I'm going to refer to a pawpaw as a "tree", but it could just as well be thought of as being a really large shrub. A mature specimen typically grows to a height of 25 feet, reaching its full height in about 20 years. According to Wikipedia the trunk can grow to be as large as 12 inches in diameter, but all the trunks that I've seen have been smaller than that. Because it is a relatively short tree with a thin trunk, its wood is not suitable for timber. However its fruit is the largest produced by Read more ➜ All About Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
I'm going to refer to a pawpaw as a "tree", but it could just as well be thought of as being a really large shrub. A mature specimen typically grows to a height of 25 feet, reaching its full height in about 20 years. According to Wikipedia the trunk can grow to be as large as 12 inches in diameter, but all the trunks that I've seen have been smaller than that. Because it is a relatively short tree with a thin trunk, its wood is not suitable for timber. However its fruit is the largest produced by Read more ➜ 
The Galena Village Administrator, Jeanna Burrell, recently contacted me about a new nature club that is forming in central Ohio. If you are unfamiliar with the Village of Galena, it is in Delaware County at the northern end of Ohio's Hoover Reservoir; this is the reservoir which supplies drinking water for our state's capital, Columbus. Galena is also home to the Hoover Mudflats Boardwalk which we've written about on a number of occassions. Galena is an especially good site for bird watching; it's 
In the spring we published a post describing Gallagher Fen State Nature Preserve in Clark County, Ohio. Since that publication, we learned that the preserve has an impressive variety of summer flowers. To view these we returned on June 29th and on August 11th of this year and took photos of many of the flowers that we saw. The photos can be seen below with the date each was taken in the caption to give some idea of when the flower is in bloom.
As the preserve's name suggests, it contains something 
Burton Wetlands is a 305 acre preserve in Geauga County whose terrain was shaped by glaciers during the most recent Ice Age. Most notably there are two glacial kettles in the preserve. A glacial kettle forms when a glacier calves over a land surface (that's when a huge chunk breaks off). As the glacier recedes and the calved ice melts, a lake takes its place. The plants living in and around the glacial kettles of Ohio would normally be found farther north in Canada. They are living remnants of Ohio's 
When people go out looking for birds, they are birding, while those who are looking for moths are mothing. More amusingly, those who engage in mothing are called mothers; however, the word is often hyphenated as moth-ers to highlight its different meaning and pronunciation.
When we were invited to attend a private mothing event at the Wahkeena Nature Preserve, we decided to give it a try. We really weren't sure how to go about it or what to expect, but Robyn and Tom of the preserve, as well as 
The Nature Center at Lake Hope State Park is well-known as the place to go if you want to try hand-feeding hummingbirds. This seasonal activity typically begins in July. This year park officials will continue to host the hand-feeding sessions on Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 3 PM until Labor Day.
This was the first time Bob and I had tried hand-feeding hummingbirds, and we both loved it. It is fascinating to watch hummingbirds perform their aerial acrobatics, but it was even more amazing to 
This post is meant as an aid to snake identification. In addition to posting photos of all the snakes, I try to point out color variations within a species, where the species is found in Ohio, and what the typical length of an adult is. I have tried to group snakes to make it easier to distinguish between similar-looking species.
I focus on the visual characteristics of the snakes; for a more detailed description of the snake (its habitats, behavior, etc.), I have provided links to three sources 
In the New World there are seven species of birds that belong to the vulture family. Three of these species are present in the United States: the Turkey Vulture, the Black Vulture, and the California Condor. Two of these three are present in Ohio: the Turkey Vulture and the Black Vulture.
Finding Food
The most noticeable difference between the two species is the color of the head: red for Turkey vultures and dark gray for the Black vulture. The bills are also colored differently. 
There are lots of reasons to like dragonflies. A great reason to like them is that they are voracious eaters of mosquitoes. Another is that they are one of the most skillful fliers in the animal kingdom: with their two pairs of parallel wings, they can hover or fly in any direction, even backwards or side-to-side. Dragonflies are also one of the fastest flying insects; they reach speeds up to 34 mph (a famous entomologist, Robert John Tillyard, claims to have observed one dragonfly flying at 60 mph). 
Because Maumee Bay State Park is the site of one of our state's lodge and conference centers, it offers a number of recreational opportunities. But as a nature lover, one of my favorite activities there was walking the 2-mile boardwalk through a wetland bordering Lake Erie. We visited in May while staying in the lodge. Our strolls along the boardwalk were relaxing and peaceful. They were also an opportunity to do some birdwatching and to see other wildlife like deer.
We began the boardwalk