It boiled down to cleanliness. That was the consensus from a class of 4th graders, to the question, “What is Earth Day all about?” Their experience reflects a common impression that it’s about picking up litter; cleaning up our towns, roads, and school grounds. One kid even suggested it’s about “cleaning up after old...
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From my vantage point at the curb, in front of Green Bay West High School, I could see the approach of the police escort followed closely by a large black car. All of us students crowded to the road and started waving and cheering as the car passed. There in the back seat was former president, Dwight...
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There was something new at the Jake Wolf Fish Hatchery in Sand Ridge. At least new to me. At the side of one of the fish ponds, basking in the sun, were over a dozen huge, dark, bald headed turkey vultures. The hatchery produces vast numbers of fish, representing 16 different species, but I...
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Irene Cull was a botanist, but her enthusiasm for all things natural was contagious. It was March, just over 30 years ago, and my wife, Mary, and I were on our way to a prairie conference in Chicago. Irene was scheduled to speak at that conference and had caught a ride with us.
As we travelled...
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In the summer of 1988 there was a terrible drought in Peoria. That fall, I received an interesting phone call at the Nature Center. A nurse wanted to know if I could explain why there had been a 500 percent increase in wasp stings showing up in the Emergency Room.
In fact I had noticed...
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The news, as most of us know it, can seem to be a study in redundancy, a repetitive procession of murders, wars, bombings, deaths, thefts, floods and fires, with a few tornadoes and earthquakes thrown in. But when you review what’s new in the world of science, invariably something jumps right out at you. ...
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My wife, Mary, and I were driving south of Peoria to visit the Emiquon Wetland Restoration and National Wildlife Refuge at Dickson Mounds near Lewistown. It was just before Thanksgiving, and I was looking forward to finding a bunch of migratory birds before things freeze up. And what should “appear” on National Public Radio,...
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My brother in law, John, described a collision with a wild turkey as “cartoon like.” It was an explosion of feathers. The car concealing cloud of plumage may have looked like something from Loony Tunes, but it was far from funny. At highway speed it’s a potentially deadly impact. One turkey can be 4...
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It was meant as a helpful hint. I was walking around my yard with a friend, when he noticed some sizable, dirty looking, crusty blotches sullying the stone facade on my house. He offered to lend me his power washer to clean the stone. This seemed like a good idea,...
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My sister, Lora, was absolutely right. When her mother-in-law, Oma, died this past July, she said, “It was like losing a library…” That’s a perfect way to put it. Having lived through almost all of the twentieth century, Oma had seen more change than most of us can even imagine....
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