Tag Archives: Utica IL.

Blurry Eagle

 

Steve and I drove through starved rock state park in the snow storm today (yes, it was too beautiful yesterday to last- we all knew the snow was coming back!) anyway, finally got a few shots of a bald eagle in flight. Not the best shots- still kind of shaky with the long lenses- but I finally got pictures that you can actually see that it is an eagle! (Here was my first attempt at an eagle a few years back)

Young Baldy

Took a drive through Starved Rock State Park yesterday to look for bald eagles. Only saw a few here and there along the Illinois river. Some were flying, some were perched in the bare trees over the water. This one, a juvenile, was sitting in the snow picking at what might have been a fish.

Did you know it takes five years before a bald eagle gets it’s white plumage?

It Finally Snowed!

Starved Rock State Park, Utica, IL

It snowed two days ago actually. This was the first time I could get out with the camera.
I must admit, I wasn’t thrilled when it started snowing because I was at work had to drive home in the middle of the storm. I am a transplanted Illinoisan and driving on snow and ice doesn’t excite me, but now that the roads are cleared and the sun is shining again, it really is very beautiful.

I love the way the light sparkles in the snow in the late afternoon sun, as in these pictures here. And the way the long blue shadows reach across the snow is very inspiring.

Yes, I guess you could say I do love the snow, from an artist’s perspective that is….

my tracks

weeds on cliff at river’s edge

Illinois river~ South Channel, looking East towards Lock & Dam

Illinois river, Lone Point Shelter, (south bank), looking west toward Starved Rock

Tiny Iceberg on Illinois River, Looking North

Apples and Cabbage (more signs of Spring in Starved Rock)

 
 
 
 
 
Commonly called mayapple~  Podophyllum peltatum,
cover parts of the wooded areas.
the Skunk Cabbage here~  Symplocarpus foetidus, is a rather foul smelling plant that love wet areas.
 And the final sign that Spring has arrived in Starved Rock…..

tree feet & the mighty Illinois

Nothing special today. 
Just a little visit to Starved Rock, playing with the setting on my camera
~tree roots exposed by many a flood~
Little waves, washing up pebbles and driftwood on the Illinois river
Looking across the Illinois river to Plum Island 
(a native American burial ground)