March is a fickle month here; snow and ice one day, balmy breezes the next, winter still lurking as spring teases a bit. Chicagoland has endured blizzards in March. We remain cautious, as Midwesterners are apt to be. We are also optimistic, for we know that spring will, eventually, come.
We planned a few hours at the Morton Arboretum yesterday. Those of you who know me, know it is one of my favorite places, in any season, even this, the fifth season. Mud season! Surprisingly, on a rather pleasant day, even if the temperature was hovering precariously around 40 degrees, there weren’t many people there.
We ate lunch in the Ginkgo Cafe, wandered around the lake, and drove the winding roads. In a few weeks, the daffodil glade will be radiant in yellow blooms, and the spring peepers will be crooning their love songs in the ponds. Sunday was quiet, however, as the woods and dales were waiting, Â just waiting, to awaken. I’ll wait as well. I’ll try to be patient, I will – but, it will be hard.
Would you like to see a few pictures of spring lurking patiently at the Morton?
Hey! Where’d that third goose come from?
Reflecting.
Waiting . . .
. . . just waiting for the next act to open!
Lifeonthecutoff's Blog 
The colours are just the same here, Penny. Brown, waiting for the new shoots. Not long now….
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It is hard waiting, isn’t it Kate, especially when we know it is so near? We can see the buds on trees and bushes, swelling; that helps.
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I can hear you waiting, longing for spring from here Penny, I hope it comes soon and stays. Wonderful photos all of them. this is definitely a place I would love to visit in any season.
Please excuse my ignorance but could you please tell me why Chicagoland is in the midwest when it is closer to the east coast. My lack of education is showing itself here!
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I think you would like the Morton Arboretum, Marilyn. It is filled with trees, of course, but meadows and prairies as well and it has the most wonderful children’s garden. I can’t wait to take Kezzie there when she gets a bit older.
That’s a good question, Marilyn. I’ll try to answer it for you, and Katy. Illinois is really part of a large section of the country that is in the center, the heartland, of the USA. At one time, it was consider the west as the country was being settled. We really are a ways from the east coast (but, even further from California and I won’t confuse you more with Hawaii, which is considered part of the west). We have four geographical areas; the northeast, the midwest, the south, and the west. We are also one of the states that claims one of the Great Lakes, Michigan being ours. Phew! You had me thinking a bit on this. I hope some of my fellow midwesterners will chime in.
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Great photos! You captured “the fifth season” very well, I think! I like to call it latter winter/early spring, but “Mud Season” is far better! We’ve had a few warmer days too, but the snow is still piled high in most places. Ducks have been flying overhead and I’ve heard some birds that I know haven’t been around in awhile! All great signs.
Marilyn, I’ve always wondered the same thing about how the midwest is defined, though I’ve (almost) always lived in the midwest!
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Thank you, Katy. The nest was really interesting in the last picture (click on it). The “architect” actually managed to weave in one of the berries. I wish I could claim the term “mud season”, but, it has been around for a while. Are the eagles back and nesting along the river?
I tried to answer your and Marilyn’s good question in my reply to her comment above. The midwest also includes the Dakotas.
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Oh, those last three pictures are my favorite!
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Thank you.
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What a beautiful sense of impending life you evoke Penny. I can feel a great force gathering, and what joy it will be when spring bounds in like a lion.
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Yes, indeed, it will be a joy, Juliet. I think it means more when we wait, anxious as we are, for such times. Thank you.
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What beautiful pictures, Penny. You are right, the mud season has indeed started. Sadly, we have a friend who has lost some cattle. They get worn out trying to walk in the mud and they just lie down and quit. Another problem around here is that the roads “bottom out”. This is a hard thing to understand for people from the city. It took me a while. The ditches fill with water and since the ground is saturated, the water seeps under the road and makes kind of a fluid situation and the hard part of the road sinks while the mud can come to the top. It is a mess and affects our bus routes.
On a brighter note, I saw a bright yellow crocus about to bloom today. I enjoy every sign of spring that I see.
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Thank you, Janet. Oh, that is so sad and something we city folk don’t think about. Poor creatures. I imagine that the roads are hard on vehicles and a problem with bus routes. With this hard and snowy winter, it must be a terrible mess to get through.
Yea! There is nothing quite as exciting as the very first bloom we see in spring. It is fun, isn’t it, watching spring unfold slowly, no matter how anxious we are for it to begin.
Tom has been predicting that March 15 will bring the peepers here out. Stay tuned.
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Yeah, signs of spring! Glad you had such a nice day at the Arboretum.
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Me too, Jennifer. It was good to be out and about. I am so ready for spring to begin. In a few weeks the daffodils will be blooming at the Morton.
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