We had some interesting encounters with nature in Texas this year when we went down to spend Thanksgiving week with our sons. The day we arrived in north Austin this guy was standing in the middle of the road a couple of blocks from our rental house as we were driving home from dinner. It seemed...
Great White Swamp Oak Beech
Each of us has a favorite "heart" tree. Whether you remember climbing a weeping willow as a child, planting a small apple tree and watching it grow, or pausing in a hike under a glorious oak or maple, most of us sense a satisfying alignment and affinity to special trees...
From out in the southwest, in the drainage area of the Red River in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, came a deciduous tree known as the Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera), often called the Hedge Tree. It was prized for its wood by the Osage Nation of Native Americans, as well as the Cherokee —...
On a chilly March evening my wife Cathy and I stood in the starlight facing a nearly invisible wetland. We were listening to what sounded like thousands of tiny sleigh bells tinkling in the darkness, but was actually the calls of male spring peepers competing for mates. We listened for perhaps...
There's a miniature prairie nearby, a gem of green space under an open sky in a neighborhood shadowed by mature trees. It is rich in native plantings, and is attracting quite a variety of wildlife. Casual visitors are surprised to learn it is not a park, but a retention pond built by the City of...
Most of us who live or spend time in rural (and not so rural) areas have seen them, slender canines with long bushy tails usually casually loping away from us. Some of us are thrilled to spot east central Illinois' largest carnivore; others abhor them. Most of us are just surprised.
However you...
This past July for six days, (July 24th-29th) I had an opportunity to spend time with two 11 week old wolf pups that were being socialized for the captive wolf exhibit in Ely, MN. The International Wolf Center in Ely, MN was founded in 1985 by Dr. L David Mech and a group of biologists to educate...
Backyard Science: The Black Swallowtail Caterpillar
As many people know, black swallowtail caterpillars feed on dill. Below, you can see two caterpillars on the same dill plant. They look very different from each other. The small one is a first instar, or the first in a succession of molts as the...
This rain barrel level gauge is a simple project that can be done in less than an hour. The rain barrel will have a bulkhead sized and threaded for either a half inch or three quarter inch pipe. Our example has a three quarter inch fitting.
You'll need some hardware and some tools.
Tools:
2...
A potluck to show appreciation for "Kickapoo Krew" volunteers at the High Pond Shelter at Kickapoo State Park is scheduled for Saturday, July 16. Volunteers will meet at the High Pond Prairie Garden at 10 a.m. and a potluck meal will begin at 10:30.
Barbecue, buns and a condiment tray will be...
