Severson Dells

From the Rock River Times

By Don Miller, Education Director, Severson Dells Nature Center

There was a young family out to Severson Dells Nature Center recently and they were telling me about their experience of vacationing in Yellowstone National Park. It made me think of the two times that I had visited out there, once as a kid of about eight and then later as a Dad of three kids.

As I listened to the family tell their tales I thought that the beauty of the awe-inspiring mountains had not changed through the years. The vistas, flora and fauna, the hiking trails and the feeling of wonderment of nature still remain as powerful as ever. To be in the middle of a herd of hundreds of buffalo as they cross the road, or to see bears, moose, elk or pika is as thrilling for them as it was for me at 8 or 40. What did the people that first came upon the Yellowstone area think? That’s a question I ask now as I did almost 50 years earlier. The mountain region is truly a national treasure and needs protection from all that threatens it.

The changes that have occurred have more to do with the vacationers than the landscape. Fifty plus years in the lives of people is a long time. Fifty plus years in the life of a mountain isn’t even a blink of an eye. If you are a baby boomer maybe you can relate to some of the things I am about to mention. If you are not a “boomer” well? this is the way it was. In the early sixties the minivan was a thing of the future. My folks packed our family into a wood-grain sided Country Squire station wagon and we left in the wee hours of the morning. All of us kids were stacked in the back, lying on top of sleeping bags, tents, and the weaker, younger ones in the group would be on top of the cooler or some other hard object. (It was based on the pecking order.) As we crossed Nebraska, there was a battle to stay away from the sunny, hot side of the car. I’m not sure looking back if we had air conditioning or if we just didn’t use it. Passing through Nebraska as a dad some years later it was 105 degrees, we used the air conditioning and appreciated the tinted windows.

On our last travels all my kids had their walkmans/discman to listen to their own choice of music. The family I had just talked to said their kids had iphones and video games to amuse themselves. I kind of miss the old times when there was only an AM radio to tune in. Every hundred miles or so you had to dial in a new station because the one you were listening to faded out. It didn’t really matter, because all the stations from here to the mountains played the same three songs over and over and over again. I still know the words to “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport” and “Baby Don’t Go”. (Yikes!) We played the license plate game as do some modern families. Unlike my dad, I feel the need to stop for ice cream often. Oh so many ice cream stands we went clapping and barking by like seals, only to see them disappear into the horizon out the dusty back window. While driving high in the mountains I didn’t pay attention to where on the road dad was driving. I was fighting the pecking order so I could get a spot with a view. I’m sure he wasn’t like me and used the yellow line down the middle of the road to straddle the car with. (I got better by the end of the mountain driving session.)

Sleeping arrangements have changed since my youth in the sixties. We all slept on the ground with no pads or air mattresses. Before our last trip, I bought a four inch queen size air mattress to sleep on. The family I was talking to said they had cots. Mom made us all wear red-hooded sweatshirts (with the hood up and tied) to bed in the mountains. I couldn’t wait to be old enough not to wear that thing. While camping in Yellowstone the last go-round the temperature one night got down into the low-thirties. As I lay there freezing in my sleeping bag, all I could think about was, “I wish I had my red-hooded sweatshirt!!”

Growing up with my brothers and sister we all thought we could be the biggest help around the campsite (and the house for that matter) by getting out of the way. (That hasn’t changed with my kids.) That philosophy of being helpful was probably the cause for one of my favorite quotes from my mom. When asked by neighbor upon us returning from our western trip, “How was the trip?” Mom replied, “It gave me a chance to do the dishes outside! (Believe it or not, some of us kids turned out to be more helpful with age.)

I think I’ll end this rambling with one last thought. There is something ageless about the jokes that can be made while walking on the boardwalk touring Yellowstone’s mud pots. With the strong smell of sulfur in the air there is a bonding of the generations between males during this experience. But, like the “Three Stooges” it seems like the female gender doesn’t find as much humor in it.

I know I didn’t mention the development going on around the Park’s border, or the slaughter of the bison, or the other issues that engulf the area. For now, I remember the smell of bacon cooking in the morning with beautiful mountains in the background, hoping my kids will remember this vacation with fond memories of family and of natural beauty shared.

From the Rock River Times

By Don Miller, Education Director, Severson Dells Nature Center

Ely Keilback was born on February 6, 2009, this is a fact. However the legend of Ely starts here; after floating around in embryonic fluids for over nine-months, Ely was ready to run the current of his mom’s birth canal. The legend continues that he ran the canal like all good river runners who were being dumped, feet first. This is standard procedure just incase there should be obstacles in the way; the legs can provide a cushion for the body. There were no obstacles, but the story is told that Ely came out paddling. He used a perfect forward stroke with an occasional j-corrective stroke to continue himself on his straight and narrow path. (Mom Keilback says that Ely also used the sweep and pry strokes on his way out. Mom should know.) When he burst from the chute he took a deep inhale breath that was full of cosmic dust gathered through the eons, with it was water vapor from all the rivers and lakes of the world as well as the spirit of all those adventurers that that are living now and have lived before.

So at the age of three-months it was no surprise to me that Ely was canoeing on the Kishwaukee River. Now don’t be calling the DCFS on us, he was in good, if not great hands. He was with his mom, dad and me! We found ourselves on a warm May day running two canoes from Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve to Atwood Park in New Milford. I couldn’t help but think of the “circle of life” as I pushed off my canoe from the bank. Here I was floating with Ely on his first float on the same stretch of river that less than a year ago I had canoed with my friend Fran Lowman. Fran had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and that trip was to be her last float. It was a privilege to float with both Fran as it is now with Ely; such is the circle of life.

I was ecstatic when the Keilbacks called and had included me in their plans. They would be in one canoe with Ely and I would be in the other, with camera ready. A writer’s first obligation to his readers is to tell the truth. Well for the first 15 minutes little Ely wailed big time. Holy cow he wailed!!! It was a complete exercise in lung capacity building. But after mom readjusted his straight jacket of a life preserver, we all relaxed without adding any more water to the already high flow of the Kish.

Hope is not an action word. Nothing ever happens just because you hope it will. I know that there are people who are “half full” as well as there are people who are “half empty.” One can spend an insurmountable time hoping that their glass would become full or one can go out and fill it. Keilbacks are the type of parents who are going to fill Ely’s cup to the top. They will expose him to nature, make it fun, as well as give him room to grow. And yes, and then hope for the best. Life is full of choices. As parents we choose what is important to us to introduce to our children. It could be a variety of things: soccer, bowling, basketball,…nose to the grindstone homework values, dress codes, music, and we all know at some point in their young lives, peers and others will have their influence as well. We have know idea what our kids interest or focus may end up being. We can only lead them down the trail so far.

I wish on Ely’s first exposure to running rivers I could tell you about how an eagle soared over our heads, or about an osprey robbing the river of one of its small mouth bass, or that a pair of great blue herons performed their ancient dance on the shores…but none of that happened. Such is life, were we disappointed? Hell no! We saw a kingfisher that lead us down the river and chatted the whole way. Who knows maybe it’s a language not forgotten by three month old babies? We heard a barred owl asking,”who cooks for you, who cooks for you?” The banks were lustfully green and the sun was placing dancing diamonds on the waters surface. There was a young mom and dad with their baby boy at one within a family and at one within nature, filling their cups to the brim.

Ely will remember this day through pictures that will be shown and stories that will be told and retold. He may not actually remember the event at all, and that is okay because we did it as much for ourselves and we did it for him. This trip I am sure was the first of many adventures Ely will have in his life. As we floated Ely’s first float we went by a dad on the bank skipping stones with his young daughter. Further downstream the current took us by a grandma fishing from shore with her grandson. They were not at home “hoping” to go fishing or to skip rocks, they were making it happen.

The journey ends and we pull our canoes out of the water. Dad Keilback sprinkles a small amount of Kishwaukee River water on his son’s head. If you are shaking your head at that… don’t. There was no sac-religiousness in this act. Isn’t the love between a father, mother and child and them sharing the beauty of this world we live in with each other, a sacred thing to celebrate? To consecrate?

So welcome aboard little Ely, ride that current of life and always keep your cup full. I promise you that it will be a most amazing float. Love, “Uncle” Don

Don Miller ponders trees in this week’s Rock River Times.

Tree huggers wrap up a bur oak.

He writes:

The old adage of “can’t see the forest because of the trees” has taken on a new meaning for me. I always thought it described some people who just didn’t get the big picture.

And . . . .

“Can’t see the forest because of the trees” may mean that one is so centered on the beauty or uniqueness of a single tree, the surrounding ones all disappear. Much like being at a crowded airport and not noticing anyone except the loved one you are focused on. I decided I needed to do some soul-searching and to seek out the trees that are in my life and mind. I found each tree special for a variety of reasons.

Click here to read the story.

By Brian Leaf

This was the spring we planned to spy on a pair of red-tailed hawks nesting in the downtown’s River District.

The hawks had other plans.

They moved back into their nest before we humans could equip the large orange and white tower near Church and Jefferson streets with a wireless camera to broadcast the raising of their young to school classrooms and homes through the Internet.

The project, proposed by Severson Dells Nature Center, has been delayed until spring 2010.
Federal rules protect nesting raptors, whether they’re in a dead tree or a manmade tower. The rules also prevent humans from risking an aerial attack from an angry feathered missile protecting its family turf.

Hawk Cam is part of the Year of Innovation initiative to highlight unique projects throughout the region that result from collaborations between businesses and non-profits.

Our partners — AT&T; SupplyCore; Wilson Electric; Special Power, Inc.; the Labor Management Cooperation Committee of IBEW Local 364 and the Northern Illinois chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association; and BirdFreak.com – are still enthused about the project.

Work on the project is expected to continue later this year, after the birds have left the nest.
Thank you, partners!

When you’re downtown, keep your eyes open for the red-tails, one of North America’s most common raptors, but a relative newcomer to the city.

They do seem out of place. It is normally a bird you see sitting on fence or telephone posts during a country drive, waiting for a rodent to appear in the grass. They usually nest in the crotch of a tree, 50 or 100 feet up.

But increasingly, red-tails are living the urban life, building their nests of sticks on buildings or man-made structures like the AT&T microwave tower. The most famous pair of urban hawks is

Pale Male and Lola, who moved into a building in Manhattan near Central Park. A PBS documentary was made about the NYC birds.

Red-tails eat rodents, small mammals, birds and reptiles. Scientists say the bird’s success in cities is, in part, because it can modify its diet to adjust to local food sources.

Breeding pairs usually remain together until the death of a partner. Females lay one to four eggs. Males do most of the hunting.

Red-tails have returned to the tower for at least the past three years and they’re often seen perched on the tower next to the AT&T building, or chasing flocks of frantic pigeons that may provide regular meals for these city dwellers and their brood.

They’re quite a sight to behold. But wait a year and hopefully you’ll get a much more intimate view into the life of Rockford’s River District red-tails.

This story appears in the March 18-24 edition of the Rock River Times.

David Olson photo

We’re welcoming spring on Saturday, March 14, with a Spring Awakening Gathering at the Pecatonica River Forest Preserve. MAP

Come learn how maple syrup is made, enjoy a barn dance, take part in a community supper and watch the prairie burn at dusk.

Click here for the schedule of activities.

From the Rock River Times
Severson Dells Nature Center strives to create a sense of place for the people who visit our site or take part in our programs. It’s a location where the names of plants, and animals as well as people become familiar to all. There’s a comfortable feeling one gets whether you are walking along the creek on the way to the dells or just sitting in the “bird room” watching the chickadees and nuthatches devour sunflower seeds from the feeder.

A sense of community grows out of such a sense of place. People get to know others who share their love of nature, their gratitude for solitude or a chance to take a nice walk in the woods. Severson Dells Nature Center, thanks to the generosity of The Law Offices of Jim Black and Associates, wants everyone to celebrate the sense of community by coming out to the “Spring Awakening Gathering” at the Pecatonica River Forest Preserve, 7260 Judd Road, Pecatonica, 1:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14.

Read Don Miller’s Rock River Times story about the Spring Awakening gathering

From the Rock River Times

By Don Miller, Education Director, Severson Dells Nature Center

If you are taking the time to read this article, you are probably well aware of Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods. In it, he uses the term “nature deficit disorder” to describe the end result of kids not getting outside.

Connor and Donovan McClelland having snow fun.

I disagree with very little Louv says in the book, but I find it somewhat frustrating when we make it sound like the children are the main ones to blame for this “nature deficit disorder.” Fingers are pointed at the kids for being obese, for playing too many video games, for not developing a sense of place and not wondering about the natural world around them. As parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, neighbors or whatever to kids, are we not responsible for their nourishment, growth and education? Have we not let them down?

I think the key to turning this trend around is instilling a sense of wonder.

Read more

It’s time we come up with a new name for the ubiquitous yard ornament known as the bird feeder.

As any visitor to Severson Dells Nature Center discovers, these devices feed far more than birds, especially during winter.

Read more

From the Rock River Times

By Don Miller, Education Director, Severson Dells Nature Center

“Maybe the meaning of life will turn out to be a verb, something one does, some work, some endless process, rather than an end-state. Maybe…a person can find the meaning of life on the very day she’s wearing big, black, rubber boots and an embarrassing hat,” Kathleen Dean Moore states in her book Pine Island Paradox.

Moore is a philosophy professor at Oregon State University, essayist, activist, parent and lover of all things green or flowing, and she is returning to Severson Dells Nature Center Sunday, Feb. 15. Starting at 6:30 p.m., she, along with Paul Bogard, will present readings and thoughts from their books that explore the beauties and mysteries of the world in which they walk.

Bogard teaches at Northland College in Ashland, Wis., and is editor of an anthology about dark skies that tells the stories of what we will miss if the nocturnal wilderness vanishes. He will be reading from that anthology Let There Be Light: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark.

Essayist Moore is known for explorations of the cultural and spiritual connections to wet, wild places—ancient forests, Northwest coasts, wild rivers and windswept islands.

Read more >>

e-Notes From the Dells

January 2009

In this issue . . . . .
1. Bird Hike This Saturday (Jan. 31)
2. Almost a Full Moon Lake Gathering
3. Darkness and the Return of Light: Kathleen Dean Moore & Paul Bogard
4. What’s Happening!
5. Library 2.0
6. Stories You Don’t Want to Miss
7. Lend Your Passive Support

1. Bird Hike This Saturday

Severson Dells Nature Center volunteer Phil Schwab leads this bird exploration of the winter woods and prairie.
But first, a stop at the feeders at the nature center, for a primer on bird ID. Bring binoculars and dress for the weather.
Meet at the nature center.
When: Saturday, January 31, 2009

Time:
8:30 am - 11:00 am
Where: Severson Dells Nature Center
8786 Montague Road,
Rockford, IL
How to get here
Photo of tufted titmouse by Mary K. Rubey
Another Bird Hike: Feb 21, 8:30-11:00 am

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2. Almost a Full Moon Lake Gathering
Saturday, Feb. 7, 4:00 p.m. -????
hosted by Severson Dells Nature Center and Wild Ones - Rock River Valley Chapter
Rock Cut State Park at the ‘cabin on the lake’

Meet: At the parking lot on the west side of the lake just before the dam (follow the road in toward the fishing pier).
We’ll take a short (1/2 mile) hike through the winter landscape to the ‘cabin on the lake’ where we’ll share stories (bring your favorite moon, lake or winter readings to share) and drink hot chocolate around the fire with friends and new acquaintances.
We’ll watch the moon rise over the lake. Don Miller, hike leader and Education Director at Severson Dells, says, “The moon will be full in two days so we’ll have to squint our eyes a little. We can hike, ski, or sled to our hearts content. It’s February, so this is a “Lover’s Moon” you know so no negative thoughts about cloudy weather! If there is moderate snow, hiking may be difficult.”
Maybe we’ll see some wildlife or hear owls. For more info or to RSVP call Don Miller at Severson Dells 1-815-335-2915 or Kim Risley at 1-815-962-4584.

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3. Darkness and the Return of the Light

Sunday, February 15, 6:30 pm
Sponsored in the memory of Alan Hutchcroft. No fee.

From the dazzling night sky to the silent winter forest, the world
gives us uncountable gifts. Among them are beauty, peace, the wonder of
what is beyond us — and the hope and steadfastness that come from
these. “Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth
are never alone or weary of life,” Rachel Carson wrote. With ideas and
readings from their books, Paul Bogard (Let There Be Night) and

Kathleen Dean Moore (Riverwalking) will explore the beauties and
mysteries of the worlds they walk in and ask the all-important
question, How can our lives be an expression of gratitude for these
great gifts?

Kathleen Dean Moore is best known for her books about our cultural
connections to wet, wild places — Riverwalking, Holdfast, and The Pine
Island Paradox, winner of the Oregon Book Award.
She is hard at work
compiling a new book, For All Time, wide-ranging essays about our
responsibility to the future to leave a world as full of life and
possibility as our own.
Paul Bogard is editor of Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of
the Dark.

It is a collection of essays by twenty-nine writers who share their
personal experiences of night and help us to understand what we miss
when dark skies and nocturnal wildness vanish.

He currently teaches at Northland
College in Ashland, Wisconsin, where he is finishing two new books, one
titled The Geography of Night, and the other Blessings From a
Small House.
Call (815) 335-2915 to RSVP. Books will be available for the authors to sign.

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4. Calendar

January
31: Winter Bird Hike, 8:00-11:00 am

February 2009
07: Almost a Full Moon Lake Gathering (at Rock Cut State Park), 4:00 pm

14: Sweetheart of a Chili Feast (at Sugar River Forest Preserve), 12:30-2:30 pm
15: Darkness and the Return of the Light, 6:30 pm
21: Winter Bird Hike, 8:30-11:00 am
22: Wolves in Our Area? Fact and Fiction, 2:00-3:30 pm

March 2009
7, 14, 21, 28: RRFC Beginning Fly Tying Course, 9:00 am-noon

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5. Coming Soon: Library 2.0
The new year brings a new library project to the Deer Lodge. Volunteers are reorganizing our collection of 1,000+ environmental and nature related volumes and putting them in a database. There’s even been talk of becoming part a regional lending library.
Next time you’re in, check out the library. And if you’re a member, check out a book, too. That’s just one of the perks of membership.

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6. Stories You Don’t Want to Miss
Don Miller on the lost art of skipping stones: Just Skip It
Don Miller on making peace with nature: Winter Land Relations
Brian Leaf on messing with Mother Nature: The Cost of Rebalancing Nature
Severson Dells Blog: Severson Dells Board Elects New Officers
Winnebago County Forest Preserve District: January Newsletter

Notes From the Dells: Jan.-Feb. Print issue (pdf)

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7. Lend Your Passive Support
The economy is bad. We all know it. But we also know that people still want to help. Here are some passive ways you can support Severson Dells.
GoodSearch.com will donate 1 cent to Severson Dells each time you use it to find something on the Internet. Visit the site, designate Severson Dells as your charity and use it as your primary search engine. Make those pennies add up.
Become a fan of Severson Dells Nature Center on Facebook. Let your friends on in one of the region’s best kept secrets.
When you shop Amazon, start your search on our homepage, http://seversondells.org and we’ll earn commissions on your purchase.

GoodSearch.com will donate 1 cent to Severson Dells each time you use it to find something on the Internet.

Spread the word about Severson Dells Nature Center and become our Facebook fan.

Use this box, or the one on our Website, to make your Amazon purchases. We’re an affiliate and will earn a percentage on your purchase

Remember that 1970’s Chiffon margarine commercial, where a goddess sits in the forest surrounded by animals and gets angry when she’s tricked into thinking the oleo in her oatmeal is butter?

“It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature,” she says, raising her arms, summoning thunder and lightning, and scaring a raccoon.

No, it’s not nice to fool with the Big Mama’s recipes, either, as we’ve discovered after garlic mustard, zebra mussels, emerald ash borers, starlings and hundreds of other introduced species were slipped into the northern Illinois mix. They displace native species, damaging both fragile ecosystems and the economy.

It’s expensive and difficult to rebalance nature. And there are often unintended consequences, as Australian biologists discovered when they tried to do an eco fix on a remote sub-Antarctica isle.

Read more