Hiking the Parks & Preserves of Ohio
Just prior to our birding trip to Magee Marsh in May, we visited two waterfalls in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We stopped at Brandywine Falls – one of the finest waterfalls in the state of Ohio.
Continue reading “Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Brandywine and Blue Hen Falls”
This is a collection of some of my favorite wildflower photos taken in April and May of this year. If you’d like to see a larger version of any flower, just click on its photo.
Beaver Marsh is located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park near the Cuyahoga River. Years ago it used to be a junkyard with a small stream flowing through it. A local group cleaned up the junkyard in the mid ’80’s and then some beavers dammed the stream creating the marsh.
Continue reading “Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Beaver Marsh”
Last week we went to Magee Marsh to check out the action at the Biggest Week in American Birding. This was the second time we made an appearance (the first time is described here). This event is set up to celebrate and observe the migration of warblers in their colorful breeding plumage. Many species are on their way north, but their trip is delayed by Lake Erie. Before these small birds attempt to fly over the lake, they stop on Lake Erie’s southern shore to fatten up on bugs, so they’ll have the fuel they need to make it across.
Continue reading “Magee Marsh during the “Biggest Week in American Birding” 2015″
In April we drove to Caesar Creek State Park to visit a new pedestrian suspension bridge and two waterfalls. Our hikes consisted of two segments on the southern portion of the Perimeter Loop Trail. The yellow-blazed Perimeter Loop Trail is an 11.5 mile loop trail on either side of Caesar Creek Lake. The northern and southern routes are connected by a bridge on one end and Caesar Creek Dam on the other.
Continue reading “Caesar Creek State Park: Horseshoe Falls, Crawdad Falls, and Suspension Bridge”
While hiking at Tar Hollow this past weekend, we spotted a Luna moth perched on a burnt tree trunk. After studying its photo I realized that we now had photos of both the male and female Luna moth, so I thought I would share with you how to tell the difference between the two genders, plus provide a little background information on this moth. However when I showed the photo to some other people, they were soon telling me that the moth looked like it was about two feet wide. So before going on, try clicking on the photo below to behold its immense size.
Crall Woods is a 97-acre woodland that’s one of two tracts of land making up Pine Hill Park in Ashland County. It was named as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1974. According to a sign in the park’s kiosk, there are three nature trails at Crall Wood with a total length of 2.45 miles. However, we saw two unlisted trails (one under construction and the other complete) that were not listed on the kiosk. All the trails were wide and well-maintained.
In a recent comment to our site Amanda Kiplinger pointed out that Crall Woods is a good site for viewing spring wildflowers, so we arranged to visit the park on a sunny day in mid-April.
I was saddened to learn that Dennis Profant has passed away. Dennis Profant was a well respected natural resources professor at Hocking College. He was also part of the community of Ohio nature bloggers. He authored the blog, Field Biology in Southwest Ohio.
Some of his fellow, Ohio nature bloggers have published their own tributes:
He will be greatly missed. “The life of the dead is retained in the memory of the living” – Cicero
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.
This past weekend we visited the Fallsville Wildlife Area in Highland County. The wildlife area contains a stream valley with a large waterfall. After recent rains it was running quite well. The wildlife area and the falls are named after the town of Fallsville, OH. The town is long gone, but the name lives on.
