"Spirit of the Prairie" by David Alan Clark

Schaumburg Square here in the northwest suburbs is mostly retail -- a grocery store, some small in-line shops, a freestanding ice cream parlor and a restaurant. It also includes the Schaumburg Township Library and a pond with a fountain that sprays in the warm months. Near the pond (and the ice cream shop) is "Spirit of the Prairie," a bronze pair by David Alan Clark installed in 2002.

Saturday's warmish weather encouraged me to take a close look at it.

The Wyoming-based Clark's web site says that he specializes in "public monuments, portraits, wildlife and historic themes." I'm glad to see that he's done a statue of John Wesley Powell, located at the Sweetwater County Museum in Green River, Wyo. The Schaumburg Square statue counts as an historic theme. Schaumburg used to be a farming town, after all.

Now it's the Retail Capital of the Universe. That's my nickname for it, anyway. In the background above is the square's clock tower, fuzzily documenting the fact that the picture was taken at about 3:10 p.m.