At the end of a cloudy New Year’s Day, a sketchy sunset cast light on rolling fog throughout May Watts Park. During a brisk walk along the .89-mile trail, we observed that ducks seemed joyfully boisterous, ice continued to melt on the frozen pond after a subzero week in December and the temperature was 41 degrees.
To our surprise, the evening of Jan. 1, 2023, was the last sign of any sun in Naperville in the New Year until mid-afternoon on Jan. 6.
Unlike other Januarys in our memory, gray skies have shrouded the City. Yet, regular morning walks have provided many views of the changing season and the natural habitat at May Watts Park. Except for a raft of Mallard ducks feeding naturally in the icy pond, most wildlife has remained hidden so far this month.
Early Jan. 6, 2023, little change in the landscape was present as another overcast day greeted early morning walks. Then, mid-afternoon sunlight suddenly brightened the sky.
The forecast for Saturday predicted clouds until noon with sunshine arriving in the afternoon. Still greeted by gray skies, we waited until midafternoon to venture to May Watts Park to finish off the first seven days of 2023 with photos of the neighborhood park that’s surrounded by West Wind and Countryside subdivisions.
Tomorrow is another day.
And sometimes on a warm sunny day in February, anglers find good winter fishing along the shoreline at May Watts Pond.
Here’s hoping for a peaceful year with plenty of what comes naturally.
RELATED POSTS ABOUT MAY WATTS PARK, a natural park setting named to honor May Theilgaard Watts, a naturalist, writer, poet, illustrator, and educator who worked at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle and lived in Naperville. The author of Reading the Landscape of America also is credited with proposing in 1963 what has become a national rails-to-trails program. May Watts Park is located at 1320 Sequoia Road with trail entrances also from Oakton and Whispering Hills.
Post Last Updated, Jan. 7, 2023
