Elk Bliss

Despite living in Cook County, one of the most urban areas in the country, we are blissed to have a number of forest preserves within ten minutes of our house. The Cook County Forest preserve owns and maintains over 21,000 acres, including Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden. To me it is amazing and a testament to some forward thinking folks who over a 100 years ago realized there would be a need to set aside acerage to give city dwellers and suburbanites the opportunity to quickly escape into the serenity of nature.

One of our favorites is the Elk Pasture in Elk Grove Village. Here, within 10 miles of O’Hare Airport, a herd of Elk graze in a fenced enclosure. There is something mistical about seeing these beautiful creatures almost free and wild. There enclosure is huge and surrounding it on one side are Busse woods. The trail that goes around the enclosure, takes you through grassy knolls and old forests. Within the woods, you can hear birds chirping and frogs croaking. Except fo the occasional plane flying overhead, you can almost imagine you’re truly in the wild.
Cat and I intended to head to the Chicago Botanic Garden tonight, but by the time we got done with work, tanning, and all the rest of our evening engagements, it was too late to get there and hav etime to do it justice. Instead we decided to head to the Friendship Conservatory in Mt. Prospect. This beautiful little conservatory has beautiful gardens, a greenhouse, and a pond. Although the greenhouse was closed by the time we got there, we spent some enjoyable time walking around and enjoying the beautiful flowers and the frogs in the pond.

We headed to the Elk Pasture after the conservatory and spent some time walking and destressing. A lot of folks were out enjoying the evening and work seemed very far away as we were walking along the trail and enjoying the woods. I called my mom as we were out on the path to tell her I was thinking of Daddy, who’d always enjoyed driving out in the woods near his home to look for deer. Talking to my mom, thinking of my dad, and walking with Caitlin, gave me a truly blissful feeling of being connected to people who matter.

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Raine Shakti

Raine Shakti believes in living her life cairn by cairn and in helping others learn to do the same. Her day job is in the training and communications field and her best professional experiences are when she is able to empower people. She has spent the last few years reclaiming her life and her inner warrior. Part of this journey was becoming an ordained priestess with the Fellowship of Isis. Her Matron deities are Nephthys who has helped her become a true virgin woman, the Morrigan who has taught her what it means to be sovereign, and Yemaya who has taught her the strength in having a loving heart.

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