lambscapearchitect: searching for warmth

Dear God, is February over yet? How is it that the shortest month of the year seems to drag on for the longest amount of time? I think it has something to do with the record snowfall followed by below zero temperatures followed by gray, wet, cold, and who cares anymore? I don't have any big goals these days. My dream is to just not have to wear my boots for one whole week straight.

I have taken the girls in search of some warmth. One of our favorite spots is the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. The museum has, among many other things, a Butterfly Haven. In the middle of February it is pure heaven. It smells divine, as it is a greenhouse fillled with pools of water, flowers, tropical trees, and 1,000 butterflies. Eloise has always loved going here and when I suggested it she hurried to put on a special outfit comprised of her most flowery and colorful dress and hat and asked if I would give her a spray of perfume so the butterflies would flock to her. I obliged but I'm not sure it worked.

Mike finally had some time off work so we took advantage over a weekend and headed to the Shedd Aquarium. I really like the Shedd. It makes me long for days on the beach or a snorkel trip sometime in my past. In the Great Reef you can smell the salty sea water and you can imagine, for just a few minutes, that you are nowhere near Chicago. It is a great size facility and you can do as much or as little as you want--spend 45 minutes or 3 hours. I seem to find something new every time and always learn something.

This time we took in the live aquatic show which was a little lame but the kids loved it. Harriet learned the sign for 'fish' and used it every time the dolphins jumped up and Eloise took lots of pictures. I actually had to leave at a certain point during the show because they announced they would be having a Red Tailed Hawk fly into the arena and over the audience. The MC of the show went on and on, before letting the beast of prey enter, about how we should make no sudden moves or noises.

Umm. No.

Sure, I left my children in there to possibly be carried off in its talons while I nervously waited just outside the curtain but I thought I was going to throw up from fear. Why wasn't there some sort of warning label on the tickets?

"Warning! Live bird of prey will be flying overhead. We do not mean in a cage or tethered to anything. You not only need to worry about yourself and your one year old making any sudden moves, but also all the other idiots that are in attendance."

In case you didn't know, I have kind of a bird thing.

Another favorite spot during these last few months of winter is the Chicago Botanic Garden. We go to the garden a ton in the summer but they have all kinds of great winter programs as well. My favorite is the greenhouses. They have 3 very large ones and you can walk though and shed your coats and hats and gloves and scarves and just take a deep breath. We like to play hide and seek and check out the giant animal topiaries.

I am never at a loss for words when it comes to complaining about the weather and this year I have been given plenty of material. We are going to get through it by being creative and cautiously optimistic that winter will be over by May. I better start working on my high humidity and heat index gripes.