There are several species of damselfly that live in and around our local wet areas. They can be extremely difficult to tell apart, and I am often left uncertain as… [Continued]
Outdoor Notes
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Return of the Orioles
May 3, 2012
It has been an odd spring. An early warm spell in late March led to early blooming wildflowers and early emerging insects. However, a series of fronts in April have… [Continued]
Turtles for Piper
April 28, 2012
This Note is for Piper, a young lady whom I met with her mother recently along the shores of Lake Holman. Piper liked turtles, and her mother was the kind… [Continued]
Quest Bugs
April 17, 2012
I don’t exactly keep a list, but there are several species that I know can be found in the local area, but which, due to rarity, difficulty in access, or… [Continued]
Death to the Invader
April 10, 2012
It is the quintessential Dorothy Gale moment: “There’s no place like home.” How often does it happen that we travel afar for new adventures and new experiences only to discover… [Continued]
Early Spring Wildflowers
April 6, 2012
The first wildflowers up in our woodlands are known as the spring ephemerals because they don’t last all that long. Their strategy is to to do it all–sprout, bloom, set… [Continued]
April 3rd, 2012
April 3, 2012
Generally, I try to write about one topic in my Notes. Sometimes, however, especially in spring, I have days when I see so much, that I just need to toss… [Continued]
The Third Merganser
April 2, 2012
In late March and into April, water birds that spent the winter to the south pass over head, heading for their nesting grounds to the north. Sometimes bad weather forces… [Continued]
Red Salamanders
March 29, 2012
Some identifications are easy, and some names are remarkable for their simplicity and aptness. Consider the Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber), a salamander most obviously red. Like many salamanders, Red Salamanders… [Continued]
Carrion on
March 28, 2012
Dead things draw scavengers. Among the things that warm weather reveals—usually to the nose before the eyes—are the carcasses of those critters that did not survive the winter. That smell… [Continued]