Hello and welcome back to CarlsBlogs.com
I’ve you’ve been paying any attention for the last couple months, you know I’m categorically obsessed with a couple developing passions
- European soccer with an emphasis on ball controlling defensive midfielders
- Retired NBA players telling stories about other retired NBA players
- Bob Weir’s catalogue as it fits into the broader conversation of American music history since the advent of the electric guitar
- Most pork products
- Taking long walks on the forest preserve trail that abuts my house in the middle of the woods
I’m forgetting a couple things and that’s okay. I’ve made my point about walking and that’s what this blog is all about.
Specifically I told you guys earlier today I missed my walks the last couple days because I’ve just been a little to occupied to peel off a couple miles. And I subsequently promised I would rectify my failures with a good one this afternoon while listening to Wheel of Time: The Eye of The World on tape and documenting my steps on camera.
Did you know I’m this weird? Was that common knowledge?
I hope so because I took some great pictures today on my walk and I want to share them because I want to share them and no other reason starting off with my private walkway onto the trail.
I live on a half mile gravel road that services 3 homes. I’m in the middle and you walk down the road to see this little carve out that leads onto the path. I used to hang NO TRESPASSING signs but they fell down this winter and I was hoping to get them replaced but didn’t even remember that until this sentence. So thank you for the reminder.
It spills out onto this trail, which runs for 2 miles west and 6 miles east from this entry point. East will take you into downtown Aurora while west will spill into the local community college campus. It’s beautiful.
It’s a short walk to the only street you have to cross, and then it opens up into this gorgeous forested wooded perfectly paved and maintained biking/running/walking trail.
There’s nature fuckin everywhere.
Some times it’s so good that I go off trail just to get more grounded and connected. But you have to be careful not to step on native plant species. So I don’t like to wander too far as much as I just like that quick immersive experience amongst the ephemerals while they’re here.
Some examples:
Dutchman’s Breeches is a classic.
Ephemerals pop up before the leaf cover comes in and shades the woods.
Right now there’s maximum sunlight hitting the forest floor, so you’re going to see explosive growth over the next couple weeks. But then the tree cover comes in and the shade kills off a lot of this colorful natural growth, which can be sad. But it’s all part of a bigger cycle that you have to respect and appreciate.
Toothwort sounds like something that needs to be surgically removed from my taint.
Still makes for a gorgeous plant and reminds me I have a lot of naturally occuring toothwort in my backyard that I once thought was a marijuana plant from the free-roaming family we bought this house from.
Another nice thing is the maintenance from Kane County
They’re constantly cutting, trimming, organizing and maintaining the woods in an orderly fashion and that’s huge because the debris buildup is simply unstoppable. You can’t afford to take more than a week away and there’s been a noticeable increase to the forest preserve’s budget for 3rd parties to clean and maintain. That’s nice because a lot of the W-2 lifers on any preserve’s payroll won’t do fuckin shit.
Good work if you can find it though.
I’m wearing a nasal dilator that helps me breathe through my nose. Usually just wear it from 9pm to 9am but lately I’ve been wearing it during the day in my office and it’s been a nice change of pace. I really think the extra oxygen is improving the quality of my thoughts, sleep and mood.
Which is nice because I want to breathe all this shit in.
Here you’ll see a gravel trail break out to the left so let’s go down that.
Stunning.
Walk down far enough and you’ll see another breakout trail.
I typically limit myself to one breakout trail per walk so we don’t explore this one too much. It’s just a nice reference point for the options available on the trail.
Follow it around enough and you spill out into a parking lot/information hub that represents the halfway point in a mile loop on the trail.
I really like this part of the walk because it’s got one of my favorite trees of all time:
That’s a Harry Potter tree and it’s fabulously sensational.
And then go south up that hill and you’re in the pavillion
Jackpot city if you like a charcoal grill and inexpensive location for a multi-generation family reunion.
Another nice thing?
The view from the pavilion. Just wait til the leaf cover comes in and you’ll shit yourself. I promise.
Then it’s down the trail again to close the loop
I think this is my least favorite part of the walk because it’s right next the shithouse and on a hot day you can catch a big whiff.
Anyways keep walking and you’re back to the original starting point on the loop when I first crossed my pathway. Coming back today I saw a marvelous stump
Walk a little bit further more and you got creeks and bridges
And then soon enough you see my favorite house on the trail
Mine!
My office is behind those white chairs on the patio. Right now I’m waving to you from my office.
Hello! Hope you’re having a nice day! Thanks for reading the blog!
And then it’s back to the private pathway and down my gravel road
And back into my office to write this blog and share these pictures with you guys.
Overall I’m scoring this one a 6.3 because it was rainy, limited foliage, limited mileage and I prefer either Scottie or Mrs Carl or both join. So there’s a lot of room to improve. But same time you have to love the ephemeral scene because it’s limited. And there’s really no bad time to be in nature provided you’re protected from the elements.
Today’s rain jacket was a hand-me-down Eddie Bauer from my dad that goes down to my kneecaps. It’s quickly become my favorite jacket because of its utilitarian functionality.
And on the subject of hand-me-downs from my dad, I recently took the keys to his ’04 Chevy Suburban with 150k miles and a bike rack.
It’s awesome.
Anyways hope you guys are having a nice day.
If not, I highly recommend a walk in the woods.
For more on the topic: