And an oak savanna at dusk, yet another important element of the prairies that once stretched across Illinois. Heller Nature Center, Highland Park, Illinois.

Oak-hickory forest at dusk. Prescribed fire is essential to maintain these remnants that complemented Illinois prairies forming a mosaic. Heller Nature Center, Highland Park Illinois.

A prairie remnant, a small piece of the 22 million acres of tallgrass prairie that once covered Illinois. Fame Flower Knob, Nachusa Grasslands.

Illinois tallgrass prairie in all its glory.

Yes. Nice to see this sign in a sea of yard signs advertising mosquito removal services. Food chain anyone?

Nice hair accent (or extension).

What’s the rush? School supplies being promoted in grocery and drug stores in July?! Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer, especially for kids?

Heading home. Greenstone Ridge Trail, Isle Royale.

View from the fire tower. Feldtmann Ridge, Isle Royale.

Picture perfect paper birch. Feldtmann Lake Loop, Isle Royale.

Look at those tannins flow. Big Manitou Falls and the Black River Gorge, Superior, Wisconsin, just before reaching Lake Superior.

A rectangular kind of day.

Spot the triangles. Perhaps more than appear at first glance.

Just plant something. A tomato. A pepper plant. A tree. If you don’t have a yard, containers work well as do egg cartons filled with herb seeds on a window sill. It is amazing how much joy comes from the anticipation of waiting for the seed leaves, and then the distinctive leaves of the plant.

This inspirational story of how a “deer hunter, forester, Southern man posting about flowers” became an effective steward and advocate for the protection of grassland remnants in Alabama is absolutely worth a read. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/c...

National parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands in the United States are national treasures, and the backbone of conservation and the outdoor recreation economy. Please speak up to keep public lands in public hands. 🌿🪶🐟

A walking meditation doesn’t have to take place in a natural area but the sights, sounds, smells, feel and sometimes even taste (of the air), certainly provides a respite during trying times. Try it - just focus on what is immediately around, in the present.

Peonies don’t need ants to bloom but the insects seek out the flowers because of the nectar the buds produce. This is why you can end up with ants in the house if you bring a peony bouquet inside.

I think a lot about how technology has created barriers. What do we miss around us when our heads are pointed downwards at our phones? And how many neck and back problems has this behavior caused or aggravated?!

And this is what grasslands restoration looks like. A tallgrass prairie in Illinois that at one time was used for row crop agriculture (soy and corn) before being restored.

Sometimes instead of calling on people to do this or that to protect the environment, it is simply better to foster interest and hopefully further curiosity about the natural world. Hopefully appreciation and an interest in protecting will follow.

By 2030, half of young people entering the global labor force will come from sub-Saharan Africa. This will require the generation of up to 15 million new jobs in the region each year. These are conservation rangers in northern Kenya. Protecting wildlife can drive economic opportunities.

Quiet.

Cleansing and invigorating in all the right ways.

So distinguished looking!

Yes and for those new to pausing, looking and learning about plant species there are so many apps to help you. Try www.inaturalist.org for starters or leafsnap.com.

This is floodplain restoration with all the improvements to water quality, habitat and associated wildlife, and recreational opportunities. In some instances, restoration mitigates the impact of floodwaters for communities and business.

Look who came to visit, a skink. Broad-headed skink. Lewiston, Illinois.

Drove across central Illinois yesterday and saw row crops that occupy every square inch of land. This is not how people used to farm. Prairie strips boost the ecological value of farms while also proving benefits like erosion control to farmers. www.nrem.iastate.edu/research/STR...

While pretty while in bloom, the non-native and highly invasive Engelmann prickly pear (Opuntia engelmannii) poses a significant threat to native plants, wildlife and cattle in northern Kenya. www.nature.org/en-us/about-...

Spring’s perfume. Behold the lovely lilac.

The aim of the collaborative Kenya Rhino Range Expansion is to create a healthy breeding population of rhinos by creating and protecting a connected corridor in northern Kenya. This effort will improve the overall health of the grassland ecosystem, benefiting local communities in numerous ways.

Hungry? African savanna elephants spend most of their day eating. As herbivores, adult elephants consume around 350 pounds of vegetation a day.

Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, lions in Africa now occupy less than 90 percent of their traditional range. When protected, these apex predators draw tourists to local conservancies and provide an economic boost to surrounding communities.

Acacias are amazing trees. Within minutes of being eaten, the trees respond by producing tannins that make their leaves taste bitter.The trees also produce ethylene gas that prompts downwind trees to increase their tannin concentration, thereby prompting giraffes to move away.

Native landscaping making a splash - in Paris!

I haven’t been to Paris in years and am simply amazed by the reduction in cars, the number of bikes and the wonderful air quality. Incredible! (Incroyable!)

Grasslands not only sustain elephants but play a critical role in terms of carbon storage.

Nandi Flame, also known as an African Tulip. The flowers look like little flames.

Note the city of five million people in the background.

Waiting.

Savannas are not just in Africa. Black oak savanna, Pembroke Township, Illinois.

Ah, spring.

Is it the magic of three? The petals framed with an equal number of leaves? Always a favorite. I haven’t seen one yet this year.

Buffalo scratching post.

Such a nice surprise to see Mayapples pop up on someone’s lawn. Usually I need to look in woodlands here in the Midwest.

The study of “nature’s calendar” is known as phenology. For those in the US who want to know the status of spring in their area, look outside 😌 and then check out - www.usanpn.org

Trees are key when it comes to climate adaptation, particularly in urban areas subject to high temperature events and flooding. How does your city compare? Check out this fun tool - www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

The joy of spring. Hope that can be derived from new beginnings so long as we look. www.npr.org/2025/04/20/n...

“The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh, from A Gift from the Sea