Volo Bog

I'm back to blogging today because I can breath again. Sometimes parenting, particularly parenting children who have suffered trauma, sends you down roads that you never wanted to travel. It has certainly not been one of the better weeks of my life. Thanks to those who were praying for us. 

Even in the midst of yuckiness, God takes care of us. One of those ways was to give us an absolutely beautiful day with good friends at Volo Bog. It is the only open water quaking bog in Illinois. The weather was gorgeous; sunny, but not too hot. Just lovely.

Here are some of the children on the floating platform that overlooks the open water section of the bog. That would be D. in front.

Here are some other views of the bog.

 

Here you can see the boardwalk as it continues back into the tamarack forest.

Almost the whole group of children.

Some little people... okay, L... didn't want to be in the group picture.

Little girls together.

This was a great view of what makes a bog a bog. The plants on growing on a a floating mat of sphagnum moss. You can see the plants, then the mat, with the roots growing into the water underneath.

We also learned, that technically it's a fen because there is some inflow and outflow to the water, where in a bog there isn't. I kind of like knowing the difference between a bog and a fen, don't you? Or maybe that's just me and I grew up reading too much British fiction.

We picnicked, the children painted and played, the mothers visited, and then we made the long drive home. It was a much needed break from life.