of all the plants known to grow naturally in DuPage County. As a result of this rich variety, more than 300 species of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles and another 300 of invertebrates use the forest preserve either year-round or during their migrations.
Barns
I like to drive the country roads and see the planted fields and barns. Since I started taking pictures more than 10 years ago, I have driven along some of the roads looking for interesting places to photograph. Many barns are still active and part of today's economy, others are abandoned but still retain their photogenic beauty. Some are part of district parks and are dedicated to teach the new generations how people lived in the past. The number of barns, as I have been reading, has decreased in recent years as more efficient metal buildings have been built and in some cases, no outbuildings have been erected on the farms. It is a shame to lose these barns and the history each one has. Here I share some images of barns that I have been able to photograph recently. On the following website you can see photos that are part of the collection I have, www.montesphotography.myportfolio.com. Some of them are not barns but old structures that are still interesting. Most of the photos have been taken in the state of Illinois, others in Wisconsin, Indiana and North Carolina. I am sure that as time goes by this collection will continue to grow.
Amos W. Woodward
MILLHOUSE
This past January I had the opportunity to visit this place for the first time; the mill is part of the Midway Village Museum that is located next to a forest preserve in Rockford, IL. Currently the museum is closed due to the Covid-19, but the mill can be seen and photographed from a nearby parking lot. Below is a description I found on the museum's website.
“The Amos W. Woodward Millhouse, located on the edge of the Museum’s Severin Lake, is a replica of an operating water-powered machine shop. With no flowing water in Severin Lake to drive the wheel, electric pumps are used to deliver water to the sluice. A century ago much of Rockford’s manufacturing relied on water power to operate their machinery. In 1869 Amos W. Woodward (1829-1919), the founder of the Woodward Governor Company, invented a mechanical governor which worked in conjunction with a water wheel to operate equipment”.
Crabtree Nature Center
Crabtree Nature Center is home to more than a thousand acres of rolling, glacier-formed landscape in northwest Cook County, and features a variety of habitat including woodland, wetland and prairie. These habitats provide a rest stop along the migratory bird highway, where over time many species of birds have been recorded as breeders or migrants.
Each season brings a different experience for visitors at Crabtree Nature Center. In Spring, wildflowers carpet the woodlands. The summer brings blossoms in the meadows and prairies. Fall brings Autumn tones to the forest canopy and the native grasses. Winter brings solitude, broken by the calls of various birds visiting the grounds.
Chicago's Frozen River
Although temperatures in Chicago drop considerably in winter, the Chicago River doesn’t freeze over every year as we see in these photos. A few days ago and defying those low temperatures, I went with my wife to take some pictures. I had not had the opportunity to see this since 2014 which was the first time I saw something like this.
I read that they break the ice for several reasons. One to allow full access down this waterway and another to prevent damage to all the concrete structures and superstructures on both sides of the river, also, to keep the waters open in case divers need to make a rescue.
This work is being done by the Chicago Fire Department with the "Christopher Wheatley" boat, which is 95 feet long and reinforced with steel and concrete, making it heavy enough to turn up to a foot and a half of ice into a breaker.
For someone like me, who was born in the Caribbean, this is really something interesting.
Winter Scenes
Trees
Abstract
Miscellaneous
Last Frame
Having been born in the Caribbean region and lived in tropical areas for many years, one of the things that most impressed me when I moved to the midwestern United States was to see people walking or fishing on frozen lakes. Although at first I found it difficult to do so, I have walked on some of these surfaces, but always with great caution and care and without going too far into the lake.
The first time I did it was on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, during a Winter Festival; I even got my wife to walk with me. Years later on that same lake, I saw cars that were parked on the frozen lake sink after the ice broke up because the temperatures had not been cold enough.
For me it is still something interesting, but it will always be something I will think twice before doing.
Credits:
©Francisco Montes Photography