Kayaking on the Illinois River July 29, 2025

 The morning of July 29, I took my kayak out for a relaxing solo trip on the Illinois River. It was a nice morning. There was a little wind, but no problem with it. I took along my Canon Rebel T2i with my Tamron 18-400 mm lens attached. I have just somewhat recently become brave enough to take a better camera when on a paddling trip. I keep it in a waterproof deck bag till ready to use. I also have a Canon R7 and a Canon 200-800 mm lens, but not yet brave enough to take those along! There were numerous Bald Eagles along my route that morning. There were several adults and several younger birds that still had the darker coloring. As always, there were a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds. 

And here are a few photos of my journey. 

This is the McClugage Bridge on the Illinois River, crossing the river between Peoria and East Peoria, Illinois, U.S.A. It is actually two bridges with one eastbound and the other westbound. The eastbound bridge was recently replaced, and still being completed, with the new arched span. 

The Illinois River, Lake Peoria section, is about one mile wide here. The Upper Lake Peoria is larger. This is about halfway across. I believe the colored signs indicate river conditions to barges, but not sure about that. 

This barge was moving downstream when I was on the river. You can see them for a long distance, so plenty of time to be clear of them. 

These are some of the Bald Eagles along the river. It is always a pleasure to see those. I am guessing that the younger birds hatched this year. 

I enjoyed seeing this Great Egret along the shore. After uploading the photos, I noticed there was a Great Blue Heron in background in the last photo. 

This is an old bridge support, with a chair on top! There were a couple of boys in the water gathering mussels for catfish bait and their fishing gear was on the shore near this. It was nice to see boys outdoors doing something like that.

In this photo I was approaching a Beaver debris pile. Some years they have a lodge built out in the water. 

Swamp Hibiscus along the shore. 

I stopped here for a rest. The view was nice, so I took a few photos. 

And here are several photos of views along the river and the bridge. It was a great day on the water. I am hoping to do that section of the river again soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Walking Through a Local Park

 A few days ago, I got out for a walk at a local park. It features a small lake with a walking trail around it and with corn fields on two sides. These are just a few photos I took that day. 

This is Dogbane. I believe that it is in the same family of plants as Milkweed. This plant can be used to make cordage. I have read that the cordage was once used for bow strings or any functional use. 

There was Elderberry growing along the edge of the lake. The berries are not yet ripe. In a couple weeks, I will check back to see if they are ripe. It is interesting to me that many products have "elderberry" flavor, but in my opinion that flavor tastes nothing like actual elderberries. 

This is Ox-Eye Daisy and was growing near the Elderberry and the Dogbane. It probably has medicinal uses, but I would have to look in one of my books for that information. Comments are always welcome to correct my errors or to give better information. 

Queen Anne's Lace was growing along the edges of the park property. I have always enjoyed finding these plants with blossoms and there are usually insects on the blossoms, but none present this day. 

Morning Glory blossom with what I believe is a Bumble Bee. 

Teasel along fence line - This is an attractive plant that is not native to North America. I read that it may have been introduced in the 1700 and that the head was used to process cotton. 

And there was lots of corn growing on two sides of the park. We are now having temperatures in the 90s (F) and there is talk of Corn Sweat contributing to the high humidity. Again, from online reading, I see that Corn Sweat is just a natural process with the plant. But with recent high temperatures it is apparently a popular topic. 

And that is all for now. I have a back log of many photos and will try to add new posts. 

Late Season Ginseng and Goldenseal

 The woods, bordering areas, and open spaces are transitioning to fall. Trees in this area, Illinois, are showing more color. Plants are dying and ready for a rest. 

Here are a few photos of some recent Ginseng and Goldenseal plants that I came across. Both will grow again from the rootstock next year. 

The dead top of a nice Ginseng plant with seed berries still green. This was in a disk golf area, and I believe someone had stepped on this or pulled it with no idea what it was. 

A small 2 prong Ginseng plant that is still green. The next photo below is another plant the same size and found on the same day that is turning yellow. 

                  And on that same day, I found a few nice patches of Goldenseal.

This is my hiking companion Jackson beside a nice patch of Goldenseal that is turning yellow. 

March Snow Farmdale Recreation Area March 14, 2020

 I remember hiking through this fresh falling snow (and I am remembering from the current date of September 20, 2023). The previous day, (as shown in the previous post) I had hiked along the snow free shore of the Illinois River. 

It is refreshing to hike through falling snow, especially the wet and heavy late winter snow, just days before it would be the first day of spring. 

Here are some of the photos of that day. Location is Farmdale Recreation Area, a park area just minutes from our home in Tazewell County, Illinois, U.S.A. My hiking companion that day was our dog Jackson.