Posted in Geology, Plants and trees

Wondering about Reindeer Moss

Although reindeer don't live in Ohio now, it was a different story during the last ice age. Photo courtesy of Dean Biggins of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, license: Public Domain Reindeer once lived in Ohio. About 24,000 years ago the Wisconsinan ice sheet expanded into Ohio. Central Ohio was buried under 1000 feet of ice (305 m). Near Lake Erie, the ice was five times thicker. As the ice sheet expanded southwards, all forests in its path were ground to a pulp. Animals from Read more ➜
Posted in Flowers

Unfurling

My family went for a hike in Ohio's Mohican State Park this weekend, and I noticed a number of flowers that were just beginning to unfurl. To see more-developed examples of the above flowers, check out my post, Common Spring Wildflowers in Ohio. Besides the flowers, fiddlehead ferns also were beginning to unfurl. New life is emerging all over the forests. Read more ➜