Finishing a sketchbook is always a big event for me. I use bound sketchbooks and NEVER tear the pages out. It’s kind of a big deal to me to try and have quality sketches throughout the whole book without any … Continued
I’ve always enjoyed coming across common snapping turtles. I still remember seeing one for the first time on a canoe trip in Western NY and thinking it was scary and prehistoric. I was told by an adult on the trip … Continued
Finding these beautiful spiders is always a treat. This one built a big web in a clematis. It had a “house” that it stitched together out of leaves and silk to hide in by day. It took a week to … Continued
Green frogs really get around. It seems like you can hear their banjo-like call coming from every still body of water in the State of Michigan. They certainly are adaptable.
Well, after a great summer full of Baltimore Orioles visiting the three jelly feeders we had set up, we are down to nothing but wasps eating the jelly. It sure was great while it lasted. We had a fairly continual … Continued
Its no secret that I like insects. Well, not ALL insects I guess. I’m not that crazy about mosquitoes. I can’t stand ticks and chiggers, but those aren’t insects are they! I took parasitology as an undergrad and realized that … Continued
The past two years we have been lucky to have regular visits from batches of juvenile tufted titmice. I’m not exactly sure where they have nested. Aside from being really cute, they have also been very entertaining. The young ones … Continued
We have had a lot of orioles coming to our three jelly feeders this summer. There is one male that has the brightest orange I’ve ever seen on an oriole. He is more of a fiery chrome orange rather than … Continued
For 9.5 and 6.5 years old our kids are pretty good birders. While doing homeschooling at the kitchen table one day, my daughter Kelly excitedly yelled out “scarlet tanager.” Despite my initial skepticism, she was right! Just outside our kitchen … Continued
For about two weeks in the spring we get a large number of white-crowned sparrows. They arrive at about the same time as the cherry trees begin to blossom. These friendly birds seem to call constantly, filling the air with … Continued