There’s a date I won’t soon forget. Tuesday, October 1, 2013. On that day, first thing in the morning, my wife and I entered a restaurant / gift shop in Jacob Lake, Arizona (just a stone’s throw from the north…
Author Archive for Dale Goodner
Feeding Non-Sparrows
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 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
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 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
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 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,…
Precaution … the better part of valor
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Precaution … the better part of valor
My parents’ modest turf and my grandmother’s extensive lawn were not enough. As a teen, interested in pocket change, I also mowed my uncle’s massive meadows. In the early 60’s, lawns had really come into vogue, and I did a…
400 PPM … Moment of (Inconvenient) Truth
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 400 PPM … Moment of (Inconvenient) Truth
There was a cold wind-driven rain on May 11, but, like a football game, the nature hike we had planned (in Door Co. Wis) went on as scheduled. Participants showed up in rain coats and wore layers, but as rain…
May the Forest Be with You
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 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…
Felines, Both Friendly and Fiendish
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Felines, Both Friendly and Fiendish
Elsie stood on my grandmother’s front porch one day looking not the least bit guilty. This was Gramma’s beloved “house” cat, and dangling from its mouth was a very dead purple finch. From that day on, the backyard was quiet.…
Mad as a March Hare
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 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
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on 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…