April 11

Tuesday, while visiting friends in Peoria, Illinois, my wife, Caroline and I hiked nearby at the 540-acre, Forest Park Nature Center. The early morning weather was overcast with a temperature of 50 degrees and a steady breeze out of the west. Leaving the parking lot, I noticed a deer watching us as we approached the trailhead. We followed the Wilderness trail through a mature oak forest where the ground was blanketed with Spring Beauty blossoms that were beginning to open as the morning sun penetrated the leafless canopy. As the trail turned north and ascended the hilly terrain, I noticed: Woodland Violets, Pincushion Moss and flowerless Prairie Trillium. Reaching the hilltop, I stopped to listen as a Red bellied and Downy woodpecker confronted each other on a tree trunk. Next, I gazed though the trees where I could barely see the Illinois River far to the east. Beginning our descent, I hiked past a large weathered rock of Ruby Pink Granite in the middle of the trail and paused by one of many small creeks to look and listen. Nearby, I spotted a log covered with Golden Curtain Crust Fungi. Back on level ground, the trail turned east where I noticed a Redbud tree beginning to blossom. Also, I observed some Horse Chestnut trees beginning to leaf out. We followed the trail as it curved south toward the parking lot and were pleased to spot a few patches of Virginia Bluebell. Finally, we found the car and headed back to the hotel.

Seasonal signs

Sparse and subtle

Killdeer’s call

Iceless puddle

Wood frog quacks

In vernal pond

Sandhill cranes

Above and beyond

Skunk cabbage

A sprout or two

Oozing sap

Spring’s debut

D. DeGraaf