Nature

The Grove Trotters

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Grove Trotters (L to R) Carolyn Denaro, Rosemary Thalanany, Marie Roth, and Angie Underwood on a walk in October, 2014.

Grove Trotters (L to R) Carolyn Denaro, Rosemary Thalanany, Marie Roth, and Angie Underwood on a walk in October, 2014.

What is better than a springtime walk in a woodland; gazing at the blooms of the redbuds and virginia bluebells and listening to the songs of the spring peepers? Having a Grove Trotter or two for company, that’s what!  The creative name for our Long Grove walking group is courtesy of resident Renee Clark, who first organized a number of ladies under this name to participate in a breast cancer walk in Chicago over a decade ago.  That group disbanded, but several years later reorganized with the help of the Neighbors and Newcomers Club to form a weekly walking group to explore the many forest preserve trails and neighborhood pathways in and around Long Grove. Our group is informal, fluid, and members join in as they are able. We are fortunate to have some great local places to get out and enjoy nature, but as women, we all know that there is safety in numbers.  Plus, it makes us less likely to skip the exercise if we know a buddy is waiting to also hit the trail. And of course, there is the gossip…I mean, lively conversation to make the time pass more quickly!  My first experience speaking up at a Village Board meeting was due to the Grove Trotters.  Several of our members came to a meeting to ask the Trustees to allocate funds to help pave and extend a walking path on south Schaeffer Road.  And it worked!  The Village supported that path improvement almost 10 years ago, and this summer we are using grant funds to connect the Schaeffer Road trail to the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve.  I’m looking forward to exploring this new pathway in the fall with my Grove Trotter friends.  This spring we are working on our daily 10,000 steps in Heron Creek Forest Preserve, Stillman Nature Preserve, Reed-Turner Woodland, and several neighborhood paths in Long Grove.  If you would like to join the Grove Trotters for a walk, contact me via email and I will let you know the time and meeting place for our next outing. Get moving, enjoy the woodland wildflowers, and you might meet a new neighbor in the process!

Outdoor Dining in Long Grove

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(L to R) Georgia Cawley, Barbara English, and Laurie Borawski attend a recent Historical Society luncheon.

(L to R) Georgia Cawley, Barbara English, and Laurie Borawski attend a recent Historical Society luncheon.

This past weekend, we were blessed with several days of perfect weather—sunny skies, comfortable temperatures, low humidity, and a minimum of mosquitoes. After the long winter we all endured, it was a pleasure to spend time out-of-doors, particularly dining alfresco. As we all know, one of the joys of living in Long Grove is the opportunity to enjoy nature and open spaces from our own backyards. But did you know that many of our local restaurants also offer delightful outdoor dining experiences as well?

My husband and I enjoyed a recent lunch on the outdoor deck of the Long Grove Café. While waiting for our food to arrive we were entertained by watching an unusual bird hunt for minnows in the Mill Pond. I snapped him with my cell phone camera, and identified him later as a Green Heron. We had just been admiring his cousin, the Great Blue Heron, earlier in the week as we sat outside Smokin’ T’s with our Bar-B-Que. Did you know you can view a whole rookery from that spot? Last summer, the Long Grove Artist’s Guild sponsored an outdoor program by local artist Marie Roth, who creates American flags out of reclaimed barn wood. A perfect place to view this wonderful presentation was under the umbrellas of the outdoor dining tables at Enzo & Lucia’s. It is such a lovely location to relax, enjoy a meal, and take in the sights and sounds of Fountain Square. We have also been enjoying Long Grove’s newest restaurant, The Chatterbox, which features a charming outside patio area bordered with flowers and plants. This is truly a local gathering spot, as our meal for two quickly became a meal for four when some friends from the Historical Society stopped by to join us. Dining at the table next to us were Long Grove neighbors, as well. Good food, good friends, and a beautiful springtime night in our own Downtown.

Many other area restaurants offer outside dining, but so often these areas overlook a strip mall, parking lot, or busy road. Long Grove dining offers up a choice of attractive places to enjoy nature and the uniqueness of our Village. This season will be gone in the blink of an eye—enjoy it while you can!

Teasel Masters

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Harvey Lease, Marie Borg, and Lee Bassett with their awards

Harvey Lease, Marie Borg, and Lee Bassett with their awards

The Long Grove Park District held their second annual “For the Birds” event this past weekend at Reed-Turner Woodland.  Mother Nature herself cooperated, and served up nearly perfect weather for hiking and observing our native wildflowers and birds.  A birdhouse competition was held, with many creative and clever entries crafted by a variety of residents vying for the grand-prize title.  The culmination of the event was a reception held today, to honor three special Village volunteers.  Harvey Lease, Bob Borg, and Lee Bassett were celebrated for the many contributions that they have made to Long Grove through service to the Park District, Historical Society, and Village government.  I have known these men for years in working together with them on the Historical Society Board, and both Bob and Lee have served for many years on the Conservancy and Scenic Corridor Commission for the Village.  But the Park District knows them best as “Teasel Masters.”  Bob, Lee and Harvey have put in numerous hours as stewards to the Reed-Turner Woodland, and are known throughout the community for their passion towards eradicating (or at least trying to control) this invasive species.  Sadly, Bob Borg passed away earlier this month, and he will be greatly missed by all those in our town whom he has touched over the years.

But the legacy of Bob’s volunteer service (and that of Lee and Harvey as well) lives on, and I hope that it can serve as an inspiration to our current residents.  In Lee’s remarks today, he touched on the fact that Long Grove has long been a community that greatly relies on volunteers.  Past Village President Maria Rodriguez spoke about the importance for our community to pull together with one another and work cooperatively, as we have in recent years.  Every day I see the results of so many residents, past and present, each doing what they can to make a difference.  It was heartwarming today, to be surrounded by so many of the community leaders who are currently doing good works in a variety of areas–Arts & Music Council, Rotary, Lions Club, Historical Society, Park District, Village Board & Commissions, the list goes on….Maybe we can’t all be “Teasel Masters,” but we can let the volunteer spirit shown to us by Harvey, Lee, and Bob be an example for the generations to come.

Conserving Our Open Spaces

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openSpace

The snow has finally melted here in Long Grove, and it won’t be long now until our beautiful open spaces look as green and inviting as the one pictured above.  I took this shot in early spring of 2014, on one of the Village Pathway segments that connect through Stonehaven subdivision.  I know many residents share my deep appreciation of the preservation efforts of those who came before us.  We are so very fortunate to be able to enjoy our natural areas in Long Grove because of the many parcels set aside and protected through special conservancy zoning.  To that end, our Village has a Conservancy and Scenic Corridor Commission, which works to help preserve prairies, wetlands, and woodlands as they come under development, and to help residents restore these precious landscapes and keep them healthy and thriving as time moves on.  I attended the recent meeting of the CSC Commission and it was great to see some renewed enthusiasm as we welcomed a new commissioner, Helen Wilson.  A wonderful presentation was given by representatives from Conserve Lake County, a local agency which shares our mission of preservation, restoration, and education.  The group talked about ways in which we could work together to partner resources in helping apply for grants, and in working with homeowners to educate them about the best ways to control invasive species.  In Long Grove, we want to encourage our residents to practice careful stewardship and practical ways to do this were discussed, such as offering seminars and training days, and reaching out directly to Homeowner Associations.  Even though the view from my office windows today is somewhat brown and drab, the Spring season is now officially upon us!  I cannot wait until our pathways dry out and my “Grove Trotter” walking group takes to the trails once again.  And I am thankful that these open spaces remain for us to enjoy, and lovingly maintain for the generations to come.

 

 

Infinite Beauty

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Long Grove Coyote

This magnificent image of a coyote was taken two winters ago in my backyard.  It illustrates one of my favorite quotes:

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty”–John Ruskin.

I wonder if she is still hunting mice in my conservancy; if she was part of the howling and yipping pack that we heard Sunday night in the blizzard.  Earlier this winter, I had a resident phone me to complain that a deer had died in the open space near his neighborhood, and it needed to be removed because it was attracting coyotes.  My response involved some version of the “circle of life” explaining that the coyotes are residents of Long Grove too, and don’t we live here because we value the abundance of nature?  I’m not sure he agreed with me, and as it turned out, the deer was on private property so the Village couldn’t remove it had we wanted to.  Even though I wish the ground hog had predicted a quicker end to our current season, I am choosing to appreciate the beauty of this winter.  The trees in my backyard vista look so much more graceful with snow outlining the delicate branches.  One of the joys of living in our Village is the opportunity to observe the wild things up close and personal.  The challenge is allowing ourselves the chance to really see it.