Pond Life

Kris's last session of soccer camp was at the Eastside Center in East Peoria this evening. While she was doing that, Katie and I biked over to the pond in the park. For a pond that is completely surrounded by gravel and concrete there is an impressive amount of wildlife. We saw bluegills guarding their nests and I assume waiting for mates. We saw baby redwing blackbirds (and their unhappy parents). We petted a frog and caught a sizable turtle.

Sturgeon Bay to Green Bay

Back to the vacation. We left Sturgeon Bay on June 21. Our backyard camping had gotten rained out, but otherwise it was a nice visit. On the way to Green Bay we stopped at Wequiock Falls and the tower at UW-Green Bay. I wanted to ride the Zippn Pippin, the new roller coaster at Bay Beach, but got rained out. Y'know, for the summer solstice, it was sort of a dark and dreary day. We visited my last surviving grandparent; I think she remembered me. After dinner with my parents, Karen and I headed to their cabin while Katie and Kris stayed with them.

Big Birthdays!

Hmm....there must be something cosmic about my 400th blog entry occuring on the same day as the 40th birthdays of both my brother and my wife. Karen reports that her birthday was fun!

Still more fun in Door County

Well, we are back from our Wisconsin vacation, but I have not been able to post for a while, so I will continue to post about the trip. On June 20, we visited Whitefish Dunes State Park and hiked and biked (LOTS of poison ivy to avoid). We also visited Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay and peeked at the nearby shipyard. Fireflies were again out in force. I want to point out that after three days of visiting multiple beaches on both sides of Door County the ONLY shells that I found along those beaches were those of zebra mussels. I suppose they have been around Lake Michigan for a couple decades now, but it is still sad.

More Fun in Door County

The family is taking a more extensive vacation to Wisconsin. Yesterday and today we have been visiting Karen's folks and playing in Door County: visiting 3 state parks, many restauants, and other local attractions. Lots of fireflies last night.

Fireflies

The weather has been great for fireflies lately. We have been seeing lots of Photinus pyralis (the common eastern firefly or big dipper firefly - the kind where the males make the "J" pattern in the air). Tonight we let Katie stay up late enough to see them. She was scared to touch them like she is most other insects, but she was willing to help point them out to people.

Free Fishing Weekend (updated Sunday)

Karen was up in Chicago with friends to celebrate a major birthday, so the kids and I availed ourselves of the annual statewide feed-worms-to-the-fish-hooks event. Katie and I went to the pond in Glen Oak Park Friday night (her first time; Kris was at a birthday party). Saturday Kris, Katie, and I tried fishing from a bridge over Kickapoo Creek. I found that: 1) I still am terrible at fishing and 2) I have less patience for the sport than either of the girls, but at least the fish stealing the worms off our hooks keeps it interesting. On Sunday we finally found a spot with really dumb and hungry fish: bluegills at a pond in Jubilee College State Park. I snagged one just seconds after the first cast hit the water. Katie caught one, and Kris got three. The biggest was over 6 inches long and we let all five of them all go. In other news, the weather has turned cooler and dryer, and we are progressing slowly with packing.

Riverfront Bike Ride

Today Kris, Katie, and I biked all we could easily find of the Peoria and East Peoria riverfront trails, covering I think about 6 miles (we mostly walked on the bridge). Good thing the trails are mostly level, because even though Katie helps pedal, her ride-behind trailer does have some weight. The river is still high. We all had fun, and at the end of the ride we all ran through the fountain on the Peoria riverfront to cool off

Katie's 5th birthday

Katie had her 5th birthday today, and we had a party for her at our house. It was in the 90's outside, and the backyard screen porch was even warmer. We had fun: the event had a garden theme, featuring flower pot painting and other things.

Riverfront

The Peoria riverfront came within a foot of flooding this morning. Katie and I stopped by there briefly tonight. My "Nessie" picture is of a stick in the river.