Flower Islands

The first time I was out at the Campground Host campsite, I notice three areas that were "begging" for flowers. The areas were...

The area under and around the campground map.

The containers in front on the other campground host's trailer.

 The patch of dead grass between my trailer and the other campground hosts' trailer. I asked my boss if I could buy flowers for these three places. He said I could and gave me the name of a nursery where I could buy them. I bought the flowers and brought them to Middle Fork on Wednesday night along with several pots of flowers I had at home.

On Thursday I planted geraniums and coleus plants in the containers in front of the trailer and put the pots of flowers I brought next to them.

On Friday, my friend Amy came to help me plant flowers in the area between our trailers. We planted a butterfly bush, several monarda plants, day lilies, cone flowers, crane's bill, petunias, snap dragons, verbena, lantana and zinnias. In the evening, two men who work for the park added mulch to our Flower Island. I added a solar powered light so I wouldn't step on our flowers when I am out after dark.

Today, Saturday, Amy came back to Middle Fork to help me with the Flower Island under, and around, the campground map. We planted a butterfly bush, tickseed coreopsis, crane's bill, zinnias, verbena, lantana and petunias.  It hasn't been mulched yet, but it will be mulched next week.

I have already seen hummingbirds feeding in the Flower Islands!

Eagles and other Birds

Brian Anderson, a friend who I haven't seen in many years, camped at Middle Fork on Thursday night. I told him about the bald eagles and where he might find their nest. He found it and took this photograph and video of a bald eagle flying around its nest

Here's a little overview of the video. First, you see a black speck in the sky, then you see a black bird with its wings unfolded, then the eagle is lost behind some trees, one of which it the tree with the nest, then it comes back into view and you can see its white head and you can hear it screeching, and then it lands in the top of a dead tree. 

 Meanwhile back at the "cabin" the geese were all lined up on the pond.....perhaps they were playing, "Follow the Leader."

This swallow built its nest on the gutter outside the shower house.

This wren found its way inside the cabin and in trying to find its way out, flew into the wall so hard that it lay limp on the floor inside the cabin.  I gently picked it up, took it outside, and held it until it was alert and ready to fly away.

This is a sort of a "selfie." That Hackberry Emperor is "licking" the sweat off of my arm. The Hackberry Tree is the only plant this butterfly will lay its eggs on. It landed on my arm when I was gardening beneath a hackberry tree. It stayed on my arm for two or three minutes! What a treat....for both of us!

The Middle Fork campground is home to many species of birds --- including this pink flamingo which only comes out at night!

 Sunset at Middle Fork was unusual last night. The sky on the northern horizon had a blue streak underneath a cream-colored cloud.

The sky on the eastern horizon had a pink streak that melted into the blue sky! I heard there were coyotes howling at 9:30 p.m. so I stayed up. I didn't hear any howling at 9:30, so I stayed up until 10:00, but I still didn't hear any howling so I went to bed. I will stay up another day when I don't have to work from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Night and Sunrise

There was a full moon on June 6th so even though I wasn't working, I decided to drive out to Middle Fork to see the moon. It was supposed to be a red strawberry moon, but a Middle Fork, it was just the usual white. However, the night sounds at the pond were fun to listen to, so I took a video of the moon above the pond.

The sunrise was beautiful....

Listen to how different the sounds of the morning are...

South Loop Trail

         On Tuesday June 2, I walked the South Loop Trail which part of which is along the Middle Fork River. It starts where the white star is on this map.  

           Walking to the beginning of the trail from my camper, I had to pass by part of the pond.  Growing along the edge of the pond were these beautiful yellow irises, and

                     swimming in the pond was this great big frog!

                    most of the trails in the park look like this: an avenue of cut grass.

        Before coming to Middle Fork, I thought there was only 1 specie of Spiderwort, but I was wrong. The Spiderwort at Meadowbrook Prairie in Urbana is Virginia Spiderwort and the Spiderwort at Middle Fork is Ohio Spiderwort, though they look the same to me.

  Poison Ivy grows here in profusion. You can recognize it by its 3 leaves: the two outer leaves have a 'thumb."

 The brown seed heads from last year continue to feed the birds until the green growth of this year produces seeds.

 These metal containers with an opening can be found along the trails throughout the park. I asked my boss what they were for and he said "bats." I don't think this one is being used by bats because it had a bunch of grass hanging out of the opening. I think maybe a bird made a nest in it.

Bats might live in this one.

                              The Middle Fork River 

                                                      The Middle Fork River

   That tree has fallen over into the river. You can see its root ball yet its branches above the water have leafed out!

                  The river rippling over some fallen logs.

That nest you see in the high branches of the tree is an eagle's nest! I saw lots of bird poop on the plants surrounding the tree, so I know the eagles are using it! I didn't see them, but I hope I will!

             The sunset looking west over the pond.

           The same sunset looking east over the trees.

                      A warm campfire to end the night!

6/5/20 Welcome

This sign greets you at the entrance to the forest preserve and its associated campground. Notice that below the title, it says "International Dark Sky Park and Campground." I don't believe that there are any dark sky parks within several hundreds miles of this park. Among other things, it means that on a clear night a person can see the Milky Way Galaxy as well as many stars that cannot be seen where there is a lot of light pollution.

This map of Illinois shows approximately where Middle Fork is located.

Here is a close-up of central Illinois showing where Middle Fork is. The actual address of Middle Fork is 
3485 County Road 2700 East
Penfield, Illinois

As you enter the park you drive by two small manmade ponds,

 the Sugar Creek Picnic Shelter, the

 pavilion, 

and then a stop sign which is flanked by two campground signs.......

 This sign reads, "Welcome to the Harry L. Swartz Campground. (I"m not sure who Harry L. Swartz is yet.)

This is a sign of the times. it reads 
"Campground rules during COVID - 19, 
Online Reservations only, 
Two night maximum stay, 
Only 10 people at a single campsite, 
Swimming beach will remain closed." 
In front of this sign is another one reminding people about social distancing.

There is also a map of the campground showing where the campsites, outhouses, shower house, beach and campground hosts can be found. (The beach is on another manmade pond.)

This sign lets campers know the location of the Campground Hosts and invite them to check-in with the hosts.

This is the only place in the park where campers and visitors can get 'potable' water which means it has been treated so it is safe to drink.

 A shower house with flush toilets sits right next to the beach.

Outhouses, also called 'vault toilets', are located at several places in the park.

Most of the campsites look like this, a gravel surface, picnic bench, electric box, and a pole from which campers can hang their garbage so raccoons and other critters can't get into it.

 This is where campground hosts spend a lot of their time. There is a shed with firewood, a refrigerator for ice, a "cabin," and a "coach." 

 Campground hosts use the "coach" to drive around the campground to talk to campers, clean up garbage, and drive to the  outhouses and shower house in order to clean them. Behind the "coach" is the "cabin" where campground hosts sell firewood and ice and deal with reservations.

The door to the 'cabin' lists the hosts hours. Hosts can open just the top part of the door so that campers are kept out for social distancing.

Inside the cabin there is a counter with a computer and phone. Above the counter is a clear plastic "window" for social distancing.

Outside the cabin, near the shower house, there is a play area for children which is currently closed because  of COVID - 19.

The beach is also currently closed because of COVID-19.

Signs like this one dot the park. They compare birds like cardinals which have a black mask on their face to the masks people wear for social distancing.

Lamps like this one found throughout the park point the light downward and shield the light from going up to help keep light pollution in the park to a minimum.

Here is my trailer sitting in front of my garage so I could wash and wax it before taking it to the Middle Fork for the camping season.

Here is my trailer at the Middle Fork Campground. The trailer behind mine belongs to the other campground hosts. We are sharing the position, each of us working two weeks on and two weeks off. The other campground hosts are a couple named Patty and Mike. It is their first year as campground hosts also. You can see Mike in the red shirt putting up a fence to make a yard for their two small dogs.