There’s no mistaking a praying mantis! Praying mantises are named for the front-facing, folded forelegs that give the appearance of an animal in prayer. Really, though, the series of spikes along those “arms”, along with their lightning-fast movements, are a…
Game on! The Centerville-Washington Park District (CWPD) has added two new pickleball courts at Yankee Park, meeting growing community demand for the fast-paced, social sport. The upgrade came during a planned resurfacing of the park’s three tennis courts this summer.…
Flowering plants (angiosperms; as opposed to other land plants like evergreens, ferns, and mosses) are characterized by flowers that produce seeds encapsulated within a fruit. Those flowers provide the beautiful displays of color that adorn our parkland woods and meadows…
What are these animals? This is a pair of stream bluet damselflies, Enallagma exsulans, a common species found in every Ohio county. Damselflies, along with dragonflies, make up the insect order Odonata (so, to enthusiasts, they are called odonates, or…
There’s no more relaxing way to spend a summer day than creekin’. Wander down a local creek and you’re sure to scare up a variety of critters: minnows and darters swim off to undisturbed waters, crayfish skitter under the nearest…
The sprayground will open for the 2025 season on Friday, May 23! The sprayground is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will remain open through Labor Day weekend. An all-access playground is adjacent to…
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue….INDIGO. What is that color, the “I” in ROYGBIV? According to Wikipedia, ”indigo” might refer to a number of hues in the range from blue to violet. But if you look at the jazzy birds singing…
Bats in the Beech Tree With the arrival of April, lots of animal migrants are returning north to Ohio from their wintering grounds. In the tops of sycamore trees, yellow-throated warblers sing and flash their colors. Out in the wetlands,…
Waiting for this moment: blackbirds announce spring Spring is coming; the signs are all around! Robins have emerged from the forest and are plucking worms from lawns and fields. Back in the woods, the year’s first wildflowers, like harbinger-of-spring and…
It’s midwinter and, as I write this, temperatures are predicted to remain below freezing for the January week ahead. Not a great time to go out looking for butterflies! Chances are, though, that the remaining weeks of winter will include…