As November snows fall on the quiet landscape of Central Illinois, an inferno of unprecedented magnitude blisters California. Wildfires rip through the foothills near Paradise, Chico and Malibu, whipped to a frenzy by dry Santa Ana winds. Fires are so…
It’s not everyday that I get stumped when I’m out in nature, but every once in a while, I see something that I have no idea what it is. A few weeks ago, Peoria Park District staff and volunteers were…
It seems that autumn comes well before I’m ready to say goodbye to summer. Perhaps it’s because, as we get older, we long for the halcyon days of youth and green growth. The onset of autumn is a little too…
If you have been out along the Illinois River this summer, you might have noticed that the water level has been low for several weeks. When this happens, mudflats become exposed and then something magical happens. Seeds that lie dormant…
A new sign stands at the entrance to what used to be the Detweiller Golf Course. It reads “Nature in Progress… Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” It is an invitation to get out and explore an area…
In 2015, the Pollinator Research Action Plan was released outlining the decline in pollinating insects and the challenges faced in stabilizing and enhancing populations of these beneficial insects. The findings and solutions outlined in this report have become known as…
June is the month when several species of milkweed come into bloom. This is Butterfly Milkweed, above, with distinct orange flowers. Native milkweeds are important nectar sources for many species of insects. They are also crucial nurse species for Monarch…
It wouldn’t be spring without the flush of new, green growth that happens each year in our woods and prairies of Central Illinois. There is that magical time, before the trees have fully leafed out, when sunlight streams through the…
This year, February made us remember it is still a month of winter. Frequent snowfalls and cold arctic blasts have kept the landscape in a dormant state for much of the month. As February wanes towards March, that wintery grip…
Many a dark winter night, I hear the low, soft, calls of two Great Horned Owls that come to my neighborhood. One calls with a deeper voice than the other. This is the male. Even though he is smaller than…
