Posts Tagged ‘nature’
Wildlife Wednesday 03/27/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Our trails at TWC are currently bursting with Virginia springbeauties! These small pink and white flowers are native to the eastern United States and Canada, and can be found in a variety of habitats including forests, woodlands, meadows, ravines, parks, and lawns. The perennial plants grow from underground tubers, giving them the nickname…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/20/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! The first native spring wildflower to bloom in Ohio is skunk cabbage. Its flower structures are thermogenic (able to produce heat) and will emerge even through snow and ice! The spathe, or hood, is the first part of the flower to appear from the ground and has a distinctive color combination of purple,…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/06/24
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! The Sandhill Crane is a tall elegant bird with a heavy body, soaring 6-foot wingspan, red crown of feathers on its head, and a fluffy bustle of gray plumage at its back end. This graceful long-necked avian has a loud rolling trumpet-like vocalization that can be heard for miles. Mated pairs will engage…
Read MoreCoyotes
The coyote is a fascinating creature. Not native to Ohio, coyotes originally called the open deserts and prairies of the West home. However, being intelligent, adaptable animals, coyotes can make a home anywhere there is food, water, and shelter. They began moving eastward as settlers cleared the forest for fields and pastures. At the same…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 02/28
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! It is the time of year when we observe, appreciate, and celebrate Ohio’s state amphibian (and a TWC mascot), the spotted salamander! A type of mole salamander, this cute creature with bright yellow spots and a perpetual smile lives most of its life underground. After a long winter of brumation (similar to hibernation),…
Read More2024 February Full Moon
“The full snow moon will rise to see what once were fields of hay, She’ll gaze upon the barren rows, snowed in from yesterday. She’ll share here night with stars ablaze, yet spreading little heat …” From “The Full Snow Moon …” by Joy A Burki-Watson February’s full Snow Moon occurs on the 24th at…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 02/21
Being in nature can be very magical to many people. There has even been a history of different mythical beings that live in and are even connected to nature. One of the most popular being the discussion of fairies. One of the most common fairy sightings that people often see are “fairy rings” that pop…
Read MoreAurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
The dancing ribbons of light called aurora borealis or northern lights have mesmerized people for millennia. Galileo named these dancing lights “aurora borealis” in 1619, after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas. The earliest depiction of the auroras may be a cave painting in France dating…
Read MoreFall Greetings…
From the Director of Development Hello! I am the new Director of development here at The Wilderness Center. I joined the team in May and have been busy ever since! Our goal in the Development Team Is to allow TWC to continue fulfilling its mission to educate and engage our community on the importance of…
Read MoreNew Project: Fox Creek 2.0
For the past 150 plus years, humans have made changes across the landscape. One of the changes has been in the channelization (straightening) of streams. Humans would take what was once a small stream meandering through a woodland or meadow, and reroute it to become simply a deep ditch. Why channelize? Channelizing a stream allows…
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