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#auroraillinois

0 posts0 participants0 posts today
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AnneTheWriter

🧵 I heard... SILENCE.

This past week here in #AuroraIllinois , the weather has been pleasant & warmer. In the past, this kind of weather would be full of life, coming awake.

I know most of the #songbirds have migrated and haven't returned yet, so I don't expect to hear them. But only last week, I was regularly seeing a LOT of #birds , and hearing lots of chirping. The bird food & bread scraps I often put out for them in the morning were always eaten before lunch.

In past years, the sky would have had lots of birds flying overhead in this first warmth. I would hear lots of chirping.

This whole day, I heard only SILENCE.

4 of the past 5 days, bird food was left uneaten. Bread scraps were only eaten by the nighttime animals.

Today, I only saw one lonely #sparrow, behaving abnormally by hiding in my flower pot, right next to my door-- and near me. None of his friends ever appeared.

I hope I'm mistaken. I hope this is not due to #BirdFlu .

Photo of a long rectangular red-orange flowerpot, with dead herbs from the previous year. In the pot, tucked between the dead roots of plants, is a tiny lonely Sparrow. Even when I (unwittingly) stood nearby, he did not quickly fly away. He was the only bird I saw that day, despite having a large supply of stale bread and a full brick of bird suet nearby. The brick of suet has been almost completely untouched for over a week.
Close-up of the lonely sparrow hiding in the dead herb roots. His behavior was very abnormal, and the entire day felt weird to me. The silence overhead all day was rather eerie. There should have been birds.
#Wildlife#Illinois#Birdstodon
Continued thread
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AnneTheWriter

For the #AuroraIllinois Mayoral Primaries, BE AWARE that the various official election links are sometimes sending people to incorrect locations!

Those links (including the State of Illinois one where you verify your Voter Registration) are set up for the April 1st Consolidated election, and NOT for today's Primaries.

Several other people besides myself had previously wasted time driving to the wrong location, in the short time I was at a polling place.

There are only THREE locations in Aurora for voting today. You can vote at any one of them:

Cathedral of Grace St. John Church
2950 Bilter Rd, Aurora, IL

Faith Lutheran Church of Aurora
3000 Liberty St, Aurora, IL

Village Baptist Church
515 S Frontenac St, Aurora, IL

Again, the locations given on the various State of IL Election Board and other similar websites are NOT for today. The correct link to check for today is:

acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:

##LocalElections #IllinoisPolitics #CityOfAurora #USPol

acrobat.adobe.comAdobe Acrobat
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AnneTheWriter

TODAY in #Illinois , you need to get out and #VOTE in your #LocalElections !

Kicking out #Fascism and #Autocracy begins at the local level-- before they can control our schools and shut down local protests. This is your chance to be heard!

If you don't know much about who's running or where to vote, this link will tell you more:

elections.il.gov/InformationFo

In the city of #AuroraIllinois , the Primaries are today, and the consolidated election will be on April 1st. Historically, only a few thousand Aurorans actually get out and VOTE, and they decide the Mayor for a city of around 200K people.

MAGA-endorsing incumbent Mayor #RichardIrvin has been accused of corruption. He's running in the non-partisan Primaries against:

Alderman #JohnLaesch
johnforaurora.com/

Alderman #TedMesiacos
tedmesiacos.com/meet-ted

Alderman #JuddLofchie
juddforaurora.com/

#KarinaGarcia
karinagarciaformayor.com/

elections.il.govIllinois State Board of Elections
#IllinoisPolitics
Continued thread
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AnneTheWriter

"Well, the dress is 1890s. I estimated your age-- which, if you pardon my saying, seems to be in your late 30s-- and the likely number of generations since the 1870s-- their birth decade-- and saw the family resemblance."

Then (as politely as possible), I noted the resemblance between his ears (which stuck out prominently), nose (which was kind of pointy like a bird's beak), and hairline (which shared a specific balding pattern).

He snatched the photo off the sales floor.

It's funny how the value of an old photo changes when you know who's in it.

[Be sure to also read the #AltText for information about the posted photos.]

🧵 2/2

#Genealogy #EstateSales #Photographs #AntiquePhoto #AntiquePhotograph #VictorianPhotos #IdentifyingOldPhotos #FamilyTreasures #LostAndFoundPhotos #AuroraIllinois #LocalHistory #FamilySearch #Geneadons #GenealogyThreads @geneadons

The Hurd family's Genealogy was easily located online at a site called FamilySearch, and the specific family who lived in Aurora Illinois during the 1890s was identified. Shown: A side-by-side comparison of two images: (1) a family photo for the Hurd family of Aurora, which had been posted to a Genealogy platform called "FamilySearch"... and (2) the mystery child from the afore-mentioned estate sale photo. The photo on the left is a more modern image, from the 1920s-1930s, zoomed in on an infant in a man's arms. The (adorable!) smiling, chub-cheeked infant has the same facial shape, chin shape, mouth shape, hairline, and hair color as the mystery child. There is a definite resemblance between them. The account who posted the identified Hurd family photo to the Genealogy site, has been notified of the estate sale photo. I will update you on this hopeful reunion, when I hear more.
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AnneTheWriter

One of my favorite moments from estate sales is years ago, when I saw an antique photo in a nice frame. It was a picture of a young couple with a nice horse and buggie. It was being sold for only $40.

I asked the estate sale lady if they were sure they wanted to sell it. A man came up and said that he was the owner, and yes... it was for sale.

I looked at him a minute, looked over the photo, then did some quick math.

"You really shouldn't sell a photo of your Great-Grandparents," I told him. "Whoever buys it is just going to rip out the photo, throw it away, and use the frame."

"How do you know they're my Great-Grandparents?" he asked.

"Well..." 🧵 1/2

[Be sure to also read the #AltText for information about the posted photos.]

#Genealogy #EstateSales #Photographs #AntiquePhoto #AntiquePhotograph #VictorianPhotos #IdentifyingOldPhotos #FamilyTreasures #LostAndFoundPhotos #AuroraIllinois #LocalHistory #FamilySearch #Geneadons #GenealogyThreads @geneadons

An antique photo found at an estate sale in Aurora Illinois. The property was once owned by a family named "Hurd" (they had lived in the city since the 1880s). The lady who purchased it has been working to uncover the name and return it to family who will cherish it. It was because of this photo that brought to mind the events of long ago (in my toot). Image is of a small child, possibly a boy or girl, from the 1880s or 1890s, standing on a chair and holding on to the back of the chair. As was normal for either gender of that era (before the invention of disposable diapers), the child is wearing a kind of dress. This one is a dark color with long sleeves and a kind of sailor-style collar. The child has blonde hair, chubby cheeks, a round recessed chin, and a slightly receded hairline. The center of the photo seems to have been pierced, and is ripped a bit.
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AnneTheWriter

Exactly how loud are the #cicadas this year?

Well... I haven't seen or heard many at all near me in #AuroraIllinois, myself. But sections of the #Chicago suburbs are already seeing-- and hearing!-- a lot of them.

One Facebook friend in #Warrenville #Illinois posted this image of her SmartWatch, which was taking a sound measurement of the ones near her. (She has the red-eyed 17-year brood in her yard.)

Another commenter in northern Illinois said that it's as loud as if they're attending a rock concert.

#Cicada #Cicadas2024 #Cicadageddon #CicadaInvasion #Bugstodon #Insects #InsectSaturday #InsectsOfTheFediverse @science #SoundsOfNature

A Smart Watch is resting on a left arm, with green grass in the background. Some tiny text at the top of the watch display reads 4:07pm ( this is in the Central Daylight Timezone, and is 16:07 if you use military time). The face of the display has a yellow bar graphic for showing the sound level, which is about three-quarters full. The number below the graphic bar reads "LOUD ... 85 decibels."
Replied in thread
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AnneTheWriter

@Snoro

Living in #AuroraIllinois, I've seen the same effect. Part of that is changing local govt regulations & mindset.

The first home in our neighborhood to get solar had to jump through lots of extra hoops to get approval. For example, the city sent out structural engineers, because they were unsure how safely a roof could support the panels. There were no #regulations in place for #SolarPanels, so new ones had to be written.

The other aspect the pioneering #solar neighbor says they experienced was that other neighbors would wait a year or so, then ask common questions-- Did they find it cost-effective in the suburban #Chicago climate? How did they panels work in the winter snow? Was it worth the investment? Etc.

The first to install #RooftopSolar forced a change in local govt, and became both a test case & a source of education for others around them.

Now, #solar is so established in our local culture that we regularly get scammers knocking on our doors.

#GreenEnergy#Energy
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AnneTheWriter

I was surprised to get a mid-afternoon visit today from our one of our neighborhood #foxes (they're usually more nocturnal). The #RedFox stopped where we often feed the birds. I had thrown out some old bread for the birds to eat, but my fox friend found it first.

Once he realized we were discretely watching him, he reluctantly walked off without finishing his meal.🙁

The wide variety of animal prints🐾 in the snow are presumably from the nearby skunks, racoons, squirrels, rabbits, and opossums-- only a few of the indentations are from my small dog (who is about the same size as the fox), since she rarely walks in that area.

[The glass on the patio door is a bit dirty, so there are some spots in the original image.]

Photo taken in #AuroraIllinois USA (far suburban Chicago), in the section of the state referred to as "the #FoxRiver."

A Northern Illinois Red Fox, standing in the snow just outside my back patio door, looking at the humans inside and eating bread pieces. There is a wide variety of animal prints in the snow, although many of the indentations are from my small dog (who is about the same size as the fox). Others are probably from skunks, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, and opossums. The glass on the patio door is a bit dirty, so there are some spots in the image.
A snippet of video/motion-capture photo. A Northern Illinois Red Fox, standing in the snow just outside my back patio door, looking at the humans inside and eating bread pieces. There is a wide variety of animal prints in the snow, although many of the indentations are from my small dog (who is about the same size as the fox). Others are probably from skunks, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, and opossums. The glass on the patio door is a bit dirty, so there are some spots in the image.
#Wildlife#FoxesOfMastodon#Foxtodon
Continued thread
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AnneTheWriter

3/3 🧵
For #SilentSunday...

Some scenes from the #FirstSnowfall of the season, as seen from my back patio door today in #AuroraIllinois (far suburban #Chicago area).

The mostly white #dog in the yard is our #Sheltie named Ava. She was waiting for us to come outside to play with her. Ava enjoys having us throw snowballs at her, and she loves to catch the snow in her mouth.

The near-melting kind of snow in this weather is good for making #snowballs -- not so dry as to be powdery and not stick together-- but it was still not deep enough to avoid picking up a lot of leaves in our snowball-making process.

#FirstSnow#FirstSnowOfWinter#Illinois
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AnneTheWriter

This unique take on the iconic American #PicketFence is along a busy four-lane road. It is along the side of the house, and the front of the home is tucked away in a cul de sac. There used to be a sign on the fence advertising #piano lessons with a phone number, but it was removed some years ago. However, they left the creative paint work on the fence.

(In #AuroraIllinois USA, in the #Chicago suburbs.)

Photo of a white picket fence along a busy Illinois street (captured between cars racing past). Behing the fence are a large number of mature Midwestern U.S. trees, and tucked among the trees is an old tree fort. In front of the fence is the entrance to a gas station, with a small grassy island. (Photo was taken while at a gas pump.) The white fence has occasional black painted pieces, painted so as to resemble a piano keyboard.
#StreetArt#photographs#photography
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AnneTheWriter

#BreakingNews:

#BombThreats were made against multiple #Chicago-area #Libraries yesterday, at the same time as #Illinois Secy of State #AlexiGiannoulias was testifying in the state capitol about Illinois' first-in-the-nation law against #BookBanning, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1st, 2024.

Libraries in downtown Chicago & suburban #Evanston, #Addison, and Aurora received threats. My home city of #AuroraIllinois (2nd largest in the state) has three #library branches, all of which were closed and searched by police with bomb-sniffing dogs yesterday.

Meanwhile, an unidentified "explosive device" was found and detonated at a suburban Chicago Recycling Center this morning. (No one is officially connecting this to the threats.)

#LibrariansOfMastodon #BookBans #Fascism

Video: #Giannoulias Responds to Bomb Threats
youtu.be/v3BaJvz7SLo?si=8Pc6Qz

Article: Bomb Threats Against Illinois Libraries
wgntv.com/news/libraries-in-au

Article: Explosive Device Found at Garbage Facility
cbsnews.com/chicago/news/explo

YouTubeIllinois secretary of state discusses Senate hearing on book bansBy Good Morning America
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AnneTheWriter

#RedFoxes outside my backyard fence this morning, A belated #SilentSunday on a Monday morning.

"The Three Mouse-keteers" are happily playing and catching #FieldMice. Last year, we only saw two #Foxes at a time, and I haven't seen any for a while now. Glad to see the local pest control patrol is still on the job.

Also happy to see them playing like happy puppies. They know they're safe and welcome in our neighborhood.

(Location: #AuroraIllinois USA, near #Chicago, population >200K. The open, mowed-grass area is officially for excessive #rainwater run-off, but is mostly used for kids & animals to run around & play.)

A red fox sniffing for mice in an open mowed grass area.
A red fox sitting peacefully in mowed grass, looking around.
Three red foxes in a large mowed grass area. One is laying peacefully, one is about to pounce on a field mouse, and the other is... urinating. (Sorry, bad timing. I don't have another image of all three together).
#WildlifePhotography#Wildlife#WildAnimals
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