Author Archive for Dale Goodner

Feeding Non-Sparrows

Don Jurgs had been a prisoner of war in Germany during World War Two. More recently he was Santa Claus at Mall of America, but I knew him when he was a naturalist in Bettendorf, Iowa. He liked to say…

Manna from Heaven

As days shorten, attention turns not just to football, but to such real life topics as harvest and preparation for winter. We tend to plan ahead more now than at any other time of the year. It’s a time of…

Think native

Doug Tallamy was surprised at how perfect the leaves looked on surrounding shrubs and herbaceous plants. As an entomologist he would have expected to see holes, chewed edges and other evidence of herbivorous insects feeding. It occurred to Tallamy that,…

May the Forest Be with You

Elroy Limmer was in a pretty good position to help people see the forest as well as the trees. As Peoria’s City Arborist, he dealt with numerous questions and concerns regarding proper tree care. For example, a home owner once…

Mad as a March Hare

In the middle of the night I occasionally notice a dark figure in my yard, hunkered over as if in prayer, lurking just beneath the bird feeder… chewing. If it notices me, moving inside the house, it will quickly disappear…

Science Highlights from 2012

From the “God particle” to Jurassic fleas, 2012 has been an incredible year for science. A lot happened while the myopic media remained preoccupied with an overload of election year political blather and smear, and superpac prevarication. Here’s a tiny…