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The Pavilion at Lords Park has been holding its ground since 1898 - wraparound porch, vaulted rooms, and those pond views that feel like a scene from another century.

It may be raining now, but this old Victorian beauty has seen plenty of storms come and go. Blue skies will return, and that porch will be waiting for fluffy clouds painting the sky and the reds and russets of first leaves of Fall. 🍁🍂

All the Feels of Fall at the Barn Owl Garden Center Open House!

If you need a delightful five minutes in Elgin, walk the path around the ponds at Lords Park.

The lagoons sit under old oaks and hickories, linked by a little creek and a bridge that is basically a front-row seat. Canada geese own the open water. They cruise in formation, honk like they have a schedule, then haul out on the bank as if the lawn were reserved. Mallards work the shallows - green heads flashing, tails tipping up when they dabble. In spring you get the whole family portrait: fuzzy goslings in a line, ducklings paddling like they invented it.

The park has been here since the Lords gave the land to the city in the 1890s. The zoo, Elgin Public Museum and playgrounds get most of the attention. The ponds keep their own hours.

Fishing is not allowed, which is fine. The show is on the surface: wake lines, a sudden splash, a goose standing one-legged like it has all afternoon. Sunset turns the water gold and the honking carries across the hills.

Lords Park, east side of Elgin. Sunrise to sunset. Bring a camera or just stand on the bridge and let the flock do the talking. 🦆🦆🦆

Still thinking about how cool it was to meet the ladies and the owls from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation at the Barn Owl Garden Center Fall Open House today.

The volunteer team at this Barrington wildlife rehab don’t just patch up injured and orphaned animals - they live it. Thousands of patients a year. Window-strike birds. Owlets that fell from nests. Raptors with broken wings. And then there are the education ambassadors who can’t go back to the wild: Pennsylvania the Great Horned Owl (five wing fractures and still the most unimpressed roommate you’ll ever meet), Spirit the Long-eared Owl, Kotori the tiny red-phase Screech Owl, Pip the Barn Owl, Meepy the Barred Owl. Each one has a story. Each one is still here because someone showed up.

These birds are not pets. They’re wild animals who got a second chance they didn’t ask for, and a group of people who decided that was enough reason to keep showing up.

If you find an injured animal in northern Illinois, call them first. Don’t “help” with food or water. Don’t assume nature will sort it out. Just call. They’ve been doing this since 2003, no government funding, all volunteer energy and donations.

Grateful I got to see it in person. 🦉💜

Spooktacular visit to the Barn Owl Garden Center Open House today! Shout out to ladies at featheredsaddle who not only made the perfect cappuccino but who also offered to heat the croissants in the oven! 🥐

Wonderful photo opps with the from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehab who do incredible work in wildlife rehabilitation and education! 🦉

The Open House is on all day today, Sat. 26 Sept., and totally worth the drive if you're not from the Carol Stream, IL, area! Fun for grown-ups and Heaven for the little ones! 💜



Explore Elgin Area CVB Barn Owl Garden Center Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation

Seniors Free Friday Field Trips are back at Elgin Public Museum! And the three "fall semester" programs have a related theme of puzzles and games, featuring interactives and lots of fun!

In the first program, we explore the global history of non-sports games, riddles, and puzzles. Where and how did they originate? What do they tell us about the cultures that invented them? What purpose do they serve?

And prepare to be challenged! There will be short "tests" with prizes, and one lucky winner will receive a free Eric Dowdle Elgin Jigsaw Puzzle!

Space for this 60+ program is limited to 40 people, and you MUST REGISTER. See Story for link in comments!

If you have difficulty signing up online, you can either write to Director and Education Coordinator Sharry at her brand new email address of [email protected], or phone the museum at (847) 741-6655 Tuesday-Friday c8 am - 2:30 pm, or Saturday/Sunday 12-4.

Pause next time you pass a patch of blooms.

Lean in.

What looks like a quiet flower is often a tiny workplace: a honeybee dusted in gold, a hoverfly hovering like a helicopter, a beetle rummaging through pollen ...

Slow down and you start to see the whole economy of a garden humming at insect scale.

Beauty lies in the eye of the beeholder. 🐝



Photos taken at Barn Owl Garden Center! They are having an Open Day tomorrow, Sat. 26, so a great day to bee there! 🥰🐝

One of our fave photos from our early days in Lords Park when we found a nest of red tailed near Elgin Public Museum. For days we wondered if the nest was occupied, then one day this little fuzzy wuzzy head popped up! There was another surprise in store ...