Out And About- Emiquon ; Museum of the Grand Prairie

                                  EMIQUON

   Emiquon Preserve, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, is a floodplain restoration project of The Nature Conservancy. For years this area was farmland, but in 2000 The Nature Conservancy bought 7,000 acres and started the process of returning this area back to being a wetland.  A few times a year I like to check out the area, last time I went was mid-March.

Thompson Lake

 When I visit this area I enjoy the different interpretive signs,

                                       

  These signs give me ideas, that I may.....

                                     

     like to make something similar, but smaller, for our yard- maybe up on our fence :-)

hiking paths,boardwalks, and observatory areas.

This pic was taken on a different trip than the others....colder and icy that day.

Picture of boardwalk taken from up on one of the observatories.

    The main reason I make the excursion to Emiquon is to go birdwatching, especially for the waterfowl.Some of the different ones I've seen are: Double Crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, Northern Shoveler, American Coot, Blue-winged Teal, and the Bufflehead. I have only seen a small fraction of  the many different species of waterfowl,shorebirds and songbirds that come to this area, which gives me incentive to keep coming back.
    This time I saw....

I think these may be Mute Swans; designated as rare for this area :-)

Snow Geese on the other side of Thompson Lake.

   I can almost always count on seeing and hearing Red-winged Blackbirds.

On earlier visits, the marshy vegetation was getting fairly dense.

 On this trip it was apparent right away that a change occurred. 

 It didn't take long to figure out that the muskrats were now a factor in the wetland.

   In order to make their lodges +/or feeding mounds, they use the surrounding vegetation, usually cattails. This transforms the wetland into a patchwork of open areas, which increases habitat diversity for waterfowl and shore birds.

    The muskrat's fur has two layers.The coarse guard hairs protect the dense undercoat, which is waterproof.

     Their back feet are webbed for swimming and the long, hairless, flattened tail acts as a rudder.

diving into the water

    Their front legs are short and have heavy, long claws. Along with excellent dexterity, their front feet are good for feeding and lodge construction.

found some food to gnaw on

       There are still some stands of cattails.

A bit 'fuzzy' this time of year.

               Museum of the Grand Prairie
    This museum is in Mahomet, Il and focuses on the cultural and natural past of East Central Illinois and Champaign County.

  When we first entered, I didn't know which floor I wanted to see first.

    I opted for the new exhibit, "The Grand Prairie Story"

    There isn't a lot of reading in this exhibit, but the displays/images are quite a 'blast from the past'! Walking through this exhibit was kind of like being at a 'strip mall', entering the different areas from an 'outside path'.

     This picture makes me kind of wish that I had kept my first camera (polaroid). Come to think of it, I don't even remember WHAT I did with it :-( !!!

  I think we have some of these telephone models stored in our basement :-)

   When I see this switchboard, memories of Lily Tomlin's character 'Ernestine' from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In fill my mind. I can almost hear her....One ringy dingy....two ringy dingy......  :-)

   I also start remembering all the rules we needed to follow when we visited my Grandma, who had a 'party line'.

Many of these rules should still apply!

     General store shelves

   I am not sure if I would have wanted to take up biking with this model!

   Dainty tea set

   Dress weight, hair comb, glove stretcher, hand carved wooden busk; some of the items women used in the past.

  This sign explains exactly why I took the following picture.

    If I found one of these , I would probably want to get it just for the beautiful metalwork!

      Riding in this carriage would have been quite rough....no rubber tires on those wheels!!!!

   Now to learn about blacksmithing.

    After seeing this hands on display....

    and reading the sign very carefully...

   I had to give it a try....picking up the wire with the tongs was a bit harder than it looked :-)

   It would have taken me quite some time to get all of these horseshoes made!

          After some of our 'mountain' vacations, I nicknamed the grain elevators as the 'mountains of the Midwest'. I like this moniker, also :-)

    I wonder how long it took to decipher these letters!

  This one with two different colors of ink may be easier to read :-)

    After viewing this section about storytelling our everyday lives, I begin to wonder how much we are going to lose if we don't take the time now to record some of our families' memories. I tell myself 'someday when I have more time'.  However, when and if that occurs, I am afraid it will be too late :-(

  A room full of 'stories'.

  Going to the downstairs of the museum, I decide to ride along with Abraham Lincoln...

   on his Spring's 'Mud Circuit'. 

   Seeing this surgery kit from the Civil War , makes me very glad about the advancements made in medicine!!!

  Unfortunately, some things have not changed....there are still wars, which of course creates the 'waiting and worrying'  :-(

     Steer-horn and steer-footed chair

    If there is any interesting sewing machines around....

    that is where I will find Mom :-)

    Time to leave and we did not get to check out the outside area, with its gardens, paths, bridges, etc. I will be wanting to check out their discovery garden in a couple of months :-)