We hadn’t been back to Russ Nature Reserve in maybe a year, so we checked it out.

They’ve made many improvements, including expanding the children’s natural playscape, a great playground in the woods built completely out of trees and natural materials.  Beautiful trails wind through the woods and prairie, and many additional native trees and wildflowers have been planted.  We found another motherlode of spectacular fungi, including whole logs full of the huge bright orange ones.  We met a beautiful gigantic friendly blue pit bull named Sarge, dragging his young man around.  He practically knocked us over with his enthusiastic greeting!  There were still many wildflowers in bloom, along with stark bare locust trees covered with their huge thorns.

I’ve divided this into two posts.  See P.2 for Sarge.