Good Natured

Cicada

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District August 23, 2013 When was the last time you saw a little green man? For me, it was last Saturday. I was walking through the Hickory Knolls savanna when something small and bright caught

Strag Beetles

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District August 16, 2013 The heady aroma of fine cigars. The rise and fall of male voices, punctuated with deep, booming laughter. It didn’t take a girl popping out of a cake to tell us,

Squirrels

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District August 9, 2013 Okay everybody, think fast: Who, or what, comes to mind when you hear the word blonde? Certain movie stars? Various jokes? The debate about who it is that has more fun?

Shrews

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District August 2, 2013 Think your lawn or garden doesn’t have a resident population of insectivores? Have we got shrews for you! Shrews aren’t the sort of wildlife that would normally grab your attention. Though

Hornworm

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District July 26, 2012 This year promises to be big for gardeners. Plenty of rain along with a few steamy days of what my grandfather the farmer used to call “good growing weather” have made

Stag Beetles

Pam’s Perspective From the… C:\Users\selm\Desktop\P1030492.JPG Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District July 19, 2012 The heady aroma of fine cigars. The rise and fall of male voices, punctuated with deep, booming laughter. It didn’t take a girl popping out of a cake to tell

Queen Snake

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District July 12, 2012 Except for one time, 25 years ago, when I found myself eating ice cream in a supermarket with Prince Andrew and his then-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, my brushes with

Manny

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District July 5, 2012 Whoever said parenting is not for sissies knew exactly what he, or she, was talking about. I know this because I’ve recently taken on the completely self-imposed challenge of life in

Glowworm

Pam’s Perspective C:\Users\selm\Desktop\Glowworm Phengodes.jpg From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District June 28, 2013 Life at Hickory Knolls is filled with many bright spots, small discoveries and tiny triumphs that make our outlook just a little bit sunnier. Like the day last week

Crane Flies

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District June 21, 2013 The other night a large, mosquito-like insect was flying around the kitchen. I waited until it landed, then let it outside. Not five minutes later, I spotted another. Out it went,

Turtles

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District June 7, 2013 Over the past three or four weeks, we’ve gotten several calls about turtles. Turtles wandering through back yards. Turtles wandering through front yards. A turtle that, at first glance, appeared to

Crayfish

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 24, 2013 Who doesn’t love a good berry? Strawberries! Raspberries! Blueberries! Crayfish? Yep, it’s crayfish-berry season in Kane County. Or, more correctly, it’s the season Kane County crayfish are “in berry.” Every year

Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 17, 2013 I’ve never, by any stretch of the imagination, been considered quick. I can’t dash, I don’t dart. In fact, the only time I recall moving with any speed at all was

Ticks

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 31, 2013 To paraphrase Abe Lincoln, you can’t fool all the people all the time, but if you want to gross ’em out, every time, you only have to mention one word. Ticks.

Kinglets

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District May 3, 2013 “Long live the king! Dutch folks everywhere cheered this past week as their much-beloved Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne to her son, Willem-Alexander. He became the Netherlands’ first king in more

Male Song Sparrow

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 26, 2013 “Sweet, sweet, sweet…blah blah blah yada yada.” “Sweet, sweet, sweet…blah blah blah yada yada.” “Sweet, sweet, sweet…blah blah blah yada yada.” Sound familiar? No, it’s not the talk of some crazed

Salamanders

Pam’s Perspective C:\Users\selm\Desktop\P1010348.JPG From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 19, 2013 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Gosh, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to start a column with a famous opening

Fruit Fly

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 12, 2013 Let’s face it, fruit flies have an image problem. Some are serious agricultural pests (remember California’s infamous medfly infestation?) and others, namely the Drosophilidae, are known primarily for the way they

Kildeer

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District April 5, 2013 “Kill-deer!” “Kill-deer! Kill-deer! Kill-deer!” Yep, there’s no doubt. The killdeer have returned. These medium-sized birds, members of the plover family, are famous for their namesake call – and for their propensity

Skunk Cabbage

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 29, 2013 Last Saturday, hundreds of wee ones descended on Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles with a singular goal in mind: Find as many brightly colored, ovoid-shaped objects as possible, split them open

Cross Bills

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 15, 2013 Any handyman will tell you, having the right tools will make a job go a heck of a lot easier. Birds, I’ll bet, would say the same thing. A hawk’s beak

Signs of Spring

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 8, 2013 After a week of winter weather, what could be more welcome than some signs of spring? The forecast calls for rain—not snow—and the clocks are changing tonight, so right off the

Flocks

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District March 1, 2013 Driving to work the other day, I saw a familiar sight: hundreds of Canada geese scattered across the frozen athletic fields of James O. Breen Community Park in St. Charles. Like

Carnivores

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District February 25, 2013 The other night my friend Suzi hosted a 31 Bags party. And while of course the focus of the evening was, for most people, the wonderfully functional bags and their myriad

February

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District February 15, 2013 If you look at the world through Hallmark-tainted glasses, you might be tempted to believe the February is the month of love. Certainly if you venture into a supermarket or gift

Wild Things

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District February 8, 2013 Hands down, the outdoors is the best place to learn about nature and things wild. But sometimes, time spent indoors can be enlightening too. Last Saturday was Wild Things, an all-indoor

Squirrels

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District February 1, 2013 I know it’s Groundhog Day and all but, golly, have you noticed what’s up with squirrels lately? Not so very long ago, they were hopping about in minimalist survival mode: foraging;

Frogs

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District January 30, 2013 I guess you could say I have a history with frogs. For as far back as I can remember, I’ve chased after these guys, stalking them in ponds and streams, reveling

Snow Buntings

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District January 18, 2013 Call it an omen, call it what you will, but Wednesday on my way to work I saw [insert your favorite dramatic crescendo]…snow buntings. There I was, sitting in the left,

Newspaper

Pam’s Perspective From the… Pam Otto is the Manager of Natural Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District January 18, 2013 One of my very favorite things about taking a walk outside is that you never know what you might find. Even when you set out with a single purpose in mind,

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Good Natured

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