who knew il. was so much like the ocean

it is snowing. lightly, but consistently. a mighty wind has been blowing here on the prairie for 4 or 5 days. i am not convinced it will ever stop, but it makes the sea of grass beyond the kitchen window wave like soft coral in tropical waters and the starlings take to the air by the hundreds, moving en mass with the chaotic grace of a school of fish (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/EURSTA/).

the land is more flat here in northern illinois that in southern wisconsin, but i am beginning to enjoy the variety hidden in the starkness of the prairie as i learn to look a bit closer. this is not to say there are no trees. there are actually quite a few wooded areas, they are just a bit smaller and not a part of this bit of land that is my home for the winter months. here, part of the land has been cleared for farm land, and part of it is home to a natural grassland, but the edges are ringed with mighty oaks rising out of the grass. if my memory from the north park nature center in chicago serves me right the actaul term for this landscape is prairie savana. that makes it sound much more exotic. this bit of land is bordered by a conservation area and on knuckles and my first exploration session we were lucky enough to spot a large buck sprinting past and a bird of prey i have yet to identify, but seems larger than the red tail hawk that are common around here. magical.

all this talk makes me want to go outside right now. i'm not sure if either myself or knuckles are up to brave the crazy wind out there, but maybe we should try. sheri tried to take the boys out earlier and they only lasted about 3 minutes - and if it is too much for energetic young boys to play in, i'm not so sure about myself. maybe i should just go have hot chocolate instead.