Today we adventured to a new spot, that, like lots of interesting things, unintuitively, is literally next to the highway; the greenspace is behind one of the nondescript impenetrable sound barriers that I ponder while driving along the Borman Expressway.

Once part of the Little Calumet River, the oxbow is cut off from the river for the most part, and are now small lakes, great for fishing any time of year. Three ice fishers were out today!

I love a boardwalk! What was incredible about this one was it was walled, and filled in by Phragmites, from every angle. It is an absolutely monoculture, save for a few shrubs that would require a machete to get to. There is something beautiful about the complete seclusion, a wall of dry vegetation, lightly swaying in the wind, framing the corners of the maze.

Signs of life: A woodpecker amongst the reeds; fruiting moss; a bird nest yearning for new residents.

Atop the levee, looking south-southeast on the Little Calumet River.