Northern Illinois Weekender - 080120

Weekender NORTHERN

ILLINOIS

YOUR GUIDE TO ARTS & LEISURE IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 2020 • ShawMediaIllinois.com

PURE GOLD

Fresh sweet corn popping now at farm stands / 3

ROSÉ ALL DAY

Refreshing fine summer wines for less than $30 / 2

UNDER THE STARS

Local drive-ins see resurgence with families and enthusiasts / 5

UNCORKED

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An expert taster shares favorite finds to consider adding to your own wine racks.

Shaw Media Illinois / ShawMediaIllinois.com • Saturday, August 1, 2020

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By JAMES NOKES

Devotion to quality matters for fine rosé

M

elissa Burr made rosé way before it was cool.

The veteran Willamette Valley winemaker tried to crack the rosé code when it came to the production of a refreshing, food-friendly wine with unlimited potential, long before consumers embraced its charms.

A part of the Stoller portfolio since 2005, the Stoller Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Rosé 2019 ($28) was whole cluster press and farmed like a white wine in the vineyard. It’s a level of intentionality that Burr said will help keep the wine from getting lost in the shuffle as the number of rosés on shelves could cause lesser wines to blend and become white noise.

“We keep true to the course,” said Burr, whose wine had flavors of grapefruit, peach and wet stone minerality.

“We’ve got these components that don’t come and go due to fads, we have site-driven wines. We farm for high quality and work to keep improving it.

We are fortunate that it took a handful of years to see what works best.

There’s a tsunami of rosé that’s not very good, just pink water out there.”

The following wines all are worth a glass to be enjoyed on the back porch, near the pool, with a wide array of brunch, lunch or dinners or anytime a

glass of refreshing wine is needed.

At Clif Family Winery in Napa Valley, there was a celebration of the wine’s release on Valentine’s Day. The

Clif Family Rosé of Grenache 2019 ($26)

has watermelon, peach and tropical fruit flavors. When it’s safe to travel again, the winery’s Bruschetteria food truck and patio should be on the itinerary of every Napa Valley visit.

Jesús Artajona remembered a time when rosé was such an afterthought it would be made from lower quality white and red wine grapes. At Enate, a Spanish winery where modern art is deftly incorporated into the labeling and in an art collection at the estate, Artajona crafted a fuller-bodied rosé with flavors of ripe raspberry, cranberry and spice rack from cabernet sauvignon.

“We accept the challenge of elaborating a rosé wine with varieties of cabernet sauvignon grapes, selecting excellent quality raw material,” Artajona said. “The result is a vibrant wine, with a red strawberry color and very fresh to the mouth, since the volume of alcohol is balanced with its acidity. This is due to the region where Enate is located, Somontano, where the terroir, together with the difference in temperatures between night and day during the summer,

allow slow maturation.”

On the lighter side of the rosé spectrum is Alìe Rosé 2018 ($18.99) with floral aromas and flavors of honeydew melon and grapefruit. Winemaker Livia Le Divelec waxed poetic about how and when it is best enjoyed.

“Alìe rosé is pure sensuality enclosed in a glass,” Le Divelec said.

“Once you approach a glass of Alìe rosé, you are imbued by a magic sea breeze, by a perfumed nose of peach and flowers, and last, but not least, by an indisputable elegance. Its versatility is impressive; perfect as an aperitif, but I love also the match with some seafood and seafood salad. I love it with friends on the shoreline watching the typical Tuscan kaleidoscope sunset.”

The late harvest and long hang time allow for flavor development in the red and white wines from Monterey County, California. Because the grapes don’t ripen quickly with the windy conditions and cold nights, La Crema winemaker Craig McAllister can capture grapefruit, strawberries and orange rind flavors, yet preserve acidity and keep the wine snappy and fresh.

“The pinot noir for this wine is grown with the intention of making rosé,” McAllister said. “We tend the vineyards in a way that allows the

grapes ample time to develop expressive, concentrated flavors while retaining their natural acidity. The cool climate of the Monterey appellation, and its proximity to the ocean, imparts an almost saline-like quality to the fruit, giving our rosé an incredible mineral backbone to support the abundant fruit and citrus flavors.”

At Justin, winemaker Scott Shirley was inspired by the Provençal style; some of the best rosé on the market comes from the south of France. With white cherry, strawberry and melon flavors, the Justin Rose 2019 ($20) has a bright acidity that makes it a chef’s best friend for ease in pairing.

“I would recommend pairing with either a Cobb salad or roasted chicken seasoned with garlic, thyme and lemon,” Shirley said. “It can also be drunk just on its own as an aperitif, and is a wine that is meant to be enjoyed in the summer either at the dining room table, poolside, beach-side, outside with friends and family members.”

There’s still plenty of time to enjoy summer, and there are plenty of excellent rosés to discover.

• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.

Flavors of summer popping now at farm stands

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toes, melons and other offerings. The stand is located right across from the airport.

SHAW MEDIA

eady for a roadside attraction that’s pure gold? Farm stand sweet corn is at its peak through coming weeks, with farmers staggering their plantings to stretch the season.

Here’s a collection of some of the sweet places to find corn on the cob, other harvest goodies and artisan treats to round out your summertime meals for true, farm-to-table flavor.

Many of these spots also offer their wares at farmers markets for expanded geographic convenience. Among their shared recipes, we even found one for bacon-wrapped grilled corn on the cob.

WHITESIDE COUNTY Selmi’s Greenhouse and Farm Market ■■ 1206 Dixon Ave., Rock Falls ■■ 815-626-3830, www.selmi.com, www.facebook.com/selmifarm The fourth-generation, family-owned business has a deep tradition rooted in the Sauk Valley area. In the spring, it is open every day until greenhouse plants are sold out, and then reopens when sweet corn and fresh tomatoes are ready from their own field. They have stands in Dixon and Sterling.

KENDALL AND WILL COUNTIES Keller’s Farmstand ■■ 2500 Johnson Road, Oswego ■■ 630-219-8194, www.kellersfarmstand.com, www.facebook.com/ kellersfarmstand “You know the difference the moment you bite into the ear: crisp, farm-fresh sweet corn that hits your taste buds with a wave of flavor,” notes the Keller’s Farmstand website. They plant 35 acres of sweet corn and sometimes pick it up to three times a day.

Their other farm stands include one in Plainfield at 15066 S. Wallin Drive.

DeKALB COUNTY Yaeger’s Farm Market ■■ 14643 Route 38, DeKalb ■■ 815-756-6005, Facebook at shawurl. com/3dqi

Shaw Media file photo

Wessels’ Family Farm is in DeKalb. veyor who will offer tacos plus elote – Mexican street corn – prepared with Bountiful Blessings corn on Sundays beginning Aug. 9.

Wessels’ Family Farm ■■ 2023 Sycamore Road, DeKalb ■■ 815-751-1780, www.facebook.com/

wesselsfamilyfarm

Ready to celebrate its 45th anniversary next year, Wessels’ now offers digital gift cards in any amount to bring all the fresh goodness of its harvest to friends and family.

KANE COUNTY

In addition to their main farm stand, their sweet corn and produce will pop up at five farmers markets this season. And responding to customer requests for added items to save trips to the grocery store, Theis has added such staples as avocado, ginger and lemons, and carries jarred goods like barbecue sauces, syrups and salad dressings.

Windy Acres Farm ■■ 37W446 Fabyan Parkway, Geneva ■■ 630-232-6429, windyacresfarmstand.com, www.facebook.com/ windyacresfarmstand

The farm is known for its sweet corn and produce, plus pies and other treats. It is open daily, and on Saturdays and Sundays also offers the option of a drive-thru farmers market.

It will offer a Blueberry Festival and The Wiltse family has been growing Corn Boil on Aug. 15, 16, 22 and 23, and selling vegetables for four genera- with lots of food, entertainment and a tions. Their sweet corn is picked fresh beer tent. Children’s activities will be every morning. The market also offers available for a fee. curbside pickup service, with online LaSALLE COUNTY ordering. They are among some of the local farm stands offering Illinois Country Kids Produce cantaloupe grown by Mitchell Melons ■■ 4301 Plank Road, Peru in Tampico in Whiteside County.

Wiltse’s Farm Produce Their specialty bi-color sweet corn ■■ 50W379 Route 38, Maple Park is in the spotlight at this spacious farm stand offering fruits and vegetables, as ■■ 815-739-6179, www.facebook.com/ well as flowers and artisan foods. wiltsefarm, www.wiltsefarm.com

Bountiful Blessings Farm Produce ■■ 15565 McGirr Road, Hinckley ■■ 320-217-9253, bountifulblessings-

farm.weebly.com/index.html, facebook.com/BountifulBlessingsProduce

They offer fresh-picked sweet corn, along with their own melons, lettuces, beets, carrots, celery, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and yellow summer squash. Curbside pickup is available, and their kitchen serves up a variety of salads, pies, breads and other goodies such as take-and-bake pizzas. They also are teaming up with a food pur-

Theis Farm Market ■■ 6N953 County Line Road, Maple Park ■■ 815-761-8374, www.theisfarmmarket.com, www.facebook.com/TheisFarmMarket

■■ 815-228-5805, Facebook at shawurl.

com/3dqj

The kids grew up and launched a real farm stand. Stop in for the bi-color peaches and cream sweet corn and round out the meal with toma-

McHENRY COUNTY Stade’s Farm & Market ■■ 3709 Miller Road, McHenry ■■ 815-675-6396, stadesfarmandmarket. com, www.facebook.com/stadesfarmandmarket Stade’s notes its 40-acre sweet corn field has 11 different plantings and seven varieties. They stagger the plantings so they can pick corn for you all summer long. You also can enjoy the experience of picking your own sunflowers, peppers and green beans this weekend. They feature their own bakery goods, as well as specialty and gourmet foods in the country market.

Cody’s Farm & Orchard ■■ 19502 River Road, Marengo ■■ 815-568-7976, www.codysfarm.com, Facebook at shawurl.com/3dqk Cody’s sweet corn is in season, and they offer a variety of fresh vegetables plus cantaloupe. They also are known for strawberry glazed donuts on weekends, and a nice selection of honey.

DuPAGE COUNTY Sonny Acres Farm ■■ 29W310 North Ave., West Chicago ■■ 630-231-3859, sonnyacres.com, www.facebook.com/sonnyacres The pumpkin farm, dating to 1883, offers local produce for sale all summer, a market and a variety of activities for children including a petting zoo. The outdoor kitchen serves up hot dogs and other fare.

SHAW MEDIA ILLINOIS Shaw Media Illinois / ShawMediaIllinois.com • Saturday, August 1, 2020

CORN UTOPIA

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Shaw Media Illinois / ShawMediaIllinois.com • Saturday, August 1, 2020

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4 STREAMING THIS WEEKEND

AP photo

This image released by Disney Plus shows Beyonce Knowles (center) in a scene from her visual album “Black Is King.”

Beyoncé, Morissette projects, Emmy noms unveiled

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

Movies

“Black Is King”: Written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé, the pop star’s “visual album” arrived Friday on Disney Plus. Given that the last time Beyoncé made something similar, she crafted the dazzling film “Lemonade,” “Black Is King” – like most things involving Beyoncé – is a major event. This one, a fantasia celebrating black identity, comes as a companion piece to last year’s Beyoncé-curated album “The Lion King: The Gift.” She has described it as “a story of how the people left most broken have an extraordinary gift and a purposeful future.”

“Stockton on My Mind”: Mark Levin’s documentary, available on HBO, charts the journey of Michael Tubbs, who became the youngest mayor of a major American city by the age of 26 and the first African-American mayor of his hometown, Stockton, California. Tubbs has helped make the low-income, working-class community in central California an incubator for

Hour,” which earned him his first pair of Grammys. Bacharach, a six-time Grammy winner and three-time Oscar winner, is one of music’s most revered composers, known for tracks like “That’s What Friends Are For,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” among others. “Blue Umbrella” is Bacharach’s first album in 15 years.

R&B powerhouse Brandy is releasing her first independent album.

– Film Writer Jake Coyle “B7,” her seventh studio release, is the Grammy winner’s first album in eight Music years. It features collaborations with That’s what new friends are for: Chance the Rapper, Daniel Caesar Musical icon Burt Bacharach and and her daughter Sy’rai, who sings on Kacey Musgraves producer Daniel “High Heels” and performs background Tashian have teamed up to release a vocals on the single “Baby Mama.” new, five-song EP. “Blue Umbrella” was Sy’rai also co-wrote both tracks. Branrecorded in Nashville and features dy had a hand in writing all 15 songs Bacharach on piano and Tashian on on “B7” with helpers including Darhyl vocals. Tashian has worked with a Camper Jr. (H.E.R.), Kim “Kaydence” handful of country music acts, but Krysiuk (Ariana Grande), Akil “Fresh” he’s best known for his magic on King (Beyoncé) and others.

Musgraves’ epic 2018 album “Golden It’s been a busy year for Gramnew ideas in combating institutionalized racism, gun violence and economic hardship.

“The Fight”: Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres’ documentary, honored for social impact filmmaking at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows the work of the American Civil Liberties Union during the presidency of Donald Trump. It’s a multi-front battle that, in this riveting account, encompasses conflicts over immigration, abortion and voting rights. As the directors showed in the excruciatingly entertaining 2016 Anthony Weiner documentary “Weiner,” they have talent for colorful fly-on-thewall filmmaking of politics in action.

Here, they focus on four tireless ACLU attorneys. Magnolia Pictures released “The Fight” on-demand Friday.

my-winning rocker Alanis Morissette: She celebrated the 25th anniversary of her groundbreaking “Jagged Little Pill” album, and a musical version of the record debuted on Broadway in December. She’s also been working hard in the studio to make “Such Pretty Forks in the Road,” her ninth album.

It’s her first new album in eight years and originally was supposed to drop in April, but was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. Morissette also had an anniversary tour planned for her 1995 album, but that also was scrapped due to COVID-19.

– Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu

Television

The Emmys, the awards that honor TV’s best, unveiled this year’s crop of nominees online and not on TV. The usual announcement ceremony at the TV academy in Los Angeles was canceled because of the coronavirus, with Leslie Jones instead hosting a virtual event to be found at Emmys.com. How the Sept. 20 ceremony on ABC will play out is anybody’s guess, but we do know that Jimmy Kimmel will host.

As for the contenders, with last year’s winners “Game of Thrones” and “Fleabag” having hit the road, there’s room for fresh faces including the comedies “Ramy” and “Insecure.”

– Television Writer Lynn Elber

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Photo provided

Local drive-ins see resurgence with families and enthusiasts

By CHRIS WALKER For Shaw Media

A

lmost as if they were replicating themselves in one of their own sci-fi thrillers, drive-in theaters suddenly are an extremely popular destination.

Due to the pandemic shutting down indoor cinemas in March, people are finding there are few ways to get their authentic movie fix.

Drive-in theaters are undergoing a resurgence despite having their numbers shredded during decades of declining interest. During their heyday in the late ’50s to mid’60s, drive-ins numbered more than 5,000. Today there are about 300.

The drive-ins that remain are easily able to follow social distance guidelines, while relying on the draw of the movie-going experience under the stars, and the hype of older, well-loved titles to bring in crowds once again.

Some of the movies shown at drive-ins so far this year include “Back to the Future,” “The Big Lebowski”, “E.T.,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Flintstones,” “Grease,” “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”

While many people may have to drive a bit to find their closest drive-in, the theaters make it worthwhile, as carloads of patrons enjoy an evening with double features at affordable prices, usually beginning at dusk. Be sure to contact the drive-in directly at the numbers listed below, as rules and policies may change this summer due to the pandemic. No pets are allowed, and grilling and cooking on-site is not permitted.

MIDWAY DRIVE-IN ■■ 91 Palmyra Road, Sterling ■■ 847-647-3124, www.themidwaydrivein.net

Tickets cost $9.50 for adults, $4 for kids 3 to 11 years old. A food permit of $10 per vehicle, per visit, also is required. Guests are allowed to bring in their own food and beverages as the concession stand is closed. Tickets must be purchased online in advance for the weekend shows. Parking spots are first-come and not reserved.

MCHENRY OUTDOOR THEATER ■■ 1510 Chapel Hill Road, McHenry ■■ 847-362-3011, www.goldenagecinemas.com

Tickets cost $12 for adults, $6 for military/ seniors, and $6 for kids age 3 and older. Debit and credit cards are accepted. Tickets are sold at the box office on a first-come basis only. It opens at 6:30 p.m. Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, popcorn, candy, beverages and other items are available via snack carts in the parking lot.

ROUTE 34 DRIVE-IN THEATER ■■ 4468 E. 12th Road (Old Route 34), Earlville ■■ 815-246-9700, www.rt34drivein.com

Tickets cost $10 for adults, $8 for seniors age 62 and older, and $7 for kids age 5 to 12. It takes cash only, with no ATM available. The theater opens at 7 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and movies start at dusk. Concessions are available, but the menu is limited this summer.

SKY-VU DRIVE-IN ■■ N1936 Highway 69, Monroe, Wisconsin ■■ 608-328-8111, www.goetzskyvu.com

Tickets cost $10 for adults, and $6 for kids, accepting cash or check only. Concessions include pizza, burgers, hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and other treats. All items must be taken home, with no trash receptacles available.

CASCADE DRIVE-IN (CLOSED, BUT?) ■■ 1100 E. North Ave., West Chicago ■■ www.cascadedrivein.com

This iconic theater officially closed in 2019 after 58 years, but given the sudden uptick in the outdoor demand for activities, there have been rumors it may be on the verge of a comeback. Is the Cascade going to pull off a miraculous return like Rocky Balboa? Visit the theater’s Facebook page at shawurl.com/3dqn for the latest news.

SHAW MEDIA ILLINOIS Shaw Media Illinois / ShawMediaIllinois.com • Saturday, August 1, 2020

CLASSIC RETURN

Shaw Media Illinois / ShawMediaIllinois.com • Saturday, August 1, 2020

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6

STARVED ROCK COUNTRY Dedicated to growing the awareness of everything the Starved Rock area has to offer

Experience artisan market, al fresco dining in scenic village

By RYAN SEARL

rsearl@shawmedia.com Located two minutes from the entrance of Starved Rock State Park, and just a short drive from I-80 and I-39, you’ll find a true hidden gem, the village of North Utica. This canal town, steeped in rich history and beautiful nature, features some of the best pub-style dining and boutique shopping that north central Illinois has to offer.

Early on in the pandemic shutdown, North Utica wholeheartedly embraced socially distant outdoor dining. As soon as restaurants were permitted to serve patrons outdoors, the village closed off downtown Mill Street (the main thoroughfare that runs through the cute one-block dining and shopping district) and converted the space into a spectacular multi-restaurant al fresco dining destination.

You’ll find appealing dining and drinking attractions such as Lodi Tap House, Skoogs Pub and Grill, Canal Port, Joy and Ed’s, Pizzeria Vitale and the popular August Hill Winery tasting room, all located on a single block of Mill Street.

Lodi, a second location of Maple Park’s popular craft beer and burger bar, is fully embracing the summertime barbecue aesthetic. They’re serving up a uniquely Illinois-focused menu of craft beers and artisan burgers on a large artificial grass lawn.

If you’re a fan of wings, local mainstay Skoogs

Shaw Media file photo

Mill Street in North Utica is the main thoroughfare that runs through the cute dining and shopping district. can’t be missed. At any given moment, its menu features more than 10 flavors of delicious breaded options.

If the lack of art shows, garage sales and craft fairs is getting you down, be sure to pay a visit to nearby La Salle County Historical Society’s Canal

Market. Held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday, the market is a celebration of all things antique, collectible, homemade and home grown.

Located a short walk from Mill Street’s dining and shopping block, nestled on the banks of the historic I&M Canal, you’ll find the rustic-chic Canal Market building. The former lumber yard building provides the perfect open-air setting for browsing the works of some of Starved Rock Country’s best artists, artisans, bakers, growers and antiquarians.

You’ll find quality antiques and collectibles, food, textiles, used books and plants being sold by dozens of passionate vendors every weekend. For more information on the great event, and to get a sneak peek at some of the vendors you can expect to see at the show, visit the LCHS Canal Market page on Facebook.

Keep your eyes peeled for the Starved Rock Country Facebook page, where we’ll be posting the latest on several of Utica’s exciting upcoming events.

We’ll keep you up to date on plans for the Craft Beer Fest, a special Labor Day market and, of course, the 51st annual Burgoo Festival, the village’s signature event celebrating the legendary stew.

Canal Market is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sundays through September at the La Salle County Historical Society Museum grounds on Route 178.

For more information, email events.lchs@gmail. com or call 815-343-5780, or visit utica-il.gov.

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By PAM OTTO

Taking interesting dives into the natural world around us, Pam Otto opens new avenues of exploration.

Adorable treefrog displays startling qualities

T

he things you learn when you write a nature column.

Years ago I didn’t know, for instance, that the word fungus made some folks uncomfortable. Little did I realize the word maggot actually could make people’s stomachs turn, or that certain individuals would find the word larva (which is really just another, less specific term for maggot) equally appalling. And I really had no idea that anyone would write to tell me of these feelings.

But emails don’t lie – well, at least these kinds don’t. The message is loud and clear: Write about something cute and adorable, or else …

So today, dear readers, in the spirit of trying not to offend, disgust or otherwise repulse anyone, anywhere, I’d like to introduce you to one of the cutest, most adorable, yet also easily overlooked, members of our local fauna. Meet Hyla chrysoscelis, the Cope’s gray treefrog.

As a coordinator for the regional Calling Frog Survey, I get to see, and hear, a lot of frogs. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love them all. But this little Hyla is one of a select few that are nearest and dearest to my heart.

Somehow though, despite some fairly remarkable qualities, this delightfully pudgy froggy is not very well known. A member of an order that includes some very large (as in bullfrogs) and very small (as in spring peepers) specimens, the Cope’s is neither. Its skin is bumpy and vaguely reminiscent of “warts,” causing some folks to call this frog a tree “toad” – which it is not. And its call, produced by males in spring, is described as a “harsh trill” – not exactly the sort of quality that fosters close bonds, at least among humans. (Female Cope’s, at which the call is directed, are another matter entirely.)

Maybe it’s the “gray” part of the name that puts people off. But you know what? This little guy frequently is not.

Thanks to an ability to change the shape of the pigment cells in its skin, the Cope’s can transform from gray to green and back again. When temperatures are cooler or light is subdued, the cells expand and the frog adopts a darker coloration. When it’s warm or light is bright, the skin appears green.

This special talent allows the frog to blend in among the gray lichens on tree bark, as well as amid the greenery of our woodland understory plants.

Pretty awesome, huh?

These color changes occur on the

Photo provided

Cute, pudgy and winsomely appealing, the Cope’s gray treefrog can be found in select habitats throughout Illinois. dorsal surface – the part we would consider the top, or back, of the frog.

The undercarriage, by contrast, stays relatively constant in color. But oh, what a color it is! On the inside of its hind legs, the Cope’s sports a showy splash of yellow or orange. This pigment, known as flash coloration, is thought to startle and confuse predators, and/or perhaps warn them of the frog’s secret weapon.

You read that right – this little snookums has a pretty powerful means of defending itself, in the form of toxic skin secretions that irritate the eyes, nose and lips, as well as open cuts of anyone that dares handle it.

Friends who’ve studied the species recall sneezing, as if having snorted pepper, when sorting collected individuals.

Predators, however, seem to have found a way of overcoming this defense, as gray treefrogs are on the menu of a great many animals, including several species of mammals, birds, reptiles and even other frogs. (Either that, or they’ve come to expect their treefrogs served with a dash of hot sauce.)

As we run down the list of the gray

treefrog’s notable qualities, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention its enlarged toe pads. Soft and sticky, they facilitate the frog’s arboreal existence and allow it to adhere not only to leaves, but also windowpanes, downspouts, porch columns and all manner of surfaces – including, as you can see by this week’s photo, a cardboard box that was sticking out of a dumpster.

Granted, garbage cans usually aren’t listed as part of the Cope’s gray treefrog’s natural habitat. But when you consider what else hangs out near trash receptacles – insects and, more specifically, flies – the dumpster locale starts to make sense. Gray treefrogs are primarily insectivores and go where their food can be found.

Another non-natural site for this species? Windows, siding and other parts of man-made structures. Often brightly lit, they attract a bounty of night-time beetles, moths and other bugs. These surfaces, even though they offer little in the way of camouflage, make total sense from the frog’s point of view.

So far in this review of endearing charms, I’ve referred exclusively to

the Cope’s gray treefrog we have here in Illinois. But you know what? H. chrysoscelis has a doppelganger in Illinois – another species that’s absolutely identical, at least on the outside.

The eastern gray treefrog, H. versicolor (see what they did there, referencing the changing color in the species name?), looks just like the Cope’s, but has twice as many chromosomes.

It also has a distinctly different call. As we mentioned earlier, Cope’s has a harsh trill; it reminds me of a grating alarm, or a game show buzzer.

The eastern gray’s call, by contrast, is more mellow, almost birdlike. (In fact, some literature likens it to the call of the red-bellied woodpecker.)

Given that our dumpster frog never uttered a peep, or trill, for that matter, we’ll just have to go with what data we have and assume s/he is a Cope’s.

Make that a cute, adorable Cope’s.

That probably, over its lifetime, has eaten its share of larvae.

• Pam Otto is the outreach ambassador for the St. Charles Park District.

She can be reached at 630-513-4346 or potto@stcparks.org.

SHAW MEDIA ILLINOIS Shaw Media Illinois / ShawMediaIllinois.com • Saturday, August 1, 2020

GOOD NATURED

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8

LIVE THE HARBOR L I F E

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