PFS

Trout Park a little further west

Never seen Lake Michigan do this before. Dead River waterfall into the lake at Illinois Beach State Park.

Chicago River North Branch beaver from a few weeks back

Large grey stone church with spire at night

Zoomed in view of church spire with silhouette of great horned owl perched on the cross

Great horned owl perched atop a church spire in LaGrange, IL. I heard the hoots.

It's gentian and ladies' tress orchid season

Reference to Chicago's own Midway Games? They made a popular football video game called Blitz.

Cool bee fly!! I've never seen the hunchback type.

*loupe

Alien (cardinal flower)

Alien (American senna)

Alien (blood milkwort)

Leafy alien (spotted St. John's wort)

Optical loop + phone camera + steady hand =

I ventured into this public park last winter only to be shooed away via voice-of-god PA system echoing through the trees. I was also met by a city Streets and San employee upon exit just to make sure.

Red deeply veiny mushroom

Yellow shiny capped mushroom with white stem

Blue greenish scaly mushroom cap emerging from ground

Cream gilled mushroom translucent near the ends of the cap

Summer mushrooms poppin

Large yellow St. John's wart flower with tons (scientific term) of thread-like stamen

Landscape photo of marshy grassland with yellow flowers amongst a sea of green

Odd-looking flower stalk with yellow flowers blooming from the bottom

Small but shapely yellow loosestrife flowers on a green background of leaves

Also yellow

Alien grass pink orchid flower, bright pink with floral spike bearded white and yellow. Preeeeety.

Classic rose flower with five pink petals and an yellow center. You can almost smell it.

Swamp milkweed flowers of bright pink and white

A short winged loosestrife plant emerging from the ground with deep red stem and leaves with bright pink flowers

Illinois Beach State Park sporting lots of pink

Feisty little prairie crayfish don't make me cayenne-lemon pepper season you

That's some nice proboscis action

Non-native European pasqueflower very furry

Unopened small red flower of wild ginger plant very furry

American (probably) elm branch with developing samaras very furry

Group of white-pink sharp-loped hepatica flowers emerging from ground very furry

White scraggly beards aren't just for your old man post-retirement

Wood duck in water in snow through tree branches

Chicago River wood duck showing off

Small plate with leek pakora

Leek pakora

A common mudpuppy, a large native salamander, lay frozen and dessicated on a concrete surface. Its gills and front legs are visible but it appears blackened and alien.

Front angle

With tail and hind legs visible

Apparently huge salamanders inhabit our Lake Michigan. This one, frozen solid, was bird prey until it wasn't. I found it on a pier near the Illinois/Indiana border.

Nature documentary about the arctic except here in Chicago

Resinous polypore big enough to be a weapon

Funeral bell - metal AF name

Pear-shaped puffballs spew green spores

Honey mushroom with super fuzzy stem

Autumn isn't just for leaf peeping! The forest floor is full of fungi if you look closely.