According to the Chicago Tribune, “What was once the convergence of two Native American trails is now known as Rogers Avenue and Ridge Boulevard in the neighborhood. Various regional tribes often settled in Rogers Park. This neighborhood’s rich history is still celebrated today with the Indian Boundary Park and the Pottawattomie Park.” (1) What I love about living here is how green it is – and orange, and purple, and red…

It amuses me no end that they use lettuce for ornamentals, too, but that’s a different issue.

There’s a park not far from my house which runs from here, at the southwest border of Rogers Park, all the way down to, I believe, Albany Park.  Regardless of what they call it, walkers and cyclists can wander, even using pedestrian tunnels, without risk of getting clipped by a passing car.  The trail is a couple miles long and is part of the wildlife corridor the city’s built for area wildlife to get clear up into Wisconsin.

And it’s lovely in all kinds of weather.  The heavy underbrush in the left of the photo is a native species restoration area; posted signs warn visitors to keep out because they’re letting the flora re-establish itself.  We’ve seen green heron, red fox, deer, raccoons, and all manner of birds using this place.

For those of you curious about specifics, there’s a Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society and museum, and you can visit their website, here.  Loyola University has a campus here over by the lake, and Lunt Street Beach is my favorite along the lakefront.  My neighborhood has seventeen different languages just on my block, (we counted), and there are people here of all different ethnicities, religions, orientations, and backgrounds.  You can walk down a street and see an Ethiopian restaurant, a Zabiha meat store, and a Jewish religious artifacts store.  You can find Russian books, music, and memorabilia, there’s a Georgian (as in the country Georgia, not the state) bakery, and an organic foods restaurant with its own garden on the roof.

Pretty awesome place, Rogers Park.

Tomorrow, I have to figure out something for S.  Now where did I put my list?  Hmm…  What could be a big S, right in the heart of the city?  Sssss…

References

(1) “Explore Chicago’s Neighborhoods:  Rogers Park,” The Chicago Tribune, 11/14/2008, web page accessed 04/20/2016 from the following link.

Thank you for joining us for the A-Z Blog Challenge.  If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave us a link so I can come visit you too.  If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

The theme at Noony’s blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo.  Join her as she explores Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

Noony’s theme on Knoontime Knitting – One Writer’s Journey Into 3-D craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year.  Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12^th to the 17^th, you’ll be getting live convention reports.  Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from Noon & Wilder; the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland.  Check it out!

Our friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and we’ll add you!):

• Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
• Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!