I'm Published

I wrote a little piece on American reed grass for my division's newsletter. This will go out to over 10,000 readers! This is my first real nature writing that has been published, and I'm really glad that I wrote this piece. Look for another article come spring about Ohio's salamanders.

Check out the winter edition 2007 of Natural Ohio.

Tom

Does that elephant have two trunks?

Megan and I visited the Columbus Zoo this past Saturday. Inside the new elephant building, in the Asia quest area, we found this large male elephant. It was actually Megan that noticed its huge penis that was getting ever larger before our eyes. After about 20 mintues, this gargantuan trunk-like appendage had completely retracted back into his body. All I can say is wow.

Tom

 

Pumpkinseed

A pumpkinseed, one of the sunfishes, at the Columbus Zoo.

 

Mountain Dusky Salamander

In the snowbelt counties of northeast Ohio, there is a small, emphemeral stream dwelling salamander not found elsewhere in the state. This guy is the mountain dusky, so called because it is common in mountainous areas of Pennsylvania. Fortuneately, we also get this guy in the glaciated plateau of northeastern ohio. While doing some botanizing for the division last september, I found a mountain dusky in a small spring fed stream trickling down to the floodplain of Conneaut Creek. Only today did I confirm this identification using a Powell, Collins and Hooper's "A key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada." The giveaway? Well, we only have two common species of Desmognathus in northeast Ohio, and the northern dusky is a big bulky salamander. The guy I found was small and delicate. I should have known that the northern dusky, Desmognathus fuscus, also posseses a keel on the upperside of the base of its tail, while the mountain dusky, Desmognathus ochrophaeus, lacks this characteristic. I managed to get a few quick shots of this incredible salamander, that is only found in one small corner of our great state.

Tom

 

 

Bark

A nice evening at Kenny Park today. Blue sky, glowing light, snow, but with temperatures in the low 40's. When I was in Maine, I was fascinated by the lichens growing on tree bark. The lichens obscure the bark patterns that we are often familiar with here in Ohio. Red oak, for example, did not look like red oak because the long, flattened and shiny strips of bark were obscured by the lichens. We don't have lichens covering our trees here in Columbus.

Panhandle Hook

We have had quite a snowstorm here in Columbus and throughout the midwest. This was one of those classic "panhandle hook" systems, originating in the Gulf of Mexico, coming up through Texas, and then directed northeast by the jet stream. Megan and I had about 6 inches of snow, and then about 2:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon, we received a mix of sleet and freezing rain, totalling about 3/4" of ice on top of the snow. I ventured out this morning at 7:00 a.m., our neighborhood roads were snow covered, and I burned some rubber off of Megan's tires heading out to the main road. Finally, as I was almost to the intersection of Morse and High Streets, WCBE announced that all non-essential state employees were on a 2 hour delay. I called work, and they confirmed this. So, I have a rare opportunity to write a wee bit in the morning. Enjoy our snowy weather, because, although it may cause problems, to get this much snow in central Ohio is uncommon.

Tom

Spring Will Be Here Soon

In April 2003 I experienced one of the great wonders of nature. During the first warm spring rain, spotted salamanders leave their subterranean homes, move overland, and congregate in masses in temporary woodland pools. Here, the males leave sperm packets on submerged leaves and other detritus, and the females follow, absorb the sperm packets through their cloaca, and use them to fertilize their eggs. We saw hundreds of spotted salamanders that evening. When we arrived at the woodland pond, near Indian Creek in Butler County, it wasn't raining, and there were no salamanders. After about an hour, a gentle rain began falling, and we started seeing salamanders amongst the leaves on the forest floor. At first one or two, then 10 then 100...and then it seemed like we saw at least 1000 of these guys that night. They are extremely cool.

From Herps

Ohio Botanical Symposium

Come to the Ohio Botanical Symposium here in Columbus:



OHIO BOTANICAL SYMPOSIUM SET FOR MARCH 30 IN COLUMBUS
Botanists, naturalists and native plant enthusiasts encouraged to attend the day-long event

COLUMBUS, OH - Wetland restoration, Ohio’s native violets, medicinal plants and the best of Ohio’s natural areas are some of the topics to be discussed on Friday, March 30, during the 7th Annual Ohio Botanical Symposium.

Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), The Nature Conservancy and The Ohio State University, the event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, on the OSU campus.

Keynote speaker Dr. James Amon from Wright State University has been studying wetlands for 30 years and will discuss wetland conservation and restoration. Other featured speakers include entomologist Dr. Greg Dahlem from Northern Kentucky University, Dr. Harvey Ballard of Ohio University and experts with ODNR.

The event will also feature displays from a number of non-profit organizations, park districts, and state and federal agencies.

The $15 attendance fee includes refreshments. There is no additional charge for a walk-in registration. Lunch is priced extra and the deadline for making a meal reservation is March 16. For registration forms and more details, visit ohiodnr.com/dnap/symposium or contact Rick Gardner at 614-265-6419.

Picasa

This photo was taken in the Summer of 2001 just off the coast of Bar Harbor, Maine. Little did I know that I would end up marrying a Mainer. I'm trying out Google's Picasa software, designed to organize digital photos. It allows me to post an image from the Picasa image browser directly to my blog. Here are the results. I took this photo using my Canon Elan IIe, a film SLR. I was happy with the results. I scanned an old fashioned print with my Canon Pixma mp510 all in one.

Tom

 

Olentangy- Dry and Cold

I went to the riverbank of the Olentangy River this afternoon. The air is so cold and dry that it has sucked all the moisture from the riverbank. I was expecting to see ice, and I did see some. However, I was most struck by the dry sand that has gathered along the banks. This sand was being blown by today's constant chilling winds. Here are a few shots from this afternoon journey down to the river. In order of appearance, these shots depict the sandy riverbank, the binding power of buckeye and hackberry roots, an overflow channel marked by ice, and finally, the tentacle like roots of the silver maple slithering into the frozen ground.

Honeysuckle

Today, I went to the park to take some shots of the Olentangy River in the snow, and hopefully, ice. I never got there. The floodplain of the river at the park used to be covered with bush honeysuckle. When I walked down the hill to the floodplain this evening, I noticed things were a bit more open. On closer inspection, I realized why. Someone had cut much of the dense undergrowth of bush honeysuckle. Interesting, I thought. I'm guessing this is part of a research project at OSU. I had seen various plots, boxes, and baggies throughout the park marked "OSU". Anyways, here is a photo essay on honeysuckle removal.

Tom

Lucky, Our Beta

Megan and I have a pet Beta, Lucky. We purchased him at Byerly's aquarium store here in Columbus. After buying a nice little guide on macro photography at Barnes and Noble, I was motivated to try to capture our little guy and post some shots on the internet. Here are my best attempts. The round glass of his vase made getting clear shots especially difficult. The glass also had numerous small air bubbles that made this a trying experience. The one thing I learned while shooting our beta? Closeup photography requires extreme attention to detail and an unwavering sense of patience.

Tom

More New York

Megan and I will be jetting back to New York on Sunday, after the oak openings research symposium and keynote event, held today and tomorrow in Toledo. Here are a few more New York pictures from our venture this past weekend:
This first shot is through a rough granite arch looking south west towards the Central Park west neighborhood.

Next, a view across the baseball fields at Central Park north meadow. This shot captures the stunning profile of this tree. I do not know what species this was. Today, I was examining the shapes and patterns around me. Megan looked at it, and said, "I could draw that tree". I'm assuming she asserted herself because of the tree's wavy, out of control branches.

Apartments along Riverside Drive, facing the Hudson River. The shapes and patterns in Manhattan on this day, in the diffuse foggy light, were inspiring.

Finally, the wall that holds up riverside drive, keeping it from crumbling down and into Riverside Park, a true gem of New York City.

Tom

New York City

Megan and I spent the Holiday weekend in New York City. Here are some shots from that trip:

"The Pool" at central park. Notice the man standing on bank to the right in this photo. He was doing some funky kind of tai chi- a Chinese martial art involving slow, deliberate gestures of the body.


Pastries at Nusbaum and Wu. About the only thing of color that my camera captured on this gray weekend, literally and figuratively.


The tower at Riverside Church, from within the courtyard at Union Theological Seminary, the quarters in which we slept.


A daffodil, in full bloom, on January 14th.

Tom

Maine

Megan and I are back in Ohio. We have been at our house for not quite yet a full week after visiting Megan's parents in Otisfield Maine. The trip was quiet and relaxing. I actually found myself rather bored. Why? I missed seeing people and the the stuff that we have created. Megan's parents live in a beautiful log home that sits on a 26 acre private pond. There house and pond are surrounded by young conifers. But you can be there without seeing any sign of people other than those that are staying at the house. You can not see the road. You can not see cars zipping down the road. You can not see any other homes.

Here are a few shots from our New Year's visit.


Here we are at Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park. This small area sits at the end of a peninsula jutting out into Casco Bay known as Wolfe's neck and is within 10 minutes of downtown Freeport. We visited here after our shopping trip to the L.L. Bean's flagship store. Megan's mom had warned us to look out for "rouge waves" if we did venture out to Wolfe's neck. Upon arriving at the shore, the waters of the estuary were about as calm as they could be! We got a big laugh out of her warning, but I hear that one or two people die each in Maine year from being washed into the sea by an unexpected large wave. What made this trip so nice was the diversity of habitats packed into this small little park. Coniferous forest, ledges, rocky coast, estuary, a beautiful sunset (at 4:30 in the afternoon!), and frigid temperatures. Yes, I had to fly to Maine, but I finally found winter.



The focal point of Megan's parents property, at least the natural focal point, is Little Pond. At 26 acres, most people in Ohio would consider this natural water body a lake, but in Maine, it barely makes pond status. Here you see Megan's brother Ben, and his girlfriend Rachel. About three inches of snow fell the day that I shot this photo, and the pond was frozen, but the ice was still to weak for us to walk on. Ben and Rachel stayed on the dock. Notice the conifers in the distance. Black spruce grow on the bog mat around the pond and in this photo look like perfect snow covered Christmas trees. Further, forming the dense wall of conifers are white pines, the state tree of Maine.

Tom

Turtle Videos

About two weeks ago, I created a You Tube account. This internet service provides a way to upload and view videos that you have created. Here are my first two clips that I have uploaded to You Tube. I shot these images of map turtles at the Columbus Zoo. Turtles fascinate me, and the zoo offered some excellent viewing opportunities.



This clip shows two male ringed map turtles, Graptemys oculifera, interacting with each other. The male on the left then dives down to the bottom of the tank. This species, which dwells in the Pearl River of Mississippi and Louisiana, is a federally threatened species.



Next, we have a male and female yellow blotched map turtle (Graptemys flavimaculata). The thing to notice in this clip is the size difference between the male and female. She is almost twice the size of the little guy. In this clip, he tries to get her attention by fluttering his long fingernails against the sides of her face. When this fails, he simply bites her nose! This species, also federally threatened, dwells in the Pascagoula river system in Mississippi.

Turtles are fascinating, and the Columbus Zoo has a diverse collection of this ancient order of reptiles.

Tom

Yesterday, Megan and I created our own, impromptu Christmas bird count yesterday at Kenny Park in North Columbus. This park, which I visit often, serves us well. Today, we saw the following:

First, an overflow channel on the east bank of the river, looking south. Yesterday morning was hazy but bright, and there was an erie sense to the whole park.



This female mallard was dabbling near the opposite bank of the Olentangy as we approached the river from the east. She looked up across the river, saw us, and started smimming across the current to us. She was clearly looking for a handout. Her mate, not quite as brave, eventually came over to check us out as well. Both overshot us on the way across the current, and this female made one heck of an effort to swim upstream the extra 10 feet to get to us.



Here is her pal. I was able to capture this image with Megan's Kodak camera, which boasts an image stabilized 12x zoom lens.


American Robins were feasting on the fruits of Lonicera maacki. This bush honeysuckle has finally lost its leaves (they were still yellow in early December), and the Robins are now taking advantage of the red berries that were passed over earlier in the fall.

Megan and I also saw at least two goldfinches. They were also interested in the bush honeysuckle berries. Here you can see a goldfinch in winter plumage. I am not sure if this is a male or female, but you can see how this bird was intently examining the honeysuckle berries.

Megan and I also heard white throated sparrows and Carolina chickadees. Finally we saw a male and female downy woodpecker. These active birds were impossible to photograph!

Tom

Winter Cold has Arrived

After almost one week straight of incredibly mild weather, winter has struck here at 301 Girard. Yesterday, as winter was marching through, I sat in my car during my lunch break. To say the wind was roaring was an understatement. It felt as if my car would be lifted up, tossed about, and slammed back down half way across the parking lot. This morning, Megan and I were greeted with a cloudless sky with almost no wind. The kicker? Our thermometer on our kitchen windowsill that is connected to a temperature sensor just outside the window by a small black wire read 32.8 degrees, and this was at 9:00! This morning is the first morning since living at 301 Girard that I can sit on my couch, gaze to my left out through the picture window, and see the old Burlington Coat Factory building at Graceland Shopping Center. Yes, the Amur honeysuckle, an invasive shrub that forms a nice wall between our house and the shopping center, has finally dropped all of its leaves. I'm guessing it was the arrival of winter yesterday, and the accompanying sixty mile per hour wind gust that finally did the leaves in. I still feel like I live in a hole, since our street is about 10 feet lower than the parking lot a mere 10 feet to the north. The small dirt bank between the road and the parking lot has grown up in Catalpa, honeysuckle, and black walnut, trees and shrubs that provide a nice barrier between our homes and shopping land. But now it is winter, and that barrier has temporarily gone away.

Videos

I've just learned to embed videos into my blog from a site called YouTube. Very cool. Here is an interesting clip of a radiated tortoise chomping down on some greenery. I'm guessing this clip was captured by a zoo visitor. These tortoises, from Madagascar, are some of the most beautiful four-legged shelled creatures in the world;.

Here are some pictures from yesterday's short field trip to Glacier Ridge Metropark. The first shot shows what I believe to be an Autumn Meadowhawk. According to Larry Rosche in his Dragonflies of Northeast Ohio, the adults of this species fly in late summer and autumn. He has been sending out e-mails to his bug buddy e-mail group about his intent to find one of these guys in December, which I believe would be an Ohio record. Here is my shot from yesterday at Glacier Ridge. Also, here is my very much zoomed in attempt at a late November bullfrog. This is Ohio's largest frog species, and there is actually a proposal to designate this species as Ohio's official state frog. We saw five yesterday in and around the created wetlands at Glacier Ridge.

Tom