jlinamen1229
Thursday was sunny and hot. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon, visiting the Bluff Spring Fen. I was treated to a nice breeze blowing through the fields and the sky provided a spectacular cloud show.
A fen is defined as a type of wetland. This 160 acre, mineral-rich, spring fed fen is part of a larger 225 acre nature preserve managed by the Forest Preserve Districts of Kane and Cook Counties and the City of Elgin.
Nature preserves have a higher degree of protections and regulations than parks and forest preserves. There are no picnic tables or shelters. It is not a playground. No cycling, dogs or horseback riding are allowed. With extremely narrow paths and an occasional footbridge, it is the perfect place for a tranquil walk and to view rare and protected plants and wildlife.
Here are a sampling of the photos I took on my first visit.
I look forward to visiting again and capturing the change of seasons in the months to come.
How Do You Measure 525600 Minutes? 
Thanks so very much for this! It was the Nature Conservancy that got this place started and I worked with them clearing brush. I don’t get around too well anymore and haven’t been there in years.
Your pictures are wonderful, especially the sky with the sun behind the cloud and the water flowing through the creek is a great texture shot. And how did you get that butterfly to sit still? 🙂
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Pat, That is so cool that you’ve worked on the fen! I may get involved. I met one of the guys that volunteer there, he’s 45 and been involved since high school!
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Wow, that’s dedication! I hope you will give it a try, there’s never enough hands.
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He said he was the youngest one…. He was counting dragonflies… which are starting migration…. I know they start seed collection soon. Their website is down so I have to try to reach them via the FB page.
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There’s a lot of volunteer work being done by us older folks these days. 🙂
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