Hiking the Parks & Preserves of Ohio
Seip Mound State Memorial Park is one of the five noncontiguous sites that make up the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The other four sites are Hopeton Earthworks, Hopewell Mound Group, High Banks Works, and the Mound City Group (reviewed by us here). Native Americans belonging to the Hopewell tradition constructed this mound sometime between 100 B.C. – A.D. 400.
Continue reading “Hopewell Culture National Historical Park: Seip Mound”
Our dog, Penny, died about a week ago. She was diagnosed as having bone cancer last winter. Other than limping, Penny remained remarkably stable in the ensuing months and continued to enjoy life and the company of her family. Despite having been with her when she died, we still expect to see her at every turn, and we miss her very much. Besides being adorable and adoring us, she accompanied us on numerous outdoor adventures, including backpacking, camping and hiking. We’d like to share a few photos of her here.
In the following post, I note the distinguishing characteristics of Ohio’s turtle species, plus the counties in which they’ve been sighted.
If you’ve seen a turtle basking in the sun in Ohio, and you’re wondering what kind of turtle it is, the odds are that it’s a Midland Painted Turtle.
Rhododendron Cove is a spectacular place, but not the easiest preserve to find. Until quite recently, you needed a permit from the state to visit. It’s open to the public now, but it’s still a fairly well-kept secret. It’s as though there’s a secret Rhododendron Cove Club whose first rule is: don’t talk about the secret Rhododendron Cove Club. I will tell you how to get there. But first let me tell you why you might want to go.
This Metro Park gets its name from a tree that has largely disappeared from North America: the American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata). The American chestnut tree dominated America’s forests in the east and in the Ohio Valley until the start of the 20th century. A true giant, the tree grew to be 100 to 150 feet tall (30 to 45 meters) and up to 10 feet (3 m) in diameter. It crowned the ridgeline of the Appalachian mountains; when in bloom, its white blossoms made the mountains look as though they were capped with snow.
In science fiction, there’s something called “terraforming” where people take an inhospitable, alien habitat and make it more earth-like so that people can live there. Well it turns out that sphagnum moss has mastered something similar — I’m going to call it “boggaforming” — where it takes a wetland and makes it more and more bog-like. One its secret weapons in this process is dead sphagnum moss. Here are some of the ways that previous generations of sphagnum moss contribute to the success of the current generation.
It was a hot, humid day with the temperature in the mid 90’s. We’d been hiking for over an hour. The hill that we were climbing was steep. I was in the lead with Deb about 20 yards behind. I’d been out in hotter weather, but it was getting to me. I was feeling really hot and weak. I had eaten a very light breakfast, but was feeling slightly nauseous. I tried to focus and get to the top of the hill. Just a few more steps. Feeling dizzy … I think I’ll just sit on this rock for a minute …
Previously I’ve pointed out that Jackson Bog and Cedar Bog aren’t really bogs. Now it’s time to look at a nature preserve that really is the bog that it claims to be: Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve. However it’s not like any other bog in the world since the entire bog is floating in the middle of a lake.
Continue reading “Cranberry Bog: The World’s Only Floating Island”
On Friday (06/29/2012) violent thunderstorms with high winds swept through Ohio leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electric power. Many will not have power restored for a week. The storm damage was due to a phenomenon that meteorologists call a ‘derecho’. A derecho is a sustained, straight-line, strong wind accompanying severe thunderstorms. Wind speeds of 82 MPH were measured at Don Scott Field in NW Columbus (that’s hurricane force).
Cedar Bog is a state nature preserve that’s managed by the Ohio Historical Society due to its historical significance… or should I say prehistorical significance? There are a number of plants and animals in the preserve that were common in this region at the close of the last Ice Age, but which are now found in cooler, North American climates. Because it is such a unique habitat, in 1941 it was the first nature preserve designated by Ohio. Today it is one of Ohio’s 25 National Natural Landmarks.
