Posted in Nature

Foraging Morels

Although I don't have expertise in this area, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) just published a series of videos on foraging for morels that I'd like to share with you. ODNR naturalist, Erin Shaw, hosts four videos about hunting for morels. I've created a playlist of all four in order here. Individuals videos are around a couple minutes long. To watch all four in order will take about 8½ minutes. Links to each individual video in the playlist are also provided at the Read more ➜
Posted in Flowers

Common Spring Wildflowers in Ohio

This post illustrates a couple of dozen, common species of spring wildflowers in Ohio. The scientific name in each caption links to an article where you can learn more about that species (a Wikipedia article, if possible). It also lists the months in which you can expect to see each species bloom in central Ohio. In southern Ohio they will bloom a little earlier and in northern Ohio a little later. Cutleaf Toothwort The photo below shows some of the foliage. Mayapple The blossom Read more ➜
Posted in Helpful hints, Hiking

Gearing Up For Ohio Winter Hiking Season

Four years ago we participated in our first winter hike - 6 miles from Old Man's Cave to Ash Cave with a small group of approximately 5,500 people. There was snow and ice on the ground and the temperature was just below freezing. It was awesome! We've been hooked on winter hiking ever since. Why go on a winter hike? Isn't it cold and nasty? What about slipping on the snow and ice? Before I started winter hiking, I had all of those concerns. In fact, I thought the idea sounded a little Read more ➜