Gooseberry

I am planting a gooseberry soon. I love all sorts of fruit but gooseberries are hard to find and when they already have them in a store they are terribly expensive. We used to have them in my parents' garden. They are so easy to grow, but I guess there is no demand hence the high price.

I got this tiny plant of Pixwell Gooseberry the other day, and can't wait to plant it, just waiting for a bit more suitable weather.

Walking in Batavia

I can't remember if it was last year or already the year before (past two years were very hectic), but it was spring and we went to Batavia again for a walk.

Batavia is a suburb of Chicago, and the oldest city in Kane County. I like that area because of it's river walk. No sign of spring flowers in my neighbourhood yet, so I guess there is still time before I can enjoy the carpet of blue flowers again.

 

 

 

Cheating Cheetahs ?!?!

Are these cheetahs trying to cheat the nature?! That is the only explanation I have to the story I received today in the email from my mother-in-law who lives in South Africa.

Have you ever seen anything like this???

Here is the story:

 
"The Law Of The Wild says kill ONLY when you are hungry.
     
Photographer  Michel Denis-Huot, who captured these amazing pictures on safari in Kenya 's Masai Mara  in October last year, said he was astounded by what he saw:

"These three brothers (cheetahs) have been living together since they left their mother at  bout 18 months old,' he said.
'On the morning we saw them, they seemed not to be hungry, walking quickly but stopping sometimes to play  together.
'At one point, they met a group of impala who ran away. But one youngster was not quick enough and the brothers caught it easily'."

These  extraordinary scenes followed.

 

 

 

 

 

and  then they just walked away without hurting  him.........."

Meltdown

No, I am not talking about an emotional meltdown, although I was close to one this winter. I am actually celebrating this one - the snow is finally thawing. The pictures are taken from the front door of my house.
We have absolutely lovely plus 5°C (40°F) today! I don't know how long it is going to last but it should even rain tomorrow.The more snow disappears the better because we have nowhere to put it.

I guess we will remember this winter as I already mentioned in my previous post. I have heard a new description of Chicago's weather. It goes like this: "There is 9 months of winter and 3 months of hell in Chicago..." It pretty much describes it.

Chicago winter

The most used sentence this winter: "I am sick of it!", of winter that is. Apparently, it has been the worst winter ever. My problem personally is not the snow, but the freezing temperatures. You just can't go out.
As for the snow, I am quite fond of it. In Europe I used to love being outside in winter. Imagine you are walking in the forest surrounded by needle trees, it is sunny and all you can hear is this winter stillness. Winter can be beautiful.






"Winter WONDER -LAND" - not Chicago

All I remember from this year winter is:
1. being freezing
2. shoveling the snow

Winter CHICAGO-LAND, - my street



Air & Water Show

Chicago annual Air & Water Show takes place this weekend along the Chicago lakefront.
(10 a.m. to 3 p.m. August 17 and 18 from Fullerton to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the center point)

It is said to be the largest free show of its kind in the U.S., only this year military planes and boats will not be participating, but I did see 'the full version' two years ago.

Finally gardening

As a child I was completely fascinated by a rock garden of my neighbor. I remember I just loved the alpine plans organized between rocks and the whole look of the garden. We had mainly carrots, tomatoes and potatoes in ours which I like to eat, but not so much to plant and care for, so I started to create my own tiny rock garden in a corner of the garden surrounded by vegetables.

If I think about it now that was exactly the moment when my passion for a landscape design started. My mother used to say that I have green fingers after my grandmother. Unfortunately with all the relocating and living mainly in apartments, I didn't have much opportunity to create many garden designs. Instead I turned to indoor plants ( WOW label - "house plants" in American English ) which I love as well.
Many years ago I also got my first Bonsai and I was hooked. I can't help myself, I love these mini plants and from there comes my interest in Japanese/Zen gardens. I find these arrangements so calming, peaceful and a feast for your eyes. At least for me it is, so it is no surprise that I would love to bring a bit of Japan in my own garden :-)

To be honest a tropical garden would be also on my list, I was in heaven when visiting my husband's family in South Africa and couldn't take my eyes off all the flora there, but I could hardly recreate any type of tropics here in Chicago. Well, at least not in winter. It is July now and the last week's temperatures were hovering near 35 C with the humidity around 70%. Definitely not for me, so I will stay with my Japanese ideas for now.

Last year I visited Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois which is about 1 hour and a half from my place. The 14 acre gardens were established in 1978 by John Anderson and landscape architect Hoichi Kurisu.

 

 

 

I took many pictures there and have been researching more about the design and plants I can use.

My first load of plants arrived last week and I can't wait to enjoy them in my garden. I just have to wait for all the utilities to be marked on the property.

 

 

 

The Morton Arboretum & CSO music

Last week we went to a concert. It was performed by The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and that particular day to salute John Williams - one of the most popular and successful American orchestral composers of the modern age. He is a winner of five Academy awards, seventeen  Grammys, three Golden Globes, two Emmys and five BAFTA awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He is best known for his film and ceremonial music, for such films as Jaws, E.T., Schindler's List, Indiana Jones series, Star Wars trilogy and many others.

The best about it was that it was an open air concert at The Morton Arboretum. It is an outdoor tree museum located about 25 miles west of Chicago in Lisle.
We went with our friends, had a picnic dinner and just enjoyed the evening with music under the stars. It was a wonderful atmosphere and the weather was perfect.

About The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to the planting and conservation of trees. Its 1,700 acres hold more than 222,000 live plants representing nearly 4,300 taxa from around the world.

Situated on the rolling Valparaiso moraine and bisected by the East Branch of the DuPage River, The Morton Arboretum is planned and planted to nurture and display trees and shrubs in environments conducive to their growth.

The Arboretum offers extensive educational programming for all ages, conducts leading research on tree health and tree improvement, breeds and introduces hardy and disease-resistant trees and shrubs for distribution throughout the Midwest, and presents nature-related activities year-round for people of all ages and interests.

The Arboretum was founded in 1922 by Morton Salt magnate Joy Morton. Arboretum grounds offer an oasis of magnificently tended trees, 16 miles of hiking trails, 9 miles of roads, and 900 acres of natural areas including the prototypical, restored 100-acre Schulenberg Prairie.

Also on the grounds are the Visitor Center and Plant Clinic, The Arboretum Store, Ginkgo Restaurant and Café, four-acre Children’s Garden, one-acre Maze Garden, an environmentally-friendly parking lot, and a paved walking trail around restored Meadow Lake.

The Arboretum houses the renowned Sterling Morton Library, devoted to the literature and art of botany and horticulture.

Tornado - in Moore / Oklahoma

There is definitely one thing I hate about this country and it is the weather.

There is just nowhere to go - if you don't deal with fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, severe storms and extreme temperatures in summer/winter, there is a tornado somewhere. Yesterday it hit Oklahoma state, Oklahoma City area of Moore and it hit it hard. It is absolutely devastating to watch.

 

Residents of this region are familiar with tornadoes because they live in so called Tornado Alley and get them frequently, but also say that they had never experienced a tornado of this strengths and size.

 

 

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/

Finger Lakes - New York State

When I was planning our trip to Canada, our friend from Erieau recommended that we should also visit the Finger Lakes back in the USA. I did some research and was so surprised. I had never heard about this area and it looked so beautiful from the descriptions on various websites.

There are 11 lakes: Otisco Lake, Skaneateles Lake, Owasco Lake, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake, Keuka Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Honeoye Lake, Canadice Lake, Hemlock Lake, and Conesus Lake.
They are called finger lakes because they resemble fingers - long and narrow, oriented from north to south, formed by glaciers in the Upstate New York region.

We decided to visit the area around the lake Cayuga and Seneca. The lakes are huge, Cayuga is the longest, about 61 km (38 miles), but only about 6km (3.5 miles) wide. Seneca is is the largest and also the deepest -188m (615 feet).
Unfortunately, we didn't have many days of our vacation left and stayed only for a couple of days. It was definitely worth it, but you could enjoy this region for weeks. It is a perfect spot for hiking enthusiasts, like my husband and myself, because of its rolling hills, waterfalls, gorges, lakes, forest, but the area is also known for its vineyards, so if this is something that appeals to you, there are numerous wine-tasting tours and trails. There is so much more to do, the list would be very long. You can find out more about the region here.

To organize this part of our trip was the most difficult as I had to synchronize everything with our previous accommodations in Canada. I just couldn't find a place to stay for that particular week and days. This region is extremely popular and when there is a special event in the area, it is almost impossible to find an accommodation. If you want to visit the region, book well in advance and be prepare to reach deep into your pocket. It gets really expensive. I couldn't believe that we had to pay more (much more!) here in the countryside than we payed in Toronto. Well, I guess it is called Upstate New York! It is only about 4 hours (...for my European friends: in American terms it is a short trip:-)  from New York city and I believe a very popular destination for long weekends etc.
In the end we got a room at Hilton Garden Inn in Ithaca.

Ithaca
It is a college town located at the south end of Cayuga Lake. In the tourist guides you will read a lot about Ithaca Commons (downtown Ithaca) and its variety of shops, restaurants, galleries, theatres and historic architecture. Although there are some nice places to see, have a dinner etc., to be honest this area needs a bit of "TLC".  The streets don't look very maintained, but perhaps some places I would recommend if you want to eat somewhere - Waffle Frolic - Waffle bar & Coffee house. We had a delicious hemp and buckwheat waffle and more than once :-) for a dessert and unforgettable dinner at Mia - Pan Asian Cuisine restaurant. If you like Asian cuisine, don't waste your money and head directly to this place. We tried other restaurants in Ithaca, but definitely remember this one. You will pay a bit more here, but leave with a great dining experience.



Ithaca

Mia Restaurant

I am also an art lover and had to pop in a local craft shop American Crafts by Robbie Dein. They have beautiful artwork of all kinds which made me stay and admire for a long time :-)  I purchased a very nice mug with a matching spoon and a picture of a dragonfly on it.

We did some hiking around Ithaca and some around Watkins Glen which is a town at Senaca Lake.
I was really annoyed as I was so looking forward to swimming at the base of the Buttermilk Falls, but unfortunately the area had been already closed for the season :-(
Otherwise, I had a great time hiking, being surrounded by forest, lots of water, gorges and hills that I miss so much here in Chicago.

 

 

 

Taughhannock Falls State Park

 

Watkins Glen State Park

So, this was an addition to our Canadian vacation. From Ithaca we were returning home along the south part of Lake Erie this time.