Blue heron

Back again with more updates on the weather. This is turning into something of a weather blog, but that's OK-what else is there to talk about in Chicago in January? The Bulls stink, the Hawks are struggling, the Bears are long gone, the baseball teams are mediocre and the Super Bowl is an East Coast hype machine dream. I did make it out once during the past week. I saw a great blue heron, braving single digit temperatures, in the dune area at Montrose and tallied 16 hardy species in all.

The freeze-thaw story continues. Since the flooding of early January, rivers have now frozen and created massive icejams. Morris, Ill., is one community that is threatened. Temperatures have remained in the single digits and teens for about 10 days. Adhering to my duty in reporting thaws, I should add there is one coming and Monday may see temps in the 40s.