Welcome to Chicago! Where one day when you go for a walk in the park it looks like this…

and the very next day you go to the same park and it looks like this…

Boy, was that one quick Autumn!

In an unrelated matter, anyone interested in doing an apartment swap for a couple weeks (or months)? You can come live here and experience the nonpareil joy that is a Chicago winter while Sid and I stay in your tropical beach house near the equator. I swear we’ll take good care of the place.

About a week ago, I rented a nice camera lens for the weekend (for the photo buffs out there, it was a Canon 50mm 1.2L). This is a really nice lens that I cannot really justify buying outright, but luckily there is a camera shop called Dodd Camera just a bike-ride away from Pug Slope HQ. They have tons of equipment that can be rented out and have really good rates for the weekends.

I headed out to Winnemac Park with Sid to try out the new lens. Sid seemed exceptionally excited about this particular photo shoot – probably because I actually remembered to bring some treats with me this time.

In the early Spring, the park district does a controlled burn of the prairie areas of Winnemac Park so back in April of this year the area on the far side of the fence looked totally barren. To see what I mean check out this post from April. Over the summer, though, the plants quickly return and grow at incredible rates. Soon the whole prairie area is filled with lush green leaves and lovely flowers that last all through the summer.

The plants are all native species, so the local pollinators are very attracted to them. There are often lots of bees collecting pollen and even monarch butterflies fluttering by!

Sid didn’t want any bees accidentally landing on him so he trotted over to one of the more open areas of the park near the weeping willow trees.

After a little stroll through the field he laid down near the far end of the park and made sure I delivered with the treats. He was being very photogenic so I complied.

I’m definitely excited to try out some other lenses from Dodd. Maybe next time I’ll try a fish-eye lens so I can show you guys some LARGER THAN LIFE close-ups of Sid’s pug mug?! I wonder if he’d approve…

On a typical day, Sid and I go for at least one of our walks through the beautiful park in our neighborhood: Winnemac Park. I thought I’d tell you a little more about it today.

Winnemac Park is exceptionally large for a neighborhood park. It’s filled with enormous weeping willow trees and large areas of native prairie plantings that are stuffed with bright flowers and tall grasses that sway in the breeze. Woodchip paths wind through the native planting areas and rustic wooden fences create a border around them.

Sid loves smelling all the plants and certain sections of the fence where other dogs have left him “messages”.

There are also a few baseball diamonds, a large playground, tennis courts, a large soccer field, and a stadium that is part of the adjacent high school.

Lots of families take their young kids to play in the park, and those of us without kids take our dogs there. It’s usually a very peaceful place, especially if we go there for our early morning walk.

If you ever come to visit Chicago, we highly recommend visiting Winnemac Park. Sid told me he’ll take you on a guided tour himself!

How about those thunderstorms?!?!

If you live anywhere near the midwest you know what I’m talking about. We had some intense rainfall and thunderstorms the past few days. The plants around our neighborhood were certainly happy and it seems like anything green and leaved has doubled in size. The pug, however, wasn’t super thrilled about the rain and we had a couple walks where we both ended up drenched and miserable. Although once the rains stopped we were greeted with a gorgeous morning of fresh air, blue skies, and soft breezes.

There were also lots of sweet puddles throughout Winnemac Park which I think in Sid’s mind made up for all the trauma he experienced trying to poop while getting soaked the night before.

Did anyone else go play in some puddles today?

We were lucky to have some amazing weather this weekend which allowed Sid and I to go on multiple excursions throughout our neighborhood. Always wanting to be in style, Sid refused to leave the house until I accessorized him with his favorite bandana – the black one (of course).

As usual, Sid made a bee line for Winnemac Park which was packed with people and pups out basking in the sun. The park looked really different though because it just had its annual “controlled burn” of the prairie areas completed this week.

Although the areas within the rustic fences look desolate now, the burn kicks the plants into action and soon the native prairie plants and flowers will be sprouting up like crazy.

I think Sid was a little perturbed that someone burned all the dried-up plants he liked to sniff and pee on, but it’s difficult to explain the cycles of nature to a pug.

We continued strolling around the blocks that surround the park and Sid started perking up. We journeyed down a few blocks we’ve never been on before, so I think he was psyched to mark some new turf and check out some unfamiliar scenery.

The signs of Spring were all around us. We found tons of brightly colored crocuses popping up in people’s front yards.

Did anyone else get to go on any Spring adventures this past weekend? If so, Sid and I want to hear about it!

Hey there, Slopers!

Sid here today. First, I would like to thank you all for stopping by to say hi, have a chat, and snack on some baby carrots. Second, I would like to thank Mexico for sending some of their lovely warm air our way this past weekend. It was a dramatic change from just a few days prior, when everything I know and love was still buried in ice.

Mexico, please send us more of your air any time you like (I’ll take some burritos, too). And Canada, nothing personal but WE DON’T WANT ANYMORE OF YOURS. Sorry it just wasn’t working out. It’s not you, it’s us. Oh wait, no, it’s you.

Back to my point (do I have a point?) – I realized with all this lovely sunshine I might need to acquire some shades. Any of you stylish pups have any recommendations for sunglasses? I may just opt for the classic look of a pair Ray Barks. I think they would go well with my untamed, devil-may-care image that I’ve been working on. What do you think?

Before the much-welcomed warm front came through Chicago, Sid and I got one last opportunity for some ice skating. Well, not really skating since I don’t have any skates and we are not yet living in a world where dog skates exist (although I could be wrong about that).

So instead of skating on the ice, we just walked very slowly and zombie-like. There were a few near-wipeouts but miraculously we made it across the whole frozen field without any injuries.

Well, ice, it was nice knowin’ ya, but we’re ready for some Spring weather. See ya!