
Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve
Continuing our virtual and literal trek through the western suburbs of Chicago, Jamie had the chance to dig right in (or at least haul right out) by volunteering some maintenance work at Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve. About 20 nature enthusiasts showed up to help stop the advancing wooded area by cutting back rogue trees and brush from the edge of this important piece of the Illinois landscape.
We plan to visit and document this beautiful public place throughout the coming season. Today we have some early springtime pictures and a brief history of an area that may have disappeared long ago if not for the Great Depression and some determined individuals.
Continue reading "The not so little project on the prairie." »

The Oak Park Conservatory
This week we made the fifteen minute journey to the warmer climates of The Oak Park Conservatory. Even though we live near by and do a lot of work in the area, this was our first visit. Usually we are either too rushed to take in local sites after meetings with Oak Park/River Forest homeowners to present designs and plans or just too exhausted to walk another inch after overseeing (and pitching in) on landscape construction projects in the area.
We are delighted to have finally discovered this glass gem along the Eisenhower and will be stopping back often.
Plenty of snapshots and stories from the trip follow ~
Continue reading "The Tropics, Oak Park, Illinois" »

This is a quick follow up to our last post about Riverside, IL. While visiting Grumpy's (itself a local landmark) we sadly missed the coffee shop's former location in the Arcade Building which is currently undergoing renovation, but were pleased to find some attractive and appropriately themed paintings on the walls.
Both Susan Hong-Sammons (above) and Walter Monastyretsky (below) have immortalized the ice cream monger in oils.
More about the artists and see Monastyretsky's painting of the Riverside Water Tower after the jump.
Continue reading "Local artists. Local art and people." »

Historic Train Station and Water Tower, Riverside, IL
Well here we go and not a moment too soon. At the beginning of the year, when we decided to set off on this treasure hunt of creativity in our backyard and beyond, we were very interested in the idea of exploring the real world and sharing it in this online journal. Unfortunately, it was not as easy as just strapping on the old snow shoes, grabbing a camera and heading out into the frigid landscape. Nope, we had to actually first build a virtual world where the stories and pictures of local creative people and places could live.
Happy to say the main geeky work is complete and now we are off. Please join us after the jump for a quick trip through historic Riverside, IL!
Continue reading "The cold and lonely art walk begins." »