Over the Labor Day weekend, I went out for a walk of probably just over 2 miles along a railroad track. This was just south of Hoopeston, Illinois.
It had been a cloudy, drizzly, overcast day; and there were a few sprinkles while I was out.
There is commonly a nice mixed collection of plants and wildlife along the railroad right of ways. In the past, I have frequently seen deer and of course squirrels and rabbits. A couple of times I saw groups of turkeys also.
This picture is looking north towards town.
There were numerous plants, some in blossom, which I unfortunately have not identified.
The plant with the blue blossoms is Chicory. I have read of the roots being dried and used as a coffee substitute, but have never tried it and would guess it would be a quite bitter brew. There are probably other uses for it also.
Wild asparagus.
This unfortunate little opossum did not make it across the tracks........yes it was really dead and not just paying "possum". You can see from it's feet how it makes the distinctive track that is so easy to identify.
Looking south. If I had continued about another 3/4 of a mile, I would have come to where the tracks cross the North Fork Vermilion River. At that point though, it is a quite small stream and I used to hear it refered to as Steely's Creek; and it was several years before I found out it was really the North Fork.....
A few times over the years, I have hiked down to the river and fished there....not catching much...but it is not always about what you catch. I did hook about the biggest carp I have ever tried to land there, surprisingly on a small Crappie jig. It ended up stripping the gears in my reel and ruining it before I was able to get it to the bank...........just another fishing tale
It had been a cloudy, drizzly, overcast day; and there were a few sprinkles while I was out.
There is commonly a nice mixed collection of plants and wildlife along the railroad right of ways. In the past, I have frequently seen deer and of course squirrels and rabbits. A couple of times I saw groups of turkeys also.
This picture is looking north towards town.
There were numerous plants, some in blossom, which I unfortunately have not identified.
Wild asparagus.
This unfortunate little opossum did not make it across the tracks........yes it was really dead and not just paying "possum". You can see from it's feet how it makes the distinctive track that is so easy to identify.
Looking south. If I had continued about another 3/4 of a mile, I would have come to where the tracks cross the North Fork Vermilion River. At that point though, it is a quite small stream and I used to hear it refered to as Steely's Creek; and it was several years before I found out it was really the North Fork.....
A few times over the years, I have hiked down to the river and fished there....not catching much...but it is not always about what you catch. I did hook about the biggest carp I have ever tried to land there, surprisingly on a small Crappie jig. It ended up stripping the gears in my reel and ruining it before I was able to get it to the bank...........just another fishing tale
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