On a cool, brisk morning in November, three busloads of second graders pull up in front of Sharon Centre ready to begin their day. As they unload, the teachers rush to count heads and split them into groups. I take the opportunity to observe the group in preparation for the program ahead. “Um . . […]

On a recent Sunday afternoon under a cloudy November sky, I joined some fellow naturalists for my first lesson in flint knapping. In its simplest terms, flint knapping is making arrowheads and spear tips from stone. Stone is broken away by percussion and pressure flaking, which were two terms new to me. Adam, the instructor, […]

The whisper of Vlad the Impaler spawns a morbid curiosity in even those who think themselves innocent. He is the inspiration for Count Dracula and known to history as a real big jerk. This blog hasn’t really got anything to do with Dracula, or “Dragulya” as he called himself, but the mythos that surrounds his […]

On any given morning, a walk around the lake at Miami Whitewater Forest can present you with some interesting sights. A great blue heron waiting patiently for its morning catch, an avid fisherman doing the same or a flock of noisy geese flying overhead would not be uncommon. This time of year, however, a walk […]

Recently I was asked to present a program about park history. History… I love it and I love to dig through the vintage park photos. So for me this wasn’t work at all but fun. For this presentation, I wanted to get some really good vintage photos, some that might not have seen the light […]

Did you know that there are more than 20 times more species of moths than butterflies in Ohio? There are more than 160,000 species of moth worldwide and more than 3,000 of those can be found right here in Ohio. And new species are being discovered and catalogued every year! Only about 1% of moth […]

The milkweed is blooming, the milkweed is blooming! Why all of the excitement? Common milkweed is a favorite plant for more than 450 species of aphids, bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths and more. Whether these insects are using it as a nursery for their larvae to munch on once hatched or sipping nectar from the […]

If I asked you to draw a picture of a ladybug, could you do it? The ladybug is easily one of the most recognizable insects in the world. In many cultures across the globe, it is also seen as a symbol of luck and good fortune. Unfortunately, over the past 20 years native ladybugs that […]