Here are a few more wildflowers, etc. in bloom:

Dewberry
Squawroot
Japanese Primrose
Crabapple (a few more trees are just now blooming)
Yellow Buckeye

Hello everyone! This is Tim, Wahkeena’s Spring intern. I am not Robyn.

“I brake for teachable moments.” That’s what the bumper sticker on my car says. Any chance I get to entice curiosity and facilitate discovery, I take it. If you ask about something in the nature center, you’re almost guaranteed to hear from me, “What do you think?” So this morning when a child asked me what was in the aquarium, I responded with “What do you think they are?”

I didn’t expect to hear “snake-fish”, but after she said it, I looked back in to the tank and understood her guess: small wriggly animals living in water. Makes sense when you’re seven and have never seen tadpoles and don’t know what a toad is. So we used our skills of observation and other resources at hand to learn something new.

First we compared snakes and fish: Both have scales, two eyes, no legs. Basic observations. But when I asked her how they breathe, we discovered the difference between gills and lungs and which animals use which.

When I told her that the animals in the tank would lose their gills and develop lungs, her eyes got wide with wonder, then scrunchy and perplexed. These animals weren’t snakes OR fish. What could they be?

Enter the Golden Guide to Frogs & Toads, stage right, with an encore performance. It told us about a whole new kind of animal that absorbed certain parts, grew others, and had multiple stages of life in different environments.

Discovery, curiosity, and excitement are the foundations of my work, whatever I may be doing. Today, a light of excitement turned on in a little girls eyes that I can only hope will stay lit for many years to come, illuminating every path of her life.

I’m sure there’s something here that can turn that light on for you too. What do you think?

I hate to sound alarmist, but I think some haste is needed if you want to see your favorite wildflowers this year. Everything is happening so fast! Now, maybe this cooler weather will slow things down a little, but if you check out the new list of flowers in bloom, you’ll see what I mean!

In addition to the flower list, some of our feathered migrants are beginning to return. So far, we have Phoebes, Yellow-throated Warblers, Pine Warblers, and Louisiana Waterthrushs back. Also as of yesterday, the Grebe was still here. I even watched him choke down a big (for him) fish!

Today I got very muddy rescuing salamander eggs. The small “beaver” pond next to the Nature Center is a hot spot for Spotted Salamander eggs, but the water levels were really high when the eggs were laid. Since then the water level has dropped, and left the poor eggs high and dry. Well, sort of. The egg masses are designed to help prevent them from drying out if that happens at least until rain would bring more water into the pool. The eggs themselves are encased in a jello-y substance that, like real jello, is mostly water. This helps protect the eggs and developing larva. So, the egg masses I “rescued” were fine on the inside, but I moved them anyway because they were a couple of feet above the current water line. Plus, it’s fun to play in the mud!

Well, here is the list of new flowers now in bloom. Keep scrolling too, as I’ve put some pictures at the end. Enjoy!

Celendine Poppy
Pale Violet
Indian Strawberry
Early Saxifrage
Dogwood
Crabapple
Black Jet Bead
Pussy Toes
Pennywort
Spring Cress
Squirrel Corn
Large flowered Bellwort
Jack-in the-Pulpit
Creeping Phlox
Long-spur Violet
Twin Leaf
Forget-me-not
Wild Blue Phlox
Large flowered Trillium

Add these flowers to the list:

Common Blue Violet
Trout Lily
Bluebells

Well, winter is back with a vengeance. With the temps hovering in the low teens and twenties, an increase in bird activity at the feeders has been seen. (Thanks to the Ohio Asssociation of Garden Clubs for generous donations of bird seed and suet!) All the common “feeder” birds can be seen along with Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied woodpeckers and Common Flickers. Two northern species which have migrated to Ohio for the winter are the Northern Junco and the Pine Siskin. Juncos are often referred to as snowbirds, because of there typical appearance with the first snow or cold spell. Siskins are small finchlike birds that often flock with the American Goldfinch in the winter. They are streaked with brown and have a yellow wing bar. They are particularly drawn to areas with Hemlock trees , a relect from their breeding grounds in Canada. But these birds have anything but breeding on the minds right now. It’s all about survival and finding enough food to main boby temperature. But yesterday at dusk, a familar sound did hint at the fact that some birds are already in the midst of the breeding season. The haunting five note call of the Great Horned Owl. At least two owls were carrying on quite the conversation a short distance from the nature center. Female great horns will begin incubation in late January or early February. Young hatch in early spring when prey items are also becoming more active. We have found an active nest with youngs several times over the past few years. A preferred site in on a sheltered rock ledge high up on a sandstone cliff. So there you have it a little ying along with a little yang. Together they make up the circle of life!

TS

Each year on or about President’s Day the Canada Geese make there presence known. The early morning hours echo with the honking of incoming flights of geese. While it is still to early to begin mating in our area, it is not too early to seek out a potential nesting ground. And so the battles begin. Geese honking and hissing, flying low across the water in attack mode with necks fully extended. Beating their breasts with great wings saying, this is my pond and I’m not going to share it with other geese like you! This behavior will continue through February and March. And ultimately a dominant pair will emerge victorious. Canada geese typically mate for life and are usually on the nest by last March-early April at the preserve. The lack of a real winter may see an earlier start this year. We will have to wait and see, atfer all the weather is a flickled beast that can turn at a moments notice.

TS 

Well, what a real turn a round from last year when we had the winter that would not end. This year it can not seems to stay. The last two days have felt more like late March, early April. In fact, snowdrops are in bloom, today along with periwinkle and the first true native wildflower shunk cabbage, which has been in bloom for a while. Also saw a little green frog hop into one of the small spring fed ponds. No sign of typically early amphibians like wood frogs or spotted salamanders yet as they have not been fooled by this early warm spell. (I just looked out the window and a deer is staring right at me!) I have heard that some men stare at goats, but what happens when you stare at deer????  She has a satisfied look. No doubt because she just laped up all the bird seed from the ground feeder. Also saw a muskrat puttering across the big pond a few moments ago….could not tell if he/she was in love yet. Stay tuned for more of “As the Natural World Turns”

TS