"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." -- John Muir
White Pines Forest State Park
Mt. Morris, Illinois, September 12, 2011
| Pine Creek |
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| Located in the heart of the Rock River valley, the Spring and Pine creeks meander along moss covered, limestone cliffs within this 385-acre park. With a view to preserving Illinois' last stand of natural white pines and the most southern stand of white pines in the United States, a movement was started in the early part of the 20th Century to set the area aside as a state park. Through efforts of Ogle County nature lovers, a bill appropriating $30,000 for purchase of land was passed by the legislature in 1903, but the measure was vetoed. In 1927, however, they had more success, and the forest was acquired. |
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| Eastern Milk Snake |
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| The Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) is a medium sized snake that is 24 to 36 inches in length, but quite often maintains a slender build. It ranges throughout much of the northeastern United States from Maine southward in the Appalachians, and westward to parts of Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa. The Eastern Milk Snake lives in a variety of local habitats such as fields, woodlands, rocky hillsides and river bottoms, and hides under objects such as logs, boards and stones. These snakes are surprisingly secretive for their color and size and are rarely seen even where they are common. Milk snakes feed primarily upon mice and other small rodents, as well as smaller snakes. They should be considered an asset, worthy of protection on anyone's property. |
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