There’d been a storm that had knocked out all the panels in the fence that separates the garden area of the Flamingo from the back area of the Park Shore. I’d taken advantage to walk over to look, and found out the Park Shore has quite a lovely backyard. Either I didn’t have my phone or hadn’t thought to take a photo. By the next morning, the panels had been restored. I managed to get an awkwardly framed photo through the gap between the fence and the framework. I love the circular bench and the fountain. It looks like a peaceful oasis. I wonder if it gets less noise than we do, with the building shielding it from the street. Less noise is good.

Today, the plan was to go to Sagawau Environmental Learning Center to see hummingbirds. I couldn’t get any good photos of them, so I started looking at the pollinators visiting the flowers — from bald-faced hornets to sweat bees. There may even have been a fritillary, but if so I missed getting a photo. I love fritillaries. They’re flashy.

Sagawau closes at 4 p.m., so stopped at Saganashkee Slough, which is vaguely reminiscent of a Minnesota lake, and Joe’s Pond, which once had a pair of trumpeter swans. Then we visited Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, where they’ve installed a signpost with distances. It even includes Niagara Falls (560 miles) and the Boundary Waters (also 560 miles). Now I want to go to both. After a stop at Maple Lake, it was time for Ashbary Coffee House and then dinner at Capri Lounge & Grill. Mmmm.

Sagawau Canyon Environmental Learning Center, Little Red Schoolhouse, Palos Preserves

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