Naturalist Notebook 2017

On an unusually warm and sunny December day, I had the pleasure of accompanying a small group of local girl scouts on their outing to Big River State Park. The objective of the day was to learn about trees and identify at least 5 different trees on our hike. Big River State Park, along the...

Today, on this Earth Day, I planted a forest. One Hundred and Eighty tree seedlings is a tiny bit of what it is going to take to re-forest these acres, but it's a start. The land I live on was once a forested along Henderson Creek on rolling terrain with breaks where prairie appeared, and bottom...

This season has been a rather extraordinary one for the glowing bugs. I am treated nightly to quite a show. It seems there is more this year than before. A good thing for a species that has seen numbers decline. The firefly is not actually a fly but a nocturnal member of the beetle family. In the...

Fall arrived this year rather late. The warm temps continued past the official start of the season and our area remained very dry for a time. The beautiful colors that Sugar Maples typically display were missing. Now, moving into late fall, a different kind of beauty has taken the place of Sugar...

About this time of year, a tiny flash of orange begins to appear along trails and paths through woodland borders and along meandering streams. This lovely little gem is Impatiens capensis also known as Orange Jewelweed, Spotted Jewelweed or Touch-Me-Not. From its Latin name you can guess...

  It was a winter warm nightSo I zipped into my Carhart coatAnd pulled my Peruvian hatDown over my ears. Not one small sliver of moonLit my solitary journeyDown a trail my bootsKnew by heart. Perhaps late for city concreteThe ominous silhouettesBelong to bear-sized cedarsPlanted by birds....

On a beautiful Saturday morning in July, I had the pleasure of joining four other Master Naturalists for a walk along the trails at Blackthorn Hills Nature Preserve in Warren County. This park is a prime example of our region's Grand Prairie-Forest division. There are old timbered areas that open...

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a hike at Argyle Lake State Park near Macomb. The walk was hosted by the resident state naturalist and was attended by a few other brave souls on a cold December morning. This...

It is now approaching the end of May, and the trees have filled out, and the nests have been built and new life born this spring is emerging to explore the world. I will never tire of watching this story unfold year after year. In fact, it is why I choose to live in this part of the world where...

My lofty dreams of a snowy winter, where I could walk along frozen paths and enjoy the glistening sunshine have all been dashed and I find myself scraping mud from my boots at the end of the day. Tracking wildlife in the snow had been an enjoyable pastime for me. Sometimes I could follow an animal...

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Wild Things Conference at the University of Illinois Chicago. The event happened to fall on one of those rare winter days that fooled everyone into believing it was spring. Warm, sunny and with crystal clear air, Chicago was at it's finest. The...

Every year about this time, Argyle Lake State Park holds it's Maple Syrup Festival. I had the opportunity to attend the event about two weeks ago on a fine Saturday morning. The park has good stands of sugar maple trees(Acer saccharinum) well suited for tapping and collecting sap for boiling down...