Trail of Tears State Forest

Horse trail closing noted

Due to anticipated large crowds associated with the solar eclipse at Giant City State Park near Makanda, the park’s horse trails will be closed on Aug. 19-21. Trail of Tears State Forest: The horse trails at the Trail of Tears State Forest in Union County will remain open and will serve as an...

Hummingbird Festival scheduled at state forest

A Southern Illinois Hummingbird Festival is planned Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Trail of Tears State Forest in Union County. The event is planned from 9 a.m. to noon. The large pavilion and white barn along the Trail of Tears Road (northwest of Jonesboro) have been reserved for the event. Organizers...

Hummingbird Festival planned at state forest

A couple of fellow travelers on The Journey Through Life recently shared the accompanying map with me. The map, featuring Union County, dates to 1876, a time when men were men, including General George Armstrong Custer, who should have been a much smarter man. Just sayin'...

Please read this...What once was lost, now is found...

This week, let's start with some words of wisdom... ...what once was lost, now is found... ...third time's a charm... ...seek, and ye shall find... ...and a thought or two from your intrepid scribe in response to the thoughts, including an explanation for the big ol' map you see this week... What...

Under the Stars planned at state forest

The Shawnee Chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society plans to host an annual Under the Stars program in Union County. The local environmental folk duo Carter & Connelley is scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. Monday, April 24, under the stars and around a campfire at the Trail of Tears State Forest....

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, maybe millions, of lady bugs were congregating in the structure which your intrepid photographer visited during Sunday afternoon's adventure.

Please read this...U2 provides Sunday afternoon soundtrack

"I still haven't found what I'm looking for..." ...the song of the same name, I think, by the aging rock music group U2 seemed appropriate as I headed home last Sunday afternoon after another forest bathing experience. By the way, Bono, the guy in charge of U2, should know better than to end the...

Please read this...Pondering mistakes, forest bathing

"DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN." Folks of a certain age may recognize the first three words in this week's colyum. Those three words made up a banner headline which appeared in an early edition of the November 3, 1948, issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune newspaper. Dewey and Truman were the candidates for...

Conservation effort underway at Trail of Tears State Forest

It seems counterintuitive: in order to preserve something in nature, nature must be managed. And not gently: conservation management techniques include tree harvest, prescribed burns, even sometimes application of herbicides. James Zaczek, professor and chair of the Department of Forestry at...

A more open forest goal of Trail of Tears project

Conservationists normally plant trees not cut them down. But, in an innovative project at Trail of Tears State Forest in Union County, that is precisely what the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, IDNR, is doing to restore a more open, sunny forest that can support a diversity of life. “We...