{"id":627,"date":"2013-03-10T21:07:47","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T03:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mikemacdonald.com\/blog\/?p=627"},"modified":"2014-02-26T14:27:04","modified_gmt":"2014-02-26T20:27:04","slug":"skunk-cabbage-facts-and-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/skunk-cabbage-facts-and-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for Spring (and Skunk Cabbage)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Skunk

Skunk cabbage can generate its own heat, allowing this curling spathe of skunk cabbage to melt the surrounding snow and break through to the surface.
Location: Black Partridge Woods \/ Lemont, Illinois<\/p><\/div>\n

Today, March 10, 2013, spring officially began in the Chicago area.<\/p>\n

For me, the beginning of spring does not arrive in a fanfare of color. Rather, it begins subtly, when sometime in March, speckled maroon and yellow spathes\u00a0of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) quietly emerge from beneath a layer of snow or a cloak of brown decaying leaves.<\/p>\n

Skunk cabbage enjoys a rare property, shared by only a few of Earth’s plants:\u00a0It is able to generate its own heat in a process known as thermogenesis. Skunk cabbage can create as much as 27 to 63\u00b0F of heat above air temperature, enabling it to melt through late winter ice and snow, and may also serve to attract pollinators to its curious yellow flower head, known as a spadix.<\/p>\n

\"The

The maroon spathe of skunk cabbage blends\u00a0with leaf litter on the woodland floor, making it difficult to\u00a0find when it first emerges. However, the plant becomes more conspicuous as\u00a0is\u00a0grows larger and produces its unusual yellow\u00a0flower head, known as a spadix.
Location: Black Partridge Woods \/ Lemont, IL<\/p><\/div>\n

SEARCHING FOR SPRING<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Winter is waning,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve made it to March.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With eyes to the ground, I search for Spring.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Temperatures rise,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

and snow slowly melts,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With eyes to the ground, I search for Spring.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Are you under the white,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

in a warmth all your own?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With eyes to the ground, I search for Spring.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Are you hiding in leaves,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

or still waiting to rise?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With eyes to the ground, I search for Spring.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Leafing through litter<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

on the brown woodland floor,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With eyes to the ground, I search for Spring.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Finally up from the mud,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

sprouts a burgundy curl.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With eyes to the ground, it is Spring I have found.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"At

At Pilcher\u00a0Park in Joliet, Illinois, the sun shines through the\u00a0enormous fanning foliage\u00a0of skunk cabbage, which if broken, will release a smell reminiscent of skunk.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"These

These tender leaves will\u00a0develop into giants, like the full-grown plants pictured to the right.
Location: Black Partridge Woods \/ Lemont, IL
Forest Preserve District of Cook County<\/p><\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, March 10, 2013, spring officially began in the Chicago area. For me, the beginning of spring does not arrive in a fanfare of color. Rather, it begins subtly, when sometime in March, speckled maroon and yellow spathes\u00a0of skunk cabbage … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,68,231,212,74,67,79,248,235],"tags":[12,144,54,247,230,246,142],"class_list":["post-627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversity-nature","category-chicago-nature","category-illinois-cook-county-nature","category-illinois-nature-photography","category-macro-photography-lessons-tips","category-nature","category-nature-photography-lessons","category-poetry","category-illinois-will-county-nature","tag-black-partridge-woods","tag-closeup-photography","tag-forest-preserve-district-of-cook-county","tag-joliet","tag-lemont","tag-pilcher-park-nature-preserve","tag-winter-photography"],"yoast_head":"\nSearching for Spring. 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Location: Black Partridge Woods, Lemont, Illinois Forest Preserve District of Cook County At Black Partridge Woods, invisible raindrops plummet from the gray onto a canopy of yellow sugar maples, dislodging turning leaves from their tentative grasps and sending them into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biodiversity"","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/nature\/biodiversity-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Copyright 2012 Mike MacDonald Photography, Inc., All Rights Reserved","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Black-Partridge-Woods-Autumn-121017-0020-00-600px-sRGB-Copyright.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":124,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/new-nature-photography-blog-the-heart-of-nature\/","url_meta":{"origin":627,"position":2},"title":"New Nature Photography Blog: A Celebration of Biodiversity & The Art of Nature Photography","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"January 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's a new day and a\u00a0new year,\u00a0and with\u00a0them\u00a0come\u00a0a fresh new resource, a nature photography blog\u00a0that speaks to\u00a0the avid photographer\u00a0and the\u00a0lover of nature. I call it: The Heart of Nature. The purpose of this blog\u00a0is to share my insights about photography and my\u00a0explorations in the wilds of Chicago. It's a celebration\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biodiversity"","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/nature\/biodiversity-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The morning sun peaks above the horizon to illuminate a large display of Foxglove Beardtongue at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois. \u00a92007 Mike MacDonald Photography\u2014All Rights Reserved","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tender-Kiss-of-Light-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=600%2C439&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tender-Kiss-of-Light-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=600%2C439&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Tender-Kiss-of-Light-600px-Copyright.jpg?fit=600%2C439&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1071,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/the-extraordinary-in-the-ordinary\/","url_meta":{"origin":627,"position":3},"title":"The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary”","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"February 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Extraordinary in the \"Ordinary\" I am both haunted and fascinated by a phrase that's often used to praise and describe my work. It all came to a head one day after I performed my one-man show about Chicago nature. Three audience members separately visited me at my book-signing table\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The winter sun warms the oak savanna on the kame at Bluff Spring Fen in Elgin, Illinois.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bluff-Spring-Fen-Snow_Ice-220125-0010-FS-FINAL-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=582%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bluff-Spring-Fen-Snow_Ice-220125-0010-FS-FINAL-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=582%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Bluff-Spring-Fen-Snow_Ice-220125-0010-FS-FINAL-800px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=582%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":737,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/winter-poem-stop-and-look-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":627,"position":4},"title":"Stop and Look Up: A Winter Daydream","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Stop and Look Up Sun and snow on the trail, slip-sliding with ease, Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees. Take your mind off the cold, as your fingers they freeze, Stop and look up, see the lace in the trees. Forget your life problems, in all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The dream of winter can, at least for a moment, take you to another place, away from the worries of the world. Maybe, it's a journey to an enchanted kingdom or a fairy tale of old oak matriarchs, who, throughout the night, donned the falling snow, so that in the glow of the morning sun they would, for at least a time, be restored to their golden youth, transformed into young and shining maidens of lace. Spears Woods in Willow Springs, Illinois. Forest Preserve District of Cook County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Oak-Snow_Ice-0020-crop-600px-Copyright.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Oak-Snow_Ice-0020-crop-600px-Copyright.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Oak-Snow_Ice-0020-crop-600px-Copyright.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1162,"url":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/nature\/winter-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":627,"position":5},"title":"Winter Red","author":"Mike MacDonald","date":"January 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Winter Red So far this winter, the magic of frozen white was nowhere to be found. So, I tried to photograph it, anyway. With dense fog predicted for the morning of Dec. 24, I visited Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois. The fog wasn't as dense as I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chicago Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Chicago Nature","link":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/category\/illinois-nature-photography\/chicago-nature\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The winter fog added a sense of mystery over the sand savanna of black oak and holly.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IL-Beach-SP-231224-0010-UNCROPPED-2000px-copyright-sRGB.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":885,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627\/revisions\/885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicagonature.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}