If you are here with me in the year that is 2025, you know someone who will adore you for understanding them and getting them this new print from a local Chicago-area artist. Maybe as a holiday gift Maybe just to say that despite all the challenges we encounter, we must still let those birds fly.

This ---->

The annual removal of the moorings is underway at Monroe Harbor, which means soon ice watch will begin.

@chuygarcia.house.gov is my rep. I am appreciative for all he has done. Legit first time we've had a rep who cared about the "lower ear muff." I do feel betrayed by what he did, which was just a gross replay of age-old Chicago style politics. That said, @gluesenkampperez.house.gov can respecfully...

Honor veterans - not with press releases on Nov. 11 - but by advocating for and supporting candidates who fund services that provide veterans connections and support transitioning back to civilian life, health care, good jobs and an unbreakable safety net of crisis care that is there when needed.

One of my favorite spring ephemerals (and I have many) is bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)! These brilliant white blossoms last about a day, and if pollinated, things get really fun! Bloodroot seeds are dispersed by ants which bring them home to their nests 1 — the ideal habitat for germination!

Stop saying “Miracle Mile!” There is no “Miracle Mile” in Chicago!

Psssst. Get a library card. Pass it on.

New: The Supreme Court DENIES Kim Davis' request to overturn Obergefell, the marriage equality decision. No noted dissents. www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...

To everyone in Chicagoland waking up to a snowscape, I have good news! It’s only four months until crocus season!

As the first snow flies in Chicago, I thought I’d share this adorable skipper on a woodland sunflower.

The ads continue to make themselves what if Dems made them: Trump administration to faith leaders: “No More Prayer.”

Of course it’s cloudy in Chicagoland.

As I was watching election results last night I saw one exit poll number that seemed very real and still made my jaw drop. I believe it was in New Jersey, and 39% of respondents said they were "angry." Not "discouraged," not "unhappy." "Angry." The media and establishment still don't get it.

TODAY 11 am CST!!!

Oh, I'm sorry, your city doesn't have cranes stop by to see what's popping? Sucks for you.

This week, remember:

Stand up! Purple prairie clover stands at attention!

Holy cow. Look at the moon, Chicago!

Old enough to remember when the Chicago media kept finding people who said they'd leave the city if Brandon Johnson was elected, and then the data came out and between 2023 and 2024, Chicago actually reversed a long-term downward trend and added more than 20,000 people. Mentioning this just cause.

Meadow blazing star is magnet for monarch butterflies, but this orange sulfur seemed to enjoy it as well.

My fear is that on the other side of this glorious series is a lockout and that makes me incredibly sad. So I’m doing my best to stay in the moment at for at least three more outs.

Suicide squeeze to win the world series. let’s do this. please please please.

I need Alejandro Kirk to get ahold of one for all the 5’ 8” 245 homies out here.

Vladdy spent some time with Tom Emasnski VHS tapes last night. #WorldSeries

Lol jayscare5050.com #worldseries

Gimenez hit by pitch. Wrobleski hit my comeback line drive. Will Smith hit by foul ball. Baseball, y’all.

100% intentional, 100% ok with it. 100% ok with the play that preceded it. Play to win the game.

Devon White woulda had it.

Bo Bichette is about to make so much money* * Unless he signs with LA, in which case it will be all deferred.

Prairie Trillium (Trillium recurvatum) is a stunning spring ephemeral with mottled leaves and a scarlet bloom. I shot this one at a restoration site in NE Illinois, where dense buckthorn was removed and this beauty returned. A slow grower, it can take young plants 10 years to bloom!

I'm from Massachusetts, where the Boston Massacre is as deep in the conscious as Aerosmith's "Dream On" and Ted Williams' .406 in 1941. In Chicagoland in 2025, as La Niña spins off in the Pacific, the fear young people will pepper unwanted forces with snowballs, ingniting a powder keg, shakes me.

To many, fleabane is a weed. But if you can and it’s native to where you garden, let it go. It’s small daisy-like flowers are loved by hover flies and small bees and in the right light it can be incredibly charming.

ATTENTION! #Gar spotting at 2:01! cc @friel.bsky.social @solomonrdavid.bsky.social @moxostoma.bsky.social #Teamfish

Psst. Wanna see a monarch butterfly on boneset? Studies have shown monarch butterflies- particularly males - consume toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from plants like boneset. They believe this likely helps protect them from predators and may enhance pheromones that help attract a mate.

Bumblebee on a NewEngland aster.

This Golden Northern Bumblebee really got into penstemon season last spring and made sure there’s plenty of seeds for this year’s winter sow!

A purple cone flower being visited by what I think is a red admiral.

With anticipated cuts to SNAP benefits, more families will rely on local food pantries. Donate to the Share Food, Share Love Food Pantry’s Giving Tree! 🍎 Pick an apple from the Giving Tree listing needed items. 📦 Drop off items at the donation box in the Library.

She’s a mid-mod cat.

Hey, @drfishsg.bsky.social! How about this bumblebee on New England aster?

This late boneset made a tiny opportunity between train tracks and a paved walk work. It made it to bloom.

Pro tip: Not only do you have to tell a reporter that you would like the conversation to be "Off the Record" before the conversation begins, the reporter must agree to those terms, and is under no circumstance required to agree. Also, freedom of the press is a thing.

Well, I guess Ohtani will actually be on a plane to Toronto this time.

This kid in Lagrange had a giant Cheeto in a crown. #NoKings

No Kings march Michigan Avenue, Chicago coverage: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/18/n...

#nokings LaGrange IL represents! @indivisible.org @indivisiblewsc.bsky.social

Update 2 from #NoKings in LaGrange, Illinois: The protest has ended and it appears many of the protesters are going into local businesses to buy lunch. The vibes seem very pro-community here. No anger detected.

Update from #NoKings in LaGrange, Illinois. Way way more honks than middle fingers. Great energy. Lots of people who love America.

LaGrange, IL showed up. #NoKings