Happy #WildlifeWednesday! If you’ve hiked to our pond lately, you may have noticed rows and piles of painted turtles covering the logs and banks. The most widespread native turtle in North America, they are abundant in Ohio and can be easily found in freshwater aquatic habitats including ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. They can be identified by their dark, smooth shells with bright red and black patterns on the underside. They grow to be 5-10 inches in length as adults, with males being slightly smaller than females. Both sexes have webbed feet to help with swimming, and males have long claws which they use to tickle the face and neck of females during courtship. At this time of year, painted turtles spend much of their day basking. They will typically spend several hours in the morning laying on logs and rocks in the sun. Once warmed up, they actively begin hunting and foraging. Omnivorous, they eat a variety of vegetation including algae and aquatic plants, as well as organisms such as insects, crustaceans, and fish. After feeding, they will bask for the rest of the day, until nightfall when they drop to the bottom of the body of water to sleep. Be sure to hike our Pond Trail to observe the painted turtles this summer! The observation blind has a scope for viewing them as well as other wildlife at the pond.
July’s full Moon, called the Buck Moon, rises on July 29th, 2026, at 10:36 AM EDT. Unfortunately for us the Moon will be below horizon by this time. Not to worry though, if you want to see the full Buck Moon it will still look full and bright later that night when it rises at about 9:00 PM. The Moon will also appear to be full and bright on the day before, July 28th, and the day after, July 30th. Of course, this comes with the disclaimer” weather permitting” for all these days. Native Americans named Moons after what they were observing in the natural world around them. July’s Moon has a fitting name. Bucks (male deer) shed and regrow their antlers each year. Beginning in late March a buck’s antlers begin to grow. Deer, like all other animals, depend on Earth’s cycle of light and dark. The increasing daylight hours trigger the hormones that start the new antler growth each spring. And antlers grow fast – one and a half inches per week, making them the fastest growing bones in the world! It’s this time of year when a buck’s antlers are in full growth mode. By early August the buck has a new set of antlers bigger and more impressive than his last set. Native Americans observed this incredible transformation and it’s no wonder why they named July’s full Moon the Buck Moon. Although Buck Moon is the most common name for July’s full Moon there are others. The Haida and Tlingit Tribes in Alaska call this Moon the Salmon Moon. The Wishram of the Pacific Northwest call it the Salmon Go Up Rivers in a Group Moon. Both names refer to the return of the Salmon to their local rivers. There are many names that relate to plant growth and harvesting such as the Mohawk name Time of Much Ripening Moon, the Shawnee Blackberry Moon, the Lakota Moon When the Chokecherries are Black, the Zuni Limbs are Broken by Fruit Moon, the Ojibwe Blueberry Moon and the Potawatomi Moon of the Young Corn, to name just a few. This Moon was also called the Thunder Moon by the Western Abenaki because of the large number of thunderstorms that happen this time of year. July is rich with the sights, sounds and smells of nature; Native Americans used all of them in their names for the July full Moon. Take the time to experience the Buck Moon on July 29th and the richness that nature has to offer for yourself during July.
