A DEER FRIEND & The GRAND GARDEN @ Morton Arboretum and Chicago’s SOUTH SHORE CULTURAL CENTER - MyShadowProductions #186

Hola amigos!! No, I am not in Mexico, just trying to keep my Spanish fresh :)

On Thursday October 10, 2024 it was a nice day for the last shift of the season for weeding at the Gateway to Tree Science.

Monarch Butterflies need the Milkweed

I have a Video from my photos with the early morning walk (with a great guest appearance by a deer friend), then 3 hrs of weeding without photos and then the walk to and through the Grand Garden at the Morton Arboretum, but first, some photos.

CLICK HERE for the VIDEO.

It was really cool that the deer was kind enough to hang around a little (it didn’t even mind me playing piano in the background :). I feel like at one point it shook its head “yes” to me and then, when it was behind the small tree, it even played “peek a boo” :)

Oh, and by the way, the coyote (in my previous Post) trotted through again around the same time, maybe a daily hunting routine or just a relaxing trot :)

This Post is not in chronological order for some reason but it keeps things interesting (I hope) to jump around a little bit :)

With that in mind, on September 29, 2024 I had the opportunity/incentive to visit the South Shore Cultural Center as the Chicago Park District held a Volunteer Appreciation Day there and I was invited.

For a Windy, Wave Filled Video click here. I didn’t take any photos inside the very cool building, too much going on and a lot of people. I chose to enjoy the outside though, before all the others ventured out, quite an oasis.

I haven’t decided if this will be on the Final Exam yet but did you know that at least one tree has leaves of three different shapes on the same tree?

The one I am now aware of is the SASSAFRAS Tree. I remember back in my “young working days” on several sewer projects there was excavation through timber/forests like at Carpenter Park, Lake Springfield, etc. where we could randomly smell the unique “root beer” scent from the Sassafras’s roots (think sassafras tea). I don’t remember knowing about the leaves though.

It turns out that there are a few Sassafras trees at Morton Arboretum and their website offers a way to find their general location on a map. I did that and found a couple of the areas in the Children’s Garden and the Ground Cover Garden.

Here is a photo of the leaves:

Also a photo of a sidewalk stamp in the Children’s Garden (I added the colors:)

It would have been cool if the real leaf & shadow on the sidewalk were a Sassafras instead of an Oak & Fern :)

Another mystery vegetable (for me anyway) showed up at the Aurora Food Pantry the other day:

Looks like it is called Romanesco Broccoli that is “….a cultivar of cauliflower, not broccoli. It is also known as Broccoflower or Roman cauliflower.”

Oh, I almost forgot, but back to the South Shore Cultural Center Video, did you notice the “Water Crib”?? It is the structure out in the Lake where one of the City’s Water Purification Plants sources its raw water. 

CLICK HERE for a quick story on what it is and how it and others were built.

This Video is cool too. 

Of course, google has many more stories if you are interested :)

Can you imagine showing up for the first day of work on that construction project? “Ok guys, we are going to dig a hole 20? feet in diameter and 200? feet deep, then we are going to tunnel (10 to 20 ft diameter) under the Lake for about 1 to

2 miles and connect to another hole that the ‘other crew’ is going to dig…….” Any questions? Are you ready?

And, last but not least, some good news, the Sun came up again today!! :)

From my CRIB to yours,

Have a Great Day !!