“Aw, crud.” Those were the words I uttered a few days ago when I stepped outside my office to take the picture for this week’s column. High above our service entrance, at the back of Hickory Knolls, a robin’s nest still sat among the supports of our solar energy, panels. […]
Good Natured
“Mew.” The sound was soft and, at first, easy to overlook. But the longer I spent along the tree line, listening as I walked, the more insistent the caller became. “Mew…Meew…Meeeww!” I was supposed to be collecting a supply of creek water for our resident turtle leech Loren […]
Good Natured
Do you remember the first time you saw a Baltimore oriole? For me the memory is clear as day. I was in the backyard of my grandparent’s house in downstate Atterberry (which, not so coincidentally, is my mother’s maiden name) and noticed what looked like baseball missing its cover, hanging in her tree. […]
Good Natured
Typically, when one encounters a spider outside in springtime, the creature is teensy. Or, to use the technical term, itsy bitsy. Small spiders weaving small webs and catching small insects-it’s one of the many hallmarks of spring in northern Illinois. […]
Good Natured
Growing up in a family that loved to fish, I’ve seen my share of bird’s nests. And not the good kind. In fishing parlance, a bird’s nest is an irreversible tangle of fishing line. It happens when you reel in line that is slack, when you’re stripping out old line, or when you’re just not paying attention. […]
Good Natured
Throughout these many months of cold we have endured, I’ve tried to help my winter-weary friends stay positive. After every new dump of snow I’d point out, in what I hoped was a sunshiny voice, “Hey, at least there are no mosquitoes.” […]
Good Natured
Last week when we related the discovery and subsequent identification of an awesome little beetle, Tricrania sanguinipennis, I promised that this week we’d dig deeper into its biology and ecology. That’s no lie! To learn more about what makes this handsome insect tick, […]
Good Natured
North America is home to around 30,000 beetle species. Thirty. Thousand. Species. It’s no wonder that identifying them can be difficult. Some beetles, bless their hearts, display obvious features that are nearly unmistakable. Picture the large mandibles of a male stag beetle, a.k.a. pinching bug, for example. […]
Good Natured
Have you ever found yourself faced with so many great choices that you can’t possibly choose just one? I have that problem when it comes to kitschy artwork (I have 13 different prints by C.M. Coolidge, the Dogs Playing Poker artist); ice cream […]
Good Natured
There are a few things in this world that I’m absolutely nuts about. Snakes are one, puppies are another. And then there’s chocolate. As I write this, I’ve made an embarrassing number of attempts to scrounge for anything resembling chocolaty goodness. Worse, I’ve come up distressingly short. […]
Good Natured