Posted in Past events

A Visit to the Ohio Pawpaw Festival

We attended the 15th annual Pawpaw festival at Lake Snowden, Ohio. The pawpaw is a native Ohio fruit and was the main attraction of the festival. We tried some cut-up raw pawpaw. The fruit is green and about the size of a potato. Inside it is either white or orangish with large brown or black seeds. The consistency is like custard, and I thought the taste (which can vary) was a mix of melon and papaya. A variety of pawpaw derived foods were available, including pawpaw Read more ➜
Posted in Animals, Park review, Southeastern Ohio

The Wilds

The Wilds is both a wildlife conservation center and a tourist attraction. From a tourist's perspective, visiting The Wilds is like visiting a really, really big zoo. It sits on nearly 10,000 acres of land in rural, southeastern Ohio. Although the carnivorous animals at The Wilds live in fenced areas, most of the big, herd animals live in enclosures that are so large they don't feel like enclosures at all. Instead of walking from one wildlife habitat to the next as you would at a traditional zoo, Read more ➜
Posted in Bugs

Attending Our First “Mothing” Event

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 Read more ➜
Posted in Park visit

Putting the “Farm” into Malabar Farm

Previously I've discussed Louis Bromfield's home at Malabar Farm, the Bacall/Bogart wedding that was held there, and the beautiful fall foliage. Today I'd like to address the farm itself. While facing the big barn with the mural, you'll note a small sign pointing toward a downward ramp to the left. If you go down this ramp, you can check out the farm animals like the attractive rooster above. Below are a few more animals in and around the barn. Typically there are some Read more ➜
Posted in Geology, Nature

Licensed to Hunt Fossils

This past weekend, Bob and I went to Caesar Creek State Park to do a little hiking. However once we got there, we happened upon this amazing spillway that was just full of fossils. In case you are wondering, this is basically a gigantic ditch. The Army Corps of Engineers constructed it to safely channel water from the Caesar Creek Reservoir in the event of flooding. The floor and one wall of the spillway consists of limestone and shale bedrock (dolomite). The bare bedrock Read more ➜