iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I'm glad the Sox are coming home, but I'm doubly pleased so I don't have to hear that effing John Denver ditty, "Country Roads," again. I hated hearing it during the USA run in the World Cup, because I think soccer fans and players are too urbane for such nonsense and it didn't reflect well on us.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Grilled venison heart from my first deer taken with a bow. Plated with Berkot's deviled egg potato salad, garnished with homegrown tomatoes & homegrown parsley. I marinated it in olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, homegrown oregano & chopped garlic. Thought I would overcook it, but nailed it.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Bowman Brothers went underground at Grand Caverns on our annual trip to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. Very cool to be at the oldest continuous running tour of caves in the United States (since 1804). It was discovered in 1802.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Had to get our feet wet in the Pacific and did at a Morro Bay beach, a frigid but delightful experience and the highlight of our third day in California. Had a bunch of marbled godwits feeding at the water's edge and 4 people rode horses on the beach. California has inherent coolness.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Good traveling is finding the new. Our VRBO host at Rockbottom Ranch in San Luis Obispo County, saw my The Urban Birding Festival shirt, then showed me two bat colonies. One in an old building he will not tear down because them. His county is home to about 20 of California's 26 or 27 bat species.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Rising and falling keows of western gulls last night gave starkness to touring Alcatraz. A nearly full moon added its drama to the background gaiety of light from San Francisco. Our first supermax is a complicated part of our history, including a critical takeover by native Americans after closing.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I made chicken fettuccine for my wife tonight and when I went out to get parsley from the herb garden as a garnish I found a late visitor, a black swallowtail caterpillar. It kind of made the meal extra special and made my day.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Saji & I explored Chicago eateries the last couple years, monthly or bi-monthly. This week was Valois Restaurant, a Hyde Park cafeteria. He had a huge short rib. I did baked half-chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy, corn, finished with a bowl of peach cobbler. Valois was an Obama favorite breakfast spot.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Painted ladies are on the move. We jumped dozens on the way back to our cars after a morning of seed gathering and seed spreading at Rock Creek Wildflower and Pollinator Area. This one was kind enough to sit still for a close up.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Done many things--fishing, prairie appreciation, hiking, sledding, kite flying, family walks, savoring a favorite downtown view--at Palmisano Park. Added birding at The Urban Birding Festival. Highlights: snapping turtle, coyote on a trail, black-crowned night heron, tail-wagging palm warblers.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I love rattlesnake master in the fall with the starkness of the dried seed heads poking the sky. This was last evening at Bartell Grassland, where I've started helping with seed collection, led by Shari Sweeney.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

"I'll lose my s*** after the first few paragraphs," Stacey Greene said at the unveiling of the Honorary Willie Greene Way sign at Montrose Harbor Drive. But she kept her s*** together talking about her father and Park Bait. Well, there were choked-up moments, some dabbing of the eyes and sniffles

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

One of my favorite prairie flowers, maybe my favorite of the fall, sawtooth sunflowers in their full blooming glory yesterday morning as we gathered seed at Rock Creek Wildflower and Pollinator Area. It's one of the joys of volunteering.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Working at Rock Creek Wildflower and Pollinator Area yesterday, we came across what I think is a spined assassin bug. Please correct me if I'm wrong. It was in the right spot near lots of goldenrod.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I'm doing my first formal storytelling Tuesday, September 8, for Homewood Stories at Flossmoor Community House. Yes, my story is an outdoors related one Official start is 7: 30 pm, but most get there around 7:00 and socialize with beverages, dinners or snacks. It's $15 cash entry.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Opening night of Film Noir at the Music Box to perfectly cap a day that began with wading an urban creek at dawn for smallmouth bass. Really looking forward to the second film. "The Man with the Golden Arm."

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Fishing streams touches my soul. Even better when it's urban, say a Des Plaines trib I fished with Brian Athern. We had an osprey with a fish and an urban rooster crowing between trains passing by the creek. I had four smallmouth (Mepps, jigs), two rock bass (spinners). Brian, a 15- inch smallmouth.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Had surprises this morning fishing the Illinois River with Pete Riedesel. When heat drove us off, I had 8 smallmouth, 2 walleye. Pete had about the same. Smallmouth came on topwaters, except one on a jig. One walleye came trolling a Shad Rap, the other on a jig. Good to see the barge hubbub again.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

No, just off Route 45 in far southern Iroquois County about 35-40 minutes north of U of I.

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Reposted by Dale Bowman

starch mogul @posts-cards.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

also while the monarch is inspiring and charismatic and wonderful i think the prairie cicada would be a more unique and appropriate state insect for illinois

a prairie cicada on a planet stem, they’re big and blackish with white and orange markings down their carapace and orange lined translucent wings

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Not often you can pair The Big Lebowski with a lunar eclipse. I did last night. Netflix ends showing The Dude on Monday. My wife worked late, then we hit a Forest Preserve to watch the eclipse. Half hour before peak, I saw a coyote trotting the edge of the picnic area and prairie. The moon abides.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Found this surprise, black swallowtail caterpillar, on the parsley plants while watering the herb garden this morning.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Bought sweet corn at a farm stand this a.m. and decided to try making my corn and potatoes like a seafood boil to go with salmon. Turned out OK. Next time I'll throw in carrots and an onion. Paired it with Sauvignon Blanc to cut the aggressive boil flavorings. I'll do it again before summer ends.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Our second son doing his drum solo for Tonsure, his latest band, down in the pool/pinball room at Tivoli Bowl in Downers Grove. Been too long since I got out to see them play.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Joel Greenberg talks at 6 tonight on his, "To Life: Jews Exploring Nature," at Chicago Southland Green Drinks at Thornton Distillery. Greenberg, smartest guy I've ever hung with, did "A Natural History of the Chicago Region," Bible of Chicago outdoors. Photo was at Gensburg-Markham Prairie.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Either the doe figured out how to get inside the fence at Homewood Baseball Association or her fawn is going to be an Olympic jumper. They gave Lady and myself the eye this morning on our 1 1/2-mile jaunt around Izaak Walton.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Maybe you have to live in the south suburbs or NW IN to fully understand what this means: a crew with a small loader picking up storm debris from the last 3-plus weeks reached our next door neighbor, then had to stop for the night. Guys said they're back in the morning and my heart swelled with joy.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Tonight at 6:30 at Brickkstone Brewery in Bourbonnais, I'm doing a version of "Amish Farm to Appreciating Restorations," at Green Drinks Kankakee. Growing up in a tenant house on a tidy Amish farm, it took years to appreciate the untidiness of the wildness of prairies/restorations. It's free.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Been a decade since our youngest son asked to go fishing. He came home Saturday to race his car on Sunday near Joliet (don't ask), then said he'd like to go fishing today. Post frontal conditions be damned, we went. No bass or catfish, but we got decent bluegill. Mainly my heart exploded with pride.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Beginning to feel like the new normal. We cleared our driveway, then the neighbor's even-more blocked driveway. Still haven't had our storm debris cleaned up from 2 weeks ago. Now the pile is 4 or 5 ft high. Haven't seen how damage is elsewhere in Homew ood. I love weather but this is wearing thin

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Nothing surprises me about Gensburg-Markham Prairie, a great Illinois remnant, including finding Kankakee mallow (it was planted), native to Langham Island on the Kankakee, on a walk with Joel Greenberg, Cindy Kerchmar, Dan Ludwig & Dave Ward. Other finds: bald eagle, purple milkwort, green milkweed

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The rain and the heat over the last couple weeks really brought tomatoes on in my first year of doing raised beds. So last night I did my first batch of spag sauce: starter for soups, stews and spaghetti. Felt very gratifying to do that again.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The value of traveling is gaining different perspectives. Riding Dubuque's 4th Street Elevator literally fulfilled that. We walked there after my birthday dinner at L.May Eatery: A local honey L.May Fashioned, local honeycomb-goat cheese app, Sauvignon Blanc, Cajun rigatoni, rhubarb cheesecake.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Hiking at Spanish Mines SRA on my birthday weekend getaway to Dubuque. I'm always drawn to water and that is the mighty Mississippi in the distance. We're walking all over creation and eating absurd amounts of food, Dubuque has a food scene.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Caught a monarch on blazing star in the rain Friday at Loda Cemetery Prairie NP, a remnant prairie in Iroquois Co. Beckie Green, Amber Sproul and I, volunteers at Rock Creek Wildflower and Pollinator Area, were on a rewarding field trip, including lunch at Beans & Barley Brews for lunch in Ashkum.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Still planning to lead a walk/talk at Rock Creek, 9 a.m. tomorrow (Sat., Aug. 1) for Limestone Township Public Library. Barring nasty weather, we'll meet by 9 a.m. at the Rock Creek/Deselm Road parking lot to walk Shaw-waw-nas-see Nature Trail as far as we get considering natural distractions.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

that'll work. another extra inning victory

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Free baseball again. Now if only the magic is back.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Yes, I'm not sure what we had come through. whether it was just high winds or a tiny tornado

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

David and I got it fairly cleaned up in an hour and a half with the help of two neighbors, including an incoming freshman, and a random dude who showed up with a big chainsaw. He was Chris and goes by Chrispy and just wanted to do good. I couldn't dig him up on social media, but he was a godsend.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Winds topped out our sycamore in Homewood, just south of the Izaak Walton Preserve. 12-inch diameter branches. Haven't checked the rest of the neighborhood yet. We have work to do before our son can get out to work. At least it missed our house and our neighbors. 2 in of rain and still coming down

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Dave Ward led a special Chicago Southland Green Drinks last night. In a two-hour tour, he explained the environmental thought behind Coyote Run Golf Course, H-F Park District, in Flossmoor. Roughs, edges, trees and flower beds are native plantings. They look wild. It can be done on a golf course.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Headwaters Mountain is nearly 2500 feet elevation. It's also private land

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I have got to find that spot. I would have to concede that would fit the definition of a Triple Divide east of the Mississippi, though a quibbler might point out it is slightly north of the Mississippi, but the watershed includes the Mississippi. That's really fascinating.

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Over the weekend, we found the only Triple Divide east of the Mississippi. Near Gold, PA are headwaters of Genesee River (Lake Ontario, St. Laurence Seaway, Atlantic); Pine Creek (West Branch Susquehanna, Susquehanna, Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic); Allegheny River (Ohio, Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico).

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Dale Bowman @bowmanoutside.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

it was well worth it. And good to put a face to you.

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