nature

Monarch butterflies on a branch.

While beautiful orange-and-black monarch butterflies still flutter around area lawns and gardens between May and September each year, their numbers have declined over the years because of some combination of environmental conditions, herbicide and pesticide use, and loss of

“I remember seeing lots of butterflies in my younger days,” says 90-year-old Alvin Brown, a retired dairy farmer who resides near New Bremen. “There aren’t nearly so many nowadays, so we have to do what we can to help.”

Like Brown, Coldwater resident Norma “Skeet” Wolters became interested in helping the monarchs long before the Union for Conservation of Nature declared the species endangered in 2022. Having been involved in the Mercer County 4-H program for more than two decades, she often included butterflies in her nature presentations.

A salt bed under Lake Erie

A multitude of boaters, anglers, swimmers, vacationers, sun-chasers, and thrill-seekers flocks to Lake Erie each summer. Most of them will have no idea of the activity taking place far beneath those waters.

The entrance to one of the mines, operated by Cargill, Inc., is just offshore from downtown Cleveland on Whiskey Island (so named when a distillery was built on the site in the 1830s). The second mine, operated by Morton Salt, is 30 miles farther east along the lakeshore at Fairport Harbor. The property and mineral rights under the lake are owned by the State of Ohio, but the mineral rights are leased to the two operators.   

Daddy longlegs

The month of August is like an early Thursday morning of a given week: Just as Thursday means the week’s coming to a close, August marks the waning of summer.

That’s why they are also known as harvestmen — for their gregarious nature at harvest time. They live throughout Ohio, on the farm, in the forest, in the suburbs, in your gardens, and in every corner of every city. And they are good to have around.

Brad and Joy Ryan pictured at a national park.

No one could have known when Brad Ryan’s parents divorced years ago that it would result in a long, record-breaking, heartwarming journey. 

Joy lives in Duncan Falls, a sleepy town nestled against the rolling hills along the Muskingum River southeast of Zanesville, where she’s a longtime member of New Concord-based Guernsey-Muskingum Electric Cooperative. When they finally reconnected, Brad noticed she was suffering some health issues, and clearly needed a change. 

Chip Gross with his prized walking stick.

Are your favorite hiking trails somehow growing inexplicably longer and steeper? If so, congratulations! You’re a “seasoned citizen.” For most outdoor folks, that hard-won status usually kicks in sometime around age 50.  

After a lengthy search spanning several months, I eventually found just the right tree — growing, of all places, on my own property 100 yards behind the house. About a dozen feet high, it was a thin sugar maple that had grown straight up for about 3 feet, spiraled for 2 feet, then grew straight again. Perfect! 

What makes poison ivy so toxic is urushiol, a clear liquid compound found in the plant’s leaves that can be transferred to your skin by simply brushing against a leaf.

If you consider yourself an outdoors person, you do know what poison ivy looks like, right? 

Are you sure? 

Poison ivy wears many disguises. It can appear as a single plant, a group of plants, a shrub, a ground vine, or even a climbing vine. And its infamous “leaves of three” can be as small as a 50-cent piece or as large as your hand. In addition, different-shaped leaves (actually leaflets) —their margins smooth, lobed, or toothed — can appear on the same plant. 

The Maumee Bay State Park's boardwalk.

Nature weaves a tapestry of tranquil landscapes and vibrant ecosystems in Ohio, in several spots presented thoughtfully through the winding allure of boardwalk trails.

Summer at Maumee Bay State Park

On the northern cusp of Ohio near the town of Oregon, Maumee Bay State Park is one of Lake Erie’s playful attractions. The park features a 2.3-mile boardwalk that winds through wetlands teeming with diverse wildlife and lush vegetation. I stumbled upon this path a few years ago during a family stay at Maumee Bay Lodge.

Red-winged blackbirds are considered by ornithologists to be one of the most abundant birds in North America, with their continental numbers estimated at well over 100 million.

This time of year, when most Ohioans can’t stand much more of winter, a certain songbird begins arriving in the Buckeye State with a promise that yet another spring is on its way. 

Ubiquitous, conspicuous, and easy to identify, male red-winged blackbirds are a stunning glossy black, their wing epaulets — lesser wing coverts — flashing a vibrant red, highlighted by a yellow bottom-edge stripe. The sight of males bobbing on cattail stalks and sound of their familiar, gurgling “kon-ka-reee” song are sure signs that spring weather is not far off.

An easy-to-construct cage-trap suet feeder attracted this pileated woodpecker.

I’m a backyard bird-feeding genius. (Please don’t ask my wife about that statement; she claims to have multiple examples of my less-than-genius status — and not just pertaining to bird feeding. But she does tend to exaggerate.) 

I maintain nine bird feeders outside my home-office window. Only two of them were commercially manufactured, and one of those two was given to me as a gift. The other seven I cobbled together from material I had on hand. I don’t mind spending money when I have to, but if I can save a few bucks and still get the job done, I’m all for it, especially with the continually rising cost of bird feed.