Planning for Pollinators Bumblebees buzzing amongst the white clover on the front lawn is a childhood memory that many of us share. Today, children have another memory that will follow them into adulthood. They hear the scientific data that warn…
Spring cleaning Who would have thought that we would be seeing February days with sustained 60+ degree temperatures! While spring seems to want to make an early start, I have a feeling that we will still see more of old-man…
January 20, 2017, a date that will go down in… you decide! As I write, there is a soon-to-be-inaugurated, new President leaving Blair House and traveling to St John’s Church for a morning church service. The service is closed to…
Winter Wings Winter has finally tightened its grip on Central Illinois. Crisp air and frozen ground define the landscape that was home to warm breezes and green growth not so long ago. In the shift of the seasons, nature also…
Meetings of local governments tend to be less than exciting affairs. I have frequented a few in my years, and I remember when I used to be one of the youngest ones in the audience. Now, I’m one of the…
The sun pokes through a misty October sky on Saturday, Oct. 16. We have 8 miles of roadway pretty much to ourselves as we drive along the levee that surrounds a 2,200 acre body of water known as the South…
Sulphur Butterflies Along the sandy roads in Mason County grows the Partridge Pea. A member of the bean family, its feather-like leaves are familiar to many. The leaves of Partridge Pea have the interesting habit of folding up in the…
A Dandy Bird Aug. 20 was a great summer day. Thirty people piled into three vans after an early morning thunderstorm. Binoculars and field guides in hand, we set off to experience the beginning of fall migration. Travelling south, we…
The story goes that Alice Algae was a wonderful cook who had the special ability to take sunlight and whip up a wonderful meal. Alice had a hard time of it though, while she could feed an army, she wasn’t…
Summer Odds and Ends With summer in full swing, there are so many things going on that I have a hard time concentrating on one topic. So here’s an opportunity to catch up on some of the area’s latest nature…
